By JOSEF FEDERMAN,
Israel should cut off outlying Arab neighborhoods from Jerusalem, Israel's vice premier proposed Thursday, the day after a Palestinian construction worker from one of these districts went on a deadly rampage in the city's center.
Vice Premier Haim Ramon proposed changing the route of Israel's separation barrier to exclude the Arab districts, saying it would improve security. The barrier already rings much of the city.
In Wednesday's attack, the assailant, Hussam Dwayat, 30, drove a massive construction vehicle in a bloody rampage — ramming buses, crushing cars and targeting pedestrians. Three people were killed before Israeli security personnel shot and killed him.
Police said they believe Dwayat acted alone and was not connected to any Palestinian militant group.
No possible motive was provided though city officials confirmed that an order to demolish Dwayat's home was issued in 2005 on grounds that it was built illegally.
Dwayat won a stay in court, but was ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Many Palestinians in Jerusalem build illegally, saying it's very difficult for them to obtain permits from the Israeli authorities.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack saying Thursday, "We want peaceful solutions through negotiations."...   more »

Terrorist’s entire extended family should be punished harshly to deter more attacks
Hanoch Daum
When it comes to some issues, decisions must be taken precisely when we are infuriated and while blood is flowing through the streets. One such decision has to do with the price that a terrorist’s family must pay.
We must not wait. We must not let time pass. We must not find ourselves facing moral and legal confusion and showing mercy to the cruel. Every moment that passes where the terrorist’s home is still intact is a dangerous moment; a moment of moral nadir for the State of Israel, which is a captive to its own laws.
Worrying Patterns 
Every moment that passes where the residency rights of relatives of the despicable murderer are not revoked is a lost and frustrating moment, a moment of confusion and blatant injustice.
The blood of the victims is screaming out at us; the blood of the innocent is calling on all of us to wake up; to make the Arabs of east Jerusalem realize that terrorism comes with a price. A painful price. A price paid by the terrorist’s family, his relatives, brothers, and brothers-in-law.
Had we not hesitated ...   more »

Meeting consensus: Obama has sold out to 'gay' marriage, abortion
Sen. John McCain
Dozens of Christian leaders meeting in Denver have concluded they should "get behind Sen. John McCain even if they didn't like everything about him" because the alternative, presumptive Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, actually could oversee the criminalization of Christianity, according to a report.
The results of the meeting have been reported by Steve Strang of Strang Communications. He reported in his Charisma News Bulletin the 70 leaders assembled at the request of Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel and dean of the law school at Liberty University.
"The alternative is so bad we must support John McCain," Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum, told the group, according to the bulletin.
"Our shared conservative evangelical values and our concern about judicial activism compelled us to unite around the presidential candidate who most closely aligns with us," Staver said. "That candidate is obviously Sen. John McCain. United we will move forward to advance our values in the short- and long-term. We are committed to a transgenerational, multiethnic and multiracial conservative movement."
The report said some of the Christian leaders were irked by the fact "Obama has ...   more »

'At first I thought it was just this random thing'
Bloggers who have been critical of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois, are expressing concerns they are facing an organized effort to shut down their message, possibly with help from Google's Blogspot.com.
The ComeALongWay blog author reported the pro-Hillary site was deactivated by moderators at Google recently, only to be reactivated a short time later.
"I am not sure what to make of it, but I suspect that Blogger saw or heard about all the negative Internet chatter and negative press …specifically mentioning this blog and responded," the blogger wrote.
But the writer confirmed, "Without any notice, apology, or explanation, my posting privileges ha[ve] been reinstated. Blogger's 'guilty until proven innocent' approach is appalling. As bloggers, it is a good thing we still have choices, and I have exercised my choice to leave Blogger and establish a new home at Wordpress. (I have been advised that Wordpress investigates charges before taking action.)
"Update: Hours after my posting privileges were restored, I receive an e-mail from Blogger. Interestingly, BlueLyon (another site with Obama criticism) received the same e-mail addressed to me," the blogger wrote.
The e-mail text ...   more »

Kimberly Johnson 
Rapid changes in the churning movement of Earth's liquid outer core are weakening the magnetic field in some regions of the planet's surface, a new study says.
"What is so surprising is that rapid, almost sudden, changes take place in the Earth's magnetic field," said study co-author Nils Olsen, a geophysicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen.
The findings suggest similarly quick changes are simultaneously occurring in the liquid metal, 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) below the surface, he said.
The swirling flow of molten iron and nickel around Earth's solid center triggers an electrical current, which generates the planet's magnetic field.
The study, published recently in Nature Geoscience, modeled Earth's magnetic field using nine years of highly accurate satellite data.
Flip-Flop
Fluctuations in the magnetic field have occurred in several far-flung regions of Earth, the researchers found.
In 2003 scientists found pronounced changes in the magnetic field in the Australasian region. In 2004, however, the changes were focused on Southern Africa.
The changes "may suggest the possibility of an upcoming reversal of the geomagnetic field," said study co-author Mioara Mandea, a scientist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam.
Earth's magnetic field has reversed ...   more »

By Steve Doughty
Explosive: The Lord Chief Justice's endorsement of Sharia law has already created huge controversy
The most senior judge in England yesterday gave his blessing to the use of sharia law to resolve disputes among Muslims.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family and marital arguments and to regulate finance.
He declared: 'Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.'
In his speech at an East London mosque, Lord Phillips signalled approval of sharia principles as long as punishments - and divorce rulings - complied with the law of the land.
But his remarks, which back the informal sharia courts operated by numerous mosques, provoked a barrage of criticism.
Lawyers warned that family and marital disputes settled by sharia could disadvantage women or the vulnerable.
Tories said that legal equality must be respected and that rulings incompatible with English law should never be enforceable.
Lord Phillips spoke five months after Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams suggested Islamic law could govern marital law, financial transactions and arbitration in disputes.
The Lord Chief Justice said yesterday ...   more »

Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, on Thursday told the Democratic National Committee’s Gay and Lesbian Caucus that her husband wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and reverse the rule on homosexuals in the military.
In her speech, she also compared homosexual advocacy groups with the civil rights movement, referring to events “from Selma to Stonewall” as a progression of justice.
Cybercast News Service reports that Michelle Obama began her speech by praising the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down anti-sodomy laws. Because of the decision, she said, "same-sex couples would never again be persecuted through the use of criminal law."
“We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall,” she said. Selma, Alabama was the starting point of a famous civil rights movement, while The Stonewall Inn, a bar in Greenwich Village, New York, was where a 1969 gay and lesbian riot against police officers marked what many believe to be a turning point in the homosexual rights movement.
Michelle Obama said her husband supports “a world where federal laws don't discriminate against same-sex relationships” and he advocates ...   more »