News, Prophecy and other

[Shammu]

Campus cartoons of religious figures create furor

February 26, 2006

RADFORD, Va. (AP) -- Online cartoons that satirize Jesus Christ, Islam's prophet Muhammad and other religious figures are causing a stir among students and administrators at Radford University.
    The "Christ on Campus" comic strip, created by cartoonist Christian Keesee and appearing on Whim Internet Magazine, has featured images of Jesus being stabbed by Santa Claus; playing poker with Muhammad, Buddha, Vishnu and Satan; and punching a heckler who called Jesus a "glorified Easter bunny."
    Brian Erskine, chairman of Radford's College Republicans, said he would "fight tooth and nail" for Mr. Keesee's right to publish the cartoon, but describes it as crude.
    "I don't understand how someone who claims to be a Christian ... could do something like this," said Mr. Erskine, who writes a column for Whim.
    The online magazine is funded through student fees, but the university exercises no editorial control.
    Norleen Pomerantz, vice president for student affairs, said a meeting scheduled for this week will address how to balance free speech and good taste.
    Mr. Keesee said that when he started the comic strip in October, he was unaware of the Danish cartoons depicting Islam and Muhammad that triggered deadly riots among Muslims in the Middle East months after their initial publication in September.
    Mr. Keesee, a sophomore from Salem, said he expected readers would be offended by a cartoon with Jesus as a main character "if it's not from the Bible or it's not from a Sunday school handout."
    Depicting Jesus in modern human form is absurd, but that's intentional, he said.
    "I could draw Jesus and put in a Bible Scripture at the bottom with the point I'm trying to make, and that wouldn't be interesting," he told the Roanoke Times.
    Mr. Keesee said he is a little uncomfortable with some of the anger generated by the strip but has no plans to stop.
    Blake Fought, sports editor of the student newspaper, said the cartoon should be stopped or at least vetted by a third party before being published to prevent the rancor on campus from turning ugly.
    Mr. Fought said he understands free speech but thinks a line needs to be drawn, especially when the press lampoons something as personal as religion.
    "I don't like the ones about Muhammad either," he said.
    Mr. Keesee argues that those who get angry over his cartoon Jesus miss the larger message.
    "I just want to tell them to lighten up," he said. "Most times, there's a point to it."

Campus cartoons of religious figures create furor

[Shammu]

The Christians are coming, the Christians are coming
By Shlomo Shamir

NEW YORK - Rabbi James Rudin is less scared by global terror threatening American democracy, or by the conservative administration based on a pious president in the White House, which is threatening individual liberty and the freedom of worship. He is more bothered by the campaign currently being conducted for the takeover by the Christian religion of all areas of life in the United States. This is "the most significant internal struggle since the Civil War," says Rudin, a Reform rabbi who is accepted in the United States as an authority on interreligious relations.

In his book "The Baptizing of America," recently published by Thunder's Mouth Press, and in conversations, Rudin does not hesitate to use blunt language to demonstrate the danger that is inherent in the words he has chosen for the subtitle of his book: "The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us." He set about writing the book after he retired from his position as head of the committee on interreligious relations at the American Jewish Committee, a position in which he served for 35 years.

"While America is currently fighting a global war against international terrorism, there is an equally important war going on within the United States," argues Rudin, and like the Civil War, "the outcome of today's conflict will decisively determine the future of the American republic. Christocrats are waging an all-out campaign to baptize America. It is a struggle that will decide whether the United States remains a spiritually vigorous country but without an officially established religion, or whether America will become Christianized."

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In an interview, he repeatedly stressed to the American public the same warning he wishes to instill through the book. He says that the outcome of the struggle will determine whether "America will become 'Christianized,' a land in which the religious beliefs and practices of Christian conservatives become the dominant faith: a legally mandated American theocracy exercising control over all aspects of our country's public and private life."

In his position at the AJC over the years, Rudin maintained many ties with churches and Christian institutions of various sects and communities. Therefore, he says today, it is necessary to stress that those who are leading what he defines as a "campaign to baptize America" are a minority among the organized Christians in the United States. But he immediately adds that they are a strong and aggressive group, with motivation and financial resources.

In his book Rudin calls the Christian elements who are involved in promoting the baptizing of America "Christocrats." He explains this is not a new term in America and that it was first used by Benjamin Rush, a physician who was among the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Rush used the term "Christocrat" in a positive way - to encourage the integration of Christianity and democracy and to emphasize the founding fathers' religious tolerance. Rudin dismisses the terms "fundamentalism" and "religious extremism." According to him, Christocrats is a more precise term for defining the fanaticism and devotion of those who are working to turn America into a country of a single religion.

"Christocrats are most likely evangelical Protestants, but they can be conservative Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodox Christians. Most of today's Christocrats are white, but an increasing number of Blacks and Hispanics also merit that term of identification," he says.

Aware of the affection that prevails in Israel for American evangelicals, Rudin warns against ignoring the distinction they make between Judaism and the State of Israel. He says that they declare their love of Israel, but they do not love Judaism; they wave a placard that on one side says "We love Israel" and on the other, "Jesus is the Savior." According to Rudin, there is proof that central members of the evangelical movement are involved in activity that aims to revile Judaism.

