Monday, January 29, 2007

Dutch Citizen Faces Terror Charges in U.S.

Dutch Citizen Faces Terror Charges in U.S.

By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press Writer
January 29, 2007

CBNNews.com - WASHINGTON - An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen is facing terror charges in what the Justice Department calls the United States' first criminal prosecution of attacks targeting Americans in Iraq.

Wesam al-Delaema, 33, is scheduled to be in federal court in Washington on Monday to face terrorism conspiracy charges, Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said. Al-Delaema, who was extradited from the Netherlands over the weekend, will become the first suspect tried in a U.S. court for alleged terrorism in Iraq's bloody insurgency.

The Justice Department said he was part of a group calling themselves the "Mujahideen from Fallujah," which hid explosives on a road.

Netherlands officials said he is also charged with possession of explosives. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Al-Delaema claims he is innocent, and his lawyers have argued that the U.S. does not have the right to try him.

Evidence against him includes a videotape he filmed of a group called "Warriors of Fallujah" preparing a roadside bomb, which was widely shown on Arabic TV stations.

The tape was seized by police who raided al-Delaema's house in the Dutch city of Amersfoort in May 2005, following a tip from U.S. authorities.

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Israel's Cabinet Approves Muslim Minister

Israel's Cabinet Approves Muslim Minister
By Matti Friedman
Associated Press Writer
January 29, 2007

CBNNews.com -- JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel was on the verge of installing the first Muslim Cabinet minister in its 58-year history Monday after the government overwhelmingly approved the appointment.

Parliament was scheduled to convene to give final approval to Raleb Majadele's appointment, which the government billed as a step toward equality for Muslim Arabs, Israel's largest minority.

The appointment was mired for weeks in political infighting and charges of racism. It drew criticism from hard-liners who said the move was little more than political expediency. Even Arab lawmakers dismissed the development, saying the government has little real interest in improving the lot of Israel's Arabs.

Majadele told Associated Press Television News that his goals as a Cabinet minister without portfolio would be "promoting coexistence between the two peoples inside the state, and promoting dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis toward negotiations and political agreement."

Majadele, a parliamentary backbencher from the centrist Labor Party, said his appointment is meant to give representation to Israel's Arabs, which make up about 20 percent of the country's 7 million citizens. He has predicted that in the future, every Israeli government will be obliged to include an Arab minister.

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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Public revolt quashes biometric ID chips

Public revolt quashes biometric ID chips
Citizens score success abroad while opposition to national card grows in U.S.
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Posted: January 27, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

While opposition grows to a national ID card in the U.S., citizens of the southeast European nation of Serbia have successfully pressed their government to back off on a plan to make biometric data chips compulsory in the country's new citizen cards.

The decision followed a pitched battle prior to the Jan. 21 election as opponents criticized the accompanying plan for a centralized database of citizen information and the taking of fingerprints. Biometric technology uses data from sources such as fingerprints, facial features and iris scans to authenticate a person's identity.

In the U.S., the Real ID Act passed by Congress in 2005 calls for a national ID portion to go into effect by May 2008. It requires states to participate in a federal data-sharing program when issuing driver's licenses, making those licenses de facto national ID cards.

A number of state legislatures have passed nonbinding measures in opposition, including the Maine House and Senate, which yesterday almost unanimously approved a resolution refusing to implement the Real ID Act.
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Global court to decide on launching first trial

Global court to decide on launching first trial
System now backed by 104 countries, but not U.S.

Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:01am ET

By Emma Thomasson

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) will decide on Monday whether there is enough evidence to try a Congolese militiaman for using children as soldiers in what would be the new court's first trial.

A decision to confirm charges against Thomas Lubanga and launch a trial would be a major landmark for the ICC that was set up as the first permanent global war crimes court in 2002 and is now backed by 104 countries.

The court could also throw out the charges, request further evidence and investigations, or ask prosecutors to consider amending a charge. Some victims' groups want the charges expanded to include crimes such as killings, rape and torture.
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Jewish Sect Ostracized Over Iran Meeting

Jewish Sect Ostracized Over Iran Meeting
By RAVI NESSMAN
Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM -- For decades, the Jewish community just barely tolerated a small, fiercely anti-Zionist sect as its members traveled the world, denouncing Israel's existence and embracing its enemies.

