Ahmadinejad: Britain, Israel, US to 'vanish like the pharaohs'

Ahmadinejad: Britain, Israel, US to 'vanish like the pharaohs'
Dec 20 4:41 AM US/Eastern

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has predicted that Britian, Israel and the United States would eventually disappear from the world like the Egyptian pharaonic kings.

"The oppressive powers will disappear while the Iranian people will stay. Any power that is close to God will survive while the powers who are far from God will disappear like the pharaohs," he said Wednesday, according to Iranian news agencies.

"Today, it is the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime which are doomed to disappear as they have moved far away from the teachings of God," he said in a speech in the western town of Javanroud.

"It is a divine promise."

Ahmadinejad's comments were the latest salvo by the deeply religious president against the West and Israel. He has repeatedly predicted that Israel is doomed to disappear.

The remarks come amid mounting efforts by UN Security Council powers to agree a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

"They are threatening us with sanctions. But they have to know that nuclear energy is the desire of all the (Iranian) people and the people will insist on their right," Ahmadinejad said.

Copyright AFP 2005
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Israeli military watches idly as rockets launched into Jewish cities

Israeli military watches idly as rockets launched into Jewish cities
Olmert's new rules of engagement restrains army from taking defensive actions
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Posted: December 20, 2006
9:47 p.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – The Israeli Defense Forces today spotted several Palestinian militants launching rockets from the Gaza Strip into nearby Jewish cities but were unable to take any defensive measures due to restrictions imposed by the government, WND has learned.

Military officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's security cabinet changed the IDF's rules of engagement after a cease-fire went into effect Nov. 26. Now, if Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are caught launching rockets at Jewish cities, the Israeli military is forbidden to respond.

Previously, the IDF used artillery units and aerial strikes against militants discovered in the process of launching rockets.

Today, the IDF spotted militants in northern Gaza setting up rocket launchers, military sources told WND. Two rockets then were fired into Israel and landed short at a Gaza-Israel crossing.

Minutes later, the IDF spotted more militants near the same northern Gaza location firing two rockets. Both landed just outside Sderot, an Israeli city about three miles from Gaza.

Then, military sources said, the IDF again spotted militants who this time fired two more rockets, one landing near Ashkelon, a strategic Israeli port city housing important infrastructure and electric facilities.

"We are frustrated just watching the rocket launchers being set up. There is nothing we are allowed to do," said a military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

"So far we've been lucky, but soon one of the rockets will kill someone and then questions should be asked about why we weren't allowed to do anything," the source said.

Today's rocket volleys were the latest in a series of Palestinian attacks since last month's cease-fire in Gaza went into effect.

The Islamic Jihad terror group took responsibility for today's attacks, saying in a statement the rockets were in response to the killings by the IDF earlier today of two wanted Islamic Jihad gunmen in the northern West Bank. The cease-fire agreement only extended to the Gaza Strip, allowing the Jewish state to carry out anti-terror activities in the West Bank.

Olmert: 'No good reason I shouldn't meet Abbas'

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said today Israel would "rethink" its policy of restraint if Palestinian terror groups continue to breach the cease-fire.

"Israel has no intention to gamble with the safety of its citizens, there is a limit to our restraint," said Peretz.

But Olmert said he had faith the cease-fire would work and that it could lead to a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.

He said he would be willing to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for peace talks in the near future.

"If it's possible to make [Abbas] happy and make me happy, then I can't see a reason not to do it, and hope that it will happen very soon," Olmert said during a press conference in Jerusalem with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Aides to Olmert said a "peace summit" with Abbas may be set up in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence officials warn Palestinians in Gaza continue to smuggle weapons into the territory from neighboring Egypt.

The intelligence officials told WND today the smuggling has "increased enormously" following the outbreak of violent clashes between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza after Abbas this weekend called for new Palestinian elections. Abbas' call was widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

Olmert didn't consult army before implementing cease-fire

The truce Israel agreed to last month called for a halt of smuggling activity by Palestinian groups in Gaza. It also called for a cessation of rocket attacks launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza aiming at nearby Jewish communities in exchange for Israel withdrawing its ground troops from the Strip and halting military activity in the territory.

In accordance with orders from Olmert, the IDF removed its troops from Gaza, but Palestinian militants have fired more than 30 rockets into Israel, including a volley hours after the cease-fire was signed.

Earlier this month, IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz told Israel's Knesset that Olmert did not fully consult with the Israeli army before agreeing to the cease-fire with Palestinian militants.

