Maravot's News of the World 10:30am San Francisco Monday 11.29.04 (last post)

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Faces of the Fallen – Iraq
(photos and names of the fallen)

IRIN News, Africa & Asia

Osama bin Laden fatwas
Definition of fatwa (fatwah)
Maravot News Comment
10.29.04
2.23.98
August 1996

Maps of interest

RIAN
Pravda.ru

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11.29.04 US Supreme Court passes on gay marriage issue

WASHINGTON Nov. 29 – The justices today rejected, without comment, a challenge by conservative groups to the status of Massachusetts as the only state that sanctions same-sex marriages. The court had been asked to overturn a year-old decision by the Massachusetts high court that legalized gay marriage. [More>>bostonherald.com via Skippy the Kangeroo]

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11.29.04 Bush administration rattling sabers over Iran nuclear agreement

Jackie Sanders, the head of the US team involved with the Iran nuclear agreement with the EU, expressed that the US does not rule out taking a resolution against Iran through the Security Council. "We believe Iran's nuclear weapons programme poses a growing threat to international peace and security, and to the global nonproliferation regime," Sanders said. "Far greater pressure, both multilaterally and bilaterally, must be brought to bear on Iran to persuade Iran's leadership that the costs of pursuing a nuclear weapons capability significantly outweighs any misperceived benefits to doing so." [More>>jang.com]

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11.29.04 Kuchma favors new elections in Ukraine to resolve dispute

Outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has favoured staging new elections in the Ukraine to resolve the bitter dispute over the 21 November presidential vote. Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich said he would agree to stage a new presidential vote in two regions if mass fraud were proven to have occurred in the 21 November election. [More>>Al-Jezeera]

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11.29.04 Extension of Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud's term of office criticized by Chirac

BEIRUT, Nov. 29 – Nayla Assaf of the Daily Star reports that a senior Lebanese government minister Elie Ferzli warned French President Jacques Chirac he had "no right to interfere" in Lebanese politics after Chirac criticized the extension of President Emile Lahoud's term in office on the weekend. Speaking at the Francophone summit in Burkina Faso on the weekend, Chirac called the constitutional amendment extending Lahoud's term for three years a blow to Lebanon's "democratic tradition." Ferzli said, "...the matter is up to the Lebanese people and to Lebanese institutions and is of no concern to foreign powers."

"Presidential elections could have been an opportunity to show that Lebanon has fully recovered its democratic tradition," said Chirac. "But that was not the case."

At issue is the reduction of the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. The number of Syrian troops has dropped from a high of 35,000 in 1990 to an estimated 14,000 in September. [More>>The Daily Star]

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11.29.04 Shifts in metal concentration may indicate earthquake coming

Swedish scientists testing the varying mineral content in water may have discovered a way to forecast earthquakes. The scientists with Stockholm university were able to demonstrate in Iceland that measurements of the mineral content of water can indicate the onslaught of an earthquake. "We measured the presence of the different metals in the underground waters. The tests were several weeks before an earthquake with the strength of magnitude 5 on the Richter scale, the epicenter of which was located 90 kilometers from the station. At first manganese, and then zinc, and then copper, significantly increased. Immediately after the earthquake the quantity of metals in the water returned normal," says Lillemur Klaesson, a post-graduate student of the Stockholm University. [More>>khabar.kz]

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11.29.04 Iran nuclear agreement with EU "the most positive ever," says Iranian official

TEHRAN, Nov. 29 – Hossein Moussavian, Iranian negotiator on the European Union (EU) nuclear issue, voiced satisfaction over the latest version of the resolution presented by the EU. He called it "the most positive ever." "All the basic modifications demanded by Tehran have been written into the draft resolution. It is the most positive resolution Iran has ever clinched in its nuclear dispute." Moussavian is the spokesman of the Iranian delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors. [More>>xinhuanet]

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11.29.04 Islamic parties protest Musharraf as Pakistan's Army Chief

Sunday a rally was held in Karachi to kick-start a campaign to force President Pervez Musharraf out of office. "Musharraf is not acceptable to us, neither in uniform nor without uniform," former governor and PML-N leader Mamnoon Hussain told the crowd of thousands. The rally was addressed by MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and its secretary general Maulana Fazlur Rehman. [More>>jang.com]

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11.29.04 Russia tests anti-missile system in Kazakhstan

MOSCOW, Nov. 29 – Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov reported to President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia has successfully test-launched an anti-missile system in Kazakhstan, the Itar-Tass news agency said. [More>>Xinhuanet]

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11.29.04 ASEAN members sign agreement liberalizing trade (Free Trade Agreement)

The agreement being signed Monday my ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations sets deadlines for completing trade and investment liberalization. Sectors that will be liberalized and where tarriffs will be removed include tourism, airlines, agricultural goods, fisheries products, automobiles and electric appliances. [More>>Daily Yomiuri]

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11.28.04 Protesters to attend Bush Inaugural Jan. 20; War Crimes complaint against Bush

Thousands of people are expected to flood the city of Washington, DC to say "no to the Bush policies of endless war and domestic repression," says www. peoplejudgebush.org. They will be organizing buses from all over the country to bring activists to the Counter-Inaugural. They were founded by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark (served to January 1969). In August he read a formal War Crimes indictment against George W. Bush et al. The indictment – from a historical perspective – is unique, since the Attorney General is the chief law officer of the land, and he should have some idea of what is legal and what is not legal. The list of War Crimes by George W. Bush would no doubt form the foundation of a complaint brought before the Hague. The Indictment is at: http://www.peoplejudgebush.org/crimes.shtml. In a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan on January 29, 2004, Clark outlined his War Crimes complaint against Bush online at: http://www.iacenter.org/rc_un0104.htm.

A petition online addressed to the Belgian Government involving the issue of Bush's War Crimes is at: http://www.petitiononline.com/sosIraq/petition.html. A complaint of genocide by the Bush administration was also filed by the head of Turkey's human rights group.

