The 'Sovietization' Of The United States

Prisoners taken in the dead of night to Lubyanka were systematically beaten for days with rubber hoses and clubs. There were special cold rooms where prisoners could be frozen to near death. Sleep deprivation was a favourite and most effective Cheka technique. So was near-drowning in water fouled with urine and feces. I recall these past horrors because of what this column has long called the gradual “Sovietization” of the United States. We have seen America’s president and vice president, sworn to uphold the Constitution, advocating some of the same interrogation techniques the KGB used at the Lubyanka. They apparently believe beating, freezing, sleep deprivation and near-drowning are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks, so did Stalin.

Bulgaria and Romania to join EU in 2007

The European Commission has given Bulgaria and Romania the green light to join the European Union in January, but with the closest monitoring system ever imposed on new members. The 26th and 27th members of the European club will be allowed to join up on January 1, 2007, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso announced at an EU parliamentary plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday. While the EU's executive arm decided that the two countries have made sufficient reforms to be allowed to enter the club, both still need to work harder to overcome corruption, organised crime, and ensure the proper use of EU funds and food safety. "Bulgaria and Romania have carried out an extraordinary reform process and they have gone through a remarkable transformation," the European Commission said in a statement.

Hezbollah moving rockets near Israeli border

Hezbollah has been transporting rockets and heavy weaponry to Palestinian camps in south Lebanon just a few miles from the Israeli border, according to Lebanese officials. The officials told WND the office of Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Sinora sent a letter last week to Abbas Zakir, the Palestinian Authority's most senior representative in Lebanon, outlining the alleged Hezbollah weapons transfers into Palestinian camps. The letter noted "unusual activity" in and near the Palestinian camps, including the coming and going of trucks suspected of carrying weapons. Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, near Lebanon's border with Syria and Israel. Fatah is the party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Iraq terrorist calls scientists to jihad

Al-Qaidas leader in Iraq called for nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war and urged insurgents to kidnap Westerners so they could be traded for a blind Egyptian sheik who is in a U.S. prison. The fugitive terror chief said experts in the fields of "chemistry, physics, electronics, media and all other sciences — especially nuclear scientists and explosives experts" should join his group's jihad, or holy war, against the West. "We are in dire need of you," said the speaker, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir — also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri. "The field of jihad can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them."

Discovery Could Alter Physics, Bridge Gap Between "Real World", "Spooky Realm"

The discovery that a bizarre particle travels between the real world of matter and the spooky realm of antimatter 3 trillion times a second may open the door to a new era of physics, Fermilab researchers announced Monday. The incredibly rapid commuting rate of the B sub s meson particle had been predicted by the Standard Model, the successful but incomplete theory aimed at explaining how matter and energy interact to form the visible universe. After 20 years of trying, scientists have now confirmed the rate, providing strong evidence for the theory.

Archaeologist Claims Jerusalem Treasure Mystery Solved

According to Dr Kingsley, "the treasure resonates fiercely across modern politics. Since the mid-1990s, a heated political wrangle has been simmering between the Vatican and Israel, which has accused the papacy of imprisoning the treasure. "The Temple treasure remains a deadly political tool in the volatile Arab-Israeli conflict centred on the Temple Mount [the site of the Jewish Temple and the Muslim Dome of the Rock]. "The treasure's final hiding place - in the modern West Bank ... deep in Hamas territory - will rock world religions."

Israeli Intelligence says: Syria's President Favors Another War

Syria, buoyed by Hizbullah's success against Israel, has ordered his military to prepare for a regional war with the Jewish state. Israeli intelligence sources said Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered a series of measures meant to bolster the preparedness of his military. The sources cited increased training, exercises, procurement as well as an examination of Israeli ground and air battles in Lebanon in July and August. ‘We see signs of a new strategy in the Syrian military based on the lessons from the Hizbullah war,’ an intelligence source said. ‘It could take months until the picture becomes clearer.’ The sources said the Intelligence Corps has detected Syrian activities in the Golan Heights that could mark preparations for another war. They said Syria appeared to be planning to bring people to the Golan to serve as a human shield during any conflict with Israel.

North Korea Rejects Nuclear Talks, Blames U.S.

North Korea's deputy foreign minister, Choe Su Hon, blamed what he called the ‘vicious, hostile policies’ of the United States for what he called ‘touch and go critical tension on the Korean peninsula.’ Referring to his country by its initials DPRK, Choe said Washington is purposely stoking tensions in a strategy aimed at world domination. ‘The United States aims to strengthen its armed forces in this region, and thus contain the ever-growing-strong DPRK and neighboring countries within its world supremacy strategy. This is what the real intention of the United States is,’ he said. He accused the United States of imposing unjustified financial sanctions on Pyongyang, and said under such conditions, North Korea would not return to the stalled six-party talks on its nuclear program. ‘It is quite preposterous that the DPRK, under the groundless U.S. sanctions, takes part in the talks of discussing its own nuclear abandonment. This is the matter of principle which cannot tolerate even the slightest concession,’ he said.

Nanotechnology Risks Unknown

The United States is the world leader in nanotechnology -- the newly blossoming science of making incredibly small materials and devices -- but is not paying enough attention to the environmental, health and safety risks posed by nanoscale products, says a report released yesterday by the independent National Research Council. If federal officials, business leaders and others do not devise a plan to fill the gaps in their knowledge of nanotech safety, the report warns, the field's great promise could evaporate in a cloud of public mistrust. "There is some evidence that engineered nanoparticles can have adverse effects on the health of laboratory animals," the congressionally mandated report said, echoing concerns raised by others at a House hearing last week. Until the risks are better understood, "it is prudent to employ some precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment."

Earth may be at warmest point in 1 million years

Earth may be close to the warmest it has been in the last million years, especially in the part of the Pacific Ocean where potentially violent El Nino weather patterns are born, climate scientists reported. This doesn't necessarily mean there will be more frequent El Ninos -- which can disrupt normal weather around the world -- but could well mean that these wild patterns will be stronger when they occur, said James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. The El Nino phenomenon is an important factor in monitoring global warming, according to a paper by Hansen and colleagues published in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. El Ninos can push temperatures higher than they might ordinarily be. This happened in 1998 when a so-called "super El Nino" helped heat the Earth to a record high. What is significant, the scientists wrote, is that 2005 was in the same temperature range as 1998, and probably was the warmest year ever, with no sign of the warm surface water in the eastern equatorial Pacific typical of an El Nino.

U.S. drops to 6th in world competitiveness ranking

The United States fell to sixth place in the World Economic Forum's 2006 global competitiveness rankings, ceding the top place to Switzerland, as macroeconomic concerns eroded prospects for the world's largest economy. In a report released on Tuesday, the World Economic Forum said Washington's huge defense and homeland security spending commitments, plans to lower taxes further, and long-term potential costs from health care and pensions were creating worrisome fiscal strains. "With a low savings rate, record-high current account deficits and a worsening of the U.S. net debtor position, there is a non-negligible risk to both the country's overall competitiveness and, given the relative size of the U.S. economy, the future of the global economy," it said. Switzerland was deemed the most competitive economy in 2006, followed by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. After the United States, which had topped the 2005 index, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain rounded out the top 10.

Scientists Turn Dead Cells Into Living Ones

Research is being reported today where scientists working at a British laboratory have achieved one of the most controversial breakthroughs ever made in the field of stem cell science by taking cells from dead embryos and turning them into living tissue. We knew it was coming, and now the public does too, although most won't understand what this means until it's too late. Soon, the gates will open, already are, and light will shine on Bible prophecy in ways hundreds of generations have never seen before. People will cry for the rocks to fall on them. Their hearts will fail them for fear of seeing those things that are coming upon the earth.

