HHMI Newsgroup Archives

From: Eddie Chumney
To:    heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: News of Interest: January 23 - February 6, 2000


                              News of Interest
                 January 23  to February 6, 2000


DRUMBEATS OF WAR


PENTAGON STUDY FINDS CHINA PREPARING FOR WAR WITH U.S.
By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES Feb 1

Strategic writings by China's military and party leaders show that China is making plans for war,
according to a new Pentagon study.  Some 600 translations of internal Chinese writings by 200
authors reveal China's strategy to defeat a superior foe, using both military and nonmilitary means,
such as propaganda, deception and covert action.  They also reveal the extreme distrust of the
United States by China's military and party leaders.  Chinese generals state that the United States
intentionally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, last May as part of a
long-term strategy to prompt an arms race that will cause China's collapse.

The Chinese statements from the mid-1990s through last year discuss issues normally couched in
secrecy inside China.  They appear in the book "China Debates the Future Security Environment,"
published last month for the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment, the unit in charge of long-range
planning.  The translations were edited by Michael Pillsbury, a defense policy planner in the
Reagan administration who is fluent in Chinese.  The official Chinese views from Communist
Party and military officials contradict other claims by the Beijing government that China poses no
threat to the United States or other nations.

Chinese strategists plan to use a combination of Marxist-Leninist doctrine and ancient Chinese
tactics against the United States, which is compared in Chinese military writings as a "hegemon"
on a par with Nazi Germany.  Gen.  Li Jijun, described as one of China's most distinguished
military authors, states that the United States engineered the collapse of the Soviet Union and the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait as a "strategic misdirection" or deception.  Other Chinese authors state
the United States is working covertly to "dismember" western China, namely Tibet and Xinjiang.

The report is a public document, but the Pentagon is limiting its distribution, presumably because
of its stark disclosures of Chinese military thinking.  According to the book, the late Chinese
leader Deng Xiaoping set the current military strategy for dealing with the world's only
superpower in the slogan "bide our time and build up our capabilities."  A key debate among
Chinese military and party writers is how rapidly the United States will decline, a view based on
the Marxist ideas on the collapse of capitalism.


PREPARATION FOR WAR

EX-SPY FEARS SNEAK RUSSIAN ATTACK
NewsMax.com January 25, 2000 By Stephan Archer LOS ANGELES

Stanislav Lunev, highest-ranking Soviet spy ever to defect, warned members of Congress Monday
a pre-emptive strike by Russia on American soil is a real possibility.  At a House Committee on
Government Reform hearing here, the one-time colonel in Soviet and then Russian Federation
military intelligence, gave a chilling presentation of his country's Cold War plans to defeat the
United States.

Under federal witness protection, Lunev was escorted into the hearing room with a black bag
covering his head.  From behind a screen to shield him from the view of the audience, Lunev
testified Soviet generals had designed a special plan for the future war against America and its
allies in which special-operation forces commanders would come to the United States and other
NATO countries a few days   maybe even a few hours   before actual war.

Using weapons systems that had already been hidden at strategic points throughout the United
States, he said, the Soviet generals would have demolished the country's political infrastructure
by destroying strategic facilities and assassinating top military leaders such as the president and
vice president just hours or minutes before a nuclear missile strike.  Lunev said one of his
espionage assignments had been to scout "drop sites" for weapons caches.   He said he believes
Russian military weapons are currently hidden in strategic points all across the United States and
Europe for just such a purpose.  Those hidden stockpiles of weapons would include portable
nuclear devices, chemical and biological weapons, conventional weapons and incendiary devices,
he said.

Lunev told the panel the weapon caches could be used whenever the Russian commanders in
charge are given the "go."  He added that Russia is using Chechnya as a test battlefield for a
future "real" war that may be with the United States and its allies.

CHINA'S NEW NAVAL STRATEGY
STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update 26 January 2000 Summary

In the first exercise of its kind, the Chinese People's Liberation Army/Navy (PLAN) conducted
maneuvers involving several small missile craft more than 250 nautical miles from the Chinese
mainland.  Although the PLAN has openly aspired to develop an ocean- going capacity, most of
its efforts have focused on acquiring a larger number of major surface vessels capable of
long-range deployments.  It seems that now, faced with an unstable security environment and an
uncertain economy making it difficult to purchase new major surface combatants, the PLAN may
have found a way to utilize its fleet of small attack craft as an effective and less costly - though
less capable - interim solution.

