MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Egypt detains Christian protesters. Up to 156 Orthodox Coptic Christian protesters arrested following deadly clashes with police a day earlier.Egyptian authorities have arrested 156 protesters for involvement in Wednesday's bloody clashes between Christians and police over the government's refusal to grant them a permit to build a church.Those arrested have been accused of planning to kill policemen and the public prosecutor has ordered their detention for two weeks.A judicial source said on Thursday that the protesters were also accused of illegally demonstrating to prevent the authorities from doing their work.Protesters threw stone and petrol bombs as scores of police surrounded the area and fired tear gas to break up the demonstration. A security source said at least 93 protesters were detained after a scuffle with police.Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 79 million population and often complain about discrimination in the Muslim-majority country. Church permits are often a source of tension, as Christians say they are not given the same freedom to build places of worship as Muslims.Non-Muslims are required to obtain a presidential decree to construct new religious buildings and must satisfy numerous conditions before permission is granted.The Copts said they did have permission and were continuing to work without machinery, which was being blocked from entering the site, the reports said.Christian and Muslim religious leaders emphasise sectarian harmony, but communal tensions can erupt into criminality and violence, usually sparked by land disputes or cross-faith realationships. Hmmm....interfaith dialog at it's best?Read the full story here.More here.

• Obama’s greatest disappointment: Erdoğan.According to some authorities following relations between the Obama administration and Turkey, the president’s greatest disappointment was despite petitioning Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for 45 minutes, Erdoğan did not change his vote in respect to Iran and has given brisk speeches in respect to Israel.And according to one authority who knows about the content of the last meeting in Toronto, it was not like a dialogue between allies but like “two angry old friends settling their accounts.”Turkey is not very popular in the White House these days.The American authority reflected the atmosphere in the White House as follows:“You told us that the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK is your national problem and we supported you… Iran is a national issue for us, but you vetoed despite the U.S. president petitioning for 45 minutes not to veto. You left us alone. Where is the alliance? This relationship has gone sour.”A source who pointed out that Turkey stabbed him in the back during the bill event (bill on sending troops to Iraq) before the invasion of Iraq said, “The Pentagon knows what happened to the [Turkish Armed Forces] TSK. But if it interferes, reactions against the TSK would increase. That is why it keeps silent. But please notice that the Pentagon did not just recently cross you out. It happened during the bill event. It is impossible to go back to our previous relationship. From now on a cold and distanced relationship will prevail. And don’t keep your hopes high in respect to the PKK issue.”In short, at the moment Washington is for Ankara a capital with closed doors. Nobody wants to encounter Turks. Doors are kept tightly closed especially for Turkish authorities who might come looking for a favor.Hmmm...well they still have their new "Friend" Iran?Just get them out of NATO!Read the full story here.

• Canada boycotts Durban III, cites anti-Israel focus.Taking a stance: Canada will not attend UN conference on racism because of negative focus on Israel, immigration minister says; Ottawa has lost faith in Durban process, whose agenda promotes racism, he says.Canada will not attend Durban III, a United Nations conference on racism next September in South Africa because the event has negatively targeted Israel, the country's immigration minister said Thursday. Minister Jason Kenney said Canada has lost faith in the Durban process, a conference that began in 2001 to develop strategies to defeat racism. "Canada is clearly committed to the fight against racism, but the Durban process commemorates an agenda that actually promotes racism rather than combats it."But most offensive to Canada and several other countries were speeches laced with anti-Israeli rhetoric. Canada led a boycott of Durban II in Geneva last year, where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against the Jewish state. "We voted against this because we believe that the proposed meeting will only perpetuate the kind of ... divisive rhetoric that led Canada to boycott this process in the past," said Kenney.Read the full story here.

• North Korean leader and son visited artillery site: reports.North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son and successor Jong-un visited the artillery base from where shells were fired at a South Korean island just hours before the attack, South Korean media reported on Thursday.North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island that killed two South Korean marines and two civilians on Tuesday was probably ordered by Kim Jong-il himself, the Joongang Daily quoted a well-informed government source as saying.Seoul government officials contacted by Reuters could not comment on the reports.The United States says it believes North Korea's actions were an isolated act tied to leadership changes in Pyongyang, and many experts say the North carried out the shelling to burnish the image of the inexperienced and little-known younger Kim.The ailing leader is desperate to give a lift to his youngest son, named as heir apparent to the family dynasty in September, but who has little clear support in the military.Read the full story here.

• U.S. warns Ottawa about fallout from pending WikiLeaks release.The U.S. government has notified Ottawa that the WikiLeaks website is preparing to release sensitive U.S. diplomatic files that could damage American relations with allies around the world. U.S. officials say the documents may contain accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians as well as activities that could result in the expulsion of U.S. diplomats from foreign postings. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson phoned Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon to inform him of the matter, a foreign affairs spokeswoman said Wednesday. Melissa Lantsman said the Canadian embassy in Washington is “currently engaging” with the U.S. State Department on this matter. “We are not privy to the full contents of documents which may be leaked,” Ms. Lantsman said in an e-mail to The Canadian Press.Many of the cables are believed to date from the start of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, meaning that the White House will not be able to distance itself from any disclosures.Read the full story here.