In 2005, 4,200 Israelis abroad came back to Israel, most from U.S.

In 2005, a total of 4,200 Israelis living abroad returned to Israel Absorption Ministry figures show. Most of those who returned were living in the United States, Israel Radio said. The ministry is launching a marketing campaign in North America to encourage Israelis living abroad to return to Israel. The NIS 1.5 million campaign, which will include broadcasts on the "Israeli Network" satellite and Internet channel, among other outlets, will focus on publicizing employment opportunities in Israel for returning residents. According to a 2005 survey by the ministry, 64 percent of Israelis living abroad ranked employment as the critical factor in their decision on returning to Israel, followed by their children's education and housing options.

Russia Selling Iran Missiles to Protect Bushehr Nuclear Reactor

Russia, pledging to complete the Bushehr reactor, has offered to sell a range of surface-to-air missile systems to protect Iran’s nuclear facilities. Russian diplomatic and industry sources said Moscow has been negotiating to sell Iran a range of anti-aircraft systems to protect Bushehr from Israeli or U.S. air strikes. The sources said contracts could be signed when Bushehr was ready to begin operations in a move expected to take place in late 2007. “Russia has already installed and manned SAM systems around Bushehr,” a diplomatic source said. “The current talks regard an air defense umbrella that would protect all strategic sites in Iran.”

'Religion of peace' followers torch Christian churches

Nearly a dozen Christian churches have been burned and hundreds of people forced to seek refuge in a police station by Muslims who rioted through the Nigerian city of Dutse, and they blamed their actions on a "comment" made by a Christian woman. According to a Reuters report, authorities in the city imposed a night curfew this week to try to quell the violence allegedly triggered by a statement by a woman that Muslims said was a blasphemy to Mohammad. Scores of houses and shops owned by Christians also were burned in the Jigawa state capital city, police spokesman Haz Iwendi reported. There also were some injuries, but no fatalities, he said. "Eleven churches and so many houses and shops were burned," he told Reuters. "The house of the Anglican bishop also was ransacked."

N.Korea seeks more plutonium for nuclear arms

A North Korean official said his country will soon unload fuel rods from a nuclear reactor to make plutonium for weapons, seeking to pressure Washington into direct talks, a visiting U.S. scholar said. Selig Harrison, back from a visit to North Korea, told a Beijing news conference he had met Kim Kye-gwan, Pyongyang's top negotiator at stalled six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions. "He did make clear that the purpose of unloading the fuel was to obtain more plutonium for nuclear weapons," Harrison said, noting the material could make "enough plutonium for 3 to 6 nuclear weapons." The U.S. State Department warned North Korea against provocative actions and urged it to return to the talks.

Sheep slaughtered in 'satanic' ritual in one of Englands, National Parks

Police are hunting "devil worshippers" after a series of sickening "satanic rite" attacks on sheep at a national park. Around 100 animals have been found slaughtered and mutilated with their tongues, eyes and sexual organs removed on Dartmoor in Devon in the past year. All of the bodies had been arranged in a satanic star shape on the floor or laid out in a circle with their necks broken. Most of the blood-thirsty rituals have been carried out during a full moon. In the latest attack farmer Charles Mudge, of Tavistock, Devon, found 30 of his flock dead with bizarre half-moon symbols carved into their flesh. He discovered all their bodies lying near a bloodstained stone altar and wooden stake. "We are absolutely devastated. It is disgusting," he said. "We don't know how they're doing it. But they must be people with dogs and have got to be used to handling sheep."

Reporter: 'Don't Underestimate Al Qaida Nuclear Threat'

The warning from an al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, should be taken seriously says the Pakistani journalist who interviewed Abu Dawood. Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, told radio talk-show host Glenn Beck yesterday that he, too, had make the mistake of underestimating the terror network in the past. He said he interviewed bin Laden prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and heard warnings about an attack on the U.S., but discounted them. Mir took bin Laden more seriously after the bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, shortly after his first of three meetings with bin Laden – the last coming after 9/11. ‘I would not underestimate these people,’ he said. Mir also explained that his own independent research and knowledge of al-Qaida verifies the authenticity of some of the claims made by Dawood in their meeting in Afghanistan. Dawood said the impending attack, which could involved nuclear or radiological weapons, is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of warhead smuggled across the Mexican border. ‘Our brothers are ready to attack inside America,’ Dawood told Mir. ‘We will breach their security again. There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time.’

VeriChip Advances Talks With The Military

The maker of human-implantable RFID chips makes its first sale of its infant protection, wander prevention and staff duress system to a Canadian hospital and is discussing testing its implantable chips in two military branches. VeriChip, of Delray Beach, Fla., confirmed in media reports that Scott Silverman, its board chairman, has held informal meetings with U.S. Navy and Air Force officials to discuss a feasibility study of its VeriMed system.

Iran warns of 'lightning' response to any attack

Iran has warned Western powers the armed forces would hit back "like lightning" against any attack as it crowed over its military prowess and showed off firepower at a major army parade. Thousands of members of the armed forces and the whole panoply of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal were on display at the parade, including the Shahab-3, a weapon whose range includes arch-enemy Israel. "We want peace but we warn the expansionists not to think of an aggression against Iran as we can defend the fatherland and Islam," Vice President Parviz Davoodi warned. "Our lions are so powerful that they can strike the enemy like lightning and destroy him," he added.

Robot Infantry Ready For The Battlefield

"Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply." So said the armed robot in Paul Verhoeven's 1987 movie RoboCop. The suspect drops his weapon but a fault in the robot's software means it opens fire anyway. Nearly two decades later, such fictional weapon-toting robots are looking startlingly close to reality. Sometime in the coming months, chances are that we'll be seeing TV reports that an armed remote-controlled robot has been used in anger for the first time. "They will appear when they appear. I can't talk about when that may be," says Bob Quinn, general manager at Foster-Miller of Waltham, Massachusetts, whose machine-gun-equipped robot, called Sword, was certified safe for use by the US forces in June.

Are You Ready For Your Microchip?

You might not realize it, but the science behind the VeriChip is already big business. VeriChip uses radio frequency identification, or RFID technology. Last year, vendors shipped 500 million RFID chips to the U.S. military and companies like Wal -Mart for use in inventory tracking. Your pet may be one of the more than 6 million animals chipped since 1991. Highway toll systems use it to automatically charge you. And the latest U.S. passports sport RFID chips. RFID tracking has become a part of our everyday world. And that may pave the way for more implants, even mandatory ones.

Iran Leaders U.N. Finale Reveals Apocalyptic View

While most of the reporting and analysis of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N. focused on what he had to say about the West and specifically the U.S., his chilling closing remarks were lost on most listeners – and apparently all reporters. The last two paragraphs of his remarks revealed his steadfast and driving conviction, as previously reported in WND ,that a messianic figure, known as the ‘Mahdi’ to Muslims, is poised to reveal himself after an apocalyptic holocaust on Earth that leaves most of the world's population dead. ‘I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet,’ Ahmadinejad said. ‘Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause.’ With Iran on the verge of producing nuclear weapons and already in possession of sophisticated medium-range missiles, mystical pre-occupation with the coming of a Shiite Islamic messiah is of particular concern because of Iran's potential for triggering the kind of global conflagration Ahmadinejad envisions will set the stage for the end of the world. Ahmadinejad is on record as stating he believes he is to have a personal role in ushering in the age of the Mahdi. In a Nov. 16, 2005, speech in Tehran, he said he sees his main mission in life as to ‘pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance.’ According to Shiites, the 12th imam disappeared as a child in the year 941. When he returns, they believe, he will reign on earth for seven years, before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world.

Secret Biological Tests Being Conducted On Americans?

