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U.S. Relinquishes Control of the Internet
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily NewsGuardian.co.uk
Categories: Today's Headlines;World Government

• Icann ends agreement with the US government
• Move will give other countries a prominent internet role

After complaints about American dominance of the internet and growing disquiet in some parts of the world, Washington has said it will relinquish some control over the way the network is run and allow foreign governments more of a say in the future of the system.

Icann – the official body that ultimately controls the development of the internet thanks to its oversight of web addresses such as .com, .net and .org – said today that it was ending its agreement with the US government.

The deal, part of a contract negotiated with the US department of commerce, effectively pushes California-based Icann towards a new status as an international body with greater representation from companies and governments around the globe.

Icann had previously been operating under the auspices of the American government, which had control of the net thanks to its initial role in developing the underlying technologies used for connecting computers together.

But the fresh focus will give other countries a more prominent role in determining what takes place online, and even the way in which it happens – opening the door for a virtual United Nations, where many officials gather to discuss potential changes to the internet.

Icann chief Rod Beckstrom, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Washington insider who took over running the organisation in July, said there had been legitimate concerns that some countries were developing alternative internets as a way of routing around American control.

"It's rumoured that there are multiple experiments going on with countries forking the internet, various countries have discussed this," he said. "This is a very significant shift because it takes the wind out of our opponents."

He added that the changes would prove powerful when combined with upcoming plans to allow web users to use addresses with names in Chinese, Arabic or other alphabets other than Latin. Many countries have lobbied for the shift in recent years, as the expansion of the web reaches out deeper into society and business.

While the issue reached critical mass in emerging economies such as China, it is not the only country that has lobbied for a change. Earlier this year European officials said that they did not think it was proper for America to retain so much control over the global computer network.

Viviane Reding, the EU's commissioner for information society and media, said she was pleased that Washington chose to make the shift.

"I welcome the US administration's decision to adapt Icann's key role in internet governance to the reality of the 21st century," she said. "If effectively and transparently implemented, this reform can find broad acceptance among civil society, businesses and governments alike."

Meanwhile Nominet - the British organisation that handles the day-to-day running of .uk domain names - said that Icann had started a trend for companies with internet influence to appear more open and accountable.

"Putting public interest first will also be a focus for the UK internet community over the coming months as there is growing support for Nominet to develop more of a public interest role," said Nominet's chief executive, Lesley Cowley.

The new agreement comes into force immediately. It replaces the old version which had been in place since 1998 and was scheduled to expire today.

Beckstrom suggested that bringing more countries to the table was the best way of ensuring the long term future of the internet.

"We're more global, period. The chances of the internet holding together just went up, the cohesion just went up," he said. "We expect more active involvement from governments, a higher level of participation from many governments and we're already hearing about more governments joining the team… This was, ironically, a power move from the US."

Scientists Find Path to Fountain of Youth
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily NewsBreitbart.com
Categories: Today's Headlines

The fountain of youth may exist after all, as a study showed that scientists have discovered means to extend the lifespan of mice and primates.

The key to eternal -- or at least prolonged -- youth lies in genetic manipulation that mimics the health benefits of reducing calorie intake, suggesting that aging and age-related diseases can be treated.

Scientists from the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London (UCL) extended the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and reduced the number of age-related diseases affecting the animals after they genetically manipulated them to block production of the S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) protein.

Scientists have shown since the 1930s that reducing the calorie intake by 30 percent for rats, mice and -- in a more recent finding -- primates can extend their lifespan by 40 percent and have health benefits.

By blocking S6K1, which is involved in the body's response to changes in food intake, similar benefits were obtained without reducing food intake, according to the study published in the US journal Science.

The results corroborated those of other recent studies.

