By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran would not retreat from its right to nuclear technology and that a U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on Iran was "invalid."
"The Iranian nation is wise and will stick to its nuclear work and is ready to defend it completely," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech to a rally in the southern city of Ahvaz.
"The U.N. resolution against Iran's atomic work has no validity for Iranians. It is illegal and politically motivated."
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on December 23 to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material that could be used in bombs.
Ahmadinejad said some world powers were bullying Iran over its nuclear program. "If bullying powers ... want to resist (Iranians' will), we will give them a historic slap in the face," he said, as the crowd chanted "Death to America."
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, insists it wants to produce fuel for nuclear power plants and dismisses charges it is trying to produce nuclear weapons.
Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham, echoing the tough line taken by Iranian leaders, indicated on Tuesday that Iran might cold-shoulder the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by quitting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"It is up to the government to decide whether it wants to pull out of the NPT, if pressured," Elham told a weekly news conference.
Iran's parliament reacted to the U.N. sanctions by passing a bill on Wednesday obliging the government to "revise" its level of cooperation with the IAEA and to accelerate its drive to master nuclear technology.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say in nuclear and other matters and he, like Ahmadinejad, has insisted Iran will not give up its atomic plans.
Ahmadinejad said Iran's nuclear program was not a threat to Middle East stability.
"Iran's power is not a threat to any regional country ... Our power is at the service of the region's peace, stability and development," he said, speaking in the capital of Khuzestan province, the heartland of Iran's oil industry.
U.S. and British officials have accused Iran of aiding terrorism and armed groups inside Iraq, undermining the Lebanese government and blocking Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Ahmadinejad accused the United States and Britain, which led the invasion of Iraq in 2003, of creating tension in the region. "By imposing insecurity and ethnic clashes in Iraq, they want to strengthen their presence in the region," he said. "But sooner or later the occupiers will have to leave Iraq."
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Pat Robertson Predicts 'Mass Killing'
Pat Robertson Predicts 'Mass Killing'
In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in "mass killing" late in 2007.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.
Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward "national suicide."
Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli- controlled land to the Palestinians.
The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election. Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
In 2005, Robertson predicted that Bush would have victory after victory in his second term. He said Social Security reform proposals would be approved and Bush would nominate conservative judges to federal courts.
Lawmakers confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But the president's Social Security initiative was stalled.
"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."
In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in "mass killing" late in 2007.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.
Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward "national suicide."
Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli- controlled land to the Palestinians.
The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election. Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
In 2005, Robertson predicted that Bush would have victory after victory in his second term. He said Social Security reform proposals would be approved and Bush would nominate conservative judges to federal courts.
Lawmakers confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But the president's Social Security initiative was stalled.
"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."
In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Tele-evangelist sued over 'God can heal' claim
Tele-evangelist sued over 'God can heal' claim
Ed Pilkington in New York
Tuesday January 2, 2007
The Guardian
Darlene Bishop, a tele-evangelist with a nationwide following, does not do things by half. When she and her husband Lawrence erected a statue of Jesus on the grounds of their mega church in Monroe, Ohio, they made it 62 feet high.
No less gargantuan are her claims about the power of prayer to overcome illness. Through a series of sermons, books and a television show, Sisters, broadcast on religious satellite channels throughout the US and abroad, she preaches that God has the power to heal even the most deadly diseases, including cancer.
But the contention is now the subject of a court action. Four of Mrs Bishop's relatives are suing her over her claim that God cured their father - her brother - of throat cancer. He died of the disease 18 months ago.
In her book Your Life Follows Your Words, Mrs Bishop tells how she overcame her breast cancer through prayer, and how her brother was also cured. There is no mention of his death in the book, which she says is due to the fact that it was published at a time when he had been in remission for more than a year.
But the volume is still on sale through her website (price $15) under the blurb: "How God healed her of breast cancer and her brother healed from throat cancer".
Mrs Bishop's brother, Darrell "Wayne" Perry, was an accomplished songwriter whose work has been performed by big names in country music such as Tim McGraw, and by the Backstreet Boys. For a year before his death in May 2005, aged 55, he was cared for by his sister.
His children, Bryan, Justin, Olivia and Christian, have issued a lawsuit for wrongful death against Mrs Bishop because they claim she persuaded Perry to stop chemotherapy and rely instead on God's healing. They contend in legal depositions that at the moment Mrs Bishop and her brother were touring the country preaching about the miracle of his recovery, they were both aware that he had been advised by doctors that his illness was terminal.
