by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
The 15 Seder steps and what they symbolize.
KARPAS
Karpas is a vegetable (other than bitter herbs) such as celery, parsley, or boiled potato. It must be a vegetable on which we make the blessing, Borei Pri Ha'Adamah. Passover is the Spring festival where we celebrate the birth of our nation -- and these vegetables are a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation.
MARROR & CHAZERET
These are the bitter herbs which symbolize the lot of the Hebrew slaves whose lives were embittered by the hard labor. Many people use horseradish for Marror and Romaine lettuce for Chazeret.
CHAROSET
Charoset reminds us of the hard Jewish labor performed with bricks and mortar. Charoset is a pasty mixture of nuts, dates, apples, wine and cinnamon. The Talmud says this serves as an "antiseptic" to dilute the harsh effects of the Marror.
ZERO'AH
During the times of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Korbon Pesach (Pascal Lamb) was brought to the Temple on the eve of Passover. It was roasted, and was the last thing eaten at the Seder meal. To commemorate this offering, we place a roasted chicken bone with a little meat remaining.
In Temple times, every Jew ...   more »

Yaakov Katz
In the face of Iran's continued race towards nuclear power, the United States has agreed to let Israel connect to its worldwide radar system that can provide an early warning of any ballistic missile launched at Israel from around the world, defense officials said Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Israel successfully tested the Green Pine Radar - an integral part of the Arrow missile defense system - as it tracked a new missile made by Rafael - called Blue Sparrow - which mimics an upgraded version of Iran's Shihab 3 ballistic missile.
Defense officials said that the upgraded Blue Sparrow was fired by an IAF fighter jet off Israel's coast. The missile, which is a newer version of the Black Sparrow - used in previous Arrow missile tests - mimics an advanced Iranian Shihab 3 ballistic missile carrying a split warhead and with advanced radar evading capabilities.
Officials said that the Green Pine Radar located and identified the incoming missile and the Citron Tree battle management center related the information to the Arrow battery.
A missile was not fired in the exercise.
America's decision to allow Israel to connect to the worldwide radar system was reached following visits to Washington ...   more »

JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered the Palestinians 64 percent of the West Bank as part of a future peace agreement, London-based Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday.
According to the report, Olmert told PA President Mahmoud Abbas that the Palestinians could "forget about territory west of the security fence."
The prime minister also presented Abbas with several offers regarding Jerusalem. One of these would have Israel maintaining control over east Jerusalem and holy sites, but allowing Palestinians to enter those sites.
On Tuesday, Shas upped its threat to leave Olmert's government over the Jerusalem issue, with the party's no. 2 - Religious Services Minister Yitzhak Cohen - saying that even "creating an atmosphere" that could lead to Jerusalem's division was a red line for the party.
Original Source
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In what some worry could turn out to be 'Step 1 of Disengagement 2' - IDF forces have reportedly recently been confiscating hundreds of weapons and other military equipment from Jewish communities in Samaria.
While the army insists that it is only impounding military-issue guns, and that no personal weapons have been taken, some security personnel in the affected communities expressed concern that they will be left with little defense at the same time that the government has ordered the removal of dozens of roadblocks and blockades designed to restrict travel by Arab terrorists, reports Israel National News.
Something even more sinister could be behind the move.
Samaria is the larger, northern chunk of what anti-Israel forces call the "West Bank" but which is historically part of the biblical heartland of Israel.
It houses hundreds of thousands of Israel-hating Palestinian Arabs in five main population centers.
Along with the southern section, Judea, and the Gaza Strip, the land is slated by the international community - and against the wishes of most Jews and Israel-supporters - for the creation of a never-before-existing State of Palestine.
The Arabs who would be given this national home at Israel's expense are committed - according ...   more »

In recent weeks you might have noticed your grocery bill go up. If so, you're not alone. Food prices are soaring worldwide. Consumers in many western nations are just beginning to notice the change, however in many parts of the world the rising cost of food has already reached crisis levels.
According to the United Nations, global food prices rose 35 percent in the last year. Since the new year prices have continued to rise. This year corn prices have hit a 12-year high and the price of wheat has jumped almost 90 percent. Likewise, in just the past few weeks the cost of rice has gone from $580 a ton to $760 a ton. Rice is the staple food for more than three billion people around the world. Most of these live in poorer nations, and some already spend 50 to 70 percent of their incomes on food.
Experts are describing the problem as "the perfect storm." Its cause is said to be a combination of various factors: Growing populations means growing demand. Also, the growing middle class in places like China means growing demand for more varieties of food. For example, the demand for beef has increased in ...   more »

