MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:BacktoBasics.Human rights groups press Obama on child soldiers decision.Twenty-nine leading human rights organizations wrote to President Obama on Friday to express their disappointment with his decision last week to waive sanctions against four countries the State Department has identified as using child soldiers.The human rights and child advocacy community was not consulted before the White House announced its decision on Oct. 25 to waive penalties under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, which was supposed to go into effect last month, for violators Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Yemen. The NGO leaders, along with officials on Capitol Hill, also expressed their unhappiness about the announcement, and their exclusion from the decision making process, in an Oct. 29 conference call with senior administration officials. Today, they backed up their complaints in writing and called on the administration to mitigate the consequences.“We believe that your waiver undermines the intent of the law and sends an unfortunate message that the administration is not seriously committed to ending the use of child soldiers,” the groups wrote to Obama. “By giving a blanket waiver, the administration has also given up the significant leverage that the law provides to influence the child recruitment practices of its military allies.”Read the full story here.

• Erdogan the new Saladdin for the Muslim world.Recently, the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Pakistan ‘vowed’ for joint efforts to face international and regional challenges. This is a dream that every Muslim has and nurtures. If memory serves right, the idea of Muslim unity politically was attributed to Liaquat Ali Khan, the first PM of Pakistan. Ideologically, the concept of Ummah is the basic theme in the Holy Quran, but we pay only lip service to the idea. [Few] Muslim leaders [have] tried to put the idea into practical shape. Bhutto had convened a Muslim Summit at Lahore and hopes were kindled that the Ummah may become united politically. But alas! Hopes and dreams of Muslim unity were shattered; the dream of a Muslim ‘Block’ vanished with the assassination of Liaquat Ali and hopes of Muslim unity died with the hanging of Bhutto. So, the ‘vow’ made by the PMs of Turkey and Pakistan have rekindled the old hopes. If they are able to move in this direction even one step, Muslims will move one step closer to that ideal.The modern political philosophers have divided the world in eastern and western civilisations and call the ongoing conflict a ‘clash of civilisations’; in fact it is the clash of ideologies. Now, the clash has reached to its zenith. The clash between the West and the East had started on November 25, 1095CE, when Pope Urban II rallied the First Crusade against the Muslims at the Council of Clermont. English author Karen Armstrong calls it “a crucial and formative event for the western Europe”, whose repercussions are felt even today. The mounting of crusades was the physical manifestation of ideological clash. The observation of Ms Armstrong hits one in the face, when one recalls the initial speech of Bush Jr after USA’s attack on Iraq – he had described the attack as the beginning of a new crusade.So, what should Muslims do to face this challenge? It is a collective challenge and needs a collective response. The road to the solution of all Muslim problems is long and arduous. It demands sacrifices at personal, national and community levels. The Muslims have not realised their power potential or are too meek to demonstrate it. Muslim countries sit over watching the Strait of Jabal-ut-Tariq in the West to the Melaka Straits in the East. They dominate the central region of the ‘old’ world and are contiguous. With Central Asian Muslim Republics, they have more than 75 percent of world energy sources and dominate all trade outlets and inlets. With such potential with them, they have the wherewithal to make themselves heard in the world. Three countries – Turkey, Iran and Pakistan – are so located that they dominate ‘West, Centre and East’ of the region and can play a significant role to unite this region with an international Muslim body, as their United Muslim Organisation promoting peace, trade and development in the region. This will pave way for Muslim nations United Nations making the existing UNO a redundant body for the Muslims.We cannot live honourably in the world by defying Allah’s commandment in Al-Quran V-51. Sooner or later the Muslims will have to embark on this road to glory and be ready to make the sacrifices; the sooner we unite under collective Muslim banner the better. Surah V:51 says,"O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends"Hmmm....Islam the religion of peace....Get Turkey out of NATO NOW !Read the full story here.

• Indonesian Muslims protest Obama's planned visit.Muslims staged rallies across Indonesia on Sunday to protest U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the southeast Asian nation this week.The protests -- organized by Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir -- included women and children."We don't see the differences between Obama and Bush, they both oppress Muslims, they both have blood on their hands," said Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman for the Muslim group in Indonesia."That's why we reject Obama and we don't believe that he's reaching out to Muslims."On Wednesday, the president will visit Istiqlal mosque. He will also address the biggest Muslim nation from an undetermined location.However, Muslims in Indonesia remain pessimistic."Obama can talk all he wants in Cairo and in Jakarta, the fact is that he still has his troops in war with Muslims," Yusanto said. "It's all lip service."Hmmm....i wonder what Iman Rauf is thinking there in Indonesia..."They're all bigots"?Read the full story here.

