News, Prophecy and other

[Shammu]

Biblical Response To Katrina Disaster

GULFPORT, Miss., Jan. 17, 2006
The North Carolina Baptist Men have been trucking in supplies to rebuild at least 600 homes. (CBS/The Early Show)

"Well, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. My Lord and Savior tells me that part of my duty as a Christian is to help the folks who need help and these folks obviously need a lot of help."
Volunteer Michael Holdcraft

   
(CBS) Gulfport, Miss., was one of the communities hit hard when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in August. Describing the storm, some people said the hurricane was of biblical proportions.

The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith caught up with a group of volunteers who found a biblical response to the disaster.

Few people would think of sheet rock and dry wall as modern day manna but this building material is precious stuff on the Gulf Coast. Those supplies are trucked in by The North Carolina Baptist Men.

"By putting hands to their faith and their compassion, it's a way to do something about what they've seen on TV and a way to help people," says Executive Director Richard Brunson.

The Baptist Men have their own lumber yard full of supplies and a bunk house in Gulfport's old National Guard Armory. There are several hundred volunteers working six days a week.

Brunson says the group's goal is to rebuild 600 homes.

"And it'll take at least two years — and there are more than 600 people on our list now so we'll do more than 600," he says.

Ethel Kendrick's house was in such bad shape she just wanted to leave it behind, but the Baptist men, women and kids stepped in.

"I thank God for them. I thank God for them, I really do," she says.

The volunteers in Kendrick's house are all from Asheville, N.C., and come from all walks of life. One sells insurance, another is a medical technician, and another is a retired Air Force colonel. Each building site has a man or two with real construction experience to guide the work, which means that novices can help out.

Volunteer Michael Holdcraft says it is his duty to help out.

"Well, this is what I'm supposed to be doing," he says. "My Lord and Savior tells me that part of my duty as a Christian is to help the folks who need help and these folks obviously need a lot of help."

It takes about two weeks for the Baptists to strip out and rebuild the inside of a house. So far they put in more than 30,000 volunteer days in Gulfport.

"It looked like a swirling river inside my house. All over all my furniture was turned upside down and was going all over," remembers Bonny Perry, whose home was ruined by Katrina.

Perry, who figured she would have to live in a FEMA trailer for two years, admits she was scared when the storm struck. "I don't think I'm staying for the next hurricane."

"We didn't have enough insurance money to put the house back together and my daughter says 'Mom, this is the one time in your life when you're going to have to have faith,' " says Perry.

She put her name on a list and soon the Baptists were in her house banging away. The only thing that keeps her now from moving in is carpet and linoleum, and Perry says she is returning her trailer to FEMA.

Asked how rewarding the experience of helping has been, Holdcraft says, "This does nothing but make you feel great. Most of the folks have been here several times and once you get home you feel like you want to come back again."

Speaking to Smith on Tuesday morning, Mayor Brent Warr says there is a mood of "anxious anticipation" in Gulfport.

"You know, it feels kind of like spring here right now," he says. "People are ready to get back building, but they're not sure their home will be worth as much as it should be, especially if they don't get insurance money and have to put their own money into it."

Some people have said they feel the insurance companies have been dragging their feet.

"A lot of commercial businesses have been paid. Residents — of course, everybody that worked here, had a home and lived here — they're waiting with baited breath and frustration is definitely getting high," Warr says.

Biblical Response To Katrina Disaster

[Shammu]

Faith guides his chisel
Aurora artist erects a colossal monument of Ten Commandments in an inspired mission.

Ryan Slight
News-Leader

AURORA — Jim Luce isn't demanding you turn from your wicked ways.

The retired Aurora artist just hopes motorists driving on Lawrence County K are inspired by the massive Ten Commandments sculpture under construction on his property, one he hopes is the world's largest.

Luce was compelled to erect the monument — two stones more than 15 feet tall and weighing more than 11 tons — after surviving a May 2003 tornado that destroyed his property. Two stone tablets grace the 16-acre property where horses grazed before the storm.

Guinness World Records is researching to determine whether any known Ten Commandments sculptures are larger, Luce said. While public displays of the religious laws have prompted controversies across the Ozarks and the nation in recent years, Luce doesn't want to make a political statement.

"If anyone goes by and it makes them feel good, or maybe they think twice about doing something they shouldn't do, I just think it's a good thing that needs to be done," he said.

Luce paused, running a hand over his beard in the dining room of his rebuilt home.

"Well, I have to do it, whether I want to or not," he added with a chuckle, referring to a perceived heavenly request.

So far, the 47-year-old builder said passersby have offered only support for the markers, which dot the horizon about 60 feet from the roadway as drivers head south into Aurora.

Luce said his intense desire to construct the tablets began six months ago while cutting wood outside. He hopes to finish later this year.

