By The Associated Press  
DAMASCUS - The bones of a giant camel dating back 100,000 years were recently unearthed in the Syrian desert, a government newspaper has reported.
The bones were discovered by a joint Syrian-Swiss archaeological team at the site of al-Hemel in the Palmyra region about 250 kilometers northwest of Damascus, the state-run Tishrin daily reported Saturday.
The discovery was the first of its kind and revealed that the Syrian desert "is the first origin of the camel," Bassam Jammous, director general of the Antiquities and Museum Department in Syria, told the newspaper. 
He said the camel is double the size of the modern-day camel and "poses a revolution in the world of archaeological discoveries."
Officials with the Swiss archaeology team could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday.
Original Source
 

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Iranian government spokesperson Gholam-Hossein Elham tells press conference ‘dismantling of nuclear arms in Middle East must begin with Zionist entity’; adds: Ban to use weapons of mass destruction should be imposed globally
Iranian government spokesperson Gholam-Hossein Elham told a press conference Tuesday that “the dismantling of nuclear arms in the Middle East must begin with the Zionist entity.”  
The spokesperson added that Iran was ‘ideologically opposed’ to the use of nuclear arms.
Israel’s Viewpoint   
Gillerman: N. Korea test precedent to West's dealing with Iran  / Yitzhak Benhorin  
Israel's ambassador to the UN tells Ynet that South Korea's Ban could be good for Israel, says treatment of N. Korea to serve as precedent to Iran      
However, North Korea’s nuclear test has prompted Iran to call on the International Atomic Energy Agency to brace itself for the possibility that all countries would seek nuclear energy for “peaceful purposes.”  
Elham said the ban to use weapons of mass destruction should be imposed globally.  
“A just balance would remove these (nuclear) threats, and the conquering regime from Jerusalem should be the first in the region to disarm,” he said.  
Turning his attention to the North Korean nuclear ...   more »

Synagogue Planned For Temple Mount, Hashemites to Add Minaret  
The synagogue would be build upon the Temple Mount, but in an area that is indisputably not within the areas that require immersion and other preparations, according to Jewish law.
Ariel says that the synagogue would not change the Muslim status quo on the mount, which is home to the Al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
“This is not a new idea,” Ariel stressed, “it has been brought up and considered countless times since the [1967] Six Day War [during which the Temple Mount was liberated from Jordanian occupation –ed.].”
The plan will be submitted to the Jerusalem municipality and the Committee for Design and Construction for approval. Ariel says that every aspect of the plan will be submitted to leading Torah scholars for approval.
The National Union MK, who visited the Temple Mount himself Monday, said that such a plan was an opportunity for the Muslim world to prove it is capable of rising above the violence and intolerance that have surfaced in the past year as a result of papal remarks and political cartoon portraying Islam’s founder Muhammad. Referring to Ariel's visit to the holy site, ...   more »

The aircraft carrier battle group is scheduled to sail Tuesday from Norfolk to relieve the USS Enterprise.
DAILY PRESS
NORFOLK -- The aircraft carrier Eisenhower, fresh from refueling and overhaul at Northrop Grumman Newport News, sails Tuesday from Norfolk to relieve the USS Enterprise in the Middle East.
Commanded by Rear Adm. Allen G. Myers, the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group also includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage, guided-missile destroyer USS Mason and the fast-attack submarine USS Newport News.
All have their home port in Norfolk.
There are about 6,500 sailors in the group.
The Enterprise left Norfolk on May 2, along with the cruiser USS Leyte Gulf, the destroyer USS McFaul, the frigate USS Nicholas and the attack submarine USS Alexandria.
Since deploying, the Enterprise has launched strikes against targets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Planes based at Naval Air Station Oceana and with the carrier recently have been flying missions against Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan.
The Eisenhower went into Northrop Grumman Newport News in May 2001 for almost four years. It has since completed training exercises in anticipation of this deployment.
Orginal Source
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The Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, a Christian evangelist whose criticism of Islam has frequently outraged Muslims, said Islam teaches its followers to "persecute" others until they convert, with the aim being "total domination."
Graham's comments, reported in The News & Observer of Raleigh on Monday, came as the evangelist said he plans to rebuild hundreds of churches that have been destroyed by the Sudanese government and its allied militias.
"There's a war taking place against the church of Jesus Christ in Africa," Graham said, arguing that the battle pits Muslims against Christians in countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan, where fighting in the Darfur region has left 200,000 people killed and 2.5 million other homeless.
In the wake of the 2001 attacks on the United States, Graham outraged Muslims in 2001 when he said that Islam "is a very evil and wicked religion." In an interview last March, he told ABC News' "Nightline" that he had not changed his mind about the faith.
In his latest salvo, Graham told The News & Observer: "It's the teaching of Islam that is not tolerant of any other faith."
"It's world domination. When they dominate an area, they'll let ...   more »

