Moscow, May 30, Interfax - The Middle East expects a powerful earthquake that endangers not only dozen thousands of human lives, but also world famous shrines such as the Church of the Holly Sepulcher, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Wailing Wall, the scientists warn.
Minor shakes on the territory of Israel become more frequent and it gives nother reason for anxiety. They don't measure more than three-five balls aren't dangerous for people, the MK.ru website has reported to Interfax-Religion on Friday.
However, according to Israel seismologists, a 7.00 earthquake may happen any time.
"The country is located in the earthquake region near the Syrian-African rift and earthquake measuring 6.00-7.00 on the Richter scale may kill not less than 16,000 people, injure over 90, 000 people and cause material damage to the whole country," Chairman of the Construction engineers and infrastructure association Dr. Serna said.
According to the experts, about 17 per cent of buildings constructed before establishing of the Israeli state and in its first years are to be destroyed by the upcoming earthquake in Jerusalem only. Considerable damage will be inflicted to 11 per cent of modern buildings with average construction quality and 6 per cent of modern ...   more »

 By Patrick Goodenough
(CNSNews.com) - With a venue and date set for a United Nations conference on racism, organizations hoping to avoid a repeat of the problems that plagued the 2001 gathering are going to have to be "very aggressive to see that Israel and her Zionist supporters around the world are not demonized," a leading Jewish human rights groups said Wednesday.
The U.N. announced this week that the conference will be held in Geneva over five days next April.
The gathering is meant to review progress made in the battle against racism and xenophobia since the World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
The Durban U.N. meeting and a parallel non-governmental organization (NGO) forum were characterized by repeated attacks on Israel, including accusations of racism and apartheid-like policies. The United States and Israel withdrew their delegations in protest, and some of the language targeting Israel in the conference draft documents was subsequently changed.
Plans for a review conference -- dubbed "Durban II" by critics, although it won't be held in the South African port city this time round -- have raised fears that Israel once again will find itself in the dock.
Canada and Israel ...   more »

Liberation Theology proponent and Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu Thursday departed the Gaza Strip after a two-day "fact-finding" mission, as a result of which he reportedly plans to condemn Israel for a 2006 "massacre" of Arabs by the IDF.
A South African national who holds the rank of archbishop in the Anglican Church, and who has for years nurtured a pro-Arab position, Tutu was invited by the "Palestinians" to investigate the alleged Israeli shelling of a Beit Hanoun home in which 18 members of a family were killed.
Israel's refusal to grant him a "transit" visa forced the cleric to enter Gaza via the Egyptian border into the Strip.
Speaking at a news conference, the self-proclaimed judge said he would be presenting a report on Israel's behavior to the United Nations so-called Human Rights Council in Geneva come September.
"We are at the stage of shock... by what we subsequently heard from the survivors of the November (2006) Beit Hanoun massacre," Tutu said, according to Ynetnews.
He intended to "make recommendations to protect Palestinian civilians from further Israeli assaults [sic]."
Israel maintains that, while firing in response to unrelenting rocket attacks on its civilians in the Negev, a number of ...   more »

A week after announcing the opening of a door to negotiations with Syria that could endanger Israel's hold on the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is battling for his political life.
And while he has been cherishing the prospect of making his mark by securing some form of a lasting agreement with the PLO that, too, appears an increasingly futile hope as pressure mounts for the prime minister to resign.
Olmert is being investigated by police for having allegedly accepted bribes or laundered money received from an American businessman.
Addressing journalists in Jerusalem Thursday Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - Olmert's number two - said their Kadima Party needed to prepare for "every eventuality, including early elections."
"The reality changed after yesterday," she said, referring to an announcement made by Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak.
Barak set the ball rolling at a lunch-time press conference in Tel Aviv when he declared that the country could not be run by a man who is struggling to keep his own personal affairs in order.
With Hamas rockets in the south, Hizb'allah consolidating its position in the north, Syria indicating it wants to discuss the future of the Golan Heights, ...   more »

By Jonathan Tobin      
Sharansky reminds us democracies can't defend themselves without 'identity'
 Some 3 1?2 years ago, former Prisoner of Zion and Israeli cabinet minister Natan Sharansky was George W. Bush's favorite author.
Sharansky earned an unexpected boost when the resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. invited him and co-author Ron Dermer to the White House and told the world that everyone should read their book, "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror".
While this was not the equivalent of an invitation to Oprah Winfrey's guest couch, Sharansky's tome did make it onto The New York Times bestseller list. After the easy overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. troops a year earlier and the post-Sept. 11 spirit of rolling back the tide of Islamist tyranny, optimism seemed on the upswing.
But that was a long time ago.
DISCREDITED CAUSE
The war in Iraq, now in its sixth year, is, whether fairly or not, now seen as a quagmire in which America is stuck because of the misguided beliefs of those who foolishly thought they could plant democratic values abroad.
The insurgency in Iraq, as well as the election victory of the Palestinian terrorist Hamas ...   more »

