The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is financing a new organization designed to bring all the world’s religions together.
“The organization hopes to prevent conflict through interfaith dialogue,” writes Spencer Kimball for the German news site Deutsche Welle. ”The foreign ministers of Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain signed the founding treaty of a new international organization designed to foster dialogue between the world’s major religions on Thursday.”
“The thesis is valid that world peace cannot exist without peace between the world’s major religions,” Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said during the signing ceremony in Vienna, according to Deutsche Welle:
The King Abdullah Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, initiated and financed largely by Saudi money, is set to have its seat in Vienna. Plans envision an organization with a governing body composed of 12 representatives from the world’s five largest religions.
The governing body is set to be staffed by two Muslims (Sunni and Shiite), three Christians (Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox), a Buddhist, a Hindu and a Jew. The organization will also have a consulting body with 100 representatives from the five world religions plus other faiths as well as academics and members of civil society.
Austria’s Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said that the organization’s structures are designed to ensure that none of the represented religions dominates the organization. The three founding states are also open to the membership of other countries, according to Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez Garcia-Herrera.
Saudi King Abdullah initiated the idea for the center after visiting Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2007, the first Saudi monarch to do so. Shortly thereafter, King Abdullah stated that Christians and Muslims should offer a common message of peace to humanity.
Abdullah then initiated an interfaith dialogue in Mecca in 2008 followed by a second meeting in Madrid with Jewish representation. A third meeting took place in Vienna’s Hofburg in 2009, where the concept of the organization was agreed upon.
The Initiative of Liberal Muslims protested Thursday’s signing ceremony in Vienna, saying that the center was an attempt by Saudi Arabia to spread a conservative form of Islam.
The idea is not new. In 2003, the Christian Broadcasting Network reported on a UN-sponsored summit of the world’s religions.
“A one world government and a one world religion — it may just sound like fiction from the popular Left Behind novel series,” reported Wendy Griffith for CBN News. “But some Christians say this scenario may be closer than most people think. Earlier this fall in Geneva, hundreds of spiritual and religious leaders met for a peace summit. And although all the major faiths were there, including some who claim to represent Christianity, it was clear that Jesus was not invited.”
To say that many Christians do not welcome the notion of a one-world religion would be an incredible understatement. Just in recent weeks, longtime TV prophecy preacher Jack Van Impe ended decades of broadcasting on the Trinity Broadcasting Network — charging that popular author and pastor Rick Warren has been too cozy with Muslims. Van Impe charged that the intent is a merger of Islam and Christianity — Chrislam. Warren scoffs at the notion, saying that he supports a Christian-Muslim dialogue — and that Christians are required to love all Muslims and win them to Jesus.
In 1997 another conference raised alarms.
“Nearly 200 delegates wrapped up a week-long interfaith meeting at Stanford on Friday, predicting they had given birth to a movement as well as a spiritual institution: the United Religions,” reported the California newspaper San Jose Mercury’s religion and ethics writer Richard Scheinin. “The ‘spiritual United Nations,’ as some have referred to it, would be a world assembly for humanity’s myriad spiritual traditions. The international ‘summit conference’ brought together delegates from every continent to inaugurate formal efforts to figure out the organization’s structure and mission and launch a charter-writing process. After several years of talking, the initiative’s planners had finally gotten down to business.
“‘You are deputized!’ the Rev. William E. Swing, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, told delegates as they prepared to go home. ‘Tell the people that there is a United Religions, and that somewhere in the world, it is beginning to happen: that the religions are going to have an oasis where they can talk about peace.’”
So, will it happen this time? •
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US on High Alert, Conducts Drill in Israel and Saudi Arabia
The US holds a large-scale aerial exercise in Israel and Saudi Arabia; a navy fleet sails to the region in preparation for terror attacks
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
First Publish: 10/16/2011, 1:19 PM
C-5 transport plane
Israel news photo: Willard E. Grande II Wikimedia Commons
The United States is conducting a week-long large-scale aerial exercise in Israel and Saudi Arabia as a navy fleet sails to the Mediterranean in preparation for any surprise flare-ups in the Middle East as Israel and frees 1,027 terrorists and security prisoners in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Intelligence officials have said that terrorist groups, particularly Hizbullah and those based in Gaza, will try to stage attacks on American and Israel targets in the Middle East while the exchange takes place.
“The U.S. Transportation Command and its Air Forces Transportation will be testing its ability to provide a rapid strategic airlift response to major crises and contingencies,” according to DebkaReport.
