High infant mortality rates in Romania

High infant mortality rates in Romania

AFP Monday, April 18, 2005

BUCHAREST, (AFP) - Infant mortality rose in Romania in 2004 to 16.8 deaths per 1,000 births, the highest rate in Europe, Alin Stanescu, director of the national Institute for Mothers said last week.

He said this rate was "the highest in Europe due to poor health systems in Romania". Last year the rate in Romania was 16.7 per 1,000.

Still, Stanescu said that despite the 2004 figure, a total of 220,000 babies were born in Romania in 2004, a million more than in 2003.

For the first time since the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the number of births last year was higher than the number of abortions.

Romania is also among the countries with the highest rates of women dying in childbirth, with 26 fatalities in 2004 after abortions carried out by rudimentary means.

Parliament passed a law in September 2004 guaranteeing women the right to be informed about abortions and their risks.

"We hope this law will lead to fewer abortions by giving women easier access to health services," Stanescu said.

In 1990, after the fall of the pro-birth regime of communist NicolaeCeausescu, who had banned all forms of contraception, Romania had 866,934 abortions but only 275,275 births.

Massive building testifies to Romanian dictator's excesses

This building was built at a time when most Romanians across the country could barely feed themselves. Romania back then and now has very rich farmland and during the Communist reign, almost all the food was exported leaving the people in a grave state. I have taken the tour and recommend it to anyone going to Bucharest.

Massive building testifies to Romanian dictator's excesses
07:38 PM CST on Friday, February 25, 2005
By LARRY BLEIBERG / The Dallas Morning News

BUCHAREST, Romania – It should be easy to hate the Palace of Parliament.

Constructing the 3,000-room building nearly bankrupted a nation. It employed 20,000 construction workers and sapped so many megawatts of power that Romania faced years of electricity shortages. At one point, it's estimated that a third of the nation's gross national product was devoted to this one site.

And the result – the second-largest office building in the world, after the Pentagon near Washington – was meant to celebrate a tyrant.

But visitors make a startling discovery.

For all the pain it caused, the neoclassic building isn't horrible.

At 12 stories and 3.75 million square feet, it certainly isn't subtle. But there's no denying the craftsmanship. The carved marble, the gold leaf, the 5-ton crystal chandeliers and hand-woven tapestries were all Romanian products. And the sheer audacity of the project, most of it completed in five years, makes it unlikely there will ever be anything built like this again.
The building presides over central Bucharest. The city was once called the Paris of the East, and the boulevard leading up to the building was fashioned after the Champs-Elysees. It's lined with fountains and flanked by luxury apartment buildings that were intended for Communist Party leaders, and are now privately owned. About 50,000 residents of the area were moved to Stalinist apartment blocks on the city's fringes.

The palace is now open to tours and is the future home of the nation's senate.

But the site will always be linked to Nicolae Ceausescu (chow-CHES-ku), who presided over one of communism's most notorious police states. He and his wife, Elena, personally oversaw the construction of what was then called the People's Palace. At times, the couple ordered entire sections ripped out and reworked. The building is said to have secret passageways and a nuclear bunker. None, alas, is on the tour.

Part of the building's mystery is that few details are public.

The end came for Ceausescu shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. While other Eastern Europe nations peacefully shed communist leaders, Ceausescu clung to power until the country revolted. He and his wife were executed on Christmas Day, 1989, after a quick trial. Videos of their death were televised around the world.

An exhibit tucked away in the National Military Museum hints at the upheaval. There are pictures of college students who died in the street fighting after Ceausescu fled public protests. Display cases hold bloody clothing, family pictures and other artifacts that put a face on the victims.

The palace tour doesn't dwell on Ceausescu. Instead, a guide leads groups through endless shiny marble hallways. Visitors peer into meeting halls and cavernous conference rooms.
The view from a front portico is magnificent, though. One can imagine Ceausescu standing here, addressing a crowd of hundreds of thousands. From this perspective, they would have looked quite small.

E-mail lbleiberg@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/europecanada/stories/022705dntrarompalace.72c6b.html

A Distant Tie Made, Then Snarled

A distant tie made, then snarled
An adoption put into jeopardy by European politics
By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent April 17, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The last time Irene Costello of Brookline visited Ionela, she brought a Barbie doll to the 8-year-old Romanian girl she hopes to adopt.

''You should have seen her eyes light up," said Costello, a sales and marketing consultant who visits Ionela twice a year in the poor Romanian town where she lives in foster care.

Ionela's birth parents abandoned the blue-eyed baby at the hospital, making her one of the thousands of children delivered to Romanian orphanages every year. In 2000, during a volunteer service trip to the Eastern European country's poorest region, Costello found the girl in a decrepit hospital ward in the Romanian countryside that smelled of dirty diapers and urine.

