Equipping believers for a world-wide ministry

Judge Puts Damper on AZ Law - July 28, 2010 (AP) A federal judge stepped into the fight over Arizona's immigration law at the last minute Wednesday, blocking the heart of the measure and defusing a confrontation between police and thousands of activists that had been building for months. Coming just hours before the law was to take effect, the ruling isn't the end. It sets up a lengthy legal battle that could end up before the Supreme Court — ensuring that a law that reignited the immigration debate, inspired similar measures nationwide, created fodder for political campaigns and raised tensions with Mexico will stay in the spotlight.

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Olympia Food Co-op Is Boycotting Israeli Products And Tutu Agrees - July 28, 2010 (Haaretz) South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday that he supports the Olympia Food Co-op's boycott of Israeli products. The Olympia Food Co-op, located in Olympia, Washington, announced last week that no Israeli products would be sold at its two grocery stores in the city.

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Ahmadinejad Ready to Negotiate - July 27, 2010 (The Jerusalem Post) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abandoned preconditions for talks over Iran's nuclear program late Monday, saying talks would start in early September regardless of the conditions he had set. Ahmadinejad last month gave conditions for talks with the UN Security Council and Germany including their stance on Israel's nuclear program and Iran. Ahmedinajad told state TV late Monday, however, that Iran would "follow negotiations" whether or not the conditions are met.

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Christian Graduate Counseling Student Expelled for Opposition to Homosexuality - July 28, 2010 (Fox News) A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views. "Christian students shouldn't be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs," said ADF senior counsel David French. "To reach its decision, the court had to do something that's never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code."

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Positive ID Axes the Verichip That Nobody Wanted - July 15, 2010 (BNet) PositiveID (PSID) CEO Scott Silverman says his company has stopped marketing its medical records microchip implant for humans. The reason: No one wants it. The news came not in an investor relations press release or an 8-K filing with the SEC, but in a Florida Trend magazine feature on the company formerly known as VeriChip.

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Israeli Missile Defense System Passes Tests - July 19, 2010 (The Jerusalem Post and AP) The Iron Dome defense system provides a complete solution to all rocket threats to Israel from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, Yossi Drucker, director of Rafael's Iron Dome project, told Israel Radio on Tuesday. Drucker said that Iron Dome had exceeded the defense establishment's original expectations for the anti-missile system. He also specifically stated that Iron Dome could be used to protect Sderot from incoming Palestinian rocket attacks.

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S. Korea and US Exercise Meant To Discourage Pyongyang - July 20, 2010 (BBC News) The four-day exercise, in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), will involve 20 ships, 200 planes and 8,000 personnel. The announcement came as defence chief Robert Gates visited South Korea in a show of support for the US ally. On Wednesday he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the demilitarised zone dividing the Koreas. Ties between the two Koreas have deteriorated significantly following the 26 March sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, with the loss of 46 sailors.

Read More in: The Rise of the Far East

Dreaming of the Third Temple - July 20, 2010 (Haaretz) On Tisha B'Av, Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau speaks to Haaretz about the Temple Mount, the Gaza disengagement and secularism, saying: "It says in a Mishnah in the fifth chapter of 'Pirkei Avot': 'May the temple be rebuilt soon and in our days.' That's one thing. The second thing is that all the Prophets spoke about the fact that [the Temple] had been destroyed by fire and would be rebuilt in fire in the future. Of all the prophecies of calamity that took place and everything [the Prophets] said, none of their words fell to the ground. That's also the way to understand their prophesies about consolation..."

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Christians Arrested For Evangelizing to Muslims in Dearborn, MI - July 14, 2010 (Thomas More Law Center) In an unprecedented and astonishing development, the City of Dearborn, through its mayor and its official website, has personally attacked the four Christian missionaries arrested at the annual Arab International Festival on June 18, 2010. The four Christian missionaries were arraigned on criminal charges on Monday morning, July 12, in Dearborn's 19th Judicial District Court. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan is representing all of the Christian missionaries.

Read More in: The Decline of the U.S.

Florida Atheists Sue City Over Prayer - July 13, 2010 (Fox News) A Central Florida atheist organization has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Lakeland over opening city commission meetings with prayer. The lawsuit comes after the Atheists of Florida voiced specific outrage over the use of the name "Jesus Christ." An April 5 meeting became heated after a citizen got into a yelling match with the atheists, prompting commissioners to recess the meeting. Lakeland's policy has been ruled constitutional by the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals, which stipulated that governments must make a reasonable effort to incorporate all religious faiths.

Read More in: The Decline of the U.S.

14th Century BC Writing Found In Jerusalem - July 12, 2010 (The Jerusalem Post) Hebrew University excavations recently unearthed a clay fragment dating back to the 14th century BC, said to be the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem.Researchers say that while the symbols appear to be insignificant, containing simply the words 'you,' 'you were,' 'them,' 'to do,' and 'later,' the high quality of the writing indicates that it was written by a highly skilled scribe. Such a revelation would mean that the piece was likely written for tablets that were part of a royal household. The tiny fragment appears to have once been part of a larger tablet. Researchers say the ancient fragment testifies to Jerusalem's importance as a major city late in the Bronze Age, long before it was conquered by King David. The first mention of Jerusalem in the Bible is in Joshua 10:1, when it was inhabited by the Jebusites.

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US Training Of Pakistani Troops Held Up By Distrust - July 11, 2010 (The New York Times) The recent graduation ceremony here for Pakistani troops trained by Americans to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda was intended as show of fresh cooperation between the Pakistani and American militaries. But it said as much about its limitations. Pakistan restricts the number of American trainers throughout the country to no more than about 120 Special Operations personnel, fearful of being identified too closely with the unpopular United States — even though the Americans reimburse Pakistan more than $1 billion a year for its military operations in the border areas.

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Obama Supports Abbas and Palestinian State - July 10, 2010 (The Jerusalem Post) US President Barack Obama on Friday expressed strong support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's leadership. Obama telephoned Abbas and briefed him on his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and promised to exert every possible effort to establish an independent Palestinian state which will live alongside Israel, according to the Associated Press and Palestinian news agency WAFA.

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Obama Chooses The View Over the Boy Scouts - July 26, 2010 (CNS News) President Barack Obama, the honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, will not speak in-person before the group on Wednesday at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, as part of the organization's 100th anniversary celebration. However, the president is sending a videotaped message to the scouts for Wednesday, the same day he will be in Manhattan to tape an appearance for ABC TV's talk show "The View."

Boy Scout Jamboree This Year Celebrates 100th Anniversary - July 28, 2010 (The Daily Reflector) Franks said Fort A.P. Hill becomes a city of 90,000 people every four years when the jamboree is held there. Scouts from throughout the world participate in hundreds of activities like scuba diving, camping, shooting and other outdoor activities associated with scouting. Scouts have the opportunity to work toward any badge offered by the organization including alpine skiing, Franks said. "This year is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of scouting," Franks said. "Traditionally, the jamboree is a way of bringing scouts across the country together to share in scouting skills and share in the fellowship of scouting."