Is Germany’s Refugee Crisis a Muslim Mission Field?

A three million-strong Christian denomination says a “strategic mission” to convert Muslims goes against “the spirit” of JesusUp to one million Refugees are expected to arrive in Germany by end of this year, hoping to gain asylum in the European Union's largest country.
Many are arriving from Muslim-majority Countries, Including Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. But while German churches Have Been eager to materially support the Refugees, Christians are not on the same page About sharing the Gospel With newcomers.
One prominent denomination has Claimed in a position paper trying to evangelize Refugees That is unchristian, reports Religion News Service. "A strategic mission to Islam or Muslims to convert them meeting Threatens social peace and contradicts the spirit and mandate of Jesus Christ and is THEREFORE Firmly to be rejected," Said the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland in a paper Entitled "Pilgrim Fellowship and Witness in Dialogue with Muslims, ACCORDING TO RNS.
A About three million of denomination, the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland is one of twenty Lutheran, Reformed and United Protestant groups That Make up the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). According To The most recent figures, 23 million Germans are part of EKD, Whose numbers consistently Have Declined in recent years.
German Evangelical Alliance General secretary says Hartmut Steeb That evangelism is an essential part of the response to Refugees.
"We declare the missionary Firmly That critical task of Christians, to preach the Gospel Namely of Jesus to others and invite them to follow it, can not be Given Up," I Told RNS.
Barbara Rudolph, WHO leads the ecumenical department of the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland, Die Welt That Told her church's stance is a "modern interpretation of missionary work."
Part of the strategy is asking members of the Church to live lives That impress would-be Christian Converts.
"We want to live in a way others That Makes Curious about our faith," She Told RNS. "Whoever wants to Become a Christian can be Baptized."
Also pointed to Rudolph Recommendations signed by the World Evangelical Alliance, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican in 2011.
"If Christians engage in Inappropriate methods of exercising mission by resorting to deception and coercive Means They betray the gospel and Suffering May cause to others," it states. "Such departures call for repentance and remind us of our need for God's grace Continuing."
That issue is complicating the Muslim Refugees Have a political incentive to convert.
At Least Two Countries in the asylum-seekers are fleeing Afghanistan-Iran and converting to Christianity is punishable by death.
That Refugees May wager they're less likely to be sent back to Their Countries Should They convert birth. After all, many are not allowed to stay.
"In recent years, roughly 40% to 50% from Two Countries Have Been Those allowed to stay in the country, with many of Those getting only temporary permission to REMAIN," Reported RNS.
This is not only true in Germany.
In 2013, Sweden was Accused of denying refugee status to Iranian religious Christians and sending them back to Their home country. (CT Also NOTED When Lutheran bishops in Sweden controversially priests Advised not to baptize asylum seekers Who Had converted to Christianity over fears That This Could Increase Their likelihood of Being Persecuted if They Were sent back.)
In Berlin, Where Have Hundreds of Muslims converted to Christianity at an evangelical church, Pastor STI acknowledges some That May Have Their faith political motives behind decisions. (CT first profiled His ministry in 2012. The Wall Street Journal Also offers an in-depth look and the Associated Press report this video.)
"I know there are-again and again-people coming here Because They have some kind of hope Regarding Their asylum," Trinity Pastor Gottfried Martens Told the Associated Press. "I am inviting them to join us Because I Know That whoever comes here will not be left unchanged."
Relations Between Christian and Muslim Refugees Have Been contentious. One Iranian Christian convert was beaten by an Afghan Man Who Reportedly esta saw change as sinful, ACCORDING The Express. Have Also German police unions called for religiously segregated housing, reports The Washington Post.
Christians Have Been prevented us from using asylum center kitchens and harassed for not praying, Martens Told Die Welt.
"[The Christians] ask the question: What happens when the devout Muslim Refugees leave the refugee center, we must continue hiding ourselves in the future as Christians in This Country?" I Said.
Some European churches downplayed Have Their Christian identity in deference to the Refugees They are assisting. One German church That will be hosting 50 Refugees STI will move chairs, pulpit and font, reports the Express. Earlier This Year, to top bishop in the Church of Sweden instructed churches in her diocese to remove crosses.
Previously Offered CT two perspectives on Allowing Muslims to worship in churches. Also Offered Ed Stetzer have five practical ways for Christians to reach out to westernized Muslims.
There are instances religious agencies Where Have taken advantage of people in a vulnerable position, wrote Theos, a Christian think tank in the United Kingdom, Earlier This Year.
"The vast majority of religious voices are clear That there is no justification for making the provision of aid or assistance conditional on expressing religious beliefs. .... It's right to acknowledge vulnerability, Which will be a more or less Important consideration Depending on the context, but an approach Which 'vulnerable-ises' will result in a failure to take proper account of spiritual needs. "
Elsewhere in Europe, Croatia's Christian leaders Have Reached out to The Nearly 30,000 Refugees Who Have entered.
"God's Given us an amazing opportunity," Teanna Sunberg, NCM communications coordinator for Central Europe, Said. "He's Brought the Muslim world to our doorstep."
CT's past coverage of Germany interviews includes with a cabinet member in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government About evangelical political engagement, a German church planter WHO Studied under Tim Keller, and a Berlin-based journalist who says That Martin Luther Would Have driven MOST of Germany's bishops from Their Pulpits.
CT has NOTED Also why the refugee crises Makes for a beautiful gospel witness, as well as how Jordanians are meeting the needs of Syrians hailing from the worst crises since the Rwandan genocide.