''It was love at first sight," Costello said.

But after Costello spent four years and thousands of dollars navigating Romania's judicial system trying to win approval for the adoption, her case, like hundreds of others, stalled. A new Romanian law, passed at the European Union's insistence, bars foreigners from adopting any of the thousands of children in the country's crowded orphanages.

Costello and nine other American families whose adoptions are in limbo met March 10 with Romanian President Traian Basescu at the country's embassy in Washington to plead for their cases to go forward.

In an interview in Washington after her meeting with Basescu, Costello said the president was ''empathetic," but did not signal any change in Romanian policy.

Now back in Brookline, Costello e-mails Ionela regularly and tries to follow the girl's life from afar.

''It's frustrating to get second-hand reports on what she's doing and how people are bringing her up," Costello said.

Costello plans to visit Ionela again in June. While she hopes the government in Bucharest relents, she senses the chances are becoming more remote.

''They're not going to jeopardize getting into the EU for this," she said.
The Romanian government hopes to join the European Union in 2007. The EU says the adoption law is needed to stop human trafficking, but critics say the sweeping law blocks legitimate adoptions and prevents needy children from entering loving homes.

Despite protests from the United States, the ban went into effect Jan. 1 and has derailed adoption proceedings for 1,500 and 2,000 families worldwide, including about 200 in America.
Thirty-one members of Congress, including Senator John F. Kerry and Representatives Barney Frank and William D. Delahunt, signed a letter that was delivered to Basescu last month urging that Romania allow adoptions already underway to proceed.

Costello says Ionela ''picked me," not vice versa.

''I would not have chosen to do this if I knew this was how it would be," she said. But ''when you come so close to getting a child and for outrageous reasons outside of anyone's control the child is taken away from you, you become a fighter."

In a prepared statement during Basescu's visit to Washington, Delahunt, the adoptive father of a Vietnamese child, called on Romania to ensure that ''necessary actions are taken" to see that Costello and others in her situation are allowed to adopt the children many have spent years getting to know.

Elizabeth Bartholet, a Harvard Law School professor who studies international adoptions, called the Romanian ban ''a terrible law," but placed most of the blame with the EU, which she said had forced Romania into passing the moratorium.

''Here you have this country with orphanages that are terrible, terrible places, and kids are now stuck there," she said.

About 83,000 Romanian children are wards of the state, according to government statistics, of whom about 40 percent live in institutions. According to a January UNICEF report, 9,000 babies are abandoned in Romania every year, the great majority of them from Roma, or gypsy, families.

The orphanages are a legacy of Romania's former Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, who outlawed abortion and contraception in 1966 in an attempt to expand the country's population and produce a new generation of apparatchiks.

Abortion was legalized two days after Ceausescu's overthrow and execution on Christmas in 1989. The first batch of legal condoms arrived in Bucharest to much fanfare on Jan. 5, 1990. But according to Laura Katzive, a legal adviser on global projects for the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York, information about family planning remains scarce in the country, contributing to the continuing problem of abandoned babies.

Restore hope to Romanian orphans

Restore hope to Romanian orphans
By Matthew Kiernan
GUEST COLUMNIST
Monday, April 18, 2005

In the United States, thousands of couples try to adopt children from within this country and from overseas. Romania has been one country in which these desperate couples have had success. However, with recent changes in the political situation in Europe, that option no longer exists.

More than a decade ago, when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Iron Curtain was pulled back, the bleak and dismal reality of life in many of the former Soviet satellites was revealed, with Romania being among the worst. A 20/20 television report in the early 1990s revealed not only that the number of young orphans in the country was astronomical for a civilized society, but also that the conditions in which these children lived was deplorable. There was not enough food to feed them, medicine to heal them, room to house them or keepers to care for them. The alternative to the squalor of the orphanages - life in the streets - usually proved to be even worse. In the decade since this report was issued, very little has been done to combat this situation. But, fortunately, the report generated an outpouring of support from couples in this country who, through adoption, rescued many orphans from deplorable conditions.

This all ended in 2001, when the Romanian government put a moratorium in place to halt all international adoptions. This was done in part because of a few cases of illegal child trafficking. A greater factor was the need to comply with regulations of the European Union, which Romania was hoping to join. Not only did this moratorium end the hope these orphans had of escaping the hell they were born into, but it also stopped those adoptions that had already been approved, leaving those children in political limbo. There are more than 200 families in this country alone, including families in North Carolina, who had completed the process to adopt a Romanian child, but are now left desperate for answers.