The American, Saudi and Israel armies are on high alert following last week’s American accusations that Iran plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.
The United States also reportedly is sending the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. It provides combat support for ground troops and can plant mines on coasts of Middle East countries.
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Big US airlift drill starts Monday. Fresh Hamas demands for Gilad Shalit DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 16, 2011, 10:10 AM (GMT+02:00)
22nd US Airlift Squadron C-5 transport
The United States launches a large-scale exercise over the Middle East deploying 41 giant transports of the 22nds Airlift Squadron Monday Oct. 17, the day before the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is scheduled to be released by Hamas. The US Transportation Command and its Air Forces Transportation will be testing its ability to provide a rapid strategic airlift response to major crises and contingencies.
Tuesday morning, when the Israel and Hamas prisoner exchange is due to be executed, the giant US transports will drill landings in Israel and Saudi Arabia. The aircraft will be packed with command and control elements and fighting units with full equipment.
debkafile's military sources report that during this critical week, the exercise ending Friday, Oct. 21 will keep an American air fleet in Middle East skies ready to land at any moment for any contingency. The Israeli, Egyptian and Saudi armies are on a high state of preparedness.
In parallel, The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is on its way from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Last Tuesday Oct. 11, as the US officials accused the Iranian government of directing a plot to assassination the Saudi ambassador to Washington, the Stennis was nearing the Red Sea.
Aboard was the Chief of US Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert who was assigned to the operation in this arena shortly after taking up his appointment.
The missions of the Stennis Battle Group, consisting of an additional seven warships, most of them destroyers and frigates, as well as Air Wing CVW-9, are to provide ground troops with combat support and strike land and sea targets. It is also able to sow mines over large areas around coastal regions and on the high sea.
Sunday, Oct. 16, US intelligence sources warned that the operation for the Israeli soldier's recovery from Hamas captivity (paid for by 1,027 jailed Palestinian terrorists) could touch off a spate of terrorist attacks in the region, most likely aimed at US embassies and Israel targets in and outside the country.
A senior US source noted that Iran, Hizballah and Syria might try and disrupt the exchange while it is in progress.
Tehran was furious with Washington for fingering Gholam Shakouri as one of the masterminds of the foiled assassination attempt. Shakouri is Deputy Chief of the Revolutionary Guards' Al Qods Brigades.
Iran, Syria and Hizballah all, furthermore, own an interest in thwarting the transfer of Hamas' political headquarters from Damascus to Cairo which was assured in a secret provision of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that was brokered by the US and Egypt.
Oct. 12, the day after the Shalit deal came to light, debkafile's military sources first drew attention to the danger of the three allies activating their undercover agents in the Gaza Strip to stymie the exchange.
On Oct. 14, the same warning was issued by the German spy agency's director Erns Uhrlau.
Sunday, circles in the IDF and Israel Defense Ministry voiced concern about the difficulties still to be overcome before Tuesday arrives. And indeed, that morning, Cairo sources reported hitches in finalizing the transfer arrangements which the prime minister's emissary David Maidan is managing for the Israeli side in Cairo. Those sources reported that Hamas representatives had raised fresh demands over and above the provisions of the prisoner swap accord they signed last week. They sought now to add more Palestinian female prisoners to the 27 agreed; they also wanted to delay the deportation of 40 hard-core terrorists to host countries and demanded that they stay in Egypt before their transfer.
Western sources report that Hamas hast yet to ask any foreign country to receive them. •
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Hamas will snatch more Israelis until all 8,000 Palestinian terrorists freed DEBKAfile Special Report October 12, 2011, 5:40 PM (GMT+02:00)
Khaled Meshaal still on the warpath
Tuesday night, Oct. 10, the Israeli cabinet by a majority of 26 approved the accord with Hamas for the release of Gilead Shalit. Three ministers opposed the deal – Avigdor Lieberman and Uzzi Landau of the Israel Beteinu party and Moshe Yaalon of Likud.
The Israeli soldier will gain his freedom – probably next week – after he was hidden by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for more than five years. Israel will hand over 1,027 Palestinian terrorists, cutting short the life sentences of 280 mass murderers responsible for hundreds of Israeli deaths. Among them are Israeli Arabs and East Jerusalem residents convicted on charges of terrorismn as concessions made by Israel to clinch the deal. Of the 110 allowed to return to the West Bank and Jerusalem, 55 are members of Hamas.
All Israel's security chiefs, from Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen and Mossad head Tamir Pardo, approved the exchange, which requires Israel to pay the highest price every to secure the release of one soldier. It means that hundreds of arch-terrorists, high-profile activists, will be turned loose, although most face deportation overseas, some to Turkey, or to the Gaza Strip.
