ETERNAL FLAME NEWS

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Berlusconi: Italy Will Not Recognize Unilaterally Declared Palestinian State

Rome — Italy will never recognize a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

Berlusconi at a celebration of Israel’s 63rd birthday praised the Jewish state as the only democracy in the Middle East. He was the guest of honor Wednesday at an Israeli Independence Day reception hosted by Israeli Ambassador Gideon Meir.

“No, absolutely not,” he was quoted as telling reporters when asked whether Italy would recognize a unilaterally declared Palestinian state.

“I think that there is no other course other than an agreement between the two states,” Berlusconi added. “Our policy has always gone in this direction, and it is also the policy of the European Union.”

During a speech, Berlusconi said Israel is “the only real democracy in the Middle East and Italy is concerned there are difficult situations for Jews. There can be no solution for your people and your state but peace with your neighbor Palestine.”

United Methodist Board Features Anti-Israel Message in Newsletter

The Blaze.com

“It’s time for Palestine.”

That’s the title of a recent article featured in the newsletter of the General Board of Church and Society, the advocacy wing of the United Methodist Church. And as the title insinuates, the article is very anti-Israel.

For example, just two paragraphs in, author Rev. John Calhoun talks about the recent wave of democracy sweeping the Middle East. “Unfortunately,” he writes, “one state’s undemocratic, militaristic rule over millions of civilians suffering under its administration looks likely to continue unchallenged. That state is Israel, and those living under its illegitimate control are the Palestinians of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.” [Emphasis added]

He continues: “As the world applauds heroic freedom fighters standing up to dictators and fraudulent presidents across the Middle East, widespread support for the Palestinian people’s aspirations to live free from Israeli occupation is faint.”

According to Calhoun, Methodists have a duty to take action because the Weslyan tradition supports “social activism.” And while that may sound like his own opinion initially, he quotes official church resolutions to back up his position.

“One manifestation of these efforts is the United Methodist Book of Resolutions, a volume filled with decisions on critical social, economic and political issues made over the years in the name of the denomination,” he says.

Those resolutions include one called “Opposition to Israeli Settlements in Palestinian Land:”

The United Methodist Church opposes continued military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land and water resources, the destruction of Palestinian homes, the continued building of illegal Jewish settlements, and any vision of a “Greater Israel” that includes the occupied territories and the whole of Jerusalem and its surroundings (Resolution 6073).

Then there’s another, “United Nations Resolutions on the Israel-Palestine Conflict.” Calhoun explains:

Even more significant is Resolution 6074, “United Nations Resolutions on the Israel-Palestine Conflict.” It was adopted by General Conference, the denomination’s highest policy-making body, in 2000, then revised and readopted in 2008. It states, “The United Methodist Church calls upon Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, and all States to abide by and uphold U.N. resolutions, International Court of Justice rulings, and international law as the basis for just and lasting peace in Palestine/Israel.”

That‘s important considering what we’ve been told about the United Methodist Church in a previous article on this site. Last fall, the Board was a major supporter of the controversial “One Nation” rally — a gathering of progressives, Democrats, and even socialists — in Washington, D.C. Then, we were told that just because the Board took a position on an issue, that couldn’t be construed as representing the position of the entire church, since the church’s positions are only determined by the general council. But according to Calhoun, the church has taken an official position on the Isreali-Palestinian conflict. And it’s not supportive of Israel.

That’s also supported by how Calhoun interprets the resolutions for all United Methodists. He says the position of the church is “clear:”

The denomination affirms the will of the international community, expressed through U.N. Security Council resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international law instruments, in condemning the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory. The denomination opposes continued Israeli settlement building on occupied Palestinian territory. The church stands with the Palestinian Christian community, and supports Palestinian efforts towards economic and political self-determination. [Emphasis added]

As a next step, Calhoun encourages United Methodists to take part in an upcoming, week-long event called “World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel.” A quick look at the event’s website reveals more anti-Israel rhetoric (couched in discussions of “peace”):

According to Calhoun, the event encourages participants to pray for Jerusalem. But he also describes opportunities for “political advocacy” and says the event will allow “church members to be further educated about the conflict, and to teach others about the need to end the injustices.” [Emphasis added]

And if the church‘s position wasn’t clear already, Calhoun concludes: “The United Methodist Church stands for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and for political self-determination for its people.”

