The Nation of Israel is preparing to celebrate its 60th birthday. Despite its position as the world's only Jewish state, surrounded by hostile Arab states, Israel has survived and prospered for six decades.
On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion met in the Tel Aviv Museum with Jewish representatives from across Israel and declared Israel's independence. Within 24 hours, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon attacked. Ever since, Israel has been in constant state of self defense. Like Nehemiah's workers at the wall, Israel's nation builders have had to shovel mortar with one hand and grip a spear with the other.
During its first 15 months of life, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fought off invaders and over 6000 Israelis were killed. Despite the attacks, some 50,000 Jews - mostly Holocaust survivors – had poured into Israel by the end of the summer of 1948. Nearly 700,000 would arrive by the end of 1951 - 300,000 of those from Arab lands.
In January, 1949, Israel held national elections in which nearly 85 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. The first 120-seat Knesset went into session shortly thereafter.
On 11 May 1949, Israel became the 59th member ...   more »

Putin defends Russia's military parade  
Russia's use of heavy weapons at this week's World War II commemoration parades is not intended as a threat to any nation, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
"For the first time in many years heavy military equipment will be used. This is not sabre-rattling. We are not threatening anyone and don't plan to," Putin said ahead of the traditional Victory Day parade on Friday.
"This is a demonstration of our growing defence capability.... We are capable of defending our people, citizens, our state, our wealth, which is not small," he said.
Putin was speaking at his last cabinet meeting before stepping down as president on Wednesday and sat with president-elect Dmitry Medvedev at his right hand.
The two are due to swap places as Medvedev is to appoint his mentor Putin to the prime minister's post on Thursday.
This year the annual Victory parade is to feature heavy weapons including the Topol strategic rocket launcher, for which Red Square outside the Kremlin has been specially reinforced.
The parade comes amid heightened tension with Russia's pro-Western neighbour Georgia.
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By Yoram Gabison  
Tags: Starbucks, Israel, Strauss  
Texas Pacific Group (TPG), a private equity firm, is buying 25% of Strauss' coffee subsidiary for $288 million. The deal values Strauss' global coffee enterprise at $1 billion.
The announcement of the initial, but binding, agreement was made yesterday by Ofra Strauss, the chairperson of the Strauss Group, and CEO Erez Vigodman. TPG was also granted a two-year option to acquire a further 10% of the coffee company's shares at the same company value of the present transaction, plus 6% interest per year.
Strauss owns the coffee firm through a wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary, and therefore is expected to have only a small tax obligation on its about $85 million capital gain on the sale. UBS was Strauss' investment banking advisor on the deal. 
Strauss chose Texas Pacific as a financial partner after a process that included three other competitors. In the end it was TPG against Blackstone, the world's largest private equity firm. TPG is number four, with over $50 billion of assets under management.
Ofra Strauss said: "We chose to introduce a financial investor with leading global competencies to our coffee company, who, together with us, will accelerate the realization of our ...   more »

by Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) The Sunday Times of London reports that Israel's intelligence information on Iran's nuclear capabilities appears to belie the official United States stance on the issue.  The US National Intelligence Estimate of last December concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003.  However, the Times reports, Israel has made a breakthrough in intelligence-gathering within Iran, and now fears that Iran has in fact made significant advances towards attaining nuclear power.
A source quoted by the Times said the new information was "on a par with intelligence that led Israel to discover and then destroy a partly constructed nuclear reactor in Syria last September."
The head of Britain's MI6 intelligence agency, Sir John Scarlett, is scheduled to visit Israel later this month, and will be briefed by Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan.  Iran’s nuclear program is expected to be high on their agenda in an intelligence-sharing process described by Israeli officials as a “strategic dialogue;" both Israel and Britain have extensive spy networks in the Middle East.
Israeli officials have briefed US and British officials on their findings, and Israel expects the US to revise its analysis of Iran’s program in the near future.  ...   more »

If the Jewish state can't survive the onslaught of militant Islam, neither can the rest of the civilized world
Lorne Gunter, National Post 
Amir Cohen, ReutersAn Israeli explosives expert examines the remains of a rocket fired into Sderot.
Israel is Western civilization's canary in the coal mine. If Israel cannot survive, perhaps Western civilization -- pluralistic, democratic, individualistic, secular, free-trading and devoted to the rule of law -- will be unable to last, either.
On the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary, those of us who cherish our own fundamental freedoms had better hope the Jewish state makes it through its second 60 years; or else our own right to think, say or worship as we please (unless, of course, we come under the scrutiny of a so-called human rights commission) is in jeopardy.
To many Canadians, that may seem a farfetched warning.
What has Israel's survival got to do with us? Israel is far away. It has different enemies than we do. Even among Islamic extremists, they are battling Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO and Islamic Jihad, while the West is confronting the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Besides, if we're nice and accommodating of diversity, the terrorists will respect our attempts to ...   more »

