Quake felt by residents from Nahariya in west to Metula, Kiryat Shmona in east; no injuries or damage reported
Jonathan Weber
A low-magnitude earthquake was felt across northern Israel on Friday evening. Reports of the quake were received from residents in the northern cities of Nahariya, Ma'alot, Kiryat Shmona, Metula and even from Netanya in central Israel.
There were no reports of injuries or damage. 
'Police unprepared for mass disaster' / Zvi Lavi 
The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) reported that the quake measured 3.3 on the Richter Scale and that its epicenter was located in southern Lebanon.
GII Director Rami Hofstetter told Ynet that "several low-magnitude quakes have occurred in the Lebanon area recently, and the current quake appears to be part of that series of quakes."
Avi Rahamim of Kiryat Shmona told Ynet, "We were at home during the quake. It lasted several seconds. The perfumes on my wife's cabinet rattled and the house sort of danced. I was lying on the couch and felt it moving forward."
Another Kiryat Shmona resident, Levi Eshkol, said that "the quake lasted a few seconds and we only felt slight movements. It wasn’t scary. Compared to the previous quake it was ...   more »

jpost.com staff and gil hoffman , THE JERUSALEM
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed his surprise and displeasure at Syria's "violation of its commitment to Iran" by holding talks with Israel, the London-based pan-Arabic daily Asharq alawsat reported Friday.
According to the newspaper, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem updated Ahmadinejad during a visit to Teheran some weeks ago on the status of his nation's secret diplomatic contacts with Israel.
The report also said that Iran's Supreme National Security Council would examine a message from Syria about the talks with Israel in order to decide on an "appropriate response."
Meanwhile, the editor of one of Iran's reformist newspapers said that the council had instructed Iranian media outlets, including Internet sites, to "ignore" the topic of the Syria-Israel talks.
Earlier Friday, Army Radio reported that Turkish-mediated diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Syria would resume in some two weeks' time.
A Turkish official told the radio station that Israel was already interested in holding direct negotiations with Damascus, but that the Syrians were hesitant. The official said he believed that a three-way meeting could take place in the upcoming rounds of talks.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i said in response to the report ...   more »

A large stalactite cave filled with prehistoric artifacts was discovered during work on a sewage line in Israel's Western Galilee region this week.
Construction crews immediately called in the Israel Antiquities Authority after unintentionally penetrating the previously undiscovered cave.
Archeologists said the cave is the richest prehistoric find in Israel in over 50 years, and contains numerous flint tools and the remains of animals that are now extinct in the region.
Over the coming months and years, researchers will carefully examine the cave and the artifacts found there to gain a better understanding life, climate and the animal population in the Land of Israel during the prehistoric periods.
Original Source   more »

By Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst
WASH— Oil prices are bashing through never before seen levels each day. Food prices consequently are rising at alarming rates. Utility bills are also on a record pace. The amount of disposable income each American has is dwindling faster than ever. It is time for American leadership to take action for the sake of the welfare of the people and for national security. But what does this group of leaders do? President Bush goes to the Middle East and begs Saudi Arabia and others to raise oil production. The Congress votes to sue OPEC for price fixing. While Americans are suffering, immoral and inept elected officials are scurrying about with less than effective solutions to an energy issue that threatens the nation.
President Bush rightly articulated the solution by saying that the nation needed to drill for domestic oil, increase refining capacity and find alternative energy resources. An inept and irresponsible Congress has blocked both domestic oil exploration and the building of new refineries, and is so caught up in the so-called "green revolution" that the country, and its people, are being drained of economic freedom with every tick of the second hand. Congress ...   more »

The London Daily Telegraph reports: “Record number of patients are dying in hospitals and nursing homes after contracting superbugs, new figures show.
MRSA and Clostridium difficile were linked to more than 8,000 deaths in England and Wales in 2006, up from 5,300 the previous year.
The first ever breakdown of deaths from both infections by location released by the Office for National Statistics shows that the vast majority of patients died from the bugs in hospital.
The deadly infections also killed small numbers of patients in nursing homes and hospices.
In total there were 6,424 deaths from C difficile in all three locations in 2006, almost double the 3,719 deaths caused by the infection in 2005.
MRSA was responsible for 1,625 deaths, up from 1,621 the previous year…
More than 1,100 hospitals, hospices and nursing homes had at least one death from C difficile in the last five years and more than 900 had at least one death from MRSA.
The Office for National Statistics cautioned that many of the hospitals who recorded large numbers of deaths from both infections were also more likely to have high patient numbers generally. The data, collected from death certificates, also shows only where ...   more »

 The American people were led to believe that America's fine men and women in uniform were sent halfway around the world to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight a "war on terror." Of course, everyone now knows that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks on September 11, 2001. I am sure that most everyone also remembers that the vast majority of the terrorists who participated in those attacks were from Saudi Arabia, not Iraq. Yet, Saudi leaders continue to enjoy the coziest of relationships--and, dare I say, friendships--with President George W. Bush. 
Does anyone besides me remember when Bush said that countries had to decide whether they would be friends with either terrorists or the United States, but that they could not be friends with both? Well, Saudi Arabia has probably financed, supported, and befriended more terrorists in the Middle East than any other nation in the world (except perhaps Red China), yet they continue to be "friends" with the United States. 
Another glaring inconsistency regarding the "war on terror" is the fact that for some seven years since the 9/11 attacks, our nation's borders and ports are as open and porous as ever. These open borders ...   more »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force operates the "world's largest airline" and every $10-per-barrel increase in crude oil boosts its annual operating costs by $610 million, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said on Thursday.
The Air Force's bill for aviation fuel was about $6 billion in fiscal 2007, Wynne told a defense industry group. He declined to predict what the total would be for 2008.
U.S. crude oil futures soared to a record above $135 a barrel on Wednesday, more than double the price of one year ago.
"We are very concerned about the instability in oil prices because it wreaks havoc on how we manage our flying-hour program across the Air Force, just as it is wreaking havoc on the pricing statistics for an airline," Wynne said.
The jump in fuel prices has hammered the U.S. commercial airline industry, forcing seven small carriers to file for bankruptcy or to close their doors in the past five months.
The Air Force spent just over $6 billion on fuel costs in fiscal 2006, more than double its costs in fiscal 2001, before the start of the war in Afghanistan.
The Air Force, which has 19,000 pilots operating 5,700 aircraft and ...   more »

