MK Netanyahu: I will not allow for the division of Jerusalem
Likud chairman says he informed Rice that he would not endorse declaration of principles calling for a return to 1967 borders. 'Israel would be taking a great risk if it currently commits to territorial concessions,' Netanyahu says
MK Netanyahu: I will not allow for the division of Jerusalem - Israel News, Ynetnews
ADF attorneys defend Wis. high school student facing religious discrimination
Tomah High School officials outlaw artwork containing cross and verse but give demonic illustrations a pass
MADISON, Wis. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the Tomah Area School District over an unconstitutional policy that bars religious free speech. Citing a policy prohibiting depictions of “blood, violence, sexual connotations, [or] religious beliefs,” officials penalized a Christian student for his artwork depicting a Bible verse and a cross but did not penalize students who included demonic illustrations in their artwork.
“Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs. It is unconstitutional for the school to punish students simply because they choose to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “Further, teachers are not permitted to censor Christian religious expression in artwork while at the same time allowing other types of religious depictions.”
A student at Tomah High School drew a landscape picture for an art class containing a road, clouds, and mountains with a cross in the background and the words “JOHN 3:16 – A sign of love” written in the sky. The teacher of the class told the student to either remove the scriptural reference or cover it up with a border....for the rest of the story, follow the below link...
Poway free speech case again before 9th Circuit
ADF attorneys file opening brief challenging school’s speech policies
U.S. Supreme Court vacates widely criticized 9th Circuit decision in Poway “T-shirt” case
SAN FRANCISCO — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Advocates for Faith and Freedom filed their opening brief Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in a case involving the free speech rights of students. The lawsuit challenges policies within the Poway Unified School District that unconstitutionally restrict student speech.
“Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs. They have the same First Amendment rights as all other students on campus,” said ADF Legal Counsel Tim Chandler. “Speech cannot be silenced simply because someone else disagrees with it or deems it to be ‘negative.’ As the Supreme Court has stated, students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”In 2004, then-sophomore Chase Harper wore a T-shirt to school expressing a biblical viewpoint on homosexual behavior during the school’s “Day of Silence,” an event sponsored by the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club.
A school official ordered Harper to remove the shirt, but he respectfully declined to do so. Instead, he was forced to sit in the office for the remainder of the school day, was subjected to “counseling” by school officials, and was interrogated by a deputy sheriff who took photographs of him. A school administrator told Harper he should “leave his faith in the car” because it might be offensive to others.
The 9th Circuit initially ruled that the school may have been justified in censoring Chase, but in March 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that decision (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4027). Now Chase and his sister, Kelsie, are returning to the 9th Circuit to challenge the school’s policies because they prohibit students from expressing any religious beliefs that might be seen as “negative” or “offensive” to others.
A copy of the opening brief filed in the 9th Circuit in Harper v. Poway Unified School District can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HarperBrief.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
History: Winston Churchill On Islamism
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, on November 30, 1874. His father Randolph was a Conservative politician and descendant of the first Duke of Marlborough, who would die of syphilis in 1892. Winston Churchill's mother Jennie (1854 - 1921) was a flirtatious American socialite (right), daughter of Leonard Jerome (Jacobson), who owned the New York Times. In May 1940 Churchill became British prime minister until the end of World War II, and he led Britain again from 1951 to 1955. By the time Winston Churchill died after a stroke on January 24, 1965, he had become one of the pre-eminent figures of the 20th century. He had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.
Grund Comment: Nice article, click on the link below for the rest of the story.
Montreal Resistance: Churchill le visionnaire, le réaliste ?
Winston Churchill on Islam
10 August 2007
It is amazing how myopic our culture can be! Recently, I was watching two consecutive newscasts on the main networks. On one, Islam was presented in the most respectful and glowing terms. Somewhat like Newsweek magazine, that has abandoned all sense of objectivity long ago, they bent over backwards to present Islam with grace. On the next broadcast, Christians were portrayed as some aberrant and ignorant group of subspecies. Currently, Islam is in the most glowing coverage…perhaps out of fear.
It fascinates me. Muslims cry, “Stop calling us violent!”
What happens if someone dares to question Islam?
They become violent. Every time.
...for the rest of the story follow the below link...
Rare Earthquake Shakes Connecticut
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
CHESTER, Conn. — Scientists say it was a small earthquake that shook houses in Chester and surrounding towns.
The U.S. Geological Survey says it recorded a 2.0 magnitude earthquake early Tuesday morning three miles northwest of the center of Chester.