Christocratic republic

The increased efforts to impose Christianity on America, warns Rudin, will lead to a Christocratic republic different from anything ever experienced in the United States. The scenario that he describes in his book is nearly apocalyptic: Every major aspect of life will be under the supervision and control of the Christocrat leaders.

"In the current war, Christocrats seek permanent control of the major political, cultural, educational, medical, judicial, economic, media and legal institutions of the United States," he says.

James Rudin is not the only senior figure in the Jewish community who has raised an outcry in the face of the Christian activity gathering momentum. A few months ago the director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, attracted media attention in a speech he delivered at an organization conference. He warned that the organized Christian establishment has recently increased efforts to change the balance between religion and state that has thus far been scrupulously maintained in the United States. Foxman warned of the creeping spread of religious fundamentalism.

In a paper written by experts from the Anti-Defamation League, which included documented information on the activity of radical Christians in the United States, there is a quotation from D. James Kennedy, the head of Coral Ridge Ministries: "Our job is to reclaim America for Christ whatever the cost and to exercise godly dominion over every aspect and institution of human society."

The Presbyterian church that he established in Florida now has 9,000 members and the school affiliated with it has 1,000 students. In addition, Kennedy controls a television network and radio stations. In fiscal year 2004 he raised donations amounting to $22 million.

Rudin devotes a number of pages in his book to the activities of Evangelical preacher Rod Parsley, the leader of a mega-church in Columbus, Ohio that controls financial resources estimated at about $40 million and operates a network of 400 television stations and cable channels. Parsley frequently tours the United States and appears at mass meetings under the slogan "No More Silence." In his sermons he exhorts the evangelical believers to play what he calls "an active role in the local and national political arena."

Rudin explains that the Christian campaign is carried out mostly on the local level and in the municipal arena and therefore does not reach the center of the public discourse. He notes, for example, that evangelicals have been taking control of public funds - federal or state - in the communities where they are active. The monies are directed to funding Christian schools or church charitable institutions. In the United States there is a phenomenon of the establishment of Bible classes at workplaces, in which prayer services are held. Participation is not compulsory, but employees are told that their participation is desirable and valued.

"The evangelicals feel like they are under siege," says Foxman. "In their opinion, a culture war has broken out in America. These feelings have strengthened their aspiration and their efforts to deepen Christian influence in America."

Foxman thinks that last year's Super Bowl half-time show, in which Janet Jackson was seen revealing a breast, was traumatic for many evangelicals and has made their reaction more extreme. It is no coincidence that in recent months the public polemic on the issue of abortion has flared up. At the same time, the evangelicals in the United States have found a tempting field of action in the debate over whether it is permissible to teach intelligent design theory in schools as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

Rudin and Foxman agree that the aspiration to give Christianity the status of the preferred religion does not carry anti-Semitic messages, However, warns Rudin, there have been many "nations where religion and state have been inextricably ensnared, with disastrous results."

'Vicious cycle'

Michelle Goldberg, an investigative journalist who writes for the online magazine Salon, says that this is "a vicious circle. George Bush came into power with the help of the evangelicals, and now they are getting stronger with his help."

Some of the gigantic evangelical churches, the mega-churches, in states like Ohio and Colorado, says Goldberg, function in fact like branches of the Republican Party.

Goldberg has gained fame for the systematic watch she keeps on the activities of the evangelical church heads and its documentation. Her book "Kingdom Coming" (published by W.W. Norton), will be distributed to the shops in May.

"The churches, which are recognized as tax-exempt institutions, are prohibited from having any involvement in election campaigns," explains Goldberg, "but the evangelical churches have discovered a sophisticated way to circumvent the prohibition. They hitch a ride on an issue like single-sex marriage, and in the case of a fight for principle they initiate political operations for the benefit of candidates."

In her book Goldberg surveys the operational patterns of key evangelical clerics, who declare openly that the height of their ambition is to impose Christianity on all areas of American life. "They aim to change not only the administration - but also the law, the judicial system, the schools and in effect to subordinate every area of life to Christianity," she says. In her opinion, too, the evangelical activity is not directed against Jews, but nevertheless she wonders what the place for Jews would be in a Christian America.

The Christians are coming, the Christians are coming

[Shammu]

Christians, God 'seen as fair game'
From:
Nicolette Burke

February 27, 2006
 

CHRISTIANS are seen as fair game when it comes to poking fun at religious icons, while Jews and Muslims are seemingly off-limits, Family First senator Steve Fielding said yesterday.
The Victorian senator has called for the Federal Government to ban an episode of US cartoon South Park titled "Bloody Mary" for its depiction of the Virgin Mary menstruating.

SBS Television has decided to "defer" the airing of the controversial episode, because of the "current worldwide controversy over cartoons of religious figures".

Overseas riots in reaction to newspapers publishing satirical cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed led to the deaths of nearly 30 people.