• Newark airport controversial scanners are barely used on busiest travel day.The choice between a "virtual strip search" and a "grope" was strictly academic Wednesday for most holiday travelers flying out of Newark Liberty International Airport. The majority of Newark’s full-body scanners were idle throughout much of the day, depriving most passengers of the chance to opt out of the controversial screening procedure even if they had wanted to.All in all, Thanksgiving eve was a non-event at Newark Liberty, reflecting the relative calm reported at airports around the country.An unusual abundance of the TSA’s blue-shirted screeners seemed to circulate throughout Newark’s terminals Wednesday.Still, some passengers had mixed feelings about the new screening procedures."I have concerns," said Ifeoma Anekwe, lawyer from Jersey City. "Who’s looking at my image? Will it go on the Internet or will they delete my image?" "I’ll go through the pat-down," Anekwe said. Even so, she added, "I don’t want my breast groped by a strange woman." Hmmm...for anyone interested here's the FlyerTalk Forum,with all the "Info"you might like to read!Read the full story here.

• Military Pegs Hourly Air Force One Cost at $181G, as Obama Sets Travel Record.The average American could buy a house for the amount of money it takes to run Air Force One every hour. The U.S. military has provided an updated estimate on that cost, first published by a taxpayer watchdog group and confirmed by FoxNews.com, and the number is staggering -- $181,757 per hour. That's the price tag for shuttling around President Obama, who, as it turns out, has spent more days abroad in his first two years than any other president. "It's astonishing. It's far higher than any other ... figure that's been reported on. It's very surprising, and of course it's just a fraction of the overall cost involved with presidential travel," said policy analyst Demian Brady, who wrote the study. Master Sgt. Jeff Capenos, with the 89th Airlift Wing, told FoxNews.com the figure reflects operating costs.ranging from fuel to engine and aircraft maintenance. Asked why other public estimates, which typically did not exceed $100,000, were so much lower, he said: "They were probably inaccurate." Brady also used his report in part to tackle rumors about the cost of Obama's 10-day post-election tour through Asia. One Indian newspaper report quoted an anonymous local official claiming it would cost U.S. taxpayers $200 million every day, a figure Brady dismissed as "wildly exaggerated." The Obama administration also shot down that figure, without detailing the actual cost. But the trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan was by no means cheap. While a total by-the-day figure may be impossible to come by, Brady estimated that the 48 hours of flight time logged on the trip would cost at least $8.7 million for Air Force One alone. The president's latest visit to Lisbon, Portugal, for a NATO conference would add another $2.7 million, he figured. That Lisbon trip also set a record for Obama. By Brady's accounting, Obama has now logged 55 days overseas, surpassing former President George H.W. Bush's record of 54 days during his first two years. In total, Obama has visited 26 countries -- some of them more than once -- over the course of 15 trips.Hmmm....spend - Spend - Spend.Read the full story here.

• Female Turkish deputies unite to end violence against women.Women have no control over their own bodies in many parts of the world because gender inequality caused by a male-dominated societal system reduces women to second-class citizens, a bipartisan group of female parliamentary deputies said Thursday.The deputies’ joint statement was made to speak out on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. There were also many marches in cities around Turkey, including one hosted by the ruling party’s women’s branch in Istanbul.The group said 39 percent of Turkish women were subject to physical and emotional violence, but the problem could be remedied by educating women about their rights, thus empowering them to take control.“We do not want our leaders to say ‘every woman should have three children.’ We want them to say ‘educate yourselves, work and stand on your own two feet,’” said Canan Arıtman, speaking for the Republican People’s Party, or CHP.At the square, branch head Ayfer Yamam made a speech, saying governmental practices and regulations were not enough to end discrimination against women, but that a change of mentality is needed.Yaman also said the party was following the regulations protecting the rights of women with sensitivity.During the march, the female AKP members carried banners that read “No to Honor Killings” and “No to Domestic Violence.”“Every kind of violence is identical with illiteracy and has no place in our world,” Yaman said after the march. “We are here in peace and we have raised generations who will stand against all kinds of abuse and mistreatment.”Hmmmm...not the way Turkey is heading now?Read the full story here.

