Target Iran: How Likely Is a U.S. First Strike? Online commentators from London to Tehran to Tel Aviv agree. Many say the possibility of military conflict between the United States and Iran, which Washington believes seeks to develop nuclear weapons, is now growing. While verbal warfare between Washington and Tehran is nothing new, international pundits point to a number of recent developments, large and small, that suggest rhetorical bombshells could give way to the real thing. Dollar's Decline Is Reverberating Amid worries about bulging U.S. budget and trade deficits, the greenback dropped last week to a record low against the 5-year-old euro, a 12-year low against the Canadian dollar and a nine-year low against an index of major currencies. Many analysts don't see anything that will stop the decline. A cheaper dollar reduces the value of American securities, making them less attractive to foreign investors. That could eventually precipitate what Robbins called "the doomsday scenario" � Japan and China not only refusing to buy U.S. bonds, but selling some of their $1.3 trillion in reserves. Chinese Move to Eclipse U.S. Appeal in South Asia "For a few years ahead, it will still be the United States as No. 1, but soon it will be China," Mr. Long, the son of a Thai businessman. The trend is clear, educators and diplomats here say: the Americans are losing influence. Ms. Ngoh says she has no question where China is headed. "The world revolved around the United States for a very long time," she said in an interview. "I think people are beginning to understand that one day China can become another superpower." The Sanhedrin Returns A unique ceremony - probably only the second of its kind in the past 1,600 years - is taking place in Tiberias today: The launching of a Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish-legal tribunal in the Land of Israel. Organizers announced their intention to convene 71 rabbis who have received special rabbinic ordination as specified by Maimonides. The goal is to have one rabbinic body in Jerusalem that will convene monthly and issue rulings on central issues. This is the need of the generation and of the hour. Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who heads the Temple institute in Jerusalem, is one of the participating rabbis. Gaza settlers 'threaten suicide' second Masada Will the evacuation of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip turn into a second Masada? According to some far-right activists and Gaza residents, there are groups of settlers who have decided that they would rather commit suicide than evacuate their homes as required by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. One activist said at a recent meeting of disengagement opponents in Tel Aviv, participants heard from Gaza settlers who said they would never raise a hand against soldiers or policemen who come to evacuate them, but they would consider "blowing themselves up while killing others alongside them." Poll: Palestinians' still back terror Two new "Palestinian" public opinion polls offered disappointing results for those in the West that believed the death of long-time PLO mass murderer Yasser Arafat would signal a shift in the violent ambitions of the Palestinian Arabs. According to the survey, a majority of the Arabs under PA rule continue to support the murder of Israel's Jews, despite the disappearance of their terror- tainted leader, and his replacement by supposed "moderates." Europe to become world power - to keep America in check Tony Blair's hopes of healing the rift between Europe and America after the re- election of President George W Bush were quickly dashed, as France led calls for a rival European superpower to confront Washington. Reacting to Mr Bush's victory, Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, said four more years of a unilateralist administration in Washington required Europe to develop its own diplomatic and defence machinery. "Our world needs several powers. We are in the process of gathering the pieces and the will to become another power," EU looks to build military power to back up foreign policy The initiatives from the newly-created European Defence Agency represent the EU's first step in military research and development. They are aimed at transforming the EU from being solely a political power, in charge of policies such as agriculture and trade, to a military one, capable of sending troops around the world to enforce a foreign policy agreed by its member states. Plans for EU diplomatic service can officially begin Today's formal signature of the European Constitution means that plans for an EU diplomatic service can officially begin. It is meant to be up and running in two years which will be a back-up to the new EU foreign minister foreseen in the Constitution. While foreign ministries in the individual member states have been preparing their thoughts on the new service - the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has also been active. Mr Solana, who will become the EU foreign minister when the Constitution comes in to place. Iran threat: Attack by West risks all 'Middle East oil' Iran has warned that Gulf Arab oil would be endangered by any U.S. attack on the Islamic republic. In the first such threat, a leading Iranian official raised the prospect of Iranian retaliation against Middle East oil exports. The official said such Gulf oil states as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia could be threatened. "An attack on Iran will be tantamount to endangering Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and � in a word � the entire Middle East oil," Iranian Expediency Council secretary Mohsen Rezai said this week. About 40 percent of the world's crude oil shipments passes through the two-mile wide channel of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Iranian forces are deployed at the head of the channel. Oman and the United Arab Emirates are located on the other side. Russia Developing New Mystery Nuclear Missile President Vladimir Putin said this week that Russia is developing a new form of nuclear missile unlike those held by other countries, news agencies reported. Earlier this year, a senior Defense Ministry official was quoted as telling news agencies that Russia had developed a weapon that could make the United States' proposed missile-defense system useless. Details were not given, but military analysts said the claimed new weapon could be a hypersonic cruise missile or maneuverable ballistic missile warheads. Putin planning to glue together the most powerful superpower coalition in the world Russian President Putin is taking a lead role in putting together the most powerful coalition of regional and superpowers in the world. The coalition consists of India, China, Russia and Brazil. This will challenge the superpower supremacy of America as well as the European Union. The Chinese are concerned about American and European influence over the world. So is India, Brazil and Russia. Presbyterians host 'anti-Israel' meeting The Presbyterian Church USA hosted a three-day meeting to justify to denomination leaders its decision to divest from Israel, presenting