"How come Christians are such easy targets? How come it's okay to make fun of symbols at the heart of Christianity, such as the Crucifix or the Virgin Mary, but people seem to think twice before having a go at the Star of David or the Koran?" Senator Fielding said.

"We either respect the values and symbols of all faiths, or none. Yet there is a perception that Christians are fair game, but Muslims are off limits.

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"There is a view in the community that, while people criticise the violent response of some Muslims in other countries to negative comments about Islam, this sort of response works."

The episode has been condemned by Catholic leaders worldwide for attacking the much revered figure within the church.

The program shows a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding, taken to be a miracle and investigated by Pope Benedict XVI, who dismisses it as simply menstruation.

The Courier-Mail understands Communications Minister Helen Coonan does not have the power to order the broadcaster to ban the episode, however concerns about the content would be a matter for the Office of Film and Literature Classification, if it was likely to cause offence or incite violence.

Senator Coonan said yesterday that she welcomed the decision of SBS to put its plans to air the episode on hold, after the outbreak of violence surrounding other displays of religious intolerance.

"I acknowledge the sensitivities surrounding the depiction of the Virgin Mary in this manner and I welcome the decision by SBS to defer it," she said through a spokeswoman.

When the episode was screened in New Zealand, it attracted 210,000 viewers - six times the regular South Park audience.

It also attracted hundreds of protesters who held a vigil outside the NZ television station.

Christians, God 'seen as fair game'

[Soldier4Christ]

Israel to keep PA from getting Iran cash
Herb Keinon, THE JERUSALEM POST    Mar. 1, 2006

Israel will find ways to block the flow of Iranian money into the West Bank if Teheran delivers on its promise to give a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority $250 million, a senior diplomatic official said Tuesday.

The official was responding to a report that appeared in the London-based Dar al-Hiyat newspaper that Iran would allocate $250 million to the Palestinian Authority to replace the funding withheld by Israel and the United States.

In an interview with the newspaper, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said that he officially approved the Iranian support for the new Hamas-led PA.

The Israeli official said that while it would be more difficult to keep the money from flowing into Gaza banks, Israel could prevent it from reaching the West Bank.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas concurred, saying in a television interview that the money would not find its way to the PA without Israel's agreement.

Officials in Jerusalem did not seem overly concerned that a western freeze of money to the PA would chase the Palestinians into the open arms of the Iranians, with the feeling being that the Iranians were "bluffing" and that no one country could replace the billions of dollars of international aid provided the PA.

The Iranian aid offer also provided the Palestinians with a dilemma, Foreign Minister spokesman Mark Regev said.

Ultimately the incoming Palestinian leadership will have to choose if it wants to conform to international norms, recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce terrorism, accept signed agreements and change their covenant, or to chose to stand with the extremists who are international pariahs," he said.

"If they chose to act like a pariah, they can't blame the international community for treating them like one," Regev said.

The issue of channeling funds to the Palestinians, without it strengthening Hamas or being diverted for terrorist purposes, will be at the center of two days of talks Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will have Wednesday and Thursday in Europe.

Livni is scheduled to hold talks Wednesday afternoon in Austria, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, followed by meetings in Paris in the evening, and talks in London on Thursday.

Diplomatic officials said one proposal she would likely hear was to funnel the money directly to Abbas in order to give him leverage over Hamas, an idea Israel has opposed because of a concern that this money would end up in the PA coffers that Hamas would soon control.

Diplomatic officials said that while Livni may hear some proposals Israel might not accept, there was little difference between Israel and the European Union's position regarding the need for funding to be stopped unless Hamas fundamentally changed its positions.

The officials said that Livni would try to impress on her interlocutors the need to keep up a united front regarding Hamas, and the need for "Hamas to adapt to the world, not the world adapt to Hamas."

In addition to Hamas, the discussions are also expected to focus on the Iranian nuclear issue.

While in Paris, Livni is scheduled to meet with the leadership of the local Jewish community as well as pay a visit to the family of Ilan Halimi, the French Jew tortured and murdered last month.

[Shammu]

U.S. to vote against U.N. Human Rights Council
Bolton calls proposal to revamp Human Rights Commission 'unacceptable'

Updated: 6:24 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2006

UNITED NATIONS - The United States announced its opposition to the proposed new U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, putting the U.S. administration on a collision course with many U.N. members, key human rights groups, and a dozen Nobel peace laureates.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the United States will vote against the latest proposal for the council unless negotiations are reopened to address what it views as serious deficiencies, especially the chance that countries abusing human rights can become members.

General Assembly President Jan Eliasson and Secretary-General Kofi Annan both indicated they want to see action on the draft resolution this week and no new negotiations.

At stake is whether the compromise proposal by Eliasson to revamp the widely criticized and highly politicized Human Rights Commission with a new Human Rights Council significantly improves the U.N.’s human rights machinery.

Bolton told reporters Monday it was “unacceptable.” Supporters — including Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu — said it is a significant improvement and should be approved even though it doesn’t go as far as many of them wanted.

