Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Thousands Occupy Tel Aviv, Police Respond With Brutal Force

Allison Kilkenny on June 25, 2012 - 11:29 AM ET


Police arrested eighty-nine protesters after more than 6,500 people flooded Tel Aviv’s Habima Square Saturday night to protest the arrest of Daphni Leef, the leader of last summer’s mass protests against inequality and the high cost of housing in Israel.

Tel Aviv District Commander Aharon Eksel told Haaretz, “Protesters crossed the line. They set out to clash with the police.”

Police also say the protest was illegal, and that protesters attacked inspectors and police by spitting and throwing objects.

In rhetoric that should sound familiar to any American protester, demonstrator Khen Tsubery told the Jerusalem Post that the lack of a permit was intentional because permits are difficult to obtain.





Ynet News painted a much more violent image of the protest, choosing to focus on vandalization incidents involving shattered windows and protesters charging into banks as part of what the outlet dramatically described as “socioeconomic riots.”

Activists claim one protester, Moshe Menkin, was arrested by an undercover police officer after entering an abandoned building that the police were using as a staging area.

Barak Cohen, who claims he was injured when an officer kneed him, told Haaretz, “We came to create a confrontation, not to stand across from them. You’re fighting for your life and you have to fight them, without fear. They can carry out arrests and close off streets, but they can’t affect the choices we make in our souls.”

This isn’t the first accusation of police violence during the weekend housing protests in Tel Aviv. A 24-year-old woman was videotaped being violently shoved by an officer during the protest after she attempted to reach her boyfriend through a wall of police who she claims were beating him.

Haaretz:

Maya Gorkin said she still can’t believe the extent of the police violence at the Tel Aviv rally, even though she was subjected to it herself.

“I’m in shock,” she said. “I admit that I didn’t believe something like this could happen.”




Amnesty International has come out in defence of the protesters and condemned what they call “police brutality.”

“There is no room to compare this violence to the violence displayed by the police. The former is a violation of the law while the latter is a violation of human rights,” Amnesty said in a statement.

The surge in police violence has raised concerns, leading Haaretz to publish an article titled, “Police violence against Tel Aviv protesters should raise the alarm with Israel’s authorities,” in which Or Kashti states that if the housing movement needed “a spark” to get angry Israelis back on the street, the police provided it by arresting demonstrators.

Kashti also takes issue with the official police version of what occurred this weekend:

After the arrests on Friday, police claimed that the 12 protesters arrested “cursed, spat and threw objects at the offices.” Are calls such as “Officer, who are you protecting?” or “Money, power and police” are now forbidden by law? And what does “throwing objects” mean?

Perhaps in one of two cases, in the scorching heat and confrontational air, a protester may have sprayed water at a group of police officers and protesters. But there were other sights—brin[g]ing to mind last summer’s protests—of demonstrators handing police flowers. Perhaps these sights eluded the police’s cameras, alongside other images such as a municipal inspector cheering after penetrating a group of protesters and snatching a tent that they were holding up the air, or two officers dismantling a tent that was placed on the roof of a car.



Stav Shaffir, one of the leaders of last year’s social protest, told Ynet New that, while the protests are certainly about housing rights, they’ve also become something bigger.

“While we’re struggling for what we’ve been fighting for throughout the year, we realized there’s another struggle, a great one, for democracy,” said Shaffir.

“It’s embarrassing to see the State of Israel using violent means and beating up protestors,” she said.





Faster security screening soon a reality for some fliers

14Jul2011
5:25pm, EDT


By Joe Myxter

Starting this fall, long airport security lines could be a thing of the past for some eligible frequent travelers.

The Transportation Security Administration on Thursday outlined plans to roll out a pilot system in coming months that would allow select air travelers to qualify for expedited screening.
Initially, only Delta Air Lines passengers flying through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airports and American Airlines passengers traveling through Miami International and Dallas Fort Worth International airports will be eligible. Some members of U.S. "trusted traveler" programs -- Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS -- will also be eligible.

TSA will extend the program to include other major U.S. carriers -- United, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways and Alaska -- as well as other airports when ready.

"These improvements will enable our officers to focus their efforts on higher risk areas," TSA Administrator John Pistole told a group of aviation stakeholders. "Enhancing identity-based screening is another common sense step in the right direction as we continue to strengthen overall security and improve the passenger experience whenever possible."

TSA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are partnering to run the program. The two agencies, along with airlines, will determine eligible travelers. Selected travelers must be U.S. citizens and must agree to supply additional information about themselves.

The U.S. Travel Association applauded the announcement. "While this program will be limited at the outset, it is a strong start. We look forward to working with TSA to move our nation's air travel security away from today's one-size-fits-all approach," Roger Dow, president and CEO of group, said in a statement.