A good part of the issue at hand, as to any War Crimes of which George W. Bush is accused, involves the problem that Cicero explained so very acutely: "A people tend to resemble their leaders." If the leader is corrupt the people are corrupt. There is some truth to this, and from the Nuremberg Trials we learned that no leader can hide behind a government to conduct acts against humanity; i.e., War Crimes. The judgments also demonstrated that a people can be held responsible for their leader(s)' crimes. These were recorded in the Geneva Convention, adopted 12 August 1949. Government proclamations since Bush invaded Iraq (March 2003) have voiced the opinion that the Geneva Conventions don't apply to the Bush administration. At hand – and yet to be confirmed through legal means – is whether a President of the United States is above International Law.
Mel Copeland

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11.28.04 Suicide mission recruiters more active in Iran – 30, 000 recruits

TEHRAN, Iran Associated Press (AP) Nov. 28 - The 300 men filling out forms in the offices of an Iranian aid group were offered three choices: Train for suicide attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, for suicide attacks against Israelis or to assassinate British author Salman Rushdie....On Nov. 12, the day Iranians traditionally hold pro-Palestinian protests, a spokesman for the Headquarters for Commemorating Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement said the movement signed up at least 4,000 new volunteers.

Mohammad Ali Samadi, the spokesman, told The Associated Press the group had no ties to the government. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters recently that the group's campaign to sign up volunteers for suicide attacks had "nothing to do with the ruling Islamic establishment."...Yet despite the government's disavowal of the group and some of its programs, there are indications the suicide attack campaign has at least some legitimacy within the government.

The first meeting was held in the offices of the Martyrs Foundation, a semiofficial organization that helps the families of those killed in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war or those killed fighting for the government on other fronts. It drew hard-line lawmaker Mahdi Kouchakzadeh and Gen. Hossein Salami of the elite Revolutionary Guards. "This group spreads valuable ideas," Kouchakzadeh told AP.

"At a time when the U.S. is committing the crimes we see now, deprived nations have no weapon other than martyrdom. It's evident that Iran's foreign policy makers have to take the dignified opinions of this group into consideration," said Kouchakzadeh, who also is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards.

...Samadi claimed 30,000 volunteers have signed up, and 20,000 of them have been chosen for training. Volunteers had already carried out suicide operations against military targets inside Israel, he said. As devoted Muslims, members of his group were simply fulfilling their religious obligations as laid out by Khomeini, he said.

In his widely published book of religious directives, Khomeini says: "If an enemy invades Muslim countries and borders, it's an obligation for all Muslims to defend through any possible means: sacrificing life and properties."

Samadi said: "With this religious verdict, we don't need anybody's permission to fight an enemy that has occupied Muslim lands."
But he said discussing attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq "will cause problems for the country's foreign policy. It will have grave consequences for our country and our group. It's confidential." [More>>Tampa Tribune AP via Common Ground Common Sense]

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11.28.04 Link between 9/11 and Madrid bombings established

MADRID (Reuters) Nov.28 - The FBI has established the clearest link yet between the March 11 Madrid train bombings and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, a Spanish newspaper reported Sunday. The FBI has told Spanish investigators that one of three men believed to have planned the Sept. 11 attacks from Spain in the summer of 2001 also gave the order to carry out the Madrid blasts, the newspaper ABC reported. The train bombings killed 191 people and wounded 1,900 three days before a general election. [More>>Reuters]

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11.28.04 Kazakhstan party office bombed

Two powerful blasts have rocked the headquarters of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's ruling Otan (Fatherland) party in Almaty's central district. President Nazarbayev has been in power since 1989 and reports Al-Jezeera, "though he has reformed the oil-rich Central Asian state's ex-Soviet economy, Kazakhstan has never yet held a vote judged free and fair." No information is given on what caused the blasts. [More>>Al-Jezeera]

Khabar.kz, a great news resource for Khazakhstan, had no information on the blasts as of 10:40 Nov. 28.

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11.28.04 Sharon calls the EU pro-Palestinian

Associated Press (AP) Nov. 28 – Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom Sunday accused the European Union of bias in favor of the Palestinians, hours before leaving to attend a meeting of European and Arab foreign ministers in the Netherlands. EU officials have said they see Yasser Arafat's death on Nov. 11 as providing a window of opportunity for renewed Mideast peace efforts. European diplomats have stepped up contacts over the past two weeks. "I believe it shows that the EU would like to get involved in a peace process in the region," Shalom told a conference of overseas supporters of Israel in Jerusalem Sunday. [More>>Jerusalem Post]

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11.28.04 Managers of Russia's largest oil company flee

MOSCOW Nov. 28 (Business Day)– All top managers of oil major Yukos have fled Russia fearing arrest under a Kremlin drive to break up and "decapitate" the country's largest oil exporting company, a Yukos source said yesterday. The flight to London of CE Steven Theede and chief financial officer Bruce Misamore leaves Yukos rudderless as it faces ruin under a $25bn back tax demand. "All top managers have left the country because of the atmosphere of fear and terror aimed at paralysing the company," the source said. "The company has been decapitated." [More>>Busines Day]

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11.28.04 ASEAN summit taking place November 25-29

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference (their 10th summit) will be held, in Vientiane, the Laotian capital, November 29. Visiting for the first time is Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose visit November 28 is also the first of its kind for the key members of China's new leadership. ASEAN is made up of ten members and partners: Members – Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; Partners – China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, left November 28 to attend the conference. Russia is looking for trade and other economic ties to be prominent on the agenda, including mineral prospecting and mining, the Laotian hydropower industry, transport and communications. Russia intends to increase aircraft, car and lorry, and spare part exports to Laos. Also of concern to members is the continuing problem in Thailand involving its Moslem population in the south. Thailand's neighbors fear the problem will cross into their borders. But Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will exit the South-East Asian summit if participants raise concerns about his handling of Muslim insurgents.