But when a delegation from Neturei Karta hugged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a conference questioning the Holocaust last month, that was too much.

Now, the ultra-Orthodox group is being ostracized on three continents, denounced by rabbis, banned from synagogues and harassed in the streets.

"They brought shame on the Jewish people," said Rabbi Shimon Weiss, a leader of the Eida Haredit, an umbrella group of anti-Zionist, ultra-Orthodox Jews based in Israel. "If they come to a synagogue, they will be kicked out. They disgust us."
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Iran prepares people for 'messiah miracles'

Iran prepares people for 'messiah miracles'
Government broadcasts series on imminent appearance of apocalyptic Islamic 'Mahdi'
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Posted: January 27, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Official Iranian radio has completed broadcasting a lengthy series on the imminent appearance of a messianic figure who will defeat Islam's enemies and impose Islamic Shiite rule over the entire world – even speculating on specific dates the so-called "Mahdi" will be revealed.

English-language transcripts of "The World Toward Illumination" programs can be found on the website of IRIB, a public broadcast arm of Tehran.

"Be joyous my heart, miracles of the Messiah will soon be here," reads a poem used to conclude the first broadcast. "The scent of breaths of the One we know comes from near. Grieve not of sorrow and melancholy, as assured I was … last night that a Savior will come, it's clear."

After the coming of the 12th imam, or Mahdi, "liberal democratic civilization" will be found only in "history museums," explained the program.

"Contrary to the views of western theoreticians, who usually depict an ambiguous and dark future for mankind, Muslim experts believe human history, despite its many ups and downs, has a very auspicious fate," explained the program. "Muslims believe hopes for the realization of such a happy ending for the world are called 'Awaiting Redemption,' and means waiting for man's problems to be solved by the Savior at the end of time. This awaiting influences many, and inspired them with activity and enthusiasm in confronting darkness and oppression for changing the existing situation. …"

This messianic figure will be a direct descendant of Muhammad, according to the broadcasts.

"In short, when he reappears, peace, justice and security will overcome oppression and deceit and one global government, the most perfect ever, will be established," it said.

The Mahdi will appear suddenly, according to the report, in Mecca. Though no one can know the day, Shiites believe, the report actually suggests possibilities in the Muslim calendar.

The Mahdi will lead a cataclysmic battle against a descendant of Muhammad's archenemy, Abu Sofyan, culminating in the cities of Kufa and Najaf. His enemy, though, is destroyed later in Jerusalem.

"Another beautiful moment of the Savior's appearance is the coming down of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) from heaven," says the report. "Hazrat Mahdi receives him courteously and asks him to lead the prayers. But Jesus says you are more qualified for this than me. We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, 'the Mahdi will come with Jesus son of Mary accompanying him.' This indicates that these two great men are (sic) complement each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in the world. Jesus had himself given the tidings of the coming of God's last messenger and will see Mohammad's ideals materialize in the time of the Mahdi."
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World War III has already begun, says Israeli spy chief

World War III has already begun, says Israeli spy chief
AFP Published: 01.27.07, 20:32

Former head of Israel's intelligence service tells Portuguese newspaper it would take at least 25 years before battle against fundamentalist terrorism is won; says nuclear strike by Muslim terrorists 'very likely'

A third World War is already underway between Islamic militancy and the West but most people do not realize it, the former head of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad said in an interview published Saturday in Portugal.

‘We are in the midst of a third World War,’ former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy told weekly newspaper Expresso.

‘The world does not understand. A person walks through the streets of Tel Aviv, Barcelona or Buenos Aires and doesn’t get the sense that there is a war going on,’ said Halevy who headed Mossad between 1998 and 2003.

‘During World War I and II the entire world felt there was a war. Today no one is conscious of it. From time to time there is a terrorist attack in Madrid, London and New York and then everything stays the same.’

Violence by Islamic militants has already disrupted international travel and trade just as in the previous two world conflicts, he said.