News of the pilot program came on the heels of a government report showing vulnerabilities at U.S. airports, including more than 25,000 security breaches over the past 10 years.
Currently, travelers who want expedited screening have limited options. CLEAR, a company that provides biometric identity verification, offers a fee-based subscription where travelers can supply background information and get a biometric card that allows them to bypass security lines. CLEAR's service is currently offered at Denver International and Orlando International airports, though CLEAR President J. Bennet Waters says the company is negotiating to expand into other airports.

TSA's pilot program is an important, giant step in what is likely going to be a lengthy process, Waters told msnbc.com.

In a statement, he added: "We strongly support TSA's vision to focus more on identifying bad people, not just finding bad objects."




Elections in Venezuela and Mexico, crime in Honduras, Brazil's public-sector wages and the Falklands

Jun 14th 2012, 18:52 by The Economist online


MOST presidents running for re-election are mainly concerned with beating their opponent. Hugo Chávez must vanquish two adversaries: the challenger, Henrique Capriles, and cancer. This week's issue of The Economist explores how this most unusual campaign is shaping up. It also includes stories on Mexico's presidential election, crime in Honduras, public-sector wages in Brazil and a self-determination referendum in the Falkland Islands.







Sunday, June 24, 2012

Islam's view on dying, death and Mubarak's coma

Jun 20, 2012



By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Updated 4d 9h ago

By Marwan Naamani, AFP/Getty Images
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon may have rarely agreed when they were both at full power. But the two 84-year-old men may spend their last days the same way -- unconscious of the fractious world around them and not likely to wake again.

Mubarak, who Egyptian state security said had a stroke, is in a coma in a military hospital, transferred there from a Cairo prison hospital. Dying? Maybe but not yet. Sharon has been on life support in a deep coma since he was felled by a massive stroke in 2006.

If you go by what their religions teach, is ongoing life support required in these situations? Yes, and no.

Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Virginia and an expert on Islamic bioethics, writes on his website about the use of life support:

The purpose of extraordinary medical intervention is to maintain the process of life, not to avoid or postpone death. It is forbidden to cause harm to the patient with equipment and drugs when the futility of such procedures is established by medical team. Under those circumstances it is permissible to unplug life-support systems.

Doctors and family, Sachedina writes, must consider the prospect that the patient will regain essential functions of life including...

... a person's ability to make decisions and execute them through his own conscious and cognitive competence.

... If active medical intervention in the case of a severely brain-damaged patient leads to further suffering of the patient and those related to him in society, then the ethical judgement cannot ignore the ensuing general harm, including the rising cost of prolonging such life for the entire society.

Islamic jurists have made clear, he writes, that

... in the eyes of Muslim public it is pointless and even degrading to intervene medically in the nature's course toward an imminent death.

Jewish teaching on death and dying is very similar: Choose life when it can be chosen but do not prolong dying.

By Elianna Aponte AFP/Getty Images
An article written for hospital or hospice workers on Jewish perspectives on end of life issues says:

The situations where the use of life support causes the most trouble are those where the patient has become reliant on the machinery, such that if the machine were turned off, the patient would probably not begin to breathe unaided. Some authorities subscribe to the idea that prolonging this state of supported life when there is no hope of a cure is not the same as attempting to save a life, and so need not be done. However, it is likely that each case will have to be treated on its own merits according to the beliefs of the patient concerned and the wishes of their family.

Sharon's sons will hear nothing of letting go. In a book about his father's life, Gilad Sharon wrote that, according to the New York Times,

... doctors and nurses urged the family to let Mr. Sharon die after his stroke in January 2006 because, as it paraphrases one doctor as saying, "Based on the CT scan, the game was over." The Sharon brothers would not hear of it and insisted on an operation and other efforts to keep their father alive.

Sharon wrote...

The CT scan had been misread. Doctors acknowledged after the operation that his father was healthier than they had realized

He told the Times last year in a phone interview,

When (his father) is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to. I am sure he hears me.




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Darrell Issa: President’s Executive Privilege Claims ‘Simply Wrong’

Jun 24, 2012 10:05am



(ABC News)


Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. said this morning on “This Week” that he will send a letter to President Obama today or tomorrow that “breaks down the points” of why the president’s executive privilege claims are “overbroad” or “simply wrong” concerning documents related to the botched “Fast and Furious” operation.

“There cannot be executive privilege over criminal cover-up or cover-up of crime. Lying to Congress is a crime. We have every right to see documents to say, ‘did you know, when did you know, what did you know,’ including even the president,” said Issa, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa outlined this morning that before the House committee he leads voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, he tried to reach an agreement with Holder.

