1.Jewish Temples Existed at Al Aqsa Site 2. When foreigners are told to leave Canada 3. Use of Cell Phone during Thunderstorms is dangerous 4. Sexual orientation of men determined before birth 5.Pneumonia fear grips HongKong 6.Drug trafficking increases in Indo-Pak Border 7.China plans fines for breaking bad news 8.Computers could soon read your mind 9.Pakistan to support every step for stability in Iraq 10.Bangladeshi government officials graduate in disaster management 11.Pakistan may bar media from National Assembly committees 12.Stars Line up for Master of Fine Arts Courses in China 13.The unending mania of superiority 14.All Koreans Urged to Hold Higher Banner of Independence 15.Where's our conscience? 16.Kuwaiti women excited to vote 17.We come, we work, we go 18.Music is the food of love

 

Fired Al Aqsa Leader: 

Jewish Temples Existed at Al Aqsa Site

Dr. Richard L. Benkin writes from USA                                                    

 

 

A senior leader of the Muslim Waqf at Al Aqsa in Jerusalem was fired after admitting that the ancient Jewish Temples stood upon the current location of the mosque and pre-dated it.  In an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily (WND), he said that for centuries, Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories that the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish temples. He also said that the Muslim world's current denial of the the Jewish temples’ existence is political in nature and not accurate.  The well-known former Waqf leader spoke with WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein on condition his name be withheld, claiming an on-the-record interview would endanger his life.

"Prophet Solomon built his famous Temple at the same place that later the Al Aqsa Mosque was built. It cannot be a coincidence that these different holy sites were built at the same place,” he said from an obscure alley in Jerusalem’s Old City.  “The Jewish Temple Mount existed.”

The admission—and Waqf reaction to it—confirm the historical patterns documented in a six-part series on the Temple Mount, published in Weekly Blitz earlier this year.  The series is available in Weekly Blitz archives and scheduled to come out in book form later this year.  The series demonstrated that Muslim denial of the Jewish Temples on the same spot as Al Aqsa is of very recent vintage.  Since the seventh century Arab conquest of Jerusalem, various Arab sources document that upon conquering the city, one of the first acts of the Caliph Umar was to ask the conquered Byzantine Christians to show him the location of the ancient Jewish Temples.  Byzantine Patriarch Sophronios took him atop of the Temple Mount and pointed out the spot where the Temples had stood saying, “Here is that appalling abomination.”  Umar was incensed that the Byzantines were using the site as a garbage dump and ordered it cleaned.  Later, his successor, Ibn Marwan built Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock on that very spot.  This remained accepted belief among Arabs and Muslims well into the 20th century.  Palestinian historian Araf al-Araf, for instance, wrote that “Haram al-Sharif is on Mount Moriah” which King David purchased from the Jebusites, and where “his son Solomon” built the Temple in the year 1007 BCE. Al-Araf also added that the remains of the structures “underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque” date to the period of Solomon. And in 1930, Jerusalem’s supreme Moslem authority in its official “Guide to al-Haram al-Sharif” stated: "Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute." The historical record is replete with like statements by Arab leaders, yet all from a time before the Arab world became obsessed with the State of Israel and before its ongoing failed attempts to eradicate Israel from the nations of the world.  Since then, it has deemed political expediency more important than historical truth.

So obsessed and insecure are they that the Waqf official was fired after only “quietly” making his statement.  Additionally, he was fired even though he said that nothing in his remarks “forfeit what he calls "Islamic rights" to the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque,” according to WND.  “Yes, the temple existed. But now it is the place of the mosque of the religious who came to complete the divine religion [that started with Judaism] and to improve humanity”  But, he added with regard to his statements about the Jewish Temples, “I am mentioning historical facts.  I know that the traditional denial about the temple existing at the same place as Al Aqsa is more a political denial. Unfortunately our religious and political leaders chose the option of denial to fight the Jewish position and demands regarding Al Aqsa and taking back the Temple Mount compound. In my opinion we should admit the truth and abandon our traditional position."

Over the past several years, the Waqf has been trying to destroy any archeological evidence of the Jewish Temples, but those attempts have led to numerous discoveries of historical evidence for the Temples in the artifacts the Waqf attempted—and failed—to destroy.

