Watchman Newsletter

E. Coli Outbreak in Europe Is the Deadliest in History

ABC News (Link) - Olivia Katrandjian (June 4, 2011)

The rapidly developing European E. coli outbreak that has killed 18 people and sickened thousands, including four suspected cases in the United States, has become the deadliest outbreak of E. coli in modern history.

Where exactly people are being infected with the disease is still unknown, although 17 people fell ill after eating in the northern German city of Luebeck in May, according to the local media. Researchers from Germany’s national disease control center are inspecting the restaurant in question.

Other health experts suspect the disease first spread last month at a festival in the northern German city of Hamburg that was visited by 1.5 million people. But as of yet, there is no concrete proof that either site is the cause of the outbreak.

Half of Last Month’s New Jobs Came from a Single Employer — McDonald’s

The Weekly Standard (Link) - Mark Hemingway (June 3, 2011)

According to the unemployment data released this morning, the economy added only 54,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up to 9.1 percent. However, this report from MarketWatch suggests the data is much worse than that:

McDonald’s ran a big hiring day on April 19 — after the Labor Department’s April survey for the payrolls report was conducted — in which 62,000 jobs were added. That’s not a net number, of course, and seasonal adjustment will reduce the Hamburglar impact on payrolls. (In simpler terms — restaurants always staff up for the summer; the Labor Department makes allowance for this effect.) Morgan Stanley estimates McDonald’s hiring will boost the overall number by 25,000 to 30,000. The Labor Department won’t detail an exact McDonald’s figure — they won’t identify any company they survey — but there will be data in the report to give a rough estimate.

If Morgan Stanley is correct, about half of last month’s job growth came from the venerable fast-food chain. That is hardly the sign of a healthy economy. †

China Has Divested 97 Percent of Its Holdings in U.S. Treasury Bills

CNS News (Link) - Terence P. Jeffrey (June 3, 2011)

China has dropped 97 percent of its holdings in U.S. Treasury bills, decreasing its ownership of the short-term U.S. government securities from a peak of $210.4 billion in May 2009 to $5.69 billion in March 2011, the most recent month reported by the U.S. Treasury.

Treasury bills are securities that mature in one year or less that are sold by the U.S. Treasury Department to fund the nation’s debt.

Mainland Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasury bills are reported in column 9 of the Treasury report linked here.

Until October, the Chinese were generally making up for their decreasing holdings in Treasury bills by increasing their holdings of longer-term U.S. Treasury securities. Thus, until October, China’s overall holdings of U.S. debt continued to increase.

Column One: The real Egyptian revolution

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Caroline B. Glick (June 3, 2011)

The coverage of recent events in Egypt is further proof that Western elites cannot see the forest for the trees. Over the past week, leading newspapers have devoted relatively in-depth coverage to the Egyptian military authorities’ repressive actions in subduing protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo, particularly during their large protest last Friday.

That is, they have provided in-depth coverage of one spent force repressing another spent force. Neither the military nor the protesters are calling the shots anymore in Egypt, if they ever were. That is the job of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The proximate cause of last Friday’s mass demonstration was what the so-called Twitter and Facebook revolutionaries consider the military’s slowness to respond to their demand for ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s head on a platter. The military responded by announcing that Mubarak and his sons will go on trial for capital crimes on August 3.

First Time: Temple Mount Priestly Blessing on Jerusalem Day

Israel National News (Link) - Hillel Fendel (June 2, 2011)

Hundreds of religious Jews from all streams were able to happily commemorate the 44th anniversary of the first-ever entry of Israeli soldiers onto the TempleMount.

For the first time in the history of Israeli restrictions on Jewish entry to the Temple Mount, the recitation of the Priestly Blessing was permitted there. It happened on Wednesday, Jerusalem Reunification Day, when hundreds of visitors – all of whom immersed in a mikveh (ritual bath) prior to coming and took other precautions required by Jewish Law – were allowed to enter the Temple Mount in groups of 30-40.

Among them were several Cohanim (descendants of Aharon the Priest). They spread their hands in the customary manner and recited, “May G-d bless and watch over your… May G-d shine His countenance upon and show you grace… May G-d raise His countenance towards you and grant you peace” (Numbers 6, from the portion to be read aloud this week in synagogues throughout the Jewish world).

Op-ed: With many of our PR tactics failing, let’s use Bible to reinforce our right for this land

YNet News (Link) - Avi Rath (June 2, 2011)

While facing the nations of the world, the State of Israel’s public relations officials tried everything, ranging from the security argument, through the narrow borders and all the way to the strategic threat. Yet it’s not working and remains unconvincing. When we adopt this kind of PR, the world tries to come up with solutions to the security problem: Utilizing satellites, cameras, electronic fences, multinational forces, demilitarized zones and all sorts of other creative notions.