“They came with nothing. Not even an offer in a form of a piece of paper. What they said orally was ‘we will brief you. We will then give you the information we believe supports that briefing, but you have to first agree to dismiss your subpoenas and your contempt,” said Issa. “You can’t play liar’s poker when you’re looking for who killed somebody, when you’re looking into this kind of a crime, and when you’re looking into the cover-up. Remember, it was deny, delay, and recuse.”

Issa said he is specifically seeking access to a memo or email produced by Jason Weinstein, Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department. The memo, confirmed to exist, is an evaluation of what happened during the “Fast and Furious” operation and, according to Issa, could answer crucial questions relating to his investigation.

On Wednesday, President Obama invoked executive privilege for the first time during his term in office just before a House committee headed by Issa voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents related to the failed “Fast and Furious” operation that were subpoenaed more than 8 months ago. The use of executive privilege, while a rarity for the Obama administration, was used 14 times by Bill Clinton and six times by George W. Bush.

Holder is the first Obama administration official to be held in contempt of Congress. For his part, Holder called the contempt vote “extraordinary, unprecedented and entirely unnecessary.” The full House of Representatives plans to vote on whether to hold Holder in contempt of Congress in coming days. If the full House finds Holder in contempt, the matter would be handed over to the Justice Department and Holder could eventually be prosecuted.

Guns lost in the “Fast and Furious,” operation, which was originally meant to track the flow of firearms between the United States and Mexican drug cartels, were found near the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s killing in 2010, which sparked outrage.

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Pennsylvania priest found guilty in landmark Catholic child abuse case

Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official to be branded a felon for covering up sexual abuse claims. Lynn, 61, was convicted on a single child endangerment count. The jury could not reach a verdict for Lynn’s co-defendant, Rev. James Brennan.


BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, June 22, 2012, 8:26 PM


  Pennsylvania Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for allegedly helping an archdiocese cover up abuse claims.
MATT ROURKE/AP
Pennsylvania Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for allegedly helping an archdiocese cover up abuse claims.


PHILADELPHIA — A Roman Catholic church official was convicted of child endangerment but acquitted of conspiracy Friday in a landmark clergy-abuse trial, making him the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up abuse claims.

Monsignor William Lynn helped the archdiocese keep predators in ministry, and the public in the dark, by telling parishes their priests were being removed for health reasons and then sending the men to unsuspecting churches, prosecutors said.

Lynn, 61, served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, mostly under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

"Many in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia hierarchy had dirty hands," Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said. "They failed to realize that the church is its people."

Williams said he did not have sufficient evidence last year to charge other officials, including Bevilacqua, who died in January at age 88.

Lynn had faced about 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted of all three counts he faced — conspiracy and two counts of child endangerment. He was convicted of only a single endangerment count, which carries a possible 3 1/2- to seven-year prison term.

The jury could not reach a verdict for Lynn's co-defendant, the Rev. James Brennan, who was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1999.


BRYNN ANDERSON/AP

The jury could not reach a verdict for Rev. James J. Brennan, who is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1999.

Despite Lynn's acquittal on the conspiracy charge, the trial exposed how deeply involved the late cardinal was in dealing with accused priests.

Bevilacqua had the final say on what to do with priests accused of abuse, transferred many of them to new parishes and dressed down anyone who complained, according to testimony. He also ordered the shredding of a 1994 list that Lynn prepared, warning that the archdiocese had three diagnosed pedophiles, a dozen confirmed predators and another 20 possible abusers in its midst.

Church lawyers turned over a surviving copy of the list days after Bevilacqua died.

Lynn didn't react when the verdict was read, or acknowledge the siblings and other friends and relatives who have accompanied him to court for much of the three-month trial. Several of them were weeping.

The judge revoked his bail and he was taken to jail, although his lawyers plan to ask on Monday that he be granted house arrest until sentencing. No date was set, but the judge scheduled an Aug. 13 presentencing hearing.

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Painful chapter closes with Sandusky's conviction for child sex abuse

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty in his sex abuse trial on Friday, June 22.

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:07 PM EDT, Sat June 23, 2012



Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- With the same decision announced on count after count -- guilty, guilty, guilty -- Jerry Sandusky's emphatic denials he had sexually abused boys for years became obsolete, closing a chapter in a saga that has gripped Penn State and the nation.
After a three-week trial featuring emotional and often graphic testimony from eight of the former Penn State assistant football coach's victims, a 12-person jury late Friday night convicted him on 45 of 48 counts. There were convictions related to all 10 victims alleged by prosecutors, with the three not-guilty verdicts applying to three individuals.

The verdict prompted people in central Pennsylvania to breathe a sigh of relief, believing a man many called a "monster" would pay the price for his crimes and their impact on his victims, as well as the Penn State community.

A neighbor of Sandusky's said many people connected with the region and the school needed this verdict in order to move on.

