News, Prophecy and other

[Soldier4Christ]

January 11th, 2006

Washington, DC-- Ignoring vocal opposition from Alaska Natives, scientists, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and sportsmen, the Bush administration today opened for oil and gas leasing 100 percent of the internationally significant Teshekpuk Lake Special Area in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA). The decision eliminates long-established wildlife and environmental protections first put in place by Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt.

The Teshekpuk Lake area was targeted for drilling by the industry-dominated Energy Task Force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001. The 4.6 million-acre area of the NPRA is immediately west of the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field in far northern Alaska bordering the Beaufort Sea, and provides vital habitat for migratory waterfowl, caribou, and other wildlife, and is an important subsistence hunting and fishing area. Congress last month decisively rejected a proposal to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 110 miles farther to the east.

“The administration today opened 100 percent of the northeast NPRA to drilling. Apparently 87 percent wasn’t enough for the oil companies. Even more outrageous is the administration’s attempt to dress this up as an “environmentally responsible’ decision,” stated Eleanor Huffines, Alaska Regional Director of The Wilderness Society. “This decision ignores the voices of leading scientists, sportsmen from across the nation, and the Alaska Native people who depend on the wildlife and subsistence resources of the region.”

The Teshekpuk Lake Special Area encompasses one of the most important wetland complexes in the circumpolar Arctic. The 45,000-head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd bears its calves and seeks relief from insects near Teshekpuk Lake, and it is a key summer molting or nesting location for many of North America’s migratory ducks, geese, swans, loons, and other birds. It is heavily used by Alaska Natives for subsistence fishing and hunting, especially caribou hunts. Brant and other waterfowl that migrate here are harvested for both subsistence and sport in Alaska and in many of the Lower 48 states.

“This plan is utterly unbalanced. Even the Reagan administration protected the waterfowl habitat around Teshekpuk Lake because of its world-class ecological and cultural value,” said Stan Senner, executive director, Audubon Alaska. “No one should be fooled by the window dressing in this document. This plan makes every last acre available for oil development. The administration has decided that there isn’t one acre of this magnificent region that should be protected.”

In March of 2005, seven conservation groups filed a complaint in the US District Court challenging the final environmental impact statement that recommended opening the area to leasing. The groups challenged the failure to include an in-depth analysis of the environmental harm that oil development would cause to the sensitive area. "The decision announced today was the worst possible outcome for the Teshekpuk Lake area. We'll be amending our legal challenge to include additional claims based on this outrageous decision," said Earthjustice staff attorney, Deirdre McDonnell.

The current administration’s efforts to open the Teshekpuk Lake area to drilling have consistently drawn fire from a variety of groups, including the California Waterfowl Association, Ducks Unlimited, the Pacific Flyway Council, Wildlife Management Institute, The Wildlife Society, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy and numerous conservation groups. In addition, 200 ornithologists and other wildlife professionals, and a bipartisan group of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus called for Teshekpuk Lake area protections to remain in place.

Congress and three Secretaries of the Interior have recognized the ecological importance of the area around Teshekpuk Lake. The new plan approved today fragments the area north and east of the lake into seven large tracts, completely open to leasing. The crude breakup of the area around Teshekpuk Lake would result in tens of thousands of sensitive molting geese and 45,000 caribou being surrounded by roads, pipelines, airstrips, gravel mines and industrial sprawl.

[Shammu]

Hal Lindsey proclaims: Islam a violent religion
On national TV, Christian author declares most Muslims don't read Quran very much
Posted: January 11, 2006
5:39 a.m. Eastern


© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


Hal Lindsey

Christian author Hal Lindsey proclaimed on national television last night that Islam is a violent religion, with many believers becoming more "radical" the more they read the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

"When someone becomes devout and they begin to get really into the Quran and they begin to study what it really teaches, they become what we call a fundamentalist or a radical because the Quran itself and the Hadith teaches violence," Lindsey said on "Hannity & Colmes" on the Fox News Channel. "There are 109 verses that we sometimes call war verses ... these are the verses that the radicals begin to take seriously and they begin to want to overthrow Western civilization."

Lindsey was a guest on Fox after WorldNetDaily broke a series of stories about the best-selling non-fiction writer who is in a dispute with the Trinity Broadcasting Network over the content of his own twice-weekly Christian commentary program, "The International Intelligence Briefing," because of what he considers to be efforts to muzzle his opinions about radical Islam.

"After 9-11, I really studied Islam, studied the Quran, studied what they're teaching and especially why there was a difference between the moderate Muslims and those who were radical," Lindsey said last night. "I saw that there was a tremendous danger facing this country that many Americans really didn't seem to be seeing. So I started warning that radical Islam was at war with the United States, and that the threat was as great as any enemy we'd ever faced."

Co-host Alan Colmes asked Lindsey straight out: "Islam is a radical religion in your view?"

"It is," Lindsey responded. "It's kind of like most Christians don't read the Bible very much. I believe most Muslims don't read the Quran very much. That's why most Muslims are not radical, but when someone begins to really study the Quran and they begin to read the 109 verses that call for violence and war, they become very, very different. They become radical, they feel that they need to convert people by force."

Lindsey, author of "The Late Great Planet Earth" and many other best-selling books and a weekly columnist for WND, has anchored his own program for the last 12 years on the world's largest Christian network, founded by evangelist Paul Crouch, whom Lindsey says remains his friend.

As WND exclusively reported Jan. 3, Lindsey announced he would not go back to his show following an an abrupt six-week suspension of the popular TBN-sponsored program by Jan Crouch, TBN's vice president for programming.

Though John Casoria, TBN's general counsel first told WorldNetDaily the show's suspension was simply a traditional hiatus in lieu of seasonal programming, that statement was later revised to confirm that the network believed Lindsey's program "placed Arabs in a negative light."

