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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

MONDAY AUGUST 18, 2008

Russia considers nuclear missiles for Syria, Mediterranean, Baltic

DEBKAfile's military sources report Moscow's planned retaliation for America's missile interceptors in Poland and US-Israeli military aid to Georgia may come in the form of installing Iskandar surface missiles in Syria and its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
Russian Baltic and Middle East warships, submarines and long-range bombers may be armed with nuclear warheads, according to Sunday newspapers in Europe . . . .
One plan on the table in Moscow, DEBKAfile's sources report, is the establishment of big Russian military, naval and air bases in Syria and the release of advanced weapons systems withheld until now to Iran (the S-300 air-missile defense system) and Syria (the nuclear-capable 200 km-range Iskandar surface missile).
Shortly before the Georgian conflict flared, Moscow promised Washington not to let Iran and Syria have these sophisticated pieces of hardware.
The Iskander's cruise attributes make its launch and trajectory extremely hard to detect and intercept. If this missile reaches Syria, Israel will have to revamp its anti-missile defense array and Air Force assault plans for the third time in two years, as it constitutes a threat which transcends all its defensive red lines.
Moscow's war planners know this and are therefore considering new sea and air bases in Syria as sites for the Iskander missiles. Russia would thus keep the missiles under its hand and make sure they were not transferred to Iran. At the same time, Syrian crews would be trained in their operation.
DEBKAfile's military sources report Syrian president Bashar Assad will be invited to Moscow soon to finalize these plans in detail.
Military spokesmen in Moscow said Saturday and Sunday that Russian military planners started redesigning the nation's strategic plans for a fitting response to America's decision to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and the war developments in Georgia.

Source:     debka.com  MORE

Back-door U.S.-Russian contacts to de-escalate war of words ... after Moscow threatens to nuke Poland

DEBKAfile reports that both powers have begun acting to cool the rhetoric and review relations, after spokesmen in Washington - and especially Moscow - raised the threat level of their oratory to its highest pitch since the Cold War’s end.
Friday night, August 15, Russia's deputy chief of staff General Anatoly Nogovitsyn warned Poland it was "exposing itself to a strike 100 percent."
He said any new US assets in Europe could come under Russian nuclear attack. Russian forces would target "the allies of countries having nuclear weapons" to destroy them "as a first priority," said General Nogovitsyn.
At the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev dismissed the claim that the US missile interceptors in Poland were a deterrent against rogue states like Iran as "a fairy tale," insisting they were aimed against Russia. Warsaw, which will receive 10 batteries in return for American aid to boost its air defenses, later invited Russia to visit the site and see for itself.
President George W. Bush said "The Cold War is over … Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."
He said Russia's invasion of Georgia had damaged its credibility and the US stands with the people of Georgia and called for the withdrawal of "invading forces from all Georgian territory." . . . .
DEBKAfile's political sources report that, as in most cases when international tensions and violence reach dangerous levels, the big powers have instituted secret diplomacy to cool the situation before it gets out of hand in order to formulate new modes of conduct and relations.
This process began with Rice's visit to France and Tbilisi.
In five hours of arm-twisting, she persuaded Saakashvili to accept clarifications to the ceasefire accord which contradict Washington's spirited assurances for Georgia's "territorial integrity."
Russian troops allowed to remain in Georgia would be "very limited to a light patrolling ability, such as a few kilometers outside of South Ossetia, not the right to maintain a presence inside Georgia." . . . .
The other concession, which will unfold in time, is the removal of the Georgian president, another of Moscow's conditions for ending the crisis. It is hard to see Saakasvhili surviving the outcry at home when the extent of his military and diplomatic failures is revealed to his people.
Furthermore, his highly charged speech Friday was watched with pursed lips by Condoleezza Rice and clearly embarrassed his sponsors in Washington. While Bush declared the Cold War is over, Saakashvili heaped verbal coals on the standoff with Russia to keep it ablaze.

Source:     debka.com  MORE

U.S.: Quds, Hezbollah Training Hit Squads in Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iraqi Shiite assassination teams are being trained in at least four locations in Iran by Tehran's elite Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah and are planning to return to Iraq in the next few months to kill specific Iraqi officials as well as U.S. and Iraqi troops, according to intelligence gleaned from captured militia fighters and other sources in Iraq.
A senior U.S. military intelligence officer in Baghdad described the information Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
The officer on Wednesday provided Iraq's national security adviser with several lists of the assassination teams' expected targets. He said the targets include many judges, but would not otherwise identify them. Iraq's intelligence service is preparing operations to determine where and when the special group fighters will enter the country and is to provide an assessment to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The U.S. official acknowledged disclosing the information in an attempt to pressure Iran to suspend the training and prevent the militia fighters from returning to Iraq. The U.S. military also wants the Iraqi government to take steps to protect the targets. "Wanted" posters picturing men believed to be heading the special groups are being posted around Baghdad, the military officer said.
The U.S. also is encouraging the Iraqi government to confront Iran with the information in diplomatic channels, and it wants Iraq to continue pumping money into its own reconstruction. By building stability and Iraqis' confidence in their government, internal support for militia groups should decline, making it more difficult for them to operate.
The fighters are expected to return to Iraq between now and October, but the officer said there's no intelligence suggesting they are actually in Iraq yet. The information came from militia fighters captured in Iraq and other sources in the country that the officer would not describe.

Source:     Associated Press / cnsnews.com  MORE

Arab world fears an Iran war may be impending

DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report that the Iranian satellite carrier space launch Sunday, August 17, was prompted by a joint caution to Tehran from Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
After their meeting Saturday, the spokesman of the presidential palace in Cairo, Suleiman Awwad, said: Iran should not present on a silver platter the "justifications and pretexts for those [US and Israel] who want to drag the region down a dangerous slope."
This warning was interpreted by the London Arabic daily al Quds as a warning to Tehran that an attack is impending by the US, some European nations and Israel.
The article recalled the fate of Saddam Hussein "who didn't adequately refute claims over Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction."
Tehran immediately responded to the warning by launching the Safir satellite carrier into orbit, thereby exhibiting a ballistic missile capable of reaching outside the Middle East, as far as Britain and France, should they decide to join an American attack on Iran, as well as US military installations on that continent.
Our military sources report that the war scare in Cairo and Riyadh also infected Kuwait.
Last week, the small oil emirate placed its military on "war alert," to avoid being caught off-guard by a possible conflict in the region. On Saturday, Kuwait boosted its naval force in the Persian Gulf to ward off a possible Iranian reprisal against its oil installations if attacked.
The scare was fed by the impending arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Iwo Jima in the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region, as first revealed by DEBKAfile on August 11.
They are to join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is patrolling the Arabian Sea opposite Iran, and the USS Peleliu, on beat in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This deployment would be the largest naval task force the US and its allies had massed in the region since the 1991 Gulf War.
A US Pentagon spokesman last week denied that these forces were gathering to impose a partial naval blockade on Iran, but declined to disclose their mission. The denial apparently failed to convince the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait. [no further content]

Source:     debka.com  LINK

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NEWS BRIEFS
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Turkey's Gul anticipates 'new world order'

(LONDON) -- Turkish President Abdullah Gul predicted "a new world order" of joint international action, in an interview published in Britain on Saturday. He added that the conflict in Georgia shows the United States can no longer shape global politics on its own, and that it should start sharing power with other nations. "I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gul told the Guardian newspaper in an interview. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world." "So what we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world order, if I can say it, should emerge." [emphasis added]  MORE

Medvedev: 'Aggression' against Russian citizens will meet crushing response

With no sign of a Russian military withdrawal from Georgia, Monday, August 18, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev said, "Further aggression against Russian citizens will have a crushing response." The pro-Moscow South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity asked for a permanent Russian base in the breakaway province – not international observers - fired his government and declared an emergency. Medvedev's promise to French president Nicolas Sarkozy Sunday to begin pulling Russian troops back midday Monday did not specify where the new lines would run or whether the reinforcements dispatched after the Georgian invasion of Tskhinvali of August 7 were included. The ceasefire agreement which both signed mandates Russian withdrawal to "pre-conflict positions." Moscow insists on "additional security arrangements" for its pullout, a clause embodied in the ceasefire accord. Western pressure building up on Moscow to honor the ceasefire agreement found Russian troops in control of the towns of Gori north of Tbilisi and Senako to the West – both inside Georgia proper . . . US officials told the New York Times that Russia had also moved SS-21 missile launchers to a point near Tskhinvali, putting them within range of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is due in Brussels for NATO crisis talks Monday after harshly condemning Moscow's behavior.  MORE