Human Rights Commission criticized
The Geneva-based Human Rights Commission has been attacked for allowing some of the worst-offending countries to use their membership to protect one another from condemnation or to criticize others. In recent years, commission members have included Sudan, Libya, Zimbabwe and Cuba.

A primary U.S. goal in the negotiations has been to ensure that human rights offenders are barred from membership on a new council. It wants a permanent body of 30 members chosen primarily for their commitment to human rights that would deal with major rights violations.

Under Eliasson’s proposal, the 53-member Human Rights Commission would be replaced by a 47-member Human Rights Council that would be elected by an absolute majority of the 191-member General Assembly — 96 members. The United States, Annan, and human rights campaigners wanted a two-thirds majority to try to keep countries abusing human rights off, but faced strong opposition, especially from developing countries.

The new draft does toughen the criteria for membership: Every member must “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and have their human rights record reviewed during their three-year term. Eventually, all 191 U.N. member state would face such scrutiny.

The proposal also contains provisions to allow members of the new Human Rights Council to call special sessions to deal with human rights emergencies — and to suspend a member for “gross and systematic” rights violations.

New options for discredited commission
Annan first proposed replacing the discredited commission in March 2005. At a U.N. summit in September, world leaders agreed, but left the details of the new council to the deeply divided General Assembly. After months of highly contentious negotiations, Eliasson presented his final proposal last Thursday and called for quick action — hopefully by consensus.

Bolton immediately expressed reservations and said the General Assembly should consider the possibility of reopening negotiations between nations — not using a “facilitator” like Eliasson.

But Eliasson, Annan, human rights groups and many diplomats warned that reopening the text would almost certainly weaken it.

“We don’t think it’s acceptable,” Bolton told reporters Monday. “I say this more in sorrow than in anger, but we’re very disappointed with the draft that was produced last Thursday.”

“My instructions are to reopen the negotiations and to try and correct the manifold deficiencies in the text of the resolution or alternatively to push off consideration of the resolution for several months to give us more time,” he said.

If Eliasson still intends to put the draft to the General Assembly in a day or two, Bolton said, “we will call for a vote and vote no.”

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Annan on Sunday and they discussed the Human Rights Council, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. She had no details, but presumably Rice informed the secretary-general of the U.S. opposition.

U.S. to vote against U.N. Human Rights Council

[Shammu]

Hu Jintao Warns Taiwan on Independence

By DEAN VISSER, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 28, 2:53 PM ET

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao denounced the Taiwanese president's decision to scrap an agency dedicated to uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland, and warned Tuesday that Beijing will not permit the self-ruled island to pursue formal independence.

Hu's criticism came amid a series of stern Chinese statements Tuesday that vilified Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian but refrained from repeating Beijing's frequent threats to attack the island, which it claims as part of its territory.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the United States, Taiwan's only major ally, to block any moves toward independence for the island, split from the mainland since 1949.

Hu accused Chen of taking a "dangerous step" toward independence.

"We will continue to strive for the prospect of peaceful unification, but we will never allow Taiwan to be split from the motherland," state media quoted Hu as saying.

The high-level warning reflected the depth of Beijing's alarm at Chen's decision Monday to abolish the National Unification Council along with guidelines calling for uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland.

Chen "is determined to push 'Taiwan independence' to create antagonism and conflict within Taiwan and across the strait," the ruling Communist Party said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

"It will only bring disaster to Taiwan society," the statement said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli, speaking before China reacted to Chen's decision, appealed for calm and urged both sides to resume stalled talks on closer relations. Ereli called on Chen not to take any unilateral steps to change Taiwan's status.

"We will continue to hold President Chen by his commitments not to take unilateral moves," Ereli said. "We will be following events closely."

Japan urged Taiwan and China to hold talks to ease tensions.

"Japan does not want to see military or political tensions rising regarding the issue involving Taiwan, and hopes that the issue will be solved peacefully through dialogue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoshinori Katori said in a statement. "Japan doesn't support any one-sided attempt from either side to change the current situation."

Beijing has repeatedly accused Chen of secretly plotting to declare formal independence — a step that it has said could lead to war.

The Foreign Ministry urged Washington "get a clear understanding of the serious and harmful nature of the secessionist activities by Chen Shui-bian."

The U.S. government should "take concrete actions to oppose secession activities of Taiwan independence," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

Washington has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but maintains extensive unofficial relations and is obligated by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.

China has refused to have any contact with Chen or his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, and frequently targets both with threatening rhetoric.

The two governments have no official diplomatic relations, but trade, business and tourism ties are flourishing.

Beijing has hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan, just 100 miles off its southeastern coast. The mainland holds annual war games that include simulated assaults on offshore islands, and fired missiles into the sea near Taiwan during its 1996 presidential election in an effort to rattle voters.

The official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial Tuesday that Chen's moves "threaten to destroy peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region." Beijing often uses the English-language newspaper to make announcements aimed at foreign audiences.