IRAN'S WAR GAMES TO STAGE QUICKEST MOVEMENT OF TROOPS IN TIME OF
CRISIS
Weekend News Today By Kelly Pagatpatan Source: Reuters Sun Jan 30, 2000

The Iranian army will begin manoeuvres in western and southern regions of the country on
Monday, the official IRNA news agency said.  "These two manoeuvres are unprecedented.  They
are designed to allow the quickest movement of troops at the time of a crisis," IRNA quoted
Brigadier general Ebrahim Ashtiani, deputy-commander of the ground forces, as saying on
Sunday.

SIGNS OF IRAQI ARMS BUILDUP BEDEVIL U.S. ADMINISTRATION
By Steven Lee Myers Washington, Jan. 31 New York Times February 1, 2000

Satellite photographs and American intelligence reports have shown that Iraq has in the last year
rebuilt military and industrial sites damaged by American and British air strikes in late 1998,
officials say.  The recent intelligence findings have raised concerns among Defense Department
and other officials in the Clinton administration that in the prolonged absence of international
weapons inspectors, whose job would be to search those structures, President Saddam Hussein's
government has continued its pursuit of biological and chemical weapons.  Despite those
concerns, the administration's policy has been allowed to drift, leaving the United States unable to
force Iraq to accept a resumption of inspections even after resolving an impasse at the United
Nations Security Council.

Iraq's refusal has now left the administration in a quandary over how to respond at a time when
international support for its policy and for sanctions against Mr. Hussein is waning.   "There is
concern in intelligence circles that he has begun to rebuild buildings that could enable him" to
produce chemical or biological weapons, a senior administration official said.   "He has had a lot of
time to operate without inspections."

Although the intelligence reports have not provided concrete evidence that Iraq is producing
chemical or biological weapons, the officials said, the reports have raised the possibility of
renewed military confrontation, because the administration has repeatedly warned that any effort
by Iraq to produce the weapons would prompt new American air strikes.  The concern has given
urgency to the new inspection program created last month by the Security Council.   But for the
administration, the latest Iraqi defiance has been met with frustration, uncertainty over how to
proceed and even fatigue.

U. S. CIA DIRECTOR SEES MISSILE THREATS EMERGING
February 1, 2000 By Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters)

The missile threat to the United States from countries other than Russia or China is "steadily
emerging," CIA Director George Tenet said in a draft of testimony to be delivered to Congress on
Wednesday.  "Over the next 15 years ... our cities will face ballistic missile threats from a wider
variety of actors -- North Korea, probably Iran, and possibly Iraq," he said in testimony obtained
by Reuters.  The draft could change before delivery to the Senate Intelligence Committee on
Wednesday.  In some cases those threats will arise because of the country's internal development
and in other cases because of direct foreign help mostly from Russia and China, Tenet said.

Most analysts believe that Iran, following the North Korean pattern, could test an intercontinental
ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States in the "next few years," he said.  Iraq is also
likely working on attaining a similar capability and could develop an intercontinental ballistic
missile capability "sometime in the next decade" with foreign assistance, Tenet said.  Iraq is also
reconstructing facilities aimed at developing weapons of mass destruction that were damaged
during U.S.-British air and missile strikes in December 1998, the draft testimony said.

In Pakistan and India "there is a good prospect of further nuclear testing" as both countries have
intensified their missile and nuclear rivalry, Tenet said.  Prospects for reviving bilateral dialogue
soon between the two countries mired in tensions over Kashmir "are dim," he said.


TERRORISM

MILLENNIUM ACTUALLY STARTS IN 2001, TERRORISTS NOTE
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AP)

With the world breathing a collective sigh of relief following the violence-free passage into the
year 2000, an international coalition of terrorists issued a reminder Monday that the new
millennium does not actually begin until Jan. 1, 2001.

"Technically speaking, we are now in the last year of the 20th century," said Mahmoud al-Habib,
a spokesperson for the terrorist organization Hamas.  "Since there was no year zero, next New
Year's Eve is the real time to detonate bombs in Times Square and blow commercial airliners out
of the sky."

Speaking from a secret bunker in the Kashmir hills, Osama bin Laden agreed.  "We were all set to
blow up the Eiffel Tower," bin Laden said, "when one of my suicide bombers pointed out that it
should actually be done next Jan. 1, not this one.  I suppose we'll just have to wait."

EXPERT TESTIFIES ISLAMIC TERRORISTS FLOCKING TO U.S.
Special to World Tribune.com Monday, January 31, 2000 WASHINGTON

The United States and Canada have become havens for Islamic terrorists from the Middle East, a
congressional panel has been told.  Despite counterterrorism legislation, the United States and
Canada have become a haven for such terrorist groups as the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad,
the Lebanese Hizbullah, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, the Egyptian Al Gamat Al Islamiya
and the Al Qaida group, led by Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden.

