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I read the entire "U//FOUO" text of the Department of Homeland Security Assessment on Rightwing Extremism today. A number of things struck me. First, the department is completely out of touch with what constitutes a threat to the United States of America. Citing millions of Americans applying for criminal background checks so that they can buy guns legally is not evidence of an increased threat. Criminals and terrorists do not register their weapons or submit themselves to the law when acquiring the tools of their violent trade. This is the true threat, and one that is impossible to measure. A...

First it was the turn for the Right to be outraged by a DHS report warning that – among others - veterans, the unemployed, people unable to obtain credit, opponents of illegal immigration, racists, anti-Semites, gun owners, civil libertarians, people who oppose abortion, people who oppose homosexual marriage, paranoids, people who buy guns and ammunition, Christians, and anti-Communists were ripe for being recruited into ‘right wing extremist” groups. Today we are treated to the revelation that the Virginia Fusion Center (which is funded by the DHS) has spotted other links to terrorist groups. While the Virginian Pilot was apparently unaware...

Several thousand Arabs led by Arab nationalist Knesset members participated in a procession through the Israeli city of Umm el-Fahm near Megiddo Tuesday evening. The demonstration was held in protest of Israeli military operations in Gaza and involved incidents of rock throwing at Israeli cars.The crowd chanted "Israel, the mother of terror" and held a sign that read "Stop the Zionazi" in English. Additional slogans were "Rest, O martyr, we will complete the task," "Warm blessings to the rock children," as well as the standard "With blood and spirit, we will redeem Palestine." The participants held Syrian and PLO...

Last update - 00:12 20/11/2006 The largest city in the ancient world By Ran Shapira The Early Bronze Age temple was initially discovered at Tel Megiddo a decade ago. When part of it was first unearthed in 1996, the researchers realized this was a very impressive structure. Since then, evidence accumulated supporting the estimated dimensions: In 2000, two large column bases were excavated. Then last summer, most of the structure was excavated, and the researchers were surprised. The temple, it emerged, was built on a larger area than had been previously assumed, and is an artful construction of excellent materials....

Evangelicals militant when it comes to Israel, End of Days By Zev Chafets MISSILES and rockets are falling all over the Galilee. A bomb even hit Nazareth, where it killed two small Muslim children (Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, commander of the Religion of Peace, Hezbollah branch, apologized for the mistake; he had been aiming at Jews). But through it all, peace and tranquillity have reigned over Kibbutz Megiddo. This is bad news if you're one of those people who happen to be looking forward to the end of the world. To the untrained eye, Megiddo is just another Israeli farm community...

Expansion plans for Megiddo Prison, until now known only as a main facility for security prisoners in the North, have unexpectedly yielded a major find for the Christian world and Israeli tourism: a structure believed by some archeologists to be the earliest church ever found. The rare Christian religious structure, possibly the largest church ever found here according to reports, was found during an Israel Archeological Association (IAA) excavation at the site, discovered thanks to the help of, among others, 60 prisoners who worked on the dig. Found on the floor of the structure was an inscription written in Greek...

Airport Planned for Megiddo 16:25 Apr 10, '06 / 12 Nisan 5766 (IsraelNN.com) Civil Aviation Authority officials on Monday announced a domestic airport will be constructed in Megiddo in cooperation with a number of authorities, including the Jezreel Valley Regional Council. The new airport is planned on a 400-duman (100-acre) area at a cost of $35 million. Officials report the airport will undoubtedly increase tourism to the Jezreel Valley and surrounding areas.

MEGIDDO PRISON, Israel - Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, unveiling what Israeli archaeologists said Sunday may be the Holy Land’s oldest church. The discovery of the church in the northern Israeli town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region. Archaeologists said the church dated from the third century, decades before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Byzantine Empire. “What’s...