Lindsey responded to this allegation: "I don't have to cast radical Muslims in a bad light. If the intimidation and persecution of moderate Muslims makes radical Islam look bad, that is because it is bad – not that I 'cast' them in a bad light. But I have never cast the Arabs as a race in a bad light."

Casoria said he could not recall specific examples from Lindsey's programs that were anti-Arab or anti-Muslim, but he expressed the network's concern about how Muslims are portrayed.

"TBN is a worldwide ministry; we have an entire channel that airs 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Arabic," he said. "We are trying to reach the Islamic world and open a dialogue with them regarding Christ and Christianity."

Casoria explained, "We do not feel that the best witness of Christ is to bash them but rather to show them the nature of Christ – the way Christ said to present himself – and that is through love, understanding and the presentation of the gospel to them."

Lindsey argued, however, his program is not shown in the Middle East.

"My show is produced for the Western world and for Christians who are at the most risk from radical Islam," he said.

Lindsey has been associated with TBN since its inception in the early 1970s.

He told WND that he has "no ax to grind" with TBN, saying, "I've been happy with my opportunities for ministry at TBN. I'm thankful for the platform TBN gave me. I will speak at the gates of hell as long as they don't tell me what to say. But it appears that they are now telling me what not to say – so sadly, it's time to move on."

Lindsey also announced that he is taking his popular television program to other outlets beginning in early February. His new half-hour news and commentary series will be called "The Hal Lindsey Report." A new video version of it will also be streamed on Lindsey's website.

When the New York Times surveyed all book sales for the decade of the 1970s, it found that Lindsey's had far outsold all other authors. His "Late Great Planet Earth" alone sold more than 32 million copies.

Hal Lindsey proclaims: islam a violent religion

[Shammu]

Cardinal in ethnic row over 'Christian Scotland' remarks
FERGUS SHEPPARD MEDIA CORRESPONDENT

Key points
• Keith O'Brien issues a call to "re-Christianise" Scotland
• His comment has angered Hindu and Muslim leaders
• Cardinal O'Brien is a member of the inter-faith council

Key quote
"In a re-Christianised Scotland I would certainly respect the beliefs of people of other faiths, the great world faiths, and acknowledge when they are celebrating their feasts, just as they acknowledge when we celebrate the feast of Christmas and these sort of things." - Cardinal O'Brien

Story in full THE head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has caused controversy among non-Christian faiths by telling them that they needed to realise they live in a Christian country.

In comments described as "obnoxious", Cardinal Keith O'Brien said he "tolerated" people who lived differently, but added that he must "take a stand when Christianity itself is questioned in this country".

The Church said the cardinal was not meaning to diminish the stature of other faiths as he set forward his mission to "re-Christianise" Scotland.

However, a spokesman for the Hindu Temple in Glasgow condemned the remarks that people of other faiths should realise they live in a Christian country. "I think they are obnoxious. If you go to India there are more Christians there than there are in Britain. They have total autonomy and total freedom to worship and do anything they want, even welcome people into their faith. There is no grudge against that."

He called the suggestion that Scotland should be re-Christianised as "quite offensive".

Inyat Bunglawala, from the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "Mr O'Brien should be addressing his comments to Christians. I think Muslims are surprised that many Christians don't take their faith so seriously.

"Mr O'Brien perhaps needs to look at his own flock and question why people are not following Christianity as he would like to, rather than showing impatience with other faiths."

Glasgow Central MP Mohammad Sarwar said those of other faiths accepted Scotland had a massive Christian majority.

But he added: "I have one reservation - when he says that people should learn to live in a Christian way. I don't know what that means. It's very ambiguous. I'm a very tolerant person and we live in a democracy. People should be allowed to practise religion the way they want to."

Cardinal O'Brien chose a forthcoming BBC radio interview to repeat his call for Scotland to be "re-Christianised".

He said Christianity had been present in Scotland since St Ninian landed at Whithorn in AD397, but that the country no longer lived up to Christian standards: "I feel I must take a stand when Christianity itself is questioned in this country.

"In a re-Christianised Scotland I would certainly respect the beliefs of people of other faiths, the great world faiths, and acknowledge when they are celebrating their feasts, just as they acknowledge when we celebrate the feast of Christmas and these sort of things. But I would also like them to realise that they are living in Scotland as a Christian country."

While the cardinal says Scotland is a "multi-cultural country", he adds: "The basic core faith in Scotland I would maintain is Christianity. And I would like to think that in other countries, where other faiths are in the majority, the Christian faith would be given the same recognition as other faiths are given here."

Cardinal O'Brien is a member of the inter-faith council, which meets once every year.

In the interview, to be broadcast on Sunday, he says: "I am all for that - working together ever more effectively. But we cannot detract from the fact that Scotland is a Christian country."

Aides to the cardinal last night insisted he had made similar remarks dating back to his appointment in 2003.

A spokesman for the Catholic Media Office in Glasgow said: "The context in which he talks about re-Christianising is to try and reintroduce faith-based values in society - it is in no sense a diminution of the value of other faiths."

He said the assertion that the core faith of Scotland was Christianity was also "nothing new". "Scotland has a Christian identity, a Christian heritage. No-one that we are aware of is offended by that, certainly no-one from the other faith groups."

Osama Saeed, the Scottish spokesman for the Muslim Association of Great Britain, said he didn't think the remarks were controversial. "Mr O'Brien is a Christian leader and he is going to spread Christianity - I don't find that particularly surprising. If people are expecting Muslims to react badly, I don't think that will be the case. When he talks about re-Christianising Scotland, he is merely going back to a time when it was Christian and acknowledging that that has been lost."

