by Rabbi Noson Weisz
The mitzvah of counting the Omer holds the key to understanding the proper balance between thoughts and feelings.
One of the most confusing aspects of life, which impacts particularly on our attitude to our relationship with God and the way we relate to religion, is the establishment of the proper balance between thoughts and feelings. In the establishment of what we consider true reality, does what we feel or what we know play the dominant role, or is there some instinctive combination of knowledge and feeling that human beings were programmed to apply? The mitzvah of counting the Omer holds the key to understanding this aspect of life.
The difference between the spiritual quality of Passover and Shavuot is expressed by the difference between the Omer sacrifice, brought on Passover, consisting of barley, an animal food, and the sacrifice of the Two Loaves made on Shavuot consisting of wheat, a food people eat. The revelation of Passover was unearned; we weren't up to attaining the level of spiritual elevation to which God raised us. Such revelation is symbolized by animal food. Animals were not created to develop their potential and are not expected to do so; ...   more »

Palestinians bristle at terminology used by US president in support of Israel, say religious analogies hailing Israelis as 'chosen people' prove Washington bias. Meanwhile Bush's Knesset address causes furor among Democrats back home who view denunciation of appeasement as jibe against Obama
While it remains unclear if US President George W. Bush's visit will yield any political gains in the race to achieve an agreement of any sort between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it has certainly been an
eventful one; its echoes carried all the way back to the heated campaign trails leading to Washington.  
US Democrats were outraged at what they perceived to be an attempt to equate presidential hopeful Barack Obama's willingness to engage Iran with those who advocated appeasing the Nazis.  
"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," Bush said in his historic address before the Knesset on Thursday. He did not mention Obama by name or even seem to allude to any partisan divide on the hotly-debated isolation question.  
''We have heard this foolish delusion before," he continued, "as Nazi tanks crossed into Poland ...   more »

By Barak Ravid and Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
The United States and Israel agree on the need for "tangible action" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said Friday, after a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush.
"We are on the same page. We both see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.
Regev described diplomatic efforts so far to exert pressure on Iran as "positive", but added: "It is clearly not sufficient and it's clear that additional steps will have to be taken".
Asked about the option of using military force, Regev said: "Leaders of many countries have talked about many options being on the table and, of course, Israel agrees with that."
Senior officials in Jerusalem said Thursday that Israel is fully satisfied with the results of Bush's visit, including policy on Iran's nuclear program.
"In talks with the president of the United States during his visit it was made clear that Bush's statements on the subject of Iran's nuclear program are fully backed in practice," a senior ...   more »

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
 In a speech before the Knesset on Thursday afternoon, US President George W. Bush spoke of a deep US-Israel alliance, praised the Jewish people, and presented his vision of the future Middle East.
In their speeches to the plenum and to President Bush, opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud)
Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik focused on the Palestinian Authority Katyusha attack in Ashkelon on the day of the President's arrival here.
emphasized the Iranian threat and the Jewish people's rights to Jerusalem, while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert repeatedly praised Bush and his vision for Israel-PA negotiations. Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik focused on the Palestinian Authority Katyusha attack in Ashkelon on the day of the President's arrival here.
Itzik began her brief comments by addressing the rocket attack, which injured dozens of people in a shopping center:
"I very much wanted to open this celebratory, important and moving occasion with words of blessing, but since last night I cannot get the pictures of the destruction and devastation in the Ashkelon mall out of my mind. Since last night, I can't stop thinking about the young mother and her baby daughter going to the medical clinic and, in a split-second flash ...   more »

by Hana Levi Julian(IsraelNN.com) Jordanian University lecturer Ibrahim Alloush recommended on Al-Jazeera television this week that suicide bombers be equipped with small nuclear bombs.According to a transcript provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Dr. Alloush said, "Whoever managed to get a martyrdom-seeker into Dimona, should consider how to get martyrdom-seekers into Dimona and elsewhere armed with non-conventional explosives - and perhaps even small nuclear bombs," he stated. "We should think in this direction."
Alloush lived for 13 years in the United States, earning graduate degrees at Ohio University and Oklahoma State University, where he earned a doctorate in economics.
As the editor of the "Free Arab Voice", he was jailed by the Jordanian government in 2003 for incitement, after publishing an article saying there were American bases in Jordan "taking part in the aggression against Iraq."
Holocaust Denier, Al-Qaeda Supporter
Alloush also maintains that the Holocaust never took place. In 2005, Alloush said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television quoted by MEMRI, "The Holocaust is exploited to justify the Zionist policies and to justify the enemy state's right to exist. There is evidence and scientific research proving that the Holocaust is a lie."
The Jordanian professor also ...   more »