• Barack Obama joined Muslim prayers at school, teacher says.AS a schoolboy in Jakarta, Barack Obama attended Muslim prayer sessions with his classmates against the wishes of his mother. The US President's former grade three teacher said that Mr Obama - who was known as "Barry" when he attended the Menteng One school in Jakarta - studied the Koran and went to classes on Islam, despite the objections of Anne Dunham, a Roman Catholic.Mr Obama attended classes on Islam while the Christians attended classes on Christianity, said Effendi. Barry, he said, was alone among the pupils in that he insisted on attending both."His mother did not like him learning Islam, although his father was a Muslim. Sometimes she came to the school; she was angry with the religious teacher and said 'Why did you teach him the Koran?'" said Effendi.The US President - who has cancelled a scheduled trip to Indonesia twice before - may be stymied again by air traffic disruption caused by an ash cloud emitted from Mount Merapi.The volcano has been erupting since October 26, killing at least 117 people.Mr Obama is due to arrive in Jakarta tomorrow after three days in India.A third cancellation would not be welcomed in Indonesia, where some offence has already been taken at the brevity of the visit.Read the full story here.

• Pamela Anderson covers up for once as she takes anti-fur drive to Israel.Pamela Anderson built her career on showing her curves, but it seems that even she knows when to cover up.The former Baywatch star respectfully donned a pashmina to cover her hair, and blazer to cover her curves, as she visited Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall of Jerusalem.The committed animal lover and Peta representative is in Israel to further her campaign against fur, while acting as a guest judge in the country's version of Strictly Come Dancing.While there she escaped injury when her limousine was involved in a minor collision.An anti-fur bill has been put on hold in Israel over concerns by ultra-Orthodox leaders that it could have an impact on the production of the characteristic fur hats worn by some men from Hassidic sects on holidays and other festive occasions.To combat growing secularization of Jews to European society in the 18th century, Hassidic Jews decided that their way of dress should remain intact and not be influenced by fashion.Hmmm....didn't God create animals for mankind?Read the full story here.

• US rejects Israel's call for Iran.Robert Gates, US defence secretary, rejects Benyamin Netanyahu's call for 'credible' military threat against Iran.The US has rejected comments by Israel's prime minister calling for a military threat against Iran to ensure it does not obtain nuclear weapons."We know that they are concerned about the impact of the sanctions. The sanctions are biting more deeply than they anticipated and we are working very hard at this," Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said on Monday."So I would disagree that only a credible military threat can get Iran to take the actions it needs to end its nuclear weapons programme," he said during a visit to Australia for security talks."We are prepared to do what is necessary but at this point we continue to believe that the political-economic approach that we taking is in fact having an impact in Iran."In remarks to the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in New Orleans, Biden said: "We continue to seek a peaceful resolution and hope Iranian leaders will reconsider their current destructive and debilitating course"."But let me be very clear about this: We are also absolutely committed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."The West believes that Iran aims to use its uranium enrichment programme to build atomic weapons, and both Israel and the United States have said all options are on the table in dealing with its nuclear ambitions.The New York Times reported last month that the Obama administration and its European allies were preparing a new, more onerous offer for Iran than the one rejected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year.The offer would require Iran to send more than 1,995 kgs of low-enriched uranium out of the country, an increase of more than two-thirds from the amount required under a deal struck in Vienna.Hmmm.....and who's going to intermediate this deal?.......of course the "Good" Nato member Turkey.Read the full story here.

• Obama in India:Islam is a great religion,over a Billion people practice it!Hmmm.....how about Christianity ,Jewish and Sikh and other religions Mr President?Promoting economy or religion on your Asia trip Mr President?Read and see it here.Live coverage here.

• NY Muslim leader Iaman Rauf talks on moderate Islam.Hmmm...his masters voice?US President Barack Obama has yet to arrive, but Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the planned Muslim community center close to Ground Zero in New York, is already here to lecture members of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Cabinet on religious tolerance.After meeting with Yudhoyono on Friday, Rauf delivered a lecture on “Promoting Moderate Islam and Striving for Harmony Among Civilizations in the 21st Century” at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. The lecture was attended by several Cabinet ministers and religious leaders.Rauf addressed several issues, including the relationship between Islam and the US, growing Islamophobia, the nature of moderation in Islam and how to promote it, and his experiences in trying to realize the plan to build the Park51 Islamic center and mosque close to Ground Zero.Rauf said Muslims needed to “expose” people to the best quality of Islam, including kindness, compassion and tolerance, to address Islamophobia.“Only through the right behavior can we change the minds of Americans on Islam,” said the Egyptian-American Sufi and interfaith activist, who is also the imam of the Al-Farah Mosque in lower Manhattan.Hmmmm.....so what's the connection between him and the President of the USA?Well just read the comments to the story how his message is "received"!Read the full story here.

