Flight 93 memorial: 'Giant mosque' [Really a Monument to the Terrorists!]

A Strong Delusion Author presents evidence of new landmark's homage to terrorists WORLDNETDAILY - July 26, 2007 The planned crescent-shaped "memorial to heroes" of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania is nothing less than a huge outdoor mosque that pays homage to Islam, charges the author of a new book. Alec Rawls' "Crescent of Betrayal: Dishonoring the Heroes of Flight 93," published by World Ahead, documents a long list of Islamic and terrorist memorializing features in the Flight 93 National Memorial. The primary feature, he says, is the giant central crescent of what originally was called the "Crescent of Embrace" design. A person facing into this half-mile wide crescent - still present in the superficially altered "Bowl of Embrace" redesign - will be oriented almost exactly at Mecca. That is significant, Rawls said, because a crescent that Muslims face to point them in the direction of Mecca - called a "mihrab" - is the central feature around which every mosque is built. Rawls said it seems impossible such startling revelations could go unreported, but Pennsylvania newspapers have ignored him. He learned from a reporter at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that editors knew about the Mecca orientation of the giant crescent in September 2005 when the design was first unveiled. But the editors decided the information should not be published, accusing critics of being paranoid bigots. "Like those who look at innocent kids trick-or-treating at Halloween and see only the devil's work," wrote the editors at the time, "a few small and suspicious minds couldn't look past the crescent to see a remarkably sensitive design." Rawls said he's been battling the same mentality for the past year and a half. He plans to be at a meeting Saturday when the design will be submitted for final approval. "I'll be there, demanding that this desecration of sacred ground be stopped," he said. Defenders of the "Crescent of Embrace" design, Rawls contended, "choose their side first, then avoid or suppress all contrary reason and evidence." "That, of course, is the essence of how political correctness works, and why it is a threat to all of us," he said. Rawls claims leaders of the project countered his information by lying to the Flight 93 families. In an April 2006 conference call, Memorial Project Superintendent Joanne Hanley told Rawls she was not concerned about the Mecca orientation because it's not "exact." "That's one we talked about," she said. "It has to be exact." At the same time, however, according to Rawls, "she was telling the Flight 93 families that my claims had been investigated and debunked." "Whenever I succeeded in making a news issue of the Mecca orientation of the crescent, the project would send out a family member to say that I was spreading known falsehoods," said Rawls. "But it's an easy matter to check the orientation of the crescent. Were I lying, a smart reporter could expose me as a fraud in five minutes. It took me a year and a half to get a reporter to take me up on that offer." Rawls gave Kirk Swauger of the Johnstown Tribune Democrat the address of an Islamic website - Islam.com - that has a Mecca direction calculator. "While I was on the phone with him, Kirk set the calculator to Somerset, Pa., 10 miles from the crash site, and clicked the 'view qibla direction' button. When he placed the resulting Mecca-direction graphic over the original Crescent of Embrace site plan, Kirk said to me: 'Yup. It points to Mecca.'" Swauger said he would include the verification in his news story, but it never appeared, Rawls recounted. "Instead, the Tribune Democrat did what it's been doing for the last year and a half: quoting critics who claim that my information is bogus while omitting results of the most basic fact checking." Rawls said western Pennsylvania newspapers have been in a "virtual state of war" with him over the past two weeks as they report 9/11 family members accuse him of spreading falsehoods. Meanwhile, he is running large, full-color ads in the Somerset Daily American, "providing readers with graphical proof" the memorial is actually a huge, outdoor mosque. Another feature, he says, is a separate section of the wall - centered exactly on the bisector of the giant crescent - that is in the exact position of the star on an Islamic flag. He says there also are 44 inscribed glass blocks placed along the path that Flight 93 followed to the ground, matching the number of passengers, crew - and terrorists. As WND reported in September 2005, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sent a letter to the Interior Department, asking officials to reconsider the "Crescent of Embrace" design due to the symbol's ties to Islam. "It has raised questions in some circles about whether the design, if constructed, will in fact make the memorial a tribute to the hijackers rather than the victims whose mission the flight's passengers helped to thwart," wrote Tancredo in a letter to Fran Mainella, director of the National Park Service. "Regardless of whether or not the invocation of a Muslim symbol by the memorial designer was intentional or not, it seems that such a symbol is unsuitable for paying appropriate tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 or the ensuing American struggle against radical Islam that their last historic act and the 'Let's Roll' effort has come to symbolize." A Pennsylvania pastor also fought the design. "This is a memorial to the terrorists who killed those people, not a memorial to the folks who died there innocently," said Rev. Ron McRae, head of the Bible Anabaptist Church near Jerome, Pa., about 55 miles from Pittsburgh. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56836 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

First snow for 100 years falls on Baghdad

Creation Groans AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - January 11, 2008 Light snow fell in Baghdad early on Friday in what weather officials said was the first time in about a 100 years. Rare snowfalls were also recorded in the west and centre of Iraq, plunging temperatures to zero degrees Centigrade (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and even colder, an official said. The snow in Baghdad, which melted as it hit the ground, began falling before dawn and continued until after 9 am, residents said. "Snow has fallen in Baghdad for the first time in about a century as a result of two air flows meeting," said a statement by the meteorology department. "The first one was cold and dry and the second one was warm and humid. They met above Iraq." The director of the meteorology department, Dawood Shakir, told AFP that climate change was possibly to blame for the unusual event. "It's very rare," he said. "Baghdad has never seen snow falling in living memory. "These snowfalls are linked to the climate change that is happening everywhere. We are finding some places in the world which are warm and are supposed to be cold." Snow was also reported in the mountainous Kurdish north of the country, where falls are common. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080111120350.qe0gt6lt&show_article=1 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Giuliani breaking ranks, opposes Palestinian state

