MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• HT:JIDaily.Israel vs. the International Criminal Court.For more than six decades, Israel has been subjected to violence, warfare, and a relentless campaign of terror attacks deliberately targeting civilians. Today, these attacks are spearheaded by states, including Iran and Syria, and terror organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the PFLP, and even al-Qaeda.But that is not all. This "hard-power" war is bolstered by a corresponding "soft-power" war aimed at delegitimizing and demonizing the Jewish state. The latter campaign is led by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) utilizing the rhetoric of international law and human rights. Their efforts are funded by the European Union, European governments, George Soros, the Ford Foundation, and others.Read the full story here.

• Two Afghan converts to Christianity risk the death penalty.Two Afghans accused of converting to Christianity could face the death penalty, a prosecuting lawyer said on Sunday. Musa Sayed, 45, and Ahmad Shah, 50, are being detained in the Afghan capital awaiting trial, the prosecutor in charge of western Kabul, Din Mohammad Quraishi, said. “They are accused of conversion to another religion, which is considered a crime under Islamic law. If proved, they face the death penalty or life imprisonment,” Quraishi said. Sayed, a Red Cross (ICRC) employee, has already confessed. There is also "proof" against Shah, Quraishi explained.Sayed and Shah were arrested in late May and early June, days after local television broadcast footage of men reciting Christian prayers in Farsi and being baptised, apparently in a house in Kabul. The TV station also showed some people engaged in proselytising, which is banned in the Muslim country.The government launched its own investigation into the matter and suspended two aid groups, Norwegian Church Aid (a Protestant organisation) and Church World Service of the US (which includes Protestants, Orthodox and Anglicans), after the TV station reported two of their members were proselytising.The Afghan constitution, adopted after the fall of the Islamic Taliban in late 2001, forbids conversion to another religion from Islam and in theory can sentence those found guilty to death. However, no one has been executed in recent years for converting.Hmmm...Sometimes i wonder what in heaven's name are coalition troops doing in this god forsaken land Read the full story here.

• HT:Iwilloptout.TSA Harassment In Phoenix: Breast Milk Video.It’s not really a pat-down story, but as presented this story makes the case for inconsistent implementation of TSA policy and suggests passive-aggressive wielding of power.On 1 February 2010, Stacey Armato missed her commuter flight (Phoenix to LAX) because of how she was treated by TSA agents. At the time, her son was seven months old; she was traveling with breast milk. The week before, she had filed a complaint because, she says, the Phoenix TSA agents did not know that breast milk could be exempt from x-ray scanning.From the TSA website:Mothers flying with, and now without, their child will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint.Breast milk is in the same category as liquid medications.And about the special exemption?We normally X-ray medication and related supplies. However, as a customer service, you may ask that Security Officers visually inspect your medication and associated supplies.Now read and see how the person in question was treated by the TSA here.More here.

• Official: Student has hostages in Wis. high school.An armed student burst into a high school classroom and took hostages in eastern Wisconsin on Monday, an emergency management official said.A Marinette High School administrator called authorities shortly after 3 p.m. to say a student had taken over a classroom, according to county emergency management director Eric Burmeister. He was not sure how many people were in the classroom and no injuries had been reported Monday evening.Read the full story here.More here.

• Updated.Florida School Bans Christmas Colors.A school in Florida has not only banned Christmas — but everything associated with the Christian holiday.Teachers at Heathrow Elementary School have been ordered to banish images of Santa Claus from classrooms — along with traditional Christmas colors like red and green.“You can’t use red and green,” one outraged parent told WESH. “It’s ridiculous.”The parent, who serves as a volunteer room mother, said she was recently given a list of guidelines that listed the holiday restrictions.She said the basic theme of the letter was, “We don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus or the Christian beliefs.”The Seminole County School Board has a policy that demands employees must be neutral on religious issues. Schools are not allowed to observe or promote holidays as religious events.Charter of the Human rights.

           Article 18."Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;this 
           right  includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or          
          in  community with others and  in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief 
          in  teaching, practice, worship and observance. Read the full story here.

