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Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant for President Park's Confidante Choi Soon-sil
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- State prosecutors on Wednesday asked a local court to issue a warrant to formally arrest Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who is at the center of a political scandal rocking the country, on charges of abuse of authority and attempted fraud.
Earlier on Monday, prosecutors put Choi into emergency detention, after hours of questioning her about the allegations raised against her, saying she might be a flight risk or try to destroy evidence. She had returned to South Korea over the weekend after nearly two months in Europe.
Prosecutors said the 60-year-old, who has never held a government position, is suspected of collaborating with An Chong-bum, former presidential secretary for policy coordination, to pressure local companies into donating some tens of billions of won to two nonprofit foundations, Mir and K-Sports. There have been allegations that the money was then unlawfully funneled to Choi.
Prosecutors also put An under emergency detention Wednesday night, saying he's denying the charges against him and has pressured other key witnesses to give false statements. Unless put into custody, An is also feared to destroy evidence, they said.
Prosecutors have 48 hours to request a warrant to formally arrest him.
An is one of Park's top secretaries who resigned on Sunday following the scandal. He appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for questioning earlier Wednesday.
Though Choi is not a government official, she can be punished for abuse of authority if it is proven that she collaborated with the former presidential secretary, a senior prosecutor said.
Still, the prosecutor declined to comment on whether President Park can be subjected to investigation, saying they are "not yet at the stage to talk about it."
A presidential official said that Park will make a decision over whether to respond to the ongoing probe when a direct inquiry into her becomes "necessary." But he said it is difficult to say what course of action Park will take at this point in time.
The official's remarks represent a subtle change from the presidential office's initial stance against any direct probe involving the chief executive.
Choi is also accused of attempting to receive some 700 million won (US$608,800) from the K-Sports Foundation in return for two projects pursued by Blue K, a company she controls.
"The firm barely had the ability to write proposals for the research projects," the senior prosecutor said.
Choi is known to have denied most of the allegations raised against her.
The Seoul Central District Court will hold a hearing Thursday to decide whether to issue the warrant.'
Also on Wednesday, prosecutors raided the home and offices of Song Sung-gak, former head of the Korea Creative Content Agency, who is suspected of pressuring a mid-sized ad company to hand over its shares to a third party in collaboration with Cha Eun-taek, one of Choi's closest associates.
Public outrage over the scandal has been escalating, with Park's approval rating dropping to single digits.
Faced with growing calls from the public to take responsibility, Park carried out a partial reshuffle of her secretariat Sunday, followed by another one on Wednesday, which included the nomination of Kim Byong-joon as the new prime minister. The president will soon fill other vacancies according to presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk.
Park, however, has not issued an official statement regarding the scandal since she apologized in a nationally televised address last week for handing over drafts of presidential speeches to Choi and letting her edit them.
Choi is the daughter of Park's late mentor, Choi Tae-min, the leader of a questionable religious group who died in 1994. Park is known to have developed a friendship with the Choi family after her mother, then-first lady Yook Young-soo, was assassinated in 1974.'


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Toy Monster
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The Toy Monster[1] is a large mini-boss constructed out of a variety of toy-like creatures. It appears in Donkey Kong 64, where it is encountered in a room that only Chunky Kong can access in the R&D Room in the area, Frantic Factory. After Chunky Kong defeats a variety of toy-like monsters, at least half-a-dozen more bursts out of a nearby toy chest. Instead of attacking Chunky, these toys will instead fuse together to form the Toy Monster.
Chunky must jump into a nearby Chunky Barrel to become the gargantuan Hunky Chunky, who is equal in size and strength to the Toy Monster. It walks after Hunky Chunky slowly, attempting to bludgeon him with its rectangular arms. The easiest way to defeat the Toy Monster is to run in and attack, then run away before the monstrous toy can retaliate. Eventually, the Toy Monster will succumb and fall to smithereens. After the Toy Monster is defeated, a Golden Banana will appear to Chunky. The Toy Monster has several Sir Dominoes for legs, a Mr. Dice for a head, Rulers for arms and Super Blocks for a body.
