By Ben Blicker
The key to joy is success in our relationships. This includes our relationship with other people, with ourselves, and with God.
Every Jewish holiday is infused with a special energy to help us work on a particular character trait, and to develop certain aspects of our lives. The mitzvot of the holiday are tools to help us achieve the goal of the time.
Often, the key to discovering this focus is found in the prayers. The Siddur (prayer book) refers to Sukkot as Zman Simchateinu, "the Time of Our Joy." Sukkot is designed as a one-week workshop on joy!
For seven days, we move out of our wall-to-wall carpeted, air-conditioned house, into a little hut called a Sukkah. But how is this supposed to make us happy?!
The lesson is that the physical objects with which we surround ourselves are not what make us happy. A person can live in a gorgeous home and be absolutely miserable. Or, he can live in a shabby hut and be ecstatically happy. The key to joy is success in our relationships. This includes our relationship with other people, with ourselves, and with God.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS
The Lulav offers important ...   more »

By The Associated Press   
Gov. Rick Perry announced on Tuesday the establishment of the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, an agency meant to foster economic exchange and academic collaboration between the two.
Perry also said he has asked the directors of the Employees Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System to divest their funds from companies doing business with Iran. The governor said Texans will not condone Iran's support of terrorism.
"I personally believe that any company that does business with Iran is actively assisting those who seek to harm American men and women who are serving in the Middle East and funds terror attacks on our allies in the region," Perry said.    
"And so, today, as we usher in a new era of relations between Texas and Israel, we speak of a grand vision of a world where terror is defeated by kinship, economic partnerships create new opportunity and people are free to work and live in peace," he added.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has previously called for the destruction of Israel - an American ally in the Middle East.
Texas is Israel's third largest U.S. trading partner, and the newly formed chamber is the first such statewide agency ...   more »

by Hillel Fendel(IsraelNN.com) The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice last week - and told her that Prime Minister Olmert agrees, finally, to turn eastern Jerusalem into the capital of a future state of Palestine.  So reports the PA newspaper Al Hayat Al Jadeeda, quoting an unnamed "senior Palestinian source."
Abbas reportedly told Rice that Olmert had agreed to the demand in an Olmert-Abbas meeting a couple of days before.  Another Olmert-Abbas meeting is planned for next week, the paper reports.
Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports on another PA media article.  The Palestinian Press claims that Iran has given the order to Hamas and Islamic Jihad to reduce Kassam rocket attacks against Israel during the month of Ramadan, in order to reduce the suffering of Arab citizens in Gaza during this period.  Hamas chief-in-exile Khaled Mashaal reportedly told Iran that though Hamas agrees to hold fire, Islamic Jihad does not.
Meanwhile, plans continue for U.S. President George Bush's international Middle East summit, scheduled for this November in Washington.  Secretary Rice announced Sunday night that Syria and Lebanon will also be invited to take part, though they will have to commit ...   more »

By Joshua Mitnick - TEL AVIV — Passengers traveling through Israel's Ben Gurion Airport are more likely to fall victim to an aviation accident rather than a hijacking, authorities and analysts warn.
Israel, which handled more than 17,000 passenger arrivals a week from the United States during July and August, has been praised worldwide for securing air traffic from terrorist attacks for more than three decades. But air safety standards at Israel's sole international airport have become so outdated and sloppy that authorities have become profoundly disturbed.
Reported problems include cramped air lanes, poor English spoken by air traffic controllers, communications interruptions by pirate radio stations, anachronistic aviation legislation and insufficient regulation.
"Unfortunately, as Israelis, we put too much into security and not enough into safety. It's a result of years of negligence," said Avner Yarkoni, an aviation lawyer, fighter-pilot veteran and former director of Israel's equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration. "I am quite pessimistic. I hope there won't be an accident."
An international aviation panel found 102 air safety deficiencies at Ben Gurion in January. Last week, a team of three FAA analysts visited Israel and submitted an initial report to aviation officials. A second report is expected ...   more »

HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
US President George W. Bush blasted the UN Human Rights Council for singling out Israel while ignoring major human rights violators, in his speech at the opening of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Bush said that for the United States to be credible in standing up for human rights, "the UN must reform its own human rights council."
The UN was "silent on repression" in places like Caracas and Teheran while it focused its criticism "excessively on Israel," he said.
Bush also mentioned Israel in his reaffirmation of a two-state solution and call for the international community to help by backing Palestinian moderates. "The international community must support these leaders," he said.
"In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration," Bush said, but otherwise avoided focusing attention on Teheran in his speech.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, however, devoted more attention to the Iranian threat and warned against the Islamic Republic gaining nuclear weapons.
The international standoff over Iran's nuclear program will only be resolved with a combination of "firmness and dialogue," and appeasement can only lead to "war," he said.
Sarkozy, addressing the UN ...   more »

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 »