Last week, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called for the testing of nonlethal weaponry on US citizens. According to Wynne, "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation." But what about lethal weapons testing? Apparently there are a lot of circumstances under which the Secretary of Defense can test chemical or biological agents on human beings - without their consent or knowledge. Section 1515, entitled "Suspension; Presidential authorization" says the operation of this chapter, or any portion thereof, may be suspended by the President during the period of any war declared by Congress and during the period of any national emergency declared by Congress or by the President. If the President or Congress decides we’re at war then the Secretary of Defense doesn’t need anybody’s consent to test chemical or biological agents on human beings. Gives one pause during these days of a perpetual "war on terror" to wonder what kind of clandestine WMD tests the Defense Department could be conducting in the US right now, on military or civilian populations, without consent, let alone on populations abroad.

Bush Signals War, Orders Massive Naval Armada To Iran

As reports circulate of a sharp debate within the White House over possible US military action against Iran and its nuclear enrichment facilities, The Nation has learned that the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have issued orders for a major "strike group" of ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower as well as a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, submarine escort and supply ship, to head for the Persian Gulf, just off Iran's western coast. This information follows a report, both online and in print, that a group of ships capable of mining harbors has received orders to be ready to sail for the Persian Gulf by October 1.

S.Korea develops its longest range missile

South Korea has developed and hopes to deploy soon a new cruise missile that is capable of hitting almost all of North Korea, a defense ministry official said. North Korea, which has one of the biggest missile arsenals in Asia, defied international warnings and test-fired seven missiles in July, including a long-range ballistic missile that fizzled after take-off but one day might be able to hit parts of U.S. territory. The new South Korean cruise missile, with a range of 500 km (310 miles), will be the longest-range missile in its arsenal and is capable of hitting all of North Korea's ballistic missile bases, the official said on condition of anonymity. Cruise missiles fly much like airplanes, often at low altitudes in order to avoid detection by radar. Three South Korean submarines that will take to the sea next year will be fitted with launchers for the missile, dubbed Cheon Ryong, which can be translated as sky dragon, the official said.

UN Chief Warns of Global War Over Religion

Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered his final address to the United Nations General Assembly before he retires at the end of the year. During the speech, which comes on the heels of the media-generated controversy regarding Pope Benedict XVI’s quoting of a text on Islam, Annan said, “insensitivity towards other people’s beliefs or sacred symbols –- intentional or otherwise -- is seized upon by those who seem eager to foment a new war of religion on a global scale.” “Moreover, this climate of fear and suspicion is constantly refuelled by the violence in the Middle East”, he said, adding: “We might like to think of the Arab-Israeli conflict as just one regional conflict amongst many, but it is not. No other conflict carries such a powerful symbolic and emotional charge among people far removed from the battlefield.”

Doomsday 2012?

Something big happens in 2012: the ancient and complex Mayan calendar—studied by astrology, spirituality and history buffs alike—has chugged along for 1,872,000 days, and its cycle stops (and restarts) on Dec. 21, 2012. To add to the frenzy, it just so happens that the years building up to 2012 mark an unusual astronomical alignment, one so rare it occurs only in 30 out of every 26,000 years. During this period, the Sun will make its annual crossing of the galactic equator—the plane that bisects the Milky Way as it appears in the sky—the same day as the winter solstice.

New Weapons From Iran Turning Up On Mideast Battlefields

A new armor-busting rocket-propelled grenade believed to be of Iranian origin has shown up in Iraq in what may be ‘a hint about things to come,’ the commander of US forces in the Middle East said Tuesday. General John Abizaid said the weapon, an RPG-29, has a dual warhead and has proved effective against most types of armored vehicles. ‘The first time we saw it was not in Iraq. We saw it in Lebanon. So to me it indicates, number one, an Iranian connection,’ he told defense reporters here. ‘It's hard to say in our part of the world that we operate in as to whether or not people have given us a hint about things to come,’ he said. He said only a single RPG-29 has turned up in Iraq so far, and it was unclear how it was smuggled into the country. But he said it was the latest in a number of new and more sophisticated weapons that appear to be moving onto the region's battlefields from Iran. He said longer-range Chinese rockets that looked new also have been found in Iraq.

Scientists say 'We Must Prepare Now For War Of The Worlds'

If you think that the threat of terrorism is alarming, you’re probably not ready to contemplate a much bigger problem. How much bigger? Think fear in the streets, think global panic, think nowhere to run... think alien invasion. And it’s not just the alien physiology that could be profoundly different; we might not even comprehend why the aliens would attack in the first place. Sci-fi tends to personify the aliens with humanlike qualities, but aliens are alien. Their motivations are likely be just that; alien.

New Sanctions Target North Korea

Japan and Australia have announced new financial sanctions against North Korea, stepping up pressure on the secretive state over missile tests. The sanctions will freeze the transfer of money to North Korea by groups suspected of having links to its nuclear or missile programs. The move, which follows similar action by the US, comes after Pyongyang launched several missiles in July. South Korea has urged other countries not to push the North into a corner. The South is worried that the North may retaliate by carrying out a nuclear test, which would destroy any remaining hope of a diplomatic solution to the stand-off. Japanese government spokesman Shinzo Abe said the new sanctions were in line with a United Nations resolution which denounced the missile tests. The Japanese measures affect 15 groups and one individual, and will come into effect later on Tuesday, according to Japanese media.

Iran rejects accelerated UN talks on its nuclear program

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected speeding up negotiations with world powers over its disputed nuclear program during a visit to Venezuela. Talks "are continuing, and I see no reason to speed them up," he said at a press conference before departing Venezuela for the UN General Assembly in New York. "Iran's nuclear program is very clear and very transparent," the president said. "We have always said that we are willing to negotiate with any country." If nuclear energy "is something good then everyone should have it, and if it is bad then nobody should have it," he said at the end of his two-day visit. Ahmadinejad accused Western powers of wanting to control nuclear technology "and when another country needs it they sell it at a high price."

Muslims demand pope convert to Islam

Christian churches in the Middle East are vandalized, a Catholic nun in Africa is killed and Muslims have demanded that the pope convert to Islam – all because he read a quote from a medieval text that described Islam as "evil and inhuman." The pope has issued an apology for even referencing the historic text, emphasized that those views are not his, but still many in the Islamic world are demanding blood. A new group called "The sword of Islam" contacted reporters and said it had fired gunshots at a Christian church in the Middle East during a demonstration over the comments.

TIME: U.S. May be Preparing For War Against Iran

The United States might be preparing for war against Iran, according to the current issue of TIME magazine. It reported that the American Navy recently ordered a submarine and minesweepers to prepare to deploy, and it is likely the intention was to prepare to blockade the Persian Gulf where Iranian oil tankers must pass. "From the State Department to the White House to the highest reaches of the military command, there is a growing sense that a showdown with Iran--over its suspected quest for nuclear weapons, its threats against Israel and its bid for dominance of the world's richest oil region--may be impossible to avoid.," according to the magazine report. It noted that American worries over Iran increased dramatically following the Iranian-backed Hizbullah terrorist war against Israel this summer. Any American attack on Iran would be from the air and not from the ground, TIME said. American strategists estimate that Iran's first reaction would be to attack Israel.

Taliban: 500 Suicide Bombers Ready to Attack

In a rare interview, the Taliban's top military commander said he has 500 suicide bombers at his disposal and could launch them at any time. Speaking by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location, Mulla Dadullah Akhund told ABC News the suicide bombers will target Kabul, the capital, because it is the headquarters for U.S. and NATO forces. "They attacked us. We didn't go to the U.S. to fight them. We are fighting for our religion and homeland," he said. Mulla Dadullah, who lost a leg in earlier fighting, said he also commanded 12,000 Taliban fighters, which he claimed were actively engaging U.S.-led forces in four southwestern Afghan provinces. "We have no shortage of fighters," he said. "In fact, we have so many of them that it is difficult to accommodate and arm and equip them. Some of them have been waiting for a year or more for their turn to be sent to the battlefield," Mulla Dadullah contended.