In a separate legal action to be heard on Friday they also accuse Mrs Bishop of probate irregularities and of mishandling her brother's estate. "I am the oldest son of Wayne Perry", Bryan has written, "and I think it's a damn shame that we have to spend our money fighting our aunt."
In her blog, Mrs Bishop dismisses the allegations as "complete lies", insisting she would never tell anyone to refuse medical help. "I encouraged him to listen to the doctors, but he refused surgery."
There is no sign of Mrs Bishop falling on her sword. The motto of her church, founded in 1978, is: "Because Emmanuel lives, I expect victory every time."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
Ed Pilkington in New York
Tuesday January 2, 2007
The Guardian
Darlene Bishop, a tele-evangelist with a nationwide following, does not do things by half. When she and her husband Lawrence erected a statue of Jesus on the grounds of their mega church in Monroe, Ohio, they made it 62 feet high.
No less gargantuan are her claims about the power of prayer to overcome illness. Through a series of sermons, books and a television show, Sisters, broadcast on religious satellite channels throughout the US and abroad, she preaches that God has the power to heal even the most deadly diseases, including cancer.
But the contention is now the subject of a court action. Four of Mrs Bishop's relatives are suing her over her claim that God cured their father - her brother - of throat cancer. He died of the disease 18 months ago.
In her book Your Life Follows Your Words, Mrs Bishop tells how she overcame her breast cancer through prayer, and how her brother was also cured. There is no mention of his death in the book, which she says is due to the fact that it was published at a time when he had been in remission for more than a year.
But the volume is still on sale through her website (price $15) under the blurb: "How God healed her of breast cancer and her brother healed from throat cancer".
Mrs Bishop's brother, Darrell "Wayne" Perry, was an accomplished songwriter whose work has been performed by big names in country music such as Tim McGraw, and by the Backstreet Boys. For a year before his death in May 2005, aged 55, he was cared for by his sister.
His children, Bryan, Justin, Olivia and Christian, have issued a lawsuit for wrongful death against Mrs Bishop because they claim she persuaded Perry to stop chemotherapy and rely instead on God's healing. They contend in legal depositions that at the moment Mrs Bishop and her brother were touring the country preaching about the miracle of his recovery, they were both aware that he had been advised by doctors that his illness was terminal.
In a separate legal action to be heard on Friday they also accuse Mrs Bishop of probate irregularities and of mishandling her brother's estate. "I am the oldest son of Wayne Perry", Bryan has written, "and I think it's a damn shame that we have to spend our money fighting our aunt."
In her blog, Mrs Bishop dismisses the allegations as "complete lies", insisting she would never tell anyone to refuse medical help. "I encouraged him to listen to the doctors, but he refused surgery."
There is no sign of Mrs Bishop falling on her sword. The motto of her church, founded in 1978, is: "Because Emmanuel lives, I expect victory every time."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
Scholastic joins education industry's campaign for Islam
Scholastic joins education industry's campaign for Islam
Publication for elementary students promotes Americans in madrassas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 3, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
The Junior Scholastic "news magazine" that is written for elementary students and used in thousands of public schools across the United States has published an article promoting "madrassa" school life for American children who are Muslims, much to the outrage of some parents.
"Remember way back in grade school and getting Junior Scholastic magazine in school? Well here is an example of what JS has devolved into. Force-feeding the barbaric propaganda of Islamic madrassas down the throats of my 7th and 4th graders. Disgusting," a father wrote WND about the issue, published in November.
Scholastic spokeswoman Jennifer Slackman told WND there are very few topics the magazine will not cover if they are brought up in classrooms or coming up in current events.
The particular story, "Inside a Madrasa, U.S. kids talk about their daily lives at an Islamic school in Pakistan," was written by Cassandra Nelson in view of "helping students learn about the world they live in. That world does include religion and a variety of cultures," Slackman told WND.
However, WND has reported that Islamic factions now are taking part in the development and editing processes for textbooks in U.S. public schools, how some schools have required students to "become Muslim" and memorize the "Five Pillars of Islam" during their public school coursework, and how a man once arrested as a terror suspect for allegedly trying to transport $340,000 from a group tied to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi helped write the "Religious Expression in Public Schools" guidelines issued by President Clinton during his tenure in office.