(H/T: Blaze reader Mara)

The Blaze.com

Friday, May 13, 2011

All-female sect worships Vladimir Putin as Paul the Apostle

Vladimir Putin has become the object of veneration for a bizarre Russian all-female sect whose followers believe that the tough-talking prime minister is a reincarnation of the early Christian missionary Paul the Apostle.

Members of the sect that has sprung up in a Russian village some 250 miles southeast of Moscow believe that the 58-year-old macho Russian politician is on a special mission from God.

"According to the Bible, Paul the Apostle was a military commander at first and an evil persecutor of Christians before he started spreading the Christian gospel," the sect's founder, who styles herself Mother Fotina, said.

"In his days in the KGB, Putin also did some rather unrighteous things. But once he became president, he was imbued with the Holy Spirit, and just like the apostle, he started wisely leading his flock. It is hard for him now but he is fulfilling his heroic deed as an apostle."

Reports from the sect's headquarters close to the town of Nizhny Novgorod say that its members are all women who dress like nuns and pray for Mr Putin's success in front of traditional Russian Orthodox Church icons that have been placed alongside a portrait of the Russian prime minister himself.

Followers are reportedly encouraged to sing upbeat patriotic Soviet songs at 'services' rather than hymns.

Teen Statistics In 2 Hours

Also likened feared terror group to Jewish 'totalitarians' in Israel

Eboo Patel

JERUSALEM – President Obama's faith adviser, Eboo Patel, compared al-Qaida to what he called Christian "totalitarians" in the U.S. and Jewish "totalitarians" in Israel, WND has learned.

In February 2010, Obama named Patel to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Patel, a Muslim activist from Chicago, is the founder and executive director of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, which says it promotes pluralism by teaming people of different faiths on service projects.

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In an October 2009 article in a Newtopia Magazine, a liberal cultural publication, Obama's faith adviser made the controversial comparison. The article was adapted from the text of a speech given by Patel to the Interfaith Education for a Global Society Conference in New York City in January 2002.

Stated Patel: "The problem is that we live in a time when the Muslim totalitarians are dominating. Why? Because they are building powerful institutions that propagate their interpretation of Islam – just as the Christian totalitarians in America have powerful institutions; and the Jewish totalitarians in Israel have powerful institutions; and the Hindu totalitarians in India have powerful institutions.

"What do I mean by institutions?" asked Patel. "Lobbying groups that pass policies, political organizations that get people elected, television and radio and magazines and publishing houses which articulate ideas, schools and universities, youth organizations and women's groups, bodies which raise and distribute money."

Patel then stated, "Al-Qaida is a network of institutions. Schools and mosques which teach 8-year-olds a certain ideology; organizations which lead them to Afghanistan; training camps which make them soldiers; manuals which offer advice on the prayers to whisper while engaging in violence. The religious identity – which is to say, the ways of being, believing and belonging in relation with the transcendent – of too many young Muslims is being shaped by these institutions."

Patel explained his reference to Christian "totalitarianism" stems from a piece by New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman who wrote that World War III will be fought against "religious totalitarianism."

"Religious totalitarianism is not just the belief that one religion is right," added Patel, "but also that there is only one correct interpretation of that religion and everyone should practice it or else."

Patel failed to explain that so-called Muslim totalitarians, like al-Qaida, use terrorism to spread their belief system.

Hamas 'happy' with Obama's $900 million pledge

TEL AVIV, Israel – Hamas is "very happy" with a pledge this week from the Obama administration to provide $900 million in aid for rebuilding the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, a spokesman from the Islamist organization told WND.

"We are very happy with this decision," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, speaking by cell phone from Gaza. "In the first place, this money will go toward reconstructing efforts."

Barhoum said he expects the money to be tightly controlled. He said the funds are likely to be delineated to the Palestinian Authority and to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, or UNWRA, which administers aid to millions of Palestinian "refugees" in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Hamas has a close relationship with UNWRA; the agency openly employs a large number of Hamas members, including some of the group's most senior terrorists.