The head of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Reverend Bruce Cameron, said: "As Christians we are committed to the core Christian task of Christian mission and sharing faith. But part of that is ... dialogue with those of other faiths."
Cardinal in ethnic row over 'Christian Scotland' remarks

[Shammu]

Russia Aims to Restore Soviet-Era Nuclear Power Network

Created: 12.01.2006 15:08 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:08 MSK, 3 hours 8 minutes ago

MosNews

Russia intends to restore the nuclear power industry network that existed during the Soviet period, and is initiating talks with Ukraine and Kazakhstan on the subject, the chief of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday.

“All nuclear power facilities on the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are part of a single complex of the former Soviet Ministry of Medium Machine Building, which we need to restore,” Sergei Kiriyenko was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed nuclear energy cooperation with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko Wednesday, and with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev Thursday.

The technological complex of the former Soviet Ministry of Medium Machine Building largely remained in Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, but some of its elements are located in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Kiriyenko said. Uranium is mined in Kazakhstan while Ukraine produces turbines, he said.

Kiriyenko said Russia was interested in becoming a partner in the Ukrainian turbine plant. “We are ready to agree to any option advantageous for us and our partners,” Kiriyenko said.

Russia’s nuclear energy chief also said that Russia intended to increase the share of nuclear in the country’s energy mix beyond that set out in the country’s energy strategy.

Russia Aims to Restore Soviet-Era Nuclear Power Network
My note; Well we knew it had to happen again.

[Shammu]

EU constitution is dead, says Dutch minister
By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 12/01/2006)

Federalist hopes of reviving the draft European Union constitution were snuffed out yesterday when the Dutch foreign minister, Bernard Bot, said the treaty was "dead".

He swept away months of euphemisms and half-truths, as European leaders struggled to avoid being the first to declare an end to the constitutional project, after its rejection in referendums by French and Dutch voters.

Earlier this week Wolfgang Schussel, the Austrian chancellor, insisted that the constitution was "not dead, but in the middle of a ratification process".
    
EU

Austria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency for the next six months, has pledged to work on reviving the constitution.

Vienna said it would take soundings from the other 24 EU nations on how to "choreograph" its revival, in preparation for a June summit ending a year-long "pause for reflection".

However, when Ursula Plassnik, the Austrian foreign minister, flew to The Hague to sound out the Dutch, Mr Bot poured cold water on the initiative.

Mr Bot, standing beside Mrs Plassnik, said: "We have discussed the constitution, which for the Netherlands is dead."

Diehard enthusiasts for the constitution will doubtless point out that Mr Bot's words only hold good until the next Dutch elections, in spring 2007, when his centre-Right coalition is expected to lose office. France will also hold presidential elections in 2007.

Though all 25 nations must ratify the treaty for it to come into force, Brussels has not hesitated in the past to invite No-voting nations to vote again.

However, one EU diplomat said: "It is hard to see any incoming French or Dutch government, in 2007, choosing to swallow the poison pill that is another referendum on the constitution, which they could easily lose."

European leaders are at odds over how to proceed. President Jacques Chirac this week joined those calling for elements of the constitution to be "cherry-picked" from the treaty.

He singled out three institutional rule changes covered by the constitution, where he would like to see early advances, including work on an EU diplomatic service and a bigger role for national parliaments in scrutinising EU legislation.

A British Government spokesman refused to rule out cherry-picking. He said: "The UK has always advocated positive reforms of the EU institutions and procedures where it makes sense. We are not going to prejudge the outcome of the period of reflection."

But Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said on Tuesday: "Since the best that can be said about the draft constitutional treaty is that is in limbo, which is somewhere between Heaven and Hell, it is difficult to argue that it is not dead."

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said yesterday that constitutional cherry-picking "does not work".

She has called for the entire constitution to be preserved, but made more palatable to voters with an added charter on the "social dimension of Europe", enshrining Continental labour rights and work practices.

EU constitution is dead, says Dutch minister

[Soldier4Christ]

British Muslim group declares new jihad

 

A Ynetnews investigation has uncovered online recruitment of British Muslims for participation in terror attacks; 'We should give them another magnificent day in history' threatens one man
Yaakov Lappin

 

A declaration of war on Britain and the West is continuing to be issued by British Muslims in the United Kingdom, as the pro-jihad message of Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, recently banned from Britain, is echoed by his followers who have remained behind.

 
Bakri, who is now based in Beirut, once headed the al-Muhajiroun group, linked to the 2003 terror attack on the Mike’s Place Bar in Tel Aviv. The suicide bomber behind that attack was a British Muslim.

 
Using internet sermons, recordings, videos and documents, followers of Bakri, who say they are in touch with the Lebanon-based preacher, call on British Muslims to join al-Qaeda and to carry out acts of terrorism.

 
Ynetnews has monitored late night chat room sessions on the Paltalk chat network, used by Bakri six months ago to declare war on Britain.

 

“We’ve always had these two camps,” said the chat room’s administrator, “Mizaan,” in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in a room called “The Muslims in the UK.”

Mizaan, who told listeners “that is my real name,” said: “There is the camp of Islam and the camp of Kuffar (non-Muslim). Today we still have these two camps. And today there is the camp of Islam behind Sheikh Osama Bin Laden, the emir (leader) of jihad today, and we have the camp of kuffar led by George Bush with his cross. So yes we are two distinct groups, and we should never stand with the kuffar.”

 
“Islam is better than everything and it will rule over the whole world, whether the kuffar likes it or not,” declared Mizaan.

 

'It's not illegal'

 
“We should, all of us, glorify the terrorism. And we should incite religious hatred. Don’t worry… it’s not illegal for us to say that mujahadin (jihad fighters) on 9/11, were the magnificent 19, and it’s not illegal for us to say that Mohammad Sidique Khan (the suicide bomber who blew himself up in London) and the four on 7/7 (London attacks), that they were the fantastic four – now we can say so without any worry.”