IDF tackling Iran's WMD threat

With Iran racing to obtain nuclear weapons, the IDF Home Front Command (HFC) has shifted its focus since the war in Lebanon and is now investing most of its efforts in confronting the threat of non-conventional weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a high-ranking officer revealed Monday. The officer said the HFC was in the process of developing new technological means to deal with chemical and biological threats. The Jerusalem Post has learned that the HFC was in the process of developing mobile air-purification containers that could be brought to areas infected by chemical or biological weapons and purify the air.

Israel: Few months to avoid nuclear Iran

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that the world may have as little as “A few months” to avoid a nuclear Iran and called for sanctions. Livni, whose country is the only Middle East power possessing nuclear weapons, said she did not want to identify a point of “No return” in the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranians, she said, “Are trying to send a message that it’s too late, you can stop your attempts because it’s too late. It’s not too late. They have a few more months,” She said. “The world cannot afford a nuclear Iran,” Livni said. “I believe that this is time for sanctions.” Iran, whose president last year called for Israel to be “Wiped off the map,” denies it is seeking nuclear weapons.

Iran and Venezuela strengthen ties

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that he and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez are like "brothers" in a great global struggle. Chavez has promised to argue for Iran's nuclear program if he wins a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council in a vote next month. Chavez has said Venezuela "will stand together with Iran at all times and under any conditions," accusing the U.S. of planning to invade Iran. The two leaders are united by deep-seated opposition to Washington and to Iran's archenemy Israel, which Chavez accused of committing a new "Holocaust" in its bombardments in Lebanon.

In Replay Of Iraq, Battle Begins Brewing Over Prewar Intel In Lead-up To Attack On Iran

In an echo of the intelligence wars that preceded the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a high-stakes struggle is brewing within the Bush administration and in Congress over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and involvement in terrorism. U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush political appointees and hard-liners on Capitol Hill have tried recently to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran's role in Hezbollah's attack on Israel in mid-July.

Al-Qaida warning: Muslims leave U.S.

The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan is calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, according to an interview by a Pakistani journalist. Abu Dawood told Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, the attack is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of weapon of mass destruction smuggled across the Mexican border. "Our brothers are ready to attack inside America. We will breach their security again," he is quoted as saying. "There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time." As WND has previously reported, el-Shukrijumah is a trained nuclear technician and accomplished pilot who has been singled out by bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to serve as the field commander for the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The terrorist was last seen in Mexico, where, on Nov. 1, 2004, he allegedly hijacked a Piper PA Pawnee cropduster from Ejido Queretaro near Mexicali to transport a nuclear weapon and nuclear equipment into the U.S.

Wal-Mart Expands Use of RFID Tracking

Despite the best efforts of privacy advocates, Wal-Mart pressed forward with its plans to use RFID, saying it planned to roll out the technology to another 500 stores during this fiscal year. The expansion would mean over a quarter of the company's 3,900-plus stores, including its Sam's Club subsidiary, would use RFID to manage its inventory.

North Korea's No.2 Leader says 'Lack of world peace, is the fault of the U.S.'

North Korea's No. 2 leader blamed the lack of world peace on the United States on Saturday at the Non-aligned Summit, saying because of Washington's failure to respect the sovereignty of other countries, "the international order is destroyed." Kim Yong Nam said desires for peace by the 118 countries in the Non- aligned Movement are "confronted with grave challenges owing to the high-handed acts and unilateralism of the superpower, which denies countries and nations the independent choice of development." The resulting imbalance in global politics constitutes "grave threats to world peace and security," he said. It was the latest anti-U.S. statement at a meeting that has brought together some of the staunchest foes of the United States, including the presidents of Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Jerusalem to become the capital of an Islamic nation?

Israeli Arab Muslim cleric Sheik Ra'ad Salah declared that Jerusalem will soon become the capital of an Islamic nation at a rally in the northern town of Umm al-Fahm. The leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement Salah, told a crowd of 50,000 gatherers that Israel's occupation of the Temple Mount was nearing its end. He then said comatose former-prime minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav, who is currently under investigation for alleged sex crimes, were "paying the price" for damaging Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque.

Arctic ice melting rapidly, study says

Arctic sea ice in winter is melting far faster than before, two new NASA studies reported, a new and alarming trend that researchers say threatens the ocean's delicate ecosystem. Scientists point to the sudden and rapid melting as a sure sign of man-made global warming. "It has never occurred before in the past," said NASA senior research scientist Josefino Comiso in a phone interview. "It is alarming... This winter ice provides the kind of evidence that it is indeed associated with the greenhouse effect." Scientists have long worried about melting Arcticsea ice in the summer, but they had not seen a big winter drop in sea ice, even though they expected it. For more than 25 years Arctic sea ice has slowly diminished in winter by about 1.5 percent per decade. But in the past two years the melting has occurred at rates 10 to 15 times faster. From 2004 to 2005, the amount of ice dropped 2.3 percent; and over the past year, it's declined by another 1.9 percent, according to Comiso.

Chavez vows aid for Iran against attack

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged that Venezuela will support Iran if it is invaded as a result of the Middle Eastern nation's high-stakes nuclear standoff with the
United Nations Security Council. "Iran is under threat; there are plans to invade Iran, hopefully it won't happen, but we are with you," Chavez told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a meeting of the Group of 15 developing nations. The U.N. has demanded that Iran suspend uranium enrichment amid concerns by some nations that it could be used for nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its enrichment efforts are peaceful, aimed solely at producing electrical energy. Chavez said Venezuela stands with Iran in this time of crisis, just as it has with Cuba, where Fidel Castro handed over power to Raul while recovering from intestinal surgery. If they don't defend each other, no one else will, Chavez said. "Under any scenario we are with you just like we are with Cuba," Chavez said. "If the United States invades Cuba, blood will run... We will not have our arms crossed while bombs are falling in Havana or they carry Raul off in a plane.

Giora Eiland: Iran will get nuclear bomb

Iran will not be deterred from its nuclear program and will ultimately reach a nuclear capability, Giora Eiland, the recently retired head of Israel's National Security Council, has said, in an assessment immediately refuted by the Prime Minister's Office. "The political process vis-a-vis Iran has more or less exhausted itself," Eiland said in an interview this week. "The efforts being made now to try and reach some kind of agreement with the Iranians are really the final efforts. In my opinion, they will fail."
Speaking with the Post in his office at the council, where he is still working as he completes a transition period after stepping down as its head, Eiland added: "In the end, Iran will attain a nuclear capability. The international opportunities of a few years ago were not exploited, and today it's too late. I don't regard the [international diplomatic] processes unfolding now as being strong enough to stop them, or even to temporarily suspend them.

Air Force Chief Says 'Test Weapons On Unruly Americans'

Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne. "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press." Global Research notes that this report suggests that the so-called non lethal weapons which are electromagnetic devices are to be used both in war theaters, against civilians, as well as an instrument of "Domestic Security", directed, for instance, against demonstrators and antiwar activists.

Britain Will Keep Files On Every Man, Woman And Child

A vast database containing a file on every man, woman and child is being planned by the Government in a 'sinister' expansion of the 'Big Brother' state. Personal information containing details of every aspect of an individual's life will be available to 400,000 Whitehall civil servants and council workers. Lord Falconer has ordered privacy laws to be watered down to allow the plans to be forced through.