ASEAN has been working on a free-trade area. At a summit last year members agreed to create an EU-style economic community by 2010. This is the first major international conference for Laos. Laos is looking for foreign investment and to attract tourism to its nation of 5 million. [More >>rian.ru and xinhuanet and Business Day, Big News Network]

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11.28.04 Asia complains about falling dollar and US has no savings

Asia is becoming more concerned about the falling dollar. "The problem," says Jack Crooks in a November 25 Asia Times article, is "the US economy is hooked on consumption and imports, while Asia is hooked on savings and exports. It's an unbalanced financial world. US consumption as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). It now stands at more than 70%. US consumer-demand growth averaged 4% annually (in real terms) over the 1995-2003 period; that's almost twice the 2.2% growth elsewhere in industrialized countries, according to Morgan Stanley. This wouldn't be all bad were the consumption being funded out of growing income levels. But it's not. It's coming out of savings.

The drawdown of savings has produced this buying binge on the part of US consumers. This chart shows savings as a percentage of personal income has fallen to 0.2%. Yikes! So it's no wonder the US relies on foreigners to the tune of US$2.6 billion a day to fund this gaping current account deficit, absorbing about 80% of the world's surplus savings from Asia, Europe and the Middle East in the process." Chart: Asia Times. [More>>atimes.com]

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11.28.04 170 miners trapped in China Gas explosion

A major gas explosion occurred at the Chenjiashan Coal mine in Shaanxi Province, China. 127 miners were rescued alive but 166 remain trapped underground. At least 25 miners were killed in the blast. [More>>Xinhuanet and jang.com]

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11.27.04 Ukrain's parliament says poll that gave Yanukovich victory is invalid

Ukraine's parliament said on Saturday the disputed presidential poll handing victory to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich was invalid. This provides a moral boost for opposition supporters massed in the capital. [More>>Reuters]

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11.27.04 Human Rights group accuses Bush administration of genocide in Iraq

Mehmet Elkatimis, head of Turkey's parliamentary human rights group, accused the Bush administration of genocide in Iraq. He said Washington has been behaving worse than Adolf Hitler, that "the occupation has turned into barbarism," according to the Friday edition of Yeni Safak. [More>>latimes.com]

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11.27.04 Man jumps to his death from Empire State Building

11.27.04 Bush administration has new idea on funding American kids' retirement: borrow the money!

The conversion of the American retirement system, wiping out Social Security to provide for personal finaced retirement accounts, is based upon a new Bush administration idea: borrowing. They want to increase the National Debt even more to finance the personal retirement accounts (Bush lingo: personal investment accounts) of our children. What it seems to come down to is that the Bush administration – who base all of their financial planning decisions on borrowing – believe that if the individual will invest his own before-tax income in a retirement investment (stocks, annuities, bonds, etc.) account, the government can use that money (it would appear) as collateral to borrow more money to fund more operations for which it cannot pay. It is a new way of looking at financing: the money you don't have to spend you can use as collateral with which to borrow more money. What a great idea!

The big debate in Congress at the moment appears to be over the amount of money they need to borrow in addition to the money they already borrowed. No doubt the foreign banks who own a large portion of the National Debt will be excited about buying more US bonds and "T" bills to fund Bush's dynamite, new plan. [More>>nytimes.com, for their take on the story]
Mel Copeland

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11.27.04 Danes planning new invasion of England

Cyros International, the world's largest sperm bank, based in Aarhus, Denmark, has recruited 40 donors who meet British regulatory requirements to take advantage of a likely sperm shortage in Britain. The shortage is expected beginning April 2005, when sperm donors in Britain lose their anonymity. The Danish sperm bank is stocking up on large amounts of semen to take advantage of the change in the rules in April 2005, when children will have the legal right to trace a parent. Letting children trace their biological fathers tends to reduce sperm donation by more than 85 per cent, according to studies in other countries. The Danish donors are mostly blond, blue-eyed students over 6ft tall. This invasion of the Danes is expected to be more gentle than the last one (twelve hundred years ago, when the Danes spread their seed in Britain by rape, pillage and plunder). [More>>timesonline.co.uk]

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11.27.04 Queen's personal guard assaults nephew of Saudi billionaire Wafic Said

Five men from the Household Calvary Regiment, the sovereign's personal body guard, engaged in an exchange where one of the soldiers threw a bottle at Wafic Said, 23, as he was heading towards a disco outside of London. He was struck in the face and lost an eye as a result of the attack. "I was speaking Arabic. That is the only reason I think they started swearing at us," Said commented. [More>>Al-Jezeera]

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11.27.04 November is the second worst month in US troop casualties

"As of Tuesday, 20,802 troops have been treated at Landstuhl from injuries received in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom," writes Ben Murray for the US military's Stars and Stripes European edition newspaper. November, with about 109 US soldiers killed, has been the deadliest month for US troops since the March 2003 invasion. [Story picked up from Al-Jezeera]

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11.26.04 America's soft underbelly, her ports, are enormous targets

An article by Greg Krikorian, Times Staff Writer, "Ports called 'Enormous Target,'" revisits the continuing problem of there not being enough security in our ports. In his article Friday on the port of Los Angeles he notes that 12,000 containers arrive there daily and on average 43 of them are inspected by Homeland Security. [More>>latimes.com]

San Francisco, New York, Boston, etc. have not only major shipping but also top tourist attractions, and the two together seems rather deadly in this day when terrorists look for the worst scenarios. If the port of Los Angeles is deemed an 'enormous target,' what can be said of a port with a lot of people milling about? Homeland Security people who may be losing sleep at night because they may wake up fearing they had not done enough – as noted in Krikorian's article – should take consolation, I suppose, in the fact that Bush is waging his war against terrorists in Iraq. We at home are being treated as a suckling on a hind tit, but in Iraq our soldiers are sent into battle by Bush poorly outfitted – no bullet-proof vests, no armor on vehicle underbellies –, so everyone may, in the long run, be suffering for the lack of diligent attention.
Mel Copeland