 
“We will always glorify killing the kuffar in the name of Allah. To raid the kuffar in the name of Allah. Even if some women and children are caught in the raid by accident. They are part of them, it is not your fault,” said Mizaan.

 

“The kuffar wants to force their own homosexuality on the Muslims. The mujahadin have every right to hit back. So don’t be surprised if the mujahadin do another 7/7, and another 9/11,” he said.

 

'Give them another magnificent day'

 
“In fact, we should give them another magnificent day in history. Another fantastic four (the four London suicide bombers). We should hit them time after time, day after day, every single week, every single month, every single year, we should hit them from every side, from the left and the right. From the planes above them, and the trains below them, we should hit them every way we can.”

 
“Even if it’s just a man kuffar, if your target kills him, even if 20 women among them are killed by accident on the way, it is no problem. And that is what happened with the shahada (martyrs) when they went to raid,” said Mizaan.

“So don’t think what happened on 7/7 or 9/11 was something new, no, that’s the Sunnah (sayings and actions of Muhammad). There’s never been jihad without casualties.”

 
A user in the room, “veiled flower,” eerily asked what a fiancé of a “mujahadin” should do if he was preparing to martyr himself. She was told by the speaker to encourage him as much as possible in order to assure herself “a place in jenna (heaven).”

 

Meanwhile, a recently reactivated website, al-Ghurabbaa, which has a UK domain web address, carries sermons given by Omar Bakri.

 

'The best way to die'

 
“The martyrdom operations in Palestine are so beautiful,” said Bakri in one recording available on the site.

 
“Let your death occur in the battlefield, this is the best way to die,” he said. “If you make yourself really available in jihad… Allah will accept you as shaheed (martyr) inshalla (with God’s help).”

 
“It is very important for us to remember, especially for those of us that are youth… whoever himself went to jihad, jenna (heaven) for him is inevitable.”

 
A document on the website entitled “the permissibility of self sacrifice operations” provides religious justification for suicide bomb attacks, stating that “for definite the one who wants to seek to be killed, must do an operation, to leave the mark - of the dead bodies, the defeated enemies. Whether your body is one piece or many, or the enemy's bodies are one piece or many. In a martyrdom operation, it is not possible that he should return unscathed, it is necessary that he will be harmed and will target to be killed in the operation,” reads the statement.

 
Another document tells readers that “terrorism is a part of Islam.”

 
It declares that “There is no such thing as an ‘innocent’ kafir, innocence is only applicable for the Muslims; do not say ‘innocent’ for the kafir.”

 

A professionally prepared video from the website defines the term ‘ghurabbaa’ as “strangers” who left their societies to wage jihad, and says modern ghurabaa are al-Qaeda terrorists.

 

“Go with them and join them as Allah has commanded,” says a message on the video, before showing images of the 9/11 terror attacks, and Osama Bin Laden, accompanied by sounds of machine gun fire and religious chanting.

 

Images of kidnapped hostages in Iraq who are later beheaded are also shown. “Oh Muslims, be with the terrorists!” exclaims the video, which ends with the question: “Will you be the ghurabbaa of the future?”

 
“I still study with Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad. He used to be in the UK with us, we used to study with him as much as we could. And inshalla (with God’s help) he’s my only sheikh,” said Mizaan. “He is doing very well in Lebanon,” he added.

 
Meanwhile, a new threat to European countries from the international jihad movement has also appeared on a website which frequently displays Islamist videos and declarations, infovlad.net.

One video, made by the "Global Islamic Media Front," which is al-Qaeda's propaganda wing, has recently appeared on the site displaying the British Isles engulfed in flames. "British citizens have to take the decision now," reads a message against the background of images of British forces in Iraq.

 

'Numerous targets'

 

Infovlad.net, which previously posted threats by a jihad group to attack Sweden, has now put up posters by an unknown group, "The Glory Brigades in Northern Europe," which shows a bloodied map of Denmark and a caption that reads: "Death will visit Denmark." Images of men with machine guns and explosive devices are seen next to a map of Denmark. Another poster warns that "the Mujahadin have numerous targets in Denmark," and displays images of trains and buildings in the Scandinavian country, alongside a photograph of explosives devices.

 

"Very soon you will regret this," reads a caption, possibly referring to a Danish newspaper's request to readers to send in drawings of Islam's prophet, Muhammad, a move that has infuriated Danish Muslims and prompted large demonstrations.

 
The 'Glory Brigades' also threatened the British capital in a jihad poster that reads: "New York, Madrid, London now it’s your turn. Target: London."

________________________________________

My Note:  All of this coming from the "Religion Of Peace". 

[Soldier4Christ]

Al-Qaeda Employing Biological Warfare

Al-Qaeda's plot to infect troops with AIDS virus


AL-QAEDA is recruiting suicide bombers who are infected with the AIDS virus, according to documents revealed to the Sunday Mirror.

Terror chiefs are also targeting fanatics who suffer other lethal blood diseases such as hepatitis and dengue fever in order to increase their "kill rate" from an explosion. The chilling new threat is revealed in papers distributed to British military camps in Iraq and across Europe.

Under the heading "HIV/Hepatitis" the document states: "There is evidence that terrorists might be deliberately recruiting volunteers with diseases that are spread by blood transference."

Experts have found that bones and other blood-spattered fragments from a suicide bomber could penetrate the skin of a victim 50 metres away and infect them.

In the papers (part of which is summarised above) soldiers are warned to wear special protective clothing when on guard duty or if they have to deal with casualties in the event of an attack.

All bases must also have snipers hidden behind blast-proof defences ready to take out would-be suicide bombers. The guidelines were issued following the 7/7 London bombings which left 52 dead and injured hundreds more.

Spy chiefs have also examined other attacks, including a car-bombing on the Black Watch in central Iraq which killed three soldiers a year ago.