Last time Jews were attacked hours after lifting barriers
By Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – In meetings here today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israeli officials to remove more antiterror roadblocks from the West Bank.
Upon Rice's previous visit to the region last month, she reportedly urged the removal of specific West Bank roadblocks. Within hours of the elimination of one of the barriers, a knife-wielding Palestinian attempted to attack two Jews near the area from which the roadblock had been removed. Israeli lawmakers then charged Rice's demands were responsible for that attempted attack.
"Let's get to work," Rice was quoted as saying as she sat down with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to discuss the issue.
When she was here in March, Rice asked Israel to remove 61 barriers and roadblocks, but a U.N. survey released last week stated only 44 had actually been taken away.
"The first thing we are going to do is to review the ones that were supposedly moved," Rice said in a briefing with reporters.
"Not all roadblocks are created equal," Rice said.
Israeli defense officials strongly opposed roadblock removals, saying the obstacles impede the mobility of terrorists. Palestinians complain checkpoints and roadblocks make ...   more »

By Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The U.S. Geological Survey said a 2.7 magnitude quake rumbled this morning. But this time, its epicenter was near Valley Park.
The quake came at 6:25 a.m., centered two miles southeast of Valley Park, according to Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center based in Colorado. Its epicenter was somewhere between Valley Park and the Sappington area.
Sigala said this morning's quake was not connected to the 5.2 magnitude quake that struck at 4:37 a.m. on April 18 in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, some 130 miles east of St. Louis.
When this morning's quake hit, an officer with St. Louis County police in the Affton precinct said he felt the ground shaking for perhaps five seconds and the roof moving, "like someone was moving something around." Police had no reports of damage or injuries.
Timothy M. Kusky, director of the Center for Environmental Sciences at St. Louis University, said today's quake in St. Louis came from "some small faults outside the Wabash and New Madrid zones. They're active every once in awhile." Kusky said he's still studying the readouts from this morning's quake to pinpoint the exact ...   more »

Religious leader responds with challenge to debate, again
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Author and evolutionist Richard Dawkins has compared Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a leading voice for the belief system that relies on an intelligent designer and competes with faith in evolution, to Hitler, prompting the rabbi to challenge Dawkins to another debate.
"Since we were once friends, and since we both have a responsibility to act justly and humanely, I propose a follow-up to our debate, either here in the United States or in the UK, to focus on your recent book on atheism and whether G-d is necessary for morality," said Boteach, host of the daily "The Rabbi Shmuley Show" on XM Satellite Radio and author of 19 books.
His suggestion came in an open letter to Dawkins, a prolific proponent of evolution and author of the 2006 book, "The God Delusion."
"Since, in your letter, you mention my 'lamentable but vocally confident ignorance of Darwinian evolution,' no doubt you will make mincemeat of me and even the score. I would appreciate if you would propose dates that are suitable," Boteach wrote.
The letter came in response to Dawkins' own posting about a conference in Canada at which both speakers ...   more »

Rally planned for farmer whose dairy swept by government
By Bob Unruh
A rally has been set for tomorrow in front of the magistrate's office in Mt. Holly, Pa., in support of a Mennonite farmer who has brought the wrath of the government on himself for selling raw milk and other products – an act government prosecutors say violates a number of regulations.
That's when the next court hearing is scheduled for Mark Nolt, a Pennsylvania farmer who turned in his state permit to sell raw milk because it didn't allow for the sale of the other products he offered.
"They swooped in ... like a bunch of Vikings, handcuffed me and stole $30,000 worth of my milk, cheese and butter," he told the New York Daily News.
His case is just an example of what the government is trying to do to those who believe – based on medical results – that raw milk is better for them than the processed milk available in most grocery stores, according to Nolt's supporters.
Processed milk, many believe, leads to clogged arteries, strokes and heart attacks.
According to reports published by the Weston A. Price Foundation, results of a study by the ...   more »