• Grand Mufti condemns extremism and violence in sermon, experts discuss it.The Hajj sermon delivered by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, at the Nmira Mosque in Makkah has raised interest levels among specialists because of its harsh condemnation of terrorism. Excerpts from the sermon, which condemns terrorism and urges moderation, were reprinted in hundreds of newspapers in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Some clips with English subtitles have appeared on the internet, posted on YouTube. Speaking about Islam, he said that it is a religious of forgiveness and moderation. Violence is against Islamic ethics. The ultimate purpose of Islam is to spread peace and security. As he described what he meant by intellectual security, the mufti called on Muslim communities to guard against deviancy, especially extremism and fanaticism. He warned that recent advancements in media and technology have led to the spread of dangerous ideologies and cyber terrorism. He called on Muslim teachers, imams, scholars, think tanks and professors to spread the true message of Islam and fight the spread of extremism.At the same time, experts believe that his sermon likely reflects a tendency towards moderation inspired by the Saudi ruling family, which is increasingly concerned about extremism and terrorist violence.Hmmmmm.......Vox populi, vox Dei? Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Terrorist Behind Baghdad Church Attack Arrested.The Iraqi ministry of interior has announced the arrest of 12 terrorists who were responsible for a series of spectacular terrorist attacks, including the Baghdad church attack late last month as well attacks on the central bank and the Al-Arabiya TV offices.The cell is headed by someone by the name of Hadhifa al-Battawi, who has the title of "the Wali of Baghdad" and is the successor of Munif al-Rawi, who is in custody.The authorities have seized five "factories" for making car bombs and explosive belts, and more than six tons of explosives and a number of tubes with poison material.Source.

• WikiLeaks dispatch: Iran's Khamenei has terminal cancer.Supreme Leader is terminally ill and could die in a few months, claims Iranian source in leaked U.S. diplomatic cable.U.S. diplomatic cables released by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks include remarks from an Iran source in 2009 saying Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has terminal cancer, French daily Le Monde reported. The source, a non-Iranian businessman based in Central Asia and travelling often to Tehran, "has learned from one of his contacts that (former president Ali Akbar) Rafsanjani told him Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has terminal stage leukaemia and could die in a few months", according to an August 2009 cable.Read the full story here.

• Obama Proposes Freeze on Federal-Worker Pay .President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a two-year salary freeze for all federal civilian employees, ahead of negotiations with Congress on deficit-cutting that are likely to dominate Washington next year.The freeze, which would require congressional approval, would affect about two million workers and cover calendar years 2011 and 2012.Though in effect for two years, the proposed freeze would save $28 billion over five years and more than $60 billion over 10 years as the government pockets savings from a lower wage base for its civilian work force, said Jeffrey Zients, deputy White House budget director for management.Workers were due to have a 1.4% pay raise in 2011. Federal wages generally rise each year in step with inflation, though Congress often makes adjustments.He called the announcement "the first of many difficult steps ahead" as Washington tries to curb a $1.4 trillion deficit, steps that he said "will ask all of us to make sacrifices."The White House had to make the announcement ahead of Tuesday's statutory deadline for White House notification to Congress of different pay rates for different localities where federal workers are employed.Hmmmm....when is the next vacation trip planned for the Royal household Presidential family?Ah yes Christmas Hawai ...the President is planning to leave on the 23 Th of December and to return on the 03 th of Januari 2011.In 2009 the cost was $ 4000 a night !Read the full story here.

• Related:THE 2010 HAWAII VACATION.President Obama, born (yes, BORN!) and raised in Hawaii, looks forward to his annual Christmas vacation there with his family and close friends. Given the current economic crisis, President Obama understands that a Hawaii vacation is out of reach for many Americans. And he feels sad about that. Which is why in a spirit of openness and transparency, President Obama is sharing his Hawaii vacation experience with the American People.Read the full "Let them eat cake" story here.

• Erdoğan: We won't side with inflictors of cruelty.Turkey is resolute on establishing world peace and it will always remain on the side of justice, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said. Speaking at the opening ceremony for Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University's Alliance of Civilizations Institute on Saturday, Erdoğan said: “At the cost of being target of injustice, we will never side of the inflictors of cruelty. We know that being on the side of what is right and just is stronger than any weapon.”Erdoğan said Turkey is pursuing a multi-dimensional foreign policy and that nobody should expect to see a one-sided approach from Turkey any longer. “Yes, we started EU accession negotiations and we are continuing, and will be continuing, them with determination. At the same time, we will also be closely interested in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus and will play our part for peace, justice, prosperity and solidarity in these regions.”Hmmm.....Qur'an (5:51)"O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people."That about covers it Pm Erdogan(İmam Hatip schooled) .Read the full "story" here.