On a side note, although the shock wave attack does damage this enemy, Chunky Kong will end up hurting himself during the process.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Hi, everyone ! Just a question...are soak off gels that you can build with just as strong as non soak off traditional hard gel ? For example if I apply a set of french tips and leave them longer than active length, will they handle the same abuse as regular non soak off hard gel ? Trying to expand my options for my clients, but want to ensure they get the same amount of wear, with no breakage...thanks in advance for your help, hope you all have a safe ,and fabulous holiday season !!!!!


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Really nice and simple design. I love it. Build one yourself, or buy just this one, here! Only 200 CHF, I really have no idea how much that is in Euros, but it does not sound so much. First come first served!
Home » Switzerland »
Posted by Wasis Purbo Wiseso Posted on 23:46 with No comments
Labels: Switzerland


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Monday night roommate dinners have officially begun! I love going home after work and making a meal to share, particularly risotto. The constant stirring slips you into a zen-like state. Light a few candles, pour a few glasses of wine, and you have a beautiful start to the week. This week, we shared a special treat: Black Trumpet Mushrooms! Soaking dried mushrooms automatically produces a fantastic stock to use in the risotto. This is creamy, autumn comfort food at it's best. Enjoy! -Amanda
Black Trumpet Mushroom Risotto
Serves 2
2 ounce dried black trumpet mushroom, or other dried mushroom
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 quart vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 8 hours. The best way to do this is to soak them before you leave for work in the morning. When you come home, drain the mushrooms and set aside. Combine the liquid the mushrooms soaked in with the vegetable stock in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. In a medium pot, sautee onion and 1 teaspoon thyme in 2 tablespoons olive oil until translucent.
3. When the edges of the onion begin to brown, add 3 cloves of garlic. Stir until soft and fragrant (about 1 minute).
4.. Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil and onion. Allow to toast for about 1 minute.
5. Deglaze with white wine.
6. Stir in 1/2 – 2/3 cup mushroom vegetable stock at a time. Stir constantly until all the liquid is absorbed. When the rice is looking a little dry, add another dose of stock. Continue until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, and is soft and creamy in texture (about 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. In a medium frying pan, sautee the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Add the garlic and sautee an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
8. Ladle the risotto into bowls and top with the fried mushrooms. Pour a glass of wine and dig in!


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Need Web Admin to revoke 1 SSL and install 2 SSL certificates on cPanel for 2 domains ASAP
Budget $10-30 USD
I am looking for a web admin to help install 2 SSL certificates on 2 website domains. One SSL needs to be revoked so the other one we installed works correctly. On the other website domain, we need to install an SSL certificate. Our cPanels are both on Go Daddy VPS. The website domains are both located on the Magento platform. We already have the certificates issued and ready to be installed. Need this work done asap so the site HTTPS works right away.
Thank you!
6 freelance hanno fatto un'offerta media di $34 per questo lavoro
I run a web hosting business based on cpanel, so I can handle the swap install for you without fuss.
Hello I'm interested in your project Please give me a response to talk in details Regards Abu Shahriar Ratul


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Monthly Archives: March 2016
The Zone Show at 100
This week my podcast, The Zone Show, passed through a bit of a milestone. It has now reached over 100,000 pairs of ears across the globe.
While I know that some popular podcasts get millions of listeners, this is a pretty big and significant number for me, bearing in mind it is just me. I am host, producer, editor, scriptwriter, researcher, marketeer all in one – but mostly someone who is having a lot of fun without having to leave his home office.
When we hit milestones, it pays dividends to reflect on the journey, share experiences and learnings and also to celebrate achievements – and to set new targets.
Let's start with some thanks …
Firstly BIG THANKS go to each ond everyone who took some time out to listen to one or more episodes.
BIG THANKS too to all the guests that have taken time out to be interviewed and share their wisdom, life stories and experiences and, in many cases, bared their soul to strangers.
While the recording and production of show is all my own 'work', I have had some amazing help in sourcing of these amazing guests – Sara Sgarlat (and Brenda and Nikki) thanks for opening the floodgates, thanks too to Tina Fotherby and Pavel Mikoloski for connecting me with some amazingly bright lights.
BIG THANKS too to Carl Munson, Jackie Walker and Deb Walker (no relation) who helped me immensely in the early days to hone my craft and find my feet as a interviewer.
