Khaled Abu Toameh
Fatah is planning to mark its 43rd anniversary this year with a new poster that presents all of Israel as Palestine.
Designed specifically for the occasion by Abdel Mun'em Ibrahim, the poster features a map of Israel that is entirely draped with a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.
It also carries a drawing of a rifle as a symbol of the "armed struggle" against Israel.
The poster, which has been endorsed by the Fatah leadership, has already been posted on a number of Fatah-affiliated Web sites.
The underlying message of the poster is that Fatah, like Hamas, does not recognize Israel's existence.
The emblem is in violation of Fatah's declared policy, which envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside, and not instead of, Israel.
By including a rifle in the poster, Fatah is sending a message to the Palestinian public that it has not abandoned the option of "armed resistance," despite current peace talks with Israel.
Founded in 1965, Fatah has celebrated its anniversary over the past 14 years with major rallies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But it's not clear at this stage if Hamas would allow Fatah to hold a big rally in the Gaza Strip. ...   more »

"If Syria feels threatened by Israel, it will be hard to stop our missile operators from responding to the Israeli aggression by attacking the Dimona nuclear reactor," Syrian legislator Muhammad Habash was quoted as saying Saturday.
In an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Habash emphasized that the Dimona reactor is "within range" of the Syrian missiles.
Habash told the London-based newspaper that Syria did not rule out a violation of its sovereignty by Israel and said Damascus was "prepared" for this eventuality.
However, the Syrian legislator stressed that Damascus did not want to escalate the situation in the region.
Habash, who coordinates with the Presidential Palace in Damascus, also claimed that international mediators were constantly making efforts to renew ties between Israel and Syria but underlined that at the moment, there was no contact between the two countries.
Despite Habash's threat, Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry Diplomatic-Security Branch, dismissed any notion of high tension between Israel and Syria.
He told Israel Radio that he chose to see Habash's words in a different, more positive light.
"Since Israel is not threatening Syria, and the Syrians are well aware of this, there is no war on the agenda between Israel and ...   more »

By Barak Ravid 
A senior adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel may come into conflict with the United States over increased pressure by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to advance talks with the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, the Israeli and PA negotiating teams, headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qureia, respectively, are to meet Sunday ahead of Tuesday's meeting between Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The U.S. might want to up the pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations in the first stage of the road map, the adviser said in private conversations, particularly removing illegal outposts and freezing construction in the territories.
"Their demands from Israel will only increase and it is not certain that we can meet them under the circumstances," he added.  
The adviser said that in Vice Premier Haim Ramon's talks with American officials, he had gone "too far in promising them things to please them."
Another senior government official involved in the talks also warned of expected crises with the Palestinians and the Americans.
"Israel has created a series of far-reaching expectations in the international arena," this official said, referring to the implementation of the first part of the road ...   more »

and they want Russian-made androids that can dance and talk.
Prototypes of tested Russian robots
"surpass foreign-produced robots with their technical
characteristics," according to a statement
from Russian Railways overnight.
They have bought eight Russian robots for testing.
Seven are 35-centimetres high,
and the
eighth is 1.4 metres tall and weighs 70 kilograms.
The plan is to "build special robot models that can replace humans in particularly
difficult work for railways," the statement said.
The robots can inspect parts of trains that are difficult for humans to access, Roman Timofeyev
, a rail official, told Vesti 24 television channel.
Russian television showed the robots dancing on tables in front of amazed members of the public.
Original Source   more »

By James T. Hackett - The Dec. 17 interception of a ballistic missile by a Japanese Aegis destroyer off the Hawaiian Island of Kauai is a milestone in the U.S.-Japan missile defense collaboration.
The Bush administration's goal of global missile defenses is becoming reality, but to effectively protect the Eastern United States defenses in Europe are needed.
For years, representatives of Japan and a number of other countries attended missile defense conferences. They regularly announced plans to study the need for missile defenses. Each year they said the same, but there was little sense of urgency and no sign of progress, except in Israel and the United States.
The United States developed the Patriot PAC-2 to stop short-range missiles just in time to defend U.S. troops and Israel in the first Gulf war. Then Israel, surrounded by enemies, developed and deployed its Arrow missile interceptor in record time.
Land-based Patriots were sent to defend U.S. forces and allies around the world, but the ABM treaty prevented the U.S. from developing either a national missile defense or ship-based defenses. The problem became critical in 1998 when North Korea launched a Taepodong missile over northern Japan. It was a blatant threat to ...   more »