"We need some sort of realization; we need the word 'guilty' -- that puts a label on what all this is," Susan Strauss said Saturday.

Added Tom Bonerbo, a Penn State football fan for more than 40 years, "Hopefully, part of the healing process began with last night's verdict."


On Saturday, for the first full day in his 68 years, Sandusky was an inmate at the Centre County jail.

He never took the stand in his own defense -- a decision, his lawyer Joe Amendola said after the verdict, was made because his adopted son Matt Sandusky was ready to testify as a rebuttal witness that he, too, had been sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky.

Jurors did hear from eight young men who testified that as boys, Sandusky forced them to engage in sexual acts in showers in Penn State's athletics facilities, hotel rooms, the basement of his home and other places. The abuse spanned at least 15 years.

His conviction prompted the now grown man known as Victim 6 to break down in tears as he hugged prosecutors in the courtroom.

But, while satisfied, his mother did not claim victory.

"Nobody wins. We've all lost," she said before hugging her son.

After Judge John Cleland revoked his bail Friday, Sandusky somberly left the courthouse in handcuffs, silently ducking into a police car as reporters asked him if he had anything to say to his victims.

He is on what it is commonly called suicide watch, one of his lawyers Karl Rominger told CNN. The move is a precaution and does not mean his client is suicidal, the lawyer insisted, saying the judge and warden just wanted "to put the precautions in place first and then evaluate later."
Sandusky will be classified at Pennsylvania's Camp Hill diagnostic facility before he is likely sent to a sex offender unit in the state prison system, Rominger said.

He should be sentenced in about 90 days, according to Cleland. If he gets more than two years, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will determine the prison where Sandusky will serve his time.


After his verdict was announced, prosecutors Joe McGettigan and Frank Fina spent time answering questions from jurors about the victims and investigation, a source close to the prosecution said. McGettigan was touched by the jurors' interest and engagement, according to the source.

One of the jurors, Joshua Harper, told NBC's "Today" show that he and the four other men and seven women were "on the same page" as they considered the case and testimony from "very credible" victims.

"The fact that we saw this corroborating story between all of them, it was very convincing," Harper said.

Rominger said he "could see tears running down" Sandusky's face when the verdict was read. But Harper, like others in the courtroom, said he saw little evident reaction -- which he thought was "just confirmation" the jury made the right call.

"Just the look on his face, no real emotion. Just kind of accepting, because he knew it was true," the juror said.

Yet, his lawyers say, Sandusky is not ready to admit to his crimes and accept defeat. His defense team has already announced plans to appeal.

"If you win on one of the appeal issues, everything probably falls," Amendola said. "All we have to do is convince an appellate court that one of the issues that we will raise is worthy of a reversal."

Rominger pointed to "a lot of unique legal issues where (Judge Cleland) made rulings that could be overturned, not because they were, per se, wrong, but because the law in the area was so unclear."

He also said "substantial constitutional questions" surrounded the prosecution's ability to use an accuser's claims based on hearsay alone. "All the convictions could come back on that ruling alone," Rominger said.

Defense lawyers repeatedly failed in their attempts to postpone the trial. Rominger disclosed on his radio program Saturday that he and Amendola had asked to withdraw from the case before jury selection, saying they didn't feel adequately prepared to defend Sandusky. The judge denied the request, said Rominger, who added he never mentioned the issue during the trial because of a gag order in place.


Beyond the appeals process, Sandusky could be on trial again to face more charges -- perhaps tied to claims made by his adopted son Matt or related to alleged sexual abuse that took place outside Centre County, including in hotel rooms in Texas and Florida where he had taken accusers to watch Penn State bowl games.

And the fallout from the scandal is also far from over for Penn State itself.

Two of its former administrators -- Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley -- are awaiting trial on charges of perjury and failing to report abuse. Prosecutors say they did not notify police after former graduate football assistant Mike McQueary informed them he saw Sandusky sodomizing a boy in a university shower in 2002.

Authorities didn't learn about that eyewitness account until years later, and the resulting scandal led to the ouster of iconic head football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. In addition to the testimony of McQueary and a janitor at the school, several victims said that Sandusky repeatedly sexually abused them on Penn State property.


In a statement released after Friday night's verdict, Penn State signaled it wants to seek resolution -- including some sort of financial settlement -- with the victims.

"The university wants to provide a forum where the university can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims' concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the university," the school said.

The Sandusky case has infuriated the Penn State community, not just because of the heinous nature of the crimes, but also because some feel the scandal has unfairly defined the university, students say.

"It's a relief. Now we can begin to heal," Penn State senior Karisa Maxwell said of the verdict. "I've never seen Jerry Sandusky. He has no affect on my education. For people to say he's Penn State is disgusting. That's not the case."