• Outrage as cellar monster Fritzl wins permission to build houses while behind bars.Josef Fritzl has won planning permission for a major building project from his prison cell.The 75-year-old Austrian, who kept his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and repeatedly raped her, wants to build 13 townhouses, an office building and a subterranean garage in his home town of Amstetten.He had built an impressive property portfolio before his daughter Elisabeth escaped after giving birth to seven children by him.The proposed development is only 500 yards from the family home where he built a dungeon to imprison Elisabeth in 1984 when she was 18.Fritzl applied for the planning permission in 2006 – two years before his secret family was discovered. He was declared bankrupt shortly before he was sentenced to life for the rapes, and for the negligent homicide of one of the seven children Elisabeth gave birth to in the darkness. But Fritzl pursued the building scheme through his insolvency solicitor Dr Walter Anzboeck.Permission was received on Thursday, much to the distress of locals who fear any such project will inevitably be known as ‘Fritzl Towers.’Read the full scandal story here.

• Turkish foreign ministry confirms Iran nuclear program negotiations in Turkey.Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday the stories that Turkey would host negotiations between Iran and P5 1 group (UN Security Council's five permanent members including the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia Germany) regarding Iran's nuclear program.Diplomatic sources said that Iran had notified Turkey about this issue on Saturday, and Turkey had been exerting great efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the issue from the outset.The same sources said Turkey was ready to do its best, and parties had agreed in principle to hold the talks in Turkey.Hmmmmm....get Turkey out of NATO!Read the full story here.

• Ofsted praises Islamic schools which oppose Western lifestyle. Ofsted and the Charity Commission are today accused of "whitewashing" hardline Islamic schools which are helping to radicalise a new generation of young British Muslims.An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has established that the education watchdog has published positive reports praising Muslim schools for their contribution to community cohesion — even in the case of a school which openly states that Muslims “oppose the lifestyle of the West”. The Ofsted inspector responsible for many of the reports, Michele Messaoudi, has been accused of having links to radical Islamist organisations.This newspaper can reveal that another recent Ofsted inspector, Akram Khan-Cheema, is the chief executive of a radical Muslim educational foundation, IBERR.Its website describes Islamic schools as “one of the most important factors which protect Muslim children from the onslaught of Euro-centrism, homosexuality, racism, and secular traditions”.Ms Stuart, of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: “A whole generation is being brought up to at the very least suspect, and perhaps even despise, the society they will have to live in. This is deeply worrying for the future of community cohesion. “By whitewashing these schools, Ofsted and the Charity Commission are being negligent in their responsibility to protect children in their formative years.Hmmm...talk about the "ennemy within"?Read the full story here.

• Russia's Putin drives Formula 1 car at 150 miles per hour.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tested his capacities as a Formula 1 pilot, driving a racing car for several hours at a speed of 240 km/ h (149 miles per hour) on a special track in the Leningrad Region in Russia's northwest.The American President Obama also loves outdoor activities .Read and see the full story here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.The Dialectic of Obama.America's left, and the party it dominates, faced a reckoning yesterday. Two short years ago, exultant progressives believed America had shifted permanently to the left. Now that sweet taste of victory has turned to acrid ashes in their mouths.The scores of congressional Democrats (along with even more state officeholders) who lost their coveted positions, need a way of comprehending the disaster which has befallen them. The scapegoats offered by President Obama and his surrogates -- Tea Partiers, witches, foreign money, and Fox News -- will not suffice. President Obama himself, the man with a winning smile, a slender build, and a way with teleprompters, cannot escape blame for the disaster at the polls. Former friends, including many who rode his coattails, see in him the cause of their expulsion from the political paradise of high elective office.It was not just Fox News, of course. Enterprising internet sites, talk radio, and the few conservative newspapers dug up all manner of information which broke the spell. Worst of all, social media (like Mybarackobama.com) turned out to be a model just as well-adapted to conservatives as to leftists. The real killer, when it came to the social forces, was the intersection of self-reliance, information, and social media. The Tea Party phenomenon, a self-organizing, spontaneous rebellion aimed at overthrowing the brand-new progressive dominance of government, was fatally misunderstood by just about everyone on the left.But the coup de grâce, the one thing nobody on the left had counted on, was that flawed document, the United States Constitution. Tea Partiers began reading the Tenth Amendment and asking awkward questions about the power the central state was arrogating.Thus, the Tea Party antithesis to the Obama thesis has turned out to be larger, more powerful, and more deeply rooted than anticipated. The result -- the synthesis -- began to unfold yesterday, and it will continue to manifest through the next few elections. The dialectic of Obama is turning out to be a force returning America to its constitutional moorings.Read the full story here.