Billy Graham: Why Linger in the Land of the Dying

Those Who keep Heaven in view experience joy, Even In the Midst of disorder.

Reviews This was never more evident than with my friend Billie Barrows, Especially in the months leading up to her death. Cliff Barrows and Billie joined me in ministry while on Their honeymoon in 1945. It was the Beginning of a long friendship and joyful. Cliff directed our music, and the piano Billie Played In Those early days.

After forty-nine years of marriage and service together with our team, Billie Barrows transcended this life into eternity. I can not help think of the purpose Powerful words Widely Attributed To John Newton as he lay on His deathbed. Someone _him_ Asked, "Are you still with us?" Whispered Newton, "I am still in the land of the dying, order soon,` shall I be in the land of the living! "

You see, death for the Christian is just the entryway to eternity, Where the eternal God Welcomes us in. The Bible says, "He Who hears My word and Believes in Him Who sent Me HAS everlasting life, and` shall not come into judgment, order HAS Passed from death to life "(John 5:24).

Ruth and I visited the Barrows In Their home shortly before Billie's death. They Were expecting Their children home for A Few Days of meeting. Billie Knew About did she not-have long is this earth.

I stayed downstairs with Cliff as he fixed lunch, while Ruth Went upstairs with Billie, Who HAD beens prepaid Reviews some of the children's rooms. She Was so happy and filled with joy as she Anticipated her children's visit.

How much more our heavenly Father Does Anticipate His children's homecoming? Our imaginations can not simply COMPREHEND the grandeur of this wonderful home, a spot of everlasting joy, contentment, and peace.

How can we ever begin to know the rejoicing That Will take up When the Lord Brings all of us home in immortal bodies? The morning stars sing together and the Will Will angels shout for glory. Think of Having full fulfillment, Knowing That our homecoming Brings unspeakable joy to our wonderful Lord! So why do we prefer lingering here? Because we are not only in earthbound body; we are earthbound in our thinking. Purpose When We Leave this place, we Will Never dwell on it again. Our eyes and hearts is Christ Will Be fixed.

When we stand at the graveside of a loved one, we sorrow. Purpose Those united with Christ in death are united with Him aussi in the joy of resurrection. There Was No joy at the tomb of Lazarus. It was a somber and woeful time-until Jesus arrived!

Words can not describe the shock of seeing a dead man alive again-and the joy of knowing That We, too, `shall one day hear the Lord Jesus call our names. Contemplate it for a moment and imagine hearing His voice speak your name. If That Does not due to bubble joy inside of you, it is doubtful anything else Will.

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Free YouTube! Pakistan ban faces court action

ISLAMABAD - ToffeeTV has hit an unexpected snag. The Internet startup depended on YouTube to promote "Hokey-Pokey," "The Umm Nyum Nyum Song" and other language-teaching clips it produces for children, but the video-sharing website has been banned in Pakistan for nearly a year.

The measure was imposed to block videos that Muslims took as insulting and blasphemous. But the unintended consequence has been frustration for many companies, educators and students. A petition to end Internet censorship is before a Pakistani court, and a debate has been rekindled over how to reconcile the right to a free flow of information with a widespread public sentiment that Islam needs special protections.

ToffeeTV has had to save its clips on its own servers and delay the rollout of its apps, says company co-founder Rabia Garib. "It threw us off our feet," she said. "We're off schedule by about eight months."

While the tech-savvy have ways to get around the ban, the vast majority of Pakistanis who try to view YouTube get this: "Surf Safely! ... The site you are trying to access contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan."

The made-in-America trailer for "Innocence of Muslims," the movie of which has never reached cinemas, provoked uproar throughout the Muslim world, and several U.S. diplomatic missions were targeted. In Pakistan, clashes between police and protesters left 19 people dead.

YouTube as well as Facebook were initially blocked although the government soon exempted Facebook, saying it removed the offensive material. At the time, U.S. President Barack Obama's administration asked Google, YouTube's parent, to take down the video. But the company refused, saying the trailer didn't violate its content standards.

The only other countries that block YouTube are Tajikistan, China and Iran, according to Google's transparency report that tracks restrictions of its products. Another 56 countries have localized versions of YouTube that allow for tailoring content to local standards.

Pakistan, a nation of roughly 180 million, has a democratically elected government and a legal system inherited from its former British rulers. But that system also contains significant religious strictures, and disputes over religion frequently end in bloodshed. So at the time the YouTube ban was imposed, many saw it as a necessary calming measure.

Now an advocacy group called Bytes for All is petitioning the Lahore High Court to order an end to all Internet censorship.

Muzzling YouTube "could lead to the opening up of an entire Pandora's box of moral policing and dictatorial controls despite the democracy being in place," said Furhan Hussain of Bytes for All.

At the organization's Islamabad offices, activists say the YouTube case is just the latest example. Over the years the government has periodically banned Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, but the YouTube ban has lasted the longest.

It can be circumvented via VPNs, virtual private networks that mask the user's computer but are prone to viruses and slow the Internet connection.

These proxies are too cumbersome for his staff to deal with, says Jawwad Ahmed Farid, founder and CEO of Karachi-based Alchemy Technologies, which does risk-management training for financial professionals.

It posts short videos of its classes on YouTube to attract business, but uploads fewer of them following the ban, and the volume of Pakistani customers referred through YouTube has fallen, Farid said. "My team finds it very difficult to work with all the proxies in place. It certainly slows it down a bit," he said.