Counterterrorism expert Steven Emerson cited the liberal climate in the United States, the ability
to hide under mainstream religious identification, loopholes in immigration procedures, ease of
penetration of borders, compartmentalization of terrorist cells around loosely structured terrorist
movements.  Emerson said Islamic groups in the United States benefit from the exploitation of
freedoms of religion and speech , absence of a vigilant media and lack of government scrutiny
regarding fundraising.


APOSTASY AND ECUMENISM

SOUTH AFRICA CONSIDERS REDEFINING MARRIAGE AND PREGNANCY
CAPETOWN, South Africa (EP)

The South African Parliament is considering an "Equality Bill" that would redefine marriage to
include homosexuals, and recognize abortion as part of pregnancy.  If passed, marriage in South
Africa would include anyone "in a relationship, whether with a person of the same or the opposite
sex."  The bill would also broaden the term pregnancy to include "termination of pregnancy" to
justify abortion, reports the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).

CATHOLIC PRIESTS ARE DYING OF AIDS, OFTEN IN SILENCE
By Judy L.  Thomas - The Kansas City Star Date: 01/29/00

Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests across the United States have died of AIDS-related illnesses,
and hundreds more are living with HIV, the virus that causes the disease.  The actual number of
AIDS deaths is difficult to determine.  But it appears priests are dying of AIDS at a rate at least
four times that of the general U.S. population, according to estimates from medical experts and
priests and an analysis of health statistics by The Kansas City Star.  In Missouri and Kansas alone,
at least 16 priests and two religious-order brothers have died of AIDS since early 1987.   The
deaths are of such concern to the church that most dioceses and religious orders now require
applicants for the priesthood to take an HIV-antibody test before their ordination.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACCUSED OF 'SELL-OUT' TO GAY LOBBY
By Jonathan Petre London Telegraph 2/6/00

Thehurch of England was last night accused of "selling out to the gay lobby" over Section 28, by
aiding the Government's efforts to scrap the legislation that prevents homosexuality being
promoted in schools.  Campaigners to keep the section, including Baroness Young, the Tory peer,
are furious that a bishop has tabled a compromise amendment on the eve of tomorrow's critical
Lords debate that could wreck efforts to defeat the Government.  One said the Church appeared
to be engaged in "dirty tricks".


ANTI-SEMITISM

OFFICIAL SYRIAN NEWSPAPER CALLS HOLOCAUST A 'MYTH'
Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: Ha'aretz Tue Feb 1,2000

In an unusually harsh editorial, official Syrian newspaper Tishrin compared Israel to the Nazis,
claiming that Zionism "created the Holocaust myth to blackmail and terrorize the world's
intellectuals and politicians."  The editorial claimed that Israel "is now dealing with Arabs in the
occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Palestine and South Lebanon in the same way - by burning any
chance to realize the just and comprehensive peace that will restore properties to their rightful
owners."

The editorial also says that the media in Europe is starting to ask questions to discover the truth,
which has been revised by the Zionists.  That is why they recently held an international conference
in Switzerland in order to bolster their lies and make them seem logical.  Zionism embroiders
stories about the Holocaust by taking it completely out of proportion."


PERSECUTION

UNDER FIRE, FCC REVERSES RELIGIOUS BROADCASTING RULING
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNS)

Saying that "it has become clear that our actions have created less certainty rather than more,
contrary to our intent," the Federal Communications Commission - in a four to one vote - Friday
reversed new guidelines limiting religious content on noncommercial public television.   "In
hindsight," the Commission said in the new decision, "we see the difficulty of minting clear
definitional parameters for 'educational, instructional or cultural' programming, particularly
without the benefit of broad comment.  Therefore, we vacate our additional guidance.   We will
defer to the editorial judgment of the licensee unless such judgment is arbitrary or unreasonable."

SOUTH AFRICAN LAW PUTS CHRISTIANS ON COLLISION COURSE WITH STATE
By Patrick Goodenough CNS London Bureau Chief 04 February, 2000 CNSNews.com

Any South African churchman who refuses to marry a same-sex couple, any pro-lifer who says
publicly that abortion is wrong and any Christian who preaches exclusive salvation through Jesus
Christ could be breaking the law in South Africa.

The South African government has passed legislation aimed at outlawing discrimination, a move
that some Christians fear has placed them on a collision course with the state.  The Promotion of
Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, signed by President Thabo Mbeki on
Thursday, is the country's most important piece of legislation after the constitution itself, and all
other relevant laws will have to be amended to comply with it.