I believe that the policy Romania has adopted is unwise and ill-informed and will do nothing but hurt those whom the law is intended to protect. This law is a gross overreaction to a few scattered, though horrible, instances of Romanian orphans' being exploited and mistreated. It is being enforced by some misguided and powerful individuals. One person in particular, Baroness Emma Nicholson, has done more to halt the process of international adoption of Romanian orphans than any other. The baroness, a British official with the European Parliament, has made it her goal to halt all out-of-country adoptions in Romania.

She has offered various arguments for her actions, including the theory that it is not wise to place a child from one culture with a family from a foreign culture. Yet we have seen the success of such adoptions in this and other countries for decades. She has tried to promote intra-country adoptions. I agree that that is a worthy goal, yet at the same time it is extremely impracticable and naive.

Many of these children come from Gypsy backgrounds and have almost no chance of being adopted. In this country that sounds laughable, but in Romania, this is a fact of life. Logically, then, when adoptions within Romania prove impossible, is it not better for these children to have the opportunity to find a loving home in some other corner of the world?

I am a member of Aid for Romanian Children (ARC), a student-led organization at Wake Forest University. Our mission is to bring light to this important issue, as well as to raise funds for the many private aid organizations doing their best to bring hope and save the lives of Romanian orphans caught up in this controversy.

There are many ways that people can make a difference: Call their congressman, write a letter to the president, or get involved with one of the many organizations nationwide that are trying to draw attention to this atrocious policy. Attempting to alleviate the suffering of these orphans by challenging a shortsighted moratorium is a cause worthy of our attention and support.

Matthew Kiernan is a student at Wake Forest University and a member of Aid for Romanian Children.

The Leading Palestinian Terrorist Organizations

Here is a list of people that Israel has to contend with, along with the other nations in the region.

The Leading Palestinian Terrorist Organizations

(August 2004)Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for SpecialStudies (C.S.S), Special Information BulletinIsralert@aol.com source: www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/8_04/pto.htm

Fatah - The Palestinian National Liberation Movement(Tanzim / Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades) 1. Fatah was established in Kuwait by Arafat in the early 1960s. Since its inception it has operated in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and is considered the leading organization in the Palestinian national effort. Its influence became even stronger when in 1969 Arafat became the leader of the PLO.
2. Tanzim (The Organization) is the group within Fatah which dominates activities in the field and at the popular level. Tanzim was established in 1983 and operated underground until 1991. Its aim was to reorganize Fata in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and was responsible for its day-to-day activity (security, politics, information/propaganda, social issues, etc.). Tanzim activists spearheaded Fatah operations in the first violent confrontation (the so-called intifada ) (1987-1993) and led the events whichresulted in the Oslo accords and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.
3. During the "Oslo years" Fatah operatives were integrated into official Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions. Arafat, however, was careful to appoint those close to him from "outside" ("the old guard") to key positions in PA institutions and in the security forces, to the great displeasure of those who had led the first violent confrontation. There was much bitterness among Tanzim operatives who wanted to preserve their image as "revolutionary," which in their opinion was the source of their status.
4. When the current violent confrontation broke out (September 2000), Fatah operatives in the PA-administered territories who supported the PA, and most of whom worked for the Palestinian Security Services, began taking an active part in terrorist activities against Israel. Initially they confined themselves to shooting attacks and planting side charges to blow up soldiersand Israeli civilians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They claimed responsibility for the attacks using the name Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which during the current violent confrontation has become the became the generic name for all Fatah field operatives .Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
5. As the violent confrontation gathered steam, Fatah terrorist activity was upgraded and its members became more involved in the activities of other Palestinian terrorist organizations , relying for funding on both the PA and external sources , especially Hezbollah and Iran . That allowed many operatives a certain amount of license, currently (Summer 2004) expressed as anarchy in the PA-administered territories. In addition, independent terrorist factions broke away from Fatah, both ideologically and organizationally, such as the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip, led by Jamal Abu Samhadana .
6. The four years of the recent confrontation (beginning September 2000) led to the disintegration of the organization's structure and its weakening in the eyes of the local Palestinian population, and caused internal strife between warring factions. Thus the "middle generation" increased its protests against the "old guard" and the "outsiders," demanding a larger share of key positions within PA institutions.
7. Fatah operatives are responsible for many terrorist attacks, among them suicide bombing attacks within Israel:-A suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem (March 2, 2002); 11 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem (April 12, 2002); 6 Israeli civilians murdered.-An infiltration into Kibbutz Metzer (November 10, 2002); 5 Israeli civilians murdered.-Double suicide bombing attacks in Beit Shean (November 28, 2002; 6 Israeli civilians murdered.-Double suicide bombing attacks in Tel Aviv (January 5, 2003); 22 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack on a Jerusalem bus (January 29, 2003); 11 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack on a Jerusalem bus (February 22, 2004); 8 Israeli civilians murdered.-Double suicide bombing attacks in cooperation with Hamas at the port of Ashdod (March 14, 2004); 14 Israeli civilians murdered.

