Christian Coalition loses leader in dispute

Christian Coalition loses leader in dispute: "The Florida pastor recently tapped to lead the Christian Coalition of America resigned his position in a dispute about conservative philosophy - more than a month before he was to fully assume his post, he said this week.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Northland, A Church Distributed, in Longwood, Fla., said he quit as president-elect of the group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson because he realized he would be unable to broaden the organization's agenda beyond opposing abortion and same-sex marriage.

He hoped to include issues such as easing poverty and saving the environment.

'These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about,' Hunter said.

The resignation took place Tuesday during an organization board meeting. Hunter said he was not asked to leave.

'They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues; that's not our base,' ' Hunter said. A statement issued by the coalition said Hunter resigned because of 'differences in philosophy and vision.' The organization, headed by President Roberta Combs, claims a mailing list of 2.5 million."

(Via The Daou Report.)

Lebanon death 'may presage coup'

Lebanon death 'may presage coup': "This week's killing of Lebanese politician Pierre Gemayel may be the first shot in a coup against the government, says a top US official.

John Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said recent probes into political killings in Lebanon suggested Syrian involvement.

He told the BBC that if Syria was deemed to have been involved, the implications were serious.

Saturday sees the second day of a strike protesting at the killing.

Many shops closed on Friday with business leaders saying they hoped the action would move Lebanon closer to a 'national dialogue' and ward off the threat of division and street protests."

(Via BBC News.)

Bush: Iraq's just like Vietnam!

Bush: Iraq's just like Vietnam!: "I'm not sure if this is the smartest rhetorical tack for the preznit to take:

President Bush, on his first visit to a country where America lost a two-decade-long fight against communism, said Friday the Vietnam War's lesson for today's confounding Iraq conflict is that freedom takes time to trump hatred.

Uh hunh. Freedom®, indeed. Does he even know we lost that war? Does he know Vietnam is still a (nominally) communist country?

A baby boomer who came of age during the turbulent Vietnam era and spent the war stateside as a member of the Texas Air National Guard, the president called himself amazed by the sights of the one-time war capital.

What's that old joke? The difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that Bush sure had an exit strategy for Vietnam [rimshot]."

(Via AlterNet.)

U.N. Says Sudan Terrorizing Civilians

U.N. Says Sudan Terrorizing Civilians: "The Sudanese army and government-backed militias are committing acts of 'inexplicable terror' against civilians, including children, in Darfur, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official said Saturday.

Spiraling violence in the conflict-wracked region of western Sudan is reaching its worst level since fighting erupted more than three years ago, Jan Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs said.

'The government and its militias are conducting inexplicable terror against civilians,' he said in an Associated Press interview just after returning from his final trip to the area before his term as U.N. humanitarian chief ends in December.

'The government is arming Arab militias more than ever before ... the angst is that we may be reverting to the same level of violence' as in 2003, he said."

(Via Salon.)

Sudan accepts UN 'help' in Darfur

Sudan accepts UN 'help' in Darfur: "Sudan says it welcomes the United Nations' support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur but denies the UN will take command.

Sudan has always rejected plans to replace the AU force with a larger, stronger UN mission.

On Thursday, UN chief Kofi Annan had said a compromise had been reached for a hybrid UN-AU force, to break the deadlock over the Darfur mission.

More than 200,000 people have died in three years of conflict in the region.

About three million have fled their homes."

(Via BBC News.)

Plutonium Found in Iran Waste Facility

Plutonium Found in Iran Waste Facility: "International Atomic Energy experts have found unexplained plutonium and highly enriched uranium traces in a nuclear waste facility in Iran and have asked Tehran for an explanation, an IAEA report said Tuesday.

The report, prepared for next week's meeting of the 35-nation IAEA, also faulted Tehran for not cooperating with the agency's attempts to investigate suspicious aspects of Iran's nuclear program that have lead to fears it might be interested in developing nuclear arms.

And it said it could not confirm Iranian claims that its nuclear activities were exclusively nonmilitary unless Tehran increased its openness.

'The agency will remain unable to make further progress in its efforts to verify the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran,' without additional cooperation by Tehran, said the report, by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei."

(Via Salon.)

Hamas' Military Wing Calls for Muslims to Attack American Targets

Hamas' Military Wing Calls for Muslims to Attack American Targets: "In the wake of reports that an Israeli tnak strike killed 18 people in the Gaza Strip, Hamas' military wing issued a call for Muslims around the world to attack American targets.

This is dangerous for several reasons. One is that Hamas has a broad financial infrastructure inside the United States and enjoys some support among parts of the U.S. Islamic community, so there would be little need infiltrate operators. There could be people already here willing to carry out such attacks.

A second reason is that Hamas has traditionally not advocated attacks on the United States. But this call by the Hamas military wing is unambiguous: "America is offering political, financial and logistic cover for the Zionist occupation crimes, and it is responsible for the Beit Hanoun massacre. Therefore, the people and the nation all over the globe are required to teach the American enemy tough lessons," Hamas' military wing said in a statement sent to The Associated Press."

(Via The Counterterrorism Blog.)