The retiree had many reasons to ignore the compulsion. He's had three strokes. With two children in college and his schoolteacher wife pursuing a master's degree, there was little money to splurge on gigantic monuments.

"It may sound goofy, but it was like talking to the Lord in my head or something. It may sound corny, but it just wouldn't let me go till I finally said 'OK,'" Luce said.

The Aurora man responded by selling his golf clubs and several pieces of a gun collection. He also cut back on expenses such as trash collection and satellite service to help fund an estimated $9,000 in tools and materials.

Luce already had the hefty stones on his property. He created a concrete and steel base in November, and his sons helped him put up the limestone blocks the day after Christmas.

He works alone on the project daily, sometimes for several hours depending on the weather or his stamina. He ascends a ladder to chisel the surface, moving carefully to avoid cracks. Several commandments in two-inch letters are already visible in an outline for Luce to carve.

The translation was the oldest he could find, Luce said. It predates the King James version, but uses similar language.

"I've had a couple of friends ask me about Hebrew or Aramaic," he said.

Luce, who has years of experience with stone work, rejected more contemporary techniques such as lasers, sandblasting or water jet cutting.

"That goes against my grain, because I'm an old-stuff guy," he said.

Neighbor Roxanne Owens recalled seeing Luce covered with dust from hammering when she walked over to check on the sculpture's progress.

A supporter of the project, Owens said the result of Luce's talent and vision would make drivers take a second look. It was remarkable considering the difficulties Luce has endured, she said.

"When the tornado damaged his home and blew everything away, it was amazing to watch him rebuild," Owens said.

After Luce saw a funnel approach his home on May 4, 2003, he and his family dashed into the hallway and said their goodbyes. The twister flattened the house and destroyed a horse barn. Several horses and a baby buffalo died.

Nearly three years later, a few fallen trees still line his property. But Luce says he's convinced God spared his life in the storm.

COMMANDMENTS IN COURT

The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, is a list of religious rules that God gave the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai and engraved on two stone tablets, according to the Bible.

The laws, which forbid actions such as killing, lying, theft and adultery, are featured prominently in Judaism and Christianity.

Luce was inspired by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was suspended in 2003 for his refusal to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse rotunda.

"I'd like to meet that guy someday, (who) actually took his faith and stepped out from his job. How many people would have the courage to do such a thing? That's the kind of guy I think I would like to be," said Luce, who was raised Pentecostal but later converted to Catholicism.

Moore's stance was one of several debates to occur over Ten Commandments displays.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 last year in a Texas case that a granite monument on the Capitol grounds in Austin was an appropriate show of historical significance.

However, the Supreme Court also ruled 5-4 that a Kentucky Ten Commandments display on the walls of two courthouses weren't meant as a tribute to the nation's legal history.

Faith guides his chisel

[Shammu]

Temple in upheaval over Sri Lankan First Lady's faith

January 17, 2006

Less than three weeks after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse prayed at the Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayoor, Kerala, the temple authorities have posed a question to the state government: Is the president's wife, Shiranthi Rajapakse, a Christian?

Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapakse's visit to the famed temple has kicked up a row in Guruvayoor and Colombo.

Last week Sri Lankan newspaper Sunday Leader published a report following rediff.com's special report on how the Guruvayoor temple allows Buddhists and Jains to worship but bans entry to people from other faiths.

Sri Lankan newspapers, which followed up the story, probed the Sri Lankan first lady's religious antecedents. The reports said Shiranthi, a Catholic by birth, converted to Buddhism. The reports also mentioned her religious contacts with Christian leaders in Sri Lanka, including Oswald Gomis, the archbishop of Colombo.

Rediff India Abroad Managing Editor Aziz Haniffa, a keen Sri Lanka watcher, says Shiranthi was born Christian. "She converted to Buddhism before she got married to Mahinda Rajapakse," he said.

The Sri Lankan newspaper reports have troubled the Guruvayoor temple authorities, who have now asked the Kerala government to confirm if Shiranthi is a Christian or a Buddhist.

"If she is a Christian, she committed a grave religious mistake by entering our temple and praying here," Chennas Raman Namboodiripad, the chief priest at the Guruvayoor temple told rediff.com

He said if the Sri Lankan president's wife is a Christian, "the temple is duty-bound to perform all the poojas from December 30 (the day of the visit) to the present date."

"We will also have to undertake cleansing because if non-Hindus enter the temple, we cleanse the holy precincts with a set of purifying religious rituals," the chief priest pointed out.

Temple administrator K Anil Kumar said the Sri Lankan president and his wife were allowed to worship after the temple authorities confirmed with the state government that the couple were Buddhists.