A Burdensome Stone Of all people, Mr. Anti-Terror man himself, the one who thought no one would be interested in testing the steel from the World Trade Center and shipped it out of the country as "scrap metal" before the shock wore off and people could think clearly. A former US attorney who knows more about evidence than most people do thought no one would be interested in looking at this evidence? What a joke! Wake up America! BE/\LERT! 'It is not in U.S. interests to create another state supporting terrorism' WORLDNETDAILY - August 17, 2007 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has broken ranks with many other American political leaders, announcing that it would be counterproductive for the U.S. to help establish a Palestinian state. "It is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism," he wrote in a commentary in Foreign Affairs magazine, an online production of the Council on Foreign Relations. His essay, titled "Toward a Realistic Peace," is part of the September/October 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, and has been drawing praise from a number of individuals. "As the Democrats press for the appeasement of Iran, the leading Republican in the race, Mayor Giuliani, is raising a particularly clear voice for a more realistic approach," according to an editorial in the New York Sun. - - - "Elections are necessary but not sufficient to establish genuine democracy. Aspiring dictators sometimes win elections, and elected leaders sometimes govern badly and threaten their neighbors. History demonstrates that democracy usually follows good governance, not the reverse. U.S. assistance can do much to set nations on the road to democracy, but we must be realistic about how much we can accomplish alone and how long it will take to achieve lasting progress," he wrote. He cited the election of Hamas in the Palestinian-controlled territories as "a case in point." "The problem there is not the lack of statehood but corrupt and unaccountable governance. The Palestinian people need decent governance first, as a prerequisite for statehood. Too much emphasis has been placed on brokering negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians - negotiations that bring up the same issues again and again. It is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism. Palestinian statehood will have to be earned through sustained good governance, a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace with Israel. America's commitment to Israel's security is a permanent feature of our foreign policy," he said. - - - In a report on Israel National News, a writer praised Giuliani for having "bucked the party line of successive U.S. administrations and come out against the establishment of a Palestinian state." The report noted Giuliani warned against "the push by President George W. Bush and embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to quickly establish a state in Judea and Samaria ruled by Fatah. In the essay, Giuliani also targeted the United Nations, calling it "irrelevant" to resolution of conflicts. - - - The CFR article outlines the three key foreign policy challenges Giuliani sees: setting a course for victory in the terrorists' war on global order, strengthening the international system the terrorists seek to destroy, and extending the system's benefits. He also warns, as did President Bush shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, "this war will be long, and we are still in its early stages." "We cannot predict when our efforts will be successful," he said. "But we can predict the consequences of failure: Afghanistan would revert to being a safe haven for terrorists, and Iraq would become another one - larger, richer, and more strategically located. Parts of Iraq would undoubtedly fall under the sway of our enemies, particularly Iran, which would use its influence to direct even more terror at U.S. interests and U.S. allies than it does today." He said if that happens, "the balance of power in the Middle East would tip further toward terror, extremism and repression" and America's influence would sustain "a shattering blow. He said there are signs of light, even within the Muslim world. "Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are pointing the way by starting to interpret Islam in ways that respect the distinctiveness of their local cultures but are consistent with the global marketplace. Some of these states have coeducational schools, allow women to serve in government, and count shopping malls that sell Western and Arab goods side by side. Their leaders recognize that modernization is their ticket to the global marketplace. And the global marketplace can build bridges between the West and the Islamic world in a way that promotes mutual respect and mutual benefit," he said. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57197 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jews demand right to pray on Temple Mount

A Burdensome Stone Israeli law forbids non-Muslim worship while Hamas broadcasting from Judaism's holiest site WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - December 25, 2007 JERUSALEM - Rabbinic leaders and Temple Mount activist groups here today demanded the Israeli government allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site. Israeli restrictions forbid Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount and only allow Jews to ascend for certain hours on some days while the Mount is open to Muslims yearlong. Muslim prayer services take place throughout the day on the many mosques and Islamic religious schools situated on the holy site. "We demand the Government of Israel allow the Jewish people to have freedom of religious expression on the Temple Mount. This will serve as a preliminary step in confirming the Jewish people's inexorable connection with the Temple Mount, location of the Holy Temple, under the sovereignty of the people of Israel," states a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signed by the leaders of the New Jewish Congress, the Sanhedrin and the Holy Temple and Temple Mount movements. The Congress is a group of religious Zionist leaders here while the Sanhedrin consists of prominent rabbinic leaders who in 2004 reformed the ancient group of Jewish judges that previously constituted the legislative body of Israel. The reformed Sanhedrin has been a subject of debate within some Jewish communities. The rabbinic leaders and activists demanded the Israeli government move toward allowing non-Muslim worship by initially establishing special days for Jewish communal prayer in fixed locations on the Temple Mount. They demanded Olmert allow prayer on the Mount on important Jewish holidays, including Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, the first day of Hanukkah and on the Israeli national holidays of Jerusalem Day and Israeli Independence Day. Not all rabbinic figures allow Jewish prayer on the Mount although many schools do as long as entry and prayer is restricted to outer areas of the Mount, which can be measured by a change in the kind of foundation stone. According to Jewish law, the sanctity of the Temple Mount is structured in concentric circles. In the innermost circles, where the Holy of Holies was said to be located, the restrictions of Jewish access are the greatest. Jewish tradition and literature relates that during Temple times, only the kohen gadal, or high priest, was allowed to enter the most restricted area, and this happened once a year on Yom Kippur. The outer layers are less restricted. The rabbis' and activists' letter to Olmert was prompted by an episode last week - reported exclusively by WND - in which Israeli forces closed the Mount to Jews during an important Jewish fast day mourning the First Temple's destruction while the Hamas terror organization broadcast from the Mount's Al Aqsa Mosque, which Muslims say is their third holiest site. "In light of the broadcast of Hamas from the Temple Mount and the serious implications of this situation, we demand that the Government of Israel allow the Jewish people to have freedom of religious expression on the Temple Mount," stated the rabbis' letter to Olmert. - - - - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59375 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Revealed: Israel agreed to forfeit Temple Mount

A Burdensome Stone Documents detail ex-Israeli leader's deal handing Judaism's holiest site to Yasser Arafat WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - December 13, 2007 JERUSALEM - In spite of longstanding denials by top officials here, the Israeli government in 2000 agreed to relinquish the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site - to the Palestinians during U.S.-backed negotiations, according to declassified documents made public today. The information comes as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this month denied talks started at November's Annapolis summit would lead to Israel giving up its sovereignty over the Temple Mount, while chief Palestinian negotiators tell WND the Jewish state already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries. According to declassified Israeli government documents published today by Israel's Haaretz newspaper, during U.S.-led negotiations in 2000 at Camp David, Ehud Barak, then prime minister, agreed sovereignty over the Temple Mount would be either "ambiguous" or control would be determined based on the bond of each party to the site. The Palestinians would therefore control the upper sections of the Mount, which houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and also is the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples. The 2000 negotiations fell through after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Barak at times denied he offered the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but he also indicated during interviews he was willing to compromise over the site. Haaretz published excerpts from a 26-page document it obtained, signed by Barak's negotiator Gilad Sher and said to be summaries of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The document was titled "The Status of the Diplomatic Process with the Palestinians Points to Update the Incoming Prime Minister." Sher also wrote in his book published after the 2000 negotiations, titled "Beyond Reach," that President Bill Clinton floated a plan that called for the Temple Mount to become Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to forfeit the Temple Mount. - - - - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59188 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Bush Visit Doesn't Interest World Media