CNN's Laura Dolan, Susan Candiotti, Elisa Roupenian, Ross Levitt, Jason Carroll, Dana Garrett, Laura Dolan, Holly Yan, Kiran Khalid and Anderson Cooper and In Session's Michael Christian and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.




Clear and Present Danger, Part 2- Tightening the Grip

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June 2012

Dear Friends, Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry. I’m so glad you have joined me today as we study another important message for our times. We are truly near the coming of Jesus and it gives me great joy to know that we are nearing the end of this dark... READ MORE

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Kenyan president Kibaki inaugurates Adventist university library

Jun. 14, 2012 Nairobi, Kenya

Milton Nyakundi/ANN staff

Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki praised the Seventh-day Adventist Church for promoting education to the nation and the wider African continent in a speech here last month to inaugurate the Adventist University of Africa’s (AUA) newly built Judith Thomas Library.

“I commend the Adventist University of Africa for championing one of the flagships of the social pillar by facilitating and promoting the provision of education,” said Kibaki, while acknowledging that the Adventist-sponsored university in Baraton was the first private university in the East African country.

On hand to host the Kenyan head of state was Adventist world church President Ted N. C. Wilson, who underscored the Adventist church’s commitment to equipping the university to offer high quality education.

“The Seventh-day Adventist church believes and remains committed to offering an education that is socially, morally and spiritually enriching,” Wilson said. “The opening of this magnificent library is an testament to that focus.”

AUA typically enrolls about 380 students per semester and is directly affiliated with the Adventist world church’s headquarters.

Its new library, a three-story complex, was built at a cost of US$6 million, with the initial $1 million donated by U.S. philanthropist Judith Thomas. Another $1 million was mobilized through a special book project initiated by the late James Cress, then secretary of the Adventist world church’s Ministerial Association.

The library includes an Ellen G. White research center, which will house books related to Adventist Church heritage and an African heritage center featuring literature, art and cultural artifacts. The library also offers wireless Internet access and subscriptions to numerous online databases, providing student researchers with access to thousands of journals and books, said university Vice Chancellor Brepong Owusu-Antwi.

The foundation stone of the library was laid in 2005 by then Vice President of Kenya Moody Awori. The complex is located at the Advent Hill compound, which hosts the denomination’s East-Central Africa Division headquarters and Maxwell Adventist Academy.

The event was attended by local administrators, politicians and cabinet ministers. AUA council chairman Pardon Mwansa, a vice president of the Adventist world church, commended the church’s headquarters for its steadfastness in influencing transformational leadership through education.

A lighter moment of the ceremony came after the Nairobi Central Adventist Church choir led a musical presentation with Karura primary school students narrating a Biblical verse on peace. The students then released doves as a symbol of peace, but the white birds didn’t fly far. Wilson said to Kibaki in front of the crowd, “Mr. President those doves have not moved an inch from where their brief flight ended and I think that is evidence of the peace and tranquility that your coming here today signifies.”

Source:© 2012, Adventist News Network

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Jan Paulsen Receives Order of Merit


06 June 2012 Røyse, Norway [Tor Tjeransen] All eyes were on the former world leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Ambassador Knut Vollebaek fastened the navy blue silk ribbon with the cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit around the neck of Pastor Jan Paulsen at a ceremony in Norway on June 2.

“I have been overwhelmed. It is such a big thing.” said pastor Paulsen afterwards.

It was a once in a lifetime event for all present at the ceremony which took place at the Adventist owned and operated Tyrifjord Junior College (Tyrifjord videregående skole) in Norway. The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit is one of the highest forms of royal honor given to civilians.

For Paulsen it was of special significance that the insignia of the Order of Merit were presented to him by ambassador Vollebaek. They have known each other from the time Mr. Vollebaek was appointed Norwegian ambassador to the United States in 2001, a position he held until 2007.

Ambassador Vollebaek, the High Commisioner for National Minorities in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), expressed gratitude for the opportunity to present Jan Paulsen with the insignia of the Order. Vollebaek was the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs when Jan Paulsen was elected President of the Adventist World Church. “I was very proud that a Norwegian national was elected to this position,” said Vollebaek.

The bishop of Oslo for the Lutheran Church of Norway, the reverend Ole Christian Kvarme, was one of the persons behind the nomination for the Order. Bishop Kvarme came to know pastor Paulsen during the bilateral dialogue between the Lutheran World Foundation and the Seventh-day Adventist Church which took place between 1994 and 1998 where both reverend Kvarme and pastor Paulsen were part of their respective delegations. During the four sessions three issues were discussed: 1. Justification by Faith, 2. Scripture and Authority in the Church, and 3. Eschatology. The background papers from the consultations were published in 2000 in the book Lutherans and Adventists in Conversation.