IDF sources and several prominent Knesset members said the cease-fire is damaging Israel's security by allowing Palestinian groups to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza. They said the truce would provide downtime for militants to train for attacks against Israel.

The IDF has been petitioning for a large-scale assault in Gaza.

The officials said that according to IDF assessments, the best options to stop the daily rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities and to halt the regular smuggling of weapons from neighboring Egypt include drafted plans to retake parts of Gaza.

They said other options presented to the Israeli government for a large-scale Gaza assault focusing on dismantling the terror infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip have also been rejected by Olmert.

The officials charged Olmert has been restraining the IDF from carrying out what the army believes are operations "crucial" for Israel's security.

IDF military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and Yuval Diskin, director of Israel's Shin Bet Security Services, both warned in recent speeches to the Knesset that if Israel doesn't launch a major offensive in Gaza, Palestinian groups there will soon have military capabilities similar to Hezbollah's in Lebanon.

Terrorists: Cease-fire means chance to reload

In a series of WND exclusive interviews conducted immediately after last month's cease-fire was finalized, leaders of the four largest Palestinian terror groups in Gaza said the new truce will be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza; reinforce and train "fighter units"; and produce rockets for a future confrontation with the Jewish state.

"The cease-fire offers a period of calm for our fighters to recover and prepare for our final goal of evacuating Palestine," said Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-allied terror organization in the Gaza Strip responsible for many of the recent rocket attacks against Israeli communities.

"We will keep fighting [Israel], but for the moment we will postpone certain parts of the military struggle," said Abu Abir. "We will reinforce very quickly and rush what we are doing to prepare [for attacks against Israel] in Gaza and in the West Bank."

Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called "military wing," told WND Hamas agreed to the cease-fire "because we need a period of calm to recuperate. This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace."

Abu Abdullah is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared military wing.

He pointed to Hamas' doctrine, which calls for the destruction of Israel and which refuses to recognize the Jewish state.

"The political leadership (of Hamas) will never compromise on these values," the terror leader said.

Abu Abdullah said Hamas has its own political reasons to respect the truce.

"We wish to show Islam as a ruling party is capable of leading the Palestinian people," he said. "Since Hamas was elected, we have been through only chaotic periods. We want a period of calm to prove we are not only a revolutionary movement but to show the Palestinian people our rule is without the corruption of (the rival) Fatah (party)."

But Abu Abdullah said the cease-fire would ultimately end in violence.

"All the Palestinian people and all the Muslims will launch a direct confrontation with Israel. This may come soon or it may take some time," Abu Abdullah said.

Abu Luay, a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, told WND Israel's call for a cease-fire "proves our rocket attacks work. The Zionists know there is now remedy for our rockets."

The Islamic Jihad leader said Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel would resume "at a time of our choosing."

Abu Ahmed, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, told WND his terror group would respect the cease-fire.

The Brigades, responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks, is the declared military wing of Abbas' Fatah party.

"We will respect the cease-fire as the president (Abbas) has ordered us to do," said Abu Ahmed. "We keep our right to respond to any Israeli aggression. Our group does not give up any of its ideals, which is a withdrawal of the Israelis."

According to senior military officials speaking to WND in recent weeks, Olmert has rejected a number of military plans outlined to him for a large-scale assault in the Gaza Strip that would include reoccupation of parts of the territory.

The officials said that according to IDF assessments, the best options to stop the daily rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities and to halt the regular smuggling of weapons from neighboring Egypt include drafted plans to retake parts of Gaza.

They said other options presented to the Israeli government for a large-scale Gaza assault focusing on dismantling the terror infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip also have been rejected by Olmert.

The officials charged Olmert has been restraining the IDF from carrying out what the army believes are operations "crucial" for Israel's security.

IDF military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and Yuval Diskin, director of Israel's Shin Bet Security Services, both warned in recent speeches to the Knesset that if Israel doesn't launch a major offensive in Gaza, Palestinian groups there will soon have military capabilities similar to Hezbollah's in Lebanon.

Congressman says Muslim lawmaker's election threatens US values

Congressman says Muslim lawmaker's election threatens US values

AFP/File Photo: Newly elected congressman Keith Ellison, D-MN, is seen on Capitol Hill in November 2006. Congressman...


WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US lawmaker stirred up controversy when he expressed uneasiness over the election of a Muslim to serve with him in the House of Representatives, which he said endangered "the values and beliefs traditional" to the United States.

"The Muslim representative from Minnesota (Keith Ellison) was elected by the voters of that district, and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran" in their swearing-in ceremonies, Goode said in a letter to one of his associates, sent to AFP Wednesday.