what one church elder described as a panel of "full-time, paid, anti-Israel propagandists." In July, the denomination's General Assembly voted 431-62 to divest from the Jewish state. The PCUSA is believed to be the largest organization or institution to join the divestment campaign against the Jewish state. Episcopal Church Turns To Idol Worship A conservative Anglican activist is criticizing the response of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) to revelations that two of its priests embrace the worship of pagan deities. Some members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion say they are not the least bit surprised by the latest heresy to surface in the American Episcopal Church -- a pagan liturgical rite promoted on the denomination's website. The ECUSA's Office of Women's Ministries recently touted a resource called the "Women's Eucharist: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine," which encourages worship of a so-called "Queen of Heaven." United Church of Canada Ministers Launch 'Union' Drive Ministers in the United Church of Canada began forming their own union to help clergy deal with the high level of "clergy-abuse" in the congregations, on Nov. 5, 2004. Backed by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, the ministers of the UCC have been pushing harder to gain more grounding on the contentious issue of unionizing ministers. FDA Approves Use of Chip Implants in Humans The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that Applied Digital Solutions of Delray Beach, Fla., could market the VeriChip, an implantable computer chip about the size of a grain of rice, for storing medical information. With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and requires no stitches. Silently and invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code that releases patient-specific information when a scanner passes over it. RFID Coming To A School Near You Hoping to prevent the loss of a child through kidnapping or more innocent circumstances, a few schools have begun monitoring student arrivals and departures using technology similar to that used to track livestock and pallets of retail shipments. However some see broader possibilities, such as implanting RFID tags under the skin of children to avoid problems with lost or forgotten tags. More immediately, they said, they could see using the technology to track whether students attend individual classes. RFID wristbands used for cashless payment "Smart Kiosk is a money loading device that works similar to ATM machines, but instead, funds are transferred onto patrons' RFID wristbands," comments Victor LaRosa, PDC RFID Manager. "It is part of the latest cashless payment technology which is practical for water and amusement parks where patrons don't like to carry wallets, and loose cash can get wet or lost. It provides an added convenience for both park owners and patrons." The system helps increase throughput at concession stands, reducing long lines that often deter patrons from making additional purchases. Most of the time spent waiting in lines is attributed to the financial transactions of handling and counting cash or processing credit cards - that is now practically eliminated. Alarming Number of 'Stayaway Saints' Affecting Today's Church An alarming number of Christians are staying home on Sunday mornings and the trend is affecting today's church. Believers who have become "stayaway saints" are alternately worrying and exciting church leaders, pointing to what is being seen as either a serious threat to the spread of the gospel or the actual cusp of a revolution that could usher in the sort of revival many have prayed for and dreamed of for years. A recent study found that about 13 million Americans whom the researchers identified as being born again were "unchurched ... not having attended a Christian church service, other than for a holiday ... at any time in the past six months." The Beginning Of The End Of Christianity In Australia? Two Australian Christian pastors have been found guilty of vilifying Muslims. The decision was handed down in Melbourne this week. Bill Muehlenberg, the National Vice-President of The Australian Family Association said the decision could "could mark the beginning of the end of freedom of speech in Australia, and the official restriction of proclaiming the Christian gospel." Judge Higgins said that the two pastors, Daniel Scot ( a former Muslim), and Danny Nalliah, breached section 8 of Australia's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 which says a person cannot engage in conduct that "incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that other person or class of persons." Nation's Unchurched Doubled in Decade The proportion of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation doubled over the last decade and now stands at 16% of the population, according to a new study on religious identity. Only Catholics (24%) and Baptists (17%) outnumber the so-called "non-identifiers," or "nones," said the report. Based on telephone interviews with more than 10,000 randomly selected people, said about one in six answered "none" or "no religion" or described themselves as secular, humanist, ethical-culturalist, agnostic or atheist. Their ranks will continue to grow, and they'll soon outnumber Baptists. China's thirst for oil gets into top gear China is not the biggest oil consumer in the world, that prize goes to America, nor is it the biggest importer - which is also the USA. What China outdoes the rest of the world at is the growth of its appetite. Ten years ago China imported no oil at all. Last year it overtook Japan to become the world's second biggest importer. Its thirst continues to grow. Imports are expected to rise another 40% this year. China's appetite for oil shows no sign of slowing. Today China has 10 million private cars - by 2020 that number will be 120 million. Natural disasters 'on the rise' More and more people are being caught up in a growing number of natural disasters, a UN agency said this week. It said 254 million people were affected by natural hazards last year - nearly three times as many as in 1990. Events including earthquakes and volcanoes, floods and droughts, storms, fires and landslides killed about 83,000 people in 2003, up from about 53,000 deaths 13 years earlier. Planet drying up: U.N. The world is turning to dust, with lands about half the size of Prince Edward Island becoming desert wasteland every year and the problem threatening to send millions of people fleeing to greener countries, the United Nations says. One- third of the Earth's surface is at risk, driving people into cities and destroying agriculture in vast swaths of Africa. Thirty-one per cent of Spain is threatened, while China has lost 93,000 square kilometers to desert - an area the size of Indiana - since the 1950s. By 2025, two-thirds of arable land in Africa will disappear, along with one-third of Asia's and one-fifth of South America's. Some 135 million people - equivalent to the populations of France and Germany combined - are at risk of being displaced. |
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