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Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Damascus the World's Most Dangerous Destination! By Bill Salus According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, tourism in Israel has steadily declined in 2009 in comparison to 2008. There appears to be a developing concern among would be “holy land” travelers that a major Mideast war involving Israel, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, and others is inevitable and soon to happen. In a semi-related area, Israel’s concerns are further fueled by the genuine possibility that immigration into Israel will come to a complete halt the minute Iran possesses its own nuclear weapon. Ephraim Sneh, the former...

A great explosion is about to come , Destroying things not of my kingdom , Prophecies told about to unfold , Things new wiping out the old , The storehouses of God's lightning released , Disturbing things now resting in peace , Ancient walls suddenly cut down , Nothing left but burnt glass on the ground , As paper mache burnt and blown away , A prophecy of the past happening in one day , A blink of the eye and nothing left to see , Yet all the nations witnessing God's majesty , A turning point in a war...

Special Dispatch - No. 2499 August 21, 2009 No. 2499 In March 2009, Hamas held a festival at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria to mark "the victory of the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades," its military wing, in the "Al-Furqan War," [1] i.e., the 2008-9 war with Israel in Gaza. The festival included a photo exhibit and the screening of films showing the Al-Qassam Brigades at their training camps; distribution of videos about the Brigades' operations during the war; and an evening poetry program featuring poets and children's choirs from across the Arab world. There were also speeches by...

"More undeclared uranium discovered in Syria" SNIPPET: "International Atomic Energy Agency finds traces of processed uranium at second site in Syria, leading to fears of covert nuclear activity" Reuters Published: 06.05.09, 21:56 / Israel News SNIPPET: "The UN nuclear watchdog has discovered traces of processed uranium at a second site in Syria, the agency said on Friday, heightening concern about possible undeclared atomic activity in the Arab state. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been examining U.S. intelligence reports that Syria almost built a North Korean-designed nuclear reactor meant to yield weapons-grade plutonium before Israel bombed it to rubble in...

"MI5 linked to arrest of Britons in Syria Spy agency investigated woman accused by Damascus of sending UK money to al-Qaida offshoot, says Labour peer" SNIPPET: "Relatives of Maryam Kallis and Yasser Ahmed say they have not been told the reasons for their arrests two months ago and are concerned they may be suffering severe mistreatment. The Syrian embassy in London has alleged that Kallis received funds from an individual "who resides in the UK" and conveyed them to "a terrorist network related to al-Qaida". The assertion suggests that the individual would have been investigated by MI5." SNIPPET: "Kallis, 36,...

On Monday night, something remarkable is going to take place in the capital of Syria. More than 1,100 senior Syrian government officials, journalists, business leaders and religious leaders — Muslim, Catholic and evangelical Christian — will attend the gala premiere of a major motion picture entitled Damascus, written, produced and directed by entirely Arab Christians. The film, part documentary and part narrative drama, tells the story of how Saul of Tarsus — one of the first prominent persecutors of Christ-followers in the Holy Land — himself became a follower of Jesus during a miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road...

As the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip entered its 10th day, Hamas has begun sending conflicting messages regarding its intentions. These contradictory messages, Palestinian political analysts said, reflected the state of confusion in Hamas and raised questions as to who was calling the shots in the Gaza Strip. While some Hamas leaders have been openly signaling their readiness to accept a new cease-fire, others are still calling for pursuing the fight against Israel "until victory." What is clear is that Hamas is now desperate for a lull in the fighting. But it is also eager to score some kind...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Greenfield man has been indicted on accusations he tried to sell the names of U.S. intelligence agents to Iraq before the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Authorities: Man Was In Iraq In '02 Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, a 52-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested Thursday after an investigation of more than a year by the FBI and other agencies, U.S. Attorney Susan W. Brooks said. Shaaban, also known as Shaaban Shaaban Hafed and Joe H. Brown, is suspected of going to Iraq in 2002 and making a deal to sell the names. He isn't accused...

Hamas strongman Mahmoud Zahar on Friday said he hoped that Barack Obama's presidential election victory would open a new page in relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. However, Zahar said he does not expect immediate change in U.S policy toward Hamas. The Bush administration is boycotting the Palestinian Islamist group, along with most of the international community.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack Sunday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as "serious aggression." A U.S. military official said the raid by special forces targeted the foreign fighter network that travels through Syria into Iraq. The Americans have been unable to shut the network down in the area because Syria was out of the military's reach. "We are taking matters into our own hands," the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the political...