The powerful Muslim rights group CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, demanded an apology from Goode in response to the letter.

"Representative Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigotry."

Goode's spokesman said the lawmaker stood by his letter and would not offer any apology.

Ellison was also ordered by a conservative radio commentator, Dennis Prager, to take his oath of office using the Bible rather than the Koran.

"Mr. Ellison: America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath," argued Prager, adding that taking the oath using the Muslim holy book would disqualify Ellison from serving in Congress.

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

Border agents plead for 'Christmas pardon'

Border agents plead for 'Christmas pardon'
Congressman hosts rally asking Bush to stop 'miscarriage of justice'
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Posted: December 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Art Moore
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos embraced his wife, Monica Ramos, two days before he was sentenced to 11 years in prison (Courtesy El Paso Times)


A Border Patrol agent sentenced to prison along with his partner for shooting and wounding a man smuggling drugs into the U.S. will appear with a congressman tomorrow at a rally asking President Bush to offer a pardon.

Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, were sentenced to 12 years and 11 years, respectively, in October by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, Texas. The drug smuggler was granted immunity for his testimony.

Compean will be joined by family; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R, Calif.; Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist; and members of other border-security groups such as Friends of the Border Patrol at the courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time tomorrow.

Rohrabacher, noting the president already has received a letter about the case from more than 50 Congress members, is asking Americans to sign petitions and send e-mails and letters to the White House requesting a "Christmas pardon."

Grassfire.org has an online petition calling on Bush to pardon the agents, with more than 130,000 signatures.

"This is the greatest miscarriage of justice that I've seen in my career," Rohrabacher told WND. "Two brave Border Patrol agents trying to enforce the president's nonsensical border policy ending up being sent to prison, while an illegal alien drug smuggler is given immunity and walks free."

Compean's sister, of Huntington Beach, lives in Rohrabacher's Southern California district.

The White House has not responded to the letter, according to Rohrabacher, and did not follow up a request from WND for comment. Press secretary Tony Snow has said he cannot comment on presidential pardons.

Gilchrist said what has happened to the two agents is "atrocious," with "their lifes being ruined, their families being put in turmoil."

"We would expect the president to give a full and unconditional pardon to these two wrongly arrested, wrongly accused, wrongly convicted members of law enforcement," he told WND, "and retroactive pay and benefits they've lost over the past two years since they were originally arrested."

As WND has reported, a federal jury convicted Compean, 28, and Ramos, 37, in March after a two-week trial on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.

Ramos is an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve and a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year.

On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos responded to a request for back-up from Compean, who noticed a suspicious van near the levee road along the Rio Grande River near the Texas town of Fabens, about 40 miles east of El Paso. A third agent also joined the pursuit.

Fleeing was an illegal alien, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila of Mexico. Unknown to the growing number of Border Patrol agents converging on Fabens, Aldrete-Davila's van was carrying 800 pounds of marijuana.

Aldrete-Davila stopped the van on a levee, jumped out and started running toward the river. When he reached the other side of the levee, he was met by Compean who had anticipated the smuggler's attempt to get back to Mexico.

"We both yelled out for him to stop, but he wouldn't stop, and he just kept running," Ramos told California's Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

"At some point during the time where I'm crossing the canal, I hear shots being fired," Ramos said. "Later, I see Compean on the ground, but I keep running after the smuggler."

At that point, Ramos said, Aldrete-Davila turned toward him, pointing what looked like a gun.

"I shot," Ramos said. "But I didn't think he was hit, because he kept running into the brush and then disappeared into it. Later, we all watched as he jumped into a van waiting for him. He seemed fine. It didn't look like he had been hit at all."

The U.S. government filed charges against Ramos and Compean after giving full immunity to Aldrete-Davila and paying for his medical treatment at an El Paso hospital.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas issued a statement in September arguing "the defendants were prosecuted because they had fired their weapons at a man who had attempted to surrender by holding his open hands in the air, at which time Agent Compean attempted to hit the man with the butt of Compean's shotgun, causing the man to run in fear of what the agents would do to him next."

The statement said, "Although both agents saw that the man was not armed, the agents fired at least 15 rounds at him while he was running away from them, hitting him once."

Andy Ramirez of Friends of the Border Patrol said the drug smuggler has "fully contributed to the destruction of two brave agents and their families and has sent a very loud message to the other Border Patrol agents: If you confront a smuggler, this is what will happen to you."

The letter to Bush included the signatures of Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., the chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus.