Last night an MoD spokesman confirmed that bases had been made aware of the new threat.

He added: "The Army go to great lengths to prepare our soldiers for every eventuality."

[Soldier4Christ]

Al Qaeda Video is 'Green Light' for Attack, Analyst Warns
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 11, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - The recently released video message from al Qaeda's number two leader is part of a pattern that signals a countdown to a major terrorist attack within the next 30 days, warns a Washington D.C.-based analyst.

The new video was aired by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite network on Jan. 6. In it Ayman al-Zawahiri portrays U.S. government discussion of troop withdrawal from Iraq as a victory for Islam.

"If your forces with all its aircraft, missiles, tanks and fleets are moaning, bleeding and looking for an escape from Iraq, then will the hypocrites, conspirators, infidels (the Iraqi government) resist what the 'greatest power in the world' has failed to resist?" al-Zawahiri asked.

But it is not the content of the video that is a sign of a possible imminent strike, said terrorism expert Christopher L. Brown. Instead, it is the timing of the video that is consistent with previous patterns. Brown, a researcher with a Washington think tank, has briefed members of Congress and senior administration officials on key threats, and he has prepared testimony and briefing materials for officials at the Department of Defense, State Department, CIA, National Security Council and the White House.

The pattern Brown observed is that each Zawahiri video appears to be part of a pair, with the second video followed by a significant attack within 30 days, outside of the major combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The videos released on Sept. 9 and Nov. 9, 2004, were the first "set" and were followed by the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, bombings on Dec. 6, 2004. The second "set" of videos was released Feb. 20 and June 26, 2005, followed by the July 7 London bombings. A third set of videos was released Aug. 4 and Sept 1, 2005, followed by the bombings in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 1, 2005.

A Cybercast News Service exclusive report on Sept. 8 of last year detailed Brown's warning regarding an impending October attack.

The fourth set of videos, according to Brown's theory was released on Oct. 23, 2005 and last week -- Jan. 6.

"This pattern has held for at least three of al Qaeda's last large-scale attacks," said Brown, "This most recent video is likely a signal that a large-scale operation is about to be launched within the next 30 days. The question is where."

A clue may be found in the Internet postings of the enigmatic Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigades, said Brown. The brigades appear to be 'green-lighting' coming attacks prior to the release of the second video of each pair, Brown said.

The video that preceded the London bombings was itself preceded by a post by the "European division" of the brigades under the title, "Letter to mujahedeen in Europe." The posting stated in part, "We now call on the mujahedeen around the world to launch the expected attack." The message appeared on an al Qaeda-linked Internet forum.

Brown believes the larger pattern of two videos sandwiching an Internet posting by the Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigades was repeated when a November web message declared that the upcoming attack would occur in the "land of the Romans," widely seen as a reference to Italy.

The Internet posting, under the name of al Qaeda's reputed military commander Saif al-Adel, mentioned future attacks involving unidentified poisonous substances and surface-to-air missiles procured from Chechnya. Brown notes that the Abu-Hafs Al-Masri Brigades are overseen by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq who is also known to have ties to Chechnya.

"It is even more interesting to note that Western intelligence officials believe that al Qaeda has had some of the most advanced Russian man-portable surface-to-air missile systems (the SA-18) within Europe for at least one year."

On Oct. 29, 2005, the London Telegraph reported that Abu Atiya, an al Qaeda operative close to al-Zawahiri, revealed to French authorities that a group called the "Chechen network" entered France with the missiles and chemical and biological agents such as botulin, ricin and cyanide. The missiles were reportedly purchased in 2002 and eventually smuggled through Georgia and Turkey to be used in a planned attack against French airliners in 2004.

Following the London bombings the brigades posted a communique on the Internet, stating: "We are in Italy, and not one of you is safe as long as you refuse [Osama bin Laden's] offer. Get rid of the incompetent (Prime Minister Silvio) Berlusconi or we will truly burn Italy."

A July 19, 2005, story in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper indicated that Italian intelligence feared the statement was a coded message activating known cells in Italy, which had previously been providing only logistical support.

Three more messages from the Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigades were posted in July, promising to "burn Italy down.

"We will raze the cities of Europe to the ground and you will be the first, Berlusconi!" one of the messages declared. On July 31, the brigades claimed to be "calling up all our cells in Rome and other Italian cities for this war ..." Another Internet message followed in August.

However, the November reference to the "land of the Romans" could be misdirection Brown said, since al Qaeda is known to use coded language in many of its communications. The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) has indicated that al Qaeda intentionally labeled Italy as its target, prior to the London bombings.

If the "land of the Romans" doesn't refer to Rome, what might it refer to? Dan Darling of the Manhattan Institute believes it could be a reference to the United States. "It could just as easily apply to the U.S. -- America as the new Rome," said Darling.

Brown also believes the al Qaeda threat could apply to the U.S. and that America is the likelier target.

The "land of the Romans" could be a symbolic reference to the "countless examples of Romanesque architecture in Washington, D.C.," said Brown.

The missiles reportedly obtained from Chechnya have not been located and Brown believes it is possible that some of the weapons have been smuggled into North America since individuals involved in the "Chechen network" who procured the missiles were allegedly involved in the 1999 conspiracy to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.

About Brown's theory of a timing pattern and imminent strike, Dan Darling said "I definitely think there's something behind this theory. One of my earliest observations about al Qaeda is that when people look for patterns they tend to forget to include events in places like Kashmir, Chechnya, Iraq. "

Darling also noted that analysts often fail to take into account thwarted attacks. "Italy has arrested several members of GSPC cells intent on attacking Italy or U.S.-related installations," said Darling. The GSPC is also known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, an Algerian group linked to al Qaeda. Italian officials announced on Dec. 23 that the suspected terrorists had plans to carry out attacks against the U.S. that would have surpassed 9/11.