Many people in the area called 911 to report that their houses were shaking. The state police dispatched troopers, but they weren't able to find any reason for the shaking.
Earthquakes are unusual in Connecticut.
Grund Comment: Many people believe that the eastern part of the US will receive a massive earthquake. Below is an interesting article from the USGS I found.
Connecticut
Earthquake History
The lack of historical and instrumental reports of strong earthquakes in Connecticut suggests that State to be a region of very minor seismic activity, even when compared to other States in the northeast region.
The cause of "rumblings" in the area near Moodus, a few miles north of East Haddam, had been a matter of scientific speculation for years. Native Indians called East Haddam Morehemoodus, or place of noises, and the town name "Moodus" derived from the Indian word. The earth noises, a peculiar type of earthquake rumbling, apparently have been occurring in that region for years, even prior to the advent of Europeans.
The most severe earthquake in Connecticut's history occurred at East Haddam on May 16, 1791.
Describing that earthquake an observer said: "It began at 8 o'clock p.m., with two very heavy shocks in quick succession. The first was the most powerful; the earth appeared to undergo very violent convulsions. The stone walls were thrown down, chimneys were untopped, doors which were latched were thrown open, and a fissure in the ground of several rods in extent was afterwards discovered. Thirty lighter ones followed in a short time, and upwards of one hundred were counted in the course of the night.
"The shock was felt at a great distance. It was so severe at Clinton, about 12 miles south, that a Capt. Benedict, walking the deck of his vessel, then lying in the harbor at that place, observed the fish to leap out of the water in every direction as far as his eyes could reach."
Still another report states: "the day after the earthquake in 1791, it is said that apertures and fissures were observed in the earth and rocks near Moodus River Falls, and that stones of several tons in weight were thrown from their places."
The record shows the next moderate tremor occurred at Hartford in April 1837. It jarred loose articles, set lamps swinging, and rang bells. Alarmed residents rushed from their homes into the streets.
In August 1840, an earthquake of similar intensity centered a few miles southwest of the 1837 tremor. It shook Hartford quite strongly, and was felt at many points in Connecticut. No damage resulted, however. At Chester, not far from East Haddam, observers compared the tremor "to the rumble of thunder." Its origin was apparently 10 to 20 miles north of New Haven.
On June 30, 1858, New Haven was shaken by a moderate tremor at 10:45 in the evening. Residents reported rattling of glasses and a noise "like carriages crossing a bridge." Derby residents were also shaken strongly by this earthquake.
Seventeen years later, on July 28, an early morning tremor shook 2,000 square miles of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Rumbling noises were heard during this intensity V earthquake.
The strongest tremor since that in 1791 hit near Hartford on November 14, 1925, at about 8 a.m. Plaster was knocked from walls, and many residents were frightened. At Windham, dishes were shaken from shelves, and at East Haddam, the familiar "Moodus" rumblings were noted.
In March 1953, Stamford sustained a minor tremor that alarmed many. "Radiators beat a weird tattoo against the floor of the police station," notes one report. Houses were jarred, and earth noises were heard. The tremor caused no damage.
An intensity V earthquake in southern Connecticut occurred on November 3, 1968, at about 3:30 in the morning. Plaster cracked at Madison, furniture shifter at Chester, and small items fell and broke. Loud earth noises accompanied the tremor. The Moodus noises were noted once again at East Haddam.
A few damaging shocks centering in neighboring States, and several Canadian tremors, have been noted by Connecticut citizens the past three hundred years.
A devastating earthquake near Tros-Rivieres (Three Rivers), Quebec, on February 5, 1663, caused moderate effects in some areas of Connecticut. Sketchy accounts of this quake relate fantastic tales of mountains being thrown down and great forests sliding into the St. Lawrence River near its Quebec Center.
Massachusetts shocks in November 1727 and November 1755 were felt strongly by some Connecticut citizenry. Both were intensity VIII at their epicenters, leaving behind collapsed walls, flattened chimneys, and other broken reminders common to most strong earthquakes.
The Timiskaming, Ontario, earthquake in November 1935 was quite noticeable in Connecticut and other New England States. Several cracked windowpanes were noted at Cornwall, Connecticut. Because of the sparse population, damage at the epicenter of this tremor was insignificant. However, an indication of its severity was the large felt area - one million square miles of Canada and the United States.