Halevy, who was raised in war-time London, predicted it would take at least 25 years before the battle against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism is won and during this time a nuclear strike by Islamic militants was likely.
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12-year-old 'transsexual' given hormone treatment

12-year-old 'transsexual' given hormone treatment
Tim to Kim: Parents support boy's choice to be world's youngest sex-change patient
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Posted: January 28, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

A German boy, now 14, is believed to be the youngest patient in the world pursuing gender reassignment after convincing doctors two years ago he wanted to live as a female.

Doctors say the boy, born "Tim," has considered himself female since he was two.

According to his parents, Tim tried on his older sisters clothes and played with her Barbie dolls, announcing, "I'm a girl." The boy was distraught after every haircut, they said, and at four, he took a pair of scissors and threatened to "cut off my thing!" After that incident, Tim was called "Kim" by his family.

"We always saw Kim as a girl, but not as a problem," the father, who was not identified, told Der Spiegel. "In fact, our life was surprisingly normal."

Puberty brought about a drop in Kim's voice and concern for the child's future.

"At that stage we realized that she was terrified of growing facial hair and her voice breaking," said the father.

The family sought medical advice about a possible sex change for Kim, with mixed results.

"Hormone treatment! Gender adjustment! How could you possibly do this to the child?" the family's pediatrician asked the father. Some psychiatrists suggested Kim be placed under observation in a psychiatric hospital.
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Thursday, January 25, 2007

Church Unlikely to Gain Exemption in Gay Adoption Fight

Church Unlikely to Gain Exemption in Gay Adoption Fight

Latest reports have suggested that the Roman Catholic Church will not gain an exemption from the new anti-discrimination laws despite the recent public debate over the ethics of gay adoptions.

by Daniel Blake
Posted: Thursday, January 25, 2007, 9:11 (GMT)

Latest reports have suggested that the Roman Catholic Church will not gain an exemption from the new anti-discrimination laws despite the recent public debate on the ethics of gay adoptions.
The Church has demanded an opt-out from the new measures so that they would not be forced to place children in the care of homosexual people – something that goes against some of the core beliefs of the Church.

Rumours that Tony Blair has "caved in" to Cabinet members who are against an exemption have been described as "ridiculous" by Downing Street, according to a BBC report.

However, Downing Street has suggested agencies may be allowed time to adapt or close.

The highly controversial issue has prompted Prime Minister Tony Blair to call a meeting between Labour MPs and an announcement is expected to be made public next week.

The Equality Act, which will come into effect in England, Wales and Scotland in April, outlaws discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation.

The law has been touted as a further erosion of traditional Christian values, ethics and beliefs. Catholic leaders say that it simply cannot endorse the measures, as they go against some of the central elements of its faith.

The Church worries in particular that the new law will attempt to force its agencies to act against their beliefs and place children with homosexuals. If this is so and they refuse, they will be closed.
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Georgians: Bomb Grade Uranium Seized

Georgians: Bomb Grade Uranium Seized

By Desmond Butler
Associated Press Writer
January 25, 2007

CBNNews.com -- WASHINGTON (AP) -- It was one of the most serious cases of smuggling of nuclear material in recent years: A Russian man, authorities allege, tried to sell a small amount of nuclear-bomb grade uranium in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket.

The buy that took place last summer, it turned out, was a setup by Republic of Georgia authorities, with the help of the CIA. Their quiet sting operation - neither U.S. nor Georgian officials have publicized it - is an unsettling reminder about the possibility of terrorists acquiring nuclear bomb-making material on the black market.

No evidence suggests this particular case was terrorist-related.

"Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an improvised nuclear explosive device, even small numbers of incidents involving HEU (highly enriched uranium) or plutonium are of very high concern," said Melissa Fleming of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Details of the investigation, which also involved the FBI and Energy Department, were provided to The Associated Press by U.S. officials and Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.
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Molester Poses as Student in School

Molester Poses as Student in School
By Amanda Lee Meyers

The Associated Press
January 25, 2007

CBNNews.com -- SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) -- Experts on child exploitation are all too familiar with sex offenders working as scout leaders, coaches and teachers, but this was a new one - a boyish-looking man who posed as a 12-year-old and enrolled in school in what may have been a scheme to find kids to molest.