Terrorism expert B. Raman told Cybercast News Service that Brown's theory is "fascinating" but that he was not in a position to agree or disagree with it.

"I personally feel that while the London explosions were externally inspired from Pakistan, the timing and the modus operandi used were decided locally. I would have difficulty in connecting it to Zawahiri's second message," said Raman. He also believes that Zawahiri's importance as an operational head tends to be over-estimated by many Western analysts.

"I also feel on the basis of my reading of the situation that there is a very high probability of a terrorist strike against Italian lives and interests this year," said Raman.

"In Europe, Al Qaeda's next targets in the order of probability are Italy (its Prime Minister is closely identified with Bush), France (ban on head scarves, its interior minister is hated in the Islamic world) and Germany (its role in Afghanistan)."

Raman is the former head of the counter-terrorism division of the Research & Analysis Wing in India's external intelligence agency and director or the Institute of Topical Studies, Chennai, India.

Italy has been bracing for possible attacks targeting the February Winter Olympics in Turin or the April 9 general elections. Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu told media last month, "The global resonance of the Games, and the coincidence with the election campaign could be of great interest to terrorist organizations, which carry out major attacks in order to rock public opinion and influence political stances."

The CIA has declined to comment on Brown's theory. "We don't comment on our own analysis. And we can't comment on Mr. Brown's theory either," said the spokesman.

Regarding the video release pattern, "once can be an interesting anomaly, twice could be a coincidence, but three times is a pattern," Brown said, indicating "that in all likelihood al Qaeda will launch a major attack sometime in the next month."

[Shammu]

 U.S. backs Europe over nuclear Iran

Thursday, January 12, 2006; Posted: 7:15 p.m. EST (00:15 GMT)

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Britain, France and Germany have called for the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog to refer Iran to the Security Council over the country's atomic ambitions.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States strongly supports the move and joins the European Union "and many other members of the international community in condemning the Iranian government's deliberate escalation of this issue."

Iran broke U.N. seals on its nuclear enrichment facility this week, insisting it only wants to develop a civilian nuclear power program in accordance with international law. But several Western countries fear Tehran is intent on developing a nuclear bomb.

Foreign ministers from the European Union's three biggest nations -- the so-called EU3 -- met Thursday following Iran's moves to restart its nuclear program.

"Our talks with Iran have reached a dead end," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters after meeting with his British and French counterparts, Jack Straw and Philippe Douste-Blazy, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. (Watch what option remains after diplomacy and force -- 2:56)

Straw said the group decided to call for an emergency session of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to vote on referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

The ministers did not say exactly what action should be taken by the Security Council, which could impose sanctions.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday Iran's representative on the nuclear issue told him Iran's leaders "are interested in serious and constructive negotiations."

Annan told reporters that he spoke by telephone for 40 minutes with the representative.

"Basically, I called him to urge him to avoid any escalation, to exercise restraint, to go back to give the negotiations a chance, and that the only viable solution lies in a negotiated one," he said.

"He, in turn, affirmed to me that they are interested in serious and constructive negotiations, but within a time frame, indicating that last time they did it for two-and-a-half years with no result."

The decision by the EU3 marks the end of more than two years of diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

Rice said Iran's action "demonstrates that it has chosen confrontation with the international community over cooperation and negotiation."

"As a result, the IAEA board of governors must go forward with a report to the U.N. Security Council so that the council can add its weight in support of the ongoing IAEA investigation," she added.

Meanwhile, officials in London and Moscow said envoys from the EU3 would meet counterparts from China, Russia and the U.S. next week in London to discuss the issue further.

Russia, which is building a nuclear reactor in Iran, also has expressed "deep disappointment" over Iran's decision, The Associated Press reported.

A Foreign Ministry statement outlining a phone call between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Rice said both sides shared "a deep disappointment over Tehran's decision to leave behind the moratorium on all activities tied with uranium enrichment, resuming research work in this sphere."

The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported that during the call, Lavrov told Rice that Russia would abstain, rather than vote against, efforts to move the issue from the IAEA -- the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog -- to the Security Council.

China, which imports significant amounts of Iranian oil, said it hoped Iran would return to talks on the nuclear dispute and urged all parties to exercise restraint.

"We hope Iran can do more to promote mutual confidence between itself and the EU3, and return to negotiations," Reuters quoted a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, Kong Quan, as saying.
'Small-scale' enrichment work

Iran's move was announced Tuesday by Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, who said: "Nuclear research officially resumed at sites agreed upon with (U.N.) inspectors."

He said Iran was not resuming the production of nuclear fuel, a process that would involve uranium enrichment.

"We differentiate nuclear fuel production with research and access to technology," he said. "Suspension of nuclear fuel production will be continued in the country."

But Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, told his agency's governing board that Iran intended to begin "small-scale" uranium enrichment work, Reuters said.

"Iran plans to install a small-scale gas ultracentrifuge cascade in its pilot fuel enrichment plant at Natanz," a Western diplomat told Reuters, reading from ElBaradei's report to the 35-nation board of the IAEA.

Citing the report, the diplomat said that Iran planned to feed a small amount of uranium hexafluoride into centrifuges -- machines that purify uranium for use in nuclear power plants or weapons -- as part its research work on the devices.

The diplomat's comments came as one of Iran's former opposition leaders claimed that the country had secretly produced 5,000 centrifuges at its underground facility in Natanz.

Alireza Jafarzadeh offered no proof. But he added that Iran was also constructing centrifuge cascade platforms at the facility. If Iran possesses the necessary knowledge, the centrifuges could be mounted on the platforms and used to produce highly enriched uranium.

Once the machines are fully operational, Jafarzadeh said, Iran would be "only months away from having enough fissile material for at least one nuclear bomb."