Hu Jintao Warns Taiwan on Independence

[Shammu]

Soviet Union ordered Pope shooting: Italy commission
Thu Mar 2, 2006pm ET171

By Philip Pullella

ROME (Reuters) - Leaders of the former Soviet Union were behind the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981, an Italian parliamentary investigative commission said in a report.

A final draft of the report, which is due to be presented to parliament later this month, was made available to Reuters on Thursday by the commission president, Senator Paolo Guzzanti.

"This commission believes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leadership of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate Pope John Paul," the report said.

"They relayed this decision to the military secret services for them to take on all necessary operations to commit a crime of unique gravity, without parallel in modern times," it said.

The report also says "some elements" of the Bulgarian secret services were involved but that this was an attempt to divert attention away from the Soviet Union's alleged key role.

A 36-page chapter on the assassination attempt was included in a wider report by parliament's Mitrokhin Commission, which probed the revelations of Vasili Mitrokhin, a senior Soviet archivist during the Cold War who defected to Britain in 1992.

The Pope was shot in St Peter's Square on May 13, 1981 by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca, who was arrested minutes later and convicted of attempted murder.

At the time of the shooting, events in the Pope's Polish homeland were starting a domino effect which was eventually to lead to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.

The Pope was a staunch supporter of Poland's Solidarity union and most historians agree he played a vital role in events that led to the formation of the East Bloc's first freely elected government and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

LACK OF EVIDENCE

At a trial in 1986, Italian prosecutors failed to prove charges that Bulgarian secret services had hired Agca to kill the Pope on behalf of the Soviet Union.

The report said "Bulgarian authorities at the time lied as did the witnesses they sent" and added that "responsibility of some elements" of Bulgarian secret services "certainly exists".

In Sofia, the government rejected the report's assertions.

"For Bulgaria, this case closed with the court decision in Rome in March 1986," Foreign Ministry spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev said. He also referred to comments made by the late Pope who said during a visit to Bulgaria in May 2002 that he never believed in the Bulgarian connection.

Guzzanti, a senator in Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, said the commission decided to re-open the report's chapter on the assassination attempt in 2005 after the Pope wrote about it in his last book before dying.

In that book, the Pope said he was convinced the shooting was not Agca's initiative and that "someone else masterminded it and someone else commissioned it".

Guzzanti said his commission heard from investigators in Italy and elsewhere who had probed both the assassination attempt as well as other Cold War-era crimes.

He said the commission had photographic evidence that Sergei Antonov, a Bulgarian cleared of conspiracy at the 1986 trial, was in St Peter's Square with Agca when the Pope was shot.

"We gave the pictures to two independent experts who analyzed them with computers and both concluded that the man was Antonov who had claimed to be in his office at the time," he said.

The photos first emerged in the 1980s but lawyers for Antonov, who worked in the Rome office of Bulgaria's state airline, said the man was a tourist who resembled him.

Soviet Union ordered Pope shooting: Italy commission

[Shammu]

US Profited From Mohammed Cartoons Scandal

Created: 28.02.2006 18:05 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:05 MSK

The chief producer of the Arabic service of the Russia Today TV channel, Akram Husam \, discusses who could be behind the Muhammad cartoons scandal and of Russia’s controversial relations with Hamas.

Why, in your opinion, has a conflict developed with regard to the Muhammad cartoons? Who profits from this scandal?

I believe this scandal is of a political rather than religious nature. Certainly, there are Islamic organizations connected with certain forces in the West and their aim is to cause the Arab states to quarrel with Europe. It is known that after the September 11 events, millions of dollars were transferred from banks in the U.S. to Europe. And now there are forces interested in bringing this money back to the United States. Each country has used the cartoon scandal to solve its own problems. Both Iran and Syria have problems in relations with the world community. In Lebanon, society is split into pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian groups.

As is known, ’the Iran dossier’ is being widely discussed now, and it is in the interests of Iran to see to it that this issue is absent from the agenda, on one hand, and that it becomes the center of the Islamic world, on the other. Besides, the UN Security Council will soon consider the situation around Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri.

At the same time it is noteworthy that in Saudi Arabia, where radical Islamic organizations are principal players, there are no disturbances of such a scale as in these three countries.

’The cartoon’ scandal is profitable to the U.S. who condemned the publication of the cartoons thus looking concerned for the image of the Muslims in the eyes of the public. But I do not understand why one would set the Danish and Norwegian embassies on fire, whereas the Islamic world should focus precisely on the United States as the country that has as much as occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, not just drew some cartoons or spoke bad of Islam.

I believe it will continue, since there are forces interested in keeping up this conflict. The only way out is to express protest, if any, only in a peaceful way.

Why did protesters in Lebanon deliver their main blow on Christians?

It was not aimed at Christians. Those who organized this action did know that the Danish embassy is located in a Christian quarter and, naturally, some sought to cause Christians to quarrel with Muslims. Thank God, it failed, otherwise a civil war would break out. Thank God, Christians did nothing in response.

Do you think the head of a state should apologize for the actions of an independent newspaper?