A senior Russian military official has arrived in Tehran to discuss defense cooperation with Iran, the Iranian Defense Ministry says.
Head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation,
Mikhail Dmitriyev arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to take part in the fourth meeting of the Iran-Russia Joint Defense Cooperation Commission.
Dmitriyev held talks with Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, who heads the Iranian side of the commission.
During the negotiations both sides stressed the need to expand Iran-Russia defense cooperation.
They also reviewed agreements reached during earlier meetings of the commission. 
Original Source   more »

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned that the US military is in danger of running out of money for its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said Congressional funding for the wars was inadequate and budget constraints were undermining planning.
Congress this week approved $70bn (£35bn) - just half the sum that US President George W Bush had sought.
But Mr Gates also said many troops could be pulled out of Iraq as planned next year thanks to better security.
He raised the possibility of five combat brigades returning home by July next year, with the first unit due to leave this month.
'Fit and starts'
However he said during an end-of-year news conference: "Funding the war in fits and starts is requiring us to make short-term plans and short-term decisions."
The defence secretary said in September he hoped US troop levels might be reduced to 100,000 by the end of 2008.
There are currently almost 160,000 US troops in Iraq.
Asked whether he was still aiming for such a reduction, Mr Gates said he now regretted having used a specific number.
But he said he did expect to see a decrease in the number of brigade combat teams. ...   more »

The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion project to build the world's largest computer database of biometrics to give the government more ways to identify people at home and abroad, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The FBI has already started compiling digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns in its systems, the paper said.
In January, the agency -- which focuses on violations of federal law, espionage by foreigners and terrorist activities -- expects to award a 10-year contract to expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives, it said.
At an employer's request, the FBI will also retain the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks, the paper said.
If successful, the system, called Next Generation Identification, will collect the biometric information in one place for identification and forensic purposes, the Post said.
Original Source   more »

By THOMAS WAGNER
LONDON (AP) - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism, the faith of his wife and children.
Blair converted during a Mass Friday night at the private London chapel of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the church said.
``I'm very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church,'' Murphy-O'Connor said.
The church said Blair had been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months had been following a program leading to his reception into the church.
There had long been speculation that Blair planned to convert to Catholicism.
Although he was an Anglican, Blair attended Catholic Masses at Westminster Cathedral, while on holiday in Italy, and with his wife Cherie at 10 Downing St.
The couple's children have attended Catholic schools.
Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in June, the month he stepped down as Britain's prime minister.
The Church of England has said that less than 10 percent of its members are regular churchgoers.
Earlier this year, Blair told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he ...   more »

Terror leader boastful after Britain stats list most popular baby names
Aaron Klein, WND Published:  12.20.07, 18:41 / Israel News 
Statistical information released yesterday showing Muhammad is the no. 2 most popular boys name in Britain "proves Islam is becoming the majority in the UK and will one day enter every house in Europe," a senior terror leader told WND in an interview.
"We see from this study of Muhammad's name that Islam is on the rise and cannot be stopped no matter what your crusader governments do," said Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesperson and a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees terror group.
The Committees is a coalition of Palestinian terror organizations, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It has taken responsibility for thousands of shootings and deadly rocket attacks and is suspected of carrying out a 2003 bombing against a US convoy in Gaza that killed three American government contractors.
According to statistics released yesterday by Britain's Office of National Statistics, Muhammad was the most popular boys name in the UK when all of its spellings are accounted for. Jack, cited as the most popular boys name, fell from last year by 156 babies, while Muhammad evidenced a regular spike. If ...   more »

By HELEN O'NEILL,AP
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (Dec. 20) - The Rev. Hamilton Coe Throckmorton shivered with anticipation as he gazed at the loot - wads of $50 bills piled high beside boxes of crayons in a Sunday school classroom.
Cautiously, he locked the door. Then he started counting.
Amy Sancetta, AP Reverend Hamilton Throckmorton, right, surprised his congregation in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, when he followed up a sermon by handing out $40,000 in cash.
    It was a balmy Friday evening in September. From several floors below faint melodies drifted up - the choir practicing for Sunday service.
Throckmorton was oblivious. For hours, perched awkwardly on child-sized wooden stools surrounded by biblical murals and children's drawings, the pastor and a handful of coconspirators concentrated on the count.
Forty-thousand dollars. Throckmorton smiled in satisfaction as he stashed the money in a safe.
That Sunday, the 52-year-old minister donned his creamy white robes, swept to the pulpit and delivered one of the most extraordinary sermons of his life.
First he read from the Gospel of Matthew.
"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his ability."
Then he explained the parable ...   more »