Hamas - the Islamic Resistance Movement
1. Hamas was established in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Muslim Brotherhood foundations in 1987, at the beginning of the first violent confrontation . It reflects the decision of the radical Islamists, headed by the late Ahmad Yassin, to add a Palestinian national aspect to the da'wah (changing Palestinian society by means of indoctrination, preaching and education, the modus operandi of the Muslim Brotherhood). That aspect advocates the destruction of the State of Israel as their main goal andperpetrates acts of terrorism against Israel as the primary tool for advancing that goal .
2. According to Hamas ideology, the Palestinian problem is basically religious and therefore cannot be solved by any political compromise . Hamas claims that the land of Palestinian, "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea" is consecrated to Islam and none of it can be given up, especially Jerusalem. Thus Hamas denies the possibility of any political settlement with Israel and objects to any and all agreements between the PA/PLO and Israel, and totally rejects the Oslo accords. For that reason, Hamas has refused to accept the authority of and to join the PA.
3. Terrorism is one of the main tenets of Hamas ideology . As far as Hamas is concerned, as long as Palestinians (within Israel and the territories) live under the "occupation" they are obliged to oppose it through a jihad (holy war), that is, an uncompromising armed insurrection against Israel. However, Hamas also recognizes the necessity of temporary tactical cease-fires ( hudnas ), especially to avoid confrontations with the PA (and with the Arab counties and the international community), which might adversely affect its status and image.
4. The late Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was the founder of Hamas and its spiritual leader. The person currently in charge of its day-to-day activities is the chairman of the Hamas Political Office, Khaled Mashal , who has held the post since 1996. The Hamas leadership is geographically divided. The "internal leadership " is situated in three centers: the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israeli prisons.There is the " external leadership ," made up of Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood members who joined Hamas after its founding,and those from " the inside ," who were expelled from the PA-administered territories. That branch of the leadership is located mainly in Syria (after having been ousted from Jordan in 1999) and also has representatives in various Arab countries, such as Lebanon.
5. Hamas reaches decisions on matters of principle through dialogues among the various leaderships, although the "external leadership" has the most influence and authority . Its position is usually more extreme and intransigent as a result of the influence exerted on it by Syrian and Iran and the support they receive from those sources. In any case, the "internal leadership" had its wings severely clipped by Israel's targeted killings of its senior members (particularly in the Gaza Strip) and by the arrest ofmany of its members in the West Bank.
6. Hamas has an operational-terrorist infrastructure ( Izzedine al-Qassam Battalions ) in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and abroad. Most of those active in the West Bank are directed by the "external leadership," although its power base is in the Gaza Strip, where it even founded a militia called the People's Army .
7. During the current violent confrontation, which began in September 2000, Hamas has been the leading organization in the armed insurrection and responsible for an enormous number of terrorist attacks. They were perpetrated in the PA-administered territories and Israel, none abroad. Hamas policy is sometimes determined by political expediency (thus at a certain point the movement agreed to a temporary cease-fire, which was nothonored).
8. Some of Hamas's more prominent attacks against Israel include :- The kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldiers Avi Sasportas (February 16, 1989), Ilan Sa'adon (May 3, 1989) and Nissim Toledano (December 13, 1992).-The kidnapping of Corporal Nachshon Waxman (October 9-14, 1994). Waxman and Captain Nir Poraz were killed in an exchange of gunfire.-A suicide bombing attack on the Number 5 bus in Tel Aviv (October 19, 1994); 22 Israeli civilians murdered.-Two suicide bombing attacks on the Number 18 bus in Jerusalem (February 25 and March 3, 1996); a total of 47 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium in Tel Aviv (June 1, 2001); 21 Israeli civilians murdered, most of them teenagers.-A suicide bombing attack at the Sbarro Restaurant in Jerusalem (August 9, 2001); 15 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack at the Park Hotel in Netanya during the Passover Seder (March 27, 2002); 30 Israeli civilians murdered. The attack resulted in Operation Defensive Shield.-A suicide bombing attack in Rishon Le'tzion (May 7, 2002); 16 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack at a major intersection in Jerusalem (June 18, 2002); 19 Israeli civilians murdered.-A suicide bombing attack on the Number 2 bus in Jerusalem (August 19, 2003); 23 Israeli civilians murdered. The attack brought the temporary "cease fire" [ hudna ] to an end.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
1. The PIJ has an extremist Islamic ideology which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel as a means of bringing about an Islamic revolution in the Arab world. The PIJ was formed in the middle of the 1970s around a nucleus of Palestinians studying at Zagazig University in Egypt. Their leader was a medical student named Fathi 'Abd al-Aziz al-Shqaqi.
