Health Ministry director-general Prof. Avi Yisraeli issued a letter to all hospitals, health funds and Magen David Adom - with copies to the press - on Monday, asking them to ensure that they are prepared for the possibility of an earthquake in the north. However, when contacted by The Jerusalem Post, Yisraeli said there was absolutely no evidence of an imminent earthquake in the north despite reports of some unusual seismic activity of some 500 mini-quakes ranging from 2 to 5 on the Richter Scale in southern Lebanon during the past four months; most of which were not felt anywhere.
"There is no need for panic, or for the public to take any action," Yisraeli said. "The public must continue life as usual; there is no need for them to store water or canned foods. We have no idea if the mini-earthquakes in Lebanon are relevant to Israel, but we wanted to remind medical services in the north to prepare for any eventuality, and they should be doing this constantly in any case," he added.
Israel sits near the convergence of the African plate, the Arabian plate, and the Eurasian plate.
Wildfires Force Firefighters to Pick Their Battles
California's 'extraordinary' number of fires forces firefighters to pick their battles
With hundreds of wildfires raging across remote, rugged parts of California for a second week, fire officials have been forced to strategically choose which to fight and which to leave to burn for weeks or even months.
The number of fires burning in central and Northern California — more than 1,000 according to state fire officials — means authorities can't send firefighters to battle every blaze, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Monday.
"It's like eating an elephant — you've got to eat it one bite at a time," he said.
Shadow of war looms as Israel flexes its muscle
Israeli fighter jets flew 1,500 kms across the Mediterranean this month, in a dry run for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Tehran has threatened to treat such a raid as a declaration of war. As the Middle East braces itself for a stand-off of epic proportions, how close is the region to that nightmare scenario?
Israel to go ahead with controversial prisoner swap
Israel is to go ahead with an emotionally charged deal to swap a notorious Lebanese prisoner for the bodies of two soldiers seized as hostages in 2006.
The deal with the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, which was overwhelmingly agreed by 22-3 the Israeli Cabinet today after a six hour debate, has provoked public controversy over whether Israel was giving up too much, or carrying out its highest commitment to its soldiers to do everything possible to bring them home.
Soldiers set to be returned to Israel in 10 days
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two soldiers whose kidnapping on July 12, 2006, triggered the Second Lebanon War, are expected to be returned to Israel within 10 days as a result of Sunday's cabinet approval of a swap with Hizbullah.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a dramatic statement to his ministers at the outset of a six-hour discussion on the deal, said the two men are almost certainly dead.
Palestinian goes on rampage in Jerusalem; 3 killed
A Palestinian laborer driving a construction vehicle rammed into packed buses, tossed cars into the air and rolled over pedestrians in a deadly rampage Wednesday that killed three people and wounded dozens in Jerusalem.
The attacker's unusual weapon — a yellow Caterpillar front loader transformed into a deadly assault vehicle — threatened both Israelis' sense of security and Palestinians' fragile status in the city.
Hundreds of panicked people were sent running for cover before the attacker was shot dead by security forces. Three Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility for the onslaught, the first major attack in Jerusalem in four months.
However, Israeli police said the assailant, a 30-year-old Palestinian from Arab east Jerusalem, apparently acted alone. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man was working on a railway project in Jerusalem.
Global nuclear stockpiles 'must be reduced to prevent terrorist attacks'
Nuclear stockpiles around the world must be reduced to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, a coalition of senior British politicians has warned.
The four former British defence and foreign secretaries warn that the more nuclear material in circulation, the more countries who have not had such weapons to date are likely to want to acquire their own.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Lord Owen, Lord Hurd of Westwell and Lord Robertson of Port Ellen do not call on Britain to take immediate action, but say that it should consider what adjustments to make to its stock of 200 warheads in the event of a "major multilateral disarmament".
Their appeal follows similar comments by senior American statesmen, including former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn, a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who wrote that the world has reached a "nuclear tipping point" and must step back from the brink.
Free Speech Dies at the UN
The war against free speech is advancing rapidly: Associated Press reported Thursday that “Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council.” Council President Doru-Romulus Costea explained that religious issues can be “very complex, very sensitive and very intense…This council is not prepared to discuss religious matters in depth, consequently we should not do it.” Henceforth only religious scholars would be permitted to broach them.
“While Costea’s ban applies to all religions,” AP explained, “it was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam.” The ban came after a heated session on Monday, when the representative of the Association for World Education (AWE), in a joint statement with the International Humanist and Ethical Union, denounced female genital mutilation, the penalty of stoning for adultery and child marriage as sanctioned by Islamic law. Egypt, Pakistan and Iran angrily protested, interrupting the AWE speaker, David Littman, with no less than 16 points of order, and succeeding in getting the Council’s proceedings suspended for over half an hour. In the course of this contentious discussion, the representatives from the Islamic countries made numerous revealing statements – statements that are well worth examining as Islamic nations and organizations call with increasing insistence for restrictions on free speech in the West.
Obama's Callous Indifference
I began to dislike Obama when I discovered that while in the Illinois state legislature in 2002, he voted against the Induced Birth Infant Liability Act. The bill was designed to extend the same medical care to babies who happen to survive an abortion attempt as is enjoyed by all babies born alive.
I couldn't believe anyone would vote against such a bill. In fact, when a similar measure-- the Born Alive Infant Protection Act-- was brought before the U.S. Senate, not one Senator voted against it. Even NARAL Pro-Choice America didn't oppose the bill.
Obama works to mobilize 'Christian left'
As part of his outreach to evangelical voters, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee will tour the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio, on Tuesday and give an address on how he plans to builda "real" partnership between faith-based organizations and the White House if he becomes president.
Obama's outreach to evangelical voters has also included private summits with pastors, an effort to reach out to young evangelicals and a fundraiser with the Matthew 25 political action committee. It describes itself as a group of moderate evangelicals, Catholics and Protestants committed to electing the Illinois Democrat president.
Guantánamo Detainee Faces War Crimes Charges in Attack on Destroyer
A Pentagon official announced war crimes charges Monday against a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, suspected of helping to plan the attack on the Navy
destroyer Cole in 2000 that killed 17 American sailors.
Military prosecutors said they were seeking the death penalty against the detainee, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi who has long been described by American officials as Al Qaeda’s operations chief in the Persian Gulf and the primary planner of the October 2000 attack on the Cole.
AL QAEDA'S PLAN B
FAILURES PROMPT NEW IDEAS FOR TERROR FROM THE SHADOWS
NO one should feel safe without submitting to Islam, and those who refuse to submit must pay a high price. The Islam ist movement must aim to turn the world into a series of "wildernesses" where only those under jihadi rule enjoy security.
These are some of the ideas developed by al Qaeda's chief theoretician, Sheik Abu-Bakar Naji, in his new book "Governance in the Wilderness" (Edarat al-Wahsh).
...
All five circles are at an impasse, says Naji. Some accept the status quo while hoping to reform it. Others have tried to set up governments in a world dominated by "infidel" powers, and have been forced to abandon Islamic values. Still others failed because they didn't realize that the only way to win is through total war in which no one feels safe. [emphasis mine--Amanda]
You want hope? Forget Obama. Hope in the Lord:
Psalm 25
Of David.
1[a] To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
No comments:
Post a Comment