Amid a growing crackdown on religious freedom, Iranian police reportedly have been rounding up people they suspect have converted to Christianity.

On May 11, police arrested eight people in the southern city of Shiraz, according to Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, a Christian organization that fights religious persecution.

Converting from Islam is a crime in Iran; converts can face jail and other penalties.

“He may not be willing to give up the names of other Muslim converts. He may not be willing to recant his faith himself,” Moeller said.

Numerous calls to Iranian government representatives in the U.S. have not been returned.

Though they are protected under the Iranian constitution, Christians are not given the same freedoms as other citizens in Iran. Christians can’t worship freely or hold public office, and they can be arrested for even speaking to Muslims about Christianity.

Wow, how peaceful.


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Labels: Iran, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Religion of Peace?

A C-17 Globemaster III is loaded, in preparation for airdrops in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The C-17 plays a key role in the delivery of supplies to forward operating bases that prevent convoys from reaching safely. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joshua T Jasper)


Story

Labels: Afghanistan, aircraft, C-17, Globemaster, Operation Enduring Freedom, photos, USAF

From Fox News:

Thursday, May 29, 2008

JERUSALEM — Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff warned Thursday that the radical Islamic group Hezbollah "makes Al Qaeda look like a minor league team," and poses the greatest threat to national security.

"Someone described Hezbollah like the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Chertoff told FOX News. "To be honest, they make Al Qaeda look like a minor league team.

"They have been more disciplined, and they've been in some senses more restrained in the kinds of attacks they carry out ... in recent years, but that's not something we can take for granted," he warned.

Chertoff, speaking before the opening of a two-day terrorism forum in Jerusalem, also warned of the threat of a terrorist smuggling a bomb aboard a passenger airplane.

"I don't think we're really worried about hijacking because we've put a lot of measures in place like a locked cockpit door, flight deck officers who have weapons and the air marshals," Chertoff told FOX News. "So the next threat becomes the bomb. Something that either a person takes on board themselves or smuggles into the cargo."

Well, that's comforting...

Someone want to explain to me why the U.N. - and the U.S.(!) - pressured Israel to back off when they were hitting Hezbollah?


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Labels: Hezbollah, homeland security, terrorism, terrorists

COBRA PASSING - A Marine AH-1A Super Cobra fast-attack helicopter passes by the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa during sunset over the Pacific Ocean, May 21, 2008. The USS Tarawa is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility operating in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel A. Barker

Labels: 7th Fleet, AH-1A, aircraft, helicopter, photos, Super Cobra, US Navy, USMC, USS Tarawa

YOKOSUKA, Japan — The oldest active ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, made its final departure from Japan on Wednesday to be decommissioned after nearly half a century of service.

The Kitty Hawk, with sailors lining its decks, pulled away from Yokosuka port just south of Tokyo to the cheers of hundreds of schoolchildren and the sounds of brass bands.

The Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the Navy, is to be replaced later this summer by the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier.

The decommissioning date for the ship is set for Jan. 31.


Read the Rest, at Fox News

Labels: ships, US Navy, USS Kitty Hawk

CANINE FREIDA - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Springmann works with his specialized search dog, Sgt. 1st Class Freida, as they look for weapons caches during an operation in Naba Safi Village, Iraq, on May 22, 2008. Springmann is assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, 178th Military Police Detachment. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. David J. Marshall

Labels: 178th Military Police Detachment, 89th Military Police Brigade, Iraq, military working dog, Naba Safi Village, photos

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq's 'Miracle' Soccer Team to Be Restored
Homicide Bomber Kills 16 in Northern Iraq
Rice says Iraq war was right thing to do
Iraq's Maliki asks for debt cancellation
Pentagon to shift funds to pay for Iraq war
UK Brigade Commander Reflects on Iraq Experience
MEDEVAC Unit Trains Coalition Forces

Operation Enduring Freedom
Homicide Bomber Kills International Soldiers in Kabul
ON THE SCENE BLOG: Winning the Peace in Afghanistan
Suicide bombing in Afghanistan kills 3

Troops on Trial
Documents claim accused Marine researched Mexico

Religion of Peace??
Children's book by Islam critic to fight prejudice

Politics / Government
Gay Marriage Advocates Score Wins in N.Y., Calif.
Rice: Bush 'Was Very Clear' On Iraq
White House Disputes 'Disgruntled' McClellan Claims
VIDEO: Ex-Speaker Gingrich On McClellan Bombshell
Obama, Clinton in Close Battle for South Dakota
Obama Dogged by Praise From America's Enemies
Democrats tackle Florida and Michigan dispute - Video
Obama expects to clinch nomination next week
Obama vs. McCain: sharp differences on key issues - Video
McCain, Bush largely similar on nuclear policies
Democrats seek compromise to delegate dispute
Clinton presses on as primary season nears end
Clinton, McCain and Obama at Odds With 90%+ of Americans
Either Obama is a Russian or a Liar?
Israel's Olmert unmoved by demand he step aside
Nepal celebrates first day as a republic
Milestones in political history of Nepal
The fall of Nepal's last king
Another Himalayan kingdom tumbles
Factbox: Remaining monarchies
Pakistan moves to douse Musharraf resignation rumor