Sidra Qasim is co-CEO of HOMETOWN, a Lahore-based company that helps leather workers to market products such as shoes and belts online. It used YouTube to reach customers and also to teach the workers new techniques. "Now that training part is stopped totally," she said.

A committee of officials from various ministries is looking for solutions and will make the decision on whether to unblock YouTube. But experts aren't sure a technical solution even exists, and Bytes for All and others say that even if the government comes up with a filtering mechanism, they will continue to resist it as censorship.

Kamran Ali, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internet Technology, acknowledged that the ban can be a hardship but said the government must weigh freedom of information against offending the public.

"It's a Muslim country, and this video clearly violates the religious sentiments of the people of Pakistan," he said.

At Air University in Islamabad, some students supported a government-imposed filter. "If they are able to control this blasphemous material that would be a good step," said Waqar ur-Rehman, 21.

But they recognized the difficulty of actually coming up with a system, and some argued against any restrictions, if only because they could be evaded.

"I think the ban shouldn't have been there. It (the movie) hurt a lot of religious sentiments, mine as well, but it was not the right way to do it, because there are so many ways to go around it," said Palwasha Khursheed, who studies electrical engineering.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a Muslim cleric, acknowledged the ban was porous, and said Pakistan was missing an opportunity to use technology such as YouTube to educate people about Islam.

He urged the government to lift the ban, but only after installing filters, saying, "We must not allow anyone to attack our cultural values."

One solution would be a localized version of YouTube for Pakistan. But Google would need immunity from prosecution for any offending content, and Pakistani law so far doesn't allow for such an arrangement.

"It is Google's goal to offer local versions of YouTube to more places worldwide, but it takes time," said Google in a statement to The Associated Press in request for comment about the court case. "The localization process can be lengthy as we research laws and build relationships with local content creators

Colorado evacuees return to find more heartbreak

HYGIENE, Colo. - Weary Colorado evacuees have begun returning home after days of rain and flooding, but Monday's clearing skies and receding waters revealed only more heartbreak: toppled houses, upended vehicles and a stinking layer of muck covering everything.

Rescuers grounded by weekend rains took advantage of the break in the weather to resume searches for people still stranded, with 21 helicopters fanning out over the mountainsides and the plains to drop supplies and airlift those who need help.

The number of dead and missing people was difficult to pinpoint. State emergency officials reported the death toll at eight Monday, but local officials were still investigating the circumstances of two of the fatalities.

In a Colorado Springs creek Monday, authorities recovered the body of a man but can't say yet if the death is related to recent flooding. And in Idaho Springs, an 83-year-old man died Monday afternoon when the ground he was standing on gave way and he was swept away by Clear Creek, according to The Denver Post.

Two of the eight fatalities are women missing and presumed dead.

The number of missing people was dropping as the state's count fell Monday from just over 1,200 to about half that. State officials hoped the overall number would continue to drop with rescuers reaching more people and phone service being restored.

"You've got to remember, a lot of these folks lost cellphones, landlines, the Internet four to five days ago," Gov. John Hickenlooper said on NBC's "Today" show. "I am very hopeful that the vast majority of these people are safe and sound."

Residents of Hygiene returned to their small community east of the foothills to find mud blanketing roads, garages, even the tops of fence posts. The raging St. Vrain River they fled three days earlier had left trucks in ditches and carried items as far as 2 miles downstream.

"My own slice of heaven, and it's gone," Bill Marquedt said after finding his home destroyed.

Residents immediately set to sweeping, shoveling and rinsing, but the task of rebuilding seemed overwhelming to some.

"What now? We don't even know where to start," said Genevieve Marquez. "It's not even like a day by day or a month thing.

"I want to think that far ahead but it's a minute by minute thing at this point. And, I guess now it's just help everyone out and try to get our lives back," she added.

The town of Lyons was almost completely abandoned. Emergency crews gave the few remaining residents, mostly wandering Main Street looking for status updates, a final warning to leave Sunday.

Most of the town's trailer parks were completely destroyed. One angry man was throwing his possessions one by one into the river rushing along one side of his trailer on Sunday, watching the brown water carry them away while drinking a beer.

Helicopters had evacuated more than 100 stranded residents in Larimer County by midafternoon Monday, said Chuck Russell, a spokesman for the federal incident command helping with the response.

Russell said he expected that helicopter crews would evacuate a total of up to 400 by the end of the day and perhaps twice that number on Tuesday.

Once the evacuations are complete, officials said it could take weeks or even months to search through flood-ravaged areas looking for people who died.

In the mountain towns, major roads were washed away or covered by mud and rock slides. Hamlets like Glen Haven were reduced to debris and key infrastructure like gas lines and sewers systems were destroyed.

Hundreds of homes around Estes Park, next to Rocky Mountain National Park, could be unreachable and uninhabitable for up to a year, town administrator Frank Lancaster said.

State emergency officials offered a first glimpse at the scope of the damage, with counties reporting about 19,000 homes either damaged or destroyed.

Those preliminary figures are certain to change as the waters continue to recede and roads are cleared to allow crews to access more areas.

Searchers in the air and on the ground scoured isolated areas from the foothills east to homes and communities along waterways downstream.

Cole Cannon, a volunteer firefighter with the Indian Peaks Fire Protection District, said he encountered mud, rocks, slides and fallen trees rode as he rode an all-terrain vehicle down Lefhand Canyon to the town of Rowena.