By: Newsmax Staff  
Witnesses told a Senate committee on Tuesday that the risk of a nuclear attack on U.S. cities has grown in the past five years due to the spread of nuclear technology and the growth of a global terrorist movement.
The Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs looked at the horrific consequences of a nuclear strike by terrorists, and experts said more could be done to save lives, the Washington Post reported.
"I definitely conclude the threat is greater and is increasing every year with the march of technology," said Cham E. Dallas, director of the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defense at the University of Georgia.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the panel’s chairman, said: "The scenarios we discuss today are so hard for us to contemplate and so emotionally traumatic that it is tempting to push them aside. However, now is the time to have this difficult conversation, to ask the tough questions, then to get answers."
Dallas gave the panel a report on the effects of a small nuclear device exploding near the White House. A 1-kiloton device that could fit into a suitcase could kill about 25,000 people, Dallas said. ...   more »

Chipping Fido is considered an act of love. Chipping Grandpa, however, has been described as "Orwellian," "creepy" and even “satanic."
Regardless, human "tagging" was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to make it easier to retrieve medical records. An estimated 2,000 people worldwide have volunteered to have tiny RFID (radio frequency identification) chips embedded just below the tricep, including 111 dementia patients and their caregivers at Alzheimer's Community Care in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Privacy advocates, who protested at the Florida care center, argued that Alzheimer’s patients can’t necessarily give informed consent. Implanting a chip, they say, is a violent, invasive act. Critics also worry about potential long-term effects on health, even though they’ve been used with pets for more than a decade.
But supporters say it's important to have instant and accurate access to medical records, especially for dementia patients. In addition to the estimated 4.5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s—a number that is expected to quadruple by 2050—the tags could be used for high-risk patients suffering from diabetes, cancer, heart disease and autism.
"The most important thing the chips have done is give our families peace of mind," said Mary Barnes, CEO of Alzheimer’s Community ...   more »

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
Instead of asking friends "How do you feel?" or doctors examining patients, one day such queries and examinations may be replaced by tiny radio antennas implanted under the skin to act as remote sensors of humans' emotional, physiological state. Scientists at the Hebrew University's applied physics department have discovered a method for remote sensing of people's physiological and emotional state.
Their initial results were published last week in the prestigious scientific journal The Physical Review Letters and have aroused much results in physicians and scientists. Their invention has been patented and commercialized by Yissum, HU's technology transfer company.
The researchers - Profs. Yuri Feldman and Aharon Agranat with Dr. Alexander Puzenko, Dr. Andreas Caduff and doctoral student Paul Ben-Ishai - believe the discovery theoretically could help help monitor medical patients from afar, evaluate athletic performance, diagnose disease and remotely sense stress levels - which could have significant implications for technology in the biomedical engineering, anti-terror and security technology fields.
The key is in the surprising shape of human sweat ducts. The researchers discovered that human skin is structured as an array of minute antennas that operate in the "sub-terahertz" frequency range.
This discovery is based on investigations of ...   more »

An organization fighting illegal immigration has launched a boycott of Absolut vodka after the Swedish company ran an ad showing large areas of the U.S. as part of Mexico.
A map in the ad depicts Mexico owning California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and other U.S. territory, with the slogan, “In an Absolut World,” and panders to the “separatist” movement among Mexicans, according to the National Illegal Immigration Boycott Coalition (NIIBC).
“There is a rapidly growing separatist movement in the United States that is being fueled by illegal immigration across our southern border with Mexico,” the group said in a statement.
“While many in the American media try to ignore or play down the threat, this radical movement is much stronger than most Americans know and global companies like Absolut are trying to cash in on it.
“Sentiments that the Southwest United States rightfully belong to Mexico are so prevalent in Mexico and among illegal aliens that the Absolut vodka company ran this ad on a billboard and in a Mexican magazine.”
The ad’s message to the Mexican audience is, “In an Absolut (i.e., Perfect) world, one-third of the U.S. is returned to Mexican control,” according to the NIIBC, which ...   more »

By: Jim Meyers
An F/A-18C Hornet aircraft launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). U.S. carriers will likely spearhead a massive aerial bombardment of Iranian military targets. 
Contrary to some claims that the Bush administration will allow diplomacy to handle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a leading member of America’s Jewish community tells Newsmax that a military strike is not only on the table – but likely.
“Israel is preparing for heavy casualties,” the source said, suggesting that although Israel will not take part in the strike, it is expecting to be the target of Iranian retribution.
“Look at Dick Cheney’s recent trip through the Middle East as preparation for the U.S. attack,” the source said.
Cheney’s hastily arranged 9-day visit to the region, which began on March 16, included stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Turkey, and the Palestinian territories.
Tensions in the region have been rising.
While Israel was conducting the largest homefront military exercises in its history last week, Israel’s National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer warned Tehran about expected attacks on the Jewish state.
“An Iranian attack will prompt a severe reaction from Israel, which will destroy the ...   more »