“These consultations brought us together and formed our friendship”, said Bishop Kvarme at the ceremony where the insignia of the Order of Merit were given to Dr Paulsen.

Bishop Kvarme noted that pastor Paulsen has been a courageous international leader and mentioned how Dr Paulsen has been a catalyst in developing educational institutions in West Africa. Dr Paulsen’s contribution in developing Adventist owned Babcock University in Nigeria to become a well-respected university not only in Nigeria, but the whole region is well known. The bishop also mentioned Dr Paulsen’s initiative in establishing the church’s response to the HIV/Aids epidemic through the foundation of the Adventist AIDS International Ministry with an office in South-Africa as well as the cooperation with the World Health Organization in an effort to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals.

“You have performed your leadership as a committed Adventist, a devoted evangelical Christian and a distinguished international citizen of Norway”, said Bishop Kvarme.

Paulsen found it difficult to find words to express his feelings. He told the audience that the short reason given by the Royal Palace for appointing him a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit meant a lot to him: “Service for the good of humanity.”

“What matters is what we have done for our fellow men,” pastor Paulsen said in his address. He paraphrased Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: “I was in prison, you did not visit me. I was struggling with HIV/Aids, why did you shun me?” Paulsen then stated what may well be termed the philosophy of his ministry: “Serving our Lord is not about what we have said; it is about how we treat other people.”

Pastor Mark Finley, former Vice President of the General Conference, represented the World Church at the ceremony. He read a letter from the current Adventist World Church President, Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson, thanking Pastor Paulsen for his outstanding leadership. “Your commitment has inspired the church in its mission to reveal the loving character of Christ to all peoples” the letter from Pastor Wilson said.

The Order of Merit was founded by King Olav V in 1985 and is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as a reward for their outstanding service in the interest of Norway or in service for humanity. The Norwegian Constitution of 1814 abolished all hereditary titles, but gives the King the right to “bestow orders upon whomever he pleases, as a reward for distinguished services”. No royal decoration will exempt the recipient from the common duties of the citizens of Norway.

Pastor Paulsen was the world leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church from 1999 to 2010. He holds a Doctor of Theology degree from the University of Tübingen in Germany. Dr Paulsen began his ministerial service in 1953 in Norway and has served as teacher in Ghana and as teacher and college president in Nigeria. From 1976-1980 he was the Principal of church-run Newbold College in England which houses the main theological faculty of the church in the Trans-European region. For twelve years he served as the President of the Trans-European Division with headquarters in St. Albans, England.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has 17 million members worldwide and 4.700 members in Norway. Jan Paulsen lives in the Washington D.C. area, he is married to Kari (nee Trykkerud) and has three adult children. [tedNEWS]


tedNEWS Staff: Miroslav Pujic, director; Deana Stojkovic, editor
119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: tednews@ted-adventist.org
Website: www.ted-adventist.org

tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division.
You are free to re-print any portion of the bulletin without need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify tedNEWS whenever you publish these materials.



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Delegates elect new officers for Northeastern Conference

Kristia Beaubrun
New York Seventh Day Adventist Examiner

Delegates elect Daniel L. Honore as the president of the Northeastern Conference, the first of Haitian descent to serve in this post.
Photo credit:
Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists www.northeastern.org


For the first time in its 67 years of existence, the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventistshas elected a new president--Daniel Lamartine Honore, the first of Haitian descent.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Honore is the second of three children born to Lamartine and Celia Honore. Though he is Dominican by birth like his mother, he is more widely known for his Haitian roots which he inherited from his father.

Delegates from over 100 churches gathered at Camp Victory Lake in Hyde Park, NY on June 10 to cast their votes for the men and women who will serve as Conference officers for the next four years.

Changes to the constitution and by-laws were also recommended and later passed by the delegates to implement term limits of two consecutive terms for the majority of departmental directors, including the office of president and secretary. The offices of treasurer and education director would be limited to three consecutive terms.

The other elected officers include: Oswald Euell, executive secretary; Edson Bovell, treasurer; Lawrence Brown- Stewardship, Trust Services, and Religious Liberty; Pollyanna Prosper-Barnes – Family Ministries and Children’s Ministries; Leroy Daley – Personal Ministries and Health Ministries; Fitzgerald Kerr – Community Services and Sabbath School; JeNean Johnson – Communication; Ainsworth Joseph – Ministerial; Roger Wade – Youth Ministries; Viola Chapman – Education; Stacy Gordon – Adventist Book Center; Jose Joseph – Franco-Haitian Ministries; and José Burroughs – Hispanic Ministries. The executive committee will work to fill the Women's Ministries position.