An earthquake near Massena, New York, in September 1944 was felt over a wide region. Mild effects were noticed by residents of Hartford, Marion, New Haven and Meriden, Connecticut. At its epicenter, the shock destroyed nearly all chimneys, crippled several buildings, and caused $2 million property damage in that region.
Abridged from Earthquake Information Bulletin, January - February 1971.
For a list of earthquakes that have occurred since this article was written, use the Earthquake Search.
Aide arrives in Moscow to pave way for Abbas visit to Russia
31.03.2008, 14.44
MOSCOW, March 31 (Itar-Tass) - Palestinian National Authority president’s senior adviser Nabil Shaath has arrived in Moscow to discuss the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the inter-Palestinian dialogue, as well as bilateral relations with Russia.
An informed diplomatic source told Tass that Shaath is expected to meet with Russian president’s special envoy for the Middle East and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov. It is also expected that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will receive the Palestinian official.
Nabil Shaath is to pave the way for a visit to Russia by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier, in his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Ramallah, West Bank, Abbas said he would arrive in Russia on April 20.
...for the rest of the story, follow link...
Jews & Evangelicals Together
Why some Christians are so pro-Israel.
An NRO Q&ADavid Brog is author of Standing with Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State. A former chief of staff to Pennsylvania Republican senator Arlen Specter, Brog explains that “the evangelical Christians who support Israel today are nothing less than the theological heirs of the righteous Gentiles who sought to save Jews from the Holocaust.”
Brog recently discussed the book with National Review Online editor Kathryn Lopez.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: Which Christians in the U.S. are most Zionist and why?
David Brog: The evangelicals. No contest. Their Zionism comes directly from their theology. But, as opposed to what most people think, this theology is driven by the biblical promises of the Book of Genesis, not the biblical prophecies of the Book of Revelations.
Lopez: Was there an event that made this alliance stronger? Has it always been under the radar?
Brog: Evangelical Christians largely shunned politics until the late 1970s, when Jerry Falwell created the Moral Majority and led them back onto the political playing field. Israel was among the priorities of the Christian Right from the start. In fact, when Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority he made support for Israel one of the group’s four organizing principles along with the issue of abortion, traditional marriage, and a strong U.S. defense.
While Israel was always important to evangelicals, a recent event did make Israel even more of a priority. On September 11, 2001, evangelicals recognized along with many other Americans that radical Islam was the greatest threat facing our country and that we were in a war with its proponents. And in this war, Israel is seen as an ally and as the first line of defense of Judeo-Christian civilization. Support for this embattled ally has moved to center stage.
Lopez: Evangelicals who support Israel really don't want to convert people?
Brog: Evangelicals who support Israel most certainly do want to convert people. Evangelicals who don’t support Israel also want to convert people. The mission of sharing the “good news” of Jesus Christ is central to being an evangelical. But it is important to note that this is not about converting just the Jews—Christians want to share their faith with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and their Christian friends and neighbors who have yet to be born again.
The important question is this: Is evangelical support for Israel merely a tool in the effort to convert the Jews? Is this merely some scheme to soften the Jews up so that they can better sell Jesus to them? And the answer to this question is absolutely not.
If anything, the opposite it true. I and others who have worked with Christians in support of Israel all report that no one has ever tried to convert us. In fact, Christians who support Israel tend to know more Jews and to understand their sensitivities better than Christians who do not. Thus, they have learned that Jews find “Jesus talk” offensive, and they tend to leave it out of the dialogue.for the rest of the story, click below...
AP: FEMA preps for 'Nuclear attacks, invasions and suicide bombings in the United States' in abandoned town
David Edwards and Nick Juliano
A once-abandoned town in the middle of the New Mexico desert now is victim to "more bombings than Jerusalem ... more terrorist attacks that Baghdad," the Associated Press reports.
A video report profiles Playas, NM, a full-scale training ground for Federal Emergency Management Agency classes that give law enforcement agencies experience dealing with all manners of disasters.
"Just a few years ago it was a ghost town abandoned after a large mining company pulled out," the AP's Rich Matthews reports. "Today, it's a training ground for the unthinkable: Nuclear attacks, invasions and suicide bombings in the United States."
Grund Comment: See the video, go to the below link
Hebrew Garments and the Restoration of Biblical Blue
by Ezra HaLevi
(IsraelNN.com) After three days of Purim, Jerusalemites young and old came out of one more night of revelry as Tuesday Night Live focused on Biblical Jewish fashion.
