Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

Thomas Paine

Europeans punish left-leaning parties in EU voting

DDP/AFP – A man cycles past European election posters in Berlin on June 5, 2009. The front poster reads "Don't …

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN and ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein And Robert Wielaard, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 41 mins ago

BRUSSELS – Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European Parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.

Some right-leaning parties suggested the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.

Projections showed Germany's Social Democrats heading to their worst showing in a nationwide election since World War II. Four months before a German national election, the outcome boosted conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005.

"We are the force that is acting level-headedly and correctly in this financial and economic crisis," said Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel's party in the German parliament.

Exit polls suggested France's governing conservative party scored a resounding victory with 28.3 percent of the vote, followed by the opposition Socialist Party with 17.5 percent.

French Socialists said their defeat signaled a need to rethink left-wing policies to unseat Sarkozy.

Defiance: Jews name West Bank hilltop after Obama

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU

Follows president's demand to halt all Jewish construction in strategic territory

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Posted: June 05, 2009
10:37 am Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

President Obama touring Egypt's pyramids yesterday (White House photo)

BEIT EL, Israel – In defiance of President Obama's call to halt all Jewish construction in the West Bank, Jewish youth this week built a new outpost in the strategic territory – and named it after the U.S. president.

"Obama Hilltop," or "Givat Obama" in Hebrew, is located between Jerusalem and the biblical city of Beit El.

The builders told the Arutz Sheva news website the name of their new small community is "in recognition of the president's actions, which have led to a dramatic increase in the number of outposts being built throughout Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)."

The "Obama Hilltop" was one of at least six new outposts that went up in the West Bank this week. An outpost is a makeshift community built without Israeli government permits.