Chaplain who prayed 'in Jesus' name' convicted

A military jury today convicted a Navy chaplain of a misdemeanor count of disobeying his commanding officer for wearing his uniform while delivering a prayer "in Jesus' name" at an assembly in front of the White House. "But I had prior written permission to wear my uniform if it was a religious observance, (so) prayers are not a religious observance," Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt told WND after the military court-martial recessed for the night. "Therefore I disobeyed my commanding officer's order not to pray in uniform," he said. Klingenschmitt, who raised immediate concerns with this superiors when the Navy issued a new order that prayers could only be "nonsectarian," also has alleged he was punished for raising those concerns, and later notifying Congress and President Bush of the situation.

Taliban, Al-Qaeda Planning Nuclear Terror Attack Inside The U.S. During Ramadan?

AKI reports that Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, when interviewed over al-Arabiya televison, stated that during his recent trip to Afghanistan he met with Taliban fighters and al-Qaeda (Tehran) members who spoke of a nuclear terror attack inside the United States during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which begins on September 24. The bombs look like a suitcase and they can also fit inside one. They only weigh 60-100 lbs and if you see a man carrying one it will look like he is carrying a suitcase. I believe it was mentioned than in terms of nuclear energy, the bombs were 1 kiloton. They were initially designed to destroy a large enemy military base but if they are detonated in an urban center it could kill 50,000-100,000 people.

Iran president more dangerous than Hitler

Knesset member Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be more dangerous than Adolf Hitler. Speaking at the sixth International Counter Terrorism Conference, organized by the Interdisciplinary Center's (IDC) Institute for Counter Terrorism, Netanyahu told the audience: "Al-Qaeda can't develop nuclear weapons, while the militant Shiite movement is galloping forward towards developing nuclear terror." Nuclear Threat Conference: Iran wants to be a nuclear empire. The Global terrorism conference at the Interdisciplinary Center examines regional, global implications of the Hizbullah war; and experts said: The Lebanon war was a new kind of confrontation with emerging Islamist revolutionary axis. They added: "Hitler went out on a world campaign first, and then tried to get nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to get nuclear arms first, therefore from that perspective, it is much more dangerous.

The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus

Doral His name is Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda; his followers call him everything from apostle to Dad, or simply Jesus Christ Man. De Jesus Miranda himself believes he’s the living incarnation of “Jesus Christ Man,” “the second coming of Christ.” A follower of his believes “he is God, he is God.” She also lavishes him with money and gifts. "I don’t have one Rolex,” de Jesus Miranda said, “I have 3 because they want to give it to me. It's like that woman that came to Jesus with the expensive perfume and put it on his feet. He didn’t reject it, so when someone gives me a watch or a gift, I receive it. I like them too, they're nice." This self-proclaimed Son of God is a 60 year old former heroin addict and convict. The divorced father of 4 was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in South Florida with his second wife. From a warehouse in Doral, near Miami, he presides over the "Creciendo en Gracia" or Growing in Grace Ministry which he also calls “God's Government On Earth. As any other head of state, he is protected by a security detail that mimics the U.S. Secret Service. What De Jesus is doing at more than 300 centers in Central and South America, Cuba and the U.S. is preaching a message of "freedom to indulge" because according to this modern messiah, there is no sin, no devil and no hell to pay. De Jesus says, “It doesn’t exist. The devil was destroyed two thousand years ago." It is music to the ears of his followers, mostly Hispanic men and women who believe they are God's chosen people, predestined for salvation no matter what they do on earth. They also believe all other faiths are false and must be destroyed, from Catholics to Baptists and Jehovah’s witnesses. His followers have organized marches at which they destroy religious books and symbols. They also have a campaign aimed at disrupting other religious gatherings, sometimes with violent consequences.

Iran Shells Iraq, Captures Soldiers

In an escalation of tensions, Iran has shelled Iraq and captured seven of its soldiers. Iraqi officials said Iran and Iraq have been fighting along their mutual border. They said the Iran Army fired artillery shells into Iraq last week and captured seven soldiers northeast of Baghdad. On Saturday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry reported the Iranian capture of seven members of an Iraqi border patrol. The ministry said the Iraqis were detained while they were stationed at the Hankin border terminal near Haila. The ministry said an investigation has been launched.

Gov. Agencies Expanding Use Of RFID

The U.S. Department of Defense, as well as federal and state civilian agencies are increasingly deploying or planning to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. One in five respondents who are using, or plan to use, RFID said they were now engaged in “full-scale integration” of RFID systems, and two-thirds said they were either in pilots, early-stage implementations or conducting initial evaluations for deployments. Fifty six percent of respondents were from federal civilian agencies, 26 percent from the DoD, 9 percent from state and local governments and another 8 percent from other organizations (government suppliers, contractors, consultants and OEMs) working for government agencies.

Intellectual Guru Of The "Emerging Church" Says You Can Be Christian Without Jesus

Brian D.McLaren, offers an evangelical vision that emphasizes tolerance and social justice. He contends that people can follow Jesus's way without becoming Christian. In the latest of his eight books, "The Secret Message of Jesus," which has sold 55,000 copies since its April release, he argues that Christians should be more concerned about creating a just "Kingdom of God" on earth than about getting into heaven.

Al-Qaeda conflict described as World War IV

A former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) director and chief adviser to New York's Terrorism Preparedness Taskforce has described the conflict against al-Qaeda as the "fourth world war", and he predicts it will go on for decades. James Woolsey was director of the CIA under President Clinton and was an arms control negotiator under presidents Reagan and Bush Senior. He's critical of US administrations from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton for failing to tackle Islamic terrorism more robustly. James Woolsey has been speaking to Paolo Black. Woolsey says 'I think that war will go on for decades, like the Cold War, hopefully just a few decades instead of many decades.' But I don't think it's just a war on terrorism, I think it's a war on Islamist fanaticism or fascism, if you prefer, and it won't really be over until the future of the Middle East is clearly tending in one direction or another, either toward chaos and dictatorship, or in the direction that we hope Afghanistan and Iraq can move, toward decent societies, the beginnings of rule of law and some degree of democracy.

Physics Set For Monster Revolution In Discovery Of Extra Dimensions

Physics could be turned on its head by a monster machine that can make black holes and may provide the first real evidence that extra dimensions exist. Scientists have no idea what they will find when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) starts smashing elementary particles together next year at energies never reached before. One possibility is that it will create Higgs particles, which some theorists think may be involved in giving objects mass. It might also verify Professor Stephen Hawking's theory that black holes "evaporate" over time, or produce mysterious "dark matter". But physicists are most excited about the prospect of finding the "fingerprints" of other dimensions. If that happened, it would lead to the biggest upheaval in physics since an apple bounced off Sir Isaac Newton's head and got him wondering about gravity.

Al Qaeda threatens attacks in Gulf, Israel

Al Qaeda warned in a video aired on the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks that U.S. allies Israel and the Gulf Arab states would be the next targets in a campaign that would seal the West's economic doom. Deputy al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in remarks apparently addressed to Western leaders: "I tell them do not bother yourselves with defending your forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. These forces are doomed to failure. "You have to bolster your defenses in two areas ... the first is the Gulf, from which you will be evicted, God willing, after your defeat in Iraq and then your economic doom will be achieved," he said in the video broadcast in part on the Arabic al-Jazeera television channel. "And the next (target) is Israel. The current of holy war is closing on it and your end there will put an end to the Zionist-crusader supremacy." Zawahri also condemned United Nations forces in Lebanon as "enemies of Islam," the first implicit threat against the international peacekeeping detachment. Zawahri's warning of attacks in the Gulf, the world's top oil exporting region, follows previous calls by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to target oil facilities to cripple the West.