"We had informed the government that non-Hindus are prohibited entry inside the holy precincts. We do not know why the Sri Lankan government did not reveal the truth if Shiranthi Rajapakse is a Christian," Anil Kumar told rediff.com

He said the temple administration has asked the state government to officially confirm whether she is a Christian or a Buddhist. "If she is a Christian, as news reports now suggest, we will have to cleanse the temple," the administrator added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Kerala government said President Rajapakse phoned Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to inform him that his wife is a Buddhist. "'Some anti-government lobby in Sri Lanka is behind the allegations'," the spokesperson quoted the Sri Lankan leader as telling the chief minister.

Rajapakse, a Buddhist, prayed for 'peace in my country' and offered a gold crown to the diety.

By worshipping at the temple, Rajapakse said he fulfilled a vow made during the presidential election, which he won on November 17.

The Guruvayoor temple bars people from other religions from entering the shrine.

Some years ago, legendary singer K J Yesudas, who has sung several songs in praise of Lord Krishna, was barred entry into the temple because he is a Christian.

Five years ago, Congress General Secretary Vayalar Ravi's son was married in the Guruvayoor temple. Days later, a purification rite was performed to cleanse the temple premises since Ravi's wife is not a Hindu, but a Christian.

Temple in upheaval over Sri Lankan First Lady's faith

[Shammu]

Torture spurs man to fight for religious freedom

By MIKE MASLANIK

Finger Lakes Times


NEWARK — Seven hellish days of torture in an Egyptian prison did nothing to diminish Muslim-turned-Christian Majed El Shafie’s faith in God, but it did ignite a passion for helping other persecuted Christians worldwide.

El Shafie, founder of Toronto-based One Free World Ministries, will share his harrowing story and testimony at 7 p.m. Sunday at Em-manuel United Methodist Church in Newark. Through his ministry, he has reached out to lawmakers in the United States, Canada and Israel to relieve the plight of persecuted Christians in Asia and the Middle East. El Shafie urges love and forgiveness in the face of terrible hardship.

“I decided to forgive those who tortured me, but with forgiveness comes action,” he said. “We have to help the people that are suffering for their beliefs.”

Born into a prominent Muslim family in Cairo, El Shafie seemed destined to go into law. His father and brother are successful attorneys and an uncle serves as a judge on a high court.

“When you’re born into a family like this, you have lots of books on law, justice and freedom,” he said.

While studying law in Alexandria, El Shafie was shocked to see the harsh treatment of Christians. Building churches is illegal in Egypt, he said, and Christians are treated worse than second-class citizens.

Struck by this intolerance, El Shafie began studying the Bible. In 1998, when he was about 20, he converted to Christianity and organized an underground congregation that attracted 24,000 worshippers within two years.

It was literally an underground church, worshipping in caves near the outskirts of the city.

El Shafie ran afoul of the Egyptian government when he appealed for equal rights for Christians. He also took issue with the harsh teachings of the Koran, which the government used to justify persecuting Christians.

“It’s not that they’re bad because they’re Muslims,” he said. “Our problem was with their teaching of Islam.”

He was arrested and confined in Abu Jaabel prison in Cairo, a place locals call “Hell on Earth,” he said. The government charged him with inciting a revolution, trying to change Egypt’s religion to Christianity and “worshipping and loving Jesus Christ.”

While they had him in custody, police tried to get him to name names. El Shafie refused.

“They told me, ‘If you want to play tough, we can play tough,’” he said.

Authorities took El Shafie to an underground portion of the prison and tortured him for seven days straight, he said, noting they shaved his head and held him under scalding hot then freezing cold water. He was hung upside down and beaten with belts, burned by cigarettes and had his toenails torn out.

In a final insult, he said prison guards tied him to a cross and left him there for two days.

“The only thing I could remember was the taste and smell of my own blood,” he said.

El Shafie remembers losing consciousness and waking up in a hospital bed. A guard tipped him off that he was about to be executed, so he escaped out of a back window, he said.

When the government learned of El Shafie’s escape, it issued a $100,000 fatwa on his head, he said.

“My picture was on TV and in the newspapers, so I knew I couldn’t stay in Egypt,” he said, describing an escape reminiscent of a James Bond movie.

He said he rode across the Red Sea on a jet ski, crossed the Sinai Desert and turned himself in to the Israeli government. He remained in Israeli custody for 16 months while the United Nations and Amnesty International investigated his story. He was finally granted political-refugee status and emigrated to Toronto.

El Shafie emerged from his experience a hardened advocate for persecuted Christians.

“This whole thing changed my life,” he said. “I’m not giving up because I know people are going through that.”

Becoming a Christian cost El Shafie his home and his family, who have since disowned him, but he gained a new purpose in life.

Since founding the 1,000-member strong One Free World Ministries, El Shafie has been lobbying for condemnation for regimes that persecute Christians. He has also raised money to send farming equipment to Christian communities in the Middle East and Asia.

