East Jerusalem stands in midst of heated real estate race, as various Jewish, Arab, Christian associations bid on every available piece of property
Roni Shaked
After years in which various Jewish associations have bought up scopes of land in east Jerusalem, with the declared intention of maintaining the city's Jewish nature – they now find themselves bidding against various Muslim and Christian associations wishing to get a hold of land in the city's east. 
As reported in Yedioth Ahronoth Monday, wealthy West Bank-based Palestinians, funded by Persian Gulf benefactors, have been attempting to buy as much land as possible in east Jerusalem, concentrating their efforts in the Old City, in order to push out the Jewish associations – doing exactly the same. 
Housing Ministry gives go-ahead to construction of new neighborhood in Atarot; 'There is no problem in building all-Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem,' says capital's deputy mayor
Many Arab associations offer mortgages in favorable rates to any Muslim buying property in Jerusalem.
Arab associations, said the report, have bought 12 apartments in the Old City in the last four months alone, with four more apartments in the Muslim Quarter in escrow. 
These associations have also bid on property located ...   more »

Some tears more important than those shed by paratroopers who liberated Jerusalem
Meir Shalev
Earlier this week, our Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, said that for the sake of peace we must cede some parts of the Land of Israel. However, she promise that when she returns to the negotiations table she would make sure not to forget the tears of the paratroopers who liberated the Western Wall in Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. 
As the Western wall is a site where many Jews have been crying at, or because of, for 2,000 years at least, and because rivers of tears have already been shed over it throughout history, I am left to ponder one question: Why did the foreign minister choose the tears of the paratroopers of all tears? 
In my opinion, when it comes to all the tears that were shed at the Western Wall, on the Western Wall, near the Western Wall, and because of the Western Wall, the paratroopers’ tears are the least significant. 
I do not belittle the tears shed by the paratroopers, of course. I think they stemmed from an genuinely touched heart. But what can we do, the Western Wall has already been soaked ...   more »

As prime minister continues his official visit to Japan, his faction's members take advantage of his absence to express their objection to negotiations on capital
Attila Somfalvi
Eleven Kadima Knesset members met Monday afternoon at the Knesset to discuss the diplomatic negotiations and their fear of talks with the Palestinians on the future of Jerusalem.
Most of the meeting attendees expressed their absolute objection to a division of the capital and even to discussions on its future.
Jerusalem Controversy 
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says no agreement to exclude or delay talks on Jerusalem
MK Yoel Hasson even suggested that if Israel reached a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians, the prime minister would be obligated to present the agreement to the public and receive its approval through elections or a referendum.
"Kadima's platform is our road map and we must not deviate from it," Hasson said. "The platform speaks about a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty. Those who say otherwise are causing damage to Kadima."
MK David Tal added that "Jerusalem cannot be touched, and making concessions on this issue are not part of Kadima's platform. When the public elected us, it did not know that we plan to make concessions ...   more »

By Valerie Richardson - Montana officials are warning that if the Supreme Court rules in the D.C. gun ban case that the right to keep and bear arms protects only state-run militias like the National Guard, then the federal government will have breached Montana's statehood contract.
Nobody is raising flags for the Republic of Montana, but nobody is kidding, either. So far, 39 elected Montana officials have signed a resolution declaring that a court ruling of the Second Amendment is a right of states and not of individuals would violate Montana's compact.
"The U.S. would do well to keep its contractual promise to the states that the Second Amendment secures an individual right now as it did upon execution of the statehood contract," Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson said in a Feb. 15 letter to The Washington Times.
The resolution also was signed by Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana's lone Republican congressman, and state Sen. Roy Brown, who is running to unseat Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat.
The dispute goes back more than a century. Back in 1889, the settlers of the Montana territory struck a deal with the federal government: They agreed to join the union, and the government ...   more »

Montana claims 2nd Amendment questions already resolved
Montana officials are saying that the United States already has resolved any questions about the 2nd Amendment's application, defining that "any person" has the right to bears arms.
That's the issue at hand in a pending U.S. Supreme Court case originating in the District of Columbia, where authorities have banned handguns under the claim that such a limit is "reasonable" and therefore enforceable even given the rights granted by the 2nd Amendment.
U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., has asked President Bush to order the U.S. Justice Department to submit a brief to the high court supporting the rights of individuals under the 2nd Amendment. A similar request already has been submitted by officials for the Gun Owners of America, whose executive director, Larry Pratt, warned: 
"If the Supreme Court were to accept the Solicitor General's line of argument, D.C.'s categorical gun ban of virtually all self-defense firearms could well be found to be constitutional. ..."
He warned such a precedent to affirm any and all gun restrictions if they are considered by a judge to be "reasonable" would place those rights on the lowest rung of the constitutional ladder.
"In contrast to other ...   more »