The Act is intended to deal with South Africa's legacy of racial discrimination, but critics say it
goes to absurd lengths to outlaw almost every conceivable action that could be deemed
discriminatory.  Equality courts will be set up to enforce the law's provisions against
discrimination on the grounds of "race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social
origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and
birth."  Those accused of unfair discrimination will have to prove their innocence before these
courts.  Speech that is intended to be hurtful, incite harm or promote or propagate hatred is
banned.

Only at a late stage did the government withdraw another controversial clause - the inclusion of
"HIV/Aids" infection as grounds for discrimination.  Instead, a committee will be set up to make
recommendations on this issue within a year.


PAPACY

POPE'S DOCTORS WARN OF DECLINE
John Follain Rome London Times 1/23/00

Popehn Paul II, whose passions for skiing and swimming earned him the sobriquet "God's
Athlete" when he was elected in 1978, will be in a wheelchair within two years, his physicians
have warned.  The prediction will intensify speculation that he may abdicate after the Holy Year
ends at Easter 2001.

Neurologists treating the Pope for Parkinson's disease have noticed that the symptom that affects
him most is difficulty in walking.  "Although he may still be able to get around his room for some
time, by holding on to things, he will need a wheelchair in two years' time, at the most," said one
eminent neurologist.

The onset of the disease has been worsened, doctors say, by the Pope's reluctance to take larger
doses of the drug Levodopa out of concern that possible side-effects, including confusion, may
interfere with his work.  "It's a courageous trade-off.  When the Pope was on higher doses, he
suffered from disorientation.  He wants to keep as clear a mind as possible," one physician said.

VATICAN SPLIT OVER APOLOGY FOR ITS PAST
By Bruce Johnston in Rome London Telegraph 2/4/00

The Roman Catholic Church was said yesterday to be deeply divided over a report which seeks
forgiveness for past "sins" including the Crusades, witch-hunts of heretics and the Inquisition.

Opponents of the report doubted the value of apologising for past wrongs, arguing that
anachronism was the "worst sin for an historian".  After three years in the making, the mea culpa
document, completed by an international theological commission headed by the doctrinal expert
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is to be read by the Pope on March 12.

It follows an apostolic letter in 1994 in which the Pope said that for the new Millennium the
Church should own up to the past "sins of its children .  .  .  when they have strayed from the
spirit of Christ and his Gospel".  While the document will not carry the Pope's authority and will
have only consultative value to enable "theological reflection", it is said to have split the Vatican.

The most significant opposition to the document, wanted by the Pope to "purify the memory of
the Church" to celebrate the Holy Year 2000, has come from a respected group of historians.
The document, entitled The Church and the Faults of the Past, is thought to have taken into
account some of the objections


500,000 TOURISTS EXPECTED IN MARCH DURING VISIT OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
IsraelWire-2/4

Tourism officials are preparing for the arrival of 500,000 tourists in March    pilgrims expected to
visit during the visit of Pope John Paul II. It is expected that 4,000 buses will be needed to service
the large number of visitors and some buses will be pulled off the Egged Bus Cooperative's
regular public bus lines.

Tourism Ministry officials report that average number of monthly visitors is about 200,000 and
the expected number will establish a new record.  Tourism officials estimate Egged will be
required to pull 800 buses from regular service routes to accommodate the visitors.   The Pope
will be in Israel on March 22   27.

Tourism officials realize the visit will demand all of the nation's tourism resources and hotel
occupancies are expected to be at 100 percent from several days preceding the visit until several
days after the pontiff leaves.


SOCIETAL DECADENCE - As in the Days of Noach

SCHOOLS VIDEO TELLS CHILDREN TO TRY GAY SEX
January 30 2000 BRITAIN Rosie Waterhouse and James Clark London Sunday Times

A VIDEO that encourages schoolchildren as young as 14 to experiment with gay sex has caused
outrage among MPs and family campaigners.  The film, now available in 180 schools, also asks
pupils aged 14-16 to discuss whether a fictional 15-year-old boy - Michael - should have
unprotected gay sex with his boyfriend.  The Department of Health faced furious calls last night to
step in and block the teaching pack, which was paid for by Avon health authority using public
money.

The pack - called Beyond a Phase: A Practical Guide to Challenging Homophobia in Schools - is
being cited by campaigners as a prime example of why Labour should abandon plans to scrap
section 28, the law that forbids the promotion of homosexuality in schools.  The 14-minute film
would be a clear breach of the law if health authorities were not exempted from section 28.  In it a
young college student called Karl tells his audience of school pupils that to obtain sexual
satisfaction they should "try experimenting with both boys and girls to see who you feel most
comfortable with".