2. The founders despaired of the idleness of the Muslim Brotherhood and were eager to emulate the radical jihad movements which flourished in Egypt atthat time. They wanted to found an Islamic Palestinian organization which would unite radical Islam with uncompromising Palestinian nationalism, an alternative to the Fatah/PLO's "secular" brand of nationalism.
3. Shqaqi and his followers returned to the Gaza Strip in the early 1980s, impressed by the Islamic revolution in Iran (1979). He and Sheikh 'Abd al-Aziz 'Odah founded the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is under Iranian patronage . Recruiting supporters in the mosques and universities, the organization established its infrastructure, including terrorist cells. Over the years a number of factions broke away from the PIJ, none of them of anyimportance.
4. The PIJ was prominent during the first violent confrontation (1987-1993). After the Oslo accords, to which they objected fiercely, the PIJ perpetrated suicide bombing attacks as a means of sabotaging any effort to come to a solution. On October 26, 1995, Shqaqi was killed in Malta and Dr. Ramadan Shalah , one of the organization's founders, was appointed to replace him.
5. During the current violent confrontation, the PIJ joined Hamas and Fatah to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel, using the organization's operational-terrorist infrastructure (Jerusalem Battalions). The organization has opposed various cease-fire agreements but agreed to join the hudna (temporary cease-fire) under prime minister Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as part of an inter-organizational agreement.Prominent PIJ terrorist attacks against Israel include:-Two car bombs which exploded at the Beit Lid intersection (January 22, 1995); 21 Israeli soldiers murdered.-A suicide bombing attack on a bus in Wadi 'Ara in the northern part of Israel (March 20, 2002); 7 Israeli civilians murdered, 30 wounded.-A suicide bombing attack on a bus at the Yagur junction near Haifa (April 10, 2001); 8 Israeli civilians murdered, 15 wounded.-A car bomb with a single terrorist exploded next to a bus at the Megiddo junction in the northern part of Israel (June 5, 2002); 17 Israeli civilians murdered, 50 wounded.-A car bomb with two terrorists exploded next to a bus at the Karkur junction near Hadera (October 21, 2002); 14 Israeli civilians murdered, 50 wounded.-A shooting attack near Hebron (November 15, 2002); 12 Israeli civilians returning from prayers killed, 16 wounded.-A suicide bombing attack at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa (October 4, 2003); 21 Israeli civilians murdered, including 6 members representing 3 generations of the same family, 60 wounded.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (PFLP)
1. The PFLP was founded on December 11, 1967 with the union of two left-wing Palestinian organizations. Its leaders were Wadi' Haddad (who later became responsible for terrorist operations) and George Habash , the general secretary. The PFLP is a Marxist organization which advocates armed insurrection. It perpetrates show-case, media-oriented attacks, particularly the hijacking of planes , to bring the Palestinian cause to public attention.
2. In 1971, under the leadership of Habash, the organization took a more pragmatic line. Nevertheless, the PFLP never agreed to recognize Israel and left the PLO after the acceptance of the "Stage Strategy" (June 1974) as adopted in Cairo by the Palestinian National Council. Although the PFLP continued its pragmatic line, it however is still opposed to the Oslo accords and is critical of the Palestinian Authority, despite the fact that it made its peace with Arafat and returned to the ranks of the PLO.
3. In May 2000, George Habash resigned as general secretary because of failing health and was replaced by Abu Ali Mustafa . Mustafa directed the organization to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel. He was killed in a targeted attack on August 21, 2001 in Ramallah and replaced by Ahmad Sadat . Sadat directed the assassination of Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli Minister of Tourism (October 17, 2001). In the wake of Israeli and internationalpressure Sa'adat was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and is today in "custody" in Jericho. The PFLP's political leadership resides in the PA-administered territories and Syria, and a small operational-terrorist wing in the PA-administered territories (the Shaheed Abu 'Ali Mustafa Battalions).
4. During the current violent confrontation the PFLP called for an armed insurrection and perpetrated a number of terrorist attacks despite the fact that its operational-terrorist wing is smaller than those of the other Palestinian terrorist organizations. It is party to the inter-organizational dialogues but refused to participate in the hudna when Abu Mazen was prime minister.
5. Some of its more prominent attacks include:-The hijacking of an ElAl plane (July 23, 1968); 16 prisoners were released. -Hijacking of 3 planes belonging to Western countries (September 6, 1970):Three commercial airliners were hijacked and blown up after the passengers were evacuated. An attempt to hijack an Israeli (ElAl) airliner was foiled.Three days later another Western plane was hijacked as well.-The assassination of Rehavam Ze'evi (October 17, 2001).-A suicide bombing attack at the West Bank village of Karnei Shomrom (February 16, 2002); 3 Israeli civilians murdered, 25 wounded.-A suicide bombing attack at a bus station at the Geha junction in Tel Aviv (December 25, 2003); 3 Israelis murdered.