Committee forwards plan to criminalize spanking
A California mother of five has told members of a legislative committee their plan to criminalize spanking by concerned parents would mean that misbehavior and rebellion no longer could be corrected, and she could face arrest.
Sarah Berke appeared today before the Democrat-controlled Assembly Public Safety Committee, whose members listened to her, then advanced the plan to criminalize spanking with any "implement," such as a wooden spoon, little paddle, rolled-up newspaper, switch, belt or brush.
The proposal is a rerun of last year's attempt to do the same thing, criminalize parents who spank their children, by redefining it as child abuse.
"I'm here today as one of the thousands of parents in our state who love our children and believe in traditional values," she said. "As someone dead-set against the evil of child abuse, I also have a strong faith that calls on me to correct misbehavior and rebellion when it occurs."
She said that means, "spanking once in a while."
However, "my faith and moral beliefs that teach me to 'train up a child in the way he should go' would make me a suspected child abuser under AB 2943," she said. "Under ...   more »

Chuck Baldwin Chuck Baldwin
Every four years, conservative "pragmatists" trot out the "We Can't Let So-And-So Win" mantra. Of course, the so-and-so in question is always the Democratic Presidential candidate. For all of my adult life, I have been listening to so-called "conservative" Republicans warn us of the impending doom that would befall our country if the Democratic candidate were elected. And this year is no different.
This year's Republican primary did provide a wonderful aberration, however, to the usual choices between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Republicans had an opportunity to nominate a real American constitutionalist, a statesman in the similitude of Thomas Jefferson or James Madison. That man was Texas Congressman, Ron Paul. Unfortunately, the Republican faithful seem to be incapable of discerning the marks of true greatness, not to mention fidelity to constitutional government. It is doubtful that most of them even understand what constitutional government is. And as for Christian conservatives, they can barely see any issues beyond abortion and "gay rights." To try and convince them to support a constitutionalist candidate is like talking to a brick wall.
So, what choice does the Republican Party offer the American people this year? The worst of all possible choices: ...   more »

Dan Sabbagh
Mark Thompson, the Director General of the BBC, tonight warned broadcasters against becoming overly-cautious in their reporting on Islam for fear of causing offence to Muslims.
Speaking at Westminster Cathedral Mr Thompson, a practising Catholic, said there was “a growing nervousness about discussion about Islam and its relationship to the traditions and values of British and Western society as a whole”.
He said that the BBC and other major channels “have a special responsibility” to ensure that debates about “faith and society” and about any religion “should not be foreclosed or censored”.
In an effort to demonstrate that his remarks were not targeted solely at ensuring that Islam received journalistic scrutiny, Mr Thompson also referring to his decision to broadcast Jerry Springer, The Opera despite an avalanche of complaints from Christians unhappy at the depiction of Jesus in the satire.
“There is no point having a BBC which isn’t prepared to stand up and be counted; which will do everything it can to mitigate potential religious offence; but which will always be forthright in the defence of freedom of speech and of impartiality,” he said.
The lecture, Faith and the Media, also discussed how religious broadcasting at the ...   more »

by Mike Adams
(NaturalNews) There's a new plot underway to sterilize your food and destroy the nutritional value of fresh produce. The players in this plot are the usual suspects: The USDA (which backed the "raw" almond sterilization rules now in effect in California) and the American Chemical Society -- a pro-chemical group that represents the interests of industrial chemical manufacturers. The latest push comes from USDA researchers who conducted a study to see which method more effectively killed bacteria on leafy green vegetables like spinach.
To conduct the study, they bathed the spinach in a solution contaminated with bacteria. Then, they tried to remove the bacteria using three methods: Washing, chemical spraying and irradiation. Not surprisingly, only the irradiation killed nearly 100 percent of the bacterial colonies. That's because radiation sterilizes both the bacteria and the vegetable leaves, effectively killing the plant and destroying much of its nutritional value while it kills the bacteria.
The USDA claims this is a huge success. By using radiation on all fresh produce, they claim, the number of food-borne illness outbreaks that happen each year could be substantially reduced. It all makes sense until you realize that by destroying the nutritional value of ...   more »

My fundamentalist Mormon background taught me to "keep sweet," but my heart longed for something more.
Kathy as told to Jan Brown
I was one of 13 children raised by our father and three mothers in a polygamist community in Utah. We were fundamentalist Mormons who practiced the original teachings of Mormonism from its founder Joseph Smith. This teaching includes following the Principle, which states a man must practice polygamy—marrying at least three wives—to enter the Celestial Kingdom.
Even though I knew which woman was my biological mother, we were encouraged to treat all the wives the same. Outwardly, our family seemed content, but beneath the surface lay jealousy and pain. We never acknowledged these feelings because we were supposed to sacrifice our emotions. Even laughter was discouraged.
We were constantly told to "keep sweet" and that "perfect obedience produces perfect faith." Behind these sugary slogans lay the impossible duty of living in complete obedience to the Prophet.
Losing My Religion
In Fundamental Latter Day Saints (FLDS), the Prophet is the earthly leader and mediator between God and man. Women are on this earth to serve their husband and obey the Prophet. If a woman does this faithfully, her husband ...   more »