Palestinians bristle at terminology used by US president in support of Israel, say religious analogies hailing Israelis as 'chosen people' prove Washington bias. Meanwhile Bush's Knesset address causes furor among Democrats back home who view denunciation of appeasement as jibe against Obama
While it remains unclear if US President George W. Bush's visit will yield any political gains in the race to achieve an agreement of any sort between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it has certainly been an   
eventful one; its echoes carried all the way back to the heated campaign trails leading to Washington.  
US Democrats were outraged at what they perceived to be an attempt to equate presidential hopeful Barack Obama's willingness to engage Iran with those who advocated appeasing the Nazis.  
"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," Bush said in his historic address before the Knesset on Thursday. He did not mention Obama by name or even seem to allude to any partisan divide on the hotly-debated isolation question.  
''We have heard this foolish delusion before," he continued, "as Nazi tanks crossed into ...   more »

by Staff Writers
Commercial satellite imagery has revealed an extensive nuclear missile site in central China with nearly sixty launch pads for medium-range missiles capable of striking Russia or India, a researcher said Thursday.
The images from Google Earth show different types of launch pads, command and control facilities, and missile deployment equipment at a large facility in downtown Delingha, said Hans Kristensen, a researcher with the Federation of American Scientists.
"The US government often highlights China's deployment of new mobile missiles as a concern but keeps the details secret, so the discovery of the deployment area provides the first opportunity for the public to better understand how China operates its mobile ballistic missiles," he wrote.
The find comes only two weeks after the discovery of a secret Chinese nuclear submarine base on Hainan Island in South China Sea, also using commercial satellite imagery and published by Jane's Intelligence Review.
The latest images were posted along with Kristensen's analysis on the website of the Federation of American Scientists.
Kristensen said the imagery revealed missile launch sites along a 275-kilometer (170 miles) stretch of highway leading from the city of Delingha through Da Qaidam to Mahai in the northern part of ...   more »

'Undeterred by state, federal law, new constitutional right invented'
By Bob Unruh
Two members of the California Supreme Court, which earlier today ruled the state cannot prevent homosexuals from "marrying," have condemned the decision as "judicial fiat."
"A bare majority of this court, not satisfied with the pace of democratic change, now abruptly forestalls that process and substitutes, by judicial fiat, its own social policy views for those expressed by the People themselves," said the dissent written by Associate Justice Marvin R. Baxter and joined by Associate Justice Ming W. Chin.
"Undeterred by the strong weight of state and federal law and authority, the majority invents a new constitutional right," the opinion said.
The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Ron George, who was appointed to his office by former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, trashed society's traditional and biblical institution of marriage, opening up the option for same-sex duos to be "married" because retaining the historic definition "cannot properly be viewed as a compelling state interest."
L to R: Carlos R. Moreno, Joyce L. Kennard, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Ron M. George, Ming W. Chin, Marvin R. Baxter and Carol A. Corrigan of the California Supreme Court
The majority in the ...   more »

By ELISABETH LEAMY
The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets.
Unclaimed property consists of things like forgotten apartment security deposits, uncashed dividend checks and safe-deposit boxes abandoned when an elderly relative dies.
Banks and other businesses are required to turn that property over to the state for safekeeping. The problem is that the states return less than a quarter of unclaimed property to the rightful owners.
Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes
San Francisco resident Carla Ruff's safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked "owner unknown."
"I was appalled," Ruff said. "I felt violated."
Unknown? Carla's name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address -- a house about six blocks from the bank. Carla had a checking account at the bank, too -- still does -- and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who ...   more »

The United Nations blames dire situation on the decline of the U.S. housing and financial sectors.
Last Updated: May 16, 2008: 5:54 AM EDT
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn and is expected to grow only 1.8% in 2008, the United Nations said in its mid-year economic projections Thursday.
That's down from a global growth rate of 3.8% in 2007, and the downturn is expected to continue with only a slightly higher growth of 2.1% in 2009, the U.N. report said.
The mid-year update of the U.N. World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 blamed the downturn on further deterioration in the U.S. housing and financial sectors in the first quarter, which is expected to "continue to be a major drag for the world economy extending into 2009."
But the U.N. said developing countries will suffer as badly: They should grow by 5% this year and 4.8% next year, compared to a robust 7.3% in 2007, the report said.
The U.N. economists said the deepening credit crisis in major market economies triggered by the U.S.-led slump in housing prices, the declining value of the U.S. dollar, persistent global imbalances and soaring ...   more »

By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) - In Thursday's 4-3 decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the California Supreme Court stripped children of the right to be raised by a mother and a father.
Most of the media coverage of the California Supreme Court's decision has focused on the court's declaration that there is a right to same-sex marriage. The ruling invalidated California's Proposition 22, a state ballot initiative that passed with 61 percent of the vote in 2000, and which banned same-sex marriage in the state.
But the California Supreme Court decision goes beyond simply giving same-sex couples the right to call their unions a "marriage." It also strips children of the right not to be artificially conceived or adopted by people other than a mother and a father.
Indeed, the court does not recognize that children have any right whatsoever to a mother and a father.
In the decision, the California court sees children primarily through the eyes of same-sex couples who want to secure custody and control of children. The court makes emphatically clear that it deems this to be a right of same-sex couples that is equal to--and identical to--the right of married mothers and fathers to adopt or ...   more »

Yesterday's California Supreme Court decision striking down a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage reintroduces a hot-button social issue into the presidential campaign.
Republicans used same-sex marriage to great political effect in 2004, putting proposed bans on the ballot in Ohio and other states to get conservatives to the polls. But now it will have to compete for attention with the economy, the Iraq war, and other issues.
And impact of the gay marriage issue could be muted, not just because neither the Democratic front-runner, Barack Obama, nor the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, support gay marriage, but because McCain's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage - on federalist grounds - makes it more difficult for the right to get a lot of traction out of it.
Obama's campaign said in a statement yesterday, "Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as president. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage."

McCain's campaign said he "supports the right of the people of ...   more »