Note: see also Russia Pledges To Start Georgia Withdrawal On Monday  LINK

Ukraine offers satellite defence co-operation with Europe and U.S.
Ukraine inflamed mounting East-West tensions yesterday by offering up a Soviet-built satellite facility as part of the European missile defence system

The proposal, made amid growing outrage among Russia's neighbours over its military campaign in Georgia, could see Ukraine added to Moscow's nuclear hit-list. A Russian general declared Poland a target for its arsenal after Warsaw signed a deal with Washington to host interceptor missiles for America's anti-nuclear shield . . . Ukraine said it was ready to give both Europe and America access to its missile warning systems after Russia earlier annulled a 1992 cooperation agreement involving two satellite tracking stations. Previously, the stations were part of Russia's early-warning system for missiles coming from Europe. "The fact that Ukraine is no longer a party to the 1992 agreement allows it to launch active cooperation with European countries to integrate its information," a statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. It follows a declaration earlier this week from Ukraine's pro-Western president, Viktor Yushchenko, that the Russian naval lease of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sebastopol would be scrapped if any vessels joined the conflict in Georgia.  MORE

Report: Russia may arm Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads

Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, the London-based Sunday Times has reported, quoting senior military sources. The new Russian threat comes in response to the violent conflict in the Caucasus and a deal signed between the United States and Poland for a missile defense shield in Europe. Poland agreed on Thursday to host elements of a US global anti-missile system after Washington agreed to boost Warsaw's own air defenses. According to the report, under the Russian plans nuclear warheads could be supplied to submarines, cruisers and fighter bombers of the Baltic fleet based in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania. A senior military source in Moscow admitted that the fleet had suffered from under-funding since the collapse of communism, but told The Sunday Times that "that will change now." "In view of America's determination to set up a missile defense shield in Europe, the military is reviewing all its plans to give Washington an adequate response," said the source.  MORE

Iran tests satellite carrying rocket

Despite Teheran's claims of launching a rocket meant to carry a research satellite, the US expressed concern Sunday overnight by the Islamic republic's report that it had successfully tested a new rocket. Iran's Safir rocket taking off. Earlier, Iranian state television reported that Iran test-launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit. Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir, or Ambassador, was successful, state TV said, as it broadcast images of the nighttime launch. It said the Omid research satellite will gather atmospheric data from a low orbit, but did not give a date for its launch. Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program.  MORE

Israel may use force to halt boat trying to break Gaza siege

Defense officials favor forcefully blocking two boats which a group of U.S.-based activists plan to sail to Gaza to protest what they call "the Israeli siege on the Strip," Haaretz has learned. According to the Foreign Ministry, Israel is within its rights to use force against the seafarers. The subject of the Greek-flagged boats which the Free Gaza group said it would sail from Cyprus to Gaza this week prompted defense officials to hold a series of discussions; they said allowing the ships to reach the Gaza coastline could create a dangerous precedent. But the Israel Navy has not yet received any instructions on how to treat the vessels.  MORE

South Korea preps for war games
North Korea say the upcoming exercises a 'criminal act'

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States on Sunday prepared to launch their massive annual joint military drill, which North Korea has denounced as a provocation of war, officials said. Seoul's defence ministry said the drill, which begins on Monday, would last for five days, with tens of thousands of troops taking part. Yonhap news agency said about 56,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 US soldiers would participate in the drill, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which usually involves large-scale computer-simulated war games.  MORE

U.S. worried over Arctic waters control as Russia expands fleet

NEW YORK -- The American military, political and scientific leadership is reported to be worried over the US ability to patrol and safeguard Arctic waters in the face of resurgent Russia's expansion of its icebreaker fleet. The National Academy of Sciences, the Coast Guard and others have warned over the past several years that the United States' two 30-year-old heavy icebreakers, the Polar Sea and Polar Star, and one smaller ice-breaking ship devoted mainly to science, the Healy, are grossly inadequate, the New York Times said adding that the Polar Star is now out of service. In the meantime, a resurgent Russia has been busy expanding its fleet of large ocean-going icebreakers to around 14, launching a conventional icebreaker in May and last year, the world's largest icebreaker named 50 Years of Victory, the newest of its seven nuclear-powered, pole-hardy ships. The leaders of the Pentagon's Pacific Command, Northern Command and Transportation Command this spring strongly recommended in a letter that the Joint Chiefs of Staff endorse a push by the Coast Guard to increase the country's ability to gain access to and control its Arctic waters, the report said.  MORE

Security officials to scan [Washington DC] area license plates

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland security officials in the Washington area plan to dramatically expand the use of automated license plate readers to prevent possible terrorist attacks. Officials from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia have agreed to install 200 license plate readers on police vehicles, at airports and along roads. The plan announced Friday will be funded by federal homeland security grants for the area . . . The readers will scan every license plate that passes by and will run the numbers through federal criminal and terrorist databases.  MORE

A push to ban psychologists' role in torture

Holding signs that read, "Do no harm" and "Abolish torture," about 100 people attended a rally outside the American Psychological Association's annual convention yesterday, urging the organizations to ban its members from being involved in military interrogations and torture as part of the war on terrorism. A resolution to that effect is being weighed by the organization's 148,000 members, and debate on the topic has permeated the discussion at this year's meeting, held at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center. Members are sending in their votes on the issue this month. The actions of psychologists have been called into question lately as their role in the Bush administration's interrogation policies in detention centers around the globe increasingly has been made public . . . Under the association's ethics code, psychologists may "serve in consultative roles to interrogation and information-gathering processes for national-security related purposes" as long as they don't include the 19 prohibited torture acts. Members are divided on whether that should change.  MORE

Justice Department eyes domestic spy role for local police

The proposed rule change was first set out for public comment on July 31, and drew little attention . . . As law enforcement agencies, including local and state units, watch for signs of terrorist activity, they could target groups as well as individuals, and begin criminal intelligence investigations "based on the suspicion that a target is engaged in terrorism or providing material support to terrorists." And they could spread around the law enforcement world the fruits of the investigation. In short, it would move local police forces into the realm of intelligence-gathering that had been the work of the FBI and other federal agencies. The proposed shift was noticed by the Washington Post, which reported Saturday that the Justice Department's proposal "would make it easier for state and local police to collect intelligence about Americans, share the sensitive data with federal agencies and retain it for at least 10 years." The newspaper noted that the administration was in the process of revising domestic intelligence-gathering in its waning months in office, and would lock in policies for President Bush's successor, completing the greatest expansion of executive branch authority since the Watergate era.  MORE

Labs That Perform Bioterrorism Research Proliferating

The number of individuals performing bioterrorism research on deadly pathogens across the country has jumped to nearly 15,000, and most of them are authorized to work with anthrax, federal records obtained by The Courant reveal. The proliferation of labs working on vaccines for potential biological weapons - which started after the September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax mailings - has drawn heavy criticism from experts worried that too many people have access to dangerous materials. The recent revelation that an American scientist, Bruce Ivins, was about to be charged as the anthrax mailer has only increased those concerns. "We just went tearing down this road without thinking about the potential risks, including who was going to have access to all of these biological weapons," said Elisa Harris, a senior research scholar at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland . . . Among the concerns is that background checks conducted by the federal government before lab workers are allowed to work with substances such as anthrax aren't thorough enough, said Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a senior associate at the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  MORE

FDA Goes After Natural HRT Alternatives Following Petition From Drug Giant

(Natural News) -- The FDA has issued a warning letter to seven pharmacies, instructing them to stop claiming that "bio-identical hormone replacement therapy" (BHRT) is different or safer than conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and to stop selling prescriptions for an unapproved hormone. The warning came in response to a petition from pharmaceutical giant Wyeth, in addition to concerns expressed by health-care companies and consumer groups. "Many pharmacy compounders use the term bio-identical to imply that their drugs are natural," said Deborah M. Autor, director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's Office of Compliance. "There is no creditable scientific support for this claim."  MORE

Ruling that Christian message 'offensive' appealed to Supreme Court
Freedom of speech exists 'not to enable religious discrimination by government'

A court ruling that allowed school officials to ban a Christmastime Christian message as "offensive" is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Alliance Defense Fund. "The First Amendment exists to protect private speakers, not to enable religious discrimination by government officials," said Jeff Shafer, senior legal counsel for the ADF. "The court of appeals' unprecedented classification of student religious speech as an 'offense' worthy of censorship should be reversed." The case began in 2003 when Joel Curry, a fifth-grade student at Handley School in Saginaw, Mich., participated in a classroom project in which students were given guidelines to develop a product and "sell" it during a "Classroom City" event just before Christmas. His product was a candy cane made from pipe cleaners with [a Christian] message attached . . . School officials determined the message was "offensive" and allowed Curry to continue participating in the activity only if he censored the message.  MORE

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MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
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Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

Opinion: THE INTERNATIONAL NOOSE IS TIGHTENING (Larry Pratt)

A Panamanian attorney and gun owner rights activist recently told me that George Soros was pushing gun confiscation in Panama, and that every time he adds another country to the gun control list, the position of the U.S. at the U.N. becomes more precarious.
In other words, thanks to George Soros in some considerable measure, the UN noose is tightening around the neck of gun owners in the U.S.
George Soros is a Hungarian born socialist billionaire who now resides in the U.S. Soros, who wants everybody (but himself) to be equally poor, was convicted in France of insider trading . . . .
. . . I have seen the footprints of George Soros' financing of gun-grabbing legislation throughout the world . . . .
Soros is not ignoring direct involvement in the U.S. He pumped big bucks into the anti-gun show referendum campaign of Americans for Gun Safety in 2000. Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain was the pitchman for this attack on the Second Amendment in the Colorado and Oregon referenda of that year . . . .
How interesting. A trip to Panama helped me understand better than before how sinister George Soros is, and the threat he represents to freedom, not only in the U.S., but in many other countries as well.