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)
1.The Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP) was founded on February 22, 1969, when it split from the PFLP, changing its name shortly thereafter to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Since its inception it has been led by Naif Hawatmeh . The DFLP, which belongs to the PLO, initially had a radical Marxist-Leninist ideology and cooperated with other radical left-wing organizations (some of themunderground). It supports armed insurrection against Israel and began its terrorist activities in 1973. Since the terrorists were expelled from Lebanon (1982) its position has become somewhat more pragmatic and usually similar to that of Fatah.
2. Hawatmeh and other senior members of the DFLP are based in Syria, but the organization has senior political figures in the PA-administered territories and maintains a small operational-terrorist wing in the Gaza Strip.
3.During the current violent confrontation the DFLP has confined its activities to a small number of terrorist attacks in the Gaza Strip, but has participated in various internal Palestinian dialogues. Its most prominent terrorist attacks against Israel include:-Terrorist attack on the northern border town of Ma'alot (May 15, 1974); 25 Israeli civilians murdered, many of them children.-Attack on a private home in the town of Beit Shean (November 19, 1974); 4 Israeli civilians murdered.-A wagon rigged with a bomb which exploded in Jerusalem (November 13, 1975); 7 Israeli civilians murdered.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC)
1. The PFLP-GC was established in April 1968 by Ahmed Jibril , mostly around a nucleus of former Syrian army officers. They joined the PFLP but split from it after an internal struggle with George Habash and other PFLP leaders.
2. Since its inception the PFLP-GC has advocated armed insurrection. Although the organization has no particular ideology, it has certain Marxist characteristics. In April 1977 the organization split when a pro-Iraqi faction left because of the PFLP-GC's pro-Syrian orientation.
3. In June 1974 the PFLP-GC joined the PLO although it opposed the latter's political initiatives. In 1983, however, encouraged by Syria, it joined the organizations contesting Arafat and Fatah; therefore its membership in the PLO was suspended in 1984.
4. The PFLP-CG, under Syrian influence, opposed the Oslo accords and advocated the continuation of the armed insurrection during the 1990s. Because their opposition is similar to that of Hamas, the two organizations were drawn to one another and today often coordinate their positions.
5. The organization's operational-terrorist infrastructure and bases are located mainly in Syria and Lebanon (including Ein Saheb, which was attacked on October 5, 2003). Its attacks usually come from over the Lebanese border and its presence in the PA-administered territories is minimal. Its attacks against Israel include:-Blowing up a Swissair plane (February 21, 1970); 47 murdered.-An attack on a bus of children from Avivim , a moshav near the Lebanese border (May 21, 1970); 12 Israeli children murdered.-An attack in Kiriyat Shmonah in the far north of Israel (April 11, 1974); 18 Israeli civilians murdered.-The kidnapping of 3 Israeli soldiers in 1982 who were exchanged on May 20, 1985, for 1150 Palestinian prisoners.-" The night of the hang-gliders " (November 25, 1987); 6 Israeli soldiers murdered.

