by Ross Hirschmann
My father and I had nothing in common besides the long silences that would pass between us. Then a miracle happened.
My father and I have never shared much in our lives. In fact, almost nothing. We're so different that we marvel at the fact that we're related. Over the years we've agreed on one thing and one thing only: baseball. We can talk for hours about baseball, but only a few seconds on any other subject such as work, politics or (God forbid!) religion. That's the way it's always been and I always figured that, barring a miracle, that's the way it would always be.
Maybe it was a miracle that occurred five years ago one winter night.
My wife had just given birth to our first daughter and I wanted my parents, who are in their late 70's, to come to Los Angeles for the baby naming. But I knew this would be an issue. My father has never forgiven me for two things: becoming a Republican and becoming an observant Jew. And I'm not sure which one irks him more.Still, I wanted him and my mom to be a part of our children's lives ...   more »

Holy City's streets fill with thousands of Israelis plus some 7,000 Christian tourists who came to express their solidarity with the Jewish nation on Sukkot. Arrest of 3 Americans for provocation doesn't disrupt the festivities
Neta Sela
Some 55 thousand people participated in the annual Jerusalem March Tuesday, parading from Sachar Park to the Agron Junction.  
Thousands of Israelis from Jerusalem and nationwide turned out to attend the parade, plus some 7,000 Christian tourists came all the way to the Holy Land to express their solidarity with Israel and the Jewish nation.  
Among the marchers were also government employees and representatives of various communities and regional councils.  
For the first time this year, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel banned Jews from participating in the parade, fearing missionary influences. However, despite the ban, many religious and Orthodox Jews still turned out to watch and participate in the Sukkot festivities.  
Representatives of the Rabbinate were present at the march handing out flyers, headlined "Missionary Threat", which explained the opposition to the Christian participation in the parade.   
Meanwhile, three American citizens were detained when one of them disrupted the march by holding up a large cardboard crucifix and ...   more »

By BARRY SCHWEID
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of an Middle East accord.
In a six-page policy statement submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Md.
The militant Hamas group, which controls Gaza and about one-third of Palestinian-held land, has not met U.S. terms for attending. Those conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning violence against the Jewish state.
But the ex-officials suggested Hamas might be drawn to attend a second conference, which implicitly would accept the first one and Israel's existence. They called the role of Hamas the most difficult issue in peacemaking.
Jerusalem's future and that of Palestinian refugees have snarled past U.S. peace efforts. Former President Clinton's mediation efforts between the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak envisioned sharing of Jerusalem.
Clinton ruled out requiring Israel to take in most Palestinians or their families who claimed to have been forced out of Israel during creation of the ...   more »

President Bush warned Wednesday of a nuclear-armed Iran but did not rule out that the United States would negotiate with its provocative leader if he gives up his suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.
He denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his remarks about destroying Israel.
"In Iran, we're dealing with a country where the leader has said that he wants to destroy Israel," Bush said. "My belief is that the United States will defend our ally Israel. This is a leader who has made very provocative statements. And, we have made it clear, however, that in spite of that, we are willing to sit down with him, so long as he suspends his program."
"In other words, it's his choice, it's not mine anymore. So I believe that's the best way to achieve an objective," the president added.
"If your question is, will you ever sit down with them? We've proven we would with North Korea. And the answer is yeah, just so long as we can achieve something, so long as we are able to get our objective."
Bush also said it's important for the United States to stay engaged in neighboring Iraq to convince the Iranians that the US ...   more »

Five former State Department and Pentagon officials tell Rice that Israeli and Palestinian capitals should be established in Jerusalem, Arab refugees to return only to future Palestinian state
Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of an Middle East accord.  
In a six-page policy statement submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington.  
Hamas, which controls Gaza and about one-third of Palestinian-held land, has not met US terms
for attending. Those conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning violence against the Jewish state.
But the ex-officials suggested Hamas might be drawn to attend a second conference, which implicitly would accept the first one and Israel's existence. They called the role of Hamas the most difficult issue in peacemaking.
Jerusalem's future and that of Palestinian refugees have snarled past US peace efforts. Former President Bill Clinton's mediation efforts between the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak envisioned sharing Jerusalem.
Clinton ruled out ...   more »

US Secretary of State announces official visit in attempt to bridge gaps between Jerusalem and Ramallah ahead of upcoming peace conference in Annapolis. State Department: 'The hard work has already begun but the really hard work is about to begin'
Reuters
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority next week for a bout of shuttle diplomacy ahead of a peace conference this year, her spokesman said on Wednesday.
Rice's goal will be to try and bridge differences between both sides ahead of the conference, which is expected to take place after mid-November in Annapolis, Maryland.  
"The secretary will be going out next week to the Middle East," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who did not provide exact dates for the trip.  
"I would expect there is going to be a lot of going back and forth among the various parties," he added.  
Israel voiced confidence on Wednesday it would reach agreement with the Palestinians on a joint document ahead of the conference.  
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held direct talks at Olmert's resident in Jerusalem on Wednesday and the two were later joined by ...   more »

By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent   
Hundreds of right-wing activists began marching Tuesday toward the former West Bank settlement of Homesh, despite warnings issued by the Israel Defense Forces and the police that terrorist groups were planning to attack Israelis in the area.
In efforts to prevent the march, the IDF set up roadblocks on access roads to the former settlement, which was evacuated during the disengagement in 2005.
The activist group "Homesh First" said that the marchers would bypass the roadblocks.     
According to the organizers of the march, several hundred activists have already arrived at the hilltops surrounding the former settlement, and hundreds more are expected to arrive in the coming days.
The IDF Central Command has issued a warrant forbidding entry into the area, and anyone violating it runs the risk of being arrested and prosecuted. Large Border Police forces were summoned to the area to prevent the protesters from entering the site.
On Monday, Border Police and police forces evacuated most of the hilltops taken over by right-wing activists in a declared attempt to establish illegal outposts. In turn, The Land of Israel Loyalists issued a statement saying that the march is a continuation of their ...   more »