The evening featured Reuven Prager, who pioneered a movement of producing Beged Ivri (Hebrew garb) for Jews who have returned to the Land of Israel, as well as Dr. Ari Greenspan, who has reintroduced the Biblical blue tekhelet dye, used to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of tzitzit (fringes placed on four-cornered garments).
Grund comment: see the video from the below link; presentation on clothing starts about the 14 minute mark.
Hebrew Garments and the Restoration of Biblical Blue - Good News - Israel News - Arutz Sheva
Chinese wheat crops hurting from drought
26/03/2008 8:08:00 PM
According to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the China winter wheat crop has been affected by drought and this will likely impact on the coming spring planting as well.
A combination of severe drought, increased costs of inputs such as seed and fertilizer and earlier snow storms pose the biggest threat to China's spring planting in several years. ??
Northern China's crops have been hit hard by the drought.
The ministry predicts 11pc of its crops will suffer heavy losses in production output. ??
Also a concern for wheat output is the presence of several wheat diseases, it says.
Wheat stripe rust has rapidly spread through the country as a result of snow storms and slowly rising temperatures.
Although the harvest is expected to be reduced because of it, the ministry says China hopes to limit reduction to less than 5pc through acreage expansion and higher yields.
Fingerprint Scanners Help Companies Track Workers - 666?
NEW YORK (AP) ― Some workers are doing it at Dunkin' Donuts, at Hilton hotels, even at Marine Corps bases.
Employees at a growing number of businesses are starting and ending their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner that logs the precise time of their arrival and departure—information that is automatically reflected in payroll records.
Manufacturers say these biometric devices improve efficiency and streamline payroll operations. Employers big and small buy them with the dual goals of keeping workers honest and automating outdated record-keeping systems that rely on paper time sheets.
The new systems have raised complaints, however, from some workers who see the efforts to track their movements as excessive or creepy.
"They don't even have to hire someone to harass you anymore. The machine can do it for them," said Ed Ott, executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. "The palm print thing really grabs people as a step too far."
The International Biometric Group, a consulting firm, estimated that $635 million worth of these high-tech devices were sold last year, and projects that the industry will be worth more than $1 billion by 2011.
Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, a leading manufacturer of hand scanners based in Campbell, Calif., said it has sold at least 150,000 of the devices to Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's franchises, Hilton hotels and to Marine Corps bases, who use them to track civilian hours.
Protests over using palm scanners to log employee time have been especially loud in New York City, where officials are spending $410 million to install an automated attendance tracking system that may eventually be used by 160,000 city workers.
Scores of civil servants who are members of Local 375 of the Civil Service Technical Guild rallied Tuesday against a plan to add the city medical examiner's office to the list of 17 city agencies which already have the scanners in place.
The scanners have rankled draftsmen, planners and architects in the city's Parks Department, which began using them last year.
wcbstv.com - Fingerprint Scanners Help Companies Track Workers
BEIJING: China said Friday it will pay farmers more for rice and wheat, trying to raise output and cool surging inflation that threatens to fuel unrest ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Beijing has frozen retail prices of rice, cooking oil and other goods in an effort to rein in food costs that jumped 23.3 percent in February over the same month last year. But analysts warn that holding down prices paid to farmers will discourage them from raising production and easing shortages blamed for the increases.
The latest move is meant to "raise farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain and make progress in the development in grain production," the Cabinet's National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement announcing the change. It said minimum grain prices paid to farmers would rise by up to 9 percent.
Jump in rice price fuels fears of unrest
By Javier Blas in London and Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok
Published: March 27 2008 18:30 | Last updated: March 28 2008 09:06
Rice prices jumped 30 per cent to an all-time high on Thursday, raising fears of fresh outbreaks of social unrest across Asia where the grain is a staple food for more than 2.5bn people.
The increase came after Egypt, a leading exporter, imposed a formal ban on selling rice abroad to keep local prices down, and the Philippines announced plans for a major purchase of the grain in the international market to boost supplies. Global rice stocks are at their lowest since 1976.
FT.com / MARKETS / Commodities - Jump in rice price fuels fears of unrest
American Red Cross offers emergency preparedness tips
The southern California wildfires last year caused one of the largest evacuations in the state's history. A 2007 survey shows that even with a history of natural disasters, Americans aren't ready for the next big one.
According to the American Red Cross, the majority of Americans remain unprepared for a disaster- 23 percent have not taken any measures to prepare for a catastrophe, and only 4 percent have taken all the recommended preparedness actions.