Source:     newswithviews.com (5-6-08)  MORE

[Red Flag]
Commentary: MILITARY REPORT TOUTS BRAIN ALTERING DRUGS, MIND CONTROL TO MAKE SOLDIERS WANT TO FIGHT (Steve Watson)
Enhanced torture techniques involving interference with brain neurons also explored

Excerpt:
A newly released report for the US military suggests that in the future soldiers could have their minds controlled and be administered brain altering drugs in order to make them want to fight.
The report also touts possible weaponry including "Pharmacological landmines" that release chemicals to incapacitate enemy soldiers and torture techniques that involve delivering electronic pulses into the brains of terror suspects.
The report titled 'Emerging Cognitive Neuroscience and Related Technologies', detailed by Wired [see LINK] and in a London Guardian article [see LINK], was commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the intelligence wing of the Department of Defense (DoD). It contains scientific research into the workings of the human mind and suggestions for the development of new war fighting technologies based upon the findings.
With desertions rising sharply and army recruitment at an all time low, the idea of the super soldier, a warrior who can be technologically enhanced and made to want to fight seems to be an attractive one to the DoD.
In a section focusing on mind control, the report states:
If we can alter the brain, why not control it? [...] One potential use involves making soldiers want to fight. Conversely, how can we disrupt the enemy's motivation to fight? [...] How can we make people trust us more? What if we could help the brain to remove fear or pain? Is there a way to make the enemy obey our commands?
It concludes that "drugs can be utilized to achieve abnormal, diseased, or disordered psychology" and also suggests that scanners able to read the intentions or memories of soldiers could soon be developed.

Source:     infowars.net  MORE

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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News Alert: President Pervez Musharraf Resigns (Pakistan)  LINK

Bomb in Baghdad strikes Shiite pilgrims, kills 6  LINK

[analysis]: More U.S. Troops Sent to Russian Border  LINK
Bush Administration announced Thursday that American soldiers will begin manning missile sites in Poland

EU wants peacekeepers 'on the ground' in Georgia  LINK

EU expresses fear over aid access in Georgia  LINK

[analysis]: A catastrophe in the making  LINK
The six-day Georgian war has spread to Eastern Europe’s ancient fault-lines

[analysis]: Putin's Winning Hand  LINK
Once the Atlantic Alliance is shattered, America's lifeline to the world is kaput

[analysis]: America Watches the War in Georgia with Dumb Goggles  LINK
The war between Russia and Georgia has been framed as a tale of David versus Goliath ... But it's far more complex than this, morally and historically

chavez: Russia wants to send naval fleet to Venezuela  LINK

The reopening of [Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan] pipeline remains unclear as repair continues (Turkey)  LINK

In Show of Force, Brazil Goes to War Games in Defense of Newfound Oil  LINK

China's Hi-Tech Surveillance State Is Ready for Export (Interview)  LINK
With 300,000 security cameras in Beijing alone, China is at the forefront of the surveillance boom - and U.S. corporations are reaping the profits

[analysis]: How the smart money lost $1 trillion ... so far  LINK
Are the losses winding down? Hardly ... The extent of the losses in some of the largest banks and financial institutions is only now coming to light

Breaking up big banks [proposed] as losses mount  LINK

Meet the Economist Who Thinks We're Doomed  LINK
Dr. Nouriel Roubini believes we face a housing bust, a huge credit crisis, an oil shock and a deep recession ... Just for starts

Venezuela sends less crude oil to the United States  LINK

Florida governor declares state of emergency  LINK
Tropical Storm Fay could strengthen to a hurricane and start pelting parts of the Florida Keys and south Florida as soon as Monday

Arctic ice refuses to melt as ordered  LINK

The Internet As You Know It Is Slated For Death By 2012 (Followup)  LINK

ACLU moves to weaken sex offender laws  LINK

[Red Flag]
The world will end in 2012, say 'experts'  LINK

The AMA Conspiracy to Contain and Eliminate the Practice of Chiropractic  LINK

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: AUGUST 17, 2008  LINK

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"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
Samuel Adams
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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

TUESDAY AUGUST 19, 2008
- no news edition -

CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20, 2008

California court: Homosexual rights trump religious freedom

The same California Supreme Court that created a "right" to homosexual "marriage" earlier this year has now ruled that the state may force healthcare professionals to provide services that support an immoral and physically dangerous lifestyle.
California's highest court was unanimous in its decision on Monday that Christian doctors may not refuse to perform artificial insemination for homosexual patients . . . Attorney Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), reacts to the ruling.
"This is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of individuals to live and practice their faith," he states bluntly. "Forcing doctors to have to choose between being a doctor and being a Christian in the State of California is an outrageous violation of the fundamental rights of every American to be able to practice their faith and not to have to leave their occupation because of it."
In the case in question, the Christian doctors refused to perform artificial insemination on a lesbian patient, but did refer her to another doctor who would perform the elective treatment. Dacus says that proves this suit was not about guaranteeing "healthcare" for homosexuals, but instead about punishing Christians for obeying God's Word.
Brad Dacus [argues]: "This is not about denying people services . . . This is, instead, about the 'thought police' attempting to censor Christian beliefs and Christian perspectives that don't agree with homosexuality. We're talking ... about individuals being able to force doctors or other professionals to violate their faith in order to keep their job." And that, he adds, is a clear violation of the rights of individuals to be able to practice their expertise and, at the same time, not to have to deny their faith.
The PJI president says the ruling is quite broad and will apply to almost every profession in the state, meaning that Christian professionals and service providers - childcare providers, for instance - will be forced to provide services to homosexuals that support their immoral lifestyle and clearly violate biblical standards.
"For example, lawyers who are engaging in marriage and family law can now be forced to [execute] documents for homosexuals adopting children ...", Dacus offers. "And [individuals] with a wedding service, despite their Christian faith to the contrary, can now be forced to conduct wedding services and wedding preparations for lesbian or homosexual male couples."
Dacus says the case is certain to be appealed. "This just goes to show how critically important it is for us in the United States to have a Supreme Court that is not against those who practice the Christian faith but, instead, understands what the Constitution is about and [does] not engage in outrageous judicial activism," he says. [emphasis added]

Source:     onenewsnow.com  MORE

Credit crunch may take out large U.S. bank warns former IMF chief

The deepening toll from the global financial crisis could trigger the failure of a large US bank within months, a respected former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund claimed today, fuelling another battering for banking shares.
Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a leading academic economist, said there was yet worse news to come from the worldwide credit crunch and financial turmoil, particularly in the United States, and that a high-profile casualty among American banks was highly likely.
"The US is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say the worst is to come," Prof. Rogoff said at a conference in Singapore.
In an ominous warning, he added: "We're not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we’re going to see a whopper, we're going to see a big one - one of the big investment banks or big banks," he said . . . .
Professor Rogoff, who was chief economist at the IMF from 2001 to 2004, predicted that the crisis would foster a new wave of consolidation in the US financial sector before it was over, with mergers between large institutions.
He also suggested that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the struggling US secondary mortgage lending giants, were likely to cease to exist in their present form within a few years.
His prediction over the fate of Fannie and Freddie came after investors dumped the two groups' shares on Monday after reports suggested that the US Treasury may have no choice but to effectively nationalise them . . . .
Both Asian markets and Wall Street were unnerved by suggestions over the prospects for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
While Japanese banks have remained relatively under-exposed to sub-prime mortgage products, many fear that they would be heavily exposed to a nationalisation of Fannie and Freddie . . . .
"If the recapitalisation talk is realised, there are no assurances that the securities that have been issued [by U.S. mortgage firms] will be 100 per cent guaranteed," said Yutaka Shiraki, a senior equity strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