Every year, 165,000 Christians are killed for their beliefs, he said, in places like North Korea, China and Saudi Arabia. It’s the duty of all people to recognize this harsh treatment and to do something to stop this suffering, he said.

To all governments that persecute Christians, El Shafie offers this message:

“The persecuted Christians are dying, but they’re still smiling. They’re in a deep mine, but they’re holding the light of the Lord. You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”

Torture spurs man to fight for religious freedom

[sincereheart]

“The persecuted Christians are dying, but they’re still smiling. They’re in a deep mine, but they’re holding the light of the Lord. You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”

 

[Shammu]

Shame, not sanctions, initial UN goal for Iran

By Evelyn Leopold 2 hours, 14 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - If Europeans and the United States succeed in referring Iran's nuclear program to the
U.N. Security Council, sanctions or other enforcement actions would be a long way off, if imposed at all.

But at a minimum the West is counting on a political and diplomatic embarrassment for Tehran, which this month removed U.N. inspection seals on uranium enrichment equipment, deepening suspicions it is seeking nuclear arms.

Otherwise Tehran would not be fighting a referral, diplomats and other experts say.

"Iranians are very proud and don't want to become a pariah state like North Korea," said Edward Luck, a Columbia University professor specializing in U.N. affairs. "I think they would find it very unattractive."

Russia, and especially China, are against imposing penalties on Iran, although Moscow has moved closer to Western views on a referral to the Security Council. Both nations, along with the United States, France and Britain, have veto power in the 15-member council.

Even if no oil embargo or blanket sanctions are enacted, the council could impose an arms embargo, a travel freeze on individuals or call on countries to reduce diplomatic ties, Luck told Reuters.

Other possibilities include granting the IAEA enhanced powers to conduct intrusive inspections in Iran.

Council diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was still pending, envision a step by step approach that would slowly ratchet up pressure.

The first move probably would be an appeal to Iran to abide by recommendations from the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy Agency, which has sent inspectors to Iran. The council would also ask IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei to submit a report within a month.

RACHET UP PRESSURE

"Even a debate in the council, perhaps at the foreign minister's level, raises the ante and political tensions in capitals around the world that Iran is not meeting its obligations and appears to be developing an independent nuclear capability. It's not good news for Iran," Luck said.

Nevertheless there are risks involved, as in the case of North Korea, whose nuclear arms program was considered by the council in early 2003 but failed to lead to any U.N. action, although it spurred China into renewing six-party talks.

Iran has said its program is designed to produce energy only, its right under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But the scale of the program, built in secret over 18 years, has fed suspicions that it is a cover for weapons.

For U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, getting Iran on the Security Council agenda is itself a priority. "I think the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons program is a classic threat to international peace and security," Bolton said on Tuesday.

"This will be a test for the Council, and appropriately so, because the Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile delivery systems threatens their region and threatens the world as a whole," he told reporters.

The timing could not be better should the IAEA governing board at its next meeting make a decision on the Security Council. Bolton takes over the Security Council's rotating presidency in February and can influence the agenda.

Iran says its program is designed solely to generate electricity. But the United States is convinced Tehran is researching nuclear fuel for weapons-grade programs.

So far, the IAEA has not found proof of a weapons program, but Iran's cooperation with inspectors has been shaky, and many questions remain unanswered.

Shame, not sanctions, initial UN goal for Iran

[Shammu]

China, Russia would fight Iran oil sanctions: experts

By Chris Baltimore Wed Jan 18, 10:16 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
U.N. Security Council heavyweights China and Russia have too much riding on
Iran's energy sector to let the West slap sanctions on Tehran to punish its nuclear ambitions, experts say.

Fears of supply disruption from the world's fourth largest crude exporter, along with rising tensions in fellow
OPEC member Nigeria, sent U.S. crude oil futures to a three-month high near $67 per barrel this week.

The United States and three European Union nations are pressing the 15-member U.N. Security Council to take up the Iranian nuclear issue, which could open the door to potential oil sanctions.

But two key U.N. Security Council members that carry veto powers -- China and Russia -- have multibillion-dollar oil and natural gas projects hanging in the balance, and China depends on Iran's imports to quench its oil thirst.

"I have a hard time seeing how oil investments could be targeted given the interests of Russia and China," said Julia Nanay, a senior director at PFC Energy in Washington.

Iran wants to sign a major oilfield deal to give China's Sinopec a stake in the giant Yadavaran oilfield in southern Iran, which could require investment of at least $2 billion.

And Russia's LUKOIL holds a minority stake in the Anaran field in western Iran near the Iraqi border.

Iran raised the stakes in its row with the West this month by removing U.N. seals on equipment that purifies uranium, which can be used for power, or if highly enriched, in bombs.