Here's the stats …
I host the podcast with Audioboom who have provided the most amazingly stable and feature-rich platform over the last few years. One of the great features is their analytics engine.
I am continually surprised at the countries reached. I record the shows from my home office in the beautiful Surrey Hills, yet the reach is worldwide. As many of my guests hail from the USA, the top country is perhaps no surprise. I cannot explain why Spain is second or why Brazil, Ecuador and Chile make the top ten! There are also listeners in Malaysia, Latvia and Azerbaijan.
What's perhaps of more interest is the listener demographic. It's roughly evenly split across the sexes but the show seems to cross all age ranges.
How do I do it?
Now I am an ex-techie so admittedly find that side of podcasting a doddle but I did have to learn and hone my craft as an interviewer. For each show, I do at least an hour's research and in many cases read a book. The recording takes an hour and the editing an hour or sometimes two. What I get in return for a 1/2 day a week of my time is as follows:
- to meet some of the brightest minds on the planet
- to learn some amazing new wisdom
- to connect with the tribes of my guests
- to introduce my guests to my tribe
- to have met some people who have become true friends
- a sense of fulfillment doing something I now feel I was born to do
It's all done too with some standard, relatively inexpensive equipment and edited together using the free Audacity software. Here's my set up …
Recording …
I record the shows using ecamm Call Recorder for Skype which means I can connect to anyone worldwide, even if they have a landline or mobile.
The ecamm Call Recorder generates seperate tracks for host and guest which makes post-production much easier. I can edit out "Umms" and "Errrs" and occassional dog barks at my end. I use the free audio editor
Audacity to edit the shows.
Hosting …
The brilliant Audioboom platform hosts my show and creates a really good, standalone web presence.
Check out the Zone Show on Audioboom here …
Last year I allowed the show to mature and built its own dedicated site which has details on the book and audiobook and a set of 'tomcasts' when I have been interviewed on other podcast shows. In this one with fellow podcaster Stephen Campbell, I explore how podcasting helps authors sell more books.
This site is built using WordPress but with the most amazing theme called Intelligent from Appendipity …
… which makes great use of a plugin from Pat Flynn called the Smart Podcast Player, an example of which you can see just above.
Sharing …
So how do I get the word out there, especially as I love creating and producing and would love others to do the marketing?
Well, for starters, automatically as each podcast gets uploaded to Audioboom, it gets syndicated to other platforms such as iTunes, Mixcloud, Stitcher and Tunein. If you subscribe to the show itself directly or through iTunes for example, you will get notified automatically when a new podcast is published.
Each guest gets links to share on Twitter, an embed link for Facebook and an embed code to insert their own site. The guests that are at the top of the Zone Show Top 30 have all done this and more and, as a result, have been the most listened to podcasts.
Check out the Zone Show Top 30 listened to shows …
What's Next?
So having got to this milestone without really having a milestone set in the first place, I am somewhat loathe to dictate where the show might go in the future. It would be kind of fun to get it to 1 million pairs of ears and here's a few ideas and initiatives in this year's pipeline.
- to get more reviews on iTunes – your help appreciated
- to find sponsors for the show as a whole and individual podcasts
- to launch an interview service to promote indie authors
- to take the show on to more conventional media channels, either radio or TV
- to assist in the general raising of consciousness on the planet!
So thanks again for all that have listened to the podcast and been interviewed for the show and all those in the future who help it get to 1 million pairs of ears.
Awakening with Heart
There was a time when our ancestors walked the planet who were very like us physically, yet they had not developed fully what we take for granted these days. They did not possess our magical ability to be self-aware. They could feel emotions pretty much like we do so could be sad, angry and even grieve for loved ones, as do elephants, ceteceans and primates. They did not possess language as we know it and, as a result, lacked the capacity for internal 'self-talk'.
Then, around a million or so years ago, something rather remarkable happened – we learned to talk. The Word was made Flesh!
The mystic and sage Rudoplh Steiner describes this process in an interesting way. He described the acquisition of the faculty of language as the 3rd Eye Chakra taking conscious control of the Throat Chakra. Nowadays, we don't give it a second thought that we can vocalise our thoughts and cause others to have thoughts about what we are thinking. To our ancestors, this would be like magic and unimaginable to them.