The U.S. aid has not yet been officially approved by Congress. The package is expected to be formally announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she attends an international Gaza donors conference in Egypt next week. A U.S. official reported the money will not reach Hamas but will go instead to nongovernmental organizations, most notably UNWRA. Still, the terrorist organization controls the Gaza Strip. Any reconstruction efforts in the territory are likely to bolster Hamas.

Why Don't We Hear About Soros' Ties to Over 30 Major News Organizations?

When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio , it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.

Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Society of Professional Journalists' ethical code stating: “avoid all conflicts real or perceived.”

This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Centers Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media.

The investigative reporting start-up ProPublica is a prime example. ProPublica, which recently won its second Pulitzer Prize, initially was given millions of dollars from the Sandler Foundation to “strengthen the progressive infrastructure” – “progressive” being the code word for very liberal. In 2010, it also received a two-year contribution of $125,000 each year from the Open Society Foundations. In case you wonder where that money comes from, the OSF website is www.soros.org. It is a network of more than 30 international foundations, mostly funded by Soros, who has contributed more than $8 billion to those efforts.

BIBLICAL Proportions-U.S. Cicadas hatch after 13 years underground

Their haunting chirrup strikes fear into the heart of every gardener.

For thirteen years this cicada hoard has lain dormant in its underground lair, awaiting the right time to strike. And it appears that that time has come.

Even at this very moment, billions of the winged insect are crawling from their exoskeleton cages, ready to suck the sap out of every plant, tree and bush that gets in their way.

Invasion: Cicadas feed by attaching a nodule onto a branch and suck the nutrients from its juicy core while females lay their eggs in tree twigs, which hatch after six to eight weeks

But they are here to breed, laying eggs in the twigs and branches of trees as they call out to mates with their deafening song.

THE CICADA LIFE CYCLE

After a 17-year nap, Cicadas climb up a telephone pole Sunday, May 16, 2004 in Annandale, Va.

While most cicadas go through a life cycle of between two and five years, the North American species - Magicicada - has a much longer cycle of 13 to 17 years.

Scientists believe this long dormant stage evolved as a means to outlive predators, such as the circada killer wasp and praying mantis, whose own life cycle if a far shorter two years.

Cicadas spend most of their lives as nymphs underground at depths of between 30cm and 250cm.

They survive by feeding on root juice which they obtain using their strong hind legs for digging.

During the final nymphal stage, they dig a tunnel to the surface, climb out and shed their skin on a plant. Cicadas then set about mating.

Females cut slits in the bark of trees where they leave their eggs after mating, until hundreds are built up.

After the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs fall to the ground and then burrow underground - and the life cycle starts again.

The red-eyed army has already reached the southern states of America, prompting many farmers to cover their crops with heavy protective netting.

Hundreds queue for food after Spanish earthquake

LORCA, Spain, May 12 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people queued for food aid in the Spanish town of Lorca and wandered the streets wrapped in blankets on Thursday after an earthquake killed eight people and injured more than 120.

Thousands of residents of the town slept on the street overnight, unable to return home after the 5.1 magnitude quake on Wednesday evening destroyed masonry and building facades, crushed cars and littered streets with bricks.

Many of Lorca's 90,000 residents were waiting for housing inspectors to give them the green light to enter buildings.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said 800 military and civil guard personnel were in Lorca, 370 army tents had been sent, and a camp hospital had been set up.

"We've activated all aid measures with maximum speed," he said live on television, pledging to rebuild damaged water mains and roads quickly and to visit the town on Friday.

The number of fatalities was revised down to eight, including one teenage girl, from an earlier report of 10. More than 120 people were injured, three critically, officials said.

Food distribution points were set up in parks and troops set up temporary tent shelter for 3,000 people made homeless by the quake, which hit at 6:46 p.m. (1446 GMT) on Wednesday.

Toxic contamination of the Gulf environment

Many locals argue that living in close proximity to - and eating seafood from - the Gulf is risky and disagree with federal agencies' claims that the Gulf is now safe.

In response to their oil disaster last summer that released at least 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP admitted to using at least 1.9 million gallons of widely banned toxic Corexit dispersants (which have been banned in 19 countries) to sink the oil.

The dispersants contain chemicals that many scientists and toxicologists have warned are dangerous to humans, marine life, and wildlife.

Oil, and what many Gulf residents believe is a residue generated by the effect the dispersants have on BP's oil, continue to wash ashore.