"The article tells of Noor (now 15) who grew up in Atlanta, Ga. A 'few' years ago his family traveled to Pakistan on vacation with his father and just before heading back to the U.S. his father drops him in the Pakistani madrassa to rot for the last 3 years or so. … Where are the child advocacy lawyers when you need them!! Can these parents be brought up on charges?" the concerned parent wrote.
"The Junior Scholastic article then mentions this little lovely tidbit of information about the pursuit of knowledge. 'I never planned on reading or memorizing the Koran' Noor tells JS (Junior Scholastic). 'I wanted to go to school in America and become something big. But now I've missed so much school [back home], I will never be able to catch up,'" the parent said.
The article talks about how female students follow "strict codes of behavior and dress," and it lists a "typical day" at the school, which runs from a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call to an 11 p.m. bedtime, and includes time for morning prayers, lessons from the Quran, classes on Islamic law, classes on memorization of the Quran, classes on Islamic history, midday prayers, afternoon prayers, evening prayers, late-evening prayers, and more lessons from the Quran.
"Sharia (Islamic religious law) and democracy cannot coexist in the same space and time," the concerned parent wrote. "The PC mentality is going to cost us a lot of U.S. lives, probably ultimately to the point that we'll lose one of our cities to a jihadist nuclear weapon of some sort."
As far as this promotion in U.S. public schools? "All religions are equally valid. Uh-huh, yeah right. Let's have a show of hands of people who want their daughter to be subjected to a Sharia-following Muslim husband," he said. "Sharia-endorsing mosques and their members in the U.S. should be ostracized and blackballed like communists during the '50s."
The article minimizes the admitted use of such schools to train youth in a hatred of Christianity and the West, quoting a 15-year-old student from Chicago that, "We learn about mercy and love here. You won't find any hate."
This even though the Quran contains instructions to "behead" infidels and accept them only if they follow Islam.
"There is no terrorism in Islam. Anyone who commits violent attacks in the name of Islam is wrong. Most Muslims want a world that is peaceful, in which there is no terrorism and people live together without fighting. We want a world where the teachings of Allah [God] are followed – a world in which people are modest in attitude and appearances," the magazine quotes Mohammad Yusef saying.
The Junior Scholastic article was accompanied by an available online teacher's edition showing how to promote the study of the madrassa: "We hope readers will enjoy this visit to a foreign school – which begins with a headmaster's wake-up calls at 4:30 a.m.," wrote Suzanne McCabe, editor at Scholastic.
The magazine's goals are to have students in U.S. public schools "describe a typical school day" at the madrassa and references additional materials including a text titled, "Ten Things to Know about Islam."
It also has a crossword puzzle teaching children the "Muslims' name for God" and the rules of the religious schools. And another proposed project has students compare their own lives and schools to those of the madrassa students.
The concerned parent said he would agree with John Lewis, an assistant professor of history at Ashland University, who said America needs to destroy Islam as a political influence.
Lewis presented his arguments at the Ayn Rand Institute's OCON conference "The Jihad Against the West" in Boston in October. In an article in The Objective Standard, he elaborated:
He said the terrorist attacks on the U.S. came from foreign governments that "have sponsored such attacks for years" and were motivated by "a militaristic, religious-political ideology that values war as a demonstration of loyalty to a deity, demands obedience to its spokesmen, and imposes its edicts over millions of people."
"Thousands of individuals, indoctrinated as youths, are eager to engage in suicide attacks," he wrote. "The enemy's children and soldiers memorize words such as these: The battlefield is where our army displays its true character, conquering whenever it attacks, winning whenever it engages in combat, in order to spread our deity's reign far and wide, so that the enemy may look up in awe to his august virtues.'"
He said that the children are taught from the Quran such mandates as: "[F]ight and slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war; but if they repent, and practice our way, then accept them. …"
He wrote that a strong offense doesn't create new enemies; it defeats existing foes, and "all-out force against fanatical killers is both practical and moral."
He said the conflict between Islam and Christian is not a clash between civilizations, "it is a clash between civilization and barbarism. Until civilized people assert themselves with a depth of moral confidence exceeding that projected by those who submit to the 'will of Allah,' America will remain permanently on the defensive, in a state of moral dhimmitude, and the war will continue to its logical conclusion: a mushroom cloud over America."