Source:     timesonline.co.uk  MORE

American crews will control U.S. FBX-band radar granted Israel

In granting Israel the powerful FBX-T radar system to enhance its early warning resources against incoming missiles, Washington laid down a strict hands-off proviso. The system will be installed at a US base in the southern Israeli Negev. It will be off-limits to Israelis and managed exclusively by American personnel.
This discovery, revealed here for the first time by DEBKAfile's military sources, has aroused astonished rancor in senior Israel army circles . . . .
Even Poland, one officer commented, looked after its sovereignty and only signed its defense pact with the United States for the installation of missile interceptors on its Baltic coast after the Americans agreed to instruct Polish crews in their future operation . . . .
When they swung the deal in Washington last month, Barak and Ashkenazi said the Israeli Defense Forces would acquire a major resource and Israel a valuable shield against enemy missiles.
But they erred badly in failing to demand its integration in Israel's national interceptor system for four reasons: [only the first two are noted here - Ed.]
(1) Israel will have no direct access to the data gathered by the system and can only hope the American operators will pass on the information as and when Israel needs it for self-defense rather than when it suits US interests.
(2) The FBX-T will not only be able to track Iranian and Syrian missiles and aircraft but also keep watch on Israeli operations, giving Washington a handle for stalling them. DEBKAfile's military sources point out that the Americans are suddenly in a hurry to have the system deployed in the Negev as soon as September. They will then be in position to forestall a possible Israeli pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear installations should one be decided in Jerusalem . . . .
Several billion dollars of US and Israeli funds have been sunk into developing the Arrow, which Israeli officials until recently claimed was a match for Iran's Shehab-3 ballistic missiles. It turns out now that the Arrow and its Green Pine radar pick up incoming missiles only when they are 800 km short of their target. Israel applied for the FBX-T radar to extend that range to 2,000 km from its territory. But as long as the system is operated exclusively by American personnel, its usefulness for shielding Israel against enemy missiles will circumscribed. [emphasis added]

Source:     debka.com  MORE

Moscow accuses Israel of arming Georgia - day before Assad arrives for big arms purchases

The timing was precise. Tuesday, August 19, the Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Colonel-General Anatoly Nagovitsyn accused Israel at a Moscow news conference of arming and training the Georgian military.
Wednesday, Syrian president Bashar Assad arrives in the Russian capital for a two-day visit during which the Kremlin fully expects him to exploit the storm clouds blowing in from Georgia over Russian relations with the West to press for sophisticated weapons systems not so far released by Moscow.
On August 17, DEBKAfile military sources reported Moscow's planned retaliation for America's missile interceptors in Poland and US-Israeli military aid to Georgia may come in the form of Iskandar surface missiles installed in Syria and its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
Russian Baltic and Middle East warships, submarines and long-range bombers may be armed with nuclear warheads.
One plan on the table in Moscow to punish Israel, DEBKAfile's sources report, is the establishment of big Russian military, naval and air bases in Syria and the release of advanced weapons systems withheld until now from Iran (the S-300 air-missile defense system) and Syria (the nuclear-capable 200 km-range Iskandar surface missile).
To prepare the ground, General Nagovitsyn charged Israel with arming the Georgian military with mines, explosive charges, special explosives for clearing minefields and "eight kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles."
He added: "In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos in Georgia and planned to supply Tbilisi heavy weaponry, electronic weapons, tanks and other arms at a later date, but the deal didn't work out," he said without explaining why.
Nagovitsyn also said that Russian soldiers had detained 20 mercenaries near the Georgian city of Poti, including three Arabs, all wearing Georgian army uniforms. [no further content]

Source:     debka.com  LINK

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NEWS BRIEFS
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Russia says troops to leave Georgia by Friday

TBILISI (Reuters) -- The Kremlin said its forces would pull back from Georgia's heartland by Friday to positions set out under a French-brokered peace plan, amid mounting Western criticism about the slowness of the troop withdrawal. Washington said it had yet to see any serious pullout and accused Russia of targeting civilians and wanting to strangle Georgia. "It's becoming more and more the outlaw in this conflict," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of Russia, escalating a stream of criticism from Washington. "They intend and probably still do intend to strangle Georgia and its economy," she said in Brussels, where she attended a NATO meeting on the crisis. In Gori, a strategic town on Georgia's main east-west highway, six Russian armored personnel carriers, three tanks and two other vehicles headed towards Russia on Tuesday in what Moscow said was the start of its promised withdrawal. But nearby other Russian troops were seen digging trenches near artillery positions. In parts of western Georgia, far from the breakaway South Ossetia region at the heart of the conflict, Russian forces also showed no sign of preparing to depart.  MORE

Rice: NATO won't let Russia succeed in Georgia

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Russia is playing a "very dangerous game" with the U.S. and its allies and warned that NATO would not allow Moscow to win in Georgia, destabilize Europe or draw a new Iron Curtain through it. On her way to an emergency NATO foreign ministers meeting on the crisis, Rice said the alliance would punish Russia for its invasion of the Georgia and deny its ambitions by rebuilding and fully backing Georgia and other Eastern European democracies. "We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's democracy, to use its military capability to damage and in some cases destroy Georgian infrastructure and to try and weaken the Georgian state," she said. "We are determined to deny them their strategic objective," Rice told reporters aboard her plane, adding that any attempt to recreate the Cold War by drawing a "new line" through Europe and intimidating former Soviet republics and ex-satellite states into submission would fail. "We are not going to allow Russia to draw a new line at those states that are not yet integrated into the trans-Atlantic structures," she said, referring to Georgia and Ukraine, which have not yet joined NATO or the European Union but would like to.  MORE

[Note: see also Russia Preparing To Splinter Georgia in today's More News section.]

NATO resists U.S. pressure on Russia penalties
Formal contacts suspended, but U.S. wants stronger action

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- NATO pulled its punches against Russia on Tuesday, suspending formal contacts as punishment for the Georgia invasion but bucking U.S. pressure for more severe penalties. The Russian ambassador to NATO played down the impact of the emergency meeting of the Western alliance. "The mountain gave birth to a mouse," said Dmitry Rogozin. The allies say they will not convene any more meetings of the NATO-Russia Council until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia. But they bowed to concerns from Europe - which depends heavily on Russia for energy - and stopped short of adopting specific long-term steps to punish Moscow . . . In a small victory for the United States, NATO foreign ministers did agree to create a commission to oversee Georgia's bid to join the alliance and begin providing military training to its army. "There can be no business as usual with Russia under present circumstances," alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said after the meeting of NATO foreign ministers here. "We are not abandoning the NATO-Russia Council, but as long as Russian forces are occupying large parts of Georgia, I cannot see the NATO-Russia Council meeting," he told reporters.  MORE

Note: see these related stories:

NATO Freezes Contacts With Moscow Amid Conflicting Reports From Georgia  LINK

Wounded NATO Grapples With Russia  LINK

U.N. Security Council Mulls New Draft On Georgia  LINK

Russia And Georgia Exchange Prisoners  LINK

IDF Detects Syria Rocket Launch

Israel TV Channel 2 reported last night that Syria test-launched a series of ground to ground missiles in recent months. According to data released by the military censor, Damascus has been testing rockets over a period of time, and the tests have been detected by Israeli radar systems, including the systems linked to Israel's missile defense systems. Most of Syria's long-range missiles are based on the Scud design, Channel 2 reported. While Syria's arsenal of missiles is based mainly on antiquated soviet ware upgraded and improved in Syria, the missiles - with a range of 300-700 kilometers - can still reach any target in Israel. Syria is believed to hold chemical warheads in its arsenal and is also suspected of having experimented with biological warheads. [no further content]  LINK

Before Salmonella Outbreak, Disease-Ridden Mexican Peppers Repeatedly Stopped at Border

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA -- Federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease-ridden shipments of peppers from Mexico in the months before a salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400 people was finally traced to Mexican chilies. Yet no larger action was taken. Food and Drug Administration officials insisted as recently as last week that they were surprised by the outbreak because Mexican peppers had not been spotted as a problem before. But an Associated Press analysis of FDA records found that peppers and chilies were consistently the top Mexican crop rejected by border inspectors for the last year. Since January alone, 88 shipments of fresh and dried chilies were turned away. Ten percent were contaminated with salmonella. In the last year, 8 percent of the 158 intercepted shipments of fresh and dried chilies had salmonella.  MORE