Message of the Week Luke 3 21-38 Baptism, Geneology.
Oct 2nd, 2009
Audio Message
Categories: Audio Messages

Message of the Week - Luke1 26-56 Mary,Elizabeth,Adoration.
Oct 2nd, 2009
Audio Message
Categories: Audio Messages

Luke 3 1-20 John's Ministry.
Oct 2nd, 2009
Audio Message
Categories: Audio Messages

Luke 2 39-52 Childhood, Teens, Twenties
Oct 2nd, 2009
Audio Message
Categories: Audio Messages

Luke 1 57-80 The Birth of John the Baptist.
Oct 2nd, 2009
Audio Message
Categories: Audio Messages

Job Losses Overshadow Signs of Recovery
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily Newsmsnbc - John W. Schoen
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

"The hole that has been blown in the labor market is absolutely enormous,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute.

That hole continues to widen. On Thursday, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 551,000 — up from 534,000 in the previous week and more than Wall Street economists expected.

The data followed a report Wednesday from payroll manager ADP showing that U.S. companies cut 254,000 jobs in September, also more than forecast. Government figures for September, including the official unemployment rate, will be released Friday morning.

The bad news on the job front has been partially offset by other signs that the economy may be on the mend. A private trade group said Thursday that manufacturing expanded for the second straight month in September, but at a slightly slower pace than in August and not as robustly as economists predicted. Construction spending also rose a bit in August.

And consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity, jumped in August by the largest amount in nearly eight years, even though personal incomes continued to lag. Housing sales have also perked up this summer; pending sales of existing homes rose 6.4 percent in August.

But consumer spending and home buying have gotten a big boost from government programs like the hugely popular Cash for Clunkers car buying subsidies, which has expired, and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, which expires at the end of next month.

Indeed, auto sales at Ford and Chrysler dropped in September, showing that automakers were likely to have a tough time luring buyers into showrooms now that the clunkers program has ended.   

Consumers may not be able to continue to boost spending without government subsidies — especially the nearly 7 million workers who have lost their jobs since the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression began in December 2007.

Even if the economy were to rebound sharply, the job market would have to create 400,000 jobs a month, every month, for two years to put those people back to work. Economists and government officials, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, warn that the recovery will likely be very weak

Jews in Jerusalem and around the world observe the seven day Feast of Tabernacles by living in thatched huts
Oct 2nd, 2009
News UpdateJimmy DeYoung
Categories: Jimmy DeYoung News

The last of the seven Jewish feast days, the Feast of Tabernacles, is being observed by Jews in Jerusalem and around the world by building a "succa", a thatched hut, and then living in this succa for the entire week long Jewish holy days as they complete the annual cycle of Jewish holy days given to them by God some 3,500 years ago.

The succa, a thatched hut similar to the dwelling place of the Children of Israel during their 40-year long wandering in the wilderness on their trip to the promised land, will be erected near their homes and apartments so that the family may use this succa in celebration of this annual event. Thousands of Christians from around the world will join the Jews in Israel to celebrate the feast because of the Biblical directive for all, both Christians and Jews, to observe the Feast of Tabernacles on a yearly basis.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

The celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles by Jewish people in Jerusalem and around the world has not only a historic significance but a prophetic significance as well according to Bible prophecy.

Since the end of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jewish families in Israel and around the world have been erecting their succas, a thatched hut, to have it ready for the week long celebration of Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles.

The succa was the transportable housing for the Children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness during that forty year period traveling from Egypt to the promised land. Jewish families will eat their meals, visit with family and friends and some even sleep in their thatched huts, the succa, for the entire seven days of the feast. The historic significance of this feast is to remind the Jews of their travels to the promised land.

Prophetically, this seven day feast is the time when Jews will look forward to the Kingdom Period promised by the Lord and revealed by the ancient Jewish prophets. At the Transfiguration recorded in Matthew 17, when Peter saw Jesus in His glorified body, along with Moses and Elijah, he wanted to build three tabernacles, three succas, because he thought the Kingdom had arrived. That physical earthly Kingdom will begin on a future Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus Christ sets up His Kingdom.

Jews celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles today, looks forward to a future Feast of Tabernacles and the Kingdom to come.