By Jeffrey K. Radt
So this is what happens when the flock is left unguarded?
It hasn’t happened overnight, but slowly and surely this nation has succumbed to the perils of false religions gaining a foothold in mainstream society.
Due to their widespread acceptance, I’d venture to guess that many of us are oblivious to what’s been happening right under our noses.
I for one have had enough! This is especially true now that I’ve learned about some "well-meaning" types who have preyed on the emotions of a family member following the death of her husband.
If we Christians can’t stand for truth even if it runs the risk of public ridicule and humiliation then should we really call ourselves Christians?
So much for following the command to be "watchmen" or the "salt and light of the earth."Give the devil and inch and he’ll become your ruler.
There seems to be a growing trend these days involving unbiblical practices such as mysticism and eastern practices being introduced into local churches under the guise of Christian self-awareness and spiritual healing.
Worse is the fact that many so-called Christians are beginning to fall for these blasphemous and dangerous teachings with open arms ...   more »

My early zeal for studying the Scripture was dampened many years ago as I encountered what is often called "textual criticism." I was surprised to learn that it was naive and unlearned to regard the Book of Isaiah as actually written by the prophet Isaiah, as was commonly thought.
With its 66 chapters, Isaiah is the longest prophetic book of the Old Testament. Most scholars agree that the book falls naturally into two major sections, Chapters 1-39 and Chapters 40-66.
The first section has a distinctive style which changes noticeably in the final section. It is easy to remember since it parallels the Bible itself, with 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. (But don't make too much of this; the chapter divisions, as we know them, were added in the 13th century.)
The Deutero-Isaiah Theory
The "textual critics" have insisted that the Book of Isaiah is a compilation of two different writers, each calling himself Isaiah but writing at different times. This "Deutero-Isaiah" theory is surprisingly prevalent in many modern ("liberal") commentaries. (There are some that even advocate a three-Isaiah theory.)
The first section of the book deals with God's approaching judgment on the ...   more »

Take a moment and make a mental list of all the items in your home which require electricity. That list could include a television, cell phone, computer, microwave, stereo, laundry machine, hairdryer, as well as various kitchen appliances and probably at least a dozen light bulbs. Think about how much energy you use in a single day. Now with that in mind, consider the following: according to some estimates the average Chinese household uses the equivalent of just one 100-watt light bulb per person per year. That statistic is staggering, especially when you consider the potential demand. The energy needs of China's 1.3 billion citizens are growing at tremendous rate. China's economy is booming, and it is estimated that China will triple its energy consumption between now and 2020.
More and more people are moving to the cities and China's middle-class is growing fast. By the year 2020, the "consumer class" in China will have grown from less than 100 million people, to more than 700 million. As the middle-class grows, so will the amount of disposable income and the demand for consumer electronic goods. In fact, if current trends continue, China's per capita income could match that of the ...   more »

Japan's space agency says it has launched a high speed Internet satellite
Satellite will enable data transmission of 1.2 gigabytes per second
Launch carried off without hitch
(CNN) -- Japan launched a rocket Saturday carrying a satellite that will test new technology that promises to deliver "super high-speed Internet" service to homes and businesses around the world.
The rocket carrying the WINDS satellite -- a joint project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- lifted off its pad at 5:55 p.m. (0855 GMT).
If the technology proves successful, subscribers with small dishes will connect to the Internet at speeds many times faster than what is now available over residential cable or DSL services.
The Associated Press said the satellite would offer speeds of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second.
The service initially would focus on the Asia-Pacific region close to Japan, a JAXA news release said.
"Among other uses, this will make possible great advances in telemedicine, which will bring high-quality medical treatment to remote areas, and in distance education, connecting students and teachers separated by great distances," JAXA said.
The rocket was launched from Japan's Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center.
Original ...   more »

Senator helped fund organization that rejects 'racist' Israel's existence
By Aaron Klein
Sen. Barack Obama
JERUSALEM – The board of a nonprofit organization on which Sen. Barack Obama served as a paid director alongside a confessed domestic terrorist granted funding to a controversial Arab group that mourns the establishment of Israel as a "catastrophe" and supports intense immigration reform, including providing drivers licenses and education to illegal aliens.  
The co-founder of the Arab group in question, Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi, also has held a fundraiser for Obama. Khalidi is a harsh critic of Israel, has made statements supportive of Palestinian terror and reportedly has worked on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization while it was involved in anti-Western terrorism and was labeled by the State Department as a terror group. 
In 2001, the Woods Fund, a Chicago-based nonprofit that describes itself as a group helping the disadvantaged, provided a $40,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network, or AAAN, for which Khalidi's wife, Mona, serves as president. The Fund provided a second grant to the AAAN for $35,000 in 2002. 
Obama was a director of the Woods Fund board from 1999 to Dec. 11, 2002, according to the ...   more »