Jafarzadeh -- who would not divulge his source, saying only that it was within the Iranian regime -- called for an emergency meeting of the IAEA board of governors to send the issue of Iran's non-compliance to the U.N. Security Council.
Diplomat: Centrifuges corroded

On Thursday, a Western diplomat who is close to the IAEA told Reuters that Iran had completed the removal of U.N. seals on its nuclear fuel research sites but would need time to refurbish machinery before it could start enriching uranium.

The diplomat said the Iranians would probably have to rebuild their entire cascade of enrichment centrifuges.

"There's a lot of humidity, corrosion. It's going to take a long time," Reuters quoted him as saying.

This is the second time that IAEA seals have been removed in Iran. In August, researchers unsealed equipment at its Isfahan plant and resumed uranium conversion activities.

Uranium conversion is a first step towards uranium enrichment, which could lead to the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

Iran's hard-line conservative government insists its nuclear programs have peaceful aims, and it has the right to restart nuclear facilities and enrich uranium for the production of nuclear energy.

Other nations, however, including the U.S., fear Tehran's true goal is to produce nuclear weapons.

Those fears have been reinforced by recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said Israel should be wiped out.

Iran vowed Thursday to press ahead with the nuclear program despite the threat of U.N. referral.

"Unfortunately, a group of bullies allows itself to deprive nations of their legal and natural rights," AP quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

"I tell those superpowers that, with strength and prudence, Iran will pave the way to achieving peaceful nuclear energy," he said. "The Iranian nation is not frightened by the powers and their noise."

Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview that Iran does not want to get into enrichment on any large scale, and insists its activities are for research purposes only.

Larijani said he hoped sanctions were not pursued, as Tehran believed room for negotiation with the West remained.

US backs Europe over nuclear Iran

[Shammu]

Man who shot John Paul II freed from prison
Turkish man served 25 years; minister says he may review release
Image: Mehmet Ali Agca
Osman Orsal / AP
Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, holds up an issue of Time magazine outside a military recruitment center after being released from prison in Istanbul on Thursday. Agca served more than 25 years behind bars in Italy and Turkey.

Updated: 10:36 a.m. ET Jan. 12, 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 was released from prison Thursday after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist.

To the cheers of nationalist supporters, a white sedan whisked Mehmet Ali Agca — whose attempt to assassinate the pope gained notoriety for himself and shame for his homeland — through the gates of the high-security Kartal Prison as dozens of police officers stood guard. His supporters showered the car with red and yellow flowers.

But Turkey’s justice minister later said authorities will review Agca’s release to make sure there were no errors in the handling of the complicated case. He said Agca’s release was not “a guaranteed right.”

'We are happy,' brother says
Agca, 48, wearing a blue sweater and jeans, was freed five years after he was pardoned by Italy and extradited to Turkey. He had served 20 years in prison in Italy, where John Paul forgave him in a visit to his cell in 1983.

“We are happy. We endlessly thank the Turkish state,” said his brother, gotcha98.

He said one of the first things Agca wanted to do was order a typical Turkish meal of beans and rice at a restaurant overlooking the Bosporus Strait, the narrow waterway that bisects Istanbul and joins the European and Asian continents.

Immediately after his release, Agca reported to a military recruitment center and a hospital, both routine procedures, said his lawyer Mustafa Demirbag.

John Paul forgave shooter
Agca shot the pope as he rode in an open car in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on May 13, 1981, and was captured immediately afterward. John Paul was hit in the abdomen, left hand and right arm but recovered because the bullets missed vital organs. Two years after the shooting, the pope met with Agca in prison and forgave him.

Man who shot John Paul II freeded from prison

[Shammu]

Violence Likely As Iraq Readies Government

By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 54 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military predicted Thursday that more violence will engulf Iraq in the weeks ahead as the country's splintered politicians and religious groups struggle to form a government.

The warning followed a week marked by what U.S. Brig. Gen. Donald Alston described as "horrific attacks," amid deteriorating relations between the Iraq's largest Shiite religious group and Sunni Arabs who make up the core of the opposition.

Alston, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition force, said attacks that have killed at least 500 people since the Dec. 15 elections were a sign insurgents were using the difficult transition to a new government to destabilize the democratic process. In the month since the elections, 54 U.S. forces also have been killed.

Violence dropped after Iraqis began celebrating the four-day Islamic feast of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, on Tuesday. But Alston said it was likely to rise.

"As democracy advances in the form of election results and government formation, and as the military pressure continues, and the pressure generated by political progress increases, we expect more violence across Iraq," Alston said at a news briefing.

Final election results have been delayed by Sunni Arab complaints of fraud, but are expected next week. Although leading politicians have expressed hopes a government could be formed in February, most experts and officials agree it could take two to three months, as it did after the Jan. 30 elections for an interim government.

The governing United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite religious bloc, has a strong lead, according to preliminary results. But it won't win enough seats in the 275-member parliament to avoid forming a coalition with Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties.

Alston said that as a new government starts forming, "those committed to seeing democracy fail will see this time of transition as an opportunity to attack the innocent people of Iraq."

He said the recent attacks, blamed mostly on extremists like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, were part of an "attempt to discredit and derail the progress of the Iraqi people."

At least 121 people were killed last week in twin suicide attacks against a Shiite shrine in the holy city of Karbala and a police recruiting center in Ramadi. A day earlier, 32 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a Shiite funeral in Muqdadiyah. Twenty-nine more died in an attack Monday on the Interior Ministry compound in Baghdad.

"The increase in attacks across Iraq this past week clearly indicates that al-Qaida and others terrorists still have the capability to surge," Alston said.

He denied allegations by leading Shiite politicians that the United States had restricted the ability of Iraqi security forces to deal with insurgents after Sunni Arabs complained that brutal methods used by Interior Ministry forces have pushed Iraq to the brink of sectarian war. Hundreds of abused prisoners have recently been discovered, mostly in prisons run by the Shiite-led Interior Ministry — prompting complaints from U.S. officials.