By:Caroline B. Glick Wednesday,
         Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza was presented to the world as a strategic bid to enhance prospects for peace between the Palestinians and Israel. Proponents of the move argued that removing all Israeli civilians and military personnel from Gaza would take away the source of Palestinian grievances. Once fully appeased, the Palestinians would be forced to behave responsibly, abjure terrorism and build their state – first in Gaza, and then in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem as well. 
         This was the pretext of Israel’s withdrawal. But it wasn’t the subtext. The subtext of the withdrawal – telegraphed to both Israelis and the international community – was that the withdrawal was cause the demise of Religious Zionism at the hands of the leftist progeny of Labor Zionists. That is, the operation wasn’t about peace with the Arabs. It was about cultural supremacy within Israel.  
         In the countdown to the withdrawal, the Palestinians did everything they could to make clear the move would not enhance the chances for peace. They triumphantly declared that then-prime minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to expel Gaza’s Jews was an admission that Israel had been defeated by the Palestinians. Hamas ...   more »

By: Max Whitmore
About a month or so ago, I wrote a column that was a tongue-in-cheek, fictional story that addressed the oil speculation that was going on at the time. Of course, that speculation is still going on. Well, this column is one where I am going to tell it like I see it, warts and all.
I have been in this business for over 40 years, as you all know by now, and I have seen a lot. Some of it has been very good and some of it has been very bad. I don’t count myself as having seen it all, but what I have seen helps me get to the bottom of problems in this business.
I want to address two much talked about topics, the dollar and oil. Both of these are the most misunderstood of all the current investing subjects out there that occupy financial print and talk space. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I don’t claim to be able to see every nook and cranny of these subjects. But, what I do see are the elements that repeat the oldest scams around.
The Dollar
The most overused phrase today is the one ...   more »

By Penny Starr
(CNSNews.com) - Both the State and Justice Departments told Cybercast News Service this week that they have no information about whether Mexican authorities have arrested, prosecuted or convicted anyone for the murders of 128 Americans that the State Department reports took place in Mexico between Jan. 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.
On April 14, the State Department issued an alert, which remains current, warning travelers that the "equivalent to military small-unit combat" was taking place across the southern U.S. border in Mexico.
"Dozens of U.S. citizens were kidnapped and/or murdered in Tijuana in 2007," says the alert. "In some cases, assailants have worn full or partial police or military uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles." (See the travel alert
At a May 20 State Department press briefing (see transcript), Cybercast News Service asked State Department Spokesman Sean McCormick how many Americans had in fact been murdered or kidnapped in the border region of Mexico in 2007. The department responded by posting a statement on its Web site and providing a link to its report of "non-natural deaths of Americans" around the world between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007. (See statement)
The ...   more »

Students required to attend CAIR indoctrination event
By Bob Unruh
A public school principal in Texas who arranged for an Islamic instruction presentation for students by an organization whose leaders have been linked to terror groups apparently arranged for that indoctrination after being told not to by her district's superintendent, parents have told WND.
Friendswood Junior High
The issue developed this week when public school students at Friendswood Junior High in the Houston area were herded into an assembly scheduled by Principal Robin Lowe that suddenly replaced a scheduled physical education class, according to reports.
There, two women from the Houston division of the Council on American-Islamic Relations instructed students that Adam, Noah and Jesus are prophets, announced "there is one god, his name is Allah," taught the five pillars of Islam, told students how to pray five times a day, and instructed what Islamic religious rules require for dress.
Pastor Dave Welch, spokesman for the Houston Area Pastor Council, confirmed the indoctrination had taken place and called it "unacceptable."
"The failure of the principal of Friendswood Junior High to respect simple procedures requiring parental notification for such a potentially controversial subject, to not only approve but participate personally in ...   more »