The concerned parent told WND that Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, who has told militant Islamics that if they don't agree with the freedoms basic to Australia, they should leave, "seems to be the only intelligent leader of the free world. Why don't we loan him our military for a few months?"
A recent report in the Irish Times also noted that Colin Powell, who was secretary of state in 2004 when he made the statement, called madrassas breeding grounds for "fundamentalists and terrorists." Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had questioned: "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"
Earlier, WND reported that The American Textbook Council found that textbooks for children in U.S. public schools these days reflect "the interplay of determined Islamic political activists, textbook editors, and multiculturally minded social studies curriculum planners."
It has gone so far that correcting the situation now becomes a problem, because "educational publishers and educational organizations have bought into claims propounded by Islamists – and have themselves become agents of misinformation."
That comes from Gilbert T. Sewall, who wrote the organization's report on Islam and textbooks. And Middle East Forum director Daniel Pipes even has repeatedly expressed concern about the "privileging of Islam in the United States" and warns the stakes go well beyond 7th-grade texts. His opinion of Houghton Mifflin's "Across the Centuries"? Full of "apologetics."
Sewall said his study showed world history textbooks "hold Islam and other non-Western civilizations to different standards than those that apply to the West" even while "Islamic pressure groups and their allies seek to suppress the critical analysis of Islam inside and outside classrooms.
"Textbook editors seem not to recognize that a school-related Islamic agenda in the U.S. uses multiculturalism as a device to guarantee a purely favorable and uncritical view of all things Muslim. At extremes, the report suggested, multiculturalism contributes to a form of peaceable cultural jihad meant to discredit or 'problematize' European civilization in favor of non-Western cultures," he wrote.
Publication for elementary students promotes Americans in madrassas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 3, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
The Junior Scholastic "news magazine" that is written for elementary students and used in thousands of public schools across the United States has published an article promoting "madrassa" school life for American children who are Muslims, much to the outrage of some parents.
"Remember way back in grade school and getting Junior Scholastic magazine in school? Well here is an example of what JS has devolved into. Force-feeding the barbaric propaganda of Islamic madrassas down the throats of my 7th and 4th graders. Disgusting," a father wrote WND about the issue, published in November.
Scholastic spokeswoman Jennifer Slackman told WND there are very few topics the magazine will not cover if they are brought up in classrooms or coming up in current events.
The particular story, "Inside a Madrasa, U.S. kids talk about their daily lives at an Islamic school in Pakistan," was written by Cassandra Nelson in view of "helping students learn about the world they live in. That world does include religion and a variety of cultures," Slackman told WND.
However, WND has reported that Islamic factions now are taking part in the development and editing processes for textbooks in U.S. public schools, how some schools have required students to "become Muslim" and memorize the "Five Pillars of Islam" during their public school coursework, and how a man once arrested as a terror suspect for allegedly trying to transport $340,000 from a group tied to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi helped write the "Religious Expression in Public Schools" guidelines issued by President Clinton during his tenure in office.
"The article tells of Noor (now 15) who grew up in Atlanta, Ga. A 'few' years ago his family traveled to Pakistan on vacation with his father and just before heading back to the U.S. his father drops him in the Pakistani madrassa to rot for the last 3 years or so. … Where are the child advocacy lawyers when you need them!! Can these parents be brought up on charges?" the concerned parent wrote.
"The Junior Scholastic article then mentions this little lovely tidbit of information about the pursuit of knowledge. 'I never planned on reading or memorizing the Koran' Noor tells JS (Junior Scholastic). 'I wanted to go to school in America and become something big. But now I've missed so much school [back home], I will never be able to catch up,'" the parent said.
The article talks about how female students follow "strict codes of behavior and dress," and it lists a "typical day" at the school, which runs from a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call to an 11 p.m. bedtime, and includes time for morning prayers, lessons from the Quran, classes on Islamic law, classes on memorization of the Quran, classes on Islamic history, midday prayers, afternoon prayers, evening prayers, late-evening prayers, and more lessons from the Quran.
"Sharia (Islamic religious law) and democracy cannot coexist in the same space and time," the concerned parent wrote. "The PC mentality is going to cost us a lot of U.S. lives, probably ultimately to the point that we'll lose one of our cities to a jihadist nuclear weapon of some sort."
As far as this promotion in U.S. public schools? "All religions are equally valid. Uh-huh, yeah right. Let's have a show of hands of people who want their daughter to be subjected to a Sharia-following Muslim husband," he said. "Sharia-endorsing mosques and their members in the U.S. should be ostracized and blackballed like communists during the '50s."