About a year ago, a lovely soul called Hannah Smithson suggested to me over Skype that it would be great to do a series of meditations that could be listened to over seven days. As a result of listening to them, some spiritual unfoldment would take place. I suggested that a series that energised and activated the seven chakras would be a good thing to do and I set about channelling them in and recording them. This process involves opening of the Crown Chakra so wisdom can flow through the 3rd Eye Chakra and through my Throat Chakra. This is how things work!
When I do such channelling, my conscious mind merely presses the record and stop buttons and I allow the words to flow. The result of what was created has amazed me and those who have taken the program. Amazing transformations have taken place which Steiner, and others, predicted would unfold. Having taken conscious control of our Throat Chakra, the next phase of human evolution involves us taking conscious control of our lower chakra centres. What we will be able to do when this happens will currently look like magic, until we accept it as being the norm.
For example, we can use our heart chakra to find our soul mate, soften tense situations and heal both face to face and at a distance. This video is typical of the experience.
Once we become comfortable and adept at controlling our heart centre, we can then do the same for the chakras below. For some people, this happens spontaneously. When we activate our solar plexus chakra, we gain the ability to jump forward in time and predict the near-future. We become pre-cogniscent and adept at always making the right choices. I have heard it also leads to the ability to teleport and jump space and time. I have had a few of these experiences already, but when I was not expecting them.
The sacral chakra turns out to be the seat from which we manifest our needs. It's activation leads to us bringing along just enough money when we need it as well as allowing events to unfold at just the perfect time. While vision boards have their place, fear that our visions might not arrive can tend to prevent our dreams from happening. When we take conscious control of the sacral chakra, our dreams have a tendency to arrive even before we have them.
Activation of the root chakra leads to many benefits. Firstly, it allows us to become connectors from the Above to the Below, with our heart centre as the pivot point. Secondly, it ensures our actions are always carried out with the safety and ecology of the planet at heart. I also suspect it will lead to the ability to levitate but that's kind of work in progress and has only happened once to me.


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Seattle gangsters taking after Portland counterparts
The shooting sprees and dead bystanders have made their way to our north.
The shooting sprees and dead bystanders have made their way to our north.
Hmmm....I wonder if the press is repeating fabrications about the killer supposedly having an argument with someone on the street, which somehow led to this random shooting...sort of like the other random shooting, and the other random shooting...and the random shooting of the opera singer last month on I205, etc etc. All "random" "senseless" and "shocking", because no one wants to mention, er, the actual ingredients in the cauldron. Dumb, hopped-up ghetto youths with guns, brought up by teen moms and grandmothers who probably beat them regularly as children, engaging in all-out warfare amongst each other, and making little rules like, kill a white person and you'll get some drug distribution turf...
And just in case you have any doubts, just watch the footage of four ghetto dwellers hunting human blood for sport, a little ways into the news segment on it below.
Sorry to say this but Oakland, California may be pointing the way for us. If Sam and the Portland Police Union can't fix the shooting problems maybe it's time to call in the Feds and try working together.


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What better way to celebrate the start of 2012 than with a Fabric & Notions Sale? Now through Jan 22d, you can get up to 30% off on all fabric, notions and One-Click Sewing Kits in our shop.
Plus, for those of you signed up for our email updates, a special offer for further savings will be emailed out in just a few days--so be sure to sign up on the top right sidebar if you have not already!
Looking forward to many fun projects in 2012!
Happy Sewing!~ Erin


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flaz, 24 Jan 2010where is the led flash?and no 2nd camera too..bummer
8mp and no flash, is this phone got night vision or something?
wait a sec..i see...it's for day time only
Anonymous, 23 Jan 2010SE Rocks! for Losers X10 has no radio, no 720p hd video recording HDMI, no xenon flash, no ... morewat man u every time degrading se phone if u dont like dont miss guide the people ok
Yeah, I was already thinking of giving up on Sony Ericsson and going back with Nokia..but because of what this device has to offer, I'm having second thoughts (no other brand can compete with Sony Ericsson's imaging quality..although Samsung can compete with the Pixon..just the Pixon though; and with HD recording, office capability, WiFi, a 3.5 mm audio). I'm a little taken aback by its peculiar design though..and the location of the 3.5 mm audio jack..why at the side?