The United States and the European Union's three biggest powers said talks with Iran on the issue were at a dead end, and moved to refer the matter to the Security Council.

Tehran denies accusations it is seeking nuclear weapons and says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

China has blocked Security Council efforts to sanction countries like Sudan, where China has a huge oil deal. Sudan's Darfur region is beset by widespread violence between fractious rebel groups, government forces and a government-backed militia.

China's thirst for oil has made it cordial with nations that have raised U.S. diplomatic hackles -- including Iran, Sudan and OPEC member Venezuela.

"I think sanctions that impact oil flows from Iran are very unlikely," said Jamal Qureshi, also with PFC Energy. "The Chinese are major importers of Iranian crude and they would not be too happy to see that." China imported about 300,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude in 2005.

China's oil demand is expected to grow about 14 percent by 2007 to hit 7.9 million bpd, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, versus U.S. demand growth of about 3 percent.

Other major buyers of Iranian crude oil include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Europe, according to the EIA, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy.

If Iran halted exports of around 2.4 million bpd, the rest of the world's spare capacity would not be able to make up the shortfall, making $100 per barrel crude oil prices highly likely in the short term, experts said.

Iran has warned that oil prices would rise "beyond levels the West expects" if its opponents pursued punitive sanctions, and says it could repatriate an unknown amount of oil earnings it holds in foreign accounts.

ACHILLES HEEL

Instead of oil sanctions, experts expect a step-by-step application of sanctions that could restrict travel visas, air flights, spare parts, arms sales or gasoline to Iran.

"Iran's vulnerability is its gasoline imports," said James Placke, senior associate with Cambridge Energy Research Associates and a former U.S. diplomat.

According to the EIA, Iran in 2005 imported about 170,000 bpd, or about a third of its gasoline supplies.

Some warn that Iran could retaliate against international pressure and unilaterally rein back its crude oil exports.

"Oil is now going to be their weapon of choice," said Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

"If the Security Council ultimately passes a sanctions resolution that has some teeth in it, the Iranians will respond in some way," Placke said. "You can count on it."

Others disagree.

"Iran is not going to shut the spigots -- they need the money," PFC Energy's Nanay said. "But if there's a U.N. referral, I can see the markets getting jittery."

The U.S. Congress could beat the U.N. to the punch.

The Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005, which is making its way through Congress, would expand sanctions for doing business with Tehran.

The Bush administration has pressed to stall the bill while it pursues a diplomatic solution.

China, Russia would fight Iran oil sanctions: experts

[Shammu]

Nigeria militants say every oil producer at risk
Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:29 AM ET

By Tom Ashby

ABUJA (Reuters) - Militants behind a string of attacks aimed at disrupting the Nigerian oil industry said they intended to target all producers in the country in a message where they singled out U.S.-based Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which has caused major disruption at Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and is holding four foreign oil workers hostage, said it has also attacked installations run by France's Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Italy's Agip, a unit of ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research).

"We have decided not to limit our attacks to Shell oil as our ultimate aim is to prevent Nigeria from exporting oil," the militant group said in an email statement to Reuters.

So far, Shell is the only major operator to have said it suffered at the hands of the militants, who demand greater control over the delta's enormous oil wealth for the impoverished local people.

"The reports of attacks on Agip and Total flow stations are correct," the group said. "We will attack all oil companies including Chevron facilities."

Spokesmen for the French and Italian companies in Nigeria dismissed the statement.

Analysts say the violence is part of growing political rivalry between the regions in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, ahead of 2007 presidential elections.

Widening attacks would escalate the ethnic group's campaign against oil pipelines, platforms and workers in the world's eighth largest oil exporter.

Agip spokesman Akin Aruwajoye said: "We have not been attacked." Total's Fred Ohwahwa said: "Nothing has happened to any of our facilities."

FOUR MONTH HIGH

Oil prices climbed to their highest level in almost four months on Wednesday as the group's threats exacerbated the markets' concerns about the OPEC cartel's capacity to meet demand. Nigeria is a leading OPEC member.

U.S. crude oil <CLc1> climbed as far as $66.91 a barrel, the highest since September 30, and was up 54 cents at $66.85 at 1230 GMT. London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up 45 cents at $65.35.

Shell, the largest producer of oil in Nigeria's delta, said it was keeping 221,000 barrels a day of production shut, roughly 10 percent of the West African country's output.

Shell evacuated 330 workers from four oil platforms after a militant attack on Sunday which killed four soldiers. It said in a statement it was reviewing its staff deployment, after the militants repeated threats to target oil employees.

"Pipelines, loading points, export tankers, tank farms, refined petroleum depots, landing strips and residences of employees of these companies can expect to be attacked," the group said. "We know where they live, shop and where the children go to school."