The article minimizes the admitted use of such schools to train youth in a hatred of Christianity and the West, quoting a 15-year-old student from Chicago that, "We learn about mercy and love here. You won't find any hate."
This even though the Quran contains instructions to "behead" infidels and accept them only if they follow Islam.
"There is no terrorism in Islam. Anyone who commits violent attacks in the name of Islam is wrong. Most Muslims want a world that is peaceful, in which there is no terrorism and people live together without fighting. We want a world where the teachings of Allah [God] are followed – a world in which people are modest in attitude and appearances," the magazine quotes Mohammad Yusef saying.
The Junior Scholastic article was accompanied by an available online teacher's edition showing how to promote the study of the madrassa: "We hope readers will enjoy this visit to a foreign school – which begins with a headmaster's wake-up calls at 4:30 a.m.," wrote Suzanne McCabe, editor at Scholastic.
The magazine's goals are to have students in U.S. public schools "describe a typical school day" at the madrassa and references additional materials including a text titled, "Ten Things to Know about Islam."
It also has a crossword puzzle teaching children the "Muslims' name for God" and the rules of the religious schools. And another proposed project has students compare their own lives and schools to those of the madrassa students.
The concerned parent said he would agree with John Lewis, an assistant professor of history at Ashland University, who said America needs to destroy Islam as a political influence.
Lewis presented his arguments at the Ayn Rand Institute's OCON conference "The Jihad Against the West" in Boston in October. In an article in The Objective Standard, he elaborated:
He said the terrorist attacks on the U.S. came from foreign governments that "have sponsored such attacks for years" and were motivated by "a militaristic, religious-political ideology that values war as a demonstration of loyalty to a deity, demands obedience to its spokesmen, and imposes its edicts over millions of people."
"Thousands of individuals, indoctrinated as youths, are eager to engage in suicide attacks," he wrote. "The enemy's children and soldiers memorize words such as these: The battlefield is where our army displays its true character, conquering whenever it attacks, winning whenever it engages in combat, in order to spread our deity's reign far and wide, so that the enemy may look up in awe to his august virtues.'"
He said that the children are taught from the Quran such mandates as: "[F]ight and slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war; but if they repent, and practice our way, then accept them. …"
He wrote that a strong offense doesn't create new enemies; it defeats existing foes, and "all-out force against fanatical killers is both practical and moral."
He said the conflict between Islam and Christian is not a clash between civilizations, "it is a clash between civilization and barbarism. Until civilized people assert themselves with a depth of moral confidence exceeding that projected by those who submit to the 'will of Allah,' America will remain permanently on the defensive, in a state of moral dhimmitude, and the war will continue to its logical conclusion: a mushroom cloud over America."
The concerned parent told WND that Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, who has told militant Islamics that if they don't agree with the freedoms basic to Australia, they should leave, "seems to be the only intelligent leader of the free world. Why don't we loan him our military for a few months?"
A recent report in the Irish Times also noted that Colin Powell, who was secretary of state in 2004 when he made the statement, called madrassas breeding grounds for "fundamentalists and terrorists." Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had questioned: "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"
Earlier, WND reported that The American Textbook Council found that textbooks for children in U.S. public schools these days reflect "the interplay of determined Islamic political activists, textbook editors, and multiculturally minded social studies curriculum planners."
It has gone so far that correcting the situation now becomes a problem, because "educational publishers and educational organizations have bought into claims propounded by Islamists – and have themselves become agents of misinformation."
That comes from Gilbert T. Sewall, who wrote the organization's report on Islam and textbooks. And Middle East Forum director Daniel Pipes even has repeatedly expressed concern about the "privileging of Islam in the United States" and warns the stakes go well beyond 7th-grade texts. His opinion of Houghton Mifflin's "Across the Centuries"? Full of "apologetics."
Sewall said his study showed world history textbooks "hold Islam and other non-Western civilizations to different standards than those that apply to the West" even while "Islamic pressure groups and their allies seek to suppress the critical analysis of Islam inside and outside classrooms.
"Textbook editors seem not to recognize that a school-related Islamic agenda in the U.S. uses multiculturalism as a device to guarantee a purely favorable and uncritical view of all things Muslim. At extremes, the report suggested, multiculturalism contributes to a form of peaceable cultural jihad meant to discredit or 'problematize' European civilization in favor of non-Western cultures," he wrote.