ISTANBUL - Turkey`s EU membership is not only for the best interests of Europe and Turkey but also contribute to global peace, said Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hosting a fast breaking dinner in honor of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul, Erdogan said, "lack of dialogue among different cultures and religions are being misused by extremists. In such days, we, the politicians and religious leaders should contribute to global peace with our remarks and behaviors, not to exclude each other. My Spanish counterpart Zapatero and I have launched the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative in these hard days when violence and clashes have spread. And, we are walking towards the same goal with Germany. The Dialogue Among Cultures Initiative, promoted by our foreign ministers in September, is significant."
Erdogan noted that the target of EU project is to make Europe a strong and efficient global actor.
"Turkey has the capabilities to contribute to this goal. Turkey`s EU membership will show the entire world that it is possible to harmonize different religious beliefs and traditions with global values and principles. This unity will be a concrete example of the alliance of civilizations," he stressed.
On the other hand, German Chancellor Merkel ...   more »

Throughout the centuries, the sultans of Ottoman Turkey never issued edicts, firmans or fatwahs against the Jewish people living in their dominions. In the modern Republic of Turkey, the same holds true. Yet, an alarming situation existing today threatens to change the historic course of Turko-Jewish relations. The Turkish Muslims, long known for their hospitality and peacefulness towards the Jewish people, are quickly being radicalized by the introduction of Nazi-inspired Arab zealotry against the Jews.  
With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, the Jews continued to remain close to the Turkish people. In 1923, President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared, "Our country has some elements who gave the proof of their fidelity to the motherland. Among them, I have to mention the Jewish element; up to now, the Jews have lived in happiness and from now they will rejoice and will be happy." 
Today, the tide is turning, and the Turkish land that for so long remained a bastion of peace for the Jews is rapidly becoming a playground for the Islamofascists that feed off of ferocious propaganda being disseminated from Arab countries and Iran. Attacks, violence and anti-Jewish graffiti is becoming more and more ...   more »

By Bob Unruh
Another school has been "teaching" Islam by having students study and learn Muslim prayers and dress as Muslims, and a lawyer who argued a previous dispute over this issue to the U.S. Supreme Court said such methodologies wouldn't "last 10 seconds" if it were Christianity being taught.
"Would it have been 'just cultural education' if students were in simulated baptisms, wearing a crucifix, having taken the name of St. John and with praise banners saying 'Praise be to Jesus Christ' on classroom walls?" asked Edward White III, of the Thomas More Law Center.
Supt. Don Grotting
His comments came after a new protest arose in Nyssa, Ore., where one parent raised objections when the Islamic teachings came to light. The district there, according to Supt. Don Grotting, is teaching a chapter in a history textbook "Journey Across Time" that talks about "how civilization has developed and some of the particular aspects of Islam."
"We teach out of the book, and there are some supplemental class activities," he told WND. "The kids do some skits, they could bring a food from the region, you could build a prop that would have depicted (something) maybe during that time period. ...   more »

Emanuel A. Winston, Mid East Analyst & Commentator
With war looming ominously for Israel, it is imperative to return Gen. Dan Halutz, Israel’s current Chief-Of-Staff of the IDF (Israel Defense Force) back to the only desk he really knows and understands. That is Chief of the Air Force. (If we had the time, Halutz should be Court Martialed but, we don’t have the time for that luxury.)
Halutz sees wars and strategy through the eyes of an airman. He dreams of fighting the enemy from the sky. To have him focus on Israeli ground troops, slogging their way through hostile terrain is too petty - to inelegant for him to give our soldiers more than a passing thought.
Worse yet, he brought into control of the IDF his air buddies to replace Ground Combat Generals, thinkers and trainers. Like Halutz, they too are "above it all" so to speak.
A big war is coming in so fast that a real shakeup of the General Staff should kick themselves into high gear and put a real Ground Combat General into top charge of the IDF, Army, Navy, Air and Intelligence Services.
Let Halutz, with all his arrogance, plan an air war ...   more »