A Burdensome Stone ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Hillel Fendel - January 10, 2008 Only 50 reporters from around the world arrived in Israel to cover the meetings between US President George Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Danny Seaman, Director-General of the Israel Government Press Office, says international interest in the Israeli-Arab conflict has faded. When former US President Bill Clinton came a decade ago, 1,000 journalists descended upon Israel from the world media. Seaman emphasized, however, that "when we count how many journalists arrive, we don't count the 130 or so who arrived with Bush as part of their regular White House coverage, and also the hundreds who are here on a regular basis." Seaman told Arutz-7’s Hebrew-language “Freedom of Broadcast” show, “The preparations we made for the international media were very complex and involved. The Prime Minister’s Office set up a special team, headed by Deputy Director Amnon Ben-Ami, to coordinate all the details.” The wane in world interest in international news was noted three years ago, Seaman said, “when fewer journalists than expected arrived to cover Arafat’s death. In general, the world is more interested in local news. In addition, of course, there have not been any significant breakthroughs in the talks with the Palestinians, and none are expected, so there is not much to come for… They have learned from the past; they have had enough of 'hopes' ever since the beginning of the Oslo process.” - - - - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124869 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Gazan Welcome for Bush: American School Bombed

A Burdensome Stone ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Ezra HaLevi - January 10, 2008 Arab terrorists bombed the American School in Gaza on Thursday, following US President Bush’s demands that the PA give up terrorism. Three men reportedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at the second floor of the school on Thursday morning, shortly before students arrived for classes. The school’s security guards had been told to leave the premises prior to the attack. They complied and the school’s art facility was destroyed. The U.S.-funded school is located near the village of Beit Lahiya. Most of its American teachers left Gaza when Hamas came to power, fearing attack. The students at the school come from wealthy families and classes take place in English. Many will study at American universities after graduation. This is the second time this year that the school has been attacked. Last April, the facility was set on fire by arsonists, while prior to that, an American guest and two teachers at the school were kidnapped and later released. - - - - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Temple Institute readies crown for new high priest

A Burdensome Stone ISRAEL TODAY MAGAZINE [Sheldon Adelson/Las Vegas Sands Corp] - By Staff Writer - December 3, 2007 The Temple Institute in Jerusalem this week announced the completion of the solid gold crown the Bible instructs Israel's high priest to wear while conducting his duties at the Temple, reported Israel National News. The crown took craftsman carefully following descriptions contained in the Bible, Jewish holy texts and various historical sources more than one year to make. The crown will be on display in Jerusalem's Old City until the time that the Third Temple is built on the Temple Mount and Israel's priestly caste resumes its activities there. The Temple Institute has for decades been preparing the garments and articles needed for the day the Temple is rebuilt. Temple Institute Director Rabbi Chaim Richman told Israel National News the next task is the completion of architectural blueprints for the Third Temple, including cost projections and detailed electrical and plumbing schematics. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=14713 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Muslims sued for destroying Jewish Temple artifacts

A Burdensome Stone Israeli citizens in court with landmark case over Judaism's holiest site WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - November 9, 2007 JERUSALEM - In an unprecedented legal move, Israeli citizens this week filed a criminal lawsuit against the Muslim custodians of Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount, alleging the Muslim trust destroyed Jewish antiquities, including a possible wall from the Second Jewish Temple. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government this summer allowed the Mount's Waqf Islamic custodians to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive trench on the Temple Mount which the Waqf claimed was necessary to replace electrical cables outside mosques on the site. Allowing the use of bulldozers at any sensitive archaeological site is extremely unusual, particularly at the Temple Mount, which experts say contains sealed layers of artifacts as shallow as two to three feet below the surface. The Mount has never been properly excavated. Heavy equipment could easily damage any existing artifacts, stress Israeli experts, who assert the area should be excavated slowly and carefully by hand. In September, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers reportedly came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard. Israel, however, blocked leading archeologists from surveying the massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to the purported wall. According to top archaeologists, the Waqf dig resulted in the destruction of scores of Temple-era artifacts. At one point during the dig, WND obtained a photo of the Waqf trench. In view in the picture, obtained in conjunction with Israel's Temple Institute, are concrete slabs broken by Waqf bulldozers and what appears to be a chopped-up carved stone from Jewish Temple-era antiquity. Eilat Mazar, a leading Temple Mount archaeologist, confirmed the slabs in the photo were antiquities with Temple-era attributes. She said inspection of the slabs was required to verify its authenticity. The Waqf repeatedly denied it found or destroyed any Temple artifacts. But this week, 150 Israeli citizens filed a criminal complaint against Waqf officials, utilizing a section of the country's penal code that allows private citizens to bring criminal suits against an individual or group that did wrong, including in cases in which the defendant is accused of destroying property. "The Temple Mount is the property of Jewish nation and has been for thousands of years," Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the lead council for the lawsuit, told WND. "What the Waqf did was clearly destroying property of the Jewish people by throwing away and chopping through artifacts; therefore the Jewish people have a right to indict Wafq officials," said Nitsana, director of the Shurat HaDin Israeli Law Center. The suit has been passed to Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who will consider whether to immediately file legal charges against the Waqf. If Mazuz declines, the Supreme Court will hear the case and then can decide whether to recommend criminal charges. Charges can result in prison time for Wafq leaders, explained Darshan-Leitner. "The Waqf leaders belong in prison, and since Israel's government is refusing to protect Jewish heritage and property, we will prosecute the WAQF ourselves," she said. "This legal action is a moral obligation, not only for the Jewish people, but also for the Christian community, which has significant interests in safeguarding the Temple Mount as well." - - - - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58582 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