The Northeastern Conference represents more than 50,000 members in over 170 churches and "15 parochial schools across the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."


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And the heavens shall declare his righteousness...


The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

Psalm 50: 1-6
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Friday, June 22, 2012

Pike's Amazing Predictions Of Three World Wars


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Albert Pike received a vision, which he described in a letter that he wrote to Mazzini, dated August 15, 1871. This letter graphically outlined plans for three world wars that were seen as necessary to bring about the One World Order, and we can marvel at how accurately it has predicted events that have already taken place.


Pike's Letter to Mazzini

It is a commonly believed fallacy that for a short time, the Pike letter to Mazzini was on display in the British Museum Library in London, and it was copied by William Guy Carr, former Intelligence Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. The British Library has confirmed in writing to me that such a document has never been in their possession. Furthermore, in Carr's book, Satan, Prince of this World, Carr includes the following footnote:

"The Keeper of Manuscripts recently informed the author that this letter is NOT catalogued in the British Museum Library. It seems strange that a man of Cardinal Rodriguez's knowledge should have said that it WAS in 1925".

It appears that Carr learned about this letter from Cardinal Caro y Rodriguez of Santiago, Chile, who wrote The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled.

To date, no conclusive proof exists to show that this letter was ever written. Nevertheless, the letter is widely quoted and the topic of much discussion.

Following are apparently extracts of the letter, showing how Three World Wars have been planned for many generations.

"The First World War must be brought about in order to permit the Illuminati to overthrow the power of the Czars in Russia and of making that country a fortress of atheistic Communism. The divergences caused by the "agentur" (agents) of the Illuminati between the British and Germanic Empires will be used to foment this war. At the end of the war, Communism will be built and used in order to destroy the other governments and in order to weaken the religions." 2

Students of history will recognize that the political alliances of England on one side and Germany on the other, forged between 1871 and 1898 by Otto von Bismarck, co-conspirator of Albert Pike, were instrumental in bringing about the First World War.

"The Second World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences between the Fascists and the political Zionists. This war must be brought about so that Nazism is destroyed and that the political Zionism be strong enough to institute a sovereign state of Israel in Palestine. During the Second World War, International Communism must become strong enough in order to balance Christendom, which would be then restrained and held in check until the time when we would need it for the final social cataclysm." 3

After this Second World War, Communism was made strong enough to begin taking over weaker governments. In 1945, at the Potsdam Conference between Truman, Churchill, and Stalin, a large portion of Europe was simply handed over to Russia, and on the other side of the world, the aftermath of the war with Japan helped to sweep the tide of Communism into China.

(Readers who argue that the terms Nazism and Zionism were not known in 1871 should remember that the Illuminati invented both these movements. In addition, Communism as an ideology, and as a coined phrase, originates in France during the Revolution. In 1785, Restif coined the phrase four years before revolution broke out. Restif and Babeuf, in turn, were influenced by Rousseau - as was the most famous conspirator of them all, Adam Weishaupt.)


"The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the "agentur" of the "Illuminati" between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustionWe shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time." 4

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, world events, and in particular in the Middle East, show a growing unrest and instability between Modern Zionism and the Arabic World. This is completely in line with the call for a Third World War to be fought between the two, and their allies on both sides. This Third World War is still to come, and recent events show us that it is not far off.



Egypt army talks tough as Tahrir protests

By Alastair Macdonald and Marwa Awad | Reuters – 1 hr 19 mins ago

Protesters demonstrate at Tahrir Square in Cairo
Protesters demonstrate at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih


CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military rulers dismissed complaints from protesters on Friday that it was entrenching its rule and blamed the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate for stirring up emotions that drew thousands onto Cairo's Tahrir Square.

In a brusque four-minute statement read on state television as Egyptians returned from weekly prayers - and as the revolutionary bastion of Tahrir was chanting for democracy - the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) made clear it had no plan to heed their calls to cancel a decree extending its powers or reverse its dissolution of the new, Islamist-led parliament.
"The issuance of the supplementary constitutional decree was necessitated by the needs of administering the affairs of the state during this critical period in the history of our nation," the off-screen announcer said, in the bureaucratic language favored by the generals who pushed aside brother officer Hosni Mubarak last year to appease the angry millions on the streets.
In what were menacing tones for the army's old adversary the Muslim Brotherhood, SCAF said people were free to protest - but only if they did not disrupt daily life. And it called the premature announcement of results in last weekend's presidential election "unjustifiable" and a prime cause of the tension.

Both comments target the Islamists more than other groups and the Brotherhood was quick to hit back. It denounced the military's actions themselves as "unconstitutional". Deadlock between Egypt's two strongest forces seemed to be hardening, raising grave doubts on the prospects for consensual democracy.