• Israel, US agree: Turkish gov't 'hates' Israel.Former US Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey believes Turkish foreign policy has 'Rolls Royce ambitions, but Rover resources' and that Ankara cannot compete with global or regional powers. US documents released by WikiLeaks also show Jeffrey did not see a viable alternative on the horizon to the current Turkish government.Deteriorating ties between Tel Aviv and Ankara are “attributable exclusively” to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s hatred of Israel, U.S. and Israeli diplomats agreed, according to a confidential cable by the U.S. embassy.In it, Israel’s ambassador to Ankara Gabby Levy blames Erdoğan for the hostilities, an assessment with which the United States expresses agreement.“Levy dismissed political calculation as a motivator for Erdoğan’s hostility, arguing the prime minister’s party had not gained a single point in the polls from his bashing of Israel,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey said in the cable dated Oct. 27, 2009, about his talks with the Israeli ambassador. “Instead, Levy attributed Erdoğan’s harshness to deep-seated emotion.”The U.S. diplomat quoted Levy as saying of the Turkish prime minister: “He’s a fundamentalist. He hates us religiously.”Though he said Turkish foreign policy was becoming more Islamic, Jeffrey added that this would not mean the NATO ally would abandon the West. “Does all this mean that the country is becoming more focused on the Islamist world and its Muslim tradition in its foreign policy? Absolutely,” Jeffrey wrote. “Does it mean that it is abandoning or wants to abandon its traditional Western orientation and willingness to cooperate with us? Absolutely not.”Hmmm....i wouldn't take a single bet on the latter.Read the full story here.

• Turkey yet to ratify convention on violence against children.Turkey’s participation in a campaign launched in Rome to raise public awareness about sexual abuse and violence against children has been hampered by Parliament’s failure to ratify accords involved in the campaign.As Ankara planned to ratify the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was expected to attend a meeting to launch the campaign in the Italian capital, however Minister of State for Women and Family Issues Selma Aliye Kavaf attended the Monday meeting in his place.More than 40 countries have signed the Council of Europe convention, which Turkey aimed to finalize before the meeting in Rome. The convention came into force July 1 and aims to prevent sexual offenses against children, prosecute perpetrators and protect child victims of violence and sexual abuse.
  Hmmmm....ten countries have ratified it till now?Read the full story here.

• Muslim girl killed for love affair with Hindu.A Muslim man has been arrested for killing his teenaged daughter who was in love with a Hindu youth from the same village, police said Thursday.Mushtakeem, a resident of Mawaithakuran village, strangled his 18-year-old daughter Rehana Parveen after she insisted on marrying her lover Bhoora Prajapati, 21, police said.Mushtakeem was arrested late Wednesday after Parveen’s body was recovered from their home. The village is in Moradabad district, some 300 km from Lucknow.According to police, Prajapati and Parveen used to meet regularly in the fields on the outskirts of the village. But as Parveen had not been coming for the last few days, Prajapati approached police suspecting the girl could be in trouble.Police raided Mushtakeem’s house and recovered his daughter’s body from a locked room.“Preliminary investigations indicate it’s a case of DIShonor killing. The father has confessed to the crime,” police inspector Ravi Kumar told reporters Thursday.“The father told us he committed the crime as he thought his daughter’s marriage with the youth of a different community would bring a bad name to the family,” he added.According to police, besides the father, the girl’s family members could also be involved in the crime.In India Hindu girls are frequently fallen with love with various tricks by the Muslim boys and they are successful to marry a good numbers of Hindu girls in the Muslim prone areas of India. But they never allow the vice-versa.In Kerala, numbers of cases are pending in various courts against love intrigue, elopement, abduction, blackmailing after affairs or forceful marriage with Hindu girls by the Muslim boys, which is now believed as an Islamic agenda of some fundamental organizations, now called as Love Jihad. These Jihadists keep keen vigil upon the Muslim girls as they must not get any chance to make a love affair with Hindu boys. Then the DIShonor killings come alike.Hmmmm....if we can't kill them we'll breed them out?Welcome to A.D. 620.Read the full story here.

• Muslim orphans caught between Islamic, Western law.Helene Lauffer knew Muslim children - orphaned, displaced, neglected - needed homes in the United States. She knew American Muslim families wanted to take them in. But Lauffer, associate executive director of Spence-Chapin, one of the oldest adoption agencies in the country, couldn't bring them together. The problem was a gap between Western and Islamic law. Traditional, closed adoption violates Islamic jurisprudence, which stresses the importance of lineage. Instead, Islam has a guardianship system called kafalah that resembles foster care, yet has no exact counterpart in Western law. The differences have left young Muslims with little chance of finding a permanent Muslim home in America. So Lauffer sought out a group of Muslim women scholars and activists, hoping they could at least start a discussion among U.S. Muslims about how adoption and Islamic law could become compatible.Refugee children from Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere are being resettled here. Muslim couples who can't conceive want to adopt, but don't want to violate their faith's teachings. State child welfare agencies that permanently remove Muslim children from troubled homes usually can't find Muslim families to adopt them because of the restrictions in Islamic law.When an orphan reaches puberty, the Islamic prohibition against mixing of the sexes applies inside the home of his or her guardians. Muslim men cannot be alone with women they could potentially marry, and women must cover their hair around these men. Islamic law sets out detailed rules about who believers can and cannot marry, and an orphan taken in from another family would not automatically be considered "unmarriageable" to his siblings or guardians.Hmmmm....Obama : "Islam is a great religion". Read the full story here.