The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC)
1. The PRC is a terrorist organization active in the Gaza Strip. Theorganization was founded in September 2000, at the beginning of the current violent confrontation, by former Fatah and Palestinian Security apparatus members. Its ranks also include ex-Hamas terrorists , some of whom were wanted by Israel and who joined the Palestinian Preventive Security apparatus, and operatives who belonged to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian .
2. The organization was founded by a Rafah resident, Jamal Abu Samhadana who formerly belonged to Fatah/Tanzim. He split with Fatah and founded the PRC and is its leader. Since its inception it has been attacking Israel, and thanks to the funding it has received has grown from modest beginnings into an organization responsible for the murders of at least 10 Israelis. Abu Samhadana was wounded during the violent confrontation while attempting toassemble an explosive device.
3. The PRC (and its operational-terrorist wing, the Salah al-Din Brigades) is responsible for a large number of attacks against Israelis in the Gaza Strip, both civilians and soldiers. Some of its more prominent attacks include the following:-Large explosive charges meant for Israeli tanks which killed three Israeli soldiers on February 14, 2002; three more on March 14, 2002; and one on September 5, 2002.-Attacks on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip : a side charge was detonated as a bus full of children passed near Kfar Darom on November 20, 2000, killing two; shots were fired at a bus carrying airport workers near the Rafah terminal on October 8, 2000, wounding 8 Israeli civilians; shots were fired at a car on the road from Kerem Shalom to the Rafah terminal, killing the woman driver. Akram Salameh 'Atia Said , a member of the PRC who wassentenced to 24 years in prison (See below), admitted during interrogation to having planned to perpetrate a suicide bombing attack at Kfar Darom.-Mortar attacks on Israeli targets in the Gaza Strip, including civilian villages , some within a very short period of time: three on the same day (April 28, 2001) against moshav Netzer Hazani (five young people wounded, one of them seriously); one (April 29, 2001) against the village of Kfar Darom ; and one (May 7, 2001) against the village of Atzmona.
4. In the past the organization attempted to set up operations in the West Bank as well. In January 2002, Akram Salameh 'Atia Said was sent by Jamal Abu Samhadana from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to shoot at Israeli civilians and soldiers. He infiltrated through the fence at Kissufim, went to Lod and from there to Ramallah. He was arrested on February 25, 2002, convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison.
5. The PRC was apparently the organization behind the attack on the American convoy at Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip (October 15, 2003). Two side charges were detonated, blowing up a vehicle and killing three security personnel who were accompanying the American cultural attaché. So far the Palestinian Authority has avoided a serious investigation of the incident.
6. PRC terrorists have various weapons at their disposal: small arms, explosives (commercial and homemade), mines, hand grenades and anti-tank rockets and mortars. The PRC has recently (July 2004) begun launching homemade Nasser 3 rockets at Israeli villages close to the Gaza Strip. The weapons are obtained by smuggling (usually through tunnels between Rafah and Egypt). In addition, they purchase from arms dealers and manufacturers orproduced independently.