Israel's Army Chief Acknowledges Mistakes
Israel's Army Chief Acknowledges Mistakes
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
CBNNews.com -- JERUSALEM -- Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz acknowledged to reporters Tuesday that Israel was unsuccessful in meeting its goals in the war last summer against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Halutz refused requests to resign and asserted that Hezbollah endured extensive losses at the hands of Israeli forces, which killed "hundreds of terrorists," in the conflict. No decisive victor emerged from the war, which ended in 34 days with a cease-fire.
"We were not successful in reducing the short-range rocket fire on Israel's north until the cease-fire," admitted Halutz as he addressed internal and external inquiries into the short conflict.
Some 4,000 rockets were launched by Hezbollah at Israel during the summer war.
Halutz's resignation can be forced by a government-appointed committee investigating the conflict and its outcome.
When asked about the possibility of his stepping down, Halutz commented that he has no desire to walk away and would like to "correct what can be corrected." He added that leaving now would be nothing less than "running away."
Halutz noted, "I have not heard my superiors calling on me to resign," but insisted that "If they do, I will respond."
A former chief of staff concluded that objectives in the conflict were loosely set before pointing out mistakes made in the command centers, Halutz told reporters.
"There were cases in which officers did not carry out their assignments, and cases in which officers objected on moral grounds to their orders," commented Halutz, who seemed to be referring to dissent against military advances on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
Halutz also indicated that diplomatic means should be used to free the two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border Hezbollah raid rather than military maneuvers.
Longer annual service and better training of reservists should be implemented in order for Israel's forces to become stronger, declared Halutz. He also mentioned that the government could suspend the enforcing of a plan to shorten the term of regular service, which is currently designated at three years.
The U.N. Security Council's resolution set up a "beefed-up" peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon at the end of the war with Hezbollah on August 14. It was determined to keep the area free of armed forces.
Israeli and Hezbollah forces combined for more than 1,000 casualties. The number was compiled by the U.N., Israeli and Lebanese officials.
Israel suffered 159 fatalities, which includes 39 civilian deaths from rocket attacks.
Even though Israel lists the number of Hezbollah fighter casualties at 600, Hezbollah reports that its losses are closer to 250.
Source: Associated Press
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2007
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
CBNNews.com -- JERUSALEM -- Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz acknowledged to reporters Tuesday that Israel was unsuccessful in meeting its goals in the war last summer against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Halutz refused requests to resign and asserted that Hezbollah endured extensive losses at the hands of Israeli forces, which killed "hundreds of terrorists," in the conflict. No decisive victor emerged from the war, which ended in 34 days with a cease-fire.
"We were not successful in reducing the short-range rocket fire on Israel's north until the cease-fire," admitted Halutz as he addressed internal and external inquiries into the short conflict.
Some 4,000 rockets were launched by Hezbollah at Israel during the summer war.
Halutz's resignation can be forced by a government-appointed committee investigating the conflict and its outcome.
When asked about the possibility of his stepping down, Halutz commented that he has no desire to walk away and would like to "correct what can be corrected." He added that leaving now would be nothing less than "running away."
Halutz noted, "I have not heard my superiors calling on me to resign," but insisted that "If they do, I will respond."
A former chief of staff concluded that objectives in the conflict were loosely set before pointing out mistakes made in the command centers, Halutz told reporters.
"There were cases in which officers did not carry out their assignments, and cases in which officers objected on moral grounds to their orders," commented Halutz, who seemed to be referring to dissent against military advances on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
Halutz also indicated that diplomatic means should be used to free the two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border Hezbollah raid rather than military maneuvers.
Longer annual service and better training of reservists should be implemented in order for Israel's forces to become stronger, declared Halutz. He also mentioned that the government could suspend the enforcing of a plan to shorten the term of regular service, which is currently designated at three years.
The U.N. Security Council's resolution set up a "beefed-up" peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon at the end of the war with Hezbollah on August 14. It was determined to keep the area free of armed forces.
Israeli and Hezbollah forces combined for more than 1,000 casualties. The number was compiled by the U.N., Israeli and Lebanese officials.
Israel suffered 159 fatalities, which includes 39 civilian deaths from rocket attacks.
Even though Israel lists the number of Hezbollah fighter casualties at 600, Hezbollah reports that its losses are closer to 250.