USDA REFUSES TO BAN SICK 'DOWNER' COWS FROM U.S. FOOD SUPPLY

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has rejected calls to ban downer cattle from the U.S. food supply. Downer cattle are those too sick or injured to stand. Because these cows are at a higher risk of carrying the fatal, incurable neurological disorder known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, the USDA prohibited their slaughter in 2004.This regulation was relaxed in 2007 to allow the slaughter of any animal that collapses after an initial veterinary inspection, as long as it is re-examined and slaughtered separately. The Humane Society of the United States has sued the FDA to close this loophole, and Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee has also called for a complete ban on downer cows from the food supply. In addition, Kohl has called for stiffer penalties for companies that violate the ban, and for the installation of 24-hour surveillance cameras at meat processing plants.  MORE

Germany acts to halt the 'giant locusts'

Germany's cabinet is expected to approve a far-reaching new law this week to stop "giant locust funds" from Russia, China and the Middle East from launching takeover raids on the country's prized industries. The controversial measure will enable Germany to stop foreign investors from outside the European Union buying more than 25% of any company when "public order and security" are at stake.  MORE

Christian group refuses to leave China airport until Bibles are returned

BEIJING (Catholic News Agency) -- Four members of a Christian group from the United States are refusing to leave a Chinese airport until authorities return the 300 Bibles confiscated from them. The four members of the Wyoming-based group Vision Beyond Borders, which supplies Bibles and other Christian material to people in China and other countries, arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming on Sunday. The Bibles they were carrying were confiscated after customs officials discovered them during an X-ray scan of their luggage, CNN reports. Pat Klein, director of Vision Beyond Borders, said the group distributes the Bibles through a local shop owner in Kunming. Klein said he has been bringing Bibles into China for 21 years but did not know he was breaking Chinese law. According to CNN, Chinese law prohibits bringing printed religious material into the country exceeding the amount needed for personal use. Chinese officials told the group members they had broken the law and repeatedly asked them to leave the airport, but the group spent the night there, Klein said, adding that the customs agents have not been antagonistic. Klein said the Vision Beyond Borders members would not leave until their Bibles are returned. [no further content]  LINK

[Red Flag]
'Temple Mount points to location of lost Ark'
New best-selling prophecy book claims resting place is Mt. Nebo

A new best-selling book on the hidden mysteries of the Jerusalem Temple Mount claims to have discovered the resting place of the lost Ark of the Covenant - the biblical refuge of the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses at Sinai. In 'Temple at the Center of Time: Newton's Bible Codex Deciphered and the Year 2012', by David Flynn, a book that has skyrocketed up the best-seller charts before its official release later this month, says his studies of the Temple Mount strongly suggest the Ark will be found at Mount Nebo in Jordan. The discovery would be the greatest archeological find ever - as has been suggested in popular movies such as 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. In 'Temple at the Center of Time', Flynn makes the case that the Temple Mount, the home of the Jewish temples, was not just a place of religious worship. It is also is a roadmap to future events - a kind of prophetic landmark whose significance is only now revealed through the development of satellite imagery. The book asserts it has "deciphered Isaac Newton's greatest paradox: None other than 'the unified field theory' of Bible prophecy" ...  MORE

Authorities in Laos Detain 90 Christians in Series of Raids

Authorities in Laos have detained or arrested at least 90 Christians in three provinces in recent weeks, including the arrest, Sunday, August 3, of a pastor and two other believers from a house church in Boukham village in Savannakhet province. Arrests were also reported in the southern provinces of Saravan and Savannakhet and in Luang Prabang province in the north. In one incident on July 21, local sources said officials detained 80 Christians in Katin, Saravan, after residents seized a Christian neighbor . . . and poured rice wine down his throat, killing him by asphyxiation. When mourning family members buried the Christian and put a wooden cross on the grave, village officials accused them of "practicing the rituals of the enemy of the state" and seized a buffalo and pig from the family as a fine. Four days later officials rounded up 17 of the 20 Christian families in the village - a total of 80 men, women and children - and detained them in a local school compound, denying them food for three days in an attempt to force the adults to sign documents renouncing their faith. More arrests were reported, but details have yet to be confirmed. [no further content, names removed]  LINK

Saudi Arabia Deports 15 Christians for 'Private Worship'

Saudi Arabia was expected to deport 15 foreign Christians today (Friday, August 15) for holding private worship meetings at a house in Taif. The deportation stems from an incident on April 25 when 12 Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting. Police initially accused them of preaching the Bible and singing. Later they changed the charge to holding a "dance party" and collecting money to support terrorism. The report goes on to say that during the raid, the police mocked, questioned and harassed the Christians for four hours before taking them to a police station and interrogating them. The believers were then jailed and held incommunicado and released three days later. "Upon release, one of the Christians permanently departed the country," ICC reported. "The others, thinking that their ordeal was over, went back to their daily lives and work but soon received letters demanding that they leave the country immediately." The ICC considers the decision to deport them contrary to recent attempts to portray the kingdom as a beacon of reconciliation among Christians, Muslims, Jews and others. [no further content]  LINK

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MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
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Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

Report: RUSSIA PREPARING TO SPLINTER GEORGIA AFTER SARKOZY-BROKERED ARMISTICE (Vladimir Socor)

. . . . Russian troops and their local proxies now fully occupy South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Authorities loyal to Tbilisi, which operated in parts of those two regions, have been expelled, and the Georgian populations forcibly evicted . . . .
In addition, Russian forces have seized several districts inside Georgia beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia, contiguous to them, but never previously contested . . . The Russians seem to be turning these newly occupied areas into buffer zones that would separate South Ossetia and Abkhazia from the rest of Georgia.
In these districts, the Russians seem to be setting up a system of dual power. Georgian civil authorities and police are allowed to operate partially, under limitations defined by Russian military occupation authorities and in coordination with them. These arrangements seem tentative and temporary at this stage . . . .
. . . The Russians have blown up the railway bridge at Kaspi and seized the highway junction near Gori, interdicting all transport. As a result, the government in Tbilisi has lost all overland links with the west of the country and parts of central Georgia. Air links between eastern and western Georgia are also blocked by the Russians.
Russian troops control Georgia's Black Sea harbor of Poti and adjacent areas and are discouraging commercial vessels from entering the ports of Poti and Batumi . . . The maritime blockade and interdiction of overland communications from the ports to the rest of the country has largely isolated Georgia economically from the outside world.
In sum, Russia threatens to cut up Georgia, informally but methodically, on several levels:
(1) in Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
(2) through additional buffer zones (glacis) beyond the secessionist areas;
(3) by isolating some remote chunks of territory (Svaneti);
(4) by cutting off the country's east and west from each other and isolating Tbilisi; and
(5) by controlling the seaboard.
Cumulatively, these moves enable Moscow to threaten to dismember Georgia as a means to force a change of government in Tbilisi. In the next stage, Moscow may try to install local authorities in various parts of the country. Those authorities may then be forced to act without Tbilisi's approval or even to declare insubordination to Tbilisi . . . .
Reopening Georgia's ports and restoring east-west road and railway traffic is therefore politically crucial to maintaining Georgian statehood in the face of Russia's overt attempts to destroy the country.

Source:     jamestown.org (The Jamestown Foundation)  MORE

Survey: MORE HAVE DROPPED DOGMA FOR SPIRITUALITY IN U.S. (Cathy Lynn Grossman)

Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies - like strict doctrines - behind.
There are so many ways of seeing God, public policy expert Barry Kosmin says, that "the highest authority is now the lowest common denominator." . . . .
The survey finds U.S. adults believe overwhelmingly (92%) in God, and 58% say they pray at least once a day. But the study's authors say there's a "stunning" lack of alignment between people's beliefs or practices and their professed faiths . . . .

. . . Among the highlights:

• 78% overall say there are "absolute standards of right and wrong," but only 29% rely on their religion to delineate these standards. The majority (52%) turn to "practical experience and common sense," with 9% relying on philosophy and reason, and 5% on scientific information.

• 74% say "there is a heaven, where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded," but far fewer (59%) say there's a "hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished."

• 70%, including a majority of all major Christian and non-Christian religious groups except Mormons, say "many religions can lead to eternal life."

• 68% say "there's more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion."

• 44% want to preserve their religion's traditional beliefs and practices. But most Catholics (67%), Jews (65%), mainline Christians (56%) and Muslims (51%) say their religion should either "adjust to new circumstances" or "adopt modern beliefs and practices." . . . .

• 50% say "homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society," but the most consistently traditional religious groups say society should discourage it - 76% of Jehovah's Witnesses, 68% of Mormons, 61% of Muslims and 64% of evangelicals.

• 51% have a certain belief in a personal God, but 27% are less certain of this, 14% call God "an impersonal force," and 5% reject any kind of God . . . .