That there is freedom of speech in Europe is a fact for me, just as it is a fact that governments in European countries cannot interfere in the work of the mass media. I do not understand why many demand an apology from Denmark which does not bear any responsibility for the policy of a particular periodical. So, the way in which the Islamic world has reacted to the publication is a way of silencing the press and journalists, and it is very dangerous.

I would like to add however that, on one hand, I am for freedom of expression, but on the other, I cannot approve of involving religious symbols, especially because it is the Prophet Mohammed in this case.

What do you think of Russia’s decision to invite Hamas leaders to Moscow?

It is a very important, and I would say, historic statement of the Russian president, especially when made against the background of Bush’s administration’s accusations of Hamas as a terrorist organization. In my opinion, the Russian initiative relieves the tension that has been created by the U.S. At the same time, Russia has shown the United State indirectly that there should be no double standards with regard to the elections in the Palestinian Authority. I suppose Russia will play a considerable role after the failure of the U.S. in the Middle East. The success of the Russian leadership’s initiative will depend in many ways on whether they will be able to come to a compromise with Israel.

US Profited From Mohammed Cartoons Scandal

[Shammu]

Saudi Qaeda ideologue sets rules for oil war: Web
Thu Mar 2, 2006am ET166

By Ghaida Ghantous

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda has advised followers to attack pipelines in Saudi Arabia and Iraq but to steer clear of oil wells because they are the lifeline of Muslim states, according to a two-year-old document recently posted on the Web.

The guidelines in al Qaeda's war against "crusaders" and U.S.-allied governments were laid out in a manifesto written by Abdulaziz al-Enezi, arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and described by the Saudis as a prominent ideologue of al Qaeda.

In the manifesto, which was recently posted on an Islamist Web site, Enezi said disrupting oil supplies was the best way to hurt the U.S. economy and destabilize the Saudi royal family.

The document said Saudi state-owned refineries and oil pipelines and Iraqi facilities were "all in the hands of infidels."

"It is permissible to target oil interests held by infidels ... including American and Western oil tankers," Enezi said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has since 2003 been battling al Qaeda militants bent on toppling the pro-U.S. monarchy and expelling Westerners from the birthplace of Islam.

Al Qaeda claimed a foiled suicide attack on an oil facility last week in the kingdom and vowed more attacks in response to a call by al leader Osama bin Laden to target oil installations.

The attempted assault on the world's largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq was the first direct attack on a major oil Saudi target and sent jitters through international oil markets.

Fares bin Houzam, an expert on al Qaeda, told Reuters that Enezi had been considered Saudi al Qaeda's "information minister" and a spiritual guide to the group.

PIPELINES BEST TARGET

Enezi said oil pipelines were the easiest targets because they were hard to protect, less costly to fix and attacks on them did not rob Muslims of their oil wealth.

"Targeting oil pipelines is of huge benefit in spiting the enemies ... pipelines may well be the frontline in a long-term war of attrition on oil and its interests," he said.

In Iraq, repeated attacks by insurgents on pipelines in the north have made it difficult for the country to boost its oil exports, the main source of government revenue.

Enezi said government-owned refineries and oil plants were also good targets. But the al Qaeda ideologue said oil wells should be avoided because any attack on them would cause economic and environmental damage to the people of the country.

"The wells will be needed when the Muslim nation is victorious and retakes its possessions and would be very costly to repair," he said.

A successful strike on the Saudi oil industry would be a major coup for al Qaeda, hitting at the heart of a decades-old U.S.-Saudi alliance, and a nightmare for oil consumer nations as the kingdom accounts for around a sixth of the world's exports.

Analysts have said that the kingdom's security measures would make it very difficult for militants to stage a successful attack on vital oil installations in the Gulf Arab state.

Saudi Qaeda ideologue sets rules for oil war: Web

[Shammu]

Iran Blames U.S. of Destroying Russian Efforts to Solve Nuclear Problem

Created: 02.03.2006 12:19 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 12:26 MSK, 22 hours 23 minutes ago

MosNews

Iran top nuclear negotiators have accused the United States of trying to destroy Russian efforts to solve the Iranian nuclear problem.

The AFP quoted one of the Iranian officials, Ali Larijani, as saying at a press conference in Moscow that “the Americans’ insistence on referring the Iran nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council signifies the destruction of the Russian proposal.”

Larijani called the United States an “obstacle” to the Russian plan. “We think that, in ideal circumstances, the Russian proposition can be developed,” he said. “We are trying to take positive steps in order to successfully implement the Russian proposal.” But even after Iran and Russia stated that they had held constructive negotiations, “the Americans announced that they were worried”.

The negotiator blamed the United States of lies when they say that Iran is pursuing the goal of creating nuclear weapons. “This does not correspond to reality,” Larijani said.

“I would suggest that the Americans say one thing but in reality are putting a spanner in the works of the Russian proposal. Obviously it is not in the Americans’ interest that such a successful regional proposal should come from Russia,” he said.

He was speaking a day after Iran and Russia failed to reach a breakthrough in high-stakes talks in Moscow on a Russian proposal aimed at resolving the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear program, a plan centering on joint enrichment of uranium at a facility on Russian soil. Larijani noted however that the negotiations were very useful and said Moscow and Tehran were in agreement on a number of issues. But he admitted that no date had been set for further consultations between Russia and Iran.