Irish Hold Crunch EU Treaty Vote
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily NewsBBC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Revived Roman Empire

Irish voters are heading to the polls in a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty - a vote that may decide the future of long-delayed EU changes.

They previously rejected the treaty in a June 2008 referendum, by a margin of almost 7%. This time opinion polls suggest the Yes camp will win.

The Republic of Ireland is the only one of the EU's 27 member states to put the treaty to a referendum.

Ireland's economy has been hit hard by recession since the last vote was held.

Iran May Work Through Hezbollah to Hold the U.S. Hostage
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily Newscanadafreepress.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

A Middle East terrorism expert has warned that Iran may use a terrorist group to strike the United States if it becomes threatened. “If Iran’s regime is in trouble, either from the outside or even from a democratic uprising, it may order Hezbollah to attack the U.S.” said Dr. Walid Phares during an appearance on FOX News last week. 

This reiterates what Hezbollah themselves have said. “We have 2,000 volunteers who have registered since last year,” Hezbollah spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli told Reuters in a 2006 interview. “They have been trained and they can become fully armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardize Israel and America’s interests. We are only waiting for the supreme leader’s green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War III … we welcome it.”

While many in the U.S. are concerned with al Qaeda, the Lebanese-based and Iranian-funded Hezbollah poses the greater threat. Excluding the 9/11 attacks, Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist group. Phares has stated previously that Hezbollah is “well funded, very well organized, and we assume that their penetration of the U.S. is deeper than al Qaeda’s.”

In addition to their activity in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Hezbollah is operating in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and other countries in Central and South America.

Following news in 2006 that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Hezbollah’s military commander Imad Mugniyeh (who until his death would have likely commanded attacks against Western targets), investigations were conducted on Hezbollah cells in 14 U.S. cities. FBI and Justice Department probes revealed about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah in New York City alone. Another cell was discovered in Detroit, which has become the center for Hezbollah’s fundraising operations. San Antonio reportedly has Hezbollah-linked groups.

There have been multiple instances in recent years where personnel from the Iranian mission to the United Nations were expelled for monitoring New York City subways, bridges, tunnels, and other potential targets. According to testimony from former CIA director James Woolsey, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “says that he knows of the 29 sensitive sites in the U.S. and the west which he has spied out and is ready to attack in order to, quote: ‘End Anglo-Saxon civilization.’”

It is likely that the attacks Ahmadinejad mentions would be executed by members of Hezbollah.

In 2000, members of a North Carolina cell were convicted for providing “material support” to Hezbollah. In addition to sending profits from a cigarette smuggling ring to Hezbollah, one group member was ordered by a Hezbollah member in Lebanon to obtain night-vision equipment, surveying equipment, global positioning systems, mine detectors, radar, and other dual-use technology to send to Lebanon.

In Canada, intelligence officials disclosed that Hezbollah mobilized as many as four of their sleeper cells following Mugniyeh’s assassination last year. Up to 20 Hezbollah suspects were tracked as they conducted reconnaissance on synagogues and the Israeli embassy in Ottawa. Members of the cells were also instructed to send their family members back to Lebanon. Toronto has become a hub of activity for Hezbollah, despite the Canadian government declaring Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 2002.

If Hezbollah's weapons can go south, what is to stop them from being brought into the U.S. through a porous border?

In 2006, FBI director Robert Mueller confirmed that the FBI busted a Hezbollah cell that smuggled operatives across the Mexican border. In 2001, Mahmoud Kourani, who according to his indictment is a Hezbollah “member, fighter, recruiter and fund-raiser,” illegally entered the U.S. through Mexico before being convicted for providing material support to Hezbollah. Kourani’s brother is Hezbollah’s chief of military security in Lebanon.

Hezbollah operatives also infiltrate the U.S. through the Canada. An associate of Kourani smuggled 20 to 30 Hezbollah members into the U.S. across the Canadian border.