Wednesday sees the expiry of a 48-hour deadline set on Monday by the hostage-takers for their demands to be met. The four hostages are an American, a Briton, a Bulgarian and a Honduran.

The group demands local control of the Niger Delta's oil wealth, payment of $1.5 billion by Shell to the Bayelsa state government to compensate for pollution, and the release of three men including two ethnic Ijaw leaders.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) dismissed a report that loadings at two major Nigerian oil terminals, which export almost a quarter of the country's oil, were suspended because of fears of an attack.

"Producing operations are continuing at all facilities and loadings are taking place within normal operational variants," said a statement from the company issued late on Tuesday.

Under standard oil export contracts exporters are allowed a window of several days to load tankers and so brief suspensions in loadings do not prevent them from meeting obligations.

Nigeria militants say every oil producer at risk

[Shammu]

Last update - 14:28 18/01/2006            
Khamenei: Iran won't buckle if pressed on nuclear program
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and news agencies

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday the world could not deflect Iran from its "scientific developments," a reference to mounting pressure over the country's nuclear program.

Britain, France and Germany, which suspect Iran's nuclear scientists could be working on weapons, have drafted a resolution seeking that Iran be referred to the U.N. Security Council, where it could face sanctions.

"The Islamic Republic, based on its principles, without being scared of the fuss created, will continue on its path of scientific developments and the world cannot influence the Iranian nation's will," state television quoted him as saying.

"We are not after nuclear weapons and the West knows this because obtaining nuclear weapons is against the country's political and economic interests and is against Islamic teachings," added Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters.

Iran says it needs nuclear technology to meet booming demand for electricity.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency has accepted that we are now part of the atomic club," the leader said.

Israel in talks with U.S., EU over sanctions
Israel is in advanced talks with the United States and European countries over a package of sanctions that would be applied against Iran should it continue its nuclear program.

The goal is to have the package ready to go the moment a political decision is made to apply sanctions.

Israel is urging the international community to transfer Iran's case to the UN Security Council, which can authorize sanctions. The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is the body authorized to refer cases to the Security Council, will meet on February 2 to discuss the issue in light of Tehran's recent decision to resume research on uranium enrichment.

Under the guidance of an interministerial committee on Iran's nuclear program, headed by Mossad chief Meir Dagan, various Israeli agencies, both defense and civilian, have prepared proposals for diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran that could be applied either by the Security Council or by the European Union and other countries independently. These ideas have been presented to American and European officials over the last two months. Some of them are as follows:

* Sanctions against Iranian oil exports. According to the defense establishment's analysis, an oil embargo would hurt Iran more than it would hurt the West, since Iran's economy is wholly dependent on oil. Moreover, Iran refines little oil itself, so the country also depends on imports of refined products. Sanctions would cause oil prices to rise, but no country depends wholly on Iranian oil.

* Banning Iran's soccer team from this summer's World Cup.

* Denying visas for foreign travel to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian officials involved in the country's nuclear program.

* Halting the IAEA's technical cooperation with Iran on nuclear issues.

* Restricting landings by Iranian civilian aircraft.

Israel believes it is necessary to increase the pressure on Iran by confronting it witha clear threat, as opposed to the vague warnings uttered to date. The Iranians have toughened their stance in the months since Ahmadinejad's election, first verbally withdrawing from their agreement with the EU to halt uranium enrichment, then resuming
uranium conversion (the first step toward enrichment), and now resuming enrichment research. But at each stage, the West has reacted rather than issuing clear warnings in advance. Israel argues that this order should be reversed.

Russia, which has a Security Council veto as well as close ties with Iran, is considered key to imposing and enforcing sanctions. Yesterday, a group of senior Israeli officials, headed by National Security Adviser Giora Eiland and Atomic Energy Commission Director Gideon Frank, flew to Moscow to discuss the Iranian issue. They will meet today with senior Russian officials.

Israeli officials believe Russia will abstain in the IAEA vote on referring Iran to the Security Council, but will urge that action be postponed in order to give negotiations time. Next month, senior Iranian officials will visit Moscow to discuss a proposal that Iran enrich uranium in Russia rather than on its own soil, thereby making it harder to divert enriched uranium to nuclear weapons.

Israel considers Iran's nuclear program its greatest national security threat. Acting Premier Ehud Olmert, commenting on this issue for the first time Tuesday, declared: "Israel cannot allow someone who has such evil intentions against us"  a reference to Ahmadinejad's recent threats to "wipe Israel off the map"  "to have control over a destructive weapon that could threaten our existence."

Israel's strategy has been to focus on diplomatic channels and to let the international community take the lead on this issue. However, it has also worked to develop military responses to the threat if needed, including through recent agreements to purchase two submarines from Germany and "bunker-busting" bombs from the U.S.