Larijani said Russia and Iran had dicussed a number of proposals which he said needed to be examined in a single package with a view to carrying out the Russian proposal for uranium enrichment and preserving Iran’s rights to develop civilian nuclear power.

Iran Blames U.S. of Destroying Russian Efforts to Solve Nuclear Problem

[Shammu]

Abbas: Al-Qaida Has Infiltrated Gaza Strip

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 2, 3:11 PM ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published Thursday that the al-Qaida terror network has infiltrated the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which could have dire consequences for the Middle East.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in response Thursday that Israel was intensifying its "war" against al-Qaida.

Abbas said in an interview with the London-based Al Hayat newspaper that he had not expected al-Qaida would succeed in setting up operations in the Palestinian areas.

"We have signs of an al-Qaida presence in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas said, without elaborating. "We haven't yet reached the stage of capturing them."

"The infiltration of al-Qaida can ruin the whole region," he added.

Asked to comment on Abbas' remarks, Olmert said Israel was aware of al-Qaida's attempts to set up operations on its borders.

"There are, of course, attempts by terror elements, including international ones, to extend their reach in areas adjacent to us," Olmert told reporters in Jerusalem, adding he did not know what information Abbas' remarks were based on.

"We are systematically intensifying our war," he said, adding that "all restraints have been lifted on security forces where preventing and thwarting (terror) is concerned."

Israel has in the past warned that al-Qaida was operating in the Gaza Strip, and arrested a Palestinian allegedly working with the group.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in September, relinquishing control of the border crossing with Egypt through which many Palestinians enter Gaza.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has repeatedly cited Israel as a target, and the Palestinian cause as one of the reasons for the network's attacks.

Last year, Jordan's King Abdullah said he was convinced al-Qaida had set up terror cells in Israel.

Abbas: Al-Qaida Has Infiltrated Gaza Strip

[Shammu]

Iran Says U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Is Biased (Only because Iran hasn't been able to bully the IAEA. .. DW)

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 48 minutes ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Iran's hardline president accused the U.N. nuclear watchdog Friday of "politically motivated" behavior over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and threatened the downfall of "bullying" Western powers and "Zionists."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an audience in Malaysia that the International Atomic Energy Agency's "treatment of the Islamic Republic of Iran is politically motivated."

The IAEA board of governors meets in Vienna, Austria, Monday to recommend action on Iran's nuclear program to the
U.N. Security Council, which has the power to issue sanctions against the Muslim theocracy.

Ahmadinejad did not refer directly to the meeting or the possibility of sanctions, but he charged that the IAEA was biased because a majority of its board of governors are Westerners.

Nineteen of the 35 nations on the board of governors are Muslim, Latin American, Asian or African.

During a question-answer session after the speech, Ahmadinejad said that 18 of the 35 members on IAEA's board are "chosen from Western allies."

"Regrettably most international organizations have turned into political organizations and the influence of great powers prevents them from taking fair and legally sound decisions," Ahmadinejad said.

Iran is under pressure from the IAEA to show that its nuclear program is not intended to make atomic bombs. Iran says it only wants to use nuclear power to generate electricity.

On Thursday, Ahmadinejad said Iran wold not surrender its "inalienable rights" to nuclear power.

He also asserted that a wave of awareness sweeping the fragmented Muslim world "will turn into a gigantic force" that will engulf current political alliances.

"Domination and bullying will not last much longer," he said in a lecture in Kuala Lumpur on the last day of a three-day official visit. "Bullies and Zionists beware! You are going to fall!"

Ahmadinejad attributed most of the problems faced by the Muslim world to the "hegemonic tendencies" of bullying powers, an apparent reference to the United States and Europe.

A former Teheran mayor who took office last June with the backing of his country's hardline clergy, Ahmadinejad has provoked outrage with statements that Israel should be "wiped off the map" and that the Holocaust was a "myth."

For 60 years, Muslims have lived in anger because of the "occupying Zionist regime," he said Friday. "Not a day goes by without Palestinians being killed, their houses destroyed ... . Unfortunately today the self-appointed champions of human rights are the main backers and full supporters of the Zionist regime."

He also lashed out against European newspapers for publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, noting that it is illegal to deny the Holocaust in some European countries.

Iran Says U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Is Biased

[Shammu]

14th-Century Shipwreck Found in Stockholm

By MATTIAS KAREN, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 2, 8:52 PM ET

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Archeologists have found a shipwreck from the late 1300s buried in the mud of a bay in central Stockholm, officials said Thursday.

They are now awaiting permission to excavate the wreckage — one of the oldest ever found in the Swedish capital — hoping it will shed light on shipbuilding techniques and trade in the 14th century.

Experts say they might be able to bring the ship up on land, as was done with the 17th century warship Vasa, which is now housed in a museum that is one of Stockholm's main tourist attractions.