"We ask that a full investigation of this case be ordered immediately," the letter said. "We are confident that during such an investigation you will find that these Border Patrol agents were acting within the scope of their duty and were unjustly prosecuted. Also, we ask that you use your power of presidential pardon, as granted by the United States Constitution in Article II, Section 2, to pardon these two Border Patrol agents. We understand these requests usually are for those that have already completed their sentences; however, we feel in this case it would be a miscarriage of justice to send these two Border Patrol agents to prison for protecting our nation's borders from an illegal drug smuggler."

Ahmadineajd: Iran now nuclear power

Ahmadineajd: Iran now nuclear power

Iranian president: Our scienists have reached zenith, accessed nuclear fuel cycle
Yaakov Lappin Published: 12.20.06, 13:14

Iran is now a "nuclear power," its President, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad, delcared Wednesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency .

During a speech delivered in the Western Iranian province of Javanroud, Ahmadinejad said: " The Islamic Republic of Iran is now a nuclear power, thanks to the hard work of the Iranian people and authorities."

The announcement of Iran as a "nuclear power" is bound to significantly escalate tensions between the West and Iran, and marks a dramatic stage in the Islamic Republic's nuclear campaign.

In recent days, the US military has begun to build up forces around the Gulf, in what is being seen as as a warning to Iran.

Ahmadinejad was also reported to have announced that "Iranian young scientists reached the zenith of science and technology and gained access to the nuclear fuel cycle without the help of big powers."

The Iranian president began the speech by saying that "the powerful Iranian nation resists bullying powers and will defend its rights, including the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology," the IRNA said.

In a clear rejection of all diplomatic attempts to prevent Iran from going nuclear, Ahmadinejad added in his speech that "the Iranian nation will continue in its nuclear path powerfully and will celebrate a nuclear victory soon."

The IRNA said Ahmadinejad was in Javanroud for a three-day tour along with members of his cabinet.

Jesus, Mahdi both coming, says Iran's Ahmadinejad

Jesus, Mahdi both coming, says Iran's Ahmadinejad
In New Year's greeting to Christians worldwide asks what Christ would do if he were here today?

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

In a greeting to the world's Christians for the coming new year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he expects both Jesus and the Shiite messianic figure, Imam Mahdi, to return and "wipe away oppression."

"I wish all the Christians a very happy new year and I wish to ask them a question as well," said Ahmadinejad, according to an Iranian Student News Agency report cited by YnetNews.com

"My one question from the Christians is: What would Jesus do if he were present in the world today? What would he do before some of the oppressive powers of the world who are in fact residing in Christian countries? Which powers would he revive and which of them would he destroy?" asked the Iranian leader.

"If Jesus were present today, who would be facing him and who would be following him?"

Ahmadinejad then made a connection between Jesus and the Imam Mahdi, believed by Shiites to have disappeared as a child in A.D. 941. When the Mahdi returns, they contend, he will reign on earth for seven years before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world.

"All I want to say is that the age of hardship, threat and spite will come to an end someday and, God willing, Jesus would return to the world along with the emergence of the descendant of the Islam's holy prophet, Imam Mahdi, and wipe away every tinge of oppression, pain and agony from the face of the world," Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad has been urging Iranians to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi by turning the country into a powerful and advanced Islamic society and by avoiding the corruption and excesses of the West.

He sees his main mission, as he recounted in a Nov. 16, 2005, speech in Tehran, as to "pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance."

With Iran's continued development of nuclear technology in defiance of the West, some analysts fear Ahmadinejad's intent is to trigger the kind of global conflagration he envisions will set the stage for the end of the world.

Ahmadinejad hosted a conference last week examining whether the Nazi genocide took place, drawing Holocaust deniers from around the world. The Iranian president has described the Holocaust as a "myth" and called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

"The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom." he said.

Last month, he said he believes the world is rapidly becoming "Ahmadinejadized," with global leaders following in his footsteps.

"I have traveled to all the continents except for one, and I know what is going on out there. Everybody is eager to hear the Iranian people's message," the Aftab-Yazd newspaper quoted the president as saying, according to Agence France-Presse. "The world is rapidly becoming Ahmadinejadized."

The hardliner said Iran's "two big missions are constructing the country and introducing a model for humanity."

Al-Qaeda Leader Captured in Iraq

Al-Qaeda Leader Captured in Iraq
CBN News
December 20, 2006

CBNNews. com - BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S.-led forces captured a senior al-Qaeda leader responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths and for sheltering multinational suicide bombers, the U.S. military announced Wednesday.