An extraordinary prophecy?

Here is a very interesting prophecy to say the least. Great article by Hal Lindsey.

An extraordinary prophecy?

The death of Pope John Paul II has brought about the most extraordinary outpouring of emotion for a world leader in history. National leaders from almost every nation, religious leaders from all faiths, young people as well as old people, people from every part of the earth – all express some kind of emotional feeling about the passing of this great church leader. Most of the world praise him as one of the greatest forces for peace in history.
Modern communication technology has helped make the pope's death an unparalleled event. The entire world has literally come together to praise this one man. I find that many sense that there will be some important and climactic consequences to follow the death of this pope.

As I studied the many Bible prophecies of the Last Days, I found a most unusual extra-biblical prophecy made by an Irish Catholic bishop in the 12th century. His name is St. Malachy. According to his biographer, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in his book "Life of Saint Malachy," St. Malachy was known to have the gift of prophecy and even predicted the exact day and hour of his own death. St. Malachy was canonized in 1190 by Pope Clement III.
According to his biographer, St. Malachy was visiting Rome in 1139 when he went into a trance and received a vision. Malachy wrote down this extraordinary vision in which he claims to have foreseen all of the popes from the death of Innocent II until the destruction of the church and the return of Christ. He named exactly 112 popes from that time until the end.
St. Malachy wrote a few prophetically descriptive words in Latin about each one of the popes. He then gave the manuscript to Pope Innocent II and it was deposited in the Vatican Archives where it was forgotten for several centuries. Then in 1590, it was rediscovered and published.
The interesting thing is that scholars have matched the brief 110 descriptive predictions with each of the 110 popes and anti-popes that there have been since Innocent II. Though they are a bit obscure, they have fit the general profile of each of the popes.
Now these are in no way the same kind of predictions we find in the Bible. But they do have certain relevance.
Here are a few examples:
Pope No. 108: Paul VI (1968-78). The prophecy for the 108th pope was, "Flos Florum", which means "Flower of Flowers." Paul VI's coat of arms contained three fleurs-de-lis (Isis blossoms).
Pope No. 109: John Paul I (1978). The prophecy for 109th pope was "De Medietate Lunae," which means "the Half Moon." John Paul I was born in the diocese of Belluno (beautiful moon) and was baptized Albino Luciani (white light). He became pope when there was a half moon (Aug. 26, 1978). He died the next month right after an eclipse of the moon.
Pope No. 110: John Paul II (1978-2005). The prophecy for the 110th pope was "De Labore Solis," which means "from the labor of the sun." John Paul II was born during an eclipse of the sun on May 8, 1920. As the sun rises out of the East, so he came to the Vatican from the east. Wherever on the earth the sun shines, he visited.
Now, if St. Malachy is accurate, there will be only two more popes before the end of this world, as we know it and the Second Coming of Christ. I do know that the whole prophetic scenario of signs that Jesus Christ and the prophets predicted would come together just before His return are now in view. So what St. Malachy predicted is certainly occurring in the right time frame. Pope John Paul II was aware of these prophecies and at least once referred to them with concern.
According to St. Malachy, there will only be two more popes.
The prophecy concerning the 111th pope says of him, "Gloria Olivae," which means "the glory of the Olive." Could it be that he will be from the Order of Saint Benedict, also known as the Olivetans? Could he be an African, a continent symbolized by the olive tree?
The olive tree is also frequently a symbol for the Israelites in the Bible. Could this mean that this pope will be an Israelite who will be seen as the glory of his people? It bears watching as to who will be this pope. Cardinal Lustiger of Paris is a converted Jew and he is in the running for being the next pope.
But it is the prophecy of the 112th and last pope that is most fascinating. St. Malachy predicts, "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign "Petrus Romanus" (Peter the Roman), who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."
If any of this is true, then I suspect that the 111th pope will not live very long. We are just too close to the final events before Christ's return for him to reign for a long period.
The most important part of St. Malachy's prophecies has to do with the events he foresees happening during the papacy of "Peter the Roman." He foresees great tribulations during his reign, ending with the destruction of the church and Rome. This is will be done by a dreadful judge who will then judge the world.
In Daniel's great prophecy concerning the 70 sabbatical years allotted to Israel to finish the purpose for which God created them, it predicts something that fits right in with St. Malachy's prophecy concerning "Peter the Roman."
Daniel predicted the exact day that Israel's Messiah would be declared prince and heir apparent to King David's throne. It was 69 sabbatical years from the date Artaxerxes Longimanus of Persia gave the exiled Jews permission to rebuild Jerusalem. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8 where this permission was granted.)
Exactly 69 lunar years of 360 days [or 173,880 days] later, Jesus was proclaimed the Son of David and Messiah. As predicted, He was rejected and had nothing. Then within a week after that, He was put to death.
Daniel predicted:
Know therefore and understand, that FROM the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem UNTIL Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off [put to death], but not for Himself; and the people of THE PRINCE WHO IS TO COME shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Note that after the end of the 69th sabbatical year, but before the beginning of the 70th sabbatical year, two very important historical events would occur. First, Messiah would be put to death, but not for Himself. Jesus was crucified within a week of His official presentation as Messiah.
Second, the people of the prince WHO IS YET TO COME would destroy the city of Jerusalem and its Temple. The Roman Tenth Legion destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70.
Now one last and extremely important detail. The "Prince who is to come" will be of the same people that destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were Romans. So the coming Prince, who is the antichrist, must be a Roman. Now do you understand why I am so fascinated by St. Malachy's prophecy concerning the last pope who will be called, "Peter the Roman"?
Revelation chapter 17 details the final judgment of the mystical woman symbolically named Babylon The Great. John the apostle identifies the woman, "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits ..." and "And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:9, 18 NKJ) When John wrote this, there was only one city that reigned over the kings of the earth – Rome, which sits on seven hills.
John Paul II was a great and good man. But the coming popes will seize upon the popularity he created with the world. With the help of the media, it is easy to foresee how "Peter the Roman" will be able to mesmerize the world to follow his counterfeit of Christ.
It is time to make sure where you stand with God.

Hal Lindsey is the best-selling author of 20 books, including "Late Great Planet Earth." He writes this weekly column exclusively for WorldNetDaily.
Be sure to visit his website where he provides up-to-the-minute analysis of today's world events in the light of ancient prophecies.

REPORT: MOLDOVA'S CHILDREN VULNERABLE TO TRAFFICKING

A growing number of Moldovan children are being trafficked to Russia and forced into physical labor and prostitution, Infotag reported on 11 April, citing a recent international report. The authors of the "Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe: 2004 - Focus on Prevention" report stressed the need to combat factors that make children vulnerable to trafficking. The report recommends preventive measures that include support for parental-education programs, specialized services for victims of child abuse and neglect, and the establishment of youth centers. Infotag cited international experts as saying that Moldova's western border with Romania is better controlled and less susceptible to trafficking than the country's eastern border with Russia and Ukraine. The report was published by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). BW

E-mail Advice

Now here's a good one:

Subject: E-Mail Advice


Dear Friends and Family:

At this time of year, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your chain letters over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy. (sic)

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer drink anything out of a can because I will get sick from the rat feces and urine.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat pre-packaged foods because the estrogens they contain will turn me gay.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer date the opposite sex because they will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. (I don't remember that in the Bible.)

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

Yes, I want to thank all of you ! soooo much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (CST) this afternoon, and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next-door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician! Honest!