Numerous houses had been destroyed, and he didn't know whether the residents had escaped or would be found dead.

Hickenlooper said later at a news conference that many of the bridges, culverts and roadways that were damaged and destroyed were built a long time ago, and with federal assistance, the state could come away with a stronger infrastructure.

13 killed in Washington Navy Yard shooting rampage

WASHINGTON - A former Navy reservist went on a shooting rampage Monday inside a building at the heavily secured Washington Navy Yard, firing from a balcony onto office workers in an atrium below, authorities and witnesses said. Thirteen people were killed, including the gunman.

Authorities said they were looking for a possible second attacker who may have been disguised in an olive-drab military-style uniform.

But as the day wore on and night fell, the rampage increasingly appeared to be the work of a lone gunman.

The attack unfolded about 8:20 a.m. in the heart of the nation's capital, less than four miles from the White House and two miles from the Capitol.

Investigators said the motive was a mystery.

Mayor Vincent Gray said there was no indication it was a terrorist attack. But he said the possibility had not been ruled out.

It was the deadliest shooting at a military installation in the U.S. since Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 in 2009 at Fort Hood in Texas. He was convicted last month and sentenced to death.

President Barack Obama lamented yet another mass shooting in the U.S. that he said took the lives of American "patriots." He promised to make sure "whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible."

The FBI took charge of the investigation and identified the gunman killed in the attack as 34-year-old Aaron Alexis of Texas. He died after a running gunbattle inside the building with police, investigators said.

At the time of the rampage, Alexis was working in information technology with a company that was a Defense Department subcontractor.

Authorities said he may have had a badge that enabled him to get onto the base, but they were still investigating.

Alexis was a full-time Navy reservist from 2007 to early 2011, leaving as a petty officer third class, the Navy said. It did not say why he left. He had been an aviation electrician's mate with a unit in Fort Worth, Texas.

Alexis had had run-ins with the law over shooting incidents in 2004 and 2010 in Fort Worth and Seattle and was portrayed in police reports as seething with anger.

Witnesses on Monday described a gunman opening fire from a fourth-floor overlook, aiming down on people on the main floor, which includes a glass-walled cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway.

Patricia Ward, a logistics-management specialist, said she was in the cafeteria getting breakfast.

"It was three gunshots straight in a row - pop, pop, pop. Three seconds later, it was pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, so it was like about a total of seven gunshots, and we just started running," Ward said.

In addition to those killed, more than a dozen people were hurt, including a police officer and two female civilians who were shot and wounded. They were all expected to survive.

Police would not give any details on the gunman's weaponry, but witnesses said the man they saw had a long gun - which can mean a rifle or a shotgun.

The Washington Navy Yard is a sprawling, 41-acre labyrinth of buildings and streets protected by armed guards and metal detectors, and employees have to show their IDs at doors and gates. More than 18,000 people work there.

The rampage took place at Building 197, the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command, which buys, builds and maintains ships and submarines. About 3,000 people work at headquarters, many of them civilians.

Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.

"He just turned and started firing," Brundidge said.

Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said the gunman fired toward her and Brundidge.

"He aimed high and missed," she said. "He said nothing. As soon as I realized he was shooting, we just said, `Get out of the building.'"

As emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers flooded streets around the complex, a helicopter hovered, nearby schools were locked down and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were grounded so they would not interfere with law-enforcement choppers.

Security was tightened at other federal buildings. Senate officials shut down their side of the Capitol while authorities searched for the potential second attacker. The House remained open.

In the confusion, police said around midday that they were searching for two men who may have taken part in the attack - one carrying a handgun and wearing a tan Navy-style uniform and a beret, the other armed with a long gun and wearing an olive-green uniform. Police said it was unclear if the men were members of the military.

But later in the day, police said the man in the tan uniform had been identified and was not involved in the shooting.

As tensions eased, Navy Yard employees were gradually being released from the complex, and children were let out of their locked-down schools.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, was at the base at the time the shooting began but was moved unharmed to a nearby military installation.

Anxious relatives and friends of those who work at the complex waited to hear from loved ones.

Tech Sgt. David Reyes, who works at Andrews Air Force Base, said he was waiting to pick up his wife, Dina, who was under lockdown in a building next to where the shooting happened. She sent him a text message.

"They are under lockdown because they just don't know," Reyes said. "They have to check every building in there, and they have to check every room and just, of course, a lot of rooms and a lot of buildings."

---

Associated Press writers Jesse Holland, Stacy A. Anderson, Brian Witte and Ben Nuckols in Washington contributed to this report.

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Model campaign brings more diversity to runways

NEW YORK - Supermodel Iman watched the runways like a hawk this Fashion Week - but she wasn't looking at the clothes.

Iman joined with Naomi Campbell and veteran modeling agent Bethann Hardison for an unusual effort they are calling Balance Diversity to bring more black models to the runway, and they called out designers who whitewash their runways in the process.

By all indications, their open letter made a difference, with an uptick in diversity at the previews that ended last week. All the top designers presenting in New York used at least one black model, and some who previously had no black models used as many as seven this season.

"I've always said runways and photos are important to shape our young girls," Iman said in an interview last week. "To see models of color on the runway is important to the self-esteem of our young girls. To see otherwise makes them feel like they can be `in or out.'"

What remains to be seen: Is the greater black presence on runways a lasting trend - or just more fast fashion? If black models fall out of favor next season like a short hemline, is that racist?