We tried PR strategies premised on various arguments. We made use of the Holocaust, the expulsion from Spain, the Crusades and anti-Semitism. We enlisted all the blood libels to the cause in an effort to prove our righteousness, yet it hasn’t worked either. In fact, we have seen the opposite effect. Suddenly we discover that not only Turkey boycotts us, but also Scotland, not to mention the British academic boycott and all sorts of other such moves.

After trying so many ineffective PR methods, perhaps we would do well to go back to the simple approach – the Bible. After all, we are speaking to the Christian and Muslim worlds. These two religions recognize the Biblical story, the Bible’s truth and its sanctity. Both religions admit that the Jewish People is the people of the Bible. So instead of seeking security arguments to justify our right for this land and for Jerusalem, let’s go back to our roots and speak the Biblical language which the world understands.

Sinai Spins Out of Control

Bridges For Peace (Link) - The Media Line - David E. Miller (June 2, 2011)

Blocking ports, hit-and-run attacks on Egyptian forces and storming military headquarters with little opposition are just a series of events that have driven the Sinai into unprecedented chaos as Cairo’s authority wanes before disgruntled Bedouin residents. “The situation here is very tense,” an American aid worker living in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arish told The Media Line on condition on anonymity, as he was not authorized to talk to the media. “The Bedouin in northern Sinai took the Egyptian revolution as an opportunity to take revenge on the Egyptian security forces, which they believe have persecuted them for years.”

Just this weekend, masked men driving a truck plowed into an Egyptian military checkpoint in the southern Sinai region of Abu-Zanima, critically injuring a 20-year-old soldier before escaping.

The same day as the attack on the Egyptian army checkpoint, dozens of armed Bedouins stormed the Red Sea port of Nuweiba in south-eastern Sinai, blocking all incoming and outgoing maritime traffic. The men were protesting the confiscation of a car whose driver used false papers, security forces said.

The coming Turkish-led caliphate

WorldNet Daily (Link) - Joel Richardson (June 2, 2011)

Several years ago, I began publicly stating that the world will witness the rise of a Neo-Ottoman Caliphate. With the Islamist party in Turkey poised to win yet another sweeping election victory next week, now is another appropriate moment to revisit the subject.

The first thing that the West must understand concerning the concept of the caliphate is that it is somewhat of a blank canvas for Muslims. To the Muslim socialist, it is through the concept of the caliphate that a socialist utopia will become a reality. For the moderate Muslim, it is in the idea of the caliphate that a tolerant Muslim empire will arise. For the radical Muslim, the caliphate is the means by which Islam will arise to supremacy in the earth. The point is that the dream of reviving a caliphate is a wide-ranging vision and is certainly not restricted to the radicals.

Second, the West must come to terms with the tectonic shift that has only recently taken place in the Middle East, beginning in 2003 in Turkey.

Fujitsu Develops World's First Personal Authentication Technology to Integrate Palm Vein and Fingerprint Authentication

Fujitsu (Link) (June 1, 2011)

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced the development of the world’s first biometric authentication technology that combines data on palm vein patterns with fingerprint data from three fingers. By employing both palm vein pattern and fingerprint data, the technology enables the rapid identification of a given individual out of data from a million people, processing the match within two seconds.

This technology makes it possible to construct biometric authentication systems that do not require ID cards and that can be tailor-made to fit different sized groups, from small-scale room access control to large-scale social platform systems. Moreover, the technology can be easily deployed by simply adding palm vein authentication to the fingerprint authentication systems that are already in widespread use.

Public Enemy: Iran’s Persecution Backfires

Christianity Today (Link) - Trevor Persaud (June 1, 2011)

A major spike in the harassment and arrest of Iranian Christians in recent months is revealing just how nervous the Islamic republic is about the prodigious success of house churches, say Iranian Christian leaders.

At least 202 Christians in 24 cities faced “arbitrary” arrest between June 2010 and January 2011, according to Elam Ministries. Elam, run by Iranian expatriates, counted 80 arrests over 2008 and 2009 combined.

“[Iran] has been substantially more public in its oppression of Christianity,” said Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs. “Announcing it on the news, having the mullahs talk about it in their Friday sermons—it’s just become a lot more out in the open.”

“Persecution has escalated to an unprecedented level,” said Abe Ghaffari, executive director of Iranian Christians International. While Iran’s historic Armenian and Assyrian congregations usually enjoy freedom of worship, Farsi-speaking house churches hosting converts from Islam work under significant threat.

Israel’s Coast May Be Gold Mine of Oil, Says Government Expert

Israel National News (Link) - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (June 1, 2011)

Israel may have the last laugh to the old joke that “Moses took the wrong turn in the desert,” going to a land of sand instead of oil, which may be waiting to be found under the sea, says a government oil expert.

