Having won a fight to be leader of the ruling Kadima Party, Tzipi Livni now will likely need Shas as a partner to become prime minister. But Shas opposes any compromise on Jerusalem, and including it in a coalition could tie her hands in peace talks with the Palestinians.

"If it's clear Jerusalem is on the negotiating table and social-economic needs are not taken into consideration, then we won't be part of the coalition," Shas spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch said.

With opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-line Likud Party polling well, Livni is under heavy pressure to keep the 67-seat coalition intact and avoid elections.

Netanyahu made his preference clear. "The cleanest and most democratic thing to do is to hold a general election," he told reporters Thursday

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_... ;_ylt=AtRXC3KnG7.FrvIHD1m5LMoLewgF

Exit polls by Israel's three major TV stations put Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on 47-49 percent of the vote in the election for the new Kadima leader, negating a second round of voting to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and making her the next likely premier.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/102213...

and from Reuters

Israel's Livni declares victory

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/i...

Good news for Israel and possibly the world

ted rall don't always like this guy but this one is good

Experience is Overrated. What About IQ?

Until four years ago, no one had heard of our current Democratic nominee. "Who is Barack Obama?" asked CBS News after he was picked to deliver the keynote address at the Dems' 2004 confab. "Not exactly a household name

<snip>

Palin is now positioned to be a proverbial heartbeat away from the ability to order ICBMs fired at Russia. (On January 20th McCain, a cancer survivor and hardly the picture of health, will be two years away from the average life expectancy for an American male.)

Resume entries aside, history shows that certain personality traits--especially intelligence and open-mindedness--make for better presidents. Also helpful are a variety of life experiences, such as familiarity with other countries and cultures and overcoming tough times.
By most measures, Palin is a weird choice. Like Geena Davis in the 2005 TV series "Commander in Chief," she could wake up one morning to find that McCain has shuffled off to the great POW camp in the sky. We would probably be in trouble.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20080904/cm_u...

Gaza and Taiwan? The comparison seems absurd. One is a fenced-off enclave of 1.5 million poor, unemployed Palestinians, the other is an economic tiger. One is characterized by street battles and violence, the other is a state of law. In one, a terrorist organization is consolidating its rule by force, the other has elections and changes of government.

But it is a mistake to compare Gaza to the peaceful, developed Taiwan of today. Rather, one must remember the circumstances in which Taiwan was established as an independent entity almost 60 years ago: It emerged from a civil war that broke out following the end of a foreign occupation. It, too, experienced severe violence, a repressive government and a shattered economy.

< snip >

The good news is that it is not too late. If Hamas quells the internal violence, enforces the truce with Israel and internalizes its responsibilities toward Gaza's residents, it can build a new economy in Gaza. But it should not waste time on agriculture; it should train unemployed Palestinians for modern jobs and gradually wean Gaza from its dependence on Israel for transit.

Delusional? Absurd? Look at Taiwan.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/101067...

interesting article

The Pentagon's top military officer Adm. Mike Mullen on Sunday discussed the fallout from a potential attack against Tehran by either the US or Israel. "Right now I'm fighting two wars and I don't need a third one."

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Mullen added, "I worry about the instability in that part of the world and, in fact, the possible unintended consequences of a strike like that and, in fact, having an impact throughout the region that would be difficult to both predict exactly what it would be and then the actions that we would have to take to contain it."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...

This about sizes up at least for the US and possibly Israel too

of the Iraq war? I have Googled it a few differnt ways and come up empty handed. I would be grateful for any help with this Thanks

Reports said the Israeli authorities had originally decided to reopen both the key crossing points.
But Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner was quoted by AFP as saying on Sunday morning that only Sufa would be reopened for the time being.

"Around 80 trucks filled with goods and humanitarian aid should be authorised to enter the Gaza Strip on Sunday," he added.

The Nahal Oz terminal for fuel shipments was reopened on Friday, while the Erez passenger crossing - used by diplomats, journalists and Gazans requiring medical care in Israel or abroad - remained open.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/747...


Hopeful sign

Safety pins and screws are still lodged in 15-year-old Ami Ortiz's body three months after he opened a booby-trapped gift basket sent to his family. The explosion severed two toes, damaged his hearing and harmed a promising basketball career.

Ami Ortiz, interviewed at the Tel Aviv hospital where he is being treated, comes across as no different from any Jewish Israeli his age. He's a sabra, or native-born Israeli, who speaks English with a Hebrew accent, has an older brother in an elite Israeli army unit and was hoping to join the youth squad of Maccabi Tel Aviv, a league-topping basketball team.

Messianic Jews consider themselves Jewish, observing the holy days and reciting many of the same prayers. The Ortiz family lights candles on the Jewish Sabbath, shuns pork and eats matzoth on Passover.Lawyer Dan Yakir of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel says the law allows missionaries to preach provided they don't offer gifts or money or go after minors.

"It is their right according to freedom of religion to maintain their religious lifestyle and disseminate their beliefs, including through literature," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/ap_on_...

I will admit that years ago upon first hearing of this sect my first thought was "traitors", but on second thought it seemed if there was such a thing as a "proper" Christianity this was it. I have never understood why logically Jewish laws did not cross over into in to Christianity, except for political and economic reasons at the time