Khamenei: Iran won't buckle if pressed on nuclear program

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'PC' Holocaust Museum challenged
Authors on terrorism say facility should address Islamic violence
Posted: January 18, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A group of activists and authors specializing in Islamic terrorism will gather today in Washington, D.C., to challenge the U.S. Holocaust Museum to portray the realities of the threats posed against Israel and Jews from radical Muslims.

According to a statement, the speakers will urge the Museum to "face the reality that recent threats against Israel by several Islamic leaders essentially constitute a declaration of war," said Chuck Morse, author of "The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism."

Morse's book traces the actions of Haj Amin al-Husseini, "the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem," as a Nazi agent airing anti-Semitic broadcasts, conspiring to consign thousands of Jewish children to death and guiding assassinations against moderate Arab leaders, using funds confiscated from prominent Jews.

"The storm clouds gathering over the Middle East are being seeded by the feckless response of 'politically-correct' apologists to accelerated threats against Israel and Jews internationally," the statement said.

Morse said today's news conference at the National Press Club will present information "of grave national import to all Americans as we observe leaders in Iran and Egypt mimicking Nazi-style propaganda against the Jews in an attempt to intimidate and unnerve Israel and the Western democracies."

Muslim brotherhood chief Mohammed Mahdi Akef recently characterized the Holocaust as "a myth," echoing a statement issued earlier by Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

According to the statement, Morse will be joined at the event today by Kenneth Timmerman, author of "Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown With Iran," Carol Greenwald, chairman of Holocaust Museum Watch, and Shelomo Alfassa, director of the International Society for Sephardic Progress.

'PC' Holocaust Museum challenged

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Hillary's comments 'way out of line'
McClellan responds to senator's comparison of House to 'plantation'
Posted: January 17, 2006
6:17 p.m. Eastern

By Les Kinsolving
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan today told reporters Hillary Clinton's comments about the House of Representatives being run like a "plantation" were "way out of line."

WND asked McClellan about the remarks, made at a church in Harlem, N.Y., yesterday during an MLK Day celebration.

At the event, Clinton said, "When you look at how the House of Representatives has been run, it's been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about." She went on to say, "I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country."

"I think [the comments] were way out of line," McClellan said.

The spokesman also criticized former Vice President Al Gore for comments slamming the president over wiretapping by the National Security Agency.

"I think his hypocrisy knows no bounds," McClellan said of Gore.

WND also asked McClellan about 15 Cuban refugees who landed on the Florida Keys Flagler Bridge recently but were sent back because they didn't set foot on land.

"Since Ramon Sanchez of the Democracy Movement is into his 11th day of a hunger strike in protest [of the refugees being sent home], when will the president announce a review of this policy?" asked WND.

"I think our policy is very clear when it comes to Cubans coming to the United States," said McClellan. "And we expect that policy to be followed in the way it was spelled out, the 'wet foot, dry foot' policy, that is."

Hillary's comments 'way out of line'

My note; What bets do you want to make, we hear nothing from the ACLU.

[Shammu]

January 17, 2006

Redmond pastor urges boycott
Companies that support state gay rights bill targeted

By RACHEL LA CORTE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- A pastor has called for a national boycott of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and other companies that have come out in support of a gay civil rights bill, saying Monday that the companies have underestimated the power of religious consumers.

The Rev. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond -- also home to Microsoft -- said he would officially be making the call for the boycott Thursday on a national conservative talk radio show, Focus on the Family.

"We're tired of sitting around thinking that morals can be ignored in our country," he said.

Hutcherson is opposed to a bill that would add "sexual orientation" to a state law that already bans discrimination in housing, employment and insurance based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, marital status and other factors.

The bill has been introduced -- and rejected -- annually for nearly 30 years in the Legislature.

The state House last year passed the bill 61-37, with six Republicans joining 55 Democrats in favor. But it lost by one vote in the Senate, where two Democrats, Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam and Tim Sheldon of Potlatch, joined 23 Republicans in defeating the bill.

The measure is believed to have a better chance of passage this year because a Republican senator has announced he would switch his vote to yes.

A House committee planned a public hearing on the bill today.

Redmond pastor urges boycott

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U.S. Strike Killed al Qaeda Bomb Maker
Terror Big Also Trained 'Shoe Bomber,' Moussaoui
By HABIBULLAH KHAN and BRIAN ROSS

Jan. 18, 2006 — - ABC News has learned that Pakistani officials now believe that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan.

Midhat Mursi, 52, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, was identified by Pakistani authorities as one of four known major al Qaeda leaders present at an apparent terror summit in the village of Damadola early last Friday morning.

The United States had posted a $5 million reward for Mursi's capture. He is described by authorities as the man who ran al Qaeda's infamous Derunta training camp in Afghanistan, where he used dogs and other animals as subjects for experiments with poison and chemicals. His explosives training manual is still regarded as the bible for al Qaeda terrorists around the world.