By GEIR MOULSON,
The German parliament's upper house approved the European Union's new treaty on Friday — the document's last legislative hurdle in the 27-nation bloc's most populous country.
The document, known as the Lisbon Treaty, easily won the necessary two-thirds majority in the upper house, which represents the country's 16 state governments. All but one state voted in favor, giving the treaty 65 out of a possible 69 votes.
Germany becomes the 14th country to approve the treaty in parliament. Only President Horst Koehler's signature — usually a formality — is required to complete ratification.
The lower house overwhelmingly backed the treaty last month. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said it creates "no less than a new foundation for Europe."
The treaty would alter the EU's decision-making process, envisioning more decisions by majority vote rather than unanimous endorsement. It would also provide for an EU president and a more powerful senior foreign policy official to give the bloc a stronger voice in global affairs.
The treaty replaces a more ambitious draft constitution that EU leaders drew up to govern a bloc whose membership has expanded from 15 to 27 nations in recent years. That charter was rejected by French and ...   more »

ETGAR LEFKOVIT-
Despite years of economic sanctions, Iran is winning the race to acquire nuclear weapons, posing an unprecedented threat to the future of the West, Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor said Thursday.
"If we want to avoid the juncture of Iran with a bomb or bombing Iran than the world must act decisively in a much more serious way," Meridor told a group of Christian parliamentarians from around the world at a Capitol Hill conference organized by the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus.
Meridor said it was imperative for the West to unite against the nuclear intentions of the Islamic Republic, which he called the single greatest threat facing the world today, and stop looking for commercial gains at the expense of future stability in the world.
His comments come just weeks after Switzerland announced a huge gas deal with the Islamic Republic which has been criticized by both the US and Israel.
"So far, in the race between the world and Iran, Iran seems to be ahead and continues with its efforts to attain nuclear weapons," he said, adding that it was "criminal" not to learn the lessons of history, recalling that the lead-up to the Holocaust did ...   more »

HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
Leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told The Jerusalem Post that he would fully back Israel's peace talks with Syria and criticized efforts to block such engagement.
"I am encouraged that Israel and Syria have renewed peace talks and fully support Israel's efforts to advance peace with all its neighbors," he said in statement e-mailed to the Post. "I have consistently said that the United States must stand ready to help Israel achieve peace with its neighbors and should not block Israel from the negotiating table, nor force it to negotiate."
His statements emphatically welcoming Wednesday's surprise announcement of Israeli-Syrian talks contrasted with the reception offered by Bush administration officials, who provided a tepid response and noted the US was not involved in the ongoing indirect contacts, which are being brokered by Turkey.
The campaign of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain offered a reaction more in line with that of the current White House occupants, though emphasizing Israel's independence as Obama did.
"Senator McCain's view is that the sovereign government of Israel should be free to make its own decisions on how best to defend Israel and whether to engage in negotiations," said Randy Scheunemann, the campaign's ...   more »

China and Russia on Friday condemned the United States' plans to set up a missile defense system, which Washington says is crucial to protecting the security of it and its allies.
"Both sides believe that creating a global missile defense system, including deploying such systems in certain regions of the world, or plans for such cooperation, do not help support strategic balance and stability, and harm international efforts to control arms and the non-proliferation process," Russia and China said in a joint statement.
"It harms the strengthening of trust between states and regional stability. In this respect (the two sides) express their concern," it said.
The statement was signed in Beijing by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is on a trip to China.
Washington's plans to deploy parts of its missile shield in eastern Europe to counter possible rocket launches by "rogue" states like Iran have unnerved Moscow which sees the project as a threat to Russia's security.
Original Source
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State Department official is credited with saving thousands from Nazis
By Michael Jay Friedman
Washington – Hiram Bingham IV, a U.S. diplomat whose unselfish actions in saving Jews from the Nazi Holocaust cost him his diplomatic career, was honored by the U.S. Postal Service in a commemorative stamp unveiled May 24.
Bingham’s actions and bravery linked the lives of such disparate talents as painter Marc Chagall, political theorist Hannah Arendt, novelist and playwright Lion Feuchtwanger and the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Otto Meyerhof with each other and with those of nearly 2,000 other individuals.
That link became clear in 1994 when Bingham’s son discovered a cache of documents, bound together with bailing wire and tape, in the back of a closet in his parents' Salem, Connecticut, home, six years after Hiram Bingham’s death. That find revealed to his 11 children how he had secretly, and against official policy, processed thousands of visas that enabled refugees from Hitler's Nazi regime to start new lives in America.
In June 2002, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell presented Bingham's children with a "Courageous Diplomat" award and praised Bingham's "constructive dissent."
Members of Congress, Bingham's children and grandchildren, and the children and grandchildren of men ...   more »