Balance Diversity is part activist group, part blog, part watchdog. They posed a catwalk challenge just before the seasonal style previews were to begin in New York.

"Eyes are on an industry that season after season watches fashion design houses consistently use ... one or no models of color. No matter the intention, the result is racism," said their open letter to the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

They called out by name some industry heavyweights, including Donna Karan, Proenza Schouler, The Row, Victoria Beckham and Calvin Klein - designers the group said used almost no black models in last February's shows. The website Jezebel calculated that 82.7 percent of that season's New York Fashion Week models were white, 9.1 percent were Asian, 6 percent were black and 2 percent Latina.

Iman and Hardison both note they aren't calling the designers or the casting agents themselves racist - but they say defining one's look with only white faces is a racist act. And they acknowledge that sometimes designers don't see the models until a day or two before a show, but say they are nonetheless ultimately responsible.

Their letter went to the heads of the London, Milan and Paris fashion councils. The European designers, according to Iman, are bigger offenders. (She makes an exception for Tom Ford and Jean Paul Gaultier, who are the old-school types of designers who cast a model for her personality instead of trying to jam her into a particular seasonal mold.)

Some black models remain in hot demand. Campbell is the favorite, even in a jaded industry that typically likes the next big thing. The crowd at Diane von Furstenberg gave her bigger cheers than the designer. Joan Smalls and Jourdan Dunn also are consistently booked in top-tier shows.

But Iman said it has to be about more than a token or two black models, and it has to be about more than the established names. Without a turn on the runway, younger black models don't get discovered and booked for advertising jobs.

Recently, shows moved toward a blonder, whiter cast, with a few minority model slots filled by Asians, she said, in an effort to appeal to the growing consumer economies in Asia. And even when big international brands put black models on their billboards, those same brands were holding out on the runway.

Designer Nanette Lepore, who was not targeted by Balance Diversity and whose runway featured a diverse group of models, said that she tries to cast a runway reflective of the world.

"The fashion world goes through these moments where people think that to get their message across they have to have one certain type of model," she said. "At one point everyone had to look like Kate Moss. Or it's Eastern European, or it's Brazilian."

Lepore also noted seeing more Asians, and, this season, more black models. "I think this will be the trend now," she said optimistically.

Things did change in New York: Calvin Klein, for example, increased its use of black womenswear models from zero to five this season, while The Row, the label helmed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, used seven dark-skinned models, according to Modelinia, a modeling industry website.

"This season will be more fun to count," said Hardison. "Before it was a job. I think it's going to be a pleasure this season."

Calvin Klein creative director Francisco Costa said in a post-show interview that this collection, inspired by the patchwork of cultures in New York City, was a celebration of diversity. He said model diversity is something he thinks about.

"Casting for us - we take it very seriously," Costa said. Of this season's catwalk, he said, "The casting was very fantastic, it was very seamless ... but it was very worldly and very multicultural."

Reed Krakoff was also on the Balance Diversity list, but he said he thinks about the issue, too, and there was darker skin on his runway: "It's important to represent a broad cross-section of different types of women. We're really looking for that interesting mix."

Most designers certainly weren't pushing toward the microphones last week to talk about this issue. Most seemed as if they'd be happy to talk only about their clothes and inspiration.

Rachel Zoe said discussions about diversity were like the touchy ones about the age and weight of models. "It's always going to be an issue," the designer said. "I just think it's important that we keep everything mixed up and fair."

Zac Posen, however, brought up the issue of diversity during a backstage interview. He said he thinks his diverse runway makes his clothes look better, and it wins him the support of models, who have backed him even when retailers and editors didn't.

He does use a casting director, but the final say is his. He's looking for "physical beauty, star quality - who's the next Naomi, Coco Rocha or Lindsey Wixson?" Posen said. "They all look different. It's about who'll look good in the clothes."

Hardison and Iman did notice the improvement this season and are committed to making it last through the European shows this month and beyond to next season and next year.

"The public is very excited by the fact that this is happening. Not just black people care, people care, people who care about beautiful," she said. "The activism has to remain."

First 'Spider-Man' hero says 'it's hard to leave'

NEW YORK - Reeve Carney, the actor who played the hero in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" for three years on Broadway, returned to his dressing room to clean it out Monday, a day after bidding an emotional goodbye to a show he still calls "amazing."

"It's really hard to leave, man. I've got to be honest with you," he said from inside the Foxwoods Theatre.

Like a varsity quarterback returning to fetch his old sweats after graduation, Carney returned to rescue some guitar cases and shake hands for the last time as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. On Saturday, he boards a flight to Dublin for his next adventure: The filming of a Showtime drama.

"I'm definitely overwhelmed emotionally," Carney said. "I'm obviously so thrilled to have the opportunity to try something completely different, but at the same time I'm going to miss this place and these people in particular so much."

The actor was visibly teary eyed at the curtain call as he thanked original director Julie Taymor, songwriters Bono and The Edge, producers Michael Cohl and Jere Harris, and the entire company. He symbolically handed over the hero's mask to the new Spidey, Justin Matthew Sargent, who played Drew in Broadway's "Rock of Ages." Outside the stage door, he took 45 minutes to sign autographs and pose for photos and then went to party. "It was nice to sleep in," he said with a laugh.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is Broadway's most expensive show with a price tag of $75 million. It has become one of its biggest hits after a rocky start, with six delays in its opening night, injuries to fellow actors, a shake-up that led to the firing of Taymor and critical drubbing.