None is immune from punishment should they repeat their crimes, the Shin Bet Director promised. However, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, who signed the exchange deal, vowed to continue efforts to kidnap Israeli soldiers to obtain the release of more prisoners. The Shalit abduction was not the last, he said: "We got 1,027 out of jail and we'll recover the remaining 8,000 too."
He was strongly echoed by radical Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip as they prepared a heroes' welcome for the homecoming terrorists.
The full list is due to be published Sunday, Oct. 16 on the Internet. Israelis wishing to appeal against the releases, such as the bereaved families of terrorist victims, will have 48 hours to do so. But Netanyahu's acceptance of the deal is widely popular and unlikely to be challenged.
Aviva and Noam Shalit, parents of the kidnapped soldier, are finally folding their tent opposite the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem after a year and two months of occupancy and five years of ceaseless campaigning across the world. They swore they would not go home and return to their lives until they could take Gilad with them.
The Egyptian media in hailing the prisoner exchange highlighted the praise Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu heaped on their government and security services for their key role in brokering the deal.
According to an unconfirmed report, the American-Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel held in Egypt on charges of spying and incitement to burn government buildings is included in the prisoner package in return for the release of more than 80 Egyptians in Israeli jails, most of them security offendors. •
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Get your peanut butter -- before prices soar
By James O'Toole October 14, 2011: 3:58 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Brace yourselves, peanut butter lovers -- prices are set to spike following one of the worst peanut harvest seasons growers have seen in years.
Prices for a ton of runner peanuts, commonly used to make peanut butter, hit nearly $1,200 this week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's up from just $450 per ton a year ago.
It won't be long before consumers see this price increase reflected on store shelves.
Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500) will raise prices for its Planters brand peanut butter by 40% starting Oct. 31, while ConAgra (CAG, Fortune 500) expects increases of more than 20% for its Peter Pan brand.
A spokesperson for Unilever (UL), which makes Skippy, would say only that it's watching the situation "very closely."
Representatives for J.M. Smucker (SJM, Fortune 500), which makes Jif, did not respond to a request for comment, though the Associated Press reported that Jif's wholesale prices are set to rise 30% in November.
What's to blame for this sticky situation? The intense heat and drought that hit the southern U.S. this year, said John Beasley, a professor of crop physiology and management at the University of Georgia.
"It was just unmerciful, and we had a lot of problems setting the crop," he said. "I literally walked some fields that had zero yield."
In addition, Beasley said, high prices last year for other crops, such as cotton, corn and soy beans, led farmers who might otherwise have grown peanuts to focus their efforts elsewhere.
Overall, U.S. peanut production will hit 3.6 billion pounds this year, down 13% from last year, according to a Department of Agriculture report released this week.
Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter and consume more than six pounds of peanut products each year, according to The National Peanut Board, a farmer-funded research group.
Sales may not be so smooth during the looming price crunch. In any case, though, a shift in peanut butter consumption shouldn't make a huge difference to the nutritional quality of most Americans' diets, said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University.
"For the average person in America," she said, "it would be a good idea to eat less of almost everything." 
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Heavy rains hammer Central America; 36 dead
AP – Fri, Oct 14, 2011
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Heavy rains generated by a low-pressure system hammered
Central America for a third day Friday, putting officials on alert in countries where mudslides and
swollen rivers have already killed 36 people.
At least 21 people have been killed in Guatemala and thousands of others were evacuated or saw their homes destroyed by the incessant downpours.
In El Salvador, rivers have overflowed their banks, destroying villages and prompting an evacuation of about 4,000 people from their homes, the country's disaster management office said in a statement Friday.
In Honduras, six people have been killed in floods and the roads connecting the nation to Guatemala have been destroyed. Other communities have been left isolated by the floods. In Nicaragua, four people have died this week.
The system is expected to hover over the region for the next couple of days, generating more rainfall, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Irwin was weakening and drifting away from Mexico in the Pacific, three days after Hurricane Jova slammed into the same coast, killing six people.
Irwin's maximum sustained winds as of Friday afternoon were near 45 mph (75 kph), and the storm could begin weakening on Saturday, the hurricane center said.
Irwin was centered about 165 miles (265 kilometers) west of Manzanillo, Mexico, and moving south-southeast at about 2 mph (4 kph). •
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Bless you, fellow believers! Stay strong in Jesus.
He could be here for His bride at any time! -Missygirl*
