By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent   
Jordan will allocate 1.113 million Jordanian Dinars ($1.5 million dollars) to the Jordan Hashemite Fund for the Reconstruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, King Abdullah II announced Sunday during a meeting of the trustees of the new fund.
The king also instructed a bonus salary to be given to employees of the Waqf, as a gesture of thanks for their commitment and work.   
The new fund will be headed by Prince Ghazi, a cousin of the king. At the opening session, Ghazi proposed that Jordan offer passports to 90,000 residents of East Jerusalem. Reports of the proposal were made on the Arab satellite news organization, Al-Arabiya, but were omitted from the official release on the fund's activities, reported on Petra, the kingdom's news agency.
The fund will pay for a new fire detection system that will be installed in the complex of mosques, as well as a modern fire suppression system.
In addition, the fund will acquire a fire truck that will be stationed near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
A team in charge of preserving mosaics and antiquities will also undergo further training at the expense of the new fund.
Jordan's ...   more »

by Chuck Baldwin
Faithful readers of this column know of my burden for the pastors of America. Without informed, energized, and engaged pulpits, I see little hope for the maintenance of liberty and independence in this land.
When the colonies broke free from the shackles of the Crown, it was the moral and spiritual strength of colonial pulpits that helped lead the way. These revolutionary preachers became known as The Black Regiment, due to the long, black robes they were known to wear in the pulpit.
The Black Regiment taught their congregations the principles of freedom Sunday by Sunday. They expounded, explained, and extrapolated the Biblical principles of authority and jurisdiction carefully and meticulously. As a result, the men of colonial America were so well informed, both spiritually and politically, that when the time came to declare their independence, they had both the heart and mind to do it. Statesmen took up the pen, and soldiers took up arms in the greatest fight for freedom in world history. And leading both statesman and soldier was the Black Regiment.
If there is one question that I receive more than any other, it is, "Chuck, do you know a pastor like you ...   more »

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced plans to conduct the largest and most comprehensive counter-terrorism exercise to date.
The exercise in Arizona, Oregon and the U.S. territory of Guam from Oct. 15-19 is the fourth in a series of congressionally mandated exercises. Top Officials 4 say the exercise will involve 15,000 participants from all levels of government as well as the governments of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. TOPOFF 4 will also include the private sector in a full-scale, simulated response to radiological dispersal device attacks.
“The National Intelligence Estimate and recent activity overseas reinforce that we are in a period of increased risk,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a statement. “Exercises like TOPOFF help test response capabilities at all levels, strengthen national preparedness and deepen international coordination. By responding realistically to these simulated attacks, we’re able to identify our strengths and weaknesses, build better partnerships, and gain valuable knowledge for securing the nation against terrorist attacks and other natural disasters.”
Officials say TOPOFF 4 will focus on five areas in an effort to test interagency coordination, planning and preparedness including prevention, intelligence and investigation, incident management, public information and evaluation. ...   more »

Charles Q. Choi
Scientists have discovered a real gender-bender of a bug, a species in which most females impersonate males.
Past research had already revealed the male bugs possessed fake female genitalia.
"We ended up uncovering a hotbed of deception," said evolutionary biologist Klaus Reinhardt at the University of Sheffield in England. "Nothing like this exists anywhere else in the animal kingdom."
Reinhardt and his colleagues investigated remote and dangerous bat caves in East Africa for the bloodsucking African bat bug (Afrocimex constrictus), a close relative of the bed bug. The bats were reportedly hosts for Ebola and other lethal viruses.
"We had to work in containment suits with full-faced respirators in sweltering temperatures for hours at end," Reinhardt said.
Sex among bat bugs (as with bed bugs) is violent. During copulation, males of these species pierce the abdomens of their mates with their genitals and ejaculate directly into their blood.
The researchers originally set out to investigate bat bugs in the hopes of shedding light on "one of nature's strangest phenomena — why males had female genitalia," Reinhardt said.
Unlike bed bugs, male African bat bugs have bogus female genitals—a fact the scientists freely call "bizarre." Past research found ...   more »

