By Barry Rubin  
What Edgar Alan Poe knew about West Bank and Gaza leadership
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year... I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher...With the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit... Thus, Edgar Alan Poe began his remarkable 1839 short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Similar feelings beset me in contemplating the fall of the house of Yasser, the collapse of the PLO, of Fatah, and of Palestinian nationalism as a movement. I won't go into that history of disaster in detail, but suffice it to say that what is happening now fits completely into that pattern. Put your finger into the wine and flick one drop onto the plate for each item: 1948 war; 1967 war; failed West Bank guerrilla war; September 1970 in Jordan; terrorism; Lebanese civil war; intransigence; internal anarchy; the murder of the first moderates; corruption; incitement to terrorism and intransigence; throwing away ...   more »

6-year-old Juma Gil (Courtesy CBN News)
Shocked American and Afghan troops are affirming the story of a 6-year-old boy who says he was recruited by the Taliban for a suicide bomb attack against U.S. soldiers.
Juma Gil, raised by an older sister in Afghanistan's southern Ghazni province, said Taliban fighters last month cornered him and forced him to wear a vest they said would spray out flowers when he touched a button, according to the Scotsman newspaper.
The fighters told him to "throw your body" at the American soldiers when he saw them.
"When they first put the vest on my body I didn't know what to think, but then I felt the bomb," Juma said through an interpreter at the joint U.S.-Afghan base in Ghazni, the Scotsman reported. "After I worked out it was a bomb, I went to the Afghan soldiers for help."
CBN News produced a video account of the story.
(Story continues below)
The paper said the boy's story could not be independently verified, but local government leaders backed his account, and the U.S. and NATO military missions said they believed his story.
The Taliban, though spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi, denied it uses child fighters.
"We ...   more »

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Wednesday that Syria was sending weapons to Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and vowed to bring up the issue before the Arab League.
"In recent weeks, ammunition, weapons and fighters have been brought to the camps," Saniora told reporters on a visit to France.
Saniora added that he had asked the United Nations to renew the mandate of international peacekeepers in his country, despite an attack last weekend that killed six members of the force.
"I am in no position to tell now" who was behind the Sunday car bombing in southern Lebanon that killed three Spaniards and three Colombians, Saniora told a news conference, adding that the investigation was continuing.
"I think the whole world is looking at this seriously. This is an affront against the international community, against security and stability in Lebanon," he said.
Saniora said he was talking to every member country of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, and was hearing an "unequivocal commitment."
He said he has asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to renew the UNIFIL mandate, which expires at the end of August. The 13,000-member force from 30 countries, deployed nearly a year ago, ...   more »

JERUSALEM — Israel is preparing for an imminent war with Iran, Syria and/or their non-state clients.
Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida."Each of these adversaries is capable of sparking a war in the summer," Yadlin was
[On Monday, Al Qaida's No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri endorsed the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. The Al Qaida statement came after Zawahiri repeatedly criticized Hamas for tolerating Palestinian Authority cooperation with the United States.]Yadlin said Hamas could be planning a major attack to divert attention away from efforts by the Palestinian Authority to isolate the Gaza Strip. He said Syria might be promoting such an attack. Officials said Iran has direct influence over Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas. He said Al Qaida has increasingly come under Iranian influence and was being used by Iran and Syria ...   more »

During the Second World War the Nazi regime lead by Adolf Hitler massacred approximately six million Jews. This brutal atrocity - known as the Holocaust - is perhaps one of the darkest periods of human history. It is also one of the most well-documented events in history. However despite overwhelming evidence and countless eyewitness and survivor testimonies, there are some who claim that the Holocaust never happened (or that the extent of the bloodshed was exaggerated for political purposes).
It used to be that Holocaust denial was limited primarily to a handful of neo-Nazis and radical anti-Semites. However in recent years the seeds of Holocaust denial have found fertile ground in the Muslim world - where it has become a propaganda tool for Islamic extremists.
The spread of Holocaust denial in the Middle East has even begun to impact other parts of the world. A disturbing report by the UK's Department of Education indicates that some teachers in the UK are dropping controversial subjects such as the Holocaust and the Crusades from history lessons because they do not want to offend Muslims. (There are more than 1.5 million Muslims in the UK, making Islam the nation's largest religious minority.)
Rewriting ...   more »