He said the process has been crazy "but in a positive way." He added: "I would say this has been the most incredible experience of my life." His parting gift from the show was a piano prop that the Goblin throws into the orchestra pit, signed by the entire cast.

Carney is the lead singer of the rock band Carney, which also includes his younger brother Zane on guitar. The band has released the album "Mr. Green" but both brothers are putting out solo music until they can find the time to work together again. Zane Carney has released the CD "Confluence" and is on tour with John Mayer.

Reeve Carney, who is planning to make his own album, has appeared in several films, including Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and "Snow Falling on Cedars." He most recently starred in Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" video and attended the MTV's Video Music Awards with Swift last month. He has been picked to play the musician Jeff Buckley in the upcoming musical biopic "Mystery White Boy" and will now star in the Showtime drama series "Penny Dreadful."

On Sunday, some alumni of the show stopped by to bid Carney farewell after 840 shows, including the great Shakespearian actor Patrick Page, the original Green Goblin, who cheered on his former co-star, and Christopher Tierney, one of several actors who plays Spider-Man who was badly injured in the show but returned to perform.

The irony of his new move to Ireland is not lost on Carney. "It's kind of odd that I started here in `Spider-Man' with some guys from Dublin and now I'm moving to their hometown

U.S. military bases affected by tropical storms in Japan

U.S. military bases were affected by tropical storms in Japan. The storms have been battering the area for several days. Fortunately, the military bases did not have extensive damage. The storms have brought heavy rains and winds to Japan.
 
Japan still has several U.S. military bases, but reports indicate they have not been greatly damaged by recent storms. The bases in Tokyo revealed they did not get heavy floods or other issues created by the storms. The tropical storms have hit Japan with severity, yet not all areas are affected equally.
 
The U.S. bases did experience rain and high winds. Officials took control of the situation by asking people to remain indoors and closing some gates. They monitored the situation to make sure the storms did not threaten the areas. Evacuations have been ordered in other parts of Japan, but the U.S. bases are not included.
 
The hospitals and health clinics at the bases were also affected by the tropical storms. Patients were asked to cancel appointments and avoid venturing out in the storms. Some patients who were already in the hospitals were asked not to leave due to the weather.
 
The U.S. military bases were on high alert as the storms rolled in, but this has now been changed. It is not expected that the situation will become worse. However, officials will continue to monitor the forecast and will issue other alerts if necessary. For now, life at the bases is returning to normal.
 
The storms may no longer be a threat to the U.S. bases, but the rest of Japan continues to be under high alert. Officials have issued evacuations for 250,000 people, rail lines are no longer working, planes are grounded and other efforts are underway to deal with the storms. The tropical storms are expected to bring an enormous amount of rain into the area that will lead to flooding in vulnerable places and potential mudslides. Everyone remains on alert at this time.
 

Police explain wounding two bystanders in New York City

Police have offered a partial explanation for wounding two bystanders in New York City as they were trying to handle a suspect. The suspect was unstable and running through traffic. Officers accidentally hit two bystanders as they fired at the man.
 
New York City police have arrested the suspect and stated he would face several charges. The man identified as Glen Broadnax was trying to kill himself by running into traffic. As police officers chased after him, he continued to cause traffic problems. They also explained he made gestures that appeared to indicate he had a weapon. They responded by firing at him, but unfortunately two bystanders were hit in the Port Authority Bus Terminal area.
 
The controversial case has created many questions. Police officers accidentally hit two women who were taken to a hospital. In both cases, the women had minor injuries that were not life threatening. The women were simply in the same area as the suspect and are not related to him.Police officers have stated that Glen Broadnax made all the gestures of a person reaching for a weapon. However, he did not have a gun as they later discovered. He was finally stopped by an officer with a taser. He faces a long list of charges including resisting arrest.
 
Glen Broadnax has a long record with multiple arrests. He has been described as confused and deranged by some sources. The man has also been characterized as emotionally unstable. The incident began as he tried to run into traffic, and police tried to stop him. Witnesses state they heard someone yell he has a gun, and police fired several shots that hit two women who were standing. The chase continued, and no cars actually hit the suspect as he tried to run from police. Some witnesses wondered if he was on drugs because he did not appear to be behaving normally. Eventually, the man was stopped and arrested while the two women were taken to a local hospital.
 
New York City police plan to do a thorough investigation and will evaluate the use of the officers’ guns in this case. They will be questioning the women hit by the shots along with others. The two officers will also be evaluated, and their participation will be judged. This is not the first time that innocent bystanders have been hit, but New York City plans to handle the case with care. 
 

SAS’s lamping unit ‘used laser to dazzle Princess Diana’s driver

Following Soldier N’s claims of an SAS plot, other military sources allege a secret force existed and it had the ability to carry out an operation to kill the Princess.

The elite Army detachment was able to kill by shining high density beams called “dazzler lasers” into the eyes of targets.

These either cause road accidents or disorientate victims so they could be killed in another way.

Normally, the licence to kill has to be authorised by the Foreign Secretary, under a Class Seven Authorisation, but fresh military sources say in this case it came from deeper within the intelligence establishment.

The Diana allegations surfaced in July after the court martial of Danny Nightingale, another SAS veteran who was convicted of illegal possession of a weapon and ammunition.

The claims were passed to the Royal Military Police and then to Scotland Yard which has interviewed the wife and mother-in-law of Soldier N in connection with the Diana murder claims.