• 14% of all surveyed, including 28% of evangelicals, say religion is the "main influence in their political thinking" . . . .

The Rev. Frank Page of Taylors, South Carolina, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, is not surprised by the Pew findings. "The number (of churches that) teach a clear doctrinal Christianity are a minority today. How would people know it when they never hear about how to be saved?"

Still, Page is undaunted. "Jesus predicted all this," he says, quoting from the Bible (Matthew 15:8): "People honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me."

"We still work as hard as we can to share the good news," he says, "even though we know most will reject the way."

Source:     usatoday.com (7-2-08)  MORE

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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'Utter carnage' in Algeria as suicide bomber kills 43 people  LINK

Olmert warns of hard line in [next] Lebanon war  LINK
Says Israel would attack Lebanon without restraint if a Hezbollah-dominated Lebanon struck Israel

[analysis]: Blockades: Acts of War  LINK

U.S.: Russia must return any U.S. equipment [seized in Georgia]  LINK

Rice: Moscow playing 'dangerous game' with bomber patrols off Alaska  LINK
"Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it wishes to deliver a message, and that's its military power" [No doubt this was said without a hint of irony - Ed.]

Half of Poles Fear Russian Attack  LINK
An opinion poll shows one in two Poles fear an attack by Russia

Cracks in Pakistan coalition day after Musharraf quits  LINK

Pakistan violence flares after Musharraf resigns  LINK

West Bank struggles for water  LINK

Israel to treat Gaza peace boats 'like pirates' (Followup)  LINK
Peace activists planning to land two boats on Gaza's shores are no better than "pirates" and will be turned back by the Israeli navy, officials have warned

Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan  LINK

U.S. Hospitals Take Mexican Drug Casualties  LINK

Denver Secret Prison for Democratic Convention (Followup)  LINK

Voting Machines Can Never Be Trusted, Says GOP Computer Security Expert (Interview)  LINK
If a Democrat said what cyber-security expert Stephen Spoonamore [said in 2006], he would be dismissed as a partisan conspiracy theorist

[analysis]: The Battered American Consumer: Even the Upper-Middle Class Is Feeling Economic Pain  LINK
Consumer spending is starting to play a lesser role in our economy, as households - even wealthy ones - downsize their lifestyles

French hold [economic] crisis summit  LINK

Venezuela Could Push for OPEC Output Cuts  LINK
"What we cannot permit is a collapse in the price of oil"

[analysis]: How Wind Farms May Really Replace Coal Mining  LINK
One community is attempting to prove that clean energy can beat dirty power - even in the heart of coal country

'Boomerang' Fay gains strength over Florida  LINK

1,000 flee after 5.3 magnitude earthquake hits China's border with Burma  LINK

Chewing Gum After Colon Surgery May Speed Up Recovery  LINK

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: AUGUST 19, 2008  LINK

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 1:16-17 KJV
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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2008
- no news edition -

CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2008

Big Russian flotilla led by Admiral Kuznetsov carrier heads for Syrian port

As the West awaits Moscow's threatened reprisal for the treaty installing American missile interceptors at Redzikowo, on Poland's Baltic coast - signed in Warsaw Wednesday - the Kremlin is striking back in the Middle East - hence Russian president Dimitry Medvedev's honeyed words of reassurance to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in a call he made to Jerusalem Wednesday, August 20.
DEBKAfile's military sources disclose that a powerful Russian naval contingent, led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, left Murmansk on the Barents Sea August 18 to dock at the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus Saturday, August 23. It includes the Russian Navy's biggest missile cruiser Moskva and at least four nuclear missile submarines.
At the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Syrian president Bashar Assad told reporters Thursday, August 21, that he is considering a Russian request to deploy missiles in his country in view of Russian-Western tensions over the Georgian conflict, which he said had polarized East and West anew.
Assad signaled he would also be representing Tehran's interests in his talks with Russian leaders. Jordan's King Abdullah is on his way to join them later in the day.
Before the Russian flotilla departed Murmansk, Assad is reported by our sources as having given the nod for Tartus port's conversion into a permanent Middle East base for Russia's nuclear-armed warships.
Assad’s arrival coincided with a visit by a large Syrian military delegation Thursday [to] the Russian weapons manufacturing giant, the Kalinin Machines Plant, east of Moscow. DEBKAfile's military sources report that this plant makes sophisticated anti-air missile systems, including the S-300 and the BUK M, for which Damascus is bidding.
The Syrian ruler has said he is seeking closer military cooperation with Russia. The deal emerging from his visit is expected to cover the Russian Navy's use of Tartus in return for a mutual defense accord providing Syria with a Russian nuclear umbrella and generous terms for his arms purchases.
August 17, DEBKAfile first revealed Russia’s planned nuclear military deployments in the Middle East and Baltic to punish America for its missile deal with Poland and Georgia's attack in South Ossetia. They would included the installation of Iskandar surface missiles in Syria and Kaliningrad. [no further content]

Source:     debka.com  LINK

Fear of new Mid East 'Cold War' as Syria strengthens military alliance with Russia

Syria raised the prospect yesterday of having Russian missiles on its soil, sparking fears of a new Cold War in the Middle East. President Assad said as he arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements: "We are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security."
The Syrian leader told Russian newspapers: "I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle."
Mr Assad said that he would be discussing the deployment of Russian missiles on his territory. The Syrians are also interested in buying Russian weapons.
In return Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, which would give the Russian Navy its first foothold in the Mediterranean for two decades. Damascus and Moscow were close allies during the Cold War but the Kremlin's influence in the region waned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yesterday's rapprochement raised the possibility that Moscow intends to re-create a global anti-Western alliance with former Soviet bloc allies.
Many in Israel fear that the Middle East could once again become a theatre for the two great powers to exert their spheres of influence, militarily and politically. And with Israel and the US providing military backing to Georgia, Russia appears set to respond in kind by supporting Syria.
Already, Israeli observers worry that the chaos in the Caucasus may disrupt gas supplies to Europe and Turkey from the Caspian Sea region, creating a greater energy reliance on Iran and its vast reserves. The crisis could in turn allow Tehran to exploit splits in the international community and use Russia as a backer to advance its nuclear programme. Russia has wooed Syria in recent years, as it has tried to increase its influence in the Middle East and increase arms sales.

Source:     timesonline.co.uk  MORE

Note: see also Assad: Syria May Host Russian Missiles In Its Territory - Ready to consider deploying Russian Iskander missile systems in its territory, in response to the US missile shield in Europe ...  LINK

Moscow rejects call to pull out all troops

Russia made clear yesterday that it had no intention of bowing to NATO calls for a withdrawal to the positions its forces held before the invasion of Georgia.
Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian military's general staff, said a battalion of about 270 soldiers would occupy a swath of Georgian territory around the enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the withdrawal of troops from central Georgia.
"This is the buffer zone," Colonel-General Nogovitsyn told a news conference, pointing at the area delineated on a map by a red line connecting eight Georgian towns around South Ossetia. "It is foreseen in the agreements on the movements of Russian forces, the peacekeepers, in the event of a conflict situation, which gives us the right in certain conditions to move and occupy the borders of the zone."
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, has pledged to complete the withdrawal from Georgia by tomorrow, as stipulated in a six-point peace plan. The agreement allows for buffer zones around the two Russian-controlled enclaves.
On the map presented by the defence ministry, the buffer zone stretches from the South Ossetian border almost to the Georgian city of Gori, and from the border of Abkhazia to the Georgian city of Senaki. Western governments have expressed frustration that, instead of withdrawing its troops, Russia seems to be digging in.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO secretary-general, has called on Moscow to withdraw its forces in Georgia to positions they occupied on August 6, the day before the confrontation erupted.
It appears that Russia's "line of responsibility" around the enclaves is consistent with the peace plan, which allows for eight military posts along the boundary of the zone. But it is not clear whether western governments had bargained on such a large area occupied by Russian troops for the foreseeable future.
In an interview with CNN, Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, accused Russia of having violated the ceasefire agreement by setting up checkpoints in and around Gori. Referring to announcements of Russian withdrawal by Mr Medvedev, she added: "What is embarrassing now is the Russian president continuing to make representations that don't turn out to be true ... Russia seems unwilling and unable to keep its word."