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Lawyer sues Delta for ruining family vacation
Gary Dourdan won't go to jail for drug charges
Houston to spend $150K to defend police beard ban
Colo., W.Va. gamblers could be nabbed for child support

U.N. News
New UN Official Underscores Importance of Human Rights in Policing

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Dunkin' Donuts Pulls Rachael Ray Ad Over 'Terror' Symbolism
China's Wen 10th top politician on Facebook
Photographing evil in S.Africa's townships - Video
Shelter offered to African migrants
Slideshow: Violence in South Africa
Slideshow: Editor's Choice
Reuters Photographers blog
Clear Channel says takeover deal to close end-Q3
Yahoo says Microsoft no longer keen to merge

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Proof of Alien Life Promised
Drilling May Imperil Prehistoric Utah Carvings
Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Egyptian City in Sinai
Once-Disfigured Girl Attends Prom After 18 Surgeries
Tennessee Woman Dies in Iron Lung After Power Failure
NASA Sends Signal to Flex Mars Lander's Robot Arm
C-sections increasing U.S. premature births: study
Space shuttle mission now a plumber's house call - Video
Monkey think, monkey do: with robotic arm
Nokia says single-chip plans on track
Yahoo says Microsoft no longer keen to merge
Modernity meets monasticism in Egypt's desert
Amazon's Kindle still in "investment phase": CEO
New breed of robots could soon wander Antarctica

Mother Nature
6 Lions Eat Game Farm Worker in South Africa
Rampaging Elephant Kills at Least 7 in India
China Quake Brings Aftershocks of Corruption - PHOTOS
Myanmar lashes out at "chocolate bar" foreign aid - Video
Myanmar approves all pending visas for UN aid workers
3 shark attacks have Mexico resort area in panic
Indonesia mud volcano still flowing
Mud volcano could redirect rivers
Warming seen depleting Great Lakes even more
Study shows biggest polluters east of Mississippi
Climate fund seen totaling $5.5 billion: report
New Zealand moves to protect rare dolphins
World's rarest rhinos captured on video
China considering curb on aluminum exports
Chemicals, rain add to China's quake lake fears - Video
World's rarest rhinos captured on video
New Zealand moves to protect rare dolphins
China aftershocks set for weeks, months even years
Fossilized fish reveals first vertebrate sex

News from My Neck of the Woods
Train Collision in Boston, Derailment in Chicago Kill 1, Injure Dozens
Officials probe train wrecks in Boston, Chicago

Oddities
Video Purportedly Showing Space Aliens to Be Released
Police: Two Brothers Shoot Same Man 5 Years Apart
Florida Teacher Allegedly Lets Kindergarteners Kick Autistic Boy Out of Class in 'Survivor'-Like Vote
Teen's Accidental Photo Shows Eerie Ghost-Like Hand on Banister
Twin, separated at birth, sues for mix-up
Vietnam reports "UFO" explosion
Baby put up for sale on Craigslist?
Nude maid accused of really cleaning up

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Futures Flat as Oil Dips to $130
Spam Sales Rise as Consumers Trim Food Costs
Reports: George Clooney and Sarah Larson Split
Sales of Spam Rise as Consumers Trim Food Costs

Reuters
U.S. drivers cut back on gasoline amid high prices
Protesters besiege India capital over job quotas
China eyes windfall oil tax cut to curb prices
Factbox: China's oil policy
Full Coverage: 2008 Olympics
Full Coverage: Oil in Spotlight
Tibetans say India choking food to stop China march
Oil falls on signs of weakening demand - Video
Caution remains - Video
Dollar firm on U.S. data surprise
Nikkei up 3 percent on softer yen
Economic domino effect
Coach in aggressive China push
Playing it cool
Offsetting fuel costs
Costco's profit up 32 percent, above expectations
Sears posts unexpected loss on markdowns
Heinz profit up, raises profit target
Anheuser-Busch/Inbev about value, not family: report
GM preparing further restructuring: report
RWE shares rise as traders cite bid talk
Steel Partners ousts board of Japan's Aderans
Gameworld: "Metal Gear" creator cool under pressure
Just A Minute With: writer, filmmaker Eleanor Coppola
Desperately seeking weight loss in China
Riches to rags to riches for Australian tycoon
Video: Chinese bemoan 'bean curd' houses
Ashlee Simpson, Pete Wentz expecting child
"Sex and the City" fans planning big film weekend - Video
China angry over Sharon Stone's quake karma remark
Rowling offers glimpse into Harry prequel
Las Vegas Sands bets on new Cirque show in Macau
Video: Sean Combs the movie star
Celtics edge Pistons to take 3-2 series lead
Dominant Lakers expect stiff Spurs challenge in Game Five
Crosby scores twice as Penguins clip Red Wings
Cubs top Dodgers on Soriano's 10th inning hit
Below-par Venus reaches third round in Paris