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11.26.04 Indonesian 6.4 Richter scale earthquake kills eleven people

A quake Friday in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua left 11 dead and 60 injured. It measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and hit the coastal town of Nabire at 9:25am. [More>>jang.com.pk]

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11.26.04 President Musharraf sees common solutions in the disputes in Kashmir and Palestine

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf sees a chance to seek common ground in the resolution of the disputes of Palestine and Kashmir. He left on a tour Friday where he will visit Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. In the second leg of his 12-day tour he will meet with US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac. Last week he said that the Palestinian issue must be a top priority for the US if terrorism is to be defeated. He knows what is involved in combating terrorists. His 70,000 Pakistani troops stationed on the border with Afghanistan have captured about 600 Al-Qaeda figures including several key operatives, though the network's leader Osama bin Laden remains at large. The dispute over Kashmir is between Pakistan and India, involving religious bounds, Moslems against infidels. Musharraf said, "I think both the Palestinian dispute and the Kashmir dispute are absolutely ripe for resolution and we have to resolve them. "That will bring considerable stability into the world." He advocates a strategy under which the Muslim world should encourage moderation while the West must focus on settling political disputes affecting Muslims. His trip will also focus on increasing trade and economic ties.

Musharraf recently secured a $70 million deal with China to develop a zinc mine and production facilities in Pakistan's Balochistan province. [More>>jang.com]

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11.26.04 Anti-dumping law may cut exports of American hogs

The World Trade Organization (WTO) allowed sanctions to be placed by the EU three years ago for US anti-dumping legislation, which the WTO ruled to be illegal. The illicit anti-dumping law, called the Byrd Amendment, was passed in 2000 and under it the US government redistributes anti-dumping duties to the US companies that allege dumping, or products selling abroad at less than the market price in the domestic market. US companies reaped $561 million (463 million euros) as a result of the law in 2001 and 2002, but the actual settlements may be closer to $1 billion. The EU may be turning up the heat on the issue, however, and US exports targeted in sanctions against the Byrd Amendment range from live pigs to electronics, whiskey and beer. This is not the final list of products from the US that may be sanctioned, since WTO countries are still submitting their lists to Geneva. [More>>jang.com.pk]

Most of the US hog exports (90%) are to Mexico, who, in reply to the US anti-dumping caused hog exports for the first 7 months of 2000 to plummet from 161,000 in 1999 to 49,000 in 2000 ($13.9 million to $5.3 million).

According to iowapork.org, "U.S. pork exports during 2003 were record high for the twelfth consecutive year. There is little reason not to expect another pork export record in 2004. During the first half of 2004, U.S. pork exports were up 25.5% compared to January-June 2003. The biggest increases were to Taiwan (+125%), Mexico (+76%) and Canada (+32%). Our biggest foreign customer, Japan, purchased 6% more U.S. pork. Pork imports were down 8.7% during the first six months of 2004. Given the high U.S. pork prices this year, it is surprising to see a sharp increase in pork exports and a decline in imports. In the first half of 2004, we exported 10.7% of U.S. pork production while pork imports equaled 5.4% of U.S. production. Nearly half of our pork exports go to Japan.."

As Americans face their new pork-filled budget (Congress didn't have a chance to read all the Budget, they complained) from the Bush administration, the WTO issue of American hogs may hit them more directly in the pocketbook. Thankfully the poor are being thought of at the moment.
Mel Copeland

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11.26.04 Miserable climates and drunken presidents, but that's their problem

SINGAPORE – Asian countries will be lurching from one climate extreme to another, with impoverished farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels. Half of the world's 6.3 billion population will be affected by this nightmare scenario that now seems to be at hand, at least by 2050. [More>>planetark via tajikistannews.net]

We can thank Bush and his cronies for pushing the disaster ahead, I suppose. It's not a pretty scenario for Asian kids, but that's their problem. Of course, the American West is facing about its eighth year of drought: the Lake Mead reservoir is looking everyday more like a river channel, and Los Angeles, seeing Lake Mead dry up, is again begging Northern California for more water to assure a continued supply for its excesses. But that's their problem. The east coast keeps getting greater runs of hurricanes, and they are more gigantic as well. But that's their problem.

In San Francisco the weather is the same: nice summers in the winter and the usual winters in the summer – 60 degrees Fahrenheit all the year round. It's a great temperature range for storing wine. What's wrong with living in a natural wine cellar?

Some people have complained about San Francisco's constant climate – it drove General Grant (later President Grant, 1869-1877) to drink – when he was stationed at the Presidio. Lucas Film just moved there where the fog hardly retires. The constant fog of the place will no doubt inspire a gloomier Star Wars, a drunken, stumble-bum Darth Vader.

We got one president out of the Presidio, we're due for another. I surely believe, from a historical point of view, the record of the intoxicated President from Presidio will be more fondly remembered than that of the oil-drunk Texans, even though to this day few Americans know who is buried in Grant's tomb. (Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia are buried in it, in New York on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River – once recognizable by the graffiti around the monument). But Grant did get the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) passed, which prohibited discrimination in voting on account of race. It didn't have much effect in the south during his time, nor – based upon the current confusion in our pols – does it have much effect now. But it was a great step towards freedom.
Mel Copeland

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11.26.04 India plagued by separatist groups

An Indian separatist group, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) claimed responsibility for blowing up an oil well on Thursday. The blast in the northeast of India injured at least five soldiers. A spokesman for the ULFA said that the blast was in response to the Indian governments' lack of response to their offer of peace talks. The group wants independence for the Assam state which is rich in oil and tea. The oil well belongs to the state-owned firm of Oil India ltd. ULFA took up arms in 1979 in its struggle for independence. Another separatist group, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, also has been involved in attacks against the Indian government. [More>>Al-Jazeera].