Source:     ft.com (Financial Times)  MORE

Russian troops mass for pullout but keep checkpoints deep into Georgia

Columns of Russian tanks were gathering on the road to Gori today as they appeared to be preparing for a mass withdrawal from the area.
Troops identified as peacekeepers, however, continued to man some checkpoints deep inside Georgia away from the agreed buffer zones where Russia is permitted to station its forces. The position of a checkpoint at Natsreti close to Gori raises questions about the extent of the security zone that Russia will continue to operate on Georgian soil.
The Times saw around 50 tanks and armed personnel carriers on the road between Gori and Tbilisi appearing to pulling out towards South Ossetia.
The strategically important road was apparently being vacated today with a checkpoint at Igoeti dismantled by this afternoon. Georgian police were standing at the side of the road watching the Russian Army leave the blockade around 40km outside Tbilisi. It is the closest the Georgian forces have been to Gori for over a week.
The troop movement came the day after President Medvedev of Russia said that only 500 soldiers would be left inside Georgia by the end of today.
He has repeatedly told the West that his forces would leave Georgia, but they so far failed to meet any of the deadlines that have been set.
The United States and the European Union are growing frustrated at Russia's intransigence and suspicious of the Kremlin’s real motives.
A senior US military officer said in Tbilisi today that the withdrawal was "far too little, far too slow".
In Gori itself there was a reduced Russian presence. Tanks that had blocked a bridge from the city had pulled out this morning, making it possible to reach Gori from Tbilisi via back roads and avoiding Russian checkpoints . . . .
It is unclear how many peacekeepers will remain in Georgia outside the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The ceasefire deal brokered by President Sarkozy of France allows Moscow to station troops in buffer zones around the semi-autonomous regions, but the Georgian government fears that a rump of so-called peacekeepers would retain powerful positions deep inside the country.

Source:     timesonline.co.uk  MORE

Note: see these related stories:

Moscow Plans 18 Long-Term Checkpoints Inside Georgia  LINK

Russia Blocks Georgia's Main Port City [Poti]  LINK

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NEWS BRIEFS
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News Alert: FDA: Irradiated spinach, lettuce OK to kill germs

The government will allow food producers to start zapping fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce with just enough radiation to kill E. coli and other dangerous germs, a key safety move amid increasing outbreaks from raw produce. Irradiated meat has been around for years, particularly ground beef. But food companies long worried that zapping leafy greens with X-rays or other means of radiation would leave them limp. The Food and Drug Administration has determined that modern irradiation techniques kill food-poisoning germs without compromising the safety or nutrient value of raw spinach and lettuce. Its new rule takes effect Friday.  MORE

U.S. pullout from Iraq cities could start by June, says U.S. official

WASHINGTON -- US forces could begin withdrawing from Iraqi cities as early as June under a draft agreement reached between US and Iraqi negotiators, a senior US military official said Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agreement on the status of US forces in Iraq still awaited final approval. But the official said that under the draft agreement a withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities "could be as early as June, conditions permitting." He would not comment directly on reports that it also calls for US combat troops to be out of Iraq by 2011, saying that the two sides negotiated "time horizons" and "general aspirations." "The balance we're trying to reach is between Iraq's stated desire to have a more concrete view of US forces levels out through the years, and our desire it be based on conditions on the ground," the official said.  MORE

Note: see these related stories:

Rice Says U.S. 'Very, Very Close' To Security Deal With Iraq  LINK

Sadrists Denounce Emerging U.S.-Iraq Deal - Say it would turn Iraq into a U.S. colony  LINK

'Don't do it', U.S. told Georgia on eve of assault

OSLO (Reuters) -- The United States warned Georgia against trying to retake rebel South Ossetia by force, including on the very eve of the Aug. 7 attack that drew a crushing response from Russia, the U.S. envoy to NATO said on Thursday. Ambassador Kurt Volker said Russia was looking for an excuse to flex its military might and send troops into Georgia, as it duly did when Georgian soldiers ventured into pro-Russian South Ossetia. Asked if Washington was notified of Georgia's intention to strike its rebel province, Volker said: "The United States has consistently counselled Georgia, over a long period of time, that there is no military solution (in South Ossetia). "Including the day before Georgian troops went into South Ossetia, we said 'don't do it, don't be drawn into a military conflict, it's not in your interest'," Volker told Norway's Institute of International Affairs. "But the pressure on (Georgia) was too great and they felt they had to act...and that gave Russia the excuse they were looking for to launch a massive military operation with over 20,000 troops," he added.  MORE

'Take Back Jerusalem with Jihad'

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that the Islamist group will not accept any future peace agreement that does not include the return of Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley to the Palestinians and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in Israel. 'Jerusalem will be returned to the Palestinians not by way of negotiations or hugging and kissing the enemy, but only through blood, shahids and resistance,' Haniyeh declared, adding that 'Muslims must protect al-Aqsa Mosque'. Haniyeh said that "according to most reports on secret peace talks or agreements, Israel is refusing to relinquish Jerusalem and the West Bank, refuses to accept the right of return of Palestinian refugees, refuses to dismantle the settlements and deems the Jordan Valley vital to its security. "On behalf of the Palestinian nation and Muslims everywhere, I say that we will not accept any such agreements," he said. [no further content]  LINK

Followup story
U.S. won't sell refueling jets to Israel, fearing strike on Iran

It emerged on Wednesday that the United States has refused to sell Jerusalem new refueling planes, fearing such a transaction could be interpreted as support for an Israeli attack on Iran . . . [New] information released Wednesday revealed that the nature of the equipment refused would strengthen the Israel Air Force in one of its weakest areas. The IAF has in its possession only seven refueling planes, many of which are more than 40 years old.  MORE

Nevada jury says California owes inventor $388 million over 'outrageous' audit

California taxpayers could be on the hook for a staggering $388 million because of a state tax collection agency's vigorous pursuit of a former California taxpayer. In a case that one tax expert called "completely unprecedented," jurors in a Clark County, Nevada, District Court trial awarded Las Vegas inventor Gilbert P. Hyatt $250 million in punitive damages Thursday for the "outrageous conduct" of Franchise Tax Board auditors in an investigation that began in 1993. The award was on top of $138.1 million in compensatory damages that jurors gave Hyatt last week for "invasion of privacy" and "emotional distress." Hyatt's suit alleged that board auditors went through his garbage and mailbox, spread the word he was being audited to his business associates, and sent letters containing his Social Security number to third parties that included newspapers and doctors who had never treated Hyatt. The tactics were portrayed as part of efforts to harass and intimidate Hyatt into paying a $7.4 million California tax bill that has grown to $49 million with interest and penalties – and the meter is still running. Hyatt's lead counsel, Mark A. Hutchison, called the jury's awards "the shot heard 'round the world " for taxing agencies that abuse their power. "Government agencies should pause and reflect on the significance of this verdict," he said.  MORE

Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations'

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes - from writing bad checks to using drugs - that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations . . . Prison sentences here have become "vastly harsher than in any other country to which the United States would ordinarily be compared," Michael H. Tonry, a leading authority on crime policy, wrote in 'The Handbook of Crime and Punishment'. Indeed, said Vivien Stern, a research fellow at the prison studies center in London, the American incarceration rate has made the United States "a rogue state, a country that has made a decision not to follow what is a normal Western approach."  MORE

U.S. tracking citizens' border crossings

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has been using its border checkpoints to collect information on citizens that will be stored for 15 years, raising concern among privacy advocates, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the collection is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats, the report said, citing a Federal Register notice the agency issued last month. Officials said the disclosure is among a series of notices to make the department's data gathering more transparent, the newspaper reported. A notice by Customs and Border Protection, a DHS agency, said it does not perform data mining on border crossings to search for patterns that could signal a terrorist or law enforcement threat, according to the Post. But it states that information may be shared with federal, state and local governments to test "new technology and systems designed to enhance border security or identify other violations of law," the Post reported.  MORE

'Failsafe' face scanners could replace passport officers at airports (UK)

Facial recognition machines are to be installed at airports to replace passport officers under border control plans announced today. The machines will scan a travellers' face to compare them with the images on their biometric passports and open an automated gate when a match is registered. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who unveiled details of the scheme today, claims it will shorten immigration queues and boost border security. Critics fear, however, that the technology could generate too many false readings in which passengers with genuine passports are refused automatic entry. There are also concerns that the replacement of personal inspections by passport officers could reduce the chances of detecting individuals who might otherwise be observed behaving suspiciously. A trial scheme will begin at Manchester Airport and will be expanded elsewhere in the country if it proves successful . . . Ministers insist the technology is fail-safe and that when a passenger is refused automatic entry an immigration officer will be on hand to conduct a follow-up check on their status.  MORE

COMING TO THEATERS: BUFFETT SPOTLIGHTS U.S. DEBT CRISIS

The catastrophe looming in the documentary 'I.O.U.S.A.' isn't romantic like the doomed young love in 'Titanic', but billionaires Warren Buffett and Pete Peterson warn it could break many more hearts. The disaster they warn of could be bigger than any we've ever seen - bigger than an iceberg, bigger even than the current mortgage crisis. If the U.S. doesn't do something, and fast, to tame the federal government's debts - now more than $50 trillion - the two Nebraska natives warn we will saddle coming generations with economic problems that will make this year's financial turbulence look like a trip to the debt counselor's office. Premiering Thursday at 358 theaters nationwide, 'I.O.U.S.A.' is part of Peterson's campaign to give the ballooning debt a central role in the presidential campaign.  MORE