Rumours of a link between the US first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. Now the Guardian can reveal how repercussions of events that culminated in action under the Trading with the Enemy Act are still being felt by today's president THE GUARDIAN [Guardian Media Group, UK] - By Ben Aris in Berlin and Duncan Campbell in Washington - September 25, 2004 George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism. His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy. The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The debate over Prescott Bush's behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the "Bush/Nazi" connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty. Remarkably, little of Bush's dealings with Germany has received public scrutiny, partly because of the secret status of the documentation involving him. But now the multibillion dollar legal action for damages by two Holocaust survivors against the Bush family, and the imminent publication of three books on the subject are threatening to make Prescott Bush's business history an uncomfortable issue for his grandson, George W, as he seeks re-election. While there is no suggestion that Prescott Bush was sympathetic to the Nazi cause, the documents reveal that the firm he worked for, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), acted as a US base for the German industrialist, Fritz Thyssen, who helped finance Hitler in the 1930s before falling out with him at the end of the decade. The Guardian has seen evidence that shows Bush was the director of the New York-based Union Banking Corporation (UBC) that represented Thyssen's US interests and he continued to work for the bank after America entered the war. Tantalising Bush was also on the board of at least one of the companies that formed part of a multinational network of front companies to allow Thyssen to move assets around the world. Thyssen owned the largest steel and coal company in Germany and grew rich from Hitler's efforts to re-arm between the two world wars. One of the pillars in Thyssen's international corporate web, UBC, worked exclusively for, and was owned by, a Thyssen-controlled bank in the Netherlands. More tantalising are Bush's links to the Consolidated Silesian Steel Company (CSSC), based in mineral rich Silesia on the German-Polish border. During the war, the company made use of Nazi slave labour from the concentration camps, including Auschwitz. The ownership of CSSC changed hands several times in the 1930s, but documents from the US National Archive declassified last year link Bush to CSSC, although it is not clear if he and UBC were still involved in the company when Thyssen's American assets were seized in 1942. Three sets of archives spell out Prescott Bush's involvement. All three are readily available, thanks to the efficient US archive system and a helpful and dedicated staff at both the Library of Congress in Washington and the National Archives at the University of Maryland. The first set of files, the Harriman papers in the Library of Congress, show that Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder of a number of companies involved with Thyssen. The second set of papers, which are in the National Archives, are contained in vesting order number 248 which records the seizure of the company assets. What these files show is that on October 20 1942 the alien property custodian seized the assets of the UBC, of which Prescott Bush was a director. Having gone through the books of the bank, further seizures were made against two affiliates, the Holland-American Trading Corporation and the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation. By November, the Silesian-American Company, another of Prescott Bush's ventures, had also been seized. The third set of documents, also at the National Archives, are contained in the files on IG Farben, who was prosecuted for war crimes. A report issued by the Office of Alien Property Custodian in 1942 stated of the companies that "since 1939, these (steel and mining) properties have been in possession of and have been operated by the German government and have undoubtedly been of considerable assistance to that country's war effort". Prescott Bush, a 6ft 4in charmer with a rich singing voice, was the founder of the Bush political dynasty and was once considered a potential presidential candidate himself. Like his son, George, and grandson, George W, he went to Yale where he was, again like his descendants, a member of the secretive and influential Skull and Bones student society. He was an artillery captain in the first world war and married Dorothy Walker, the daughter of George Herbert Walker, in 1921. In 1924, his father-in-law, a well-known St Louis investment banker, helped set him up in business in New York with Averill Harriman, the wealthy son of railroad magnate E H Harriman in New York, who had gone into banking. One of the first jobs Walker gave Bush was to manage UBC. Bush was a founding member of the bank and the incorporation documents, which list him as one of seven directors, show he owned one share in UBC worth $125. The bank was set up by Harriman and Bush's father-in-law to provide a US bank for the Thyssens, Germany's most powerful industrial family. August Thyssen, the founder of the dynasty had been a major contributor to Germany's first world war effort and in the 1920s, he and his sons Fritz and Heinrich established a network of overseas banks and companies so their assets and money could be whisked offshore if threatened again. By the time Fritz Thyssen inherited the business empire in 1926, Germany's economic recovery was faltering. After hearing Adolf Hitler speak, Thyssen became mesmerised by the young firebrand. He joined the Nazi party in December 1931 and admits backing Hitler in his autobiography, I Paid Hitler, when the National Socialists were still a radical fringe party. He stepped in several times to bail out the struggling party: in 1928 Thyssen had bought the Barlow Palace on Briennerstrasse, in Munich, which Hitler converted into the Brown House, the headquarters of the Nazi party. The money came from another Thyssen overseas institution, the Bank voor Handel en Scheepvarrt in Rotterdam. By the late 1930s, Brown Brothers Harriman, which claimed to be the world's largest private investment bank, and UBC had bought and shipped millions of dollars of gold, fuel, steel, coal and US treasury bonds to Germany, both feeding and financing Hitler's build-up to war. Between 1931 and 1933 UBC bought more than $8m worth of gold, of which $3m was shipped abroad. According to documents seen by the Guardian, after UBC was set up it transferred $2m to BBH accounts and between 1924 and 1940 the assets of UBC hovered around $3m, dropping to $1m only on a few occasions. In 1941, Thyssen fled Germany after falling out with Hitler but he was captured in France and detained for the remainder of the war. There was nothing illegal in doing business with the Thyssens throughout the 1930s and many of America's best-known business names invested heavily in the German economic recovery. However, everything changed after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Even then it could be argued that BBH was within its rights continuing business relations with the Thyssens until the end of 1941 as the US was still technically neutral until the attack on Pearl Harbor. The trouble started on July 30 1942 when the New York Herald-Tribune ran an article entitled "Hitler's Angel Has $3m in US Bank". UBC's huge gold purchases had raised suspicions that the bank was in fact a "secret nest egg" hidden in New York for Thyssen and other Nazi bigwigs. The Alien Property Commission (APC) launched an investigation. There is no dispute over the fact that the US government seized a string of assets controlled by BBH - including UBC and SAC - in the autumn of 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy act. What is in dispute is if Harriman, Walker and Bush did more than own these companies on paper. Erwin May, a treasury attache and officer for the department of investigation in the APC, was assigned to look into UBC's business. The first fact to emerge was that Roland Harriman, Prescott Bush and the other directors didn't actually own their shares in UBC but merely held them on behalf of Bank voor Handel. Strangely, no one seemed to know who owned the Rotterdam-based bank, including UBC's president. May wrote in his report of August 16 1941: "Union Banking Corporation, incorporated August 4 1924, is wholly owned by the Bank voor Handel en Scheepvaart N.V of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. My investigation has produced no evidence as to the ownership of the Dutch bank. Mr Cornelis [sic] Lievense, president of UBC, claims no knowledge as to the ownership of the Bank voor Handel but believes it possible that Baron Heinrich Thyssen, brother of Fritz Thyssen, may own a substantial interest." May cleared the bank of holding a golden nest egg for the Nazi leaders but went on to describe a network of companies spreading out from UBC across Europe, America and Canada, and how money from voor Handel travelled to these companies through UBC. By September May had traced the origins of the non-American board members and found that Dutchman HJ Kouwenhoven - who met with Harriman in 1924 to set up UBC - had several other jobs: in addition to being the managing director of voor Handel he was also the director of the August Thyssen bank in Berlin and a director of Fritz Thyssen's Union Steel Works, the holding company that controlled Thyssen's steel and coal mine empire in Germany. Within a few weeks, Homer Jones, the chief of the APC investigation and research division sent a memo to the executive committee of APC recommending the US government vest UBC and its assets. Jones named the directors of the bank in the memo, including Prescott Bush's name, and wrote: "Said stock is held by the above named individuals, however, solely as nominees for the Bank voor Handel, Rotterdam, Holland, which is owned by one or more of the Thyssen family, nationals of Germany and Hungary. The 4,000 shares hereinbefore set out are therefore beneficially owned and help for the interests of enemy nationals, and are vestible by the APC," according to the memo from the National Archives seen by the Guardian. Red-handed Jones recommended that the assets be liquidated for the benefit of the government, but instead UBC was maintained intact and eventually returned to the American shareholders after the war. Some claim that Bush sold his share in UBC after the war for $1.5m - a huge amount of money at the time - but there is no documentary evidence to support this claim. No further action was ever taken nor was the investigation continued, despite the fact UBC was caught red-handed operating a American shell company for the Thyssen family eight months after America had entered the war and that this was the bank that had partly financed Hitler's rise to power. The most tantalising part of the story remains shrouded in mystery: the connection, if any, between Prescott Bush, Thyssen, Consolidated Silesian Steel Company (CSSC) and Auschwitz. Thyssen's partner in United Steel Works, which had coal mines and steel plants across the region, was Friedrich Flick, another steel magnate who also owned part of IG Farben, the powerful German chemical company. Flick's plants in Poland made heavy use of slave labour from the concentration camps in Poland. According to a New York Times article published in March 18 1934 Flick owned two-thirds of CSSC while "American interests" held the rest. The US National Archive documents show that BBH's involvement with CSSC was more than simply holding the shares in the mid-1930s. Bush's friend and fellow "bonesman" Knight Woolley, another partner at BBH, wrote to Averill Harriman in January 1933 warning of problems with CSSC after the Poles started their drive to nationalise the plant. "The Consolidated Silesian Steel Company situation has become increasingly complicated, and I have accordingly brought in Sullivan and Cromwell, in order to be sure that our interests are protected," wrote Knight. "After studying the situation Foster Dulles is insisting that their man in Berlin get into the picture and obtain the information which the directors here should have. You will recall that Foster is a director and he is particularly anxious to be certain that there is no liability attaching to the American directors." But the ownership of the CSSC between 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland and 1942 when the US government vested UBC and SAC is not clear. "SAC held coal mines and definitely owned CSSC between 1934 and 1935, but when SAC was vested there was no trace of CSSC. All concrete evidence of its ownership disappears after 1935 and there are only a few traces in 1938 and 1939," says Eva Schweitzer, the journalist and author whose book, America and the Holocaust, is published next month. Silesia was quickly made part of the German Reich after the invasion, but while Polish factories were seized by the Nazis, those belonging to the still neutral Americans (and some other nationals) were treated more carefully as Hitler was still hoping to persuade the US to at least sit out the war as a neutral country. Schweitzer says American interests were dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The Nazis bought some out, but not others. The two Holocaust survivors suing the US government and the Bush family for a total of $40bn in compensation claim both materially benefited from Auschwitz slave labour during the second world war. Kurt Julius Goldstein, 87, and Peter Gingold, 85, began a class action in America in 2001, but the case was thrown out by Judge Rosemary Collier on the grounds that the government cannot be held liable under the principle of "state sovereignty". Jan Lissmann, one of the lawyers for the survivors, said: "President Bush withdrew President Bill Clinton's signature from the treaty [that founded the court] not only to protect Americans, but also to protect himself and his family." Lissmann argues that genocide-related cases are covered by international law, which does hold governments accountable for their actions. He claims the ruling was invalid as no hearing took place. In their claims, Mr Goldstein and Mr Gingold, honorary chairman of the League of Anti-fascists, suggest the Americans were aware of what was happening at Auschwitz and should have bombed the camp. The lawyers also filed a motion in The Hague asking for an opinion on whether state sovereignty is a valid reason for refusing to hear their case. A ruling is expected within a month. The petition to The Hague states: "From April 1944 on, the American Air Force could have destroyed the camp with air raids, as well as the railway bridges and railway lines from Hungary to Auschwitz. The murder of about 400,000 Hungarian Holocaust victims could have been prevented." The case is built around a January 22 1944 executive order signed by President Franklin Roosevelt calling on the government to take all measures to rescue the European Jews. The lawyers claim the order was ignored because of pressure brought by a group of big American companies, including BBH, where Prescott Bush was a director. Lissmann said: "If we have a positive ruling from the court it will cause [president] Bush huge problems and make him personally liable to pay compensation." The US government and the Bush family deny all the claims against them. In addition to Eva Schweitzer's book, two other books are about to be published that raise the subject of Prescott Bush's business history. The author of the second book, to be published next year, John Loftus, is a former US attorney who prosecuted Nazi war criminals in the 70s. Now living in St Petersburg, Florida and earning his living as a security commentator for Fox News and ABC radio, Loftus is working on a novel which uses some of the material he has uncovered on Bush. Loftus stressed that what Prescott Bush was involved in was just what many other American and British businessmen were doing at the time. "You can't blame Bush for what his grandfather did any more than you can blame Jack Kennedy for what his father did - bought Nazi stocks - but what is important is the cover-up, how it could have gone on so successfully for half a century, and does that have implications for us today?" he said. "This was the mechanism by which Hitler was funded to come to power, this was the mechanism by which the Third Reich's defence industry was re-armed, this was the mechanism by which Nazi profits were repatriated back to the American owners, this was the mechanism by which investigations into the financial laundering of the Third Reich were blunted," said Loftus, who is vice-chairman of the Holocaust Museum in St Petersburg. "The Union Banking Corporation was a holding company for the Nazis, for Fritz Thyssen," said Loftus. "At various times, the Bush family has tried to spin it, saying they were owned by a Dutch bank and it wasn't until the Nazis took over Holland that they realised that now the Nazis controlled the apparent company and that is why the Bush supporters claim when the war was over they got their money back. Both the American treasury investigations and the intelligence investigations in Europe completely bely that, it's absolute horseshit. They always knew who the ultimate beneficiaries were." "There is no one left alive who could be prosecuted but they did get away with it," said Loftus. "As a former federal prosecutor, I would make a case for Prescott Bush, his father-in-law (George Walker) and Averill Harriman [to be prosecuted] for giving aid and comfort to the enemy. They remained on the boards of these companies knowing that they were of financial benefit to the nation of Germany." Loftus said Prescott Bush must have been aware of what was happening in Germany at the time. "My take on him was that he was a not terribly successful in-law who did what Herbert Walker told him to. Walker and Harriman were the two evil geniuses, they didn't care about the Nazis any more than they cared about their investments with the Bolsheviks." What is also at issue is how much money Bush made from his involvement. His supporters suggest that he had one token share. Loftus disputes this, citing sources in "the banking and intelligence communities" and suggesting that the Bush family, through George Herbert Walker and Prescott, got $1.5m out of the involvement. There is, however, no paper trail to this sum. The third person going into print on the subject is John Buchanan, 54, a Miami-based magazine journalist who started examining the files while working on a screenplay. Last year, Buchanan published his findings in the venerable but small-circulation New Hampshire Gazette under the headline "Documents in National Archives Prove George Bush's Grandfather Traded With the Nazis - Even After Pearl Harbor". He expands on this in his book to be published next month - Fixing America: Breaking the Stranglehold of Corporate Rule, Big Media and the Religious Right. In the article, Buchanan, who has worked mainly in the trade and music press with a spell as a muckraking reporter in Miami, claimed that "the essential facts have appeared on the internet and in relatively obscure books but were dismissed by the media and Bush family as undocumented diatribes". Buchanan suffers from hypermania, a form of manic depression, and when he found himself rebuffed in his initial efforts to interest the media, he responded with a series of threats against the journalists and media outlets that had spurned him. The threats, contained in e-mails, suggested that he would expose the journalists as "traitors to the truth". Unsurprisingly, he soon had difficulty getting his calls returned. Most seriously, he faced aggravated stalking charges in Miami, in connection with a man with whom he had fallen out over the best way to publicise his findings. The charges were dropped last month. Biography Buchanan said he regretted his behaviour had damaged his credibility but his main aim was to secure publicity for the story. Both Loftus and Schweitzer say Buchanan has come up with previously undisclosed documentation. The Bush family have largely responded with no comment to any reference to Prescott Bush. Brown Brothers Harriman also declined to comment. The Bush family recently approved a flattering biography of Prescott Bush entitled Duty, Honour, Country by Mickey Herskowitz. The publishers, Rutledge Hill Press, promised the book would "deal honestly with Prescott Bush's alleged business relationships with Nazi industrialists and other accusations". In fact, the allegations are dealt with in less than two pages. The book refers to the Herald-Tribune story by saying that "a person of less established ethics would have panicked ... Bush and his partners at Brown Brothers Harriman informed the government regulators that the account, opened in the late 1930s, was 'an unpaid courtesy for a client' ... Prescott Bush acted quickly and openly on behalf of the firm, served well by a reputation that had never been compromised. He made available all records and all documents. Viewed six decades later in the era of serial corporate scandals and shattered careers, he received what can be viewed as the ultimate clean bill." The Prescott Bush story has been condemned by both conservatives and some liberals as having nothing to do with the current president. It has also been suggested that Prescott Bush had little to do with Averill Harriman and that the two men opposed each other politically. However, documents from the Harriman papers include a flattering wartime profile of Harriman in the New York Journal American and next to it in the files is a letter to the financial editor of that paper from Prescott Bush congratulating the paper for running the profile. He added that Harriman's "performance and his whole attitude has been a source of inspiration and pride to his partners and his friends". The Anti-Defamation League in the US is supportive of Prescott Bush and the Bush family. In a statement last year they said that "rumours about the alleged Nazi 'ties' of the late Prescott Bush ... have circulated widely through the internet in recent years. These charges are untenable and politically motivated ... Prescott Bush was neither a Nazi nor a Nazi sympathiser." However, one of the country's oldest Jewish publications, the Jewish Advocate, has aired the controversy in detail. More than 60 years after Prescott Bush came briefly under scrutiny at the time of a faraway war, his grandson is facing a different kind of scrutiny but one underpinned by the same perception that, for some people, war can be a profitable business. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1312484,00.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Did King Solomon’s Navy Discover America?