'Reaper' has '20-something slacker' bringing escaped souls back to hell
The devil is full of fun and hilarious hijinks on a new show debuting tonight on the CW Television Network that urges viewers to "be one of Satan's tools."
"Reaper," airing at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, revolves around a "20-something slacker" named Sam Oliver, played by Bret Harrison, who has an unexpected encounter with Satan while driving on a neighborhood street.
Sam then finds out from his father a deep, dark family secret, according to a trailer on CW's website
"I probably should have told you this a long time ago," his father says. "Your mom and I sold your soul to the devil."
Sam learns of his new obligations after asking the devil, "Do I have to go to hell now?"
"You're going to work for me here," says Satan, played by Ray Wise. "You're just going to bring escaped souls back to hell. You know, like a bounty hunter. That's cool!"
Sam replies: "I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to be your stupid bounty hunter."
"You will do it," warns the devil, "or I will take your mother."
Working for Satan apparently has benefits, ...   more »

Government says such Christians don't give children to state schools
By Bob Unruh
The German government is targeting an American family of Baptist missionaries for deportation because they belong to a group that refuses "to give their children over to the state school system," according to an international homeschool support organization.
The Home School Legal Defense Association works worldwide for the benefit of those who wish to teach their own children themselves. Officials there, and at several other international organizations, have been fighting for several years to convince the German government to recognize the well-established rights of parents to do that.
Michael Farris, cofounder of Home School Legal Defense Association
However, there's been little headway, and HSLDA cofounder Michael P. Farris has told WND Germany is taking an "incredibly hard-line approach" against homeschooling.
In fact, authorities in Germany earlier declared war on homeschoolers, taking one young girl to a psychiatric ward for the offense of being homeschooled.
In the newest case, the attack has been turned against a family of American Christians who arrived in Germany to provide services to the public.
According to a report from the HSLDA, Clint Robinson, his wife Susan and their three children arrived in ...   more »

Taxpayers subsidize event with nudity, orgies under watch of police
Participants in 2005 Folsom Street Fair
A taxpayer-supported "gay" celebration in San Francisco, featuring a poster portraying Jesus Christ and his disciples as "half-naked homosexual sadomasochists," has come under heavy fire from major Christian groups demanding that California lawmakers condemn it.
The poster by organizers of the Folsom Street Fair, sponsored in part by Miller Brewing, replaces the bread and wine representing Christ's blood and body with sadomasochistic sex toys.
"A picture's worth a thousand words," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues with Concerned Women for America.
Barber said his group wants California's elected officials – including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer – to "publicly condemn this unprovoked attack against Christ and His followers."
The annual street event, which includes displays of nudity and sexual activity – is scheduled for Sept. 30.
"We further challenge the media to cover this affront to Christianity with the same vigor as recent stories about cartoon depictions of Muhammad and other items offensive to the Muslim community," he said.
Folsom Street Fair promotional poster
Barber said homosexual activists "disingenuously call Christians 'haters' and ...   more »

By Walter E. Williams
Despite increasing evidence that man-made CO2 is not a significant greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change, politicians and others who wish to control our lives must maintain that it is.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Rep. John Dingell wants a 50-cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline. We've heard such calls before, but there's a new twist. Dingell also wants to eliminate the mortgage tax deduction on what he calls "McMansions," homes that are 3,000 square feet and larger. That's because larger homes use more energy.
One might wonder about Dingell's magnanimity in increasing taxes for only homes 3,000 feet or larger. The average U.S. home is around 2,300 square feet, compared with Europe's average of 1,000 square feet. So why doesn't Dingell call for disallowing mortgage deductions on houses more than 1,000 square feet? The reason is there would be too much political resistance, since more Americans own homes under 3,000 square feet than over 3,000. The full agenda is to start out with 3,000 square feet and later lower it in increments.
Our buying into global warming hysteria will allow politicians to do just about anything, upon which they can muster a majority vote, in ...   more »