Archaeologists Uncover 'Oldest Church' in Holy Land By Robert Berger Jerusalem 06 November 2005 Berger report - Download 255k audio clip Listen to Berger report audio clip The archaeological world is buzzing with news of a major find in Israel. The discovery is being hailed by Christian leaders, who see it as an affirmation of the faith. An Israeli archaeologist points at a section of a Christian mosaic at an excavation site in the compound of the Megiddo prison in northern Israel, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 An Israeli archaeologist points at a section of a Christian mosaic at an excavation...

The Battleground Who Destroyed Megiddo? Was It David or Shishak? Timothy P. Harrison Sidebar: Megiddo at A Glance Did King David conquer and destroy Megiddo? Well, that depends partly on the date of Stratum VI. Let me explain why. Most scholars accept David as a historical figure who was an active military ruler in the period portrayed in the Hebrew Bible (the early tenth century B.C.E.). However, there is considerably less agreement on how to interpret the archaeological evidence for this period. That’s where Megiddo Stratum VI figures in. The dispute is over which archaeological material relates to the time...

Bush Refuses To Meet Syrian Minister, Report Says By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - President Bush refused to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara following last week's deadly car bombing in Israel, and that has prompted Shara to cancel his trip to Washington, Israel Radio reported on Friday. Islamic Jihad, which is headquartered in Damascus, claimed responsibility for the attack a few days before Syria was due to take up the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel knew that the attack at Megiddo junction had been carried...

CONCLUSION Extremists from various ideological perspectives attach significance to the arrival of the year 2000, and there are some signs of preparations for violence. The significance of the new millennium is based primarily upon either religious beliefs relating to the Apocalypse/Armageddon, or political beliefs relating to the New World Order conspiracy theory. The challenge to law enforcement is to understand these extremist theories and, if any incidents do occur, be prepared to respond to the unique crises they will represent. Law enforcement officials should be particularly aware that the new millennium may increase the odds that extremists may engage in...

Peres: Syria to blame for Megiddo attack By HERB KEINON, DAVID RUDGE,AND MELISSA RADLER IN NEW YORKForeign Minister Shimon Peres yesterday lashed out at the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying it shares in the blame for Wednesday's Megiddo bus bombing, because Damascus is harboring terrorist organizations. Peres made the accusation during a series of media interviews, including one with Qatar-based al-Jazeera television, in which he noted that the orders for the deadly attack were given by Islamic Jihad leader Abdallah Ramadan Shalah from his base in Damascus. Peres, speaking to reporters at the Israel Export Institute Conference in...

JENIN: Hamza Samudi, 18, only learned to drive four days before he pulled up alongside an Israeli bus in a car-bomb and blew it up, killing 17 passengers and himself in a huge, fiery blast. Samudi did not have to drive far to carry out his mission. It was 15km from his home on the outskirts of Jenin city to the Megiddo junction. In the early morning traffic on Thursday, he set off about 70kg of weapons-grade explosives that were packed into the red Renault van. The force of the blast lifted the bus in the air and flipped it...

Thirteen of the seventeen victims in Wednesday's terrorist bombing of an Egged bus at the Megiddo junction were young Israeli soldiers, on their way to bases in the north of the country. "We were thrown through flames and smoke," one soldier said of his traumatic experiences. An eyewitness said, "I saw soldiers crying and shouting for help." Two soldiers reportedly died in a final embrace amid the inferno...(more) Click here for more

An Israeli security officer walks past the remains of a passenger bus destroyed by a huge bomb blast killing at least 16 people and wounding over 40 at a busy road junction in Northern Israel on June 5. REUTERS/Nir Elias Workers remove bodies from the scene of a passenger bus bombing in Megiddo Junction in northern Israel. A Palestinian suicide attacker exploded a powerful car bomb next to an Israeli bus on Wednesday, igniting an inferno and killing at least 16 people in a major setback to international peace efforts. REUTERS/Havakuk Levison An Israeli forensic volunteer covers a soldier's...