 

When foreigners are told to leave Canada

Guidy Mamann from Canada                                                                                                    

                                                                                       

Foreigners who have overstayed their status can come to the attention of immigration authorities through many ways.

Sometimes, it’s a routine traffic stop by the local police. Other times, a lover’s quarrel leads to a rash decision to get even. Other times, it’s a heartless employer who tips the immigration authorities so they can deport someone he/she owes back wages to. Sometimes the tip comes from a once close friend or relative.

Once alerted, immigration officials will arrest the foreigner and either release them on terms and conditions or detain them. If detained, the foreigner will be brought before an immigration judge within 48 hours to determine if he/she poses a danger to the public or is a flight risk.

If not, he/she can be released upon the posting of a cash bond by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and/or upon the execution of an undertaking promising to make a payment to the Crown in the event of non-compliance.

An immigration officer can usually make a removal order very quickly against a detained person. Accordingly, those wishing to make a refugee claim should do so immediately since they will be barred from doing so after the removal order is made.

If a refugee claim is made, the foreigner cannot usually be removed from Canada until the claim has been finally determined. A refugee claim, and any appeal, can take several months or more to hear. Refugee claimants who have been in Canada for several years should consider making a simultaneous humanitarian application in the event that the refugee claim is ultimately denied.

If they delay in making a humanitarian application until the refugee claim is decided, they risk being removed from Canada before the humanitarian case can be considered. A humanitarian application will not prevent immigration authorities from proceeding with a removal.

If a refugee claim is rejected or is not made, an expulsions officer will be assigned to make the foreigner "removal ready". The officer will either call the foreigner or send a letter asking them to bring in any passport, travel document, social insurance number, and work permit, etc.

Once this contact has been made, a person can still be sponsored by a spouse or common law partner from within inside Canada but they will not be entitled to a decision prior to their removal from Canada.

Guidy Mamann is the senior lawyer at Mamann & Associates

Use of Cell Phone during Thunderstorms is dangerous

 

Blitz Desk                                                                                                     

 

You know about the distraction of using a cell phone while driving. You may have heard rumors about not using one of the devices while filling up at a gas station.

But now it appears those who like to talk on the go have something else to add to their list of things to worry about.

British researchers have released a study warning consumers not to talk on their portable devices if they get caught outside during a thunderstorm.

The British Medical Journal cites the case of a 15-year-old girl who was talking on her cell phone in a park when she was struck by lightning. The impact of such an event would be bad enough. But in most cases, the high resistance of the skin conducts the jolt over the body in what's called a 'flashover'.

But doctors claim the teen's injuries were made far worse because the metal in her device disrupted that process and sent the bolt from the blue straight through the unsuspecting young girl.

Although she survived, her injuries were serious and even a year later, she's still in a wheelchair.

"This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from lighting strike injuries," warns Dr. Swinda Esprit of Northwick Park Hospital in England.

Physicians admit the chances of getting hit by lightning while using a cell aren't high, but it's not as uncommon as you might think. They note separate cases where it's happened in China, South Korea and Malaysia.

And a few experts say it's not even safe to carry the metallic objects in your pocket when there's electricity in the air.

The bottom line? Don't become preoccupied with this stuff, but don't take chances either. If there's violent weather, remember it's not something to necessarily phone home about. Especially if you're outside when it comes.

 

 

Sexual orientation of men determined before birth

Blitz Desk                                                                                         

 

 

A man's sexual orientation appears to be determined in the womb, a new study suggests.

Past research by Dr. Anthony F. Bogaert of Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario and colleagues has shown that the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he is to be gay. But it has not been clear if this is a prenatal effect or a psychosocial effect, related to growing up with older male siblings.

To investigate, Bogaert studied 944 gay and straight men, including several who were raised with adopted, half- or step-siblings or were themselves adopted. He reasoned that if the relationship between having older male siblings and homosexuality was due to family environment or child-rearing practices, it would be seen whether or not a man's older brothers were biological or adopted.

Bogaert found that the link between having older brothers and homosexuality was present only if the siblings were biologically related -- this relationship was seen between biological brothers who were not raised together. The amount of time that a man was reared with older brothers had no association with sexual orientation.

"These results support a prenatal origin to sexual orientation development in men and indicate that the fraternal birth-order effect is probably the result of a maternal 'memory' for male gestations or births," Bogaert writes in his report in PNAS Early Edition.