A Burdensome Stone ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Tamar Yonah - December 18, 2007 Mystery Mountain, Los Lunas, New Mexico. That’s where a fascinating find was discovered with the Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments. What is amazing about this find, is that the ten commandments were written in a Hebrew script that is so ancient, it was last used around and up to the Babylonian expulsion. This means it was probably written between 2,500-3,000 years ago! How did this script, as well as the text of the ten commandments wind up in New Mexico, so many centuries ago? “Over two thousand years before Columbus "discovered" America there were people of semitic origin in New Mexico worshipping the God of Israel. How can this possibly be reconciled with known history? It is seemingly apparent that the financial backing to launch a Hebrew-Phoenician voyage of world exploration could have readily occurred during the reign of King Solomon of Israel. Solomon worshipped the true God of Israel and had the means to fund explorative voyages to other lands. With Solomon's main port being located on the Red Sea it would be difficult to explain how his fleet would have entered America through the Atlantic drainage. ( Reference note: Kings I 9:26) :And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. Tarshish , however, had access to the Atlantic. The reign of Solomon was enveloping the entire world. Israel's close neighbor, Phonecia, and their expert navigators were working with the servants of Solomon from both countries ports. The ships of Tarshish sailed extremely long voyages to bring back all kinds of raw materials and items (copper & other ores, flora & fauna samples, "exotic" animals, etc.). ( Reference note: Chronicles 2 -Chapter 9): For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. It would help explain the need of three year journeys if the seamen had to cross the ocean to come to these far off isles in America. The fact that the trading ships of Phoenicia did have docks in ancient America can be proved from inscriptions they left behind. The Los Lunas site is located along the Puerco River which is tributary of the Rio Grande River. The Rio Grande is definitely in the Atlantic drainage. It would have been entirely possible for the Hebrew-Phonecian sailors to access the area of the stone.” So, did King Solomon’s navy discover America, bringing back exotic animals, plants, and rare minerals to Jerusalem? Could it be that this mystery rock was written by Jews who sailed to America in King Solomon’s navy? Could it be that they taught certain tribes of native American Indians monotheism and morality? Were these Jews sabbatical fly by night teachers, or did they go on permanent ‘shlichut’ (sent out as an ambassador) to spread knowledge of the One True G-d and His Ten Commandments? Or could it have been that some Jews left the ship, going on an expedition, got stuck or stranded, missing the boat back? - - - - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2384 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Discovered: Large 2nd-Temple House Adjacent to Temple Mount

