ETERNAL FLAME NEWS: Jun 29, 2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Apple Pulls Anti-Semitic IPad App

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has agreed to the request of an Israeli official to pull an iPad app that encourages anti-Semitism.

Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Israel's minister of public diplomacy and Diaspora affairs, wrote a letter to Jobs, asking him to take action against an app that called for a "third intifada." The app, which was also compatible with iPhones, encouraged Muslims to violently attack Israel.

"Any promotion of hate or violence should always be removed," contends Gary Ratner, senior development professional for StandWithUs. "iPad users should always assist to ensure that this is the case."

The organization that created the app also launched a Facebook group earlier this year that was removed when the social networking site discovered the group's purpose.

Even though technology and the internet create a window of opportunity for social networking and interaction, Ratner points out that "there's also a great risk, and we've got to be aware of this risk and ensure that it isn't used for nefarious purposes without infringing on people's free speech rights."

Edelstein told Jobs that the app was "disastrous" because it could have potentially brought a large number of individuals against Israel.

Harold Camping Follower Shoots Co-Worker Over Rapture Belief

An Oregon man, believed to be a follower of Harold Camping and in jail for allegedly shooting a co-worker last week, wanted to punish the victim for mocking the California preacher’s rapture prophecy, emerging developments suggest.

39-year-old man from west Eugene, Dale O’Callaghan, shot his co-worker, 33-year-old Jerry Andrews, in the shoulder June 24, calling him “one of those Satanic” people, according to a sworn affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court by Eugene Police Detective Ben Hall.

O’Callaghan and Andrews, co-workers at LHM Hydraulics for several years, had argued occasionally over Harold Camping’s prediction that the rapture would cause the end of the world beginning May 21, which turned out to be false, The Register-Guard quoted the victim’s mother, Robin O’Brien, as saying Tuesday.

The suspect, who had no adult criminal record until then, had been teased at work about his apparent belief in the rapture predicted by Camping, who spent millions of dollars on over 5,000 billboards and 20 recreational vehicles carrying the Judgment Day message.

O’Callaghan “expected to be taken up in the rapture, and it didn’t happen … He’d been getting some ribbing from the guys in the shop, and I guess he simmered over that,” O’Brien was quoted as saying. She added that her son did not want to speak with journalists.

While the two were not on bad terms, the suspect took it personally when the victim and other co-workers teased him in recent weeks over his belief in Camping’s prediction that Jesus Christ was to return to Earth May 21, the victim’s mother added.

However, the suspect’s father, Ronald O’Callaghan, said his son was not a believer in Harold Camping.

Investigators said the accused used a .357-caliber revolver to shoot Andrews once in the shoulder area as they first saw each other at work on the morning of June 24. O’Callaghan is in the Lane County Jail facing a felony charge of first-degree assault.

The bullet traveled across Andrews’ upper back and became lodged behind his left shoulder and “just missed paralyzing him,” his mother said, adding that he suffered a fractured shoulder and a fractured vertebra. Andrews is being given an outpatient treatment.

LHM Hydraulics, where the two work, is owned by the suspect’s parents.

The suspect insisted on having a lawyer at the time of police interrogation, but when he was taken to Circuit Court Monday he said he didn’t want representation by an attorney. However, after Judge Charles Zennaché explained that the mandatory minimum sentence for the crime was seven and a half years in prison, he finally agreed.

O’Callaghan is apparently one of the hundreds of people who actually believed Camping’s prediction would come true. Some of his followers sold their homes, left their jobs or donated their life savings in anticipation of the rapture of 200 million Christians to heaven.

Muslims and Christians Clash Over Construction Of Christian Church In Egypt

CAIRO -- A security official says Christians and Muslims have clashed in southern Egypt over the construction of a church.

A local security chief, Assem Hamza, says Muslim residents of the Awlad Khalaf village rallied Saturday outside Christian-owned land where construction of a church was under way.

Hamza said the construction was illegal. Security forces deployed as Muslim residents, including ultraconservative Salafis, moved in with bulldozers to try to bring down the construction.

Hamza said Christians fired gunshots and the two sides scuffled. Three Muslims were shot, including one in serious condition. A Christian has stab wounds.

Christians make up 10 percent of Egypt's population and complain of attacks by increasingly assertive Salafis.

Cross Set On Fire In Front Of Church

There is new information on a "chilling" crime in a green country community.

Now investigators with the Creek County Sheriff’s office say they know who set a cross on fire in front of a church.

It happened just last week outside St. Johns Church near Sapulpa in Creek County.

April Slavens has fond memories of many Sundays spent worshiping at the church.

But now, she says she is left with an image of a burning cross in her mind that just won’t go away.

"I had just left the house and I was heading into town and it was setting up against the fence and it was still smoking,” says April.

The image left her shocked, and so she called the sheriff’s department to report it.

“It was a wooden cross leaned up against the fence and it had white cloth leaned over against it and you could see where there were places on the ground where the cloth had fell and burnt,” she says.

Deputies found the same style of wood at a mobile home park right across the street.

“Through their interviews, they were able to find three people that were involved in it. One was an 18 year old and the other two being juveniles. Basically, they didn't have anything to do and got bored and thought that was something fun to do,” says Lt. Charles Redfern.

It’s a reality that’s hard for many in the community to believe.

“I didn't know if it was kids with nothing better to do, but it was wrong,” says April.
Read More From Fox 23

Atheist Billboard Placed On Church's Property Removed

(Columbus Dispatch)An atheist billboard didn't last long on church property on the East Side.

The smiling image of Dylan Galos was accompanied by the words "I can be good without God."

It was one of seven billboards posted across Columbus last week by the Freedom From Religion Foundation to introduce central Ohio residents to their atheist neighbors.

The message didn't sit well with the pastor of Christ Cathedral Church, 3350 Allegheny Ave., which owns the land where one of the billboards went up on a Clear Channel Outdoor sign.

The Rev. Waymon Malone ordered it removed, said Carolyn Kelley, his mother-in-law. Malone and his wife, Kimberlee, were out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

"It upset him because of what it said," Kelley said. "It said we don't need God, and we're at church, so we do need God."

The billboard was removed days after it was installed on June 21, said Jay Schmidt, account executive for Matrix Media Services.

It was reposted on E. Main Street, just west of Alum Creek Drive, visible to eastbound traffic, Schmidt said.

Schmidt helped the Freedom From Religion Foundation find the billboard locations but didn't realize that the Galos billboard was on church property. That billboard is visible from Stelzer Road north of Allegheny Avenue, just as Stelzer turns into James Road.