The SCAF statement read: "Anticipating the announcement of the presidential election results before they are announced officially is unjustifiable, and is one of the main causes of division and confusion prevailing the political arena."

It also said the army had no power to repeal the dissolution of parliament, saying that was down to judges who ruled that some of January's election rules were unconstitutional:

"The verdicts issued by the judiciary are executed in the name of the people and refraining from implementing these verdicts is a crime punishable by law," it said, a warning to Islamists who are challenging the dissolution. Critics say the judges were appointed under Mubarak and so are not impartial.

PROTESTS
The Brotherhood is mounting protest vigils on town squares to demand the reversal of the decree and the dissolution. It also fears a delay in announcing the result of the presidential election indicates an attempt to cheat - though opponents say it is the Islamists who are not playing fair.

The Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy and former general Ahmed Shafik have both said they believe they have won last weekend's run-off ballot. But it is Morsy's declaration of victory within hours of polls closing - far more than Shafik's later saying he too is "confident" - which has driven debate about underhand tactics in a country long used to vote-rigging.

The delay in publication of results, due on Thursday but not now expected until at least Saturday, has heightened anxiety on all sides, although all sides say they will protest peacefully.
Mohamed Beltagy, senior member of the Brotherhood, told Reuters the movement would continue to reject SCAF's decree, which was issued as polls closed on Sunday, two days after a court gave the military grounds to dissolve the new parliament.

"The military council is calling for respect for the legitimacy of the state and its laws, but we are asking for there first to be respect for the legitimacy of the parliamentary election and the will of the people," he said.

"The Brotherhood restates its rejection of the constitutional declaration, which is itself unconstitutional," Beltagy added. "The military council does not have any legal rights to issue such a decree."

A Shafik spokesman declined comment. Shafik himself called on Thursday for restraint and accused Morsy of trying to pressure the electoral commission by prematurely giving results.

SCARE TACTIC
Of the military's latest statement, Hassan Nafaa, a political analyst who was a critic of Mubarak, said: "The military council's statement is intended to scare the people and quell the revolutionary spirit of the nation through the firm authoritarian tone in which the statement was delivered.

"But this will not work because all politically aware civilians refuse the military's stewardship over the state."

While many of the urban liberals who began the uprising against Mubarak 17 months ago are uneasy about the electoral success of the Islamists, the prospect of Shafik winning, or of the army retaining power behind an impotent President Morsy, would for them mean the final failure of their revolution.

"This is a classic counter revolution that will only be countered by the might of protesters," said Safwat Ismail, 43, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who came from the Nile Delta. "I am staying in the square until the military steps down."

Mahmoud Mohammed, a bearded, 31-year-old marine engineer from Alexandria among a group from the more fundamentalist Salafist movement camping on the square insisted they were not looking for a battle, but wanted to see democracy installed.

"The people elected a parliament and they put it in the rubbish bin. We need the army to hand over," he said, adding: "No one came here for a fight. We need democracy."

Though tension is real across the country, many of Egypt's 82 million people are weary of turmoil and economic crisis, so it is unclear how large protests might become - though the Brotherhood alone has formidable reserves and capacities.

On Friday, most people appeared to be staying at home and passing Friday's Muslim weekend as normal, though once the fierce sun goes down, gatherings might grow.

At Tahrir, the broad traffic interchange by the Nile in central Cairo was filled with makeshift tents offering shade from the midday sun, hawkers offering an array of goods from tea to "I Love Tahrir Square" T-shirts. Many knelt in prayer during the weekly service. Large groups of pious

Islamists were bused in from the provinces by their parties.

The crowd chanted and waved Egyptian flags.

U.S. CONCERN
Events of the past week, which also saw a renewal of the power of military police to arrest civilians, have unnerved Western allies, notably the United States which has long been the key sponsor of the Egyptian armed forces but now says it wants to see them hand power to civilians.
In a country where virtually no one can remember an election that was not rigged before last year, trust is low, not least among Brotherhood officials, many of whom, like Morsy, were jailed under Mubarak for their political activities.

The same electoral commission that handed an improbable 90 percent of a November 2010 parliamentary vote to Mubarak's supporters - a result which fueled the protests that brought him down a few weeks later - sits in judgment on the new presidency.

Adding to unease, Mubarak is himself back in the news, being transferred to a military hospital on Tuesday evening from the prison where he began a life sentence this month.

Military and security sources have given a confusion of accounts about his condition, from "clinically dead" at one point, to being on life support after a stroke to "stabilizing". Many Egyptians suspect his fellow generals may be exaggerating his illness to get their old comrade out of jail.

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Shaimaa Fayed, Tom Perry, Edmund Blair, Patrick Werr, Tamim Elyan and Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Philippa Fletcher)


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