Without identifying him, the statement said the suspect was arrested on December 14 in Mosul, where he served as al-Qaeda's military chief in 2005 before assuming the same position in western Baghdad.

"The terrorist leader was attempting to flee from the location when coalition forces chased him across a street and detained him," the statement read.

"During that time, he coordinated car vehicle-borne improvised explosives device attacks and kidnap-for-ransom operations in Baghdad," the military said. It also cited reports stating that he organized an attempted attack on a U.S. military helicopter in May 2006.

"After a few months, he fled Baghdad due to coalition forces closing in on him," the statement said.

The military believes his capture will lead them closer to Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who took over as leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq after his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. airstrike last June.

Mouwafak al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser, said that 60 percent of al-Qaeda leadership in Iraq has been captured or killed.

Source: The Associated Press
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006

Encourage someone in jail just for being Christian!

Encourage someone in jail just for being Christian!
Voice of the Martyrs outreach sends messages of hope and support

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

When Pastor Hamid Pourmand, a former Iranian army colonel, was accused of apostasy from Islam and proselytizing Muslims to Christianity, both charges punishable by death, he appeared before an Islamic judge with his life hanging in the balance.

"I don't know who you are, but the rest of the world does," the judge said, and acquitted him of the counts.

That decision came even though he'd been a Christian for more than two decades and during his extensive military career had had his superiors acknowledge a number of times he was a Christian, even to the point of excusing him from observing Muslim fasting requirements, according to a program offered by The Voice of the Martyrs.

The judge's comments were reported by Compass Direct, and clearly acknowledged the influence that outsiders have into the workings even of an Islamic court, the VOM said. The VOM program is called PrisonerAlert.com and allows Christians around the world to send their prayers to jailed Christians, and their concerns to government officials.

Pourmand earlier had been convicted of deceiving Iranian armed forces and was sentenced to three years in jail. However, when it apostasy count was brought into court, he was released.

The website includes information about prisoners who have been detained because of their Christianity, the accusations against them and their circumstances, when those are available. It also has a section listing the prisoners who have been released.

Prisoners always need encouragement and the program is set up to print out letters that can be mailed to them in their own languages. VOM just reminds people not to make reference to that Christian organization, or any other group, since those imprisoned for their Christian faith often are accused of having connections to foreign organizations, and could get a stiffer penalty.

Letters to government officials on behalf of jailed Christians also are encouraged. The website guidelines are simple: be brief, clear and polite, talk about your general concern for persecuted believers.

In all cases, writers should AVOID politics or statements critical of the various governments.

Examples of letters that have been sent include:

"Dear Sir: We are thankful that your law in Vietnam allows freedom of religion. However, we heard that a man named _____ was put in the prison at _____. We are concerned about this and about his welfare. We would like to ask you to please give your attention to this matter. Thank you very much."

"To Whom It May Concern: Last month, _____, a Christian, was arrested and charged with (the charge). He was given a (length of term) prison sentence. We ask that you release him. Thank you."

"Dear Sir, Last year, _____, was arrested for _____. The story of this case has been circulated around the world and thousands of Christians know about it. We ask that he be released from all charges. We are praying for you as a leading spokesman for your country."
Another success story was the account of Rhanja Masih, who was acquitted just last month by the Lahore High Court in Pakistan. He had been arrested in 1998 during a Christian funeral procession and sentenced to life in prison on blasphemy.

The judge at the end of his two-hour appeal hearing concluded there was no solid evidence against him and he must be acquitted.

For letters to those jailed, Voice of the Martyrs has programming that allows various phrases and Scripture verses to be translated into the language the inmate reads.

"We also invite you to personalize your letter with a postcard or family photo. Attractive Christian greeting cards are especially cherished," VOM said. "Christian prisoners are generally not allowed to write letters; however, if you put your return address on your letter, it may fall into the hands of family members, attorneys, or other acquaintances, whom VOM knows nothing about."

The group also said it's not uncommon for those living in restricted nations to write those in the West asking for money. "We DO NOT encourage individuals to send funds directly …. Through VOM's Families of Martyrs Fund, we are able to provide assistance to these Christians in an appropriate manner."

"Around the world today Christians are being persecuted for their faith. More than 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith since 33 AD. This year an estimated 160,000 believers will die at the hands of their oppressors and over 200 million will be persecuted, arrested, tortured, beaten or jailed. In many nations it is illegal to own a Bible, share your faith, change your faith or allow children under 18 to attend a religious service," the website said.