• Germany Sees 'Serious Indications' Of Terror Threat In U.S., Europe.German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was today quoted as saying there are "serious indications" of terrorist attacks in preparation in Europe and the United States.His remarks come on the same day that the global police agency Interpol issued an alert to help forces in its member states spot disguised bombs.Read the full story here.

• Texas Considers Medicaid Withdrawal.Some Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping out of the federal Medicaid program.Far-right conservatives are offering that possibility in impassioned news conferences. Moderate Republicans are studying it behind closed doors. And the party’s advisers on health care policy say it is being discussed more seriously than ever, though they admit it may be as much a huge in-your-face to Washington as anything else. “With Obamacare mandates coming down, we have a situation where we cannot reduce benefits or change eligibility” to cut costs, said State Representative Warren Chisum, Republican of Pampa, the veteran conservative lawmaker who recently entered the race for speaker of the House. “This system is bankrupting our state,” he said. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year.” Read the full story here.

• Church leader urges Iraqi Christians to quit country.A senior Iraqi Christian is to call on believers to quit the country, after gunmen targeted a church in Baghdad.Archbishop Athanasios Dawood, who is based in the UK, will make his appeal during a service at the Syrian Orthodox Church in London.The archbishop has previously criticised the lack of protection for Iraqi Christians.At least 52 people died as security forces stormed a Catholic church in Baghdad to free dozens of hostages.Hmmmm.....US President today "Islam is a great religion".Read the full story here.

• Swedish police arrest man for Malmo shootings.Swedish police say they have arrested a 38-year-old man suspected of a series of shootings of people with immigrant backgrounds in southern Sweden. Investigators say the man, who was not identified, was taken into custody on Saturday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.Police have previously said they believe a lone gunman is responsible for more than a dozen unsolved shootings in which one person died and eight were wounded in the city of Malmo since October last year.In a brief statement, police said Sunday that the arrest was "linked to the shootings that have happened in Malmo recently."Hmmmm......now lets watch the reaction of The religion of peace followers,remember "Innocent until proven guilty".Read the full story here.

• HT:Bloggerbase.Conservatives have questioned for some time now the strange love affair between the Left and Islam. These two make very strange bedfellows indeed considering the enormity of the gap that exists between them ideologically.Some similarities can be found between the two, but frankly, there are similarities between all ideologies at some level. No, this relationship is more basic, more tactical in nature- the enemy of my enemy is my friend.Sounds a bit crusadish, but yes, this is as much a component of the fight as anything. The Left eagerly embraces anything challenging Christianity they can. This is no more evident than any American inner city where the Left has focused on destroying the family unit and individual accountability. If we are to stand any chance of defeating Islamic terror, we have to come to the realization that the Left is a willing and witting accomplice.Read the full story here.

• ADL, AJC slam UNESCO over philosophy event in Iran.World Philosophy Day, a day of debate, will be held in Teheran; AJC: "UNESCO is bolstering Ahmadinejad's propaganda." Jewish organizations called on UNESCO on Thursday to remove its endorsement from the a World Philosophy Day planned to take place in Iran later in November.A delegation of Anti-Defamation League leaders on a mission to Europe this week raised the issue with high-level government officials in France and Italy.UNESCO has sponsored World Philosophy Day, which brings together leading philosophers from around the world for a day of debate, since 2002.“Iran’s long record of suppressing free speech and the rights of certain religious minorities, censoring the media, and inhibiting the free teaching of social sciences and the humanities should not be given legitimacy by UNESCO,” said Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “To do so would seriously undermine the integrity and credibility of the international community’s leading organization promoting media and educational freedom.”Hmmm.....We live in an upside down world it seems.Read the full story here.

