 On a map the route looks straightforward enough. From Nazareth, amid the ploughed brown farmlands of northern Israel, Highway 60 travels south for nearly 100 miles, winding down through the mountains of the West Bank, through the heart of central Jerusalem and into the narrow streets of Bethlehem. This is the direct route from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the closest approximation to the journey described in the Bible when Joseph and Mary travelled south to register for taxes in the time of Caesar Augustus. But to travel the route today is to go through the geographical and political labyrinth of the Middle East conflict, through occupied land, restricted roads, military checkpoints, heavily guarded Israeli settlements, strongholds of Palestinian militancy and the West Bank barrier. Today, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, and other church leaders from Britain will visit Bethlehem....
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 14:03:00 12-21-06
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 Wash. Statehouse: Menorah OK, Crèche Not. State Officials Say Nativity Scene Might Give Stronger Message Than Christmas Tree Or Menorah |
The Christmas controversy in Washington state has shifted from the airport to the state capitol, where the governor lit a menorah this week, but officials rejected a Nativity scene. It all started earlier this month with the plastic holiday trees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A rabbi wanted to add a large menorah to the display, but airport officials, worried about lawsuits and requests from other religions, ordered the trees removed instead. They put the trees back up a few days later — without a menorah — after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said he would not sue. Bogomilsky said he was delighted Monday when Gov. Chris Gregoire lit a menorah, the candelabrum lit by Jews to celebrate Hanukkah. But when Ron Wesselius, a real estate agent, proposed adding a display depicting the birth of Jesus, the religious heart of Christmas, he was turned down. I guess some religions or more “Political Correct” than Christianity. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/21/national/main2290956.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2290956
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Editor - 13:44:00 12-21-06
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| 8 Marines Charged In Haditha Killings Squad Leader Is Among 4 Charged With Murder; 4 Others Accused Of Failures In Probing Deaths |
Eight Marines were charged Thursday in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha last year. Four Marines were charged with murder in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to arise from the war in Iraq. The other four charged were officers who were not there but were accused of failures in investigating and reporting the deaths, the Marine Corps said. A squad leader was charged with murdering 12 people and ordering other Marines to murder six people in the hours after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and injured two others. The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 26, was charged with unpremeditated murder of 18 Iraqi civilians, including six people inside a house that members of his squad cleared with deadly force. Wuterich also was charged with one count each of making a false official statement and soliciting another sergeant to make false official statements....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/21/iraq/main2287861.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2287861
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Editor - 13:34:00 12-21-06
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| Canadian Police Arrest Suspect After Surveillance Tape Shown on YouTube |
Canadian police say they believe the attention surrounding their posting of surveillance camera tape on the video-sharing giant YouTube helped lead to the arrest of a suspect in the stabbing death of a man at hip-hop concert. Ryan Milner, 22, of Grimsby, Ontario, was knifed to death in a parking lot after attending the concert at Club 77 in Hamilton, about 40 miles southwest of Toronto, on Nov. 17. A friend was also stabbed, but survived. Two weeks ago, Hamilton police posted a 72-second clip on YouTube from a surveillance camera at the club and asked witnesses to come forward. The video posting had drawn more than 34,000 hits by Thursday and attracted attention from as far away as Singapore. George Gallo, 24, turned himself into police after the video was posted online. He appeared in court Wednesday and faces second-degree murder and attempted murder charges. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2744131
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Editor - 13:23:00 12-21-06
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| Key powers work on finishing touches to Iran draft |
In last minute negotiations, six key nations scrambled on Thursday to reach agreement on a draft resolution imposing sanctions on Iran before a U.N. Security Council vote Europeans have scheduled for Friday. The resolution demands Tehran end all uranium enrichment work, which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants as well as for bombs, and halt research and development that can make or deliver atomic weapons. To this end, the measure bans imports and exports of dangerous materials and technology relating to uranium enrichment, reprocessing and heavy-water reactors, as well as ballistic missile delivery systems. But Russia still wants some changes and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated Washington might offer some also. "There are some changes that are still to be made to that draft," she said of the measure drawn up by Britain, France and Germany....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061221/ts_nm/iran_nuclear_un_resolution_dc
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Editor - 13:21:00 12-21-06
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| Police want bullet in teen's forehead |
In the middle of Joshua Bush's forehead, two inches above his eyes, lies the evidence that prosecutors say could send the teenager to prison for attempted murder: a 9 mm bullet, lodged just under the skin.Prosecutors say it will prove that Bush, 17, tried to kill the owner of a used-car lot after a robbery in July. And they have obtained a search warrant to extract the slug.But Bush and his lawyer are fighting the removal, in a legal and medical oddity that raises questions about patient privacy and how far the government can go to solve crimes without running afoul of the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures."It's unfortunate this arguably important piece of evidence is in a place where it can't be easily retrieved," said Seth Chandler, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. "You have to balance our desire to convict the guilty against the government not poking around our bodies on a supposition."...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/21/teen.bullet.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us
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Editor - 13:16:00 12-21-06
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