In South America, the strategic partnership between Iran and Venezuela have provided a base of operations for Hezbollah activity in the Western Hemisphere. Venezuelan cells are part of the “Special Operations Command,” the group tasked with overseas attacks, such as the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina and another bombing in 1994 of a Jewish community center in the same city. U.S. Treasury officials alleged last year that two Venezuelans had “facilitated the travel” of Hezbollah members and “discussed operational issues with senior officials” of the terrorist group. The import of operatives and material were further eased as the State Department noted that Venezuelan border officials in the airport did not stamp passports and rarely entered passengers into the immigration database.

Hezbollah operatives and equipment could reach South America through Venezuela, migrate to the U.S. through Mexico, and await their orders from Teheran.

Although Hezbollah has not yet attacked targets in the U.S., the terrorist group clearly has the capability, and has announced their intention to strike. Their presence on our soil serves to hold the American people hostage with the threat of terrorist attacks in order to protect Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Therefore, it is essential that America become increasingly vigilant in order to stop the threat from Hezbollah.

Indonesian Quake Toll Climbs to 1,100
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily NewsAssociated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
Categories: Today's Headlines

Across this coastal provincial capital, hardest hit by the latest earthquake to devastate Indonesia, mourners, survivors and rescue workers alike clawed through the rubble.

Some, like Malina Utami, had already realized the worst. She was just looking for the shoes missing from her dead daughter's body, found in the rubble of a four-story school that was flattened within seconds.

As the death toll climbed Thursday - to 1,100 by one UN estimate - others looked for survivors, with thousands of people missing and feared trapped in the wreckage of shattered buildings.

When search efforts were suspended for the night, an eerie quiet fell over the city of 900,000.

"Let's not underestimate. Let's be prepared for the worst," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in the capital, Jakarta.

Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake started at sea and quickly rippled through Sumatra, the westernmost island in the Indonesian archipelago.

Government figures put the number of dead at 777, with at least 440 people seriously injured. John Holmes, the UN's humanitarian chief, set the death toll at 1,100, and the number was expected to grow.

'3rd Party will Enrich Iran's Uranium'
Oct 2nd, 2009
Daily NewsYAAKOV KATZ, Hilary Leila Krieger and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

A day before Western leaders were scheduled to open talks with Iran in Switzerland, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday that he was prepared to let a third party enrich uranium to the grade his country required for its nuclear reactor, rather than carry out the enrichment itself.

"One of the subjects on the agenda of this negotiation is how we can get fuel for our Teheran reactor," the president was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying, according to AFP.

"As I said in New York, we need 19.75-percent-enriched uranium. We said that, and we propose to buy it from anybody who is ready to sell it to us. We are ready to give 3.5%-enriched uranium, and then they can enrich it more and deliver to us 19.75%-enriched uranium."

Last week, the United States revealed the existence of a second hidden uranium enrichment facility that was being constructed in a mountain near Qom, some 160 kilometers south of Teheran.

"They have deceived the world and will continue to do so," said a top Israeli official Wednesday.

While the Geneva talks are are formally between chief Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili and the EU's Javier Solana, the US, Britain, France, Russia and Germany are sending senior officials. Washington will be represented by William Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, while Russia is dispatching Sergey Ryabkov, a deputy foreign minister.

Ahead of Thursday's negotiations, the State Department stressed its hope that the session would open the door to more in-depth dialogue about ways Iran could alleviate concerns that its emerging nuclear program may be secretly developing nuclear weapons.

If Iran is willing to address the nuclear issues, then there likely will be subsequent meetings, State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley said in Washington.

"That process will take some time," Crowley said. "We're not going to make a snap judgment on Thursday. We're going to see how that meeting goes, evaluate the willingness of Iran to engage on these issues."

Crowley noted that President Barack Obama had said he intended to take a few months to assess Iran's position and consult with US negotiating partners before deciding what steps to take next.

According to Obama administration officials, the US wants to see Iran embrace the formula whereby the international community will freeze the threat of sanctions in exchange for Iran freezing its uranium enrichment program during negotiations.