• United Kingdom:Muslims cut bodies for faith.ISLAMIC fanatics are mutilating themselves at a British mosque in a bloody ceremony carried out only yards from a busy high street.Shia Muslims use a five-bladed chain called a Zanjeer to whip their own backs and make cuts in their foreheads with razor blades in homage to their faith.Bare-chested men were left bleeding heavily during the ritual known as Matam – self-flagellation – which a witness described as being “like a scene from a horror film”.The Sunday Express found that up to 800 men performed the bloody ceremony in secret at the Imamia Mosque in Forest Gate, east London, last year.The Sunday Express visited the mosque last week and learned that the ceremony took place last December and is due to be repeated next month. One man who witnessed the ceremony last year was so alarmed by what he saw he nearly passed out. He said: “There was blood everywhere. There were pools of blood on the ground and my clothes were splattered with blood. It was very scary.“I was told it was part of a religious ceremony but the anti-western sentiment was clear. If the public had seen what was going on they would have reported it to the police. It was like a scene from a horror film.Hmmmm.....God save the Queen?Read the full story here.

• Ukrainian warship joins NATO anti-terror operation in Mediterranean.The corvette Ternopol of the Ukrainian Navy has sailed off from the Black Sea port of Sevastopol to join the NATO's Active Endeavour mission in the Mediterranean, the press office of Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.Under Operation Active Endeavour, NATO ships are patrolling the Mediterranean and monitoring shipping to help detect and protect against terrorist activity. The operation has been launched as NATO's response to the terrorist attacks against the United States of 11 September 2001.Ukraine has been the second country after Russia outside the NATO alliance to join the Active Endeavour mission in the Mediterranean.Read the full story here.

• Lebanon general 'worried' ahead of UN indictment.Lebanon's top army chief admitted on Saturday that he is concerned about tensions in the country ahead of an indictment from a UN-backed court on the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri."I am worried but I am not afraid," General Jean Kahwaji, who rarely makes public statements, told the daily An Nahar."We have deployed sufficient troops in Beirut and have studied all other areas at risk," he said."The army will be firm... in all areas and particularly Christian areas," he said without elaborating.Lebanon's diminishing Christian community, estimated at less than 30 per cent of the four-million population, divides its loyalty between rival camps headed respectively by Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier, and Shiite Hezbollah.On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal called for restraint by all sides in Lebanon, after meeting his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini."We hope that all Lebanese parties exercise self-control... and sit together at the dialogue table to solve the problems on the basis of the constitution, and away from the language of tension and escalation," the prince said.Read the full story here.

• The Stuxnet Worm? More Than 30 People Built It.Details about the Stuxnet worm, a highly-engineered piece of malicious software that targeted industrial control systems, have trickled out since it made international news earlier this fall. The sophistication of the malware combined with its ability to target the controllers that run power plants and other infrastructure facilities impressed many security experts.Another tidbit that I hadn't seen reported elsewhere is that the peer-to-peer network built into the worm was encrypted. And not only was it encrypted, Tillett noted, but encrypted to FIPS 140-2 standards, which -- judging by the noise of the crowd -- is very impressive to security geeks.Read the full story here.

• BJP disappointed over Obama's first speech during India visit.BJP today voiced disappointment over US President Barack Obama making no direct reference to terror emanating from Pakistan in his first speech on arrival in Mumbai, saying his words were not backed with action and intent."It was the first address by the US President at a place (Taj Hotel) which saw the biggest terror attack on India. It was a complete disappointment as the world and the United States had proof that the attack was planned on Pakistani soil by its intelligence agencies. He had words which were not backed with action and intent," BJP spokesperson Rajiv PratapRudy told reporters here. He said that by skirting a direct reference to Pakistan, Obama "missed" an opportunity to strike a chord with Indians.Hmmm.....welcome to the club of dissapointed Americans!C'mon you didn't think he would condemn Pakistan their Islamic extremists?Read the full story here.

• It's US responsibility to play effective role in Kashmir: Pakistan.Islamabad: Pakistan has said that the US, which enjoys good relations with India, has the responsibility to play an "effective role" to find an amicable solution to the lingering Kashmir issue.Under the prevailing circumstances when the US enjoys good relations with India, it is the responsibility of the American leadership to play an "effective role for an amicable solution of the longstanding issue of Kashmir", said Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit during a telephonic interview with state-run PTV.Obama is aware that the normalisation of Pakistan-India relations is a prerequisite for peace and progress in the region and he also knows that the Kashmir issue is the "main hurdle" in this regard, he said.The US leadership, particularly President Barack Obama, is expected to adopt a clear policy with regard to Kashmir, Basit said.He said that an amicable solution of the Kashmir issue would be a matter of solace for the Kashmiri people.Read the full story here.