Source: Associated Press
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2007
Amendment to Gay Marriage Voted Through
Amendment to Gay Marriage Voted Through
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
CBNNews.com -- BOSTON -- Massachusetts Legislature voted Tuesday to put through the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in a crucial decision that could place the measure on the ballot in 2008.
As legislators arrived to vote on a possible amendment to constitution that would define marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, supporters and opponents of the measure waved signs just outside the Statehouse in Boston.
In order to get the amendment on the 2008 ballot, 170,000 signatures were collected by supporters. However, approval from the Legislature is still required.
The legislative session came to a close Tuesday with Senate President Robert Travaglini not disclosing whether he will demand a vote. Backers of the amendment were upset last fall when Legislature was dismissed without casting its vote.
"Legislators are sent to Beacon Hill to vote on a matter, not to not vote on a matter," stated Paul Ferro, a 30-year-old amendment supporter from Norton.
After the 2003 Supreme Judicial Court ruling that the state Constitution guarantees the right of marriage to gays, approximately 8,000 same-sex couples in Massachusetts were joined in wedlock. Civil unions are offered in a few other states, where gays couples are given similar rights. Massachusetts remains the only state, however, that has made gay marriage legal.
If the proposed amendment passes, the existing 8,000 marriages would not be dissolved, but future same-sex marriages would be banned.
Amendment backers rallied with signs stating, "Let the People Vote," on the steps of the Statehouse Tuesday. A common consensus among supporters was that people, not the courts, should be given the power to define something as crucial as the institution of marriage.
On the other side, opponents to the amendment stood with signs donning statements such as, "Let the people marry." They contended that the civil rights of a minority should not be determined by a popular vote.
Some in the Legislature commented that they would not vote on the marriage amendment because discrimination would be written into the constitution through the ballot question.
Inciting the Legislature to not vote on banning same-sex marriage, Massachusetts' governor elect stated, "adults should be free to choose whome they with to love and marry."
Democrat Deval Patrick contests that the debate is "a question of conscience," adding that the state's intervening into private matters "is a dangerous precedent, and an unworthy one."
The Bible states that the institution of marriage was created by God to unite a man and woman into one flesh for the purpose of honoring and serving Him.
Source: Associated Press
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2007
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
CBNNews.com -- BOSTON -- Massachusetts Legislature voted Tuesday to put through the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in a crucial decision that could place the measure on the ballot in 2008.
As legislators arrived to vote on a possible amendment to constitution that would define marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, supporters and opponents of the measure waved signs just outside the Statehouse in Boston.
In order to get the amendment on the 2008 ballot, 170,000 signatures were collected by supporters. However, approval from the Legislature is still required.
The legislative session came to a close Tuesday with Senate President Robert Travaglini not disclosing whether he will demand a vote. Backers of the amendment were upset last fall when Legislature was dismissed without casting its vote.
"Legislators are sent to Beacon Hill to vote on a matter, not to not vote on a matter," stated Paul Ferro, a 30-year-old amendment supporter from Norton.
After the 2003 Supreme Judicial Court ruling that the state Constitution guarantees the right of marriage to gays, approximately 8,000 same-sex couples in Massachusetts were joined in wedlock. Civil unions are offered in a few other states, where gays couples are given similar rights. Massachusetts remains the only state, however, that has made gay marriage legal.
If the proposed amendment passes, the existing 8,000 marriages would not be dissolved, but future same-sex marriages would be banned.
Amendment backers rallied with signs stating, "Let the People Vote," on the steps of the Statehouse Tuesday. A common consensus among supporters was that people, not the courts, should be given the power to define something as crucial as the institution of marriage.
On the other side, opponents to the amendment stood with signs donning statements such as, "Let the people marry." They contended that the civil rights of a minority should not be determined by a popular vote.
Some in the Legislature commented that they would not vote on the marriage amendment because discrimination would be written into the constitution through the ballot question.
Inciting the Legislature to not vote on banning same-sex marriage, Massachusetts' governor elect stated, "adults should be free to choose whome they with to love and marry."
Democrat Deval Patrick contests that the debate is "a question of conscience," adding that the state's intervening into private matters "is a dangerous precedent, and an unworthy one."
The Bible states that the institution of marriage was created by God to unite a man and woman into one flesh for the purpose of honoring and serving Him.
Source: Associated Press
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2007
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