Associated Press
Crosby, Penguins beat Red Wings 3-2 to win Game 3
Garza leads first-place Rays over Rangers 5-3
Kirk Douglas, wife, dedicate LA school playground

News Blaze
Soldiers in Iraq Join Kansas City Citizens in Their Fight for Those Suffering
Operation Siegfried Line Nets Detainees
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Troops lend hand to Ethiopian fire victims
Iraqi soldiers assist Sadr City residents
Bush: Commanders in Iraq will get what they need
Iraqi government improving Wasit
Iraqi Army leads patrol

USJFCOM
Task Force Ramadi helps free enterprise take hold in Iraq
Command unveils new command and control vision - podcast
Command looks at future capabilities with DoD leadership - podcast
Joint Forces Reserve Officer Orientation Course begins

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Soldiers Aid Businesses in Sadr City
Iraqi Businesses Display Wares at Expo
Conference brings key-Iraqi energy leaders together (Salah ad Din)
Large cache of explosives discovered in Mosul (Tikrit)
Mosul pinch continues: Two wanted al-Qaeda suspects, nine others captured
Coalition forces capture key Special Groups financier (Baghdad)
‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys (Diyala)
Coalition forces kill 10 criminals in New Baghdad

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Freedom is Most Powerful Weapon, Bush Says
Transcript: Bush Speech at Academy
Gates to Address Commitment in Asia
Burma Still Nixes U.S. Military Help; China Accepts Aid, Admiral Says

MILITARY NEWS
Women’s Memorial Hosts Photo Exhibit

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Tiger’s Golf Tournament Salutes Military

IRAQ NEWS
Improved Iraqi Forces Lead to Less Violence
Businesses Display Products, Services at Expo
Forces Capture Dozens of Suspects, Discover Weapons

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Troops Kill, Capture Militants, Destroy Weapons

FACE OF DEFENSE
Face of Defense: Soldier Helps Iraqis Take Charge

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
1453 - Constantinople falls to Muhammad II and the Turks, ending the Byzantine Empire.
1721 - South Carolina is formally incorporated as a royal colony.
1765 - Patrick Henry (on his birthday) makes a historic speech against the Stamp Act, responding to a cry of "Treason!" with, "If this be treason, make the most of it!"
1790 - Rhode Island becomes last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution.
1848 - Wisconsin becomes 30th state.
1849 - Lincoln says "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of time, but you can't fool all of the people all of time."
1849 - Abraham Lincoln acquires a patent for lifting vessels.
1861 - Dorothea Dix offers help set up hospitals for Union Army.
1900 - The Otis Elevator Co. trademarks the "Escalator."
1912 - 15 young women are fired by Curtis Publishing for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break.
1916 - The official flag of the President of the United States is adopted; U.S. forces invade the Dominican Republic, remaining until 1924.
1940 - Germany captures Ostend and Ypres in Belgium, and Lille in France.
1942 - Bing Crosby records "White Christmas," the greatest selling record to date.
1943 - Confederacy of Algiers (Churchill / Marshall / Eisenhower); Meat and cheese are rationed in the United States.
1944 - British troops occupy Aprilia, Italy.
1945 - The United States' 1st Marine Division conquerors Shuri castle, Okinawa.
1951 - First North Pole flight in single-engine plane.
1967 - Pope Paul VI names 27 new cardinals, including Karol Wojtyla, archbishop of Krakow, who later will become Pope John Paul II.
1974 - Northern Ireland is brought under direct rule from Westminster.
1989 - Student protesters in Tiananmen Square, China, construct a replica of the Statue of Liberty.
1990 - Boris Yeltsin is elected President of the Russian Republic.
1993 - In Solingen, Germany, Nazis kill 5 Turkish women.

Birthdays
1630 - King Charles II of England
1736 - Patrick Henry, U.S. patriot, famous for his words "Give me liberty or give me death."
1810 - Union Major General Erasmus Darwin Keyes; Union Brevet Major General Solomon Meredith
1824 - Confederate Major General Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox
1825 - Union General David Bell Birney
1827 - Confederate Brigadier General Reuben Lindsay Walker
1917 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Senator-MA), 35th President
1923 - Richard Worsley, quarter master General
1935 - Martin Garrod, Commandant General (Royal Marines)
1943 - Bob Edgar (Representative-PA); E. Thomas Coleman (Representative-MO)

Passings
1453 - Constantine XI Dragases, last Byzantine Emperor
1814 - Josephine, Empress of France (wife of Napoleon)
1892 - Baha'u'llah (Mirza HA Noeri), Persian founder
1934 - Heihatjiro Tojo, Japanese Admiral (Russian-Japanese War)
1994 - Erich Honecker President of German Democratic Republic; Ezra Taft Benson, Minister of Agriculture / Mormon leader
1995 - Margaret Chase Smith, first female Representative and Senator (ME)

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Garner, John H., USN (SC); KIA / BNR

1972
Morrow, Larry K., US Army (NC); OH6A shot down, KIA/BNR

Labels: Headlines, History