Well.. Both aino and vivaz have the same cam resolution, and vivaz is a smart fone while aino is not.. But not to forget that aino has clear bass tecnology and it comes with great BT handsfree.. I don't think that symbian could has this clear bass thing considering only OS proprietary fone from SE that can manage this tecnology?
al, 23 Jan 2010which one is better. aino or vivaz? i want vivaz review too. thanks.Vivaz is much better than Aino, Vivaz is a smartphone with GREAT camera functions, the Aino is a Playstation compatible Java phone, with good camera.
frustrated (again) =, 23 Jan 2010same like aino same like x10.. stupid phone without secondary video camera!!Lol man, do you use every day the secondary camera or what is the problem? When you call somebody do you need to see him?
same like aino same like x10.. stupid phone without secondary video camera!!
Anonymous, 23 Jan 2010nice phone but with 12mp cam and fm transmiter hould be the ultimate phone 8mp is enough believe me (i had the c905).
Faster processor and HD video recording is excellent.
I will still keep my Satio though but i will be getting this baby when released.
when you watch the official video from SE its very clear that the screen is resistive!!!!!!!!!!
thanks a lot SE for this phone .
forget about this phone
What a unique shape phone with those rounded edge.. I still don't beleive that this is an SE phone.. It's like seeing 'new eyes' for the first time.. Haha.. But I think the new styling design is great anyway.. It may look like omnia, but still it's different.. IMHO
ramin, 23 Jan 2010i have heard that vivaz will be 320 euro but SE has not confirmed this until now
if vivaz hit... moreSE Rocks! for Losers X10 has no
radio, no 720p hd video recording
HDMI, no xenon flash, no
multitouch, no DMB connectivity
and up to 24 TV and audio
channels for free, no Effortless
Pinch and Zoom browser, no
voice detective to unlock your
phone, no android 2.0 with 16 M
colour. X10 is 13mm but Motoroi
10mm and this shows that Moto
Shadow specification are true
because is 9mm with keyboard
and Full HD video recording FHDMI
support no man not now we leave
Motoroi to crush X10 still X10 is
even not release yet but Motoroi
already in Korea very soon in USA
and you people you cannot
release and android with 16 M
colour and make Vivas on a
finished OS even Nokia don't want
it only Loser. You must read
about Android is taking over even
iphone is crying about android
still your UI is not compatible
with android but Motoroi UI is
doing well with 5 mains Displays
now Droid have android 2.1
update available but X10 even not
release so when the update will
come? Anywhere Moto Shadow is
coming with Froyo like a Ninja...
nice phone but with 12mp cam and fm transmiter hould be the ultimate phone
provide divx/xvid format and maximize memory to 32gb to complete the package.
Anonymous, 23 Jan 2010is this phone really 300 euro ?i have heard that vivaz will be 320 euro but SE has not confirmed this until now
if vivaz hit the shelves with this price this will be like a bomb because omnia hd is 400 euro


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Its official.... Court is part Fish!
This little boy swam his heart out kicking his legs and spent most afternoons jumping off the side of the pool into Daddy's arms. These photos were taken early in the trip, but by the end of the week Court would fly off the side jumping as far as he could with no fear. This kid LOVES the water!!!
And I wish I had a video of the girls swimming because they went from basic swim skills at the end of last summer to full on going under and swimming a few feet by themselves on this trip. After a day to build up confidence they gave it a try and never looked back. They would swim across the pool and then would beam with pride and say "I did great!"


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80 pages / paper
Available in the US
World Rights Available
Mary Maxwell
These poems in this collection are steeped in loss and lament as they concern the death of the poet's family members, particularly her father, and the premature death of two brothers two years apart. The collection's tone is often elegiac, but rarely maudlin, and the clipped narrative is frequently imbued with lyrical strains. The poems are emotional counterpoints to life's implacable realities and in the resulting response the poet learns that self-recrimination, denial, or anger cannot change the course of events. She teaches us that grief is a singular and deeply emotional experience and the poems convey this intimacy and offer a clear and empathetic path to a very specific emotional wellness.
