Internal security minister critical of intelligence report, claiming: ‘Something about US plan is flawed, and we must help Americans revamp it’. US misconceptions could also hamper negotiations with Palestinians, says Dichter
Liorn Sinai and Roni Sofer Published: 
“US misconceptions regarding Iran could bring about another Yom Kippur War in our region,” said Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter at a cultural event at the Holon Theater Saturday.
The internal security minister strongly condemned the US intelligence report on Iran, especially what he referred to as its “misguided” perspective on the Iranian nuclear program. “We were unable to convince the US of the immediacy and proximity of the Iranian nuclear threat,” said Dichter, who also noted that “the area threatened by Iranian missiles is now within its strike range, and includes most North African, as well as European, countries.” 
Dichter minced no words regarding the report’s draftsmen as well, claiming that “US assessment of the Iranian nuclear threat is seriously flawed, and we can only hope that the US can address these errors.” He further stated that “Israel and other countries troubled by the Iranian nuclear menace must help the US revamp its strategy vis a vis Iran through shared intelligence as ...   more »

Audit reveals funds sent to school terrorists boast is used for jihad
By Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – An audit has revealed the U.S. government authorized nearly $1 million in aid to a Hamas-controlled university senior terror leaders told WND is openly utilized by Hamas to recruit fighters, manufacture explosives and train on campus grounds for attacks.
The audit concluded the American tax dollars were provided to Gaza's Islamic University between 2002 and 2006. It stated officials from both the U.S. Agency for International Development in Tel Aviv, which initiated the fund request, and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, which conducted an investigation, found no "derogatory information" on the university.
Also in March 2007 State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told WND U.S. officials concluded after a review Islamic University does not support terrorist activities.
But Israeli and Palestinian security officials and Palestinian terrorist leaders themselves scoffed at the State Department claims.
An Israeli security official took offense with McCormack's statement.
"It's the height of absurdity to hear Hamas' Islamic University is not involved in terrorism," the official said. Islamic University was founded by Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel in 2004. Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail ...   more »

But Israel bans Jews, Christians from ascending site on same day
By Aaron Klein
Temple Mount
JERUSALEM – The Hamas terror organization is planning a radio broadcast Wednesday from the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – while the Israeli government has completely banned Jews and Christians from ascending the Mount that same day for fear of offending Muslims, WND has learned.
"Our broadcast is very symbolic and is only the start," said Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' so-called military wing in the Gaza Strip. "In the coming years, Hamas and other organizations will be broadcasting freely from the [Mount], which will be under full Islamic control protected by a Muslim army."
Wednesday marks the Muslim holiday of Ein ul-Adhaa, which commemorates the Islamic belief of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah. The Torah says Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac, not Ishmael.
Wednesday is also the Jewish fast day of the Tenth of Tevet, which commemorates the start of the siege of Jerusalem leading up to the destruction of the First Jewish Temple during the reign of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar. The fast also was proclaimed to mourn the First Temple's destruction.
Jewish organizations and ...   more »

Church leader's cancellation of property sale could affect dividing city
By Aaron Klein
Theofilos III
JERUSALEM – After two years of debate, the Israeli government yesterday officially confirmed the man enthroned here as Greek Orthodox patriarch, amid accusations the religious figure would cancel the sale to Jewish groups of land comprising much of a key entrance to Jerusalem's Old City.
Theofilos III was elected patriarch in 2005 amid charges of church irregularities. He has been quoted by church officials as opposing the sale of Jerusalem property to Jews.
Church officials say once approved by the Israeli government, Theofilos would work to cancel the sale Jerusalem property to Jews.
"The deal must be canceled and Theofilos knows this. We as a church will fight any smuggling of real estate to Jewish organizations," Atallah Hanna, the church's archbishop of Sebastia, told WND.
Ownership of the land in question – two hotels that comprise a large section of the Jaffa Gate, the principal entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem – could be crucial in the future status of Jerusalem during upcoming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Following last month's U.S.-backed Annapolis summit, Israel is widely expected to evacuate eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods for the creation of ...   more »

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
DAMASCUS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Iraq has invited Russia's Stroytransgaz to submit an offer to re-activate an oil export pipeline to Syria's Mediterranean terminal of Banias, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said on Monday.
The company, which has contracts in Syria and Saudi Arabia, will make the offer to the Iraqi government in Baghdad no later than Jan. 10, he told Reuters.
"We will discuss with Stroytransgaz what they come up with. We are clear and serious about this project," Saleh said in an interview in the Syrian capital.
Saleh made it clear that progress on the pipeline, as well as developing a gas field near the Syrian border and exporting the product through Syria, was linked to security cooperation from the Damascus government.
"Those terrorists who have infiltrated Iraq from its borders have killed thousands of Iraqis. There is no room to compromise on this issue," Saleh said.
"Our policy is to create mutual interests with neighbouring countries so that Iraq could be a cornerstone for regional stability and economic progress," he said.
The pipeline is linked to Iraq's northern Kirkuk oilfields.
Syria has a 600-km (375 mile) border with Iraq. U.S. forces bombed ...   more »