Syria will form own Hezbollah

Syria is considering forming its own Hezbollah-like guerrilla organization to fight Israel in hopes of "liberating" the Golan Heights, the chief of intelligence for the Israeli Defense Forces announced yesterday. Speaking at a government meeting, the IDF's Major General Amos Yadlin said Syria is in the initial stages of developing the concept for the copycat Hezbollah group, which he said would launch attacks aimed at pressuring Israel into vacating the Golan Heights, strategic mountainous territory captured by the Jewish state after Syria used the terrain to attack Israel in 1967 and again in 1973. The Heights borders Israel, Syria and Lebanon and is claimed by Damascus.

U.S. warns N Korea on nuclear test

Christopher Hill talks to journalists in Shanghai A senior US diplomat has warned North Korea against a nuclear test, saying that it would be a provocative act. Nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill made the comments in Shanghai at the end of a six-day visit to China. He also said North Korea would receive no further incentives to return to multilateral talks on its nuclear ambitions. Mr Hill now flies to South Korea amid talks of a split between Washington and Seoul on how to handle Pyongyang. Last week, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun appeared to soften his stance, calling Pyongyang's recent missile tests "too meagre" to reach the US and "too big" to target North Korea.

Russian Defense Minister Reports Successful ICBM Test-Launch

Russia successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine from the area of the North Pole, The Associated Press reported Sunday citing the country’s defense minister. The nuclear submarine K-84 launched the missile Saturday, and all three test warheads hit their target, a testing range in the Archangelsk region on the Barents Sea, Sergei Ivanov reported to President Vladimir Putin in televised comments. “The launch was successful,” he said, adding that it had been challenging: “Aiming from the North Pole, where the concepts of latitude and longitude are relative, makes this launch difficult.” Ivanov suggested it was the first time a test-launch from the area had been conducted by the Russian military in 11 years. He spoke days after an unsuccessful test of a new sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile. An experimental Bulava missile launched from a submerged nuclear submarine in the White Sea on Thursday veered off its designated flight path and fell into the sea, according to the Defense Ministry. Following that failure, Ivanov urged quick action to prevent the failure from derailing plans for commissioning a new class of submarines and said sea-based nuclear missiles should remain an important component of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, Russian news agencies reported.

Election 2006 & World War III

As Americans go to the polls in two months, they should have one thought fixed in their minds: they will be voting on whether to commit the nation to fighting World War III against large segments of the world’s one billion Muslims. Beyond the cost in blood and treasure, this war will mean the end of the United States as a democratic Republic. Those are the stakes that were made clear by George W. Bush in an alarmist speech to an association of U.S. military officers on Sept. 5. He declared that the United States must battle not only likely or even possible threats from terrorists, but the most fantastical dreams of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda about a mystical global “caliphate." Adopting some of the most extreme rhetoric favored by his neoconservative advisers, Bush also broadened the “war on terror” beyond al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists and the Sunni-dominated Iraqi insurgency to include the Shiite-run Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and the Shiite government of Iran.

Army's "Future Force Warrior" Passes Major Milestone

The Army's Future Force Warrior (FFW) system is one step closer to being fielded as the Ground Soldier System following a successful demonstration in August of its electronic networking capability. "Natick participated in CERDEC's Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-the-Move (OTM) program," said Fitzgerald. "This allowed us to leverage an important Army field experimentation venue to assess multiple developmental technologies addressing future force network integration, including FFW."

North Korea 'determined to carry out underground test'

Russian diplomats believe it is now "highly probable" that North Korea will officially join the nuclear club by carrying out its first underground test of an atomic device. Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, is said to have made clear his intention to explode a device during recent talks with Russian and Chinese officials in Pyongyang.
Although he was pressed to resume six-party talks over his nuclear programme, the Russians concluded that he was serious in his desire to demonstrate that his scientists have successfully built a nuclear weapon. Their fears appear to bolster American suspicions that a test is being prepared, after intelligence reports last month of unusual vehicle movements in the area believed to be the test site. Any such test would be an escalation of tension in the region and would raise the stakes in the stand-off with the United States. During talks at the Russian and Chinese embassies, Kim was warned that such a move would alienate even Moscow and Beijing – regarded as North Korea's closest friends – who were infuriated by the country's long-range missile tests earlier this summer. "If North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test, it will face severe punishment," said one Russian diplomat. "It would pose a very serious threat to world peace."

Christian beaten for drinking water

A Christian man is recovering from a beating that left him with a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder after he drank water from a glass reserved for the poor at a construction site in Pakistan. The report comes from Voice of the Martyrs, the Christian aid organization with a vision for working around the world to help those who are facing persecution for their Christian faith. The report said Nasir Ashraf, a Christian stonemason, was working on the construction of a room at a school near Manga Mandi outside of Lahore when he got thirsty and took a break. "He drew water and drank from a glass chained to a cemented public water tank next to a mosque, which was reserved for 'all' poor people," the VOM report said. "Returning to the construction site, a Muslim man asked him, 'Why did you drink water from this glass since you are a Christian?'" The man then accused Nasir of polluting the glass, yanked the glass off the iron chain, broke it and threw it in a garbage can. He also summoned other militant Muslims nearby. "This man polluted our glass," he told them. The result was an incensed mob that beat Nasir, yelling that a "Christian dog" drank from their glass.
Bystanders encouraged the beating, because it would be a "good" deed that would help them in heaven, the report said.

Gaza Preparing For War

Local terror groups are working with Hezbollah to turn the Gaza Strip into the Palestinian version of south Lebanon by smuggling in heavy weaponry and rockets, building war bunkers and preparing for a large-scale confrontation with Israel. ‘We learned from Hezbollah's victory that Israel can be defeated if we know how to hit them and if we are well prepared,’ said Abu Ahmed, northern Gaza leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group. ‘We are importing rockets and the knowledge to launch them and we are also making many plans for battle.’ South Lebanon is largely dominated by Hezbollah, which developed an arsenal of more than10,000 rockets it used to launch daily attacks against Israel's northern communities during the group's 34-day confrontation with the Jewish state which ended last month. Israel says Syria and Iran provided Hezbollah with rockets and advanced weapons, including anti-tank missiles, for use during battles. Yuval Diskin, director of Israel's Shin Bet Security Services, told the Knesset last month that since the Jewish state withdrew from Gaza, the Palestinians successfully have transferred from the neighboring Egyptian Sinai desert hundreds of tons of advanced rockets; anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles; rocket propelled grenades; raw explosives; rifles; ammunition and other heavy weaponry. Israel vacated the Gaza Strip one year ago.

VeriChip Inplantable Identification Chip Spreading Fast

VeriChip Corporation, announced today that its Implantable Division, consisting of the patient ID and personal health information system called "VeriMed", the security application called "VeriGuard", and the emergency management system called "VeriTrace" achieved important milestones. VeriMed, the first and only FDA-approved microchip for patient identification and access to medical information has advanced adoption in key areas of hospital and physician acceptance. Since early August, 26 new healthcare facilities have agreed to adopt the VeriMed system. This brings the total to approximately 140 emergency departments, of which 36 - located in seven states and Washington, D.C. - have fully implemented the technology and will use the VeriMed reader as standard protocol to scan patients that present unconscious, delirious or confused. The Company continues to provide readers to hospitals at no charge as part of its efforts to "seed" the infrastructure for the VeriMed patient identification system. The expansion of the VeriMed physician network has increased nearly six-fold in 2006, indicating increasing acceptance of VeriMed by primary care and specialty physicians.

Was A 'Sound Wave' or 'Microwave' Weapon Used By The Israeli Military?