Gene-sequencing technology is taking off, but George Church at Harvard University is taking it to the next level: he wants to sequence the genomes of 100,000 people. Right now, about 12 human genomes have been sequenced and Church's ambitious plan is likely to cost cost around $1 billion to complete. Recently Google — who in February announced its Google Health software for storing electronic medical records — agreed to foot a major part of the bill. Google gives us free email, chat, search, a shopping client, and so on and all they've ever asked is that we let them look at all over our most private information. Seems like a fair trade, but does that extend to our DNA?
Church has good reasons for wanting piles of genomic data. As a Bloomberg article on the project says:
By matching genetic data from each person with his or her health history, Church would build a database that would link DNA variations and disease for scientists and drugmakers, the first step in deciding on treatments that can block the mutations or adjust how they work within the body.
Church also said he'll explore other human traits under genetic control. Participants will give ...   more »

The classic definition of socialism is: government control of the sources of production. A bill now before Congress, H.R. 2421, will give the federal government absolute control over all sources of production. This bill, if enacted, will instantly convert the United States into a socialist nation.
The debate, however, is not about the merits of socialism over capitalism and free markets; the debate is about water. The bill will give to the federal government control over all water in the United States, and control over all "… activities affecting these waters."
Water is essential in the production of virtually everything. If the government controls water, and all "activities affecting these waters," then the government controls the sources of production.
There is absolutely no need for the government to take this draconian step. Water is already regulated far beyond necessity. The control and regulation of water has stripped property rights from people in every state – often for no definable public benefit. This bill will destroy the last vestige of the idea of private property rights.
For more than a generation, the liberal philosophy that government should "manage" society has prevailed in the education system and in practice. The 1973 Endangered ...   more »

By DAVID OVALLE
Miami gang leader Manuel ''Insane'' Balbin believed a young member swiped his PlayStation 2. He spared the teen's life, prosecutors say, but not before he:
• Jolted the teen's right testicle with a Taser stun gun.
• Carved gang initials into the teen's back, then used Axe deodorant spray and a lighter to torch his leg.
• Shot the teen, then 17, three times with a stolen pink-painted rifle, dressed him in a tube top and forced him to steal beer from a convenience store.
The strange torture case took another twist. Last month, agents said an inmate admitted he wrote threatening letters for Balbin -- in exchange for a bag of chips.
Balbin on Friday will decide before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Lopez whether to accept a plea deal or go to trial, likely next month.
The reputed leader of Little Havana's Satan Disciples, he is charged with the 2005 attempted murder and kidnapping. Balbin's attorney, Jason Grey, calls the allegations absurd, floated by the victim, a liar who has claimed membership in two gangs.
''His word is worth nothing. What's the word of an admitted gang member worth? Nothing,'' Grey said.
Balbin, his attorney said, ...   more »

by Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks
The Jewish connection with Israel goes back 4,000 years to the first recorded syllables of Jewish time.
My great-grandfather Rabbi Arye Leib Frumkin, went to Israel in 1871; his father had settled there twenty years earlier. His first act was to begin writing his History of the Sages in Jerusalem, chronicling the Jewish presence there since Nachmanides arrived in 1265.
In 1881 pogroms broke out in more than a hundred towns in Russia. That was when he realized that aliyah was no longer a pilgrimage of the few but an urgent necessity for the many. He became a pioneer, moving to one of the first agricultural settlements in the new yishuv. The early settlers had caught malaria and left. Rabbi Frumkin led the return and built the first house there. The name they gave the town epitomizes their dreams. Using a phrase from the book of Hosea, they called it Petach Tikva, 'the Gateway of Hope'. Today it is the sixth largest city in Israel.
The Jewish connection with Israel did not begin with Zionism, a word coined in the 1890s. It goes back 4,000 years to the first recorded syllables of Jewish time, ...   more »

By Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondent   
A man in his 70s picks up one whole chicken, a package of rice, a loaf of bread and fruit and approaches the check-out counter at Super Dahan's grocery store in Sderot. He produces a NIS 100 voucher he received from storeowner Daniel Dahan.
The cashier rings up a total of NIS 240, and the man must return some of the products to the shelves.
The cashier at the next counter catches an elderly customer stealing basic products.   
"People are leaving Sderot every day. Those who stay in town are the lowest income earners and now with the rise in food prices they have to steal," says Dahan. He has a drawer full of vouchers he hands out to needy people. "They should come to me and ask before reaching this situation," he says.
Dozens of stores have shut down in Sderot in recent months, leaving an empty space in the town's center. Suppliers are fulfilling fewer orders at local grocery stores, fearing they will not be paid.
Those who have not closed down are hardly making a living. "On days when there's a rocket alert, people stay at home, work goes down ...   more »

