Congress to vote on new proposal offering record sum in financial aid to Palestinian Authority in West Bank, though legislators say they was assurances that millions won't end up in Hamas' hands
The United States will pledge about $500 million for the moderate-led Palestinian government in the West Bank when Arab, European and other nations meet next week, US officials said Friday.
International Monetary Fund says PA proposal 'ambitious but achievable' but first Palestinians must raise $5.6 billion in foreign donations 
The money would go toward a goal of $5.6 billion that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair hopes to raise to rescue the Palestinian economy and reinforce institutions that would become the backbone of any eventual independent Palestinian state.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will deliver the pledge at a conference Blair has called Monday in Paris, the officials said.
The money is part of world efforts to improve the Palestinians' financial position as new US-sponsored peace talks begin.
Rice cannot promise that she can deliver on the pledge, which must be approved by the US Congress. The money includes about $400 million that the White House has already announced, but that has not been approved by Congress.
Some ...   more »

Khaled Abu Toameh
Hamas on Saturday marked its 20th anniversary by vowing to continue the "jihad" against Israel and never recognize its right to exist.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians participated in a main rally organized by Hamas in the center of Gaza City in what was seen as one of the movement's biggest shows of force.
Shouting, "We won't recognize Israel," the Hamas supporters burned Israeli flags and chanted slogans against the US.
The rally was held in the same square where thousands of Fatah supporters attended a memorial for Yasser Arafat last month. Hamas officials estimated that nearly 250,000 Palestinians participated in the rally as opposed to less than 50,000 who showed up for the Arafat event.
Fatah representatives claimed that the Hamas rally was a "failure" because of the "small" number of participants.
"This is Hamas's poorest performance since 1997," said Fatah spokesman Jamal Nazzal. "Hamas threatened to cut off the salary [of] and beat any activist who does not bring his family members to the rally. Despite that, they were unable to fill the square, and there were many empty chairs."
The rally came amid increased tensions between Hamas and Fatah following the arrest of two ...   more »

Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs Hussein Derar says his country supports Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Egypt supports Iran's efforts to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, Derar said in an interview with the Iranian Arab-language daily, al-Wefaq, Saturday.
Egypt would also resume its peaceful nuclear activities in the near future, he added.
The Egyptian official assessed as 'positive and constructive' his recent meetings with Iranian officials and underlined Tehran's and Cairo's willingness to expand their ties.
Derar recently paid a visit to Iran to deliver a message by Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, to his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mot
Original Source
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by Mystery Mountain, Los Lunas, New Mexico.  That’s where a fascinating find was discovered with the Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments.  What is amazing about this find, is that the ten commandments were written in a Hebrew script that is so ancient, it was last used around and up to the Babylonian expulsion.  This means it was probably written between 2,500-3,000 years ago!  How did this script, as well as the text of the ten commandments wind up in New Mexico, so many centuries ago?        “Over two thousand years before Columbus "discovered" America there were people of semitic origin in New Mexico worshipping the God of Israel. How can this possibly be reconciled with known history? It is seemingly apparent that the financial backing to launch a Hebrew-Phoenician voyage of world exploration could have readily occurred during the reign of King Solomon of Israel. Solomon worshipped the true God of Israel and had the means to fund explorative voyages to other lands. With Solomon's main port being located on the Red Sea it would be difficult to explain how his fleet would have entered America through the Atlantic drainage. ( Reference note: Kings I  9:26) :And king Solomon made ...   more »

By S.A. Miller and Sara A. Carter - Pentagon officials yesterday said furlough letters will hit 100,000 civilian military employees next week in an effort to free up money for combat troops, pressing the case for war funds as the Democrat-led Congress struggles to finish overdue spending bills.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England warned in letters delivered Wednesday night to top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin of Michigan, that the pending layoffs "will negatively affect our ability to execute base operations and training activities."
"More importantly, it will affect the critical support our civilian employees provide to our war-fighters — support which is key to our current operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq," Mr. England said in the letters, copies of which were obtained by The Washington Times.
The civilian workers will get notice of the potential furloughs next week, and layoff orders could arrive by mid-January, he said.
Mrs. Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, dismissed past furlough warnings as administration "scare tactics."
Reid spokesman Jim Manley yesterday said that Democrats had been willing to fund the war, "provided the president works with us to ...   more »

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speculated in a New York Times Magazine interview this weekend whether Mormons believe Jesus and Satan were brothers.
It is causing quite a controversy, as you can imagine.
Stirred by the debate, the Associated Press asked for clarification from a spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Kim Farah.
She said the question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith, but she evaded a direct answer: "We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all. That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh, and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."
Not to split hairs, but just because God is Father does not mean all beings are created. The Christian faith does not acknowledge Jesus as a created being. They believe He is God, as well as God's Son and the Savior of mankind.
I am a big believer in lively ...   more »