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11.26.04 Japan still miffed over Chinese oil wells off coast

China's and Japan's rift over Chinese offshore gas development is not being ameliorated. Speaking again after the Asia_Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, President Hu Jintao of China and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did visit the Yasukuni Shrine together. [More>>Daily Yyomiuri]

The Japanese are stressed out over China's search for oil and gas off their shores. But China is searching everywhere for oil, as reported by Maravot News, and as George W. Bush struts around rattling sabers with everyone in the world China is quietly making deals to get more fuel to supply an economy the west built from US jobs exported overseas. Just wait until India gets more active. Curiously, in a report from Pakistan the government of Pakistan had offered India an opportunity to share in an oil pipeline from Iran but India seemed unattracted to the offer. Maybe India is watching Bush's tactics, studying how to win oil with the sword – how the sword provides greater benefits than Gandhi's (1869-1948) practice of nonviolence.
Mel Copeland

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11.26.04 Russians believe Ukraine's presidential vote protest is a western circus – indicts US for undemocratic behavior

The declaration by western nations to turn the election to Yushchenko is viewed as a western inspired circus with the objective to put western missiles along the border of the Ukraine and Russia. They view Yushchenko as a stooge of Britain and the US. "The strong arm tactics used by the western stooge, Yushchenko, are typical of the antidemocratic processes set in motion by rampant and militant Washington, crushed in the grip on a monetarist, neoconservative crypto-fascist clique of elitists, whose corporate greed speaks louder than the more of international diplomacy and whose thirst to dominate the world's resources in the lifetimes of Rumsfeld and Cheney throws any moral concept into the trash bin." [Article by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey. More>>pravda.ru]

European mediators arrived today in the Ukraine to prevent a revolution. About a thousand picketers are outside the building of the presidential administration.

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11.26.04 Largest dunes in China's western desert cap artesian springs

Not all deserts are dry, according to this story. Scientists have long wondered why the world's largest sand dunes don't move, though they are in an area of strong winds. A report on a dig by Ling Li of the University of Queensland, Australia, and colleagues, revealed that 20 centimeters below the surface of a dune they struck water. When they dug to one meter water began to seep into the trench. The water comes from melting snow on Qilian Mountain 500 kilometers southwest of the desert. [More>>Nature.com; via Daily Yyomiuri]

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11.26.04 South Korea's nuclear developments a concern to IAEA and China

China requires that South Korea makes all necessary efforts to provide operational records and detailed information on plutonium separation and uranium spectroscopy experiments. China believes that maintaining the non-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is highly significant to maintaining the region's security and stability. These comments were expressed 11.25.04 in Vienna by Zhang Yan, permanent representative of China to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, at the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting. [More>>Xinhuanet]

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11.26.04 Eight students killed by man with a knife in China; a continuing problem

A man killed eight students in the dormitory of Henan high school and injured four others with a knife Thursday night. The assault took place in Ruzhou city, of central China's Henan Province. The killer escaped and is still at large. Previous mass killings by men armed with knives have occurred in China. [More>>Xinhuanet]

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11.26.04 Microsoft wins software bids in China but China concerned it's selling out its own software developers

The giant Microsoft has won procurements in China for operating systems and the Microsoft Office applications against bids by Chinese competitors. Concerns about the bidding process and strangulation of Chinese home software developers were expressed by China's officials. [More>>Xinhuanet]

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11.22.04 Iran to host conference in Egypt

Iran will host a meeting in Egypt with its neighbors on November 30. The meeting will be on Iraq at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, speaking to the AFP, said that the international conference – originally proposed back in June – and would aim to "reassure our neighbors" over the intentions of the US-led forces in Iraq. [More>>IranMania]

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11.26.04 US dollar climbed above $1.32 to the euro and fell again against the yen

The US Dollar fell to a record low Friday, with the euro climbing above $1.32 for the first time. The dollar fell to its lowest against the yen in nearly five years. [More>>Xinhuanet]

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11.22.04; 11.26.04 Update US twin deficits are causing Japanese jitters: the story behind the collapse of the dollar

While this story has been breaching for several weeks, it will continue to be a big item in the news until the world press loses interest in the money others are losing. So we're keeping it at the top of the page.

The Bush administration's deficits in both trade and fiscal budget – the Twin Deficits –are dragging down world economies. Both deficits are largely responsible for the plunge in the value of the dollar. In Japan the plunge has lasted 55 months. The Bush administration's policies have caused the yen to appreciate for the past 55 months. While the Bush administration publicly supports a strong dollar, it is reportedly accepting the weakening dollar, since a weakened dollar makes US goods and services better buys on the foreign market.

Says Yomiuri Shimbun, [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm] "The yen's sharp appreciation is fueling concerns over the nation's economic recovery. But the market direction is unlikely to change soon as the recent yen appreciation is closely related to U.S. trade and fiscal deficits...According to estimates of the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute Inc., Japan's gross domestic product will drop by 0.4 percent annually if the 100 yen-to-the-dollar level continues for a year."