• HT:DanielGreenfield.God as Government.God as government or government as god, is what takes place when you surgically slice away the “god” part of religion. Once you postulate that all religions are essentially the same, that they all worship the same god, and that the only differences between them are matters of ritual, then you have eliminated the differences and the identities of all religions. If there are no unique revelations, no special scriptures and no vital testaments… then each religion’s identity becomes a formality, is reduced to a series of dubious traditions that don’t really matter in the bigger picture. If all religions are equally valid, then they are also equally invalid. Just as, if all opinions are valid, then they are also equally invalid.The religion of government justifies itself through the impossible messianic vision of equality, a state that cannot be achieved, but whose attainment provides an unlimited license for government to intervene in all human affairs. By turning government into the arbiter of equality, it gains an impossible mission and an unlimited scope of powers. A combination that historically has bred more nightmares than anything else.Leader worship serves as a cover for tyranny, but more importantly as a cover for failure.Government as god is always looking forward, to a new deal, a new frontier or a great society, some vast project of social justice always out there, a faint vision of a Communist future that is always hovering over the next horizon like a mirage in the desert. A future always out of reach because human greed is in the way. And since underneath it itself is also built on human greed, like the worst of fanatics, socialism maddeningly chases its own tail. And sooner or later it always turns on the people it claims to want to help, unless they turn on it first.Read the full story here.

• Multi-layered security in Delhi ahead of Obama's visit.Heavy cop deployment, sniffer dogs on roof tops and traffic diversions to make sure all is well while the Obamas are in Delhi.Read and see the story here.

• Rajasthan village excited about Obama.Kanpura, a tiny village in Rajasthan is all excited about Barack Obama. Even though the American President won't be visiting there, he will catch a glimpse of rural India and how the IT revolution is changing it through video conferencing, sitting at Mumbai's St Xavier's college.People in Kanpura village will get to talk to Barack Obama from a modest Panchayat office. Special screens have been put up for the video-conference with the American President. Besides being thrilled, villagers are proud that Kanpura will now be a VIP village.Read and see the full story here.

• Will not mediate between India and Pakistan: Obama.In his first comments on Pakistan, on this four-day India trip, US President Barack Obama said, "Pakistan is a strategically important country, not just for America, but for the world." Obama was responding to a question from a student at the St Xavier's College in Mumbai, who asked why United States had refrained from calling Pakistan a terrorist state. "I must admit that I was expecting it," said the US President as he responded to the question.The US President said Washington would not mediate in the dialogue between India and Pakistan and it was up to the two South Asian neighbours to mend fences. "India and Pakistan can prosper and live side by side. This can happen and this should be the ultimate goal. The US can be a partner but cannot impose this process. India and Pakistan have to arrive at an understanding," said Obama. "My hope is that in time, trust develops between India and Pakistan and dialogue on less controversial issues and building up to more controversial issues."Hmmm....only with Israel the US can impose its will?Read the full story here.

• HT:MEMRI.Video.Child-Preacher Ammar: "A Child Must Be Raised on the Love of Jihad and on the Desire to Be Martyred for the Sake of Allah"Al-Rahma TV (Egypt).Islam the religion of peace.See the whole story here.

• HT:IslaminEurope.Oslo: Iran 'preparing Muslims for action'.Iran finances mosques and sends imams to Norway. Here they preach hatred against the West. The aim is to prepare Norwegian Muslim ideological to carry out terror attacks, if they'll be ordered to do so one day, a source told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.Saudi Arabia is not the only one who finances the building of mosques in Norway. In the battle to win the hearts of European Muslims with a very conservative extremist version of Islam, Iran also finances mosques and sends imams here. Norwegian Muslims are being prepared for action."The imams here come from Iran. They interpret the Koran for us and teach people the religious rules. They also give guidance in social situations," says Ali Reza Moaddeli.Ali Reza Moaddeli thinks freedom of speech is abused in Norway when it's permitted to print caricatures of the prophet, but didn't want to discuss the scope of the killing of Jews during WWII.The management of the Norwegian Imam Ali Center denies that anti-Western messages are preached in the mosque. The Iranian embassy in Oslo didn't want to be interviewed on the matter.Ali Reza Moaddeli, board member of the Imam Ali mosque, denied that the mosque had any links to the Iranian embassy, but the embassy confirmed they support the mosque.The Norwegian security service PST and the Justice Ministry did not want to comment on the matter.Read the full story here.