By Jennifer Carden
Within 24 hours after its July 2005 release, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" had sold 6.9 million copies in the United States alone – 287,564 books per hour – making it the fastest selling book in recent history.
If early buzz proves accurate, however, the whirlwind of Pottermania accompanying the July release of J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will catapult the series to new heights in the world of literary accomplishment.
But, contends author Steve Wohlberg, what many people don't know is that when Harry Potter and his Firebolt whoosh off the shelf, he's not alone. A victory for Harry Potter means a victory for Wicca, a religion that practices various forms of witchcraft.
And the acclaimed DVD program, "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged, dramatically documents Potter references to evolution, reincarnation, sorcery, divination, spells, curses and other occult factors.
Wohlberg's new book "Exposing Harry Potter and Witchcraft: The Menace Beneath the Magic," asserts that "Harry Potter" purchases are often accompanied at the sales counter with materials on Wicca. Increasing numbers of young readers also frequent Wicca websites, cast "Love and Money Spells," and practice "white magic."
Why the "magical" ...   more »

BEIJING (AP) — China has closed 180 food factories after inspectors found industrial chemicals being used in products from candy to seafood, state media said Wednesday.
The closures came amid a nationwide crackdown on shoddy and dangerous products launched in December that also uncovered use of recycled or expired food, the China Daily said.

Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety.

"These are not isolated cases," Han, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, was quoted as saying.

Han's admission was significant because the administration has said in the past that safety violations were the work of a few rogue operators, a claim which is likely part of a strategy to protect China's billions of dollars (euros) of food exports.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Daily | Administration | Inspection | Han Yi
International concerns over China's food safety problems ballooned this year after high levels of toxins and industrial chemicals were found in exported products.
Chinese-made toothpaste has been rejected by several countries in North ...   more »

 MIDLAND, Texas and SAN FRANCISCO, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- West Texas
National Bank today announced that it has adopted Pay By Touch's biometric
check cashing service. Paycheck Secure(TM) powered by Pay By Touch lets
consumers use a finger scan to quickly and securely identify themselves to
cash a government or payroll check.
    West Texas National Bank introduced the innovative check cashing
service through its branch location adjacent to the new Town and Country
Convenience Store at I-20 and Rankin Highway.
    Paycheck Secure powered by Pay By Touch is fast and easy to use. To
enroll, customers visit West Texas National Bank, where a bank employee
will check their government-issued ID, scan their fingerprint and take a
digital photograph. The one-time enrollment takes only minutes, and
thereafter the customer need only place his/her finger on a scanner at the
branch location to safely and securely cash checks.
    "We are thrilled to be the first bank to bring this innovative service
to Midland, and are pleased to provide check cashers with a secure
environment in order to conveniently and quickly cash their checks," said
Jerry Rogers, Chief Operating Officer of West Texas National Bank.
    "Pay By Touch's secure ...   more »

Care to eat chips — not the potato ones in colourful packaging and different flavours but the digital ones, info rich variety! For starters, swallow this: If you happen to be among the select VIP members of the Baja Beach Club, one of Barcelona’s hottest night spots, you’ll not only be in the company of some very exclusive people, but also among the few with an implantable microchip. The chip was club owner Conrad Chase’s idea of offering a unique identity to the club’s VIP patrons
Slightly larger than a grain of rice, the chip is used to identify people when they enter and pay for drinks. It is injected by a nurse under a local anesthetic. It is an RFID tag — radio frequency identification. RFID tags are miniscule microchips which listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.
At the Baja Club if a special tag-reader is waved near the arm, a radio signal prompts the chip to transmit an identification number which is used to access information about the wearer from a database. ...   more »