Excerpt from "House by the Sea"
If the brain is a house by the sea
dementia a storm rising
water rushing in, lifting tables, chairs
family, friends
float away.
Mute, deaf and blind, the brain
employs the body as translator:
muteness into spoken word
deafness into birdsong
blindness into a vision of heaven.
In stock. Buy it now!
Thistledown Press
410 - 2nd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 2C3
E: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
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text:
Product Description:
Personal entertainment center:Royole Moon will receive video and audio signals from an external device connected through the HDMI cable, and transformed into your personal entertainment center, feasting you eyes and ears with a captivating spectacle of sight and sound even with the most common device.
Support a variety of devices:It supports a variety of video and audio signal sources, such as game consoles (Xbox and Play Station series), computers and set-top boxes.
HD transmission:It adopts the HDMI 1.4 specification with a maximum transmission rate of up to 24 Gbit/s. HD 1080P transmission delivers you the best image and sound quality easily.
Suitable For:
Royole Moon


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A fifteen-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber was caught carrying two explosive devices that the Israel Army says he planned to detonate in an attack on an Israeli army position near Gaza. The arrest took place at night, between August 28th and August 29th, when soldiers spotted a Palestinian youth approaching them. Reportedly the IDF had intelligence information about an impending attack. The teenager was taken for questioning by security forces. In a statement to the press the IDF said it "regrets that terrorist organizations make frequent use of children and youth, in order to execute attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers."
This arrest comes after three Palestinian children were killed on Wednesday by IDF tank fire in a field just outside of Gaza. The three children, aged between twelve and ten, were near a rocket launcher that had just been used to fire at Israelis in the Western Negev. It is unclear if the children were merely playing in the field, or sent to recover the rocket launchers.
An IDF announcement stated that the army had targeted several Qassam launchers in the Beit Hanun industrial area, which the army claims is a favored spot for rocket attacks against Israeli targets. The IDF statement said that so far nearly 300 Qassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from the Gaza strip in the last month.
According to informed sources Hamas and Islamic Jihad have begun to use children to retrieve the launchers knowing the Israeli sensitivities concerning the death of civilians. Some analysts believe that Hamas and other terrorist groups use these children as bait, hoping for a public relations coup when the children are injured or killed. Last week two other children were killed by IDF fire in similar circumstances.
An article in the Israeli Maariv newspaper stated on Thursday that Russia was behind the recent fears of an Israeli attack against Syria. The newspaper said that Russia had been feeding Syria with information that Israel was on the verge of an invasion in order to stir up tension in the region.
However, Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political-security division, told the Yideot Achranot newspaper's on-line Ynet on Thursday that "The Russians were not the main source in inciting and relaying information according to which Israel was planning to attack Syria in the summer," Gilad said the reports of Russian interference were "only partly true."
Gilad said that Israel had reassured both Syria and Russia that no attack was being planned. According to the report Israel also expressed concern over Russia's growing involvement in the region, including the sale of sophisticated weapons systems to Syria, some of which reportedly reach Hezbollah.
A new twist was added to the Israeli complaints over the Wakf's digging of a utility trench on the Temple Mount. As if to spin the controversy in a different direction Islamic firebrand Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, said Thursday that Israel is planning to build a new temple near the Al-Aqsa mosque. Salah called on Arab and Muslim nations to "prevent the division of the Al-Aqsa by Israel."
Salah has often incited Arab followers to radical actions by his words. Historians point out that what Israel calls the Temple Mount is not only revered by the Jews as the heart of the Jewish homeland, but by the Moslems. Approximately 800 years after the destruction of the second Jewish Temple by the Romans, the Dome of the Rock was built on the Temple Mount by a sheik trying to get attention from the rulers in Mecca. The shrine was built over the legendary rock Abraham nearly sacrificed Issac, and where approximately 2,800 years later Mohammend was said to have launched himself to Heaven on his winged steed, The Al Aqsa mosque was built hundreds of after the Dome of the Rock.