By Yossi Verter   
When a supporter of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Saturday "That's it, it's over," it was not clear whether he was asking a question or stating a fact. This was a statement repeated in different words over and over during the weekend - by ministers, MKs and political allies. Like everyone else, they were all in the dark, driven by rumors, hints, innuendos, flying through the cellular telephony at tremendous speeds.
Even the more experienced among them, the veterans of past affairs and the two Winograd Committee reports, are sounding defeated. They did not know how to defend themselves against this enormous tidal wave. On the one hand, the law enforcement and the prosecution were leaking that it was a most serious affair that would bring an end to Olmert's tenure as PM; on the other hand, the court is preventing the man under investigation to talk and present his version of the story.
Those on the right who wish for Olmert's fall also found it difficult to come to terms with this upsetting decision. Would an American court prevent president Clinton from responding to the allegations against him in the Lewinsky case? Or president Nixon ...   more »

By Haaretz Service  
William Fraser  
The American bodyguards of a Bush administration envoy who was dispatched to the region to monitor the implementation of the road map engaged in a violent confrontation with right-wing Israelis who sought to disturb a visit to Hebron on Friday, Israel Radio reported.
One of the rightists is reported to have driven his jeep into the convoy accompanying General William Fraser. Subsequently, one of the vehicles in the convoy heavily collided with the jeep, according to Israel Radio.
A fracas ensued between the guards and the rightists before the Americans decided to cut the visit short, Israel Radio reported.  
Original Source
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Transportat Ministry to establish committee on readjusting traffic in capital. Amongst recommendations: Turning site into pedestrian street. 'The movement of vehicles in the Old City disturbs tourists,' says Tourism Ministry director-general
Ynet
The Tourism Ministry on Monday announced a plan to establish a combined committee that will work towards modifying the traffic infrastructure in the Old City of Jerusalem to one that is acceptable in major tourist cities around the world, as part of the efforts being made to improve the tourism there.
The committee will be run by the Transport Ministry, and will consist of members from the Tourism and Finance Ministries and from the Jerusalem Municipality.     
The committee will discuss the option of turning the site into a pedestrian street. Other options include paving safe inlets on which tourists can walk, expanding existing traffic lanes and paving additional lanes to the Old City.  
Transport Ministry Director-General Shaul Zemach noted in a press release that the street and parking systems in the Old City are not prepared to comply with the growing demand, stating that "the movement of private vehicles and public transportation within the Old City cause a great disturbance to tourists and to visitors of ...   more »

6-3 opinion on photo-ID law opens door for more privacy intrusions
Monday's Supreme Court decision upholding a harshly restrictive photo-ID requirement for voting deals a severe blow to people who value privacy and individuality. That's all of us, by the way.
But it's future generations that will really pay the price, because they may grow up in a country whose governments and corporations will routinely track their movements, activities, likes, dislikes, opinions, resentments — just about everything they say or do.
Monday's 6-3 court decision upholds a misbegotten Indiana law requiring voters to present photo IDs.
But it opens the door wider for more sophisticated uses of photo IDs, such as facial biometrics for tracking your movements and buying habits. That's all in the near future, in part thanks to RFID tags (which I wrote about earlier in an item about Vegas casinos).
My take is that once photo IDs are going to required for voting (and many states will now try to pass laws modeled after Indiana's), the government and corporations will have all sorts of tools to play with. The court decision blesses such attempts because Indiana's law was particularly intrusive.
So go to the Electronic Privacy Information ...   more »

By Brendan O'Neill 
In the 1950s and 1960s, bunkers were a feature of many American suburban homes, populated by families fearful of the prospect of nuclear war. That threat has subsided, but now many reasonable people are stocking up on essential supplies in preparation for a new cataclysm.
When you hear the word "survivalist", what image comes to mind?
Perhaps you think of a gun-toting loner in Mid-West America, who lives in a shack surrounded by tinned food and emergency water supplies.
Or maybe you think of end-of-the-world religionists retreating to a fortified camp with enough food and drink to last them until Judgement Day.
But today there is a new breed of survivalist – and they're well-heeled, well-educated and more likely to wear an immaculately pressed suit than a camouflage flak jacket.
Civilisation breakdown
Barton M Biggs is about as far as you can get from the old John Rambo-style survivalist. Forget long, unkempt hair and a sweat-stained vest. Mr Biggs is a former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley, who now runs the hedge fund Traxis Partners in New York.
Yet in his latest book, Wealth, War and Wisdom, he suggests that all right-minded people should "assume the ...   more »