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Decline in dollar to the Japanese yen and euro
* January 1, 2002 the euro was first put into circulation.
© 2004 Mel Copeland

President	Jan. year	yen to dollar / ($)	euro to dollar / ($)
George H. W. Bush	1990	146.25 ($.0068)	x
George H. W. Bush	1991	124.5 ($.0075)	x
George H. W. Bush	1992	125.4 ($.0080)	x
William J. Clinton	1993	112.5 ($.0079)	x
William J. Clinton	1994	112.5 ($.0088)	x
William J. Clinton	1995	100.52 ($.0099)	.816 ($1.22)
William J. Clinton	1996	103.92 ($.0095)	.780 ($1.28)
William J. Clinton	1997	115.49 ($.0086)	.807 ($1.25)
William J. Clinton	1998	132.4 ($.0075)	.913 ($1.10)
William J. Clinton	1999	112.15 ($.0089)	.846 ($1.18)
William J. Clinton	2000	101.7 ($.0098)	.984 ($1.01)
George W. Bush	2001	114.26 ($.0087)	1.05 ($.95)
George W. Bush	2002	132.02 ($.0076)	1.11 ($.90) *
George W. Bush	2003	119.86 ($.0083)	.96 ($1.04)
George W. Bush	2004	106.95 ($.0093)	.79 ($1.26)
George W. Bush	Nov. 18, 2004	104.23 ($.0097)	.77 ($1.29)

In general, based upon the complaints coming in from overseas concerning the decline in the value of the US dollar and comparing rates since 1990 we can see a trend, where the Bush economics (Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush) have not been healthy for the United States, Europe and Japan. The former Bush, in fact, caused a major world-wide recession, beginning in Europe and surfacing in Indonesia. While we experienced years of economic stability under Clinton, the irresponsible deficit spending policies now continued from father to son (George H. W. to George W.) give no promise of prosperity in the coming years.

The US deficit, being the source of the declining dollar, perpetuates further debt and increases interest rates and inflation. About half of the US $6 Trillion debt is owned by foreign investors (primarily banks). When investors redeem their bonds in a period when the dollar is declining, as is the case in the two Bush administrations, they lose money on their investment in US bonds. This causes potential buyers of US bonds to back out of the US bond market. When buyers back away from the US bond market, the US has to raise interest rates to draw them back into the market. Following the increase in the prime rate, mortgages and other loan rates increase.

The greatest fear in international exchange is inflation. Foreign interests who own the US public debt – who cash in five year bonds today– will lose about 35% on their investment. Historic yen and euro rates compiled in the "Decline in dollar to yen" table are from http://www.x-rates.com.

The National Debt is an exponential debt. The adding of interest, plus continued borrowing / sales of US Bonds, compounds the debt. The debt takes on the form of a "J" curve. President Bush claims that he will "halve the debt," presumably in the next four years. The Clinton years, 1993-2000, represented the most fiscally responsible administration since Nixon (see "Running a government with a credit card" below). During Clinton's term Congress had adapted and applied a "pay as you go" process, preventing further borrowing to fund the government and actually paid down the National debt through their diligence. The dedication of Congress and the President during the Clinton years is not present in the current administration of Bush II, and reducing the deficit, let alone the National Debt, would seem improbable. It appears that the National Debt has reached a point of no return, where interest on the debt alone will consume any efforts to retire the debt. The debt from 1974 through 2009 (the data are current as of 11.22.04, from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); the years 2004 - 2009 are OMB estimates) look like this:

"J" Curve of the National Debt through 2009. Years 2004 through 2009 are estimated by the US Government: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/, and listed below. Inserted in this table is an "Annual Deficit and Surplus" chart (the image curiously resembles a dragon). For charts on expenditures and deficits from President Wilson to the present click here, "Review of the presidencies." The National Debt above can be compared to my 1993 J Curve projection from Duty & Profit, a conversation with Wm. F. Buckley Jr. Total receipts in 2004 were forecasted at just less that $2 trillion – the US income is about 27% of expenditures, using Federal data. Note that a large part of the deficits during the Reagan-Bush I and Bush II years comes from interest on the debt! This compounding debt can only be resolved by paying down the principal of the debt – which Clinton recently attempted and Bush II cannot do. A government that borrows without the intention to pay off the principal of the loan can only be headed one way: the interest on the debt will consume budgeted outlays and represent an ever larger part of expenditures, eventually causing the government to default on the loan. This results in a decline in public and private investment, as happened in the years of Bush I. An example of interest consuming outlays was during the Bush I administration in 1992: the Department of Defense was budgeted ~$270 billion. Interest paid out that year exceeded $292 billion. A comparable situation exists today. Another issue involves "Debt vs % of GDP." The issue is distracting, in my opinion, since all debts reduce to one principle: if one does not pay off the principal of a loan one will be bankrupted. A comprehensive review of the Debt vs percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at: http://www.marktaw.com/print/culture_and_media/TheNationalDebt.html. A good chart on the Federal deficit vs percent of GDP is at: http://www.harvardmagazine.com/lib/04jf/images/budg.jpg. Links on the Public Debt are at the Federal Bureau of Public Debt site: http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm#history.

The National Debt data are as follows: US Office of Budget & Management – National Debt

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A forty-year amortization table on a loan of $5 trillion (double everything for a loan of $10 trillion) at 7% interest:

Amortization Table for a loan of $5 trillion over 40 years @ 7% interest. Double the amount for the Bureau of Budget forecast of a $10 trillion debt by year 2009. On $5 trillion the annual payment would be about $1 billion per day; $2 billion per day on $10 trillion. Compare to the actual interest paid on the US debt, i.e., year #1 @ $375,045 billion principal & interest versus the actual interest only payments in 2004 of $321,566 billion. Perhaps the principal that was not paid over the years should be collected from the Bush family and Regean estates who ripped us off so to put a stop to this kind of irresponsible financial leadership.

Interest on the Public Debt. Compare interest paid against the Amortization Table on the left. www.publicdebt.treas.gov/

It is no wonder that foreign governments are concerned about the decline in the dollar. Americans should have studied some basic fundamentals in home financing It is no wonder that foreign governments are concerned about the decline in the dollar. Americans should have studied some basic fundamentals in home financing and not allowed their spendthrift President to get out of hand. Then again, there is hope that Americans will start to pay attention to their accounts and those they elected to manage them. Total receipts estimated in the Federal Budget for 2004 are just short of $2 trillion." Growth in receipts. – Total receipts in 2004 are estimated to be $1922.0 billion, an increase of $85.8 billion or 4.7 percent relative to 2003. Receipts are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.0 percent between 2004 and 2008, rising to $2,520.9 billion. This growth in receipts is largely due to assumed increases in incomes resulting from both real economic growth and inflation." [2004 FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND COLLECTIONS, p. 57]

Actual interest on the US debt since 1996 averages just short of $1 billion per day. While in the administration of Bush I, the deficit each year was essentially the same amount as the interest on the debt (they were borrowing to pay the interest on the debt), under Bush II the $400 billion + yearly deficits exceed the interest on the debt.