• In Kandahar, Girls Show Grit Behind Guarded Walls.Education is like gold — more precious than any other possession.That's according to an 11-year-old girl named Bilqis Ehsan. She lives in Kandahar, Afghanistan. She speaks nearly fluent English. And she wants to be a doctor.Education "shines your life," she says.Bilqis and other girls and young women are taking classes in English and computer technology at the Afghan-Canadian Community Center in Kandahar. But it's not just for the joy of learning. They want careers."I am learning English because it's an international language," says Nurzia, 14. "If we become a doctor, [a] doctor needs to write prescriptions for the patient by English — not Dari or Pashto."It would be fair to say that there is no world of girls more hidden than the world beneath the burqas of Afghanistan. The girls who risk going to school in the heartland of the Taliban could be harmed or killed.But it would be a mistake to presume that all the women and girls underneath their burqas are somehow pitiable or frightened or even meek.Within the walls of the school in Kandahar, protected by a tall iron gate and a guard with a gun, the burqas are gone. The girls laugh and chat — and forge the skills they'll need in future jobs.But in war, every girl — along with her family — must come to terms with the possibility that some harm may come to her."Some months ago, a girl was killed by someone," says Tahira Sadisaidi, 20. "She was our classmate.""We want to be brave," she says. "And we are coming to school."Read the full story here.

• U.S. government heads for row with big business after Obama sets aside land in Alaska for polar bear sanctuary.In a move that will anger oil and gas companies American president, Barack Obama, has agreed to save some 187,000 square miles in Alaska for the preservation of wildlife.The land will be set aside as a 'critical habitat' for polar bears, but will restrict future offshore drilling for oil and gas.The total, which includes large areas of sea ice off the Alaska coast, is about 13,000 square miles - or 8.3 million acres - less than in a preliminary plan released last year.Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and the state's oil and gas industry had complained that the preliminary plan released last year was too large and dramatically underestimated the potential economic impact. The designation could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost economic activity and tax revenue, they said.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said reductions included in the final rule were mostly due to corrections that more accurately reflect the U.S. border in the Arctic Ocean.The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, which advocates for Alaska Native business interests, said in a statement that the decision disproportionately impacts Alaska Natives and called the designation the 'wrong tool' for conserving the polar bear because it does nothing to address climate change.'The burden of the impacts will be felt by the people of the Arctic Slope,' said Tara Sweeney, vice president of external affairs for ASRC, which is based in Barrow, Alaska. 'This is a quality of life issue for our people.'Hmmmm...how many land "Grabs" has Obama done so far in two years?Is it Four or five?Read the full story here.

• U.S. Military War Gaming for Large Scale Economic Breakdown and Civil Unrest. If we’ve “prevented economic collapse” and “avoided the depression many feared,” according to President Obama, inquiring minds are asking why the Pentagon and US Military are actively and aggressively engaged in planning responsive action to large scale economic breakdown and civil unrest scenarios.The Army, in a year-long war games series called Unified Quest 2011, is looking at a variety of possibilities and how to deal with them, including:

1.     The implications of “large scale economic breakdown” inside of the United States
2.     How to maintain “domestic order amid civil unrest”
3.     And ways to deal with fragmented global power and drastically lower budgets.

• Clearly, the U.S. government is making contingency plans to deal with a worst-case, all-out collapse scenario of not only the economy, but our social and political systems.If you haven’t yet, we recommend taking the advice of FEMA (pdf), who suggest that every family have emergency preparedness supplies on hand, including food and water, for at least a couple of weeks.For the hard core “preppers” amongst us, you may have already considered this possibility and the chance that the fallout from an economic collapse may lead to an inability to perform daily transactions with the U.S. dollar, food supply disruptions, violence and looting, and even a completely ‘down-grid’ where utilities are completely out of service. If you haven’t, what would you do if you awoke to news of a total meltdown in the US dollar - one that led to rejection of the US dollar as a currency for international settlement?Will you be the one facing off against highly trained U.S. military personnel holding a “Food Now” sign at an inner city riot?The U.S. government and many of their counterparts around the world are getting ready - just in case - maybe you should be too?Read the full story here.

• Turkey risks increasing tension with EU ahead of elections.Turkish-EU relations could be set for more tension with elections in the country approaching, analysts warn. EU diplomats, however, are expressing concerns about any escalation in rhetoric. ‘It would be a real shame if such an important issue for the future of over 70 million Turkish people was subordinated to short-term politics,’ says one diplomat.“I don’t believe the ties will reach a point of complete rupture. I don’t expect another Luxembourg crisis,” said Can Baydarol, an expert on Turkish-EU relations from Istanbul’s Bilgi University.“That would benefit neither Turkey nor the EU,” he said, adding that it is unlikely that relations would proceed in such a fashion. “It is necessary to turn a new, white page and the two sides should take symbolic steps.”The major stumbling bloc in Turkish-EU relations is the fate of the long-divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Brussels, the locus of the EU decision-making process, has criticized the Turkish government for not even partly meeting the requirements of the Ankara protocol under which Turkey is obliged to open its ports to shipping from Greek Cyprus.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Europe’s oldest zoo is in downtown Antwerp - Belgium.The Antwerp Zoo in Belgium is one of the oldest in Europe. In the mid-19th century it was fashionable to have a zoo garden in the outskirts of the city. Now all 10 hectares of the zoo are within the center of the city.Read and see the full story here.