Parts of the wreckage are protruding from the brackish sediment at a depth of about 30 feet in the Riddarfjarden bay leading into the heart of Stockholm, National Maritime Museum officials said.

Archeologists found it last year when examining the planned site for a new train tunnel. They have now dated the ship to between 1350 and 1370, and believe it sank sometime in the 1390s.

"This is really exciting," said Marcus Hjulhammar, project leader for the museum.

"What is so special is that it is under water, here in Stockholm," he said. "That makes it much more likely that it is well-preserved than if it had been on land."

Shipwrecks have a decent chance of being well-preserved in the low-salt waters of the Stockholm archipelago because of the lack of wood-eating shipworms.

If the entire ship — the size and type of which are unclear — is still intact, its cargo could give historians a better idea of trading that took place in the area at the time.

There is a large crack in the hull, which had been covered by a piece of leather that had been nailed to the boards, Hjulhammar said.

"That is a sign that this ship was very worn down, and it is possible that this repair work is part of the reason it sank," he said. "My spontaneous reaction was that the repair was rather clumsily done."

The museum is awaiting permission from the county government to dig out the remaining parts of the ship, Hjulhammar said. They would then decide whether it is possible to bring it up on land.

"But it depends on how eroded it is," he said. "It may turn out that it is better to let her lie."

14th-Century Shipwreck Found in Stockholm

Museum Web site: http://www.maritima.se

[Soldier4Christ]

Oil Prices Rise on Supply Fears
Oil Prices Rise on Iran, Nigeria Supply Worries; Had Dipped Earlier Friday on Profit-Taking

Mar 3, 2006 (AP)— Oil prices rose Friday on lingering fears of supply disruptions out of Nigeria and Iran.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 31 cents to settle at $63.67 on the New York Mercantile Exchange its highest settlement price since Feb. 6.

Gasoline futures rose 5.06 cents to settle at $1.7431 a gallon, while heating oil rose less than a cent to $1.8128 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to settle at $6.79 per 1,000 cubic feet.

"The geopolitical situation regarding crude oil is stirring a tremendous amount of buying interest," said Ed Silliere, vice president of risk management at Energy Merchant LLC in New York.

Prices had slipped earlier in the day, as traders took profits from crude's recent rise more than $2 from Monday's settlement price of $61 a barrel. On London's ICE futures exchange, Brent crude edged 11 cents lower to settle at $64.18 a barrel.

But in New York, traders returned to buying later in the day, and crude extended its climb. "They don't care if it's been up all week," Silliere said.

Data Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Energy showed domestic petroleum inventories are well above average levels for this time of year. But traders remain concerned about threats to oil facilities from Nigerian militants, Iran's nuclear ambitions and terrorist strikes on oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Talks between European Union negotiators and Iran over its nuclear ambitions broke up Friday without any agreement, ministers said.

Tehran has insisted it wants uranium enrichment only to generate electricity, not for nuclear arms, but the United States and its allies have argued that this is not the case.

The talks came three days before an International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting to begin Monday. The board's recommendation to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions, will likely help determine its immediate course of action on Iran, the No. 2 oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

"The fear there is that if there's a sanction proposed and recommended, it's only a matter of time before Iran plays the oil card," said John Kilduff, analyst at Fimat USA. "That's what's keeping us at around $63 a barrel."

Meanwhile, attacks on the oil industry in the Niger Delta have held back about 455,000 barrels per day in crude production nearly 20 percent of the country's output for almost two weeks after militant assaults on facilities and hostage-taking.

Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the 11th largest in the world.

Analysts see more attacks in the months ahead with Nigerian presidential elections next year and militants making financial and political demands on the government and Western oil companies that are unlikely to be met.

"These are newer, bigger worries for the energy market," Kilduff said.

Amid supply concerns, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday that OPEC members should consider production cuts of 500,000 to 1 million barrels of crude a day at the cartel's meeting planned for March 8.

Frederic Lasserre, head of commodities research at Societe Generale in Paris, said he thinks OPEC will continue its current production quota because it would be difficult to justify cuts when oil is trading near $64 a barrel.

[Shammu]

China to Increase Military Budget to $35B

By ALEXA OLESEN, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 4, 6:28 AM ET

BEIJING - China's military budget will rise 14.7 percent this year to $35.3 billion, a government spokesman said Saturday.

The increase will be spent on salaries, new equipment, training and higher fuel costs due to soaring oil prices, said Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for China's parliament, which opens its annual session on Sunday.

Jiang said China is a "peace-loving nation" and that despite the increase, its military budget is still relatively low.

China has announced double-digit spending increases for its 2.5-million-member military nearly every year since the early 1990s, causing unease among its neighbors.

Beijing's true military spending is believed to be as high as several times the reported figure, which doesn't include weapons purchases and other key items.

China has spent heavily in recent years on adding submarines, jet fighters and other high-tech weapons to its arsenal to back up its frequent threats to attack Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory.

A U.S. government report issued in July said China also is building up its military to be able to project power beyond Taiwan.

The Pentagon budget issued in January says that in future, China will have "the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States."

China to Increase Military Budget to $35B