Doctors in Gaza are reporting what they say are unexplained injuries among the dead and wounded in operations by the Israeli military. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering whether there is a case for an investigation into the injuries amid suspicions by the medics that the injuries were inflicted by what they claim may have been unidentified "non-conventional" or classified weapons. Beside especially severe burning "down to the bones", the doctors say that, in these strange cases, internal organs have been ruptured without any signs of shrapnel wounds.

Exorcist says demonic influence is strong in today's world

An Italian exorcist said demonic influence is strong in today's world, affecting individuals and sometimes entire societies. While it is very rare for a person to be possessed by a demon, history reveals some likely examples -- including Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, said Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth. Father Amorth, who works as an exorcist in the Diocese of Rome, made the comments in an interview with Vatican Radio. Father Amorth said every culture in history has shown an awareness of the existence of evil spirits. With the Bible, he said, these spirits were identified as rebellious angels who "tempt man to evil out of hatred for God." "The devil can possess not only individuals but also entire groups and populations. For example, I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed by the devil," he said. "If one thinks of what was committed by people like Stalin or Hitler, certainly they were possessed by the devil. This is seen in their actions, in their behavior and in the horrors they committed," he said. "Therefore, society also needs to be defended against the devil," he said. Father Amorth said he thought one reason why the devil's influence was high today is that Christian faith has weakened, replaced in many cases by superstition and an interest in the occult, which he said "open the way to demonic influences.

Arab states to push Mideast peace plan

Arab foreign ministers met Wednesday to promote a plan to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process amid wide Arab fears the recent war in Lebanon helped boost the influence of Iran and the militants it supports. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the 22-nation body will discuss a plan to request a ministerial meeting by the UN Security Council to advance efforts to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, through direct talks among Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. Bahrain's foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who chaired Wednesday's meeting in Cairo, said in an opening speech that "a credible and real effort" is needed to put the peace process back on track.

'Virtually untreatable' TB found

A "virtually untreatable" form of TB has emerged, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Extreme drug resistant TB (XDR TB) has been seen worldwide, including in the US, Eastern Europe and Africa, although Western Europe has had no cases. Dr Paul Nunn, from the WHO, said a failure to correctly implement treatment strategies was to blame. TB experts have convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss how to address the problem. TB presently causes about 1.7 million deaths a year worldwide, but researchers are worried about the emergence of strains that are resistant to drugs. "This is very worrying, especially when mixed with HIV" Dr Paul Nunn. Drug resistance is caused by poor TB control, through taking the wrong types of drugs for the incorrect duration. Multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB), which describes strains of TB that are resistant to at least two of the main first-line TB drugs, is already a growing concern. Globally, the WHO estimates there are about 425,000 cases of MDR TB a year, mostly occurring in the former Soviet Union, China and India. Treatment requires the use of second-line drugs, which are more toxic, take longer to work and costly. But now, according to researchers, an even more deadly form of the bacteria has emerged.

University Conducting Experiments Aimed At Unlocking The Secrets Of Time Travel

Dr Charles Wang will study the microscopic movement of atoms, which can be affected by the earth spinning. He said: "This is a very interesting possibility which cannot entirely be ruled out by physics." Albert Einstein said instead of considering space to be a shapeless vacuum it should be looked at as an object. The theory is for something to exist it must have length, breadth and thickness, the three dimensions. It must also have something else. An object exists from the moment it is created to the moment it is destroyed. In between those moments is the duration of time - the so-called fourth dimension. Dr Wang said he is waiting for the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch a science satellite to aid his research. He told BBC Scotland: "If you have curved space time, the time circles and you might just travel in time. "If we can slow down the atom and isolate it and guide into the fluctuation then there's a possibility it's there.

Kids buy lunches with scans of fingers

The never-ending march of technology now means school children here can pay for their cafeteria sloppy joes with their fingers. Rome City Schools is switching to a scanning system that lets students use their fingerprints to access their accounts. In the past, students had to punch in their pin numbers. "The finger's better because all you've got to do is put your finger in, and you don't have to do the number and get mixed up," said Adrianna Harris, a second grader at Anna K. Davie Elementary School.
The new system speeds lunch lines, said city administrators. It's being phased in to Rome High School, Rome Middle School and all the city's elementary schools. The city hopes to have the system in use next month system-wide.

Gene-altered rice from China found in EU

European consumers may be at risk from unauthorized genetically modified (GMO) rice grown in China after a biotech strain was found in products sold in three EU countries, two leading environment groups said. The Chinese rice, modified to resist certain insects, was detected in samples of rice stick noodles in France and Germany, and also in rice vermicelli in Britain, Greenpeace International said, citing the results of two rounds of laboratory tests. Its report, compiled with Friends of the Earth Europe (FoE), did not indicate the possible quantities involved but said the GMO rice had been identified in different product brands that were on sale at Asian specialty stores and Asian restaurants. Five samples out of 27 tested positive for the unauthorized rice strain, officials at the two groups said. The EU does not yet permit the sale, import or marketing of any biotech rice on the territory of its 25 member countries. The GMO rice, an experimental variety, contained a protein that might cause allergenic reactions in humans, they said. It was supposed to be used only in field trials, and not approved for commercial growing due to concerns over its safety.

Superbug Migrating From Hospitals To Outside World

Medical investigators who are examining the growing prevalence of a drug-resistant superbug found largely outside of hospitals say it's likely that it can find its way into health care settings and pose a new threat. Hospital-acquired infections remain a global public health concern despite increasingly sophisticated methods of surveillance, screening and methods of prevention, doctors say. Amid this concern is the increasing prevalence of the notorious antibiotic-resistant bacterium known as MRSA, for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. Methicillin-resistant means the bug can repel the hardy antibiotic methicillin, a drug that in the 1960s quickly halted a staph aureus infection. But MRSA has evolved into new strains, some highly virulent, and is spreading through outside communities. Just two decades ago, MRSA was passed on only in hospitals, creeping through intravenous lines and catheters or passed from the hands of a doctor or nurse to patients.

Pope, former students ponder evolution

Pope Benedict and his former doctoral students spent a weekend pondering evolution without discussing controversies over intelligent design and creationism raging in the United States, a participant said. The three-day closed-door meeting at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome ended as planned without drawing any conclusions but the group plans to publish its discussion papers, said Father Joseph Fessio. Media speculation had said the debate might shift Vatican policy to embrace "intelligent design," which claims to prove scientifically that life could not have simply evolved, or even the "creationist" view that God created the world in six days. "It wasn't that at all," Fr Fessio, who is provost of Ave Maria University in Florida, said. The Pope's session with 39 former students was "a meeting of friends with some scholars to discuss an interesting theme". "We did not really speak much about intelligent design," said Fr Fessio, whose Ignatius Press publishes the Pope's books in English. "In fact, that particular controversy did not arise."

U.S. envoy warns North Korea against nuclear test

U.S. envoy Christopher Hill has warned North Korea against provoking the international community with a nuclear test, urging the secretive state to return to stalled talks on its atomic program. "The DPRK (North Korea) does not seem as enthusiastic as we are about pursuing a diplomatic track, and obviously this is a very big problem for the six-party process," he told reporters in Tokyo at the start of a regional tour. "There is no reason for the DPRK to stay away from the diplomatic process and my government is very much committed to these talks," said Hill, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The US assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs voiced concern about media reports that Pyongyang, which claims to have built nuclear weapons, may be preparing an underground nuclear test.
"I think all governments in the world have made very clear that it would be a very unwelcome development, and that the DPRK should really think long and hard for it to take such a provocative step.