• HT:Bloggersbase.Prepare for war. The Jews will soon be expelled from Palestine that same way they were kicked out by France, Britain, Belgium, Russia and Germany, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said over the weekend.Is this just the ramblings of a madman? Whether it is or not, his words should be heeded. If he were a single voice in a sea of sanity I wouldn't really care what Mahmoud Zahar says. Unfortunately, he is one of millions who have been calling for the eradication of Israel and the death of Jews. This is what Israel faces on a day to day basis. This is the face of the enemies of Israel. In reality, this is the face of the enemy of Liberty.Zahar claimed that Jews were expelled in the past “because they betrayed, stole and corrupted these countries.”Yep. Here we go again. The nefarious Jew is the reason the world is in such a mess. Not the murderous islamists. Not the ignorant Arabs. The the cowardly Western politician. The Jew. Pardon me if I don't agree,I've said it often, and I'll say it again: Prepare for war.Read the full story here.

• Dogs: Iran's new symbol of rebellion.The religiously informed state disapproval of dogs has seen the pampered pooch become the latest sign of middle-class dissent.Recently a visitor from Iran assured me that her dog was staying at a five-star spa in Tehran for the duration of her trip. I had no idea she had a dog in the first place, but was struck that she had insisted in telling me such a thing. Over the past few years, dog ownership has become yet another unlikely arena for the social and political dispute within the tumultuous politics of Iran.It is well known that dogs, along with pigs, are considered unclean in Islam. Strictly speaking, the theology doesn't ban their ownership, or petting; the Sunna prescribes that dogs are "pollutants", contact with them rendering believers ritually unclean. This means that ritual cleansing is required before one is able to perform prayers. Despite this, dogs have been kept by Muslims for centuries. For example, salukis, an ancient breed of hunting dog, have historically been valued by the Bedouin, who breed them for both their beauty and their prowess in hunting.The industry booms further every time a firebrand preacher calls for their banning or admonishes dog owners from such platforms like the much loathed national radio and TV. Its been a long time coming, but Iranian dogs are having their day."A dog a day keeps the Mullahs away?"Read the full story here.

• Barak: Iran wants to deceive world.Defense minister pessimistic about upcoming nuclear talks, says 'Iran a major threat to world order'.Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed little optimism on Saturday about a proposed round of talks between global powers and Iran, which is under pressure over its nuclear ambitions."Based on experience and looking at the example which they (the Iranians) are using, which is probably the North Korean example, you can easily see ... the objective is to defy, decei(ve) and deter the whole world," he said. "I would be happy to ... end up finding myself wrong based on a future development, but I wonder whether this will be the case," he told a news conference at an international security forum hosted by the German Marshall Fund."Iran is a major, major threat to any conceivable world order. It's clear to all of us that they're determined to reach military nuclear capability," Barak said during a panel discussion at the forum. He predicted a nuclear Iran would mean "the end of any conceivable nonproliferation regime. It will end up with several members of the Middle Eastern community find(ing) themselves compelled to turn nuclear."Another step closer to the final countdown thanks to the weakness of the US President,who's term in the Oval office is just one big vacation. Read the full story here.

• Dollar fall unlikely to lead to depeg.Attiyah happy with monetary union progress, hopes UAE will rejoin plan.The drop in the value of the US dollar is unlikely to lead Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) countries to rethink their peg to the currency, the GCC secretary general said on Sunday.The dollar's slide has caused concern among oil producers as it pushes down the value of their dollar-denominated oil revenues while the price of their commodity imports, such as grains, have been increasing.When asked whether the drop in the US dollar was pressuring Gulf Arab states to consider other solutions for their currencies, such as depegging, Abdulrahman Al Attiyah told reporters on the sidelines of a conference he did not expect such a move."In reality we do not think so... I do not think matters will reach this stage of thinking," he said.He also said he was happy with the progress of a plan for a monetary union for the region, adding he hoped the UAE would re-join the project.Hmmm....America get ready for higher petrol prices !Read the full story here.

• Laptops can affect sex drive, sperm quality.Personal computers can crank up the temperature around the scrotal area, adversely affecting male reproductive health, says a new study.Whoever invented the 'laptop' probably didn't worry too much about male reproductive health.Turns out, unsurprisingly, that sitting with a computer on your lap will crank up the temperature of your nether regions, which could affect sperm quality.And there is little you can do about it, according to the authors of a study out today in the journal Fertility and Sterility, short of putting your laptop on a desk.The researchers hooked thermometers to the scrotums of 29 young men who were balancing a laptop on their knees. They found that even with a lap pad under the computer, the men's scrotums overheated quickly."Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range," said Dr. Yefim Sheynkin, a urologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, who led the new study."Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don't feel it," he added.Read the full story here.