Vaccine refusals fuel measles outbreak

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Parents refusing to have their children vaccinated against measles have helped drive cases of the illness to their worst levels in a dozen years in the United States, health officials reported on Thursday.  MORE

Military reviewing rules on deadly toxin shipments

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Military leaders have suspended some activities at biological research laboratories to review safety rules for some of the world's deadliest germs and toxins, including how they are shipped through FedEx and other civilian carriers ...  MORE

Vatican takes cue from Jews on God's name

The Vatican has reiterated that the tetragrammaton, or four-letter name of God, is not to be pronounced in Catholic liturgy . . . A message June 29 from the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments traced the history of the ban and noted that the first Christians, following Jewish practice, did not pronounce the four-letter name. "The venerable biblical tradition of sacred Scripture, known as the Old Testament, displays a series of divine appellations, among which is the sacred name of God revealed in a tetragrammaton YHWH - hwhw," the message said. "As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, it was held to be unpronounceable and hence was replaced during the reading of sacred Scripture by means of the use of an alternate name: 'Adonai,' which means 'Lord.' "  MORE

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Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

Commentary: Attacking Iran via South Ossetia (Stephen Kinzer)
Could the conflict between Russia and Georgia be the excuse the Bush administration has been looking for to bomb Iran?

. . . . The US and Russia need to cooperate on a host of strategic issues, and Georgia is not a vital interest to the US. The logical thing for the US to do now would be to take this hit and move on.
President Bush and vice-president Cheney, however, may have another idea. I'm reading their minds, and this is what I fear they are thinking:
"We're on our way out of office. The way things look now, the last confrontation between us and the bad guys will have been one that they won. We can't let our term end that way. This can't be the last word. We have to go out in a blaze of glory. Where should we set off that blaze? Iran, of course. No country has taunted us more relentlessly. By bombing Iran, we will send the world a defiant farewell message: Forget Russia - We Still Rule!"

Source:     guardian.co.uk  MORE

Commentary: [EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK] SLAMMED AS EUROPE CRUMBLES (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard)

The economies of Germany, France and Italy all contracted in the first quarter and may now be in full recession, shattering assumptions that Europe would prove able to shrug off the effects of the credit crunch.
The picture is darkening so fast in Spain that Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero cancelled holidays and called his cabinet back to Madrid yesterday for the first emergency session of its kind since the Franco dictatorship. The crisis meeting agreed to a €20billion (£16 billion) blitz on public works, tax cuts, and a mortgage rescue to halt the downward spiral.
Growth has turned negative in Ireland, Denmark, Latvia, and Estonia, while grinding to a halt in Sweden and The Netherlands. Iceland contracted by a staggering 3.7%. The grim data from Eurostat follows a recession warning in Britain, and shock news that the Japanese economy had shrunk 0.6% in the second quarter . . . .
The Eurozone as a whole shrank by 0.2%, the first contraction since the launch of the single currency a decade ago. Germany led the slide with a fall of 0.5%. France and Italy fell 0.3%. The delayed effects of the strong euro, tight credit, and slowing exports have now kicked in with a vengeance.
This is an alarm warning for the economy," said the Confederation of German Industry . . . .
"A momentous economic slowdown is now under way. We believe the deterioration in Spain is just in the beginning stages," said a report by Morgan Stanley. It said there was a serious risk of a blow-up comparable to the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) crisis in the early 1990s. This time there is no easy exit. Spain cannot devalue within the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), or resort to emergency monetary stimulus . . . .
"The economic situation is worse than we all predicted. We thought it would happen slowly but instead it has hit fast," he said . . . The sector is in freefall.

Source:     telegraph.co.uk (8-15-08)  MORE

[Red Flag - Bad language]
Opinion: BUSINESS IS MAKING SURE IT WINS THE PRESIDENCY (Matt Taibbi)

Remember the total, hideous, inexcusable absence of oversight that has been the great hallmark of George Bush's America for almost eight years now? Well, now we're getting to see that same regulatory malfeasance applied to yet another cornerstone of our political system. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) - the body that supposedly enforces campaign-finance laws in this country - has been out of business for more than six months. That's because Congress was dragging its feet over confirmation hearings for new FEC commissioners, leaving the agency without a quorum. The commission just started work again for the first time on July 10th under its new chairman, Donald McGahn, a classic Republican Party yahoo whose chief qualifications include representing Tom DeLay, the corrupt ex-speaker of the House, in matters of campaign finance.
Apart from the obvious absurdity of not having a functioning election-policing mechanism in an election year in the world's richest democracy, the late start by the FEC makes it almost impossible for the agency to do its job . . . .
. . . Because the FEC has been dead in the water for so long, it's likely that we'll still be in the dark about a large chunk of this record manure pile of campaign contributions when we go to vote in November.
But that doesn't mean that a little sifting through campaign records doesn't tell us quite a lot about who's backing whom in these races. The truth is that the campaigns of both Barack Obama and John McCain are being inundated with cash from more or less exactly the same gorgons of the corporate scene. From Wall Street to the Big Oil powerhouses to the military-industrial complex, America's fat-cat business leaders know that the Animal House-style party of the last eight years that made almost all of them rich with bonuses, government contracts and bubble profits is about to come to an end, and someone is going to have to pay to clean up the mess. They want that someone to be you, not them, and they've spared no expense to make sure both presidential candidates will be there to bail them out next year.

Source:     Rolling Stone / alternet.org (8-9-08)  MORE

SURVIVAL SURVEY (posted by K. Dreyer)

Food:
   1. Do you have at least 3 months worth of food stored in the pantry or cellar? (six months is best).
   2. Do you have a garden?
   3. Do you have a way to cook your food if the power goes out?
   4. Do you have a camp stove and plenty of fuel for it?
   5. Do you have: hand powered blender? meat grinder? grain grinders?
   6. Do you have a Solar Oven?

Water:
   1. Do you have at least 6 months worth of drinking water?
   2. Do you have rain catchment connected to your roof?
   3. Do you have a stock tank and a gravity water supply?
   4. Do you have a stream, creek, spring, river lake or pond close by?
   5. Do you have a gravity water purifier or distiller? (Aqua Rain, Katadyn, or British Berkfield)

Shelter:
   1. Do you have a shelter or underground place to evacuate to?
   2. Do you have a root cellar?
   3. Do you have a tent?
   4. Other ___________________?

Power:
   1. Do you have an alternate source of power?
   2. Generator?
   3. Solar Panels?
   4. Wind Power?
   5. Water Power?
   6. Other ________________?

Defense / Hunting:
   1. Do you have a couple of good knives with a sharpener?
   2. Do you have a bow and plenty of arrows?
   3. Rifle?
   4. Shot Gun?
   5. Defense Plan?
   6. Exit Strategy - Evacuation Plan?
   7. Gunpowder, flints, caps, bullet molds, Animal Traps, etc. ?
   8. A place close by to go hunting?

Medical:
   1. Do you have a well-stocked First Aid Kit?
   2. Medicinal Herbal Remedies such as Garlic, Echinacea, Cayenne etc.
   3. Curved needle for stitching up wounds?
   4. Alcohol and Peroxide?

Garden / Livestock:
   1. Do you have any land? Can you grow vegetables, fruit on it?
   2. Do you have a 2 year supply of seeds? [Seeds need to be non-hybrid - Ed.]
   3. Livestock - Chickens, Rabbits, Goats, etc. ?
   4. Do you have enough food for your livestock?
   5. Do you have fruit trees handy?

Money or other exchangeable medium:
   1. Are you prepared to have your paper currency worth nothing?
   2. Do you have exchangeables such as Gold, Silver, Copper Coins, extra Food, extra Coffee, Cigarettes, other tradables?
   3. Are all your savings in the bank? = not a good idea.

Community:
   1. Are you a member of a group that is prepared for emergencies?
   2. Are you a member of a self sufficient community?
   3. Do you have a Survival Group Location you and your family could easily get to in case of emergencies?

Source:     pz_prophezine@yahoogroups.com [no link, original source unknown]

Note: see these related websites:

Recommended Items To Include In A Basic Emergency Supply Kit  LINK
 
Be Prepared - American Red Cross Preparedness Information  LINK

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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100 die in Taliban suicide bombings (Pakistan)  LINK

Pakistan Taliban vow more attacks