Missile activity seen in N.Korea

South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities have detected suspicious vehicle movements in and out of North Korea's major missile test site, a news report said Sunday. "Military intelligence officials have spotted movements by several large vehicles in the North's Gitdaeryeong area," South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed government official. The intelligence authorities do not rule out the possibility that it is part of North Korea's preparations for additional missile tests, Yonhap said.
The communist regime launched a barrage of missiles in July, heightening regional tensions and drawing international condemnation. National Intelligence Service, South Korea's spy agency, said it "was keeping a close watch on Gitdaeryeong area."

Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria

Threatened by a potentially nuclear-armed Tehran, Israel is preparing for a possible war with both Iran and Syria, according to Israeli political and military sources. The conflict with Hezbollah has led to a strategic rethink in Israel. A key conclusion is that too much attention has been paid to Palestinian militants in Gaza and the West Bank instead of the two biggest state sponsors of terrorism in the region, who pose a far greater danger to Israel’s existence, defence insiders say. “The challenge from Iran and Syria is now top of the Israeli defence agenda, higher than the Palestinian one,” said an Israeli defence source. Shortly before the war in Lebanon Major-General Eliezer Shkedi, the commander of the air force, was placed in charge of the “Iranian front”, a new position in the Israeli Defence Forces. His job will be to command any future strikes on Iran and Syria. The Israeli defence establishment believes that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear programme means war is likely to become unavoidable. “In the past we prepared for a possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said one insider, “but Iran’s growing confidence after the war in Lebanon means we have to prepare for a full-scale war, in which Syria will be an important player.”

Massive FBI Database Up To 659 Million Records On Americans

The FBI has built a database with more than 659 million records -- including terrorist watch lists, intelligence cables and financial transactions -- culled from more than 50 FBI and other government agency sources. The system is one of the most powerful data analysis tools available to law enforcement and counterterrorism agents, FBI officials said. The FBI demonstrated the database to reporters in part to address criticism that its technology was failing and outdated. Privacy advocates said the Investigative Data Warehouse, raises concerns about how long the government stores such information and about the right of citizens to know what records are kept and correct information that is wrong.

North Korea accuses US of threatening war with anti-missile test, drills

North Korea has accused the United States of threatening war by carrying out a test of its missile defense system and conducting joint military exercises with the South. The North's Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a semi-official agency in charge of inter-Korean exchanges, also attacked South Korea for taking part in the annual war games and said it would build up its own self-defense deterrent. "Judging from its scale and contents, it amounted to a virtual declaration of war against us," the committee said in reference to the Ulchi Focus Lens military drills. Some 9,000 US troops and an undisclosed number of South Korean soldiers took part in the 10-day war games which ended Friday. "They even conducted missile tests aimed at attacking us from South Korea and the US mainland and intercepting our missiles," it said in a statement broadcast by Pyongyang's Chung-ang Radio. The United States successfully tested its controversial ballistic missile defense system over the Pacific Friday, almost two months after North Korea stoked international tensions with a long-range missile test. The US Missile Defense Agency said a ground-based interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California hit a dummy armed missile in space that had been fired from Kodiak, Alaska. "This shows clearly that the United States is the main culprit who raises tension and brings about the danger of a war on the Korean peninsula," the North Korean committee said. "It is a folly that the United States wields truncheons of power in order to scare someone into submission... This only leads the army and the people to firm up their determination to build up our self-defensive military deterrence," it said. Turning on South Korea, it said Seoul was committing an "unpardonable, treacherous crime" by joining the United States in the war games. "It constitutes a serious breach of the June 15 joint declaration and an unpardonable, treacherous crime, which destroys inter-Korean relations and brings about the dark clouds of a nuclear war to the fatherland," it said.

Highly enriched uranium found in Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency told the U.N. Security Council its inspectors have found new traces of enriched uranium in Iran. The discovery marked the third instance that highly enriched uranium was found at an Iranian facility, but the IAEA said the nuclear fingerprint on the new discovery does not match that found on earlier samples, which the agency had concluded came from contaminated equipment from Pakistan. The 6-page IAEA report did not identify where the uranium might have originated or whether it was connected to a secret nuclear program in Iran. The country has insisted that its nuclear program is aimed only at producing energy, a task that would use uranium enriched at much lower levels than that found by the IAEA inspectors. The report said that Iran was continuing to produce enriched uranium at low levels and on a small scale at its Natanz facility. The Security Council had set Thursday as a deadline for Iran to discontinue enrichment, and a failure to comply by the country could result in economic and political penalties.

Bush: Iran must face consequences

Iran defiantly rejected pressure to compromise over its nuclear program as a UN deadline arrived Thursday, opening the way to the threat of sanctions against Tehran. In a rousing speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran would not be bullied into giving up its right to nuclear technology, defying a late Thursday deadline set by the UN Security Council to suspend uranium enrichment. Senior Israeli officials responded by saying that the onus of responsibility now rested with the international community. "Iran has thrown down the gauntlet, and it's now time for the international community pick it up, implement the UN Security Council resolution, and expedite the process of sanctions," one senior official said. Israeli officials have said recently that Israel was carefully watching to see how the world would react to Iran's continued disregard of the world's call to suspend its nuclear development, with some high-level officials arguing that it is becoming clear that in the face of the world's tentative response, Israel may eventually have to "go it alone" to stop Iran.

Iran vows won't cede 'an inch' in face of intimidation

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Iran would not back down an "inch" in the face of intimidation as a UN deadline expired for Tehran to halt sensitive nuclear operations. "Iran will not back down an inch in the face of intimidation, aggression and will not accept being deprived of its rights," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Orumiyeh, the provincial capital of West Azarbaijan province. "The powers of oppression do not want Iran to progress. But I say to them: The Iranian people, including young scientists who have succeeded with empty hands and without your help to reach the summits of nuclear technology, can also develop Iran." Ahmadinejad's defiant message came on the day a UN deadline expired for Iran to halt uranium enrichment work or face possible UN sanctions. Tehran has made clear it has no intention of renouncing the sensitive atomic activity.

Hizbullah: We're Arming For Second Round

Hizbullah representative in Iran Muhammad Abdullah Sif al-Din, said Wednesday that Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has a new strategic plan to rearm ahead of the ‘next round against Israel .’ In an interview with the Iranian news agency Fars, al-Din said: ‘No one can promise us that Israel won't attack again. Whoever lives as a neighbor to the Zionist regime is in danger and must not save any effort to obtain all of the means to defend himself. We are convinced that there still danger and the situation has not yet been solved. We must, all the time, prepare ourselves for self-defense and to plan for the next stage.’ During an interview, al-Din was asked about Hizbullah's military situation after the war. ‘Our situation is very good, the Israelis didn't manage to strike Hizbullah's military command and our ability to launch missiles. In the first days we launched 100 missiles and in recent days we fired 350 missiles a day. So we have no problem from a military perspective,’ he replied.

The Whore-ification Of Girls Continues With Sexy Baby Dolls

Sexually provocative baby dolls dressed in leather and lingerie are being marketed to girls as young as three. Childhood experts have slammed the latest range of Bratz Babyz, claiming they are tantamount to child pornography. Phoebe "Sugar" is dressed in a fluffy pink jacket with pink and black underwear, while Roxxi "Spice" has an open fake leather jacket and skimpy red and black lingerie. Both dolls have baby milk bottles hanging off chains strapped to their legs.

Hezbollah used laser-guided missile on Israeli tanks

One of the most surprising and effective weapons used by Hezbollah guerrillas during recent fighting with Israel in southern Lebanon was the Russian-made Kornet-E anti-tank weapon, a laser-guided missile that was deadly against Israel's Merkava tanks. The question being asked by many security specialists is how the Kornets reached the terrorist group. Edward Timperlake, a Pentagon arms technology specialist, tells us he investigated Russia's illegal transfer of Kornet-Es to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 in cataloging the tons of foreign arms found in the country.