Palestinian security forces uncover two meter-and-a-half long rockets ready to be launched in the town of Beit Jala, near the capital. Large amount of explosives also found
Ali Waked
Palestinian security forces uncovered on Wednesday two rockets ready to be launched in the town of Beit Jala near Jerusalem, the Ma'an news agency reported Wednesday, adding that a large amount of explosives were also discovered.  
Palestinian security forces transferred the rockets to the Israel Defense Forces, who reported that the rockets were not Qassams and did not pose any real threat to Jerusalem. 
The news agency quoted the commander of the Palestinian security forces in Bethlehem as saying that the rockets seized were a meter-and-a-half long and carried the words "Allah hu akbar".  
Al-Aqsa Brigades say they fired Qassam rocket towards Elei Zahav settlement in Samaria, warns that all Israeli towns will soon be targets; IDF fails to comment on incident    
Palestinian security forces have opened an investigation into the matter, in an attempt to uncover who was behind the rockets.
In the past, IDF forces in Bethlehem killed a member of the Palestinian security forces who helped establish the terrorists' rocket-manufacturing capabilities in the West Bank. ...   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 »

Christian pilgrims true friends of Israel, have no missionary aims
Malcolm Hedding
During Sukkot, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem again will host thousands of Christian pilgrims for our 28th annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. The largest annual tourist event in Israel, our gathering draws Christians from nearly 100 nations and we expect a record crowd of 7,000 visitors this year. These pilgrims have a deep love and concern for Israel, and bring a lot of color and joy to the city of Jerusalem. And they always receive a warm welcome from the Israeli people, as seen in the streets of the capital during the Jerusalem March.
Our international participants have been the largest delegation in this parade since 1980, and are the reason most of the city's residents come out to watch.
Thus it is disappointing to learn that rabbinic authorities are trying to discourage the Jewish public from participating in this traditional march. They suspect that parts of our group are engaged in missionary activity, but the ICEJ has never conducted any missionary programs in Israel and we instruct our Feast pilgrims against such activity during their stay here.
The truth is that these Feast pilgrims are ...   more »

Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Editor’s Note:  This was received from ministry friend, Jim Bramlett.  Interesting comments on the Middle East situation and the preparedness of the Israeli armed forces when unleashed.  (John)
One of India's top ranking generals assigned to liaise with the Iranian military recently returned to New Delhi from several days in Tehran - in a state of complete amazement.
"Everyone in the government and military can only talk of one thing," he reports. "No matter who I talked to, all they could do was ask me, over and over again, ‘Do you think the Americans will attack us?' ‘When will the Americans attack us?' ‘Will the Americans attack us in a joint operation with the Israelis?' How massive will the attack be?' on and on, endlessly. The Iranians are in a state of total panic."
And that was before September 6. Since then, it's panic-squared in Tehran. The mullahs are freaking out in fear. Why? Because of the silence in Syria.
On September 6, Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-16s conducted a devastating attack on targets deep inside Syria near th e city of Dayr az-Zawr. Israel's military censors have muzzled the ...   more »

The Islamist Trojan Horse is already in place
By Youssef M. Ibrahim
 "We're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here" has become a hymn for the American right and an abominable lie to the left. But drowned out by all the noise is the fact that "they" are here already, having landed a long time ago and gotten very busy indeed constructing the American wing of jihad.
Have you watched the Arabic Channel, also known as TAC, which serves the New York region? Probably not, as most New Yorkers neither understand nor speak Arabic. But if you are among the estimated 1 million viewers — legal and illegal, new and old Arabic-speaking immigrants to the tri-state area — who tune in daily to Channel 507 on Time Warner Cable, this is what you can get:
• A daily dose of Islamic jurisprudence from an Egyptian sheik, Amr Khaled, who comes direct from Cairo as TAC's prime advocate of "peaceful jihad," on how the duty of every Arab-American is to become first, second, and only a member of the Muslim Ummah.
• A nightly helping of Syria's CNN-style digest of the world, sent fresh from a Damascus ...   more »

In a heated conversation at the Friday banquet of Phyllis Schalfly's Eagle Council meeting in St. Louis last week, Jed Babbin, editor of Human Events, repeated accusations that I am a "black helicopter Internet conspiracy theorist" for arguing that the Bush administration is pursing the North American Union and NAFTA Superhighways through the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP.
In response, I observed that Babbin has taken Human Events in the direction of becoming an apologist for the Republican Party, not a critical forum for conservative debate.
What is difficult to understand is that many of the articles I first wrote exploring these subjects were first published last year in Human Events, under the editorial direction of Babbin's predecessor, Robert Bluey.
Beginning in 2006, a year before Babbin was appointed editor, I began exploring the Trans-Texas Corridor and Interstate, which has been called the NAFTA Superhighway since 1998. I began looking into the Security and Prosperity Partnership President Bush declared with Mexico and Canada at the end of the trilateral summit in Waco, Texas, on March 23, 2005.
Out of these articles I began to see a pattern of North American integration under SPP that developed into ...   more »