"He wants to cause mayhem, major death, and he puts his expertise on the line. So the fact that we took him out is significant," said former FBI agent Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant, who was the senior agent on the FBI's al Qaeda squad. "He's the man who trained the shoe bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, as well as hundreds of others."

Pakistani officials also said that Khalid Habib, the al Qaeda operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Abdul Rehman al Magrabi, a senior operations commander for al Qaeda, were killed in the Damadola attack. Authorities tell ABC News that the terror summit was called to funnel new money into attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

"Pakistani intelligence says this was a very important planning session involving the very top levels of al Qaeda as they get ready for a new spring offensive," explained Alexis Debat, a former official in the French Defense Ministry and now an ABC News consultant

As for Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 man, U.S. and Pakistani officials agree that it is still possible but increasingly unlikely that he was killed. If he is alive, he has lost many of those close to him, however.

"Zawahiri, if he slept three hours on a normal night, he's sleeping an hour and a half right now with his eyes wide open," Cloonan said. "He's looking around right now and wondering who handed him up. Not a nice feeling." 

U.S. Strike Killed al Qaeda Bomb Maker

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Iran Pres: West Sits in 'Ivory Towers'

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran — The United States and France rejected Iran's request Wednesday for more negotiations on the Islamic republic's nuclear program. As European countries pushed ahead with efforts to have Iran brought before the U.N. Security Council for its nuclear activities, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused them of trying to deprive Iran of peaceful technology.

"We are asking they step down from their ivory towers and act with a little logic," Ahmadinejad said. "Who are you to deprive us from fulfilling our goals?

"You think you are the lord of the world and everybody should follow you. But that idea is a wrong idea."

Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said he did not believe the country would be referred to the Security Council, which has the power to impose economic and political sanctions. However, diplomats say the council is unlikely to take those actions since China and Russia, two veto-wielding members, oppose referral.

Tehran's defiant tone came as the United States and France rejected Iran's request for a resumption of negotiations, saying Tehran must first suspend its atomic activities.

Iran asked for a ministerial-level meeting with France, Germany, Britain and the European Union, but its decision to resume some uranium enrichment-related activities "means that it is not possible for us to meet under satisfactory conditions to pursue these discussions," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Denis Simonneau said in Paris.

"Iran must return to a complete suspension of these activities."

Iran Pres: West Sits in 'Ivory Towers'

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 'This is how God punished us for invading Iraq'
By Harry Mount in New York
(Filed: 18/01/2006)

The mayor of New Orleans has provoked new outrage by calling Hurricane Katrina God's punishment for invading Iraq and insisting the city become "chocolate" again.

Mayor Ray Nagin, notorious for his outspoken, off-the-cuff rhetoric, also suggested that God was especially angry with black America for its treatment of its women and children.

"Surely God is mad at America," Mr Nagin, himself black, said at a ceremony to mark Martin Luther King Day. "He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane and it's destroyed and put stress on this country. Surely He's not approving of us being in Iraq under false pretences. But surely He's upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves, we're not taking care of our women, and we're not taking care of our children.

"What are we doing? Why is black-on-black crime such an issue? Why do our young men hate each other so much that they look their brother in the face and they will take a gun and kill him in cold blood?"

His diagnosis of the moral health of America's blacks, while bluntly expressed, is one shared by many political and church leaders. The comedian Bill Cosby has also voiced them in the past.
    
Katrina factfile

But it was the mayor's thoughts on the future racial make-up of the city - and his choice of language - that prompted the most disquiet. "It's time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," Mr Nagin said. "This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way."

Before Hurricane Katrina struck four months ago, scattering three quarters of its population, the city was indeed 68 per cent black.

The mayor's speech on Monday appeared to be aimed at black concerns that white residents would prefer that poorer blacks did not return to the city's ruins. But it seemed to backfire.

"Everybody's jaws are dropping right now," said Oliver Thomas, a black New Orleans city councillor. "Instead of the city being chocolate, we ought to be Neapolitan, fudge ripple, all the flavours together.

"Who really cares what the racial make-up of the city is as long as it works for everybody?"

This is not the first time that Mr Nagin has run into controversy. He aggravated chaos in the city when the hurricane struck by wildly overestimating the number of dead at 10,000. Estimates now put the figure at 1,400.

Mr Nagin has announced schemes such as a plan for seven new casinos, later dropped due to strong opposition.

He should have been seeking re-election next month but elections have been postponed as the city still does not have enough electricity, voting precincts or personnel to stage them.

13 January 2006: Outrage over Katrina rebuilding delay
10 December 2005: Official inertia may yet finish off the survivors of New Orleans
6 October 2005: New Orleans staff laid off

'This is how God punished us for invading Iraq'