• 2nd Star of David 'uncovered' in Tehran. Satellite image shows symbol associated with Israel on roof of national airline building. Local media say structure built by Israeli engineers before revolution.Iranian authorities once again 'hit' by past friendly relations with Israel : Images published Saturday by Iranian media outlets show a Star of David on the roof of the main national airline's building at the Tehran airport.The satellite image was taken from the Google Earth service. According to the Iranian report, the Iran Air building was "built by Israeli engineers," who operated in the countries before the 1979 Islamic Revolution during the days of Shaa Mohammad Reza Pahlavi."It's interesting that even 32 years after the victory of the revolution, this Zionist star symbol has yet to be removed from this building," a local news website wrote.The calls to remove the Star of David, which the Iranian authorities view as a symbol associated with Israel, were accompanied by local media reports on the close relations with Israel in the past, which were completely severed after the revolution.Hmmmm....It's a Zionist plot?Read the full story here.

• Turkish draft brings ‘axis shift’ in property sales.A draft prepared by Turkey’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing would ease rules for property sales to foreign nationals, but some will not be able to enjoy the relaxed conditions.However, a controversial restriction in the draft involves the sale of construction parcels and farmland to citizens of Israel and Greece, Milliyet reported. While all other foreign nationals may be able to buy as much as 99,000 square meters of land, Israeli and Greek citizens will not be able to purchase parcels and land in Turkey. Another controversial clause in the draft says citizens of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Arab Gulf states will be able to purchase land even without any restriction on size To put it bluntly Turkey is up for sale to Islamic countries?A previous proposal to limit the usage rights of foreigners regarding property they purchased in Turkey to 99 years has been shelved, Milliyet said. According to the new policy, foreign nationals owning property in Turkey would have usage rights without any time limitation.
  Hmmmm....and they want to become part of the European Union?I don't think so with those racist tactics.Get Turkey out of NATO NOW !Read the full story here.

• Saudi Arabian man rejects marriage proposals for 42-year-old surgeon daughter… because he keeps her salary if she is single.A Saudi single mother, who sued her father for not allowing her to marry, has had her guardian changed and, approaching her 43th birthday, hopes she will now be allowed to wed.In a landmark case surgeon Samar Badawi ran away from home in March 2008 as she was so frustrated that her father, who was taking her healthy salary, was keeping her single – or ‘adhl’ as it is known.She spent two years in a women’s protection house in Jeddah waiting for the court ruling, only to find that she was sentenced to six months in jail for disobedience in April this year.But despite testimonies from suitors turned away by her father, bank documents that show her father taking over her salary, medical reports showing physical abuse, and the fact that her four other single sisters over 30 face the same destiny, no ruling has yet been issued.Now Miss Badawi has been released and her uncle has been granted guardianship over her. Her plight has served to highlight the problems facing many Saudi women.In Saudi Arabia, no woman can travel, gain admittance to a public hospital or live independently without a 'mahram' or guardian.Men can beat women who don't obey, with special instructions not to pop the eye, break an arm or leave a mark on their bodies. In the Saudi public school curriculum, boys are taught how to use their guardianship rights.'Be jealous, beat her hands, protect her and achieve superiority over her,' reads page 212 of the Prophet Sayings textbook for 11th grade.The concept of guardianship is interpreted in conservative Islam as meaning that men are superior to women.Hmmmm....Obama :"Islam is a great religion".Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.That's a bit too much crunch in my salad: Woman finds live giant Egyptian grasshopper in her bag of greens from the local supermarket.A Sussex woman's lunch almost became a Bushtucker Trial this week when she discovered a live giant grasshopper in a salad bag.The likes of Alison Hammond and Kayla Collins got close to some creepy critters during Sunday's episode of I'm A Celebrity... Get me Out Of Here! but an unnamed Brighton woman had a bigger shock after picking up a healthy lunch from a branch of Tesco in Lewes.The unnamed shopper was about to sit down for lunch on the East Sussex coast when she found the three-inch insect alive and well among her bag of leaves.The insect had survived a trip from Egypt in the salad bag before it gave the woman a surprise at the dining table.Showing admirable calm under pressure - especially as her appetite had been undoubtedly spoiled - the woman passed on the creature to the RSPCA, who received the animal on condition of anonymity for the shopper.The grasshopper - which the National History Museum has verified as Egyptian - has since been re-homed it at nearby Drusillas Zoo, where it was received by spider and insect expert Angela Hale earlier this month.Read the full story here.