A woman's body may see a male fetus as "foreign," Bogaert explains, and her immune response to subsequent male fetuses may grow progressively stronger.

"If this immune theory were correct, then the link between the mother's immune reaction and the child's future sexual orientation would probably be some effect of maternal anti-male antibodies on the sexual differentiation of the brain," he suggests.

 

Pneumonia fear grips HongKong

Blitz Desk                                                                                         

 

The killer respiratory illness gripping Hong Kong is sowing a climate of fear which is driving away tourists, emptying restaurants and prompting many people to wear protective masks. The morning commuter crowd on Tuesday was peppered with people sporting white surgical facemasks in an attempt to fend off the virus which has so far claimed 10 lives in the former British colony and infected 260 other people. The health authorities have been battling to contain the illness - being called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - for nearly three weeks but the number of infections and deaths have been steadily rising. Fears were raised a notch after the territory’s health chief Yeoh Eng-kiong Monday urged anybody with flu-like symptoms to stay at home, and the government issued television warnings telling people to avoid public places. "It's getting more and more worrying," said businessman Eugene Cheng as he rode the tram to work, gesturing to the many passengers wearing masks or covering their mouths. "I feel uncomfortable, as if people are getting suspicious of each other," he said. "I'm very concerned," said officer worker Nila Yip through her mask as she bought a take-away lunch box so as to avoid eating in a restaurant. "It is better to take precautions to prevent having the disease," she said. Public concern over the illness, which often causes an atypical pneumonia, has not been helped by news Hospital Authority chief executive William Ho was stuck down after showing symptoms. Four schools were also closed for a week from Monday after five students, a teacher and a school bus driver were found to have SARS. And the popular Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, due to be held March 28-30, has also suffered after Argentina joined France and Italy in saying they would not be taking part because of the health scare. William Mark, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Restaurant Owners, said the outbreak had already caused business in the restaurant sector slump by 20 percent.

Drug trafficking increases in Indo-Pak Border

Blitz Desk                                                                             

 

In the wake of increased trans-border civilian movement between India and Pakistan, smuggling of drugs into India has shown a significant rise.

Figures available with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) reveal that 30 per cent of the drugs seized in the country during the last three years were produced in the remote areas of Afghanistan and reached here through the Indo-Pak border.

Anti-narcotics squads in the country seized over 1000 kilograms of Afghan-origin heroin and other drugs since 2002 as compared to around 50 kilograms recovered during the height of Indo-Pak tensions in the preceding years, a senior UN official said here today.

"The Confidence Building Measures (CBM) adopted by India and Pakistan have led to movement of more people across the border and this can be one reason for the increase," said Gary Lewis, the South Asia representative of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Officials say drug addiction among youngsters in Punjab was on a rise and pointed out that that this was due to the flow of heroin and other drugs into the state from Pakistan for distribution across the country.

According to UN figures, opium cultivation in Afghanistan has gone up in the recent years and the war-torn nation has produced a whopping 11,900 metric tons of opium in the last three years.

Pakistan also cultivates opium, though in a smaller scale, and produced around 180 metric tons of the drug in the last three years, the figures show.

China plans fines for breaking bad news

Venkatesan Vembu from India                                                                 

 

A draft law on emergency management, now being considered by China’s top legislative body, seeks to impose hefty fines on the media in China if they break news reports on mining disasters, health crises and natural catastrophes without “authorization”.

The move is being seen as an attempt to rein in the “watchdog press”, which has in recent years exposed health crises (like HIV/AIDS, SARS  and bird flu) and called mining companies to account with their coverage of recurring mining disasters, despite attempts by provincial-level officials to keep bad news out of the newspapers.

“It’s only a draft law — it hasn’t been passed yet — but it has worrisome implications for the Chinese news media,” China Media Project research associate David Bandurski told DNA in Hong Kong. Under the draft law, media outlets would face fines from 50,000 to 100,000 yuan (about Rs4-8 lakh) if they break news on emergencies without authorization, report on the handling of such emergencies without authorization, or publish “false” reports.

Cao Kangtai, director of the Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council told the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the highest legislative body in China, that the bill was intended to improve disaster responsiveness and ensure administrative responsibility. It was drawn up after a study of emergency management experiences in many developed countries, including the US, and based on the findings from a field study around China.