Following last year’s Israeli bombing of a suspected Syrian nuclear facility, Damascus has reportedly restarted its nuclear weapons program, but is now following the Iranian model of housing the program at numerous different locations. London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat cited unnamed Israeli military sources as saying that the North Koreans and Iranians are still involved in the Syrian nuclear program, which has accelerated in recent months.

At least 17 people been killed by a suspected car bomb in the Syrian capital Damascus, say local media reports. ... Syria's Dunia television said the explosion had targeted a security forces installation.

Fears that Russia might sell advanced weaponry to Syria kicked up a mini-storm of concern in Israel on Thursday. Syrian President Bashar Assad, in Russia for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, has been campaigning to acquire weapons systems that include long-range surface-to-surface missiles, according to Russian media reports. The news of Assad's reported ambitions prompted immediate hand-wringing among Israeli officials and analysts. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was "analyzing the ramifications" of Assad's visit.

The Marcellus Shale play is the latest huge thing in natural gas, considered by some to be a "super giant" gas field. Read more here http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/246893563.shtml The edge of the Marcellus Shale in Northeast PA and NY is about 100 miles from NYC, which means the gas needs only a very short trip by pipeline to the major metropolitan centers. Natural gas is the cleanest of the fossil fuels and also is a source for hydrogen for hydrogen powered vehicles. So here are a bunch of "concerned citizens" planning to oppose it with all their might. "The Damascus group has...

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says his militant Islamic group will not recognize Israel. Earlier, former President Jimmy Carter said that Hamas is prepared to accept the Jewish state's right to "live as a neighbor next door in peace."

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal made a speech in favor of the “Palestinian reproductive machine” at his daughter Fatima’s wedding over the weekend. The “machine” is constantly active, Mashaal said. He told his daughter and son-in-law that their children would one day live in the “48 territories,” that is, within Israel’s 1948 borders. Mashaal took time from his speech to thank Syria for allowing him, Islamic Jihad head Ramadan Shallah, and other senior terrorists to live in Damascus. “We realize the pressures on Syria for housing Mashaal and Shallah,” he said. Shallah attended the wedding, as did PFLP head Mahir at-Tahir,...

Damascus is preparing for a large-scale Israeli attack on Syria and Hizbullah, London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Wednesday. According to the report, the Syrian army has been maneuvering its forces and drafting some of its reserve forces in preparation for such a contingency. Damascus has also raised the alert level along its borders, and has placed three armored divisions, nine infantry brigades and special forces near its border with Lebanon's Bekaa valley, fearing an Israeli infiltration there. The report claimed that this would be a strategic spot for Israeli ground forces to strike, as it is both a Hizbullah stronghold and...

Cheney hits out at Iran, Syria as he wraps up Mideast peace push Mar 24, 2008 JERUSALEM (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday hit out at Iran and Syria as he wrapped up a Middle East peace push, saying they were undermining the renewed but faltering Israeli-Palestinian talks. Iran and Syria "are doing everything they can to torpedo the peace process," Cheney told reporters in Jerusalem as he wrapped up a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories before heading to Turkey. During his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leadership, "I reaffirmed the president's commitment to help...

Syrian security forces have arrested several Palestinians suspects in connection with the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, a Lebanese security source told Reuters on Friday. The source added that Hizbullah had appointed a successor to Mughniyeh within hours of his death in a car bomb blast in the Syrian capital.

DAMASCUS, Syria - President Bashar Assad boasts that Damascus is "the capital of resistance," a claim borne out by the presence here of Hamas leaders and a host of other radical Palestinian groups. But the killing of Imad Mughniyeh, one of America's most-wanted fugitives, in the Syrian capital shows how costly the regime's traditional hospitality toward Arab hard-liners can be. Mughniyeh's presence on Syrian soil was a deep embarrassment to Damascus, fueling U.S. accusations that the country allows extremists of many stripes — Palestinian militants, Hezbollah operatives and Iraqi insurgents — to operate freely. And the fact that someone was...