Mel Copeland

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11.18.04; 11.20 Update: Battle for Fallujah and Mosul spreads

11.20.04 Violence continues to rage across Iraq as insurgents try to stall the January elections. Fallujah is still being swept clean of rebels and ammo dumps. A government official and her two guards were gunned down while stalled in traffic.

11.18.04 The battle for Fallujah and Mosul continues today. Mosul is a city that has a Kurdish sector, and the US-Iraqi-Kurdish forces are taking back police stations taken over by the insurgents. The attacks in the Kurdish sector of Mosul included the Kurdish party offices. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) representative in Mosul, Sadi Ahmed Pire, believes "the Baath Party is behind the attacks, with Islamists following them." [More>>kurdistanobserver]

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News to keep your eyes on

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Concerns

In the beginning....

Bush taking too long to read "My Pet Goat" reader on 9/11. Read full text.

Running a government using a credit card

This year's deficit caused by Bush will be a record deficit since Richard Nixon showed a surplus (in 1969). Bush calls Democrats "tax and spend liberals" when he and his father spent other people's money to run their governments! Who is it that has to pay for the deficit run up each year by a fiscally irresponsible President ? You do. You pay in several ways, since borrowed money is a worse tax on you and the economy than a legitimate tax. The National Debt is $7.4 Trillion as of 10.27.04. That debt is financed by the bond market. While the interest rates on bonds go up and down, generally the rates are affected through the Federal Reserve and supply and demand. Most of the debt during George Bush's administration (1989-1993) was carried by the G-7 Central Banks and a few others who could take large positions in the Bond Market like George Soros. Since supply and demand affect prices of bonds, the greater the supply of bonds, as in a period of excessive government borrowing, would ordinarily depress the price of bonds. To attract buyers, the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates. So when your mortgage loan goes up, owing to an increase in interest rates, its because of the Bush Borrowing: running a government on a credit card.

Since the government runs on borrowed money, the amount of the original loan (new in 2001) grows exponentially, in a curve called a "J" curve. During George Bush's years the deficit was essentially equal to the interest accumulated each year on the debt. That interest debt is added to the original loan amount causing the debt to grow [unpaid] until an effort is made to reduce the debt, paying down both principal and interest. Fearing a crash Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced in May 1995 that there would no longer be any borrowing on the debt. We would "pay as we go," a concept George W. Bush recently derided with reference to Kerry's attempt to restore the years of responsible government under President Clinton. Although Clinton was initially following the Bush Borrowing program – of running the government using a credit card – he converted to the Republican plan and paying down the debt became the great cause of his administration. The response from the economy was plain: it grew, became healthy, wealthy and wise. When you have savings you feel secure. When you have no savings and have trouble finding people to loan you money you feel insecure. Clinton stopped the insecurity of the Bush administration.

In 1993 I prepared a mortgage amortization table for the then $5 Trillion debt inherited from George Bush. At 7% interest a 40 year loan of that amount would result in the payment after 20 years of $6.4 Trillion in interest and $90 million in principal. After 40 years the debt would be paid off and total interest paid would be $10 Trillion.

Who makes money from Bush Borrowing are the wealthy. Most of the US Bond Market is owned by foreign governments and major institutional investors like Warren Buffet and Mutual Funds. While it is not likely that the US government will default on its now $7 Trillion debt, it is a debt that is now in an exponential phase where the amount accumulating in interest each year is the major component of outlays each year in the National Budget. Keep in mind the case of Brazil and other nations that defaulted on their debts and required an International Monetary Fund bail-out. If the US government were unable to sell enough bonds to pay off the 2005 interest, for instance, the amount the US would require to bail it out would exceed the financial reserve of the International Monetary Fund. As in the George Bush years, our economy has been staggering under the weight of the National Debt and its rapidly accumulating annual interest. Growth simply slows down under such uncertainties.

The stock market becomes softer when it anticipates a shift from stocks to bonds (when the government is selling a large lot of bonds). In simple terms, when the government has to sell bonds to pay off its creditors, the stock market can expect its investors to shift their positions from stocks to bonds. This causes the stock market to have a small panic attack. From time to time, if the movement from stocks is large enough, the stock market has a stroke.

Foreign markets react to American economic troubles; thus, the growing US National Debt creates insecurity among the international financial markets. This insecurity can be observed in the value of the dollar against other currencies. Not long ago the Euro was worth a little bit more than a dollar. Yesterday, 10.26.04, the Euro was worth $1.38.

When the US is in a recessionary trend the effects are soon seen in Europe. Jobs are lost (Germany now has a 10% unemployment rate; I remember when Germany took pride in having almost no unemployment – before the Reagan-Bush years); and there is a slow-down in the purchase of goods from the United States. The US is now experiencing record deficits in the export market, and part of the cause of the record deficits in exports is owing to the recessionary trend among our European trading partners. If our government were to be set on a firm financial plan – away from the Bush Borrowing credit card madness –the foreign markets would feel more secure in their investments in America and purchase more from us. You would think that if the Euro has increased in purchasing power over the dollar by 25% one would see an equivalent growth in American exports. But exports are down. Something is seriously wrong, n'est pas?

Gingrich should be arguing for fiscal responsibility – along with Kerry –as he did in 1997. The Newt Gingrich concept of paying off the debt reported in US News & World Report in 1997:

See also a detailed article on the Neuman-Gingrich plan by By James K. Glassman, Tuesday, July 15 1997, The Washington Post. The plan evolved out of a continuing crisis over the budget, when the government was threatened with being shut down over the debt (see full report, CNN US News November 13, 1995).

