Gee! Sometimes you just don't know what to think.  I mean, this Iran thing is so terrible that even Harper admits that Iran being so close to a nuclear bomb is the scariest thing in the world. And all the GOT candidates (except one) in the US want to attack Iran right now.

The Jan. 19 Christian Science Monitor ran a story quoting the Israeli paper Haaretz and the Israeli minister of defence and an Israeli intelligence report to the American general staff that Iran is NOT developing a nuclear bomb.

It's terrible the way newspapers lie about Israel. You can find malicious lies even in Israeli papers - of all places. check today's (Dec. 20) Haaretz.com

maliciously lying and referring to Jewish "settlers" as rock-throwers, Haaretz says they have long been using violence and murder against Palestinians who are Israeli citizens. But recently, it says, they have been attacking the Israeli army (rock-throwing, shooting, attacking an army base, etc.) because the army has closed a few of their illegal settlements.

There has been a sharp rise in the volume and quality of Christian relics offered for sale on eBay recently. During the last two centuries, many monasteries, convents, religious houses, and even churches have shut their doors. The very oldest institutions often have relics to 'get off the books'.

So as the National Post sees it, a group of 15 activists gets to define all United Church members basically as anti-Semitic? This article is pretty unfair to the United Church I think. 

National Post: Why United Church activists are targeting Israel

Christ is risen! Easter greetings from The United Church of Canada Moderator Mardi Tindal from the Mount of Olives, overlooking the old city of Jerusalem.

**This was taken from my old blog**

Following Pride Toronto's decision to censor the word "Apartheid" from the festival I've found myself feeling increasingly angry. This just doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel like what Pride is supposed to be about. It's been causing me to reflect on my experience of Pride.

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I walked through the Garden of Gethsemane last week, I was weary. Full days and nights of meeting with church partners and others in Israel-Palestine had meant moving daily among armed soldiers, through checkpoints, sitting and listening to apprehensions, deep longings for peace and justice, and courageous work. I felt both full and empty.

Do you think veteran White House news reporter Helen Thomas  resigned rather than stay in the  boiling tea pot after some Anti Israeli comments she made blew up in her face? 

Is she an extreme and famous case of what happens to those who go public in the US with a little sympathy for Palestinians or with opposition to something Israel does? 

Did something about the way Ms Thomas offered her comments make her deserve to be attacked from all sides as though she had committed treason ?