Now parents in this Phoenix suburb where 29-year-old Neil Havens Rodreick II attended a charter school for four months are asking their children if they had any contact with this "classmate."

And police are interviewing parents, students and teachers, and checking at least three other Arizona schools where Rodreick, a convicted sex offender from Oklahoma, also enrolled.

"We told him that it was a scary man who passed himself off as a kid that went to school for a bit," said Erika Ton Loy, whose 7-year-old son attends the charter school, the Imagine School. "When we heard more about it on the news, we got him up out of bed. My husband wanted to make sure he didn't recognize this guy, and he was like, `Have you seen this guy?' and he said, 'No, I don't know who the heck he is."'

Rodreick - who is about 5 feet 6 and 120 pounds, shaved his body hair and used makeup in an attempt to cover his stubble - has been charged with forgery and fraud in the school-enrollment con, as well as assault against a girl. But investigators have refused to release details of that crime and will not say whether he met the girl through the school scam.

Officials also said Thursday that a search of the home where he was staying yielded a video of Rodreick engaging in sex acts with an unidentified child.
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Mexico: Transexual Const. Amendment?

Mexico: Transexual Const. Amendment?
By Michael F. Haverluck

CBNNews.com
January 25, 2007

CBNNews.com -- MEXICO CITY -- A bill to amend Mexico's constitution and change civil laws guaranteeing transexuals the right to change their name and gender legally will be submitted in March by Mexican congressman David Sanchez Camacho.

If Sanchez Camacho's bill passes, Article Four of the Mexican Constitution will have an extra paragraph asserting that "every person has the right to the recognition and free exercise of their gender identity and their gender expression."

This legislative action could ignite much contention, especially amongst conservative Mexican Catholics adhering to the biblical stance on homosexuality.

The guarantee of equal rights for men and women, along with the rights of families and children are currently contained in Article Four, with no mention of homosexuals or transexuals.

By definition, a transexual is a person who has had a sex change operation, or one who has been born with the physical anatomy of one gender, but considers himself or herself a different gender.
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Indiana senator wants women to know unborn babies feel pain

Rusty Pugh
OneNewsNow.com
January 25, 2007

An Indiana lawmaker wants to pass legislation that accomplishes two major goals, both of which give women more information about the unborn child they plan to abort.

Indiana State Senator Patricia Miller's bill, if passed, defines personhood as beginning at the moment the female egg is fertilized. She maintains that any woman who is considering an abortion should know that the procedure ends a human life. And she says in order for women to make an informed decision, they should also be told that their unborn child will feel the horrible pain of being aborted.

This is not speculation but a medical fact, she says, that is backed up by videos of unborn children reacting to pain. She also points out that surgery is being performed on infants in utero -- before birth -- to correct problems.
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Pro-lifer petitions federal court again for protest rights

Ed Thomas
OneNewsNow.com
January 25, 2007

Hugh Gaughan got in trouble with authorities for including as part of his protest an audio recording of a 9-1-1 call from an abortionist during a procedure with complications occurring. The charges against the pro-lifer were eventually dropped -- but his attorney says it was necessary to file legal action against the City of Cleveland because of the "overbroad and vague" ordinances used to arrest Gaughan in the first place.

A pro-life activist in Cleveland is continuing his appeal to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case challenging his arrests outside an abortion clinic. Hugh Gaughan was arrested twice for playing an audiotape recording of a 9-1-1 call from the clinic where he was protesting, and cited for violation of Cleveland's sound device and noise ordinances.

The recording was of a 9-1-1 call made by Martin Ruddock, the owner of the Center for Women's Health, during an abortion procedure on a 30-year-old woman with complications occurring. "I just can't stop the bleeding," Ruddock is heard to say on the tape. "I can't see what I'm doing, and I want her out of here." Gaughan says he played the recording outside the clinic to educate women about the life-threatening dangers associated with abortion.
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Federal judge throws out Christian group's lawsuit

allie martin
OneNewsNow.com
January 25, 2007

Click here to Hear This Report!

