Tidbits from this past week

• R' Lazer Brody scares us Hutz-La'aretz people with threats of continents being flooded.



• Arutz Sheva updates us on the Sanhedrin (Hat tip: Akiva).



• 2 new interesting blogs that I just discovered:
  
  • chardal (as in chareidi - le'umi) (Hat tip: CosmicX)
  
  
  • Hashem1.net, a Hebrew-language End of Days blog.



• Of course, there's also the Kever David Vatican-swap story, which Be'ezrat Hashem looks like it's being denied by President Katzav. Apparently, the Vatican wants the Kever David building, which they too consider a holy site (which itself is highly questionable), and in exchange, they will give up the Santa Maria la Blanca former historic synagogue - now church - in Toledo, Spain. I first heard about this here a few weeks ago, but didn't think it would really go this far at the time. As someone who has been to both buildings - and as a Cub-fan, I can honestly say this would have been another Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio-deal in the making. How can you compare the Kedusha of the Kever David building, which is on Har Tziyon, on the holiest city on earth, holding the grave of our first king from Yehuda - with a structure that's at best, a nice tourist attraction for Jews??? True, Toledo was called the Jerusalem of the West, but come on - no comparison. As Rabbi Brody calls it, the struggle for Jerusalem has begun.
  Shelomo Alfasa, from the International Society For Sephardic Progress, is at the forefront of the battle against this from taking place. Here is his main page about it and here is a page where he's posting updates.

Update: The situation may not be over, according to ISFPF.org. Let's pray it's resolved soon.