"I would tell you that I do not see any additional procedures that have been employed, or I should say additional restrictions or additional requirements that have been levied on the Iraqi security forces that would tie their hands," Alston said.

But he added that U.S. forces "have always had coordinating instructions with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense."

Sunni Arab politicians, meanwhile, expressed anger over remarks by Iraq's most powerful Shiite politician suggesting that the new constitution, approved in October, would not be amended.

The leader of the main Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front, gotcha98 al-Dulaimi, said his group already had agreed with the country's two main Kurdish leaders to form "a national unity government because it's the only solution to Iraq's political crisis and to maintain its unity."

Shiite politician Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, warned on Wednesday that the governing religious bloc would not allow substantive changes to the constitution, including the provision that leaves provincial governments strong and the central government weak.

A key Sunni demand is weaker federalism and a stronger central government. The constitution now gives most power — including control over oil profits — to provincial governments. The Shiites in the south and the Kurds in the north control nearly all of Iraq's oil.

To win their support, Sunni Arabs were promised they could propose amendments to the constitution in the first four months of the new parliament.

"We, the Iraqi Accordance Front and other lists will not bow to any kind of blackmail from any party and we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defend Iraq," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press.

Another prominent Sunni Arab politician, Saleh al-Mutlaq of the National Dialogue Front, agreed.

"If they do not accept key amendments to the country's new constitution, including the regions issue, then let them work alone and divide the country, as for us we do not accept this," al-Mutlaq told the AP by phone from Amman, Jordan.

Violence Likely As Iraq Readies Government

[Shammu]

Okay I know it ain't the new your looking for but............. it's good and worth it to women.

Crash test dummies won't need to be lonely anymore

Thu Jan 12, 10:51 AM ET

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The first uniquely female dummy for use in car safety tests is being developed in Sweden, researchers said Wednesday.

All current crash test dummies are based on how men's bodies react in collisions and other accidents.

Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and the National Road and Transport Research Institute are researching how a female body moves as a first step in building the dummy.

"For neck injuries from rear-end collisions, whiplash, the risk for women is twice as high as for men," the road institute said in a statement.

Crash test dummies won't need to be lonely anymore

[Soldier4Christ]

Ruthless, get rich quick scammers won't give up.


FBI warns public of bogus e-mails
Tragedy brings out scammers

Thursday, January 12, 2006
By Moustafa Ayad, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Seizing on a national outpouring of sympathy for the sole survivor of the Sago mine disaster in West Virginia, a flood of bogus e-mails -- purportedly from a doctor treating him --were sent out yesterday asking for empathy and money.

Forwarded to a number of staff at the West Virginia University hospital where the miner is being treated and an untold number of other people over the Internet, the messages are part of an online scam the FBI has tagged as fraudulent, bureau officials said yesterday.

"The notion of defrauding members of the public who earnestly believe that their hard-earned dollars will be donated to the victim of a tragedy is simply reprehensible," said Jeff Killeen, the supervisory special agent for the FBI's Pittsburgh division.

The messages claim to be from Dr. Lawrence Roberts, a physician in the intensive care unit of WVU's Ruby Memorial Hospital, and go into detail about the condition of Randal McCloy.

The message reads: "We needed your generous financial assistance to our beloved citizen, brother and friend Mr. Randal McCloy to enable him [to] undergo all the Surgical Operations and Medical treatments which will cost Several Millions of Dollars in serving [sic] his life and bringing him to his normal state of life."

It says Mr. McCloy, whose condition remained unchanged yesterday as critical but stable, needs "at this point your financial donations and prayers," and "no amount is too small or big for us to undergo the surgical operation."

The FBI is warning people not to reply to the messages and to alert the agency's Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov if they receive the e-mails.

Authorities informed the public yesterday after phone calls began trickling into the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center in Morgantown. Staff members alerted the FBI, which immediately began investigating the veracity of the messages.

Mr. Killian said the investigation was in its earliest stages, and that the FBI issued the warning to the public as soon as agents were able to identify the e-mails as fakes.

After talking with hospital officials and Dr. Roberts, who is indeed a physician at Ruby Memorial, agents deduced that the messages were a scam.

Agents were unable to determine where the messages had originated, but the hospital was suggesting the e-mails could have come from as far away as India.

This is not the first case of Internet fraud in the wake of national and international tragedies reported to the FBI. Several scams surfaced after the tsunami decimated Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

"It's troubling," said Bill Case, the director of public information for the WVU health center. "But sadly, it's not surprising,"

[nChrist]

Hello Pastor Roger and All,

It is very sad to note that 80 to 90% of soliciting for donations by email or over the Internet are nothing but con games and complete frauds. The methods used by many of the thieves makes it hard to put them out of business. Much can be faked and is faked, including the use of well-recognized names of various charities. Some are so elaborate that they actually have web sites set up that are close copies of the real charity. The Internet address might be just close enough to fool people. They take tons of money from well-meaning people who are trying to help others in need, and they move on to the next con game.

Criminals and con men actually set up shop in nearly every worthy cause, so those who are giving should make sure their donation reaches the intended recipient. This is difficult and sometimes impossible over the Internet, so those wishing to give are encouraged to use more reliable means. Hurricane Katrina involved thousands of frauds and con games. The real shame is that many people are discouraged from giving after they are victimized by a con game. Real charities will always provide means for givers to know their gifts and donations are NOT going to con men. The use of known physical buildings and addresses is always a good idea.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 133:1 NASB  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen brother. As many times as people have been warned there are still large numbers of people that fall prey to these scams. Using a verified charity by actually going to their place of buisness or using a known address not one recieved by email, etc. is the only way to prevent falling prey to them.