Hezbollah-like cells plan provocations to force war between Damascus, Israel
A recently formed Syrian guerrilla group modeling itself after the Lebanese Hezbollah militia is preparing for "resistance attacks" against the Jewish state, leaders of the purported group stated during in-person interviews released in a new book.
The information comes as Israel yesterday broke its nearly four-week silence and admitted officially the Jewish state's warplanes struck a "military installation" in Syria last month, prompting some officials in Damascus to call for retaliation, including guerrilla raids against Israel.
In his new book, "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!" WND Jerusalem bureau chief obtained access to the leadership of the new purported Syrian group, calling itself the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan.
"If an agreement is not quickly forged between Israel and Syria [for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan], we will begin attacks," a senior leader of the Committees told Klein, speaking on condition his name be withheld.
The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory looking down on Israeli and Syrian population centers captured by Israel after Damascus twice used the territory to attack the Jewish state.
The ...   more »

By Thom Shanker
WASHINGTON: After a successful test last week, the tracking radars and interceptor rockets of a new American missile defense system can be turned on at any time to respond to an emerging crisis in Asia, senior military officers said Tuesday.
General Victor Renuart Jr., the senior commander for defense of United States territory, said that the antimissile system could guard against the risk of ballistic missile attack from North Korea even while development continues on a series of radars in California and the Pacific Ocean and on interceptor missiles in Alaska and California.
While the new system is limited, it is the most extensive anti-ballistic missile system the Pentagon has fielded since the Safeguard ABM system near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota was briefly operated, starting in 1975. Congress immediately voted to shut it down, and it operated for only a few months.
"We can bring missiles up or take them down as need be so that they can continue doing the testing," said Renuart, commander of the military's Northern Command, based in Colorado Springs. But, he added, "I'm fully confident that we have all of the pieces in place that, if the nation ...   more »

By LARRY MARGASAK
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal terror-fighting agencies can't identify all the American research laboratories that could become targets of attackers, congressional investigators have found.
The Government Accountability Office asked a dozen agencies whether they kept track of all the labs handling dangerous germs and toxins, or knew the number. All responded negatively.
The findings were prepared for a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday.
The government regulates 409 laboratories approved to work with 72 of the world's deadliest organisms and poisons, including anthrax, bird flu virus, monkeypox and plague-causing bacteria.  
But less is known about other labs that work with organisms that cause whooping cough, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, meningitis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, herpes, several strains of flu, rabies, HIV and SARS.
The GAO said U.S. intelligence agencies, including the FBI, told its investigators they need to track all labs that could be vulnerable to terrorism.
U.S. intelligence agencies said they already are handicapped by the failure of some foreign countries to regulate the shipment or possession of biological agents.
The Associated Press reported this week that American laboratories handling the world's deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, and ...   more »

By Ker Than,
(Oct. 3) - Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away.  
NASA A belt of dust surrounding a nearby star has the potential to congeal into an Earth-like planet, scientists said.
 Using NASA 's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. The dust belt, which scientists suspect is clumping together to form planets, is located in the middle of the star system's terrestrial habitable zone where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water. Scientists estimate there is enough material in the belt to form a Mars-sized world or larger.
At approximately 10 million years old, the star is just the right age for forming rocky planets, the researchers say. Their finding will be detailed in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal.
NASA Searches for New Spacesuit Tailors
"The timing for this system to be building an Earth is very good," said study team member Carey Lisse of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, Md.
If the star system were too young, the ...   more »

WASHINGTON — More than $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks have been seized and 77 people arrested in an international crackdown on scams, the U.S. Postal Service said today.
The crackdown involved officials of the United States, Canada, Nigeria, United Kingdom and Netherlands, the Postal Inspection Service said at a briefing.
"There is no room in the mail for any of these phony come-ons," Postmaster General John Potter said.
Most of the cons start with e-mails telling of an inheritance or lottery win and ask the victim to help bring the money to the United States. The victim is asked to cash a check and send part of the money back to the person sending it, explained Postal Inspector Greg Campbell.
Then that person disappears with the money and the original check bounces, leaving the victim with a loss.
Retired people have lost their next eggs and young families have been defrauded of their savings for a home, Potter said.
Many of the cases originate in the Netherlands, where West African con artists operate from Internet cafes, said Johan Van Hartskamp of the Amsterdam police.
In what he called "Operation Dutch Treat," police have arrested 60 people in the Netherlands. Three ...   more »

Jim Brown and Jody Brown
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted for the first time to honor the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, but some conservative lawmakers wanted no part of it.
The language of the resolution sponsored by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) reads: "Recognizing the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and commending Muslims in the United States and throughout the world for their faith." The measure passed 376-0, with 42 members voting "Present."
Among those who voted present was freshman Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado). "I couldn't bring myself to vote 'yes' on that resolution," he admits. "I hope that we have more and more moderate Muslims speaking out about the cause of peace in the future." Lamborn says a recent attempt in Congress to honor Christmas was met with a great deal of opposition.
His colleague GOP presidential candidate and Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) also voted "present" on the measure. Tancredo released a press statement after the vote, citing the resolution as "an example of the degree to which political correctness has captured the political and media elite" in America.
"I am not opposed to commending any religion for their faith," ...   more »