Valerie Riches, of the Family and Youth Campaign pressure group, said: "This puts concepts and
activities into the minds of youngsters they would not normally think about."   Last night Liam
Fox, the Conservative health spokesman, said few parents would want their children "exposed" to
the film and said he would demand that the Department of Health investigate.


ONE-WORLD

PRODI SEEKS EXPANSION OF EU AUTHORITY
STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update 28 January 2000

European Commission President Romano Prodi has proposed several radical reforms that would
give the European Union (EU) greater authority over its 15 member countries.  The timing of
Prodi's proposal is important as the EU considers admitting new members from the Baltics,
Central Europe and the Mediterranean.  If Prodi's proposals succeed, they would give the
European Union stronger federal powers over its constituent states.  This proposal is the first true
test for the EU and it has the potential to either make or break the union.

BLAIR ACCUSED OF PLANNING EURO-SUPERSTATE
January 29, Yahoo

Conservative leader William Hague says Tony Blair and Brussels bureaucrats are pushing ahead
with plans to create a European superstate.  Mr Hague argued that European Commission
proposals published this week could lead to further EU integration, and a limiting of member
states' right to use their national veto.  But Mr Hague rejected Mr Blair's accusation that the
Tories wanted to quit Europe.

Mr Hague told the Council of Europe's European Democrat Group that the EC's proposals for the
Intergovernmental Conference later this year let slip its integrationist ambitions.   He said :"They
are pushing for a European Union with its own government, its own army, its own taxes, its own
foreign policy, its own criminal justice system, its own constitution, as well as its own currency -
in other words, a single European state.  "The submission is an integrationist wish-list - the
blueprint for a single European state."

Mr Hague said the EC wanted to expand the use of majority voting to push through policies
which a minority of countries did not back.  He said: "The national veto would be abolished in
areas such as aspects of social security, social policy, industrial and transport policy, financial
regulation and the spending of the multi-million pound structural and cohesion funds."  The
blueprint was not an "isolated document," the Conservative leader warned.   He added: "It comes
alongside moves to build a European defence capability independent of Nato, and a common
foreign and security policy which the EU's High Representative concerned calls the 'integration
project for the next decade'."

COMMISSION BECOMING A GOVERNMENT, SAYS PRODI
By George Jones, Political Editor London Telegraph 2/4/00

EUROPE is forging its own government and army, Romano Prodi, president of the European
Commission, claimed yesterday.  In remarks which will embarrass Tony Blair - who nominated
Mr Prodi for the European Union's top job - he said that the Brussels Commission was evolving
into a government-like body.  Mr Prodi cited as an example of the development of "European
government" the commission's warning that Austria could lose its EU voting rights if the inclusion
of the far-Right Freedom Party in a coalition government led to breaches of human rights.

In an interview in the Independent today, Mr Prodi said: "European government is a clear
expression I still use.  You need time, but step by step - as in the Austrian case - the European
Commission takes a political decision and behaves like a growing government."

Mr Prodi also appeared to question repeated assurances by Mr Blair that closer defence
co-operation was not leading to the creation of a European army.  He said he was "not joking"
when he talked about a European army, and the EU had taken a firm decision to create a common
body for peace-keeping efforts.

WORLD GOVERNMENT MEETING IN SEPTEMBER:
Major U.N. confab seeks to implement 'global decision-making'
By Jon E. Dougherty   2000 WorldNetDaily.com 1/27/00

The United Nations is sponsoring a global government conference in the fall designed to examine
"the future of the world," and to create "an organizational structure whereby the peoples of the
world can participate effectively in global decision-making in the context of the United Nations
system."

In preparation for this unprecedented conference, "Charter 99: A Charter for Global Democracy"
calls for all nations to adopt principles of "international accountability, justice, and sustainable
development" under the umbrella of democratic representation -- through the United Nations.

Called the "Millennium Assembly and Summit," the meeting is part of the U. N.'s latest initiative
to implement global government.  Paving the way for the meeting, Charter 99 is sponsored by a
consortium of influential non-governmental organizations, or NGOs -- including the World
Federalist Association, Westminster UNA, the One World Trust, the Commission for Global
Governance, and the Royal Commonwealth Society.  Addressed to "all the governments and
peoples of the world they represent," it openly invites representatives from every country to the
U. N. conference.

**************************************************************************

Return to Newsgroup Archives Main Page

Return to our Main Webpage


©2011 Hebraic Heritage Ministries International. Designed by Web Design by JB.