The American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles offers the following steps to prepare for most emergencies, including wildfires, home fires and earthquakes.
Get or make a kit: A wellprepared emergency kit should have supplies for three to five days and include the items listed below. Additionally, kits should be easy to carry and checked every six months.
•At least one gallon of water per day per person
•Nonperishable, high-protein foods such as energy bars, readyto-eat soup and peanut butter
•Flashlight with extra batteries
•First aid kit with a reference guide
•A supply of prescription and nonprescription household medications
•Cash, because ATMs and credit cards may not work due to power loss
•A list of family phone numbers
Make a plan: Emergencies can happen at any time, and they do not always happen when families are at home together. Take time to:
•Prepare emergency plans in advance
•Choose places to meet after a disaster (no more than two)
•Plan for emergency scenarios when family members are at work or school
•Practice home evacuation plans twice a year
•Ensure each adult in the household learns how and when to turn off utilities, such as electricity, water and gas
Get informed: By staying informed about the risks of disasters, one will become better prepared for the next emergency situation.
•Learn what disasters or emergencies may occur at work, home or school
•Discuss types of emergencies with family and establish responsibilities for each person
•Know how local authorities will notify the public during a disaster and how to get important information
•Contact the local American Red Cross chapter about first aid and disaster training classes
For more information about disaster preparedness, visit www.RedCrossLA.org.
By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News - March 26, 2008
Earthquake scientist Garry Rogers of the Geological Survey of Canada.
GSC
The chances of a massive earthquake striking B.C.'s south coast will be somewhat higher than normal in April.
Seismologists project the region will soon enter another period of what they call "episodic tremor and slip" (ETS) activity.
ETS periods happen every 14 months and are marked by more small tremors and increased movement as the Juan de Fuca plate grinds underneath the North American plate along what's known as the Cascadia subduction zone.
Strong earthquake shakes Crete; no reports of injuries
Agence France-Presse
ATHENS - A strong earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale shook the Libyan Sea and the southern Greek island of Crete early Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, the Athens Observatory said.
The quake had an epicenter 400 kilometers (249 miles) south of Athens, near the island of Gaidouronisi, and struck at 2:17 a.m. (0017 GMT).
"Earthquakes of similar size have been recorded in this area in the past but not recently," observatory seismologist Yiannis Papis told AFP.
Grund comment: You need to log in as an adult to see this movie, but it isn't anything you haven't seen before. Don't know what the big deal about this film is, if the muslims had just let it lay. It would have just laid there, but we know how that goes...
(IsraelNN.com) The Israel Antiquities Authority announces the first time in the history of the archaeological research of Jerusalem that building remains from the First Temple period have been exposed so close to the Temple Mount – on the eastern slopes of the Upper City.
A rich layer of finds from the latter part of the First Temple period (8th-6th centuries B.C.E.) has been discovered in archaeological rescue excavations near the Western Wall plaza. The dig is being carried out in the northwestern part of the Western Wall plaza, near the staircase leading up towards the Jaffa Gate.
The Israel Antiquties Authority has been conducting the excavations for the past two years under the direction of archaeologists Shlomit Wexler-Bdoulah and Alexander Onn, in cooperation with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. The remains of a magnificent colonnaded street [i.e., lined by columns] from the 2nd century C.E. were uncovered; the street appears on the mosaic Madaba map, and is referred to by the name Eastern Cardo. The level of the Eastern Cardo is paved with large heavy limestone pavers that were set directly atop the layer that dates to the end of the First Temple period. This Roman road thus “seals” beneath it the finds from the First Temple period, protecting them from being plundered in later periods.
The walls of the buildings found in the dig are preserved to a height of more than two meters.
Ring Seal Found, Inscribed with Owner's Name
Another impressive artifact found in the salvage excavations is a personal Hebrew seal made of a semi-precious stone that was apparently inlaid in a ring. The seal is elliptical and measures approximately 1 by 1.4 centimeters.The seal's surface is divided into three strips separated by a double line: in the upper strip is a chain decoration comprising four pomegranates, and in the two bottom strips is the name of the owner of the seal, engraved in ancient Hebrew script. It reads: "[Belonging] to Netanyahu ben [son of] Yaush." Though each of the two names are not unfamiliar, no one with that name is known to scholars of the period.
A vast amount of pottery vessels was also discovered, among them three jar handles that bear similar stamped impressions. An inscription written in ancient Hebrew script is preserved on one these impressions, reading "Belonging] to the King of Hevron."