• Pope Benedict to consecrate Barcelona's Sagrada Familia.Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the Spanish city of Barcelona to consecrate Antoni Gaudi's unfinished cathedral, the Sagrada Familia, as a basilica.Gaudi's greatest work has been under construction for more than a century, and will not be finished before 2026.But the Pope is to dedicate its altar and celebrate its first mass.In Santiago de Compostela on Saturday, he warned of an "aggressive anti-clericalism" in Spain which was akin to that experienced during the 1930s.The comments were a reference to the civil war era, during which Republicans killed thousands of priests and nuns, and burned churches. Despite opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, Spain's Socialist-led government has introduced laws allowing gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier access to abortions.Read and see the full story here.

• World's tallest Jesus statue finally assembled in Poland.Final elements were installed on the world's tallest statue of Jesus Christ on Saturday, marking an end to the five-year construction in a small Polish town, the PAP news agency reported.The statue's torso, head and crown were installed on Saturday. The works were initially scheduled for Friday, but were delayed by strong winds.A similar attempt failed two weeks ago as the 400-ton crane on site proved inadequate to lift the head and arms into position, and a 700-ton crane was brought in to complete the construction.The town of Swiebodzin, which is off the beaten track near the German border, hopes its gigantic Jesus will become a tourist attraction as famous as the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.The monument is expected to overshadow not only Christ the Redeemer, which stands at 39.6 meters (130 feet), but also the Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia, which rises to 40.44 meters (almost 133 feet).The Polish statue itself is about 33 meters tall (108 feet), but its overall height, including the 16-meter (52.5 feet) mound and a two-meter (6.6 feet) crown, exceeds 51 meters (167 feet). Its total weight is about 440 metric tons.The date of the official ceremony to unveil the monument is yet to be announced, but earlier media reports said it would take place on November 21.Construction costs are estimated at almost $1.5 million, and the whole sum was raised through private donations.Source.

• Swedish police hunt 'racist gunman'.Series of shootings in the city of Malmo appears to be targeting immigrants.The Swedish city of Malmo has been hit by a series of shooting attacks which has left one person dead and several injured.But police do not have many clues or even a photofit of the suspect they are supposed to be hunting. The only thing they do know is that the attacks appear to be racially motivated.Hmmm......someone has been watching "Deathwish" once too many?Read and see the full story here.

• Lawsuit charges Waldorf had bedbugs.Hilton Worldwide says room tested negative for bugs.A Michigan couple has filed a lawsuit claiming their room at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel was infested with bedbugs.Christine and David Drabicki charged in the lawsuit filed that they unwittingly brought the bedbugs home with them after they stayed at the Waldorf in May. They say they had to flee their home in Plymouth, Mich. for six weeks while it was fumigated.A spokesman for Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Waldorf, said the couple's room tested negative for bedbugs.This is the third time this year that guests have complained of bedbugs at the posh hotel. The Waldorf has said it found no evidence of bedbugs.Read the full story here.

• 14-year-old wife freed from 80-year-old husband.A benevolent stranger pays wedding money to husband for divorce.A 14-year-old Saudi girl who had been forced to marry an 80-year-old man finally became free after an unknown benevolent man paid back the wedding money to the husband who had demanded payment in return for a divorce.Ahmed Rahim immediately divorced Nura after receiving a cheque of SR17,000 (Dh16,648) from the unknown man during a meeting held at a social centre in the southwestern town of Sabya, 'Okaz' newspaper reported on Sunday.Rahim married the teenage Nura last month with her father’s consent and refused to divorce her unless she pays him back his dowry, the money offered by a bridegroom to the bride under Islamic law.“The curtain on Nura’s marriage to the old man has been drawn down and Nura is now free after Rahim divorced her at Sabya court,” the paper said.The price of doing the right thing : Dh16,648 !Read the full story here.

• Urine for sale? South African city wants to buy.Get paid to pee. That's the deal on offer in the South African city of Durban, where the city is looking to buy liquid waste to encourage residents to use dry toilets.Aiming to improve hygiene and save money, the port city has installed in home gardens about 90,000 toilets that don't use a single drop of water.Now Durban wants to install 20-litre (quart) containers on 500 of the toilets to capture urine - rich in nitrates, phosphorus and potassium, which can be turned into fertiliser.A municipal worker would collect the jerry cans once a week and could pay around 30 rands (four dollars, three euros) to the family - not a small sum in a country where 43 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day.Currently the tanks are emptied by each household, and the waste often ends up getting dumped into the environment.Read the full story here.