Among the nearly 50 nations where Christians are being persecuted in 2006 are Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Burma, Tajikistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Brunei, Indonesia, Nigeria, China, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Cuba and Somalia.

More information about those nations, their Christians, and the persecution is available at VOM website.

VOM is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was released.

Secret police crack down on home-church movement

Secret police crack down on home-church movement
Iranian pastors summoned by authorities, arrested and detained
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Posted: December 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

The multilingual Point Final website has confirmed that eight Christians who are part of an evangelical home-church group in Iran have been arrested.

The report said the Iranian Secret Service also investigated the homes of several of the Christians who belong to the churches who emphasize only Jesus in their worship, and of the eight summoned to police headquarters in several cities, six are pastors, and all were arrested.

The report said the arrests are the latest attacks on the churches, whose members have been dismissed from their jobs and had their homes searched, in what apparently has been a systematic effort by authorities.

One woman even spent a night in a "sinister" Secret Service prison after attending a party at the embassy of Ivory Coast, the report said.

Another believer, Issa Motamadi, was held in prison for several weeks after giving his son a Christian name, the report said. In Iran, a child given a Christian name is spared, later in life, from allegations of the death-penalty carrying apostasy, but Iranian authorities also continue to impose Islamic education on children.

The report said the home churches involved also are the subject of a campaign to discredit them in the perception of the West, with accusations of heresy and misappropriation of funds, the report said.

The report confirmed the group does hold beliefs that do not align with typical Trinity-based evangelicals in the West, based on their interpretation that no human organization has the right to define God.

But "under such critical situation, we should set aside some minor [theological] nuances that risk [creating] unnecessary divisions between Christians," the report said.

"Instead, we need to focus on the fact that brothers and sisters in Iran are facing death sentence because of their faith in Jesus Christ. This is an hour for unity, not for theoretical debates," the report said.

The government's main concern apparently continues to be the group's efforts to evangelize in a nation where converting from Islam to Christianity still is a death-penalty offense.

The report identified those arrested as Behnam Irani, a pastor in Karaj; his brother Bahman Irani; Teheran pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani; his sister Chirine Sadegh-Khandjani; Rasht pastor Yussef Nadarkhani; Parviz Khalaj, an elder who is in charge of new Christians in Rasht; Rasht associate pastor Mohammad Reza-Taghizadeh; and Teheran preacher Hamid Toolooinya.

According to a report from Compass Direct, two of those arrested from the religious community estimated at several hundred were released later, but the community also was warned not to give any news about the situation to those outside of Iran.

The real story of Seattle's Christmas trees

The real story of Seattle's Christmas trees
Disagreement focuses on whether decorations are religious or secular
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Posted: December 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

There's been a huge uproar over the Christmas trees at the Seattle airport being taken down – and then put up again – when a rabbi asked to have a menorah included in the facility's seasonal display.

But WND has discovered that neither side had any dispute with the Christmas trees themselves, and the whole disagreement stemmed from the fact the airport considers the trees secular ornaments to the season.

That means, airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt says, they are allowed under airport policy. But the menorah, which is a "religious" display, is not. She told WND when airport officials first got the request for the menorah several weeks ago, they considered, but refused, because of that policy.

But they did agree to review their "no-religion" decoration policy before next year "and that's exactly what we're doing," she said. She told WND a team of advisers now is being put together to make a recommendation on changes.

The Christmas tree is allowable because it is "completely" secular, she told WND. "There is nothing religious in our airport, no crosses, no Nativities, just lights and ribbons on the trees, no angels on the tops."

The menorah, other the other hand, is religious, she said.

Whatever the airport considers the tree, the history is commonly attributed to a "Christianization" of the pagan customs of using evergreens or their branches to celebrate at a mid-winter holiday.

One report attributes the beginnings of the Christmas tree to 1,000 years ago when St. Boniface found a group of pagans worshipping an oak. He cut it down and a fir sprouted from the roots. The first Christian use is credited to the 16th century when devout believers started bringing decorated trees into their homes.

However, the rabbi and his supporters who sought the menorah note that the menorah actually recalls a battle victory, more than 2,100 years ago, by a "militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people over the mighty forces of a ruthless enemy that had overrun the Holy Land."

The disagreement over what is religious and what is not, however, hit the headlines as an "objection" to Christmas trees when Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement worked with attorney Harvey Grad to notify the airport of what may be determined to be a discriminatory policy, and the airport summarily removed those trees.