The bill stipulates penalties that local government officials face if they fail to handle emergencies or do not take precaution measures or delay emergency declaration or attempt to cover up the disaster. “On the one hand, there is a sense that there has to be better administrative control — in a positive way — in the way such disasters are handled,” says Bandurski. “On the other hand, the priority is to control information flow.”

Officials involved in disaster relief are required to release information in a timely manner and “manage” the media, but not if making the news public would hamper relief operations. In particular, Bandurski notes, the ambiguity that existed earlier about media regulations of disasters and crises had meant that reporters and editors could make use of loopholes to get their story out.

The proposal to fine breaking news has already come in for stinging criticism in an editorial in the Southern Metropolis Daily, written under the pseudonym of Zhang Ping, a veteran Chinese journalist who was among the senior editors sacked from the investigative Southern Weekend in 2001. It had in 2004 been disciplined for its investigative reporting on the SARS epidemic; the cover-up of SARS in China — which was later exposed — proved profoundly embarrassing for China’s leaders.

Computers could soon read your mind

Blitz Desk                                                                                         

 

A raised eyebrow, quizzical look or a nod of the head is just a few of the facial expressions computers could soon be using to read people’s minds.

An “emotionally aware” computer being developed by British and American scientists will be able to read an individual’s thoughts by analyzing a combination of facial movements that represent underlying feelings.

“The system we have developed allows a wide range of mental states to be identified just by pointing a video camera at someone,” said Professor Peter Robinson, of the University of Cambridge in England.

He and his collaborators believe the mind-reading computer’s applications could range from improving people’s driving skills to helping companies tailor advertising to people’s moods.

“Imagine a computer that could pick the right emotional moment to try to sell you something, a future where mobile phones, cars and Web sites could read our mind and react to our moods,” he added.

The technology is already programmed to recognize different facial expressions generated by actors. Robinson hopes to get more data to determine whether someone is bored, interested, confused, or agrees or disagrees when it is unveiled at a science exhibition in London on Monday.

People visiting the four-day exhibition organized by the Royal Society, Britain’s academy of leading scientists, will be invited to take part in a study to hone the program’s abilities.

The scientists, who are developing the technology in collaboration with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, also hope to get it to accept other inputs such as posture and gesture.

“Our research could enable websites to tailor advertising or products to your mood,” Robinson told Reuters. “For example, a web cam linked with our software could process your image, encode the correct emotional state and transmit information to a Web site.”

It could also be useful in online teaching to show whether someone understands what is being explained and in improving road safety by determining if a driver is confused, bored or tired.

“We are working with a big car company and they envision this being employed in cars within five years,” Robinson said, adding that a camera could be built into the dashboard.

Anyone who does not want to give away too much information about what they are feeling, he said, can just cover up the camera.

 

Pakistan to support every step for stability in Iraq

Blitz Desk                                                                                                     

 

 

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, Pakistan will support every step aims at bringing political stability in Iraq.
In an interview to Pakistan Television (PTV), national TV network of Pakistan she said, Pakistan wanted early peace and stability in Iraq so that the Iraqi people are able to establish their own rule in the country.
She said Pakistan was against the military action in Iraq adding "we wish for an earlier normalization of situation there".
While asked to comment on National Reconciliation Plan of the Iraqi Prime Minister the spokesperson said, Pakistan supported each and every step which aims at uniting the people of Iraq and the end of unrest in the country.
To a question she said, Pakistan wanted a stable and progressing Afghanistan adding "we have been extending all possible cooperation in this connection".
She said the situation in Afghanistan had direct links with Pakistan and peace and stability in the region is in mutual interest of both the countries.
There exists great potential for the expansion of trade ties between Pakistan and Central Asian states which can only be explored when there is peace and stability in Afghanistan, she said.
Similarly the proposed energy pipeline project can only be executed when there is peace in Afghanistan, she added.
So a peaceful and politically stable Afghanistan is in Pakistan's own interest she said adding, the country is doing all what it can in this regard.

Bangladeshi government officials graduate in disaster management 

Blitz Desk                                                                                                        

After three months of extensive disaster management training in Victoria, twenty Bangladeshi officials will graduate from Swinburne and head home to lead the way in stepping up the natural-disaster stricken country's relief efforts. 