A U.S. judge ordered the Secret Service on Monday to disclose records of visits by nine prominent conservative Christian leaders to the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence.
The ruling, in response to a legal watchdog group's suit, could shed light on the influence leaders like James Dobson of Focus on the Family have had on President George W. Bush's administration. It may also affect legal efforts to force the release of visiting records of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other similar cases.
"We think that these conservative Christian leaders have had a very big impact," said Executive Director Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the case.
"The White House doesn't want to talk about how much influence these leaders have, and we want to talk about how much they do have," she said.
Dobson is one of the most influential opinion leaders among conservative Christians who are at the heart of Bush's political base.
Others whose visiting records were sought included Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, who unsuccessfully sought the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, and Moral Majority co-founder Jerry Falwell, who died in last May.
U.S. District Court ...   more »

More states turning down federal money attached to zero-tolerance sex ed
By Rob Stein
The number of states refusing federal money for "abstinence-only" sex education programs jumped sharply in the past year as evidence mounted that the approach is ineffective.
At least 14 states have either notified the federal government that they will no longer be requesting the funds or are not expected to apply, forgoing more than $15 million of the $50 million available, officials said. Virginia was the most recent state to opt out.
Two other states -- Ohio and Washington -- have applied but stipulated they would use the money for comprehensive sex education, effectively making themselves ineligible, federal officials said. While Maryland and the District are planning to continue applying for the money, other states are considering withdrawing as well.
Until this year, only four states had passed up the funding.
"We're concerned about this," said Stan Koutstaal of the Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the program. "My greatest concern about states dropping out is that these are valuable services and programs. It's the youths in these states who are missing out."
Pressure from both sides of debate
The number of states spurning ...   more »

Stone panels from the royal palace at Khorsabad run along the walls.
The carvings on the friezes depict daily life in the Assyrian royal court, which at its height about 3,000 years ago controlled a region stretching across much of the modern Middle East.
In one panel a distinctly regal king looks at his subjects as a courtier fans him. Another panel shows priests carrying out religious rituals.
The workmanship on the friezes is delicate. The carefully placed spotlights bring the carvings to life and it is easy for your mind to be transported to ancient Mesopotamia.
Recent work in the hall has included the addition of a modern arch, which is flanked by ancient bulls with eagle wings and human heads.
It forms the entrance to the hall, which gives you the sense of walking into an Assyrian palace.
Looted vaults
Perhaps the Assyrian gallery is so stunning because it is so unexpected in Baghdad.
This gallery, one of only two that are open to visitors to the Iraqi National Museum, gives a hint of the glories that were once in the national collection.
That collection was devastated in the days following the US-led invasion in 2003, when looters ...   more »

AT&T has announced a new GPS and RFID child-tracking system, designed to help teachers and schools keep track of kids on school grounds and in buses.
There's no doubt that schools and teachers can face significant challenges trying to keep track of hundreds of students and assure their safety while simultaneously teaching them something. (I can personally attest that I was rarely learning something at the same time my teachers knew where I was.) Now AT&T is looking to apply technology to the problem, offering a comprehensive child-tracking solution for the K-12 education market combining RFID and GPS technologies to enable schools to keep track of school bus locations and speed while simultaneously monitoring events within the vehicles.
"Our RFID and MRM services help K-12 institutions rapidly deploy end-to-end solutions without significant capital investment," said Ann Rotatori, vice president of Business Marketing for AT&T, in a statement. "For the first time, school districts can now turn to a network services provider for all of their RFID and MRM needs, and that enables them to save money, make the most of their assets and resources and enhance student safety."
AT&T envisions the system being used to track in-school assets like computers, ...   more »

Christine Dell'Amore in San Francisco, California
National Geographic News 
The San Francisco Bay Area is ripe for a major earthquake, and it could strike as early as next year, experts announced yesterday.
The "most dangerous urban fault in America," scientists say, is the Hayward Fault, which runs under densely populated areas in the Bay Area including the city of Oakland (see map of California).
The past five major earthquakes along the fault have occurred at regular 140-year intervals. The last one, in 1868, was mostly forgotten in the aftermath of the ruinous 1906 quake, which was triggered by the nearby San Andreas Fault.
But the 1868 event has garnered more distinction recently: October 2008 will mark the 140th anniversary of that magnitude 7 quake.
"We don't know when the next big quake [will be], but we do know that the Hayward Fault is ready," Tom Brocher, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survy (USGS), told National Geographic News.
New research also suggests the Hayward is much longer than previously believed, which could portend a disastrous earthquake two to four times bigger than was once thought.
"It's going to be right in Oakland," Brocher said of the quake's likely epicenter. "The ...   more »

Judge gives Utah woman 1 day to finish enrollment
By Bob Unruh
Scott Johansen
A homeschooling mom in Utah has been ordered by a judge to enroll her children in a public school district within 24 hours, and have them in class tomorrow, all because of a paperwork glitch that very well could be the fault of the district.
The mother, Denise Mafi, told WND that she already has enrolled her children in the district, under the threat from Judge Scott Johansen, who serves in the juvenile division of the state's 7th Judicial District, that he would order her children taken away from her.
As WND has reported previously, such threats are becoming more and more common in Germany, but that nation still lives by a Nazi-era law that makes homeschooling illegal.
Mafi told WND that not only is homeschooling legal in Utah, she's been at it for nearly a decade.
So what's the problem here?
It seems that an affidavit she faxed to the local school district for the 2006-2007 school year, documenting her homeschooling plans, was lost by the district. So when she went to court with her juvenile son to have the charges dismissed (under a case ...   more »