Allegations that Diana died after the driver of her Mercedes, Henri Paul, was “lamped” by an SAS unit on a motorcycle in a Paris underpass in 1997, causing the car to plough into a wall, are supported by witness evidence.

Another driver in the underpass described seeing in his rear-view mirror a “major white flash” which illuminated the Mercedes moments before the fatal accident.

Francois Levistre claimed that a motorcycle pulled up to the car and directed a light into the vehicle before it crashed. He told the official inquest in 2007 that it was like night turning to day, adding: “I just wondered what happened because the light was like you were caught in a police radar.

Follow the Money’: NSA Spies on International Payments

The National Security Agency (NSA) widely monitors international payments, banking and credit card transactions, according to documents seen by SPIEGEL.

The information from the American foreign intelligence agency, acquired by former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden, show that the spying is conducted by a branch called “Follow the Money” (FTM). The collected information then flows into the NSA’s own financial databank, called “Tracfin,” which in 2011 contained 180 million records. Some 84 percent of the data is from credit card transactions.

Further NSA documents from 2010 show that the NSA also targets the transactions of customers of large credit card companies like VISA for surveillance. NSA analysts at an internal conference that year described in detail how they had apparently successfully searched through the US company’s complex transaction network for tapping possibilities.

Their aim was to gain access to transactions by VISA customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to one presentation. The goal was to “collect, parse and ingest transactional data for priority credit card associations, focusing on priority geographic regions.” In response to a SPIEGEL inquiry, however, a VISA spokeswoman ruled out the possibility that data could be taken from company-run networks.

Investigation: ‘Spies taped Diana’s crash and bugged her phone’

A key UK security industry source who served in the military told the Sunday Express that GCHQ remotely switched on recorder modes right up to the moment the couple took their fatal Paris car trip.

If made public, the phone recordings could help throw light on sensational claims by former SAS serviceman ­Soldier N that Diana was murdered by an SAS assassination squad.

The bugging claim came as a separate Sunday Express investigation revealed that film footage of Diana’s last hours was “kept secret”. An exhaustive inquiry in the French cap­ital has confirmed the existence of CCTV records of the night Diana died in August 1997.

Many belong to private companies who used France’s strict privacy laws to avoid having to hand them over to the police.

Just as crucially, a key traffic camera overlooking the scene of the crash in the Alma Tunnel was said to be switched off or malfunctioning.

However, one operator contacted 16 years on said: “Images would have been available if people wanted them to be. The truth is that every excuse poss­ible was made to make sure that live film could be kept secret.

“This suited lots of powerful people, especially those who wanted to dismiss the crash as a simple traffic accident.”

The operator, who asked not to be identified because he “fears for my safety”, said he was convinced that all available film was “rounded up and hidden or destroyed”.

Military sources have claimed Diana’s driver, Henri Paul, was blinded with an intense flash of light forcing him to lose control of their Mercedes on an underpass after leaving the Ritz hotel.

Now the security source, a specialist operative who has engaged in “black ops”, is alleging that Diana’s phone was accessed remotely, even when switched off.

“There is no doubt that this technology was used on Diana and all around her, and for very human reasons she was regularly listened to live in the moment,” said the source.

GCHQ operatives spent a great deal of time recording and listening live because she was a priority intelligence target and a direct threat to the Crown, he said.

“More than that, she was an icon and the most famous woman in the world at the time and analysts are vulnerable to curiosity as much as anyone else and would have wanted and had the capacity to listen live to the conversations in the car as it sped away from the Ritz.”

As well as these claims, there are suspicions that CCTV cameras were tampered with on the night of the crash.

Pascal Poulain was the commander of the Paris Information and Control Centre which was ultimately responsible for the Alma Tunnel camera that night. Interviewed by British investigators, he said: “In view of the scale of the accident, we tried to see the scene of the accident, using the camera situated at Place de l’Alma.

Princess Diana assassination plot claim soldier spoke to wife of ‘hit’ after SAS gave Prince William driving lessons

A face encounter with Prince William prompted an SAS soldier to make the extraordinary claim that Princess Diana was murdered by a member of the elite unit.

After taking William on an SAS advanced ­driving course in 2008, the former sniper, known only as Soldier N, went home and confided to his wife that Diana was assassinated in an alleged plot.

He calmly told his wife that she was killed when a bright light was shone into the Paris tunnel ­moments before the crash.

He swore his wife to secrecy but, confused and upset, she later blurted out the astonishing tale to her mum – insisting that she ­was convinced he was telling the truth.

Today we can reveal the incredible chain of events which have finally led to a Scotland Yard review of the case – 16 years after Diana’s death.

A source said last night: “If it was not for Prince William being given driving lessons by the SAS, these allegations might never have emerged.”

The soldier’s wife, who is now divorced from him, was interviewed by Scotland Yard cops last month.

She said: “It was the time that Prince William was doing some sort of SAS training in cars. [Soldier N] had been doing some car stunts, shooting out of windows and had been showing Prince William how to do it.

“We were talking about it and I was saying how lovely it was that Princes William and Harry were doing so well and that it was sad that their mum wasn’t here to see it.

“Then he said one of the guys was responsible for the accident, for the death of Diana. I was shocked. I believed what he said.

“He went on to tell me that it had to be done in a tunnel, that people had been monitoring them [Diana and Dodi Fayed]… a light was shone in the driver’s eyes.