A Burdensome Stone ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Hillel Fendel - December 5, 2007 The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Wednesday afternoon the discovery of a large-sized house from the Second Temple Period several dozen meters south of the Temple Mount. The remains were excavated in the well-known Givati Parking Lot, just outside the entrance to the Western Wall. Writings of the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus Flavius (Joseph son of Matityahu) indicate that the uncovered building may well have belonged to the family of Queen Helene, who converted to Judaism in the 1st Century BCE. However, excavation chief Dr. Doron Ben-Ami said that this may or may not be true, "and we can only hope that we will discover more findings that will help us identify this building with certainty." The find includes massive foundations, walls whose remains soar five meters high in some places, two-story-tall halls, a basement, ritual baths (mikvaot), remains of colored frescoes, and more. The archaeologists say they can see, in the narrow openings discovered in the basement level, evidence of the drama that transpired in the structure prior to its destruction by the Romans. It appears that the inhabitants attempted to flee through the openings. Attempts were also made to destroy the structure at the time. The large edifice was overlain with remains dating to later periods: Byzantine, Roman and Early Islamic, while below it there are remains from the Early Hellenistic period, and even artifacts from the time of the First Temple. The dig is being carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority together with the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David (City of David) Foundation. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124482 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Muslims fume at discovery of 1st Temple remains