The US officials didn't make that formula a condition of talks as the previous George W. Bush administration had done, but they did indicate Wednesday that significant steps such as the freeze would have to be undertaken for the US to be willing to participate in an ongoing negotiating process with Teheran.

"This, from the point of view of the United States, cannot be an open-ended process or talks just for the sake of talks. Especially in light of the revelations about Qom, we need to see - all of us need to see - practical steps and measurable results, and we need to see them starting quickly," said a senior US official.

The official reiterated previous demands that Iran provide information about the secret facility and other aspects of its nuclear program, and that it fully cooperate with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.

He also stressed in a briefing with reporters in Geneva that "in addition to concrete steps toward transparency, we need to see practical, tangible steps to build confidence in Iranian intentions."

He referred to the international negotiating consortium of the US, England, France, Germany, Russia and China as having "a longstanding proposal on the table that begins with an interim period, the so-called freeze-for-freeze, and leads to suspension, and that remains the starting point for us for discussions."

He lowered expectations for any quick breakthroughs on that or other moves, though, saying, "I think it's pretty safe to predict that this is going to be an extraordinarily difficult process. I doubt that it's going to be measured in terms of one meeting, although we'll see how the Iranians approach the meeting tomorrow."

America continues to see the nuclear issue as the critical subject of the discussions, the official reiterated, but he said the US would be raising a range of issues, including human rights, which some are urging could help strengthen the opposition forces in Iran.

Israeli officials, though, expressed skepticism that the talks would produce a positive outcome.

"There is no doubt that the Iranian style proves that they have no intention to seriously deal with what the West wants to achieve," the Israeli defense official said. "Iran is lying and deceiving the world and nothing is happening to them."

Even as they prepare for new talks Thursday with Iran on its nuclear program, the US and its allies are contemplating new and tighter sanctions on Teheran, in a clear signal of expectations that the negotiations may again end in failure.

Meanwhile, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN-IBN in an interview published Wednesday that Iran would be "well advised" to take Obama's offer to "engage in substantive negotiations without preconditions."

He said he hoped Thursday's meeting between the Islamic Republic and the six world powers would "usher in a comprehensive, meaningful dialogue."

ElBaradei went on to say that Iran's recently revealed uranium enrichment facility was a "setback to the principle of transparency."

He said Iran was "on the wrong side of the law," as it should have informed the UN nuclear watchdog "on the day it was decided to construct the facility."

He added that the plant violated international law.

However, he said that Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akhbar Salehi had told him "there are no centrifuges in the facility, there is no nuclear material, it is simply still just ready in terms of cables and construction."

When asked to respond to accusations that he had given Iran an "easy pass" in the past, the IAEA chief said, "The idea that we have been 'soft' or 'hard' is absolutely bonkers... We cannot just barge into a facility."

In terms of developing atomic weapons, ElBaradei told CNN-IBN that he did not believe Iran had "an ongoing nuclear weapons program."

He did, however, concede that Teheran might have "some weaponization studies," as was claimed by the US and others.

British intelligence services say Iran has been secretly designing a nuclear warhead "since late 2004 or 2005," according to a report in the Financial Times of London.

The report states that Great Britain believes that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the Islamic Republic to restart its weapons program about four years ago.

US intelligence has said it believes that Iran stopped work on building a nuclear weapon in 2003 and did not resume until two years ago.

In Teheran, Ahmadinejad said Thursday's talks would be a "test" of the world's respect for Iran's rights.

"This meeting is a test to measure the extent of sincerity and commitment of some countries to law and justice," Ahmadinejad said after a cabinet meeting Wednesday, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Teheran's acknowledgment that it has kept silent on the Qom plant - which can make both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead cores - has burdened the already heated atmosphere of the crucial negotiations to the point that expectations of what would constitute success are modest.

A US government official confirmed that commercial satellite images taken of the purported site near Qom were generally accurate. He confirmed that at least one of the buildings shown in the commercial images matched up to secret US government imagery of the Iranian uranium enrichment facility publicly revealed last Friday.