It seems the whole country is abuzz following the publication of former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's tell-all book: "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."
One of the first things that jumped out at me was how McClellan's "observations" so perfectly mirror the Democrat Party's talking points about George Bush and the Iraq war – even the talking points that are clearly bogus. One doesn't need to be a Republican to know that George Bush didn't lie about weapons of mass destruction. To lie, one must first know the truth and deliberately falsify it.
Bill Clinton believed Saddam had WMD. He cited Saddam's weapons of mass destruction as justification for the four-day bombing of Baghdad during the 1998 Operation Desert Fox campaign. And so did the majority of the Democrats, all of whom are on public record warning of the dangers posed by Saddam.
All of the Western intelligence agencies – without exception – believed that Saddam Hussein had WMD. The consensus opinion of the U.S. intelligence community was that Saddam had WMD.
There were a handful in each agency, perhaps, that questioned the intelligence, but they represented the minority opinion. Hindsight is ...   more »

Nation's 1st statewide initiative seen by some as threat to Roe v. Wade
Colorado voters in November will become the first statewide electorate in the nation to decide whether the unborn should be granted "personhood" under the law, pro-life advocates announced today.
Officials with Colorado for Equal Rights, which is sponsoring the proposed state constitutional amendment, confirmed state officials notified them enough valid signatures had been verified to place the issue on the election ballot.
The Colorado secretary of state's office confirmed 103,377 valid signatures, far surpassing the 76,047 required for the amendment, the group said. Officials with Colorado for Equal Rights said it will be the first time in U.S. history the issue of personhood will be decided in a statewide election.
Kristi Burton, spokeswoman for Colorado for Equal Rights, and her mother announcing when the organization turned in the signatures of more than 131,000 Coloradans in support of the personhood amendment
"The people of Colorado have spoken, the secretary of state's office has certified our signatures and our equal rights amendment will be on November's ballot," said Kristi Burton, a spokeswoman for the organization.
"All humans should be protected by love and by law, and this amendment is ...   more »

By Yue Shan
The People's Liberation Army conducted its first-ever concurrent military exercise operation to simulate a nuclear war. The maneuvers were conducted from midnight April 26 through midnight May 15, 2008.
Operation '08-weiguo-20'
Military exercises simultaneously conducted in northern, middle, southwestern, and northwestern China were part of an operation code-named "08-weiguo-20."This was the first organized military exercise operation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) occurring after its 17th Congress and the 11th plenary session of the Political Consultative Conference. According to a high-ranking military official, judging from the scale of the engagement of the combined armed forces, the degree of sophistication of equipment, war strategy simulation, time, environment, and international concerns, the impact and significance of this exercise surpassed a military operation conducted by the regime in the spring and summer of 1996.
Four Parts of the Exercise
The military exercise consisted of four parts:
1) Integration of conventional weaponry in actual combat maneuvers
2) Testing the military tactics and strategies of high-level commanders with hi-tech criteria, in a simulated, complex, and intense war environment
3) Examination and assessment of actual state-of-the-art equipment and weaponry vis-a-vis the criteria of new military strategies and tactics
4) Simulation of nuclear and ...   more »

History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters, according to officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster. Hurricane Preparedness Week during 2008 is May 25 through May 31.
The goal of this Hurricane Preparedness Web site, , is to inform the public about the hurricane hazards and provide knowledge which can be used to take action. This information can be used to save lives at work, home, while on the road or on the water.
Hurricane hazards come in many forms: storm surge, high winds, tornadoes and flooding. This means it is important for your family to have a plan that includes all of these hazards.
Look carefully at the safety actions associated with each type of hurricane hazard and prepare your family disaster plan accordingly. But remember this is only a guide. The first and most important thing anyone should do when facing a hurricane threat is to use common sense.
You should be able to answer the following questions before a hurricane threatens:
- What are the Hurricane ...   more »

by Anthony L. Kimery    
'The weakest part of our homeland security is the citizen'
The intro to the immensely popular BBC sci-fi television series, “Torchwood,” ends with the prescient phrase, “the Twenty-First Century is when it all changes. And you’ve gotta be ready.”
And indeed we do. To wit: Although the threat of Armageddon seemed over as the Cold War literally came crashing down, within a decade it’d become clear that that notion was a gross misunderstanding. No sooner had the 21st Century began had it become evident that the risk of nuclear conflict was closer than it’d ever been. Concurrent with that realization was the more chilling realization that a virulent manmade or natural pathogen could push humanity to the brink of extinction – certainly back into the Stone Age.
Meanwhile, advancements in the understanding of earth sciences disclosed that contemporaneous unprecedented cataclysmic natural events could provoke destruction on a scale that also could put humanity at risk, as could certain cosmological events which not long ago a great many scientists had dismissed as sci-fi fantasies.
Yet, despite the small-scale terrorist attack and the disastrous regional hurricane that struck the US, governments at all levels remain unprepared for dealing ...   more »