“He also said that it very nearly didn’t happen. When I asked how anyone could do something like that he said, ‘It’s an order, a job’s a job’. He said that it had to happen in the tunnel to ­guarantee death. He said that it looked bad so they left.”

The wife also told detectives that her husband had claimed that the “hit” had been carried out on the orders of individuals within the royal inner circle because they didn’t approve of Diana’s ­relationship with Dodi.

Soldier N told his wife that a former colleague, who had since left the SAS, was involved in the plot and that a motorbike and white car were used.

In August she and her mother met with Met Police detectives, including a senior officer who worked on the original Operation Paget investigation into Diana’s death.

The women are said to have given “compelling” accounts about the crash which killed Diana, 36, Dodi Fayed, 42, and their driver Henri Paul, 41, in a Paris underpass in 1997. Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, a former Paratrooper, was
seriously injured in the tragedy.

Crucially, the wife said that Soldier N had  confided in her nearly two years before the breakdown of their relationship when all was fine between them. Asked why she didn’t report it earlier, she said that her husband had “told me to keep quiet, not tell anyone”.

The allegations were first passed on to Dyfed Powys Police in September 2011 in a letter from the mother-in-law after her daughter’s marriage broke up, but the police didn’t act on the information until it came to light through a court martial in July.

Fukushima plant situation “not under control,” TEPCO official says

A senior official of Tokyo Electric Power Co. admitted during a meeting with opposition lawmakers on Friday that the massive radioactive water buildup at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is “not under control.”

The government quickly rushed to play down the remark by Kazuhiko Yamashita, who holds TEPCO’s executive-level title of fellow, as that view directly contradicts Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement last week to the International Olympic Committee in pushing Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference Friday afternoon that the impact of the contaminated water leaks from the plant “remains inside the plant’s port,” which is enclosed by breakwaters.

Suga also suggested that Yamashita was pressured to make the remark, as he was “grilled by” the lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan during the meeting in the city of Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, to discuss issues related to the nuclear crisis, triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

During an exchange with Teruhiko Mashiko, a House of Councillors member representing Fukushima Prefecture, Yamashita said, “I think the current situation is not under control.”

TEPCO later tried to show there was no discrepancy by saying through its website that it held the same view as Abe, who told the IOC on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires that “the situation is under control.”

“It is our understanding that (the) prime minister intended his statement ‘the situation is under control’ to mean that the impact of radioactive materials is limited to the area within the port of the power station. … According to this understanding, we share the same views,” the utility said.

Tokyo was chosen as 2020 Summer Olympic host, despite concerns in and outside the country over the condition of the Fukushima plant, which has been plagued with radioactive water leaks.

Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture still cannot go out fishing because of concern over sea contamination.

A massive amount of radioactive water is accumulating at the Fukushima plant as a result of continuing water injection into the three reactors that suffered meltdowns at the plant.

TEPCO is storing highly toxic water in hundreds of huge tanks set up on the plant’s premises, but a recently confirmed leak involving one of the tanks has highlighted the utility’s lax management of the matter.

In addition, TEPCO has acknowledged that some groundwater is becoming contaminated as it passes through the site and is flowing into the area within the breakwaters.

1 in 3 Americans Link Syrian Conflict to Bible's End-Time Prophecy, Survey Finds

A recent survey has shown that nearly one in three Americans believe that Syria's ongoing civil war is part of the Bible's plan for the end times. One in four believe that a possible U.S. attack on Syria could lead to the Battle of Armageddon. And one in five believe the world will end in their lifetime.

Amid an increasing number of stories in the media on the linking of the Syrian crisis to biblical prophecy, Nashville-based LifeWay Research asked three questions about Syria and the end of the world as part of a telephone survey of 1,001 Americans between Sept. 6 and 10.The survey found that 32 percent of those polled agree with the statement, "I believe the battles in Syria are all part of the prophecies of the Book of Revelation." Forty-nine percent disagree.

The study also found that 26 percent agree with the statement, "I believe that U.S. military intervention in Syria might lead to the Battle of Armageddon that's spoken about in the Book of Revelation." And 18 percent agreed to the statement, "I believe the world will end in my lifetimeI think we have to be very careful not to overreach or to sensationalize a terrible situation that's happening to real people right now and to draw a conclusion too quickly," Rosenberg, who often includes end times themes in his books, said. "That being said, the prophecies of Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49 are very important. They speak to the utter destruction and judgment of the city of Damascus at some point in the End Times future."

In Syria, a civil war between President Bashar al-Assad's supporters and rebel forces seeking to overthrow him has taken the lives of more than 100,000 people over the last two years. On Aug. 21, the Syrian regime allegedly used chemical weapons in an attack in a Damascus suburb, killing 1,429 people, including at least 426 children, which led to Obama's proposal to bomb Syria as punishment.Elmore also said how events like Syria could be used as "stage props" when showcasing a possible end of days. "'Stage props' that would make a very good End Times scenario, but since we're supposed to be expecting the Lord to come at any time, I think there have been very good stage props in every generation," he noted.

Dr. Charlie Dyer, professor at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, recently told Chicago Sun-Times that Damascus was destroyed in the 7th and 8th centuries. "Isaiah 17 predicted the destruction of the city, along with the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel…Damascus was captured by Assyrians in 732 BC and the northern kingdom of Israel fell when the capital city of Samarai was captured by the Assyrians in 722 BC."

And 100 years later, the prophet Jeremiah also predicted the fall of Damascus, which had been rebuilt, Dyer added. "His message was fulfilled when the city was captured by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.