The graduation, to be held at Hawthorn Town at 2.30pm on Friday 23 June, will be extra colourful with the formal regalia coupled with traditional Bangladeshi attire. 

Bangladesh is considered one of the worse affected countries in the world for natural disasters and is making moves to establish itself as a leading centre for disaster management and training in the Asian subcontinent. 

The students, from the Bangladesh Government Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, are the first of three groups to undertake the specialized training over the few years.  

According to one of the graduates Md. Monowar Hossain the Swinburne course in Graduate Certificate in Disaster Management will pave the way for the change that is needed to move from traditional relief and rehabilitation efforts towards a new approach to disaster management in Bangladesh.

"As a result of the training we are hoping this will be a step forward from our current way of handling natural disasters to the style used in Australia and New Zealand. 

"The shift to this model of disaster management has given us a different approach and will help us reduce the risks of living in a country proned to natural disasters.    

Course coordinator Bernhard Liedtke said "the model and theory the group were taught are adopted by Victoria's emergency services and a number of visits to the State Emergency Coordination Centre, and a local fire brigade showed the students how it is used in Australia," he said. 

One of the field trips was a visit to Benalla where the group learnt how the municipality managed the effects from the disastrous floods in the Spring of 1993.  "Hearing how they improved and maintained the water flow through a town at a local level was a good way of seeing the theory put into practice," said Md. Monowar Hossain.

Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Mr Douglas Foskett said Australia was pleased to provide the scholarships which will assist Bangladesh to develop its human resource capacity, particularly in the important sector of disaster risk management. Press Release.

Pakistan may bar media from National Assembly committees

Shahzad Raza from Pakistan                                                

 

Top government officials and members of the military establishment in Pakistan have been so irked by press coverage of National Assembly (NA) standing committees that they have proposed barring journalists from attending them, official sources said.

They said that NA speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain had recently held talks with chairpersons of standing committees open to the media to draw up a strategy to deal with the ‘problem’. The NA speaker, they stressed, had acted on directives from the top political leadership, which believed that instead of attending sessions, the press should simply be given a handout of proceedings.
According to sources, government officials had repeatedly warned Hussein as well as committee chairpersons that press reporting of proceedings routinely jeopardized the ‘national interest’.
Currently, five of the 35 NA standing committees remain open to the media: Public Accounts Committee (PAC), standing committees on local government, population welfare, food and agriculture and interior.
The NA standing committee on water and power had previously been open to the press. Its new chairperson, however, has barred journalists from attending its proceedings.
Under NA rules, committee chairpersons are authorized to allow journalists to sit in on proceedings to ensure the system’s transparency and to hold relevant officials directly accountable to the people.
Sources said that during Hussain’s talks with committee chairpersons, the idea of establishing a ‘Code of Ethics’ had been floated to regulate press coverage of proceedings. Also discussed was the idea of chairpersons declaring sensitive parts of the proceedings ‘off-the-record’. Government officials, however, made it clear that committee chairpersons would bear responsibility for any controversy created through media reports.
Sources said that the NA speaker specifically expressed concern over reporting of PAC proceedings, noting that opposition members often leveled serious allegations against the government, which were subsequently reported by the press.
The government had, until last year, kept secret PAC proceedings.
Sources noted that a PAC treasury member had recently demanded that its proceedings be held in-camera, saying that opposition members regularly leveled sensational charges against the government to secure column inches.

Neither the government not the opposition have so far issued a formal response to these claims.

Stars Line up for Master of Fine Arts Courses in China

Blitz Desk                                                                                                     

 

A line-up of stars and celebrities has been enrolled for China's first Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree courses beginning in September, with the second intake to be recruited in July. ¡¡¡¡

A total of 4,138 people applied for the entrance examinations for the first MFA intake, with 1,095 enrolled, including actors Zhao Wei and Huang Xiaoming, television news anchor Chai Jing and folk singer Wang Lida, said deputy director of the National Educational Guidance Committee for the Master's Degree of Fine Arts Wang Cizhao.

Approved by the State Council in March 2005, the MFA was established on the Chinese mainland to place more emphasis on the education of the creative visual and performing arts.

The 32 universities and colleges across the country qualified to confer such degrees planned to enroll a total of 1,390 students in the second intake, Wang said.