The lawyer had suggested the airport culminate weeks of telephone and e-mail exchanges with approval for the menorah, or a court action could be sought for an injunction allowing the display. The airport, Betancourt said, was busy with holiday travelers and had no time for a court battle.

Then when the rabbi contacted the airport later to assure he wouldn't seek legal action, the trees were restored, both sides agree.

Now Grad notes that the negative publicity created by reports that the rabbi was "offended" by the trees has taken on a life of its own. Jewish organizations in the Pacific Northwest have been advised to tighten their security because of e-mails, some carrying a load of hate.

"It's time to clear the air," Grad said in comments provided exclusively to WND. "The Rabbi was NEVER offended by the trees, and he NEVER asked that that the trees be removed."

Betancourt agreed. "The rabbi never asked and we never said the rabbi asked for the airport to remove the trees."

"America was founded on freedom of religion and, per United States law and the precedent of hundreds of municipalities country-wide, the rabbi simply wanted to put up a Menorah in the airport. My client NEVER asked or intended that the Christmas trees be removed!" Grad said.

His level of distress comes from the many reports that the rabbi was "offended" by the Christmas trees in the airport's lobbies and threatened to sue unless officials agreed to add a menorah.

Grad noted the story broke late on Dec. 8, the Sabbath, when the rabbi could not make himself available to talk to reporters. "Thus, it was initially – and subsequently continues – [to be] wrongly reported that the rabbi was offended by the trees,' Grad said.

One network report included this: "This week we were treated to the spectacle of an easily offended and highly offensive rabbi who walked into an airport, gazed upon Christmas trees all around him and suddenly was overwhelmed with an immense, and apparently irresistible, urge to sue the management of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport because nowhere among all the Christmas trees was a single menorah."

"Nothing could be further from the truth! What objection could we possibly have, since we asked to have the Menorah included along with the Christmas trees in the airport?" Grad said.

"Some of the news stories had an almost surreal quality to them: the rabbi would be quoted insisting that he has nothing against the trees, that he never in any way implied that he would sue to have the trees be removed, and that he is simply fighting for the right to put up a menorah; yet as he speaks, we see the news banner on the screen behind him: 'Rabbi Threatens Lawsuit; Christmas Trees Removed,'" wrote Yanki Tauber, the content editor of Chabad.org.

Grad said members of his faith and the organization of Chabad-Lubavitch, a branch of Hasidism whose members for hundreds of years have followed a philosophy that advocates refinement of actions through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge, had been talking since October to airport officials about the menorah display.

He said U.S. Supreme Court precedents support that display, and among the more than 11,000 public menorah displays around the world is one in the governor's mansion in Washington state.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan wrote to the organization: "As my Administration draws to a close, I want you and those of your fellow rabbis who accompanied you to the White House on December 1 to know that I was delighted to greet you and to accept the thoughtful gifts which you kindly brought me. It has been a pleasure each year to welcome you and your colleagues in the American Friends of Lubavitch on the occasion of Chanukah and to receive a beautiful menorah as an expression of your friendship. This symbol of your faith is a treasured keepsake of the valued support which I have enjoyed from the Lubavitchers over the years."

Grad indicated action had to be taken after the airport did not grant the requested permission.

"Chanukah was approaching, and we still had no word allowing us to place the Menorah in the airport. Thus, we asked that the Port move ahead with a positive decision to allow the display of the Menorah (since a federal court ruling) made it abundantly clear that the denial of a permit to display the Menorah justified an immediate injunction…"

After word of the dispute got out, a report on Seattle television noted that the Anti-Defamation League wrote synagogues, asking them to increase their security.

Robert Jacobs of the ADL's Pacific Northwest Regional office told the station Jewish groups were flooded with virulent e-mails, including some that officials did forward to police because of the nature of the statements.

Pat Davis, the president of the Port of Seattle commission, reported that the concern was that if the menorah had been added, there would have been requests to display other symbols of other religions and cultures, and airport workers couldn't do that.

So the port statement concluded that a "key element" in planning for next year will be to work with the rabbi "and other members of the community" on the plans.

The Chabad website said an e-mail has been written to return to those who contacted the group to unload their righteous anger. It says the removal of the trees was a "grave mistake" but then the "media early on jumped to conclusions" that contributed to the problem.

The group's members weren't expecting difficulty with the request for the menorah because "this same request has been filled at thousands of locations, beginning with the White House, with little or no controversy."

The group blamed the airport's "sorry pattern of double-talk, stonewalling, canceled meetings, and more" for the heightened disagreement.

