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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (262119)	11/25/2005 5:37:51 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 1572860

PA admits Jewish towns turned into 'training camps' Follows WND story former Gaza capital now Hamas terror zone Posted: November 25, 2005 8:19 a.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority admitted in an official document published that today parts of Gush Katif, the former Jewish communities of Gaza, are now "training camps" for terror groups. In an exclusive story last week, WND reported Hamas has turned Neve Dekalim, the former capital of Gush Katif, into a "martyrs training camp," and has used the territory to fire rockets into Israel. Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef yesterday toured Gaza's former Jewish communities and detailed a PA plan to bring security to the area. Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in August, the land that comprised Gush Katif has been the scene of regular internal Palestinian clashes. An official dossier of Yousef's schedule released today by the Interior Ministry states, "The Minister Nasser Yousef toured the newly liberated areas of Gaza, parts of which are used by the Palestinian groups as training camps." As WND reported, in what some expelled Jewish residents of the area called the "ultimate insult," Hamas leaders said they turned Neve Dekalim into a "martyr training camp" and have used the territory to launch rockets into Israel. Earlier this month officials placed barbed wire around Neve Dekalim, as well as signs posted in Arabic which describe the neighborhood as a "closed military zone." Senior Hamas sources told WND the group transformed Dekalim into a "military training camp for martyrs," boasting that several Qassam rockets have been fired from the former Jewish capital into nearby Israeli Negev towns. Hamas has taken credit for Israel's Gaza withdrawal and has become a formidable force in the area. It swept local municipal elections, and analysts expect the terror group to do well in upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas chief in Gaza, told WND in an exclusive interview last month "that our martyr operations caused Israel to withdraw from Gaza is the truth and the reality. ... [Martyr operations] are the option that the great majority of our people, except a minority of opportunistic people, is deeply convinced is the best choice because any negotiation with the occupiers will be helpless and will not bring back to the Palestinians any of their rights and it will not free their lands." Al-Zahar warned Hamas would launch terror attacks to drive Israel from the West Bank and ultimately from the entire Jewish state. Since the Gaza withdrawal, more than 100 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israeli Negev towns. Israel says Palestinian groups are transferring rocket technology and heavy weaponry to Judea and Samaria. Neve Dekalim was the largest town in Gaza's Gush Katif slate of Jewish communities. Prior to Israel's withdrawal, the neighborhood regularly was bustling with Jewish residents dining, shopping and going to work. It contained Katif's industrial zone, government buildings and some of the largest synagogues and stores in the area. Housing was tight, with a total of 467 units in the neighborhood filled by Jewish families who moved in from throughout Israel and across the world. WND's story last week of a Hamas terror camp in their former city saddened Jewish residents who had been expelled from the area. Dror Venunu, former director of the Gush Katif Development Fund and a Dekalim resident, told WND, "This is the ultimate insult. I didn't have one illusion the Palestinians would use our town to build something good. We warned about this to the Israeli population, that giving Gush Katif will reward all the terror organizations. Still, to hear where my home once stood is now a Hamas terror camp is very difficult and sickening. This is like making a holy place into total filth." Rachel Sapperstein, a former Dekalim community leader, told WND, "I had not expected anything less from the Palestinians. I would have assumed they would take our beautiful homes, synagogues and schools and turn them into centers for terror." Sapperstein said prior to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza she was in the planning stages for a new girls' dormitory to be constructed in Neve Dekalim in the memory of the first Gush Katif resident killed in a terror attack. "I thank God I didn't build that dormitory," Sapperstein said, "because my heart would shatter if I knew that from it would come a Hamas training camp."

To: steve harris who wrote (262119)	11/25/2005 8:06:56 PM
From: Taro	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572860

They don't believe in God - but when getting in serious trouble they secretly pray to God. Would never admit to that though ;) Taro

To: steve harris who wrote (262119)	11/25/2005 9:12:44 PM
From: paret	Respond to of 1572860

Firefighters to erect monument with controversial poem November 22, 2005 Boston Globe front page \| Boston.com BRUNSWICK, Maine --Firefighters will be allowed to erect a memorial that features a poem with a reference to God and language that some town councilors viewed as sexist. The poem, "A Fireman's Prayer," was written in 1959 by Kansas firefighter A.W. Linn and is found on memorials across the country. Some town councilors were concerned that a reference to God could violate legal standards on the separation of church and state, and that other lines might imply that only men can be firefighters. Objections were also raised to the use of the word "fireman" instead of the gender-neutral word "firefighter." The Town Council voted Monday to allow the monument to be built as planned, but not without debate. "To put a monument in 2005 on a public piece of property which completely cuts women out of the equation is wrong," said Newell Augur. Councilor Joanne King saw no problems with the language. "I think women are empowered by their actions to become firefighters, police officers or doctors," King said. "I don't think the average woman is going to be threatened by a poem that was written in 1959." Members of the local firefighters union completed a $12,000 fundraising campaign in 2002 to build a memorial honoring town firefighters. Firefighters selected "A Fireman's Prayer" to appear on the monument, which will be erected next spring next to a new fire station at Cooks Corner. The poem's first line reads, "When I'm called to the duty of God." The final lines read: "And if according to my fate, I am to lose my life, Please bless with your protecting hand, My children and my wife." Councilors had no problem with placing a monument on the property, but several questioned the poem's reference to God and asked the town's attorney to determine if it would leave the town open to a lawsuit. Town Attorney Geoffrey Hole said the language would not give the impression that local government was endorsing religion. Councilors voted 9-0 to leave the word God in the poem. In another vote, three council members did not want to allow the wording to remain as originally written. But the other six councilors said it would be inappropriate to change the wording and that, at its heart, the poem is simply an homage to the sacrifices firefighters make. David Douglas, president of the firefighters union, said the family of A.W. Linn, the poem's author, asked that it not be altered. Linn died last year. Public support at Monday's meeting favored the union. "Everything the firefighters have tried to do in this town has become a battle with the council," said Jennifer Ouellette, who urged the council to leave the poem alone. "We only want to change the poem to make it politically correct." __________________________________________________________________ A Fireman's Prayer When I am called to duty, God, Whenever flames may rage; Give me strength to save some life, Whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child Before it is too late Or save an older person From the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert And hear the weakest shout, And quickly and efficiently To put the fire out. I want to fill my calling And to give the best in me To guard my every neighbor And protect his property. And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life, Please bless with your protecting My children and my wife.