Mr. Gingrich, why aren't you strongly behind Kerry's position of reinstituting the Clinton era of Fiscal Responsibility? Your loyalty to Bush should have some limits. Isn't your position now – against Kerry's debt reduction –somewhat two-faced?

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President Bush launches illegal war

Why the Crusade & Jihad?

Without rehashing the history of Western Civilization in one paragraph, we can ascribe Christian and Jewish sentiments to defend Israel and to view America as the anointed of God (Allah, (2) in the Koran) to perceptions of pastors who spend more time feeding on the flock than feeding them. If the flock were fed properly it would not believe that it is just to kill on behalf of God. The Christian and Jewish scriptures all agree that vengeance belongs to God (i.e., as in Psalm 94.1), that the Warrior of God is a man of peace, just and charitable. I have always believed (and I know Jesus adhered to this old teaching) that if God wants to kill someone let him kill them himself. You don't need to be his agent, in my opinion. But you can assist in bringing peace to the world.

Sealed Golden Gate with the Dome of the Rock behind and a Muslim cemetery in the foreground may be the gateway to Peace in Jerusalem. It was where the priests and prophets of Israel gathered; called the Gate of Righteousness by the Prophets.

There is no doubt that during the Axis Age (600 B.C.) the great sages, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha and Jeremiah – later followed by Socrates – agreed that doing good and avoiding evil towards your fellow man was the answer. They all believed in the Golden Rule: Don't do to others that which you would not want done to you. Upon this one teaching all the teachings of the Bible rest.

Good news! The Koran says that everything in the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) and Gospel (New Testament) are true! As I pointed out many years ago in a conversation with Wm. F. Buckley Jr. in a series of books, including Philistia triumph thou because of me, there are points in the Koran upon which the Jews, Christians and Moslems can reconcile their disagreements, such as:

Koran, The Cow: And now that a Book confirming their own book has come to them from Allah, they deny it, although they know it to be the truth and have long prayed for help against the unbelievers...when it is said to them, 'Believe in what Allah has revealed,' they reply, 'We believe in what was revealed to us.' But they deny what has since been revealed, although it is the truth, corroborating their own scriptures.

Koran, The creator 36.24: Your only duty is to give warning...What we have revealed to you in the Book is the truth confirming previous scriptures.

Koran, Kneeling 45.16 We gave the Scriptures to the Israelites and bestowed on them wisdom and prophethood.

Koran, AL-AHQAF 46.12 Yet, before it the Book of Moses (Torah) was revealed, a guide and a blessing to all men. This Book confirms it.

Koran, Women 4.47 You, to whom the Scriptures were given! Believe in that which we have revealed, confirming your own scriptures...

Koran, The Cow 2:116 The Jews say the Christians are misguuided, and the Christians say it is the Jews who are misguided. Yet they both read the Scriptures. And the pagans say the same of both. Allah (5) will judge their disputes on the Day of Resurrection.

We can see, therefore, that Moslems are taught via the Koran to honor the scriptures and teachings Christians and Jews honor. Also, with respect to the Koran's teachings on Moslem behavior, it is clear that a Moslem cannot wage war against another Moslem, as is currently going on in Iraq and has been so throughout history:

To dispel any confusion on the Koran's view of people who do not believe in the Koran (notwithstanding the verses cited above) Mohammed went a bit too far, in my opinion, when he listed the following which confute the Bible (I know on the Day of Resurrection noted above my reading will be upheld).

There are several verses that endorse Jesus – some calling him a prophet of God (as they would have to once they accept the Gospels as truth). But this one is the gem of the lot, since it acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah. The Messiah means "anointed one" and the term was created and applied only in the Bible. Christians know the term as Christ, which is the Greek translation of the word. The fact is, based upon what we have seen in the Koran above, all Moslems must honor the teachings of Jesus the Messiah. If there is any confusion on those teachings it can be simply resolved by opening the Gospels and reading them. They all reduce down to the Golden Rule. And it is not important that you be a Christian, Jew or Moslem to practice the Golden Rule. If you practice the Golden Rule you satisfy the teachings. For if you know those teachings you know God and if you do them you are one with God. The scripture asks, can two walk together except they agree?

The gem in the Koran of Jesus the Messiah, beyond the other verses endorsing the teachings of Jesus, which is a good foundation for some kind of reconciliation:

The Imrans, 3.45, 47 The angels said to Mary: 'Allah bids you rejoice in a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary. He shall be noble in this world and in the next, and shall be favoured by Allah. He shall preach to men in his cradle and in the prime of manhood, and shall lead a righteous life."

The term Messiah first appeared in the Bible. It means Anointed One and in Greek the term is Christ. Knowing this, then, we should endeavor to find a place of agreement and learn to walk together. A good part of the Old Testament has to do with the Messiah and what is expected of him.

One cannot walk blindly through scriptures and take them for granted however. Applying them for good becomes an art. It takes practice. One cannot apply scripture, for instance, through a rush to judgment. After all is said and done, when understanding has ruled over boiling sentiments, we can point to our results: charity, justice and mercy. Unfortunately, we are a long way from achieving those things in this current age. It may be, in order to achieve a higher level, to at least remove ourselves from a state of chaos, that we need to take account of our leaders. Then we must ask ourselves how it is that we let them lead us into this chaos. This is called, confronting your own failures. Until both sides come to grips with the goodness that is in them, and do some good in order to gain in goodness, the Jihad will probably continue.

Now President George W. Bush would lead us to believe that we can kill off the Jihadists. I don't subscribe to his program and know that an invitation to reasoning together should bear more fruit. Who in the world would ever refuse this offer:

Mel Copeland
10.28.04