A Burdensome Stone JERUSALEM NEWSWIRE - By Stan Goodenough - October 23, 2007 "Palestinian" spokesmen have denounced as lies and deception Israeli claims that remains had been uncovered on Jerusalem's Temple Mount dating back to the period of Solomon's Temple. According to the Associated Press, the Israel Antiquities Authority Sunday announced it had discovered fragments of ceramic table wares and animal bones dating back to the first Jewish temple - from the 6th to the 10th centuries BC. The finds also included fragments of bowl rims, bases and body sherds, the base and handle of a small jug and the rim of a storage jar. But the Islamic Trust denied that any discovery was made, AP said. AP got it right when it stated that "the site [Temple Mount] represents the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." For Muslims everywhere, and especially for the Arab nationalists out to appropriate part of the 3000-year-old City of David and turn it into the capital of a Palestinian state, denying any Jewish link to the most coveted sites has long been a central component of their strategy. Now-deceased arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization have spent a fortune in financial and political capital trying to "sever" the Jews' claim to the Temple Mount. Down the decades since 1967, Palestinian Arab academics, archeological "experts" and popular television and radio talk-show hosts have all collaborated to "prove" that there is no physical evidence to support the Jews' claim to having had a homeland in "Palestine" two millennia ago. At Camp David in 2001, while participating in negotiations with Prime Minister Ehud Barak under the auspices of US President Bill Clinton, Arafat shamelessly stated as "fact" that the Jews had never had a temple in Jerusalem, and that King Solomon had built his house of worship not far from Jericho. Arafat in fact sought to be buried on the Temple Mount - a site the Islamic world calls its "third holiest" - and to which Muslims turn their backs when praying towards Mecca and Medina five times a day. The mass-murderer of Jews and others believed that interring his corpse at the site would help strengthen the Arab claim to sovereignty over it. Bible-believing Christians and Jews understand why the Temple Mount is so sought after by the PLO and in fact by the entire Muslim world. According to both the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old" Testament) and the New Testament, Israel's Messiah will establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, taking His place on the Throne of David that will be erected on the Temple Mount, and from there ruling over the nations of the world. God's mortal enemy has long sought to wrest the hilltop from Jewish control, hoping thereby to prevent this foretold messianic event from coming to pass. The outburst of anger in response to the Israeli archeologists' find should be seen in this context. http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2206 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Link to First Temple found

A Burdensome Stone THE JERUSALEM POST - By Etgar Lefkovits - October 21, 2007 Archeologists overseeing contested Islamic infrastructure work on Jerusalem's Temple Mount have stumbled upon a sealed archeological level dating back to the First Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday. The find marks the first time that archeological remains dating back to the First Temple period have been found on the contested holy site, the state-run archeological body said. No archeological excavations have ever been carried out on the Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest and Islam's third-holiest site, due to opposition from religious leaders. The sealed archeological level, dated from the eighth to the sixth centuries BCE, was exposed at the end of August in the area close to the southeastern corner of the raised platform surrounding the Dome of the Rock, and includes fragments of ceramic tableware and animal bone. "The layer is a closed, sealed archeological layer that has been untouched since as early as the eighth century BCE," said Yuval Baruch, the Jerusalem District archeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority. But independent Israeli archeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, who have repeatedly lambasted the Antiquities Authority for allowing Islamic officials to carry out the infrastructure work this summer, downplayed the findings. The archeologists said the maintenance work, which was carried out with a tractor, had left a 100-meter-long and roughly 1-1.5-meter-deep trench and had badly damaged antiquities at the site. "The Antiquities Authority is standing behind the barbaric Islamic destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount, and then presents the results of the destruction to show just how important the finds are," said Hebrew University archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, a leading Temple Mount expert. "This is a smoke screen for the destruction of antiquities." According to decades-old regulations in place at the Temple Mount, Israel maintains overall security control at the site, while the Wakf, or Islamic Trust, is charged with day-to-day administration of the ancient compound, which is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute over control of Jerusalem. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380615840&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Quarry Used to Build Second Temple Found Near Jerusalem

A Burdensome Stone ASSOCIATED PRESS [Cooperative] - September 26, 2007 JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists said they have discovered a quarry that provided King Herod with the stones he used to renovate the biblical Second Temple compound - offering rare insight into construction of the holiest site in Judaism. The source of the huge stones used 2,000 years ago to reconstruct the compound in Jerusalem's Old City was discovered on the site of a proposed school in a Jerusalem suburb. Today, the compound Herod renovated houses the most explosive religious site in the Holy Land, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. "This is the first time stones which were used to build the Temple Mount walls were found," said Yuval Baruch, an archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority involved in the dig. Quarries mined for the massive stones, each weighing more than 20 tons, eluded researchers until now, he said Sunday. Baruch said coins and pottery found in the quarry confirm the stone was used during the period of Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount in 19 B.C. But researchers said the strongest piece of evidence was found wedged into one of the massive cuts in the white limestone - an iron stake used to split the stone. The tool was apparently improperly used, accidentally lodged in the stone and forgotten. "It stayed here for 2,000 years for us to find because a worker didn't know what to do with it," said archaeologist Ehud Nesher, also of the Antiquities Authority. Nesher said the large outlines of the stone cuts indicated the site was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves. "Nothing private could have done this," Nesher said. "This is Herod's, this is a sign of him." Herod was the Jewish proxy ruler of the Holy Land under imperial Roman occupation from 37 B.C. Herod's most famous construction project was the renovation of the Temple, replacing a smaller structure that itself replaced the First Temple, destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land and an expert in the Second Temple period, said the discovery was encouraging. "It would be very difficult to find any other buildings in any other period that would warrant stones of that size," said Pfann, who was not involved in the dig. He said further testing of the rock is necessary to confirm the findings. The Second Temple was leveled by Roman conquerors in A.D. 70. The Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews, is the best known surviving remnant. Atop the adjacent compound, where Jews believe the Temple once stood, now stand two of the holiest sites in Islam, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the gold-capped Dome of the Rock. The site is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming the area. Israel captured Jerusalem's Old City from Jordan during the 1967 Mideast war. While retaining security responsibility for the site, Israel allows Muslims to handle day-to-day responsibilities there. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297991,00.html?sPage=fnc.science/archaeology FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