Scholars point out that until the 19th century Jerusalem was an ignored dusty backwater in the Arab world, and the Temple Mount a third-rate Moslem Holy site. Only the return of Jewish settlement to the region brought Jerusalem back to prominence. Both the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque now sit above the remains of the first and second Temples, which is, according to Israeli archeologists the greatest Jewish archeological site in the world.
However the Wakf refuses to allow Israel to excavate. The Wakf was put in charge of the Temple Mount after Israel seized the old city of Jerusalem in 1967. Since then Israel has slowly lost any control over the area. Any Israeli move towards the site now illicit calls for a Holy War.
According to analysts, Salah is reportedly using the claim of Israel's intention to build a new temple to cover up the press flap over the latest Israeli complaints against Wakf's digging above the ruins of the Jewish holy sites. Political analysts now say that Israel made a huge blunder allowing the Wakf control over the Temple Mount after the '67 Six-Day War.
Finance Minister Roni Bar On today announced he was not extending the contract of accountant-general Yaron Zelekha, who is set to complete a four year stint in October, even though Zelekha's contract allows him to continue for a fifth year if he wants to.
Zelekha testified against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Bank Leumi scandal investigation. Zelekha also recently published a comprehensive plan to fight corruption. Zelekha released the plan without informing his superiors at the Finance Ministry.
Finance Minister Roni Bar On is an old political pal of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Bar On was appointed to replace another political pal, Avraham Hershson, who resigned under a cloud of improper behavior, embezzlement and illegal smuggling of foreign currency. Pundits believe that PM Olmert wants to excise Zelekha from the Finance Ministry before he can do any more harm.
Zelekah reportedly said in response that, "The attempt to discontinue my tenure is illegal. It was carried out without authority and does not bind me. I will not allow a group of people suspected of criminal offenses to deter me from my mission to guard the public's treasury." State Comptroller Lindenstrauss is expected to oppose Zelekah's ouster. Lindenstrauss has said that that anyone who exposed corruption in the State of Israel would receive full protection under the law. The Movement for a Better Government has said it would fight to keep Zelekah in office.
Russian-Israeli Billionaire Arkady Gadyamack appeared at a guest before a Knesset committee yesterday, and continued his fusillade against the Olmert government. He was seen on Israel Television telling the committee that the government was run by self-interested politicians only interested in perpetuating their own power, and accumulating money for themselves.
The Justice Minister Daniel Friedman reportedly caved into ultra-Orthodox demands when he agreed to redraft the inheritance laws to exclude gay couples as legal entities. Retired Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel headed a public commission appointed in 1999 to reform the 1965 inheritance law. In the spring of 2006 Turkel's committee proposed changing the definition of a couple from "husband and wife" in order that it apply to both gay and heterosexual couples.
Justice Minister Friedman decided to limit the proposed inheritance law to "a man and a woman who lead a family life in a joint household." According to gay rights groups Friedman bowed to pressure from the Sephardi Shas party.
Meanwhile Shas has made noises about leaving the coalition if PM Olmert signs any agreements on dual statehood with Palestinian President Abu Mazen. If Shas follows through with the threat new elections would be a foregone conclusion. However according to press reports Israel Beitainu's Avigdor Leiberman doesn't believe any agreement will be reached.
An editorial in the Maariv daily newspaper, however, says that a peace agreement with Abu Mazen would be Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's last opportunity to look good in the history books. Maariv's editors encourage PM Olmert to exploit the "historic opportunity being offered him." The paper contends that while peace would save Olmert politically, time is running out to implement any agreement. Most analysts however consistently stress that neither PA's Mohammad Abbas (Abu Mazen) nor Israel's PM Ehud Olmert have the public support to carry out any far-reaching agreements.
Former Defense Minister during the War in Lebanon II, Amir Peretz closed political accounts on Thursday when he commented on his one-time colleagues and friends. On Ehud Barak, now Labor party leader and Minister of Defense, "He humiliates people." On PM Olmert: "His emptiness worries me." On former Chief of Staff and former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz: "He did not act to prepare IDF for war." On Labor party big-shot "Faud" Ben-Eliezer: |"He betrayed me." On himself: "I erred when I accepted Defense Ministry." Pundits add that Peretz reached his conclusions too late to do either himself or the country any good.