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by volunteers with the Christian activist group, Repent America, who were arrested at a street festival for homosexuals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Repent America volunteers were witnessing and handing out tracts at the 2004 "Gay Pride" event when they were arrested. A judge later dismissed all criminal charges against them, saying a videotape showed they did not incite violence or threaten anyone.

Afterward, the ministry volunteers filed a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia, claiming their constitutional rights had been violated. However, Judge Lawrence Stengel threw the case out, claiming the permit held by the homosexual pride group allowed officials to silence the Christian activists.

Repent America director Michael Marcavage feels the permit should not have allowed homosexual activists to stifle free speech. "The law requires the police to control the crowd and to deal with those acting disorderly, not tell us that we're not permitted to be there," he says.
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Britain boosts intelligent-design debate

Britain boosts intelligent-design debate
But issues will be addressed in religion class, not science class

By Paul Majendie

LONDON - British teenagers may soon be debating creationism and intelligent design in religion classes that give equal time to the Darwinists and atheists who reject these views of the world’s origins.

Newly published school guidelines reflect the growing influence of a bitter battle over evolution being waged on the other side of the Atlantic, by conservative American Christians who want to put God back into the secular state school system.

The guidelines, issued by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, place the issue firmly in religious education class, rather than the science classes where American intelligent-design proponents want it to be handled.
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Schools weigh inclusiveness, calendar without 'Christmas'

By Lindsay Melvin

Shelby County Schools' newest board member, Fred Johnson, wants to change "Christmas Break" to "Winter Break" on the school calendar.

"I want to make it inclusive of every religious group," he said.

Johnson's unexpected declaration, during a recent discussion of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school calendars, did not sit well with all board members.

"This is America. Since Day One, we've recognized Christmas as Christmas and Christmas Break as Christmas Break," said board member Joe Clayton, who said he would never support a change of the wording.
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Olmert's party proposes handing West Bank to Europe

Olmert's party proposes handing West Bank to Europe
Follows WND reports of secret talks to evacuate strategic territory under EU supervision
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Posted: January 25, 2007
9:56 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – A member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party yesterday proposed transferring control of the West Bank to a European task force until the establishment of a Palestinian state, at which time the strategic territory would be handed to security forces associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The proposal comes after WND broke the story earlier this week that, according to top European and Egyptian diplomatic sources, Israel has been conducting behind-the-scene negotiations to hand over most of the West Bank to Abbas' security forces. The sources said the transfer of security control to Abbas would be coordinated by the European Union and Jordan.

The West Bank borders Jerusalem and is within rocket-firing range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.

At Israel's prestigious Herzliya Conference, Knesset Member Shlomo Breznitz, reportedly a close confidante of Olmert, said yesterday the West Bank should be transferred temporarily to the Europeans and that most of the territory's Jewish communities should be evacuated.
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Federal investigation sought into abortions

Federal investigation sought into abortions
Operation Rescue plans move in battle over prosecuting Tiller
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Posted: January 25, 2007
5:45 p.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Another four-day protest, "Pray in May" has been scheduled in Wichita, Kan., where late-term abortion special George Tiller has a business, as a pro-life activist group weighs its legal options in an effort to have criminal charges against Tiller heard in a court of law.

The state's former attorney general, Phill Kline, had filed 30 criminal counts against Tiller just days before Christmas, but the local prosecutor, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Tedesco Foulston, worked with a local judge to have the counts dismissed before they could be heard.

That's despite the fact they resulted from a multi-year investigation by Kline, which had been reviewed and approved by the state Supreme Court, and the counts themselves had been reviewed and approved by two separate Kansas judges.

"This is far from over," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Viable babies who should have the protection of Kansas law continue to be illegally killed at George R. Tiller's infamous late-term abortion mill. We must continue to seek justice, as our Christian faith demands, as long as this gross injustice continues."
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Proposed law against spanking toddlers in Calif. causes stir

By Erin Roach
Baptist Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--If a Democratic assemblywoman in California has her way, parents in that state could soon be fined or even jailed for spanking their toddlers, a practice Sally Lieber said victimizes helpless children.

Lieber, who does not have children, plans to introduce a bill this week that would make California the first state to make the spanking of children 4 years old and under a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail or a fine of up to $1,000.
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