God is speaking loudly to the Jews, But once again they are not listening

A Burdensome Stone Second Temple Quarry find gets little coverage in press THE GOLDEN REPORT - By Jerry Golden - October 18, 2007 God has His ways of reminding us when we go in the wrong direction, and He has once again done that with the Jews of Israel. He has reminded us that He gave us the stewardship of the Temple Mount. Just a few weeks ago Israeli Archaeologists discovered the quarry that King Herod cut the stones from for the Second Temple and the Western Wall that we now call the most Holy Site in Israel. At a time when the most unpopular Prime Minister with no mandate from the Jews of Israel is willing to negotiate it away to the enemies of God and of Israel. This second Temple Quarry was found while Israeli archaeologists were inspecting the location to build a religious orthodox school. But I find it interesting that God allowed it to be discovered at this time in hopes of getting the Prime Minister and others in the Knesset who have sold Israel out to the enemies and are under the spell of Bush and Rice for the final destruction of Israel. - - - This excavation only exposes around 30% of the actual size of the quarry. The stone is called the “Kings Stone (“melcheh”) and it is the same stone that you will find at the Western Wall. It’s the stone most suitable for construction and is appropriate for regal buildings. “Melcheh” is a dense but soft limestone that is easy to quarry. It’s advantage is that one can quarry large blocks from it. It’s especially suitable for monumental building projects because the stone is smooth and is not marred by vains of stripes. Upon first being quarried “melcheh” stone appears white and shiny. Exposed to the sun makes it even harder and turns it to a light grey that resembles Italian marble. As a result, a structure built of “melcheh” stone actually becomes more durable with time. The ancient quarry is located on the top of a large Jewish religious neighborhood in northern Jerusalem about 4 kilometers (about 3 miles) north of the Old City. The neighborhood is called in Hebrew “Ramat Shlomo” which means the “hill of Solomon”. In addition the Israeli Archaeologists discovered the road that leads from this site to the Old City, and it is all down hill making it the most likely spot to bring the stones of such large size to the Temple Mount. This should be the find of the century but it hardly gets any news coverage, there was a small piece in the Jerusalem Post last week about it but nothing more. - - - - http://www.thegoldenreport.com/asp/jerrysnewsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=1186&z=1 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Poll: 37% of Israelis willing to cede sovereignty in Jerusalem's holy sites

A Burdensome Stone Yedioth Ahronoth and Dahaf Institute survey reveals 52% of Israeli Jews willing to change Jerusalem's status as part of a permanent peace agreement with Palestinians, but 61% believe Israel should remain city's sovereign YEDIOTH AHRONOTH (YnetNews) - October 8, 2007 Despite the ongoing political discussion over the creation of fringe neighborhoods in Jerusalem, most Israelis are in no hurry to back the changes suggested by Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman in the capital's status-quo. According to a poll carried out by Dr Mina Tzemach and the Dahaf Institute among the Jewish asult population in Israel and published by Yedioth Ahronoth Tuesday, while most Israeli Jews are against changing the current situation in Jerusalem, many are willing to consider changes the status-quo of the city's holy places. When asked whether or not Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could achieve a public mandate allowing him to change Jerusalem's status as part of a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians, 52% of those taking part in the poll said they would lend their support to such a move if 80% of the ministers were behind it. Some 22% said they would support the move should a referendum be held, 10% would support the move as-is and 7% would object to it. Should Israel compromise Jerusalem's statues as part of any future peace agreement with the Palestinians?Sixty-three percent of those asked said they think Jerusalem should not be included in a peace agreement, 21% thought it should and 16% would agree to it only if the motion was carried out by referendum. As for the handing over of Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority, 68% of the poll's participants were against the idea, 20% agreed with it and 11% said they would agree should a referendum support the idea. But what of the holy places in Jerusalem? When asked who should remain sovereign of the Western Wall and Temple Mount, 61% believed Israel should be named sovereign, 16% voted for joint Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty, 21% said the holy places should be under international rule and 1% said Jordan should be named the holy places' sovereign. http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3457830,00.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Oprah Winfrey: False Prophetess of This Age

BEALERT! [Moriel Ministries] - Commentary by Scott Brisk - January 10, 2008 Oprah Winfrey is a false prophetess paving the way for all sorts of false teachers, false religions and antichristian leaders. 1 Corinthians teaches us not to judge the world as they are already judged but to judge those who consider themselves brethren (Christians). We cannot judge their heart or intentions, only the Lord can do that, but we are to judge their actions based on scripture. Are they living for or against the precepts of scripture, does their life reflect the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit or does it reflect the spirit of the world. As we look at these things, we are looking at the pattern of life over the course of time, not just a day in the life. The whole purpose of this is to protect the sheep from the false, the wolves and it is also for the benefit for someone who does truly believe at the heart level but needs to be cast out into the world for the destruction of their flesh since they are still controlled by it. Oprah in the past called herself a “Christian” and now preaches a pantheon of beliefs. For the undiscerning, however these things do not mean much as in judging with their eyes all that they can see is the glowing prosperous mixture of Americana, consumerism and “spirituality”. It is like the old slogan “Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” with a twist for this age. However, the great danger and deception is the symbol that she represents to America and the world and that is that of the new “intelligent, competent, independent, and yet still feminine all empowered super-woman”. Reports consistently suggest that approximately 80% of Americans consider themselves Christians, but when I compare those statistics to what the scriptures teach I can only come to the conclusion that possibly only one third of those Americans truly are believers. It would be truly good news if I was wrong about this and maybe the Lord in His mercy will pour out His Spirit one more time on this country and many will be saved, but the simple fact is that a person cannot claim to be a follower of Christ when what they believe does not line up with what scripture teaches about Him. That person may be following an imposter with the same name as Jesus but he is not the Messiah. The same is true with Allah as he cannot be the same as the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible, The LORD has a Son but Allah claims to not have a son in the Koran. Allah fits the definition of antichrist given in1 John since he denies the Son. Oprah Winfrey is doing a lot to prepare the way for the antichrist, actually the first beast of Revelation. She is filled with the spirit of antichrist; this is the spirit of this age (zeitgeist). BE ALERT! Scott Brisk

"Oprah and Friends" To Teach Course on New Age Christ

HERESCOPE - By Warren Smith - November 9, 2007 Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all the stops on her XM Satellite Radio program this coming year. Beginning January 1, 2008, “Oprah & Friends” will offer a year-long course on the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles.1 A lesson a day throughout the year will completely cover the 365 lessons from the Course in Miracles “Workbook.” For example, Lesson #29 asks you to go through your day affirming that “God is in everything I see.”2 Lesson #61 tells each person to repeat the affirmation “I am the light of the world.”3 Lesson #70 teaches the student to say and believe “My salvation comes from me.”4 By the end of the year, “Oprah & Friends” listeners will have completed all of the lessons laid out in the Course in Miracles Workbook. Those who finish the Course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset—a New Age worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is “in” everyone and everything. A Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life. The Course Workbook bluntly states: “This is a course in mind training”5 and is dedicated to “thought reversal.”6 - - - - http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/11/oprah-and-friends-to-teach-course-on.html

The most ignored stories of 2007

According to WorldNetDaily's "Operation Spike" 1. Developments moving U.S. and continent closer to a North American Union 2. Bush's refusal to pardon imprisoned Border Patrol Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were prosecuted by the president's friend, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton 3. Research refuting man-made global warming 4. Lack of action on border fence mandated by Congress 5. California bill introducing homosexuality to young children 6. Hillary and her felonious fundraising 7. Illegal aliens who rape, murder, kill driving drunk, commit voter fraud, welfare fraud and burden the system 8. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's resignation from the Senate Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, which she chaired, amid a conflict of interest due to her husband's ownership of two major defense contractors 9. Progress of Law of the Sea Treaty 10. Syria's alleged WMDs and Israel's attack See full details at the link below. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59550 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.