"Frustrated with the obfuscation and continued foot-dragging, and sensing that something needed to be done to get the airport's attention to come to the table in time for the looming holiday – but still hopeful that when seated around the table airport authorities will appreciate the validity of the request – the rabbi's counsel held discussions with the airport's counsel for almost a full week," the e-mail says.

It was during that time the lawyer shared a "draft" of papers that could filed if no resolution was reached. Those papers convinced the airport to pull the trees, moving the controversy into the headlines.

Bush weighs increase in U.S. military strength

Bush weighs increase in U.S. military strength
President discusses Iraq war, a day after telling paper U.S. is ‘not winning’

MSNBC News Services

WASHINGTON - President Bush said on Wednesday he was weighing a short-term increase in U.S. troops in Iraq and believed that the United States should expand its Army and Marine Corps in the long term.

“I’m inclined to believe that we need to increase the permanent size of both the United States Army and the United States Marines,” Bush said at a news conference.

Summing up a year of setbacks, Bush conceded that insurgents in Iraq thwarted U.S. efforts at “establishing security and stability throughout the country.”

Looking to change course, Bush said he has not decided whether to order a short-term surge in U.S. troops in Iraq in hopes of gaining control of the violent and chaotic situation there.

The president spoke a day after he told a newspaper that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, and as Robert Gates made his first visit to Iraq since being sworn in earlier in the week as defense secretary.

At his traditional year-end news conference, Bush also said the United States will “ask more of our Iraqi partners” in 2007, and he pledged to work with the new Democratic Congress, as well.

‘Grave and deteriorating’ situation
Bush sidestepped one question — whether he would order a so-called surge of troops in Iraq as a first-step toward gaining control of the violent and chaotic situation there. “Nice try,” he told a reporter who asked about his plans.

The Baker-Hamilton Commission recommended a quick buildup of troops as part of an overall plan to arrest what it called a “grave and deteriorating” situation in Iraq.

Bush also said the United States supports the creation of a unity government in Iraq.

Iraq dominated the news conference and the president didn’t wait for the first question before assessing the past 12 months. “2006 was a difficult year for our troops and the Iraqi people.”

He also said he supports a moderate coalition in Iraq, a new effort by the government to “marginalize the radical and extremists” in Iraq.

‘The enemies of liberty’
The president opened the question-and-answer session by conceding the obvious — things haven’t gone well in Iraq, where the United States has lost more than 2,900 troops in almost four years of war, without quelling the insurgency.

“The enemies of liberty ... carried out a deliberate strategy to foment sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shia. And over the course of the year they had success,” he said.

“Their success hurt our efforts to help the Iraqis rebuild their country. They set back reconciliation and kept Iraq’s unity government and our coalition from establishing security and stability throughout the country.”

Bush also explained a striking shift in position in the Washington Post interview.

He said his earlier comments were meant to say that, “I believe that we’re going to win, I believe that ... My comments yesterday reflected the fact that we’re not succeeding nearly as fast as I had wanted.”

‘The calling of our generation’
Bush was asked whether he was like Lyndon Johnson, who had difficulty sleeping during the difficult days of the Vietnam War.

In response, the president said it was difficult knowing that “my decisions have caused young men and women to lose their lives.” And yet, he said, the United States must prevail in the global war on terror—and will.

It “is the calling of our generation,” he said.

On domestic politics, Bush said that he supports a Democratic proposal to increase the U.S. minimum wage but said it should be coupled with tax and regulatory relief for small businesses.

“I believe we should do it in a way that does not punish the millions of small businesses that are creating most of the new jobs in our country,” Bush told a news conference. “So, I support pairing it with targeted tax and regulatory relief to help these small businesses stay competitive and to help keep our economy growing.”

Democrats, who took control of Congress in November elections, have said they will push to raise the minimum wage over two years to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour.

Bush also said he saw an opening for compromise with the Democratic-controlled Congress that convenes on Jan. 4. He cited Social Security and immigration as two major areas in which common ground might be found. He also called for fresh efforts to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.

Regarding foreign policy, the president repeated his insistence that Iran suspend its nuclear program if it wants to hold talks with the United States and he urged Syria to halt its involvement in Lebanon's affairs.

The Baker Commission had urged the administration to hold talks with the two nations, key neighbors of Iraq, as part of a strategy of improving the situation in the region.

Cheney's daughter?
The president also was asked about the pregnancy of Mary Cheney, the openly gay daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney.

“I know Mary and I like her and I know she is going to be a fine, loving mother,” said Bush. Neither he nor his questioner referred to Cheney’s partner.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
© 2006 MSNBC.com