Politics have no relation to morals.
The end justifies the means
– Machiavelli
I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president!
– Hillary Rodham Clinton (as first lady)
Machiavelli in the robes of a Florentine public official
This column is another in a series of articles I have written on the duplicity of human nature. Other pieces I've written in this genre include: "Sen. Barbara Boxer and Secretary of State Condolezza Rice ("What is Plantation Liberalism?"); Ira Einhorn and Al Gore (The cult of Celebrity"); Oprah and Barak Obama ("Queen Oprah and her anointed squire"); Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe vs. Truth ("A letter to professor Laurence Tribe on Veritas"), among others. Here, I would like to explore some of the more seductive similarities between Hillary and Machiavelli.
Who was Machiavelli? He was an Italian Renaissance philosopher and writer primarily known for his magnificent treatise on political statescraft – "The Prince" (1513). Because of his radical theories on politics and the acquisition of power, his name has come down to us as an adjective – Machiavellian – "Suggestive of or characterized by expediency, deceit, cunning, duplicity or bad faith," but also as a ...   more »

Law firm offers advice if critics bring case
Officials in an Arizona town have been told they can call their Christmas tree a Christmas tree, and if someone complains, they'll get advice from the Alliance Defense Fund, an activist legal organization.
The organization said it has sent a letter to the town of Queen Creek, affirming that the use of the word "Christmas" does not violate the Constitution.
"The American people, common sense, and the Constitution are clearly winning the war on Christmas waged by the Left," said Gary McCaleb, ADF senior counsel. "Unfortunately, the misguided belief that we must sanitize Christmas to keep from offending a small segment of the population exists."
Residents of the Arizona town recently had bombarded officials with dozens of e-mails asking that the tree, now known as the "holiday tree," which was donated by a local family, be returned to its original Christmas tree designation.
The tree stands outside city hall and is part of a tree-lighting ceremony held by the city. 
"We understanding that there is often a great deal of misinformation surrounding public acknowledgement and celebration of Christmas," the letter, signed by legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco, said.
"Consequently, ADF has assisted municipalities ...   more »

Offending pamphlets quoted ad: 'Man seeking boys … age not so relevant'
A lifetime ban on public criticism of homosexuality was upheld against a Catholic activist in Canada by his province's superior court.
Bill Whatcott was fined 17,500 Canadian dollars by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in a complaint by four homosexuals who charged he "injured" their "feelings" and "self respect" in pamphlets denouncing the "gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous, Lifesite News reported.
Saskatchewan's Court of Queens Bench, which hears criminal and civil cases, upheld a 2006 decision Tuesday by the provincial Human Rights Commission.
"This fine is for telling the truth [that] homosexual sodomites can change their behavior and be set free from their sin and depravity through the forgiveness of sins and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Whatcott said. 
A licensed practical nurse, Whatcott regularly campaigns against the political movement that is rapidly advancing homosexual rights in the Canadian legal system, LifeSiteNews said.
"Shame on the Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench for pandering to homosexual activism and ignoring the truth," he said.
The provincial Human Rights Commission noted Whatcott was "ordered to discontinue distributing any materials that promote hatred against people because of ...   more »

SANTA ANA, California (AP) - Two men accused of plotting behind prison walls to launch Jihad-style attacks on military sites, synagogues and other targets in 2005 pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiring to levy war against the United States.
Kevin James, 31, and Levar Haley Washington, 28, entered their pleas in separate appearances before U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney.
Washington also pleaded guilty to using a firearm to further the conspiracy. Prosecutors said he used a shotgun to rob a Torrance gas station on July 4, 2005.
James faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31. Washington faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and five years to life for the firearms offense when he is sentenced April 28.
Authorities say James, Washington and two others were part of a California prison gang cell of radical Muslims that planned the attacks in the Los Angeles area.
Police uncovered the plot in July 2005 while investigating a string of gas station robberies that authorities say were committed to finance the attacks. Torrance Police Chief John Neu told reporters that authorities linked about 10 holdups to the plot.
The plotters were ...   more »

'Leaders must be prepared to defend congregations'
By Bob Unruh
Church shootings, in the headlines because of the attacks by Matthew Murray, 24, of Englewood, Colo., on two Christian groups last weekend, are on the rise across the United States, even though they're not yet at epidemic proportions.
Murray killed two people at a Youth With A Mission missionary training center in Arvada, Colo., early last Sunday morning, then apparently posted some rantings on the Internet, and drove to the New Life Church in Colorado Springs where he killed two teen girls. He also wounded half a dozen others before he was confronted by a church member volunteering as a security guard, and was shot.
A tabulation of church shootings, or those closely related to a church setting, was done by Gary Cass, chairman of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, and include 10 such attacks over the last four years, including Murray's two attacks. 
"The tragic events in Colorado this past weekend underscore the fact that anti-Christian hostility is reaching a new, more violent level," Cass told WND. "Churches used to be sanctuaries that were regarded as sacred, now all church leaders must be prepared to effectively defend themselves and use ...   more »

Chuck Baldwin Chuck Baldwin
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." (Luke 22:36 KJV)
Most of us are aware that the heroic actions of a brave woman at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado a few days ago saved the lives of perhaps scores, or even hundreds, of people. However, her bravery would not have counted for much had she not been armed.
On that fateful December Sunday, a man by the name of Matthew Murray entered the church armed to the teeth. According to press reports, he was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, two handguns, some smoke grenades, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
By the time Murray arrived in the Colorado Springs church, he had already killed four people: two at a missionary training center miles away, and two in the church parking lot. He had wounded several others. No one realized it at the time, but the man was a serial killer in the midst of a rampage. He doubtless planned to kill as many people as he could, as there were thousands of people inside the church. Had there not been an armed citizen in the church ...   more »