A geological map presented at Hebrew University last week shows that the Levant Basin, which includes the huge Leviathan gas field, may contain large quantities of oil in deep strata.

Dr. Yaakov Mimran, outgoing Petroleum Supervisor, said that if the drilling in the Leviathan field uncovers oil, there is a good chance more “black gold” is waiting to be discovered in similar strata, Globes reported.

Mimran’s map indicates that several other offshore exploration licensees are in structures that might contain oil.

Israel also may be sitting on huge shale oil deposits, and the Israeli Energy Initiatives company hopes to launch a pilot project by the end of this year that will lead towards production of 50,000 barrels a day, one-fifth of Israel’s consumption.

Oil shale deposits cover 15 percent of the country, according to estimates of the Infrastructures Ministry, which would place Israel as having one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

The World Energy Council estimates Israel’s shale deposits might contain up to 250 billion barrels of oil, almost the same amount of proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. †

‘Syrian residents fight back gov’t troops for first time’

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (May 31, 2011)

Syrian residents on Monday fought back for the first time against government troops in a two-month-old uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

According to the report, residents used automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to fend off advancing troops, raising fears that the uprising may turn into a “Libya-style” armed conflict.

Until Monday’s battle, Syrian opposition groups have taken to the streets unarmed, although authorities have claimed the fighting has been led by armed gangs.

Activists said that residents of Talbiseh and Rastan, in the central Syrian province of Homs, decided to go on the offensive against Assad’s forces, in a clash that killed at least four civilians, AP reported.

“They felt that they cannot sit back anymore and pray for God to help them,’’ a Homs resident was quoted as saying by AP.

PA continues to deny Israel’s right to exist

Palestinian Media Watch (Link) - Itamar Marcus & Nan Jacques Zilberdik (May 31, 2011)

The Palestinian Authority’s ideology is to refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist. The media it owns and controls regularly publish articles that demonize the modern State of Israel and its establishment as a “colonialist plan.”

Recently, the official PA daily went even further, not just maligning the modern State of Israel but also labeling the Jewish/Israelite presence in the land of Judea/Israel 2000 years ago as a “crude form of colonialism.”

Whereas Hamas openly denies Israel’s right to exist in both English and Arabic, the PA professes in English before the international community to have recognized Israel’s right to exist. As documented by Palestinian Media Watch, when addressing its own people in Arabic, the PA - like Hamas - completely denies Israel’s right to exist.

One Brain, Hundreds of Eyes: Darpa Plots Manhunt Master Controller

Wired (Link) - Adam Rawnsley (May 31, 2011)

Thought military tracking technology couldn’t get any creepier? Hold onto your tinfoil hats and hide behind the nearest curtain because the next generation of manhunting gear just took another step closer to reality.

The Pentagon’s bleeding-edge research shop, DARPA, announced this week that it awarded a $14 million contract to defense contractor SAIC to build Insight, its system-of-systems effort to mashup snooping sensors that’ll find human prey on the battlefield.

Brotherhood says won’t force Islamic law on Egypt

Al Arabiya News (Link) - Reuters - Yasmine Saleh (May 29, 2011)

The Muslim Brotherhood wants a diverse parliament after elections in September and is not seeking to impose Islamic law on Egypt, the head of the group’s newly formed political party said in an interview.

The Brotherhood, which has emerged as a powerful force after years of repression under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, has said it does not want a parliamentary majority, although rivals see it as well placed for a dominant position.

With secular politicians struggling to mount a challenge, Western investors are concerned about what a shift to an Islamic-leaning government would mean for Egypt, which relies on receipts from Western and other tourists and where tension between Muslims and the Christian minority have flared.

“We only use Islam as the basis of our party ... which means that our general framework is Islamic sharia ... We don’t issue religious rules in individual cases,” said Mohamed Mursi, head of the Brotherhood’s newly formed Justice and Freedom Party, which will contest the vote.

‘Unification of Jerusalem is a foundation of nation of Israel’

Haaretz (Link) - Barak Ravid (May 29, 2011)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his government’s support for a united Jerusalem on Sunday, calling the unification of Jerusalem one of the “foundations of the nation of Israel.”

Speaking at a special government meeting held at the David Citadel in Jerusalem, the prime minister said Israel had won congressional support during his most recent trip to Washington, where he presented the issue of Jerusalem’s unification.

“The wide support for these principles is an inalienable asset for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “The world knows that the nation of Israel and our friends are loyal to Jerusalem and its legacy.”

“The government is obligated to building Jerusalem, as [Jerusalem] is the heart of the nation,” Netanyahu said.