MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• When expediency becomes principle.True friends and genuine leaders stand first for what is fair and just.Not long ago, relatively few Jews around the world could name Canada’s prime minister. Today, there are many hundreds who, though they did not know his name just weeks ago, now do.That is because the text and YouTube version of Stephen Harper’s extraordinary speech at a recent Canadian Conference on Anti-Semitism have gone viral, making their way onto Facebook and countless websites and parking themselves in thousands of in-boxes. In the speech, Harper made clear that he, unlike many, understands that the new anti-Israel rhetoric now taking the world by storm is nothing more than anti-Semitism repackaged.As Harper noted, “Harnessing disparate anti- Semitic, anti-American and anti-Western ideologies, [the attack on Israel’s legitimacy] targets the Jewish people by targeting the Jewish homeland, Israel, as the source of injustice and conflict in the world, and uses, perversely, the language of human rights to do so.”Harper understands that mere hand-wringing will not suffice, that it is, in fact, an abdication of responsibility. “We must be relentless in exposing this new anti-Semitism for what it is.Of course, like any country, Israel may be subjected to fair criticism... But when Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack – is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand.”And then Harper demonstrated what it means to be a leader: “As long as I am prime minister...Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost.”Canada will take a stand, whatever the cost. What a breath of fresh air, especially when compared with the dazzling display of “expediency over principle” that is the now acknowledged position of Washington.THERE ARE still conflicting accounts of what exactly Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton offered Binyamin Netanyahu in exchange for a 90-day extension of the building freeze. But many news sources, including Haaretz, claimed that the Obama administration promised not only F-35s, but increased pressure on Teheran to cease its quest for a nuclear weapon and an American commitment to fighting the growing assault on Israel’s very legitimacy – as long as Bibi cooperates.That alleged offer makes several things clear.First, it constitutes a tacit admission by the American administration that it has not applied anywhere near the kind of pressure on Iran that it could, if it only wanted to. Even though an Iranian nuclear weapon would put six million Jews (an “interesting” number, to be sure) in the crosshairs of a hate-mongering maniac, the US has thus far decided not to be serious about stopping Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. All that talk about Washington’s iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security has been just that.Do our friends not get it? Until this week, we might have thought that while America and Israel could disagree on certain policies, when it came to defending Israel’s fundamental legitimacy, there could be no doubt as to what the US would do. Now, the pretense is over. This administration will protect the Jews and their state only if the Jews accede to American demands that Washington thinks it needs to advance its own diplomatic agenda abroad. That is the sign neither of a trustworthy ally nor of a country animated by principle.There is precedent for this, of course. FDR did nothing to bomb the tracks to Auschwitz, and he closed America’s shores to boatloads of Jewish refugees with nowhere else to go. America has turned its back on the Jewish people before; if the reports emanating from Washington this week are correct, we are growing alarmingly close to that state of affairs once again. We are not there yet, but we could well be on our way.No, Prime Minister Harper. It is we who thank you, for demonstrating that it is still possible to stand for principle over expediency, and for making it clear that whatever disagreements one might have with Israel or with any other country, true friends and genuine leaders stand first for what is fair and for what is just.Harper represents what it means "Proud to be Canadian" I salute you Mr Prime Minister!Read the full story here.

• HT:CanadaFreePress.Americans opposed to airport body searches now labeled by US government as “domestic extremists”.Following the publication of my article titled “Gate Rape of America,” I was contacted by a source within the DHS who is troubled by the terminology and content of an internal memo reportedly issued yesterday at the hand of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Indeed, both the terminology and content contained in the document are troubling. The dissemination of the document itself is restricted by virtue of its classification, which prohibits any manner of public release. While the document cannot be posted or published, the more salient points are revealed here. The memo, which actually takes the form of an administrative directive, appears to be the product of undated but recent high level meetings between Napolitano, John Pistole, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA),and one or more of Obama’s national security advisors. This document officially addresses those who are opposed to, or engaged in the disruption of the implementation of the enhanced airport screening procedures as “domestic extremists.”The terminology contained within the reported memo is indeed troubling. It labels any person who “interferes” with TSA airport security screening procedure protocol and operations by actively objecting to the established screening process, “including but not limited to the anticipated national opt-out day” as a “domestic extremist.” The label is then broadened to include “any person, group or alternative media source” that actively objects to, causes others to object to, supports and/or elicits support for anyone who engages in such travel disruptions at U.S. airports in response to the enhanced security procedures.For individuals who engaged in such activity at screening points, it instructs TSA operations to obtain the identities of those individuals and other applicable information and submit the same electronically to the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, the Extremism and Radicalization branch of the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (IA) division of the Department of Homeland Security.For “any person, group or domestic alternative media source” that actively objects to, causes others to object to, supports and/or elicits support for anyone who engages in such travel “disruptions” at U.S. airports (as defined above) in response to the enhanced security procedures, the [applicable DHS administrative branch] is instructed to identify and collect information about the persons or entities, and submit such information in the manner outlined [within this directive].It would appear that the Department of Homeland Security is not only prepared to enforce the enhanced security procedures at airports, but is involved in gathering intelligence about those who don’t.Hmmm....what's next ?The Shutzstaffels?Read the full story here.

• 'Israel can't rely on Turkey or NATO for its defense,' expert says.Given the Turkish governments animosity toward Israel, the Israeli government would be foolish to think a missile defense system in Turkey would defend it from an Iran attack, according to an American foreign policy expert.Ariel Cohen, from Washington think tank The Heritage Foundation, criticized what he called the Turkish leadership’s adamant position on not letting any data collected by a planned NATO missile defense system radar be shared with Israel."This position suggests an ill intention against the security of Israel," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a Tuesday interview."This position can be perceived as potentially a support for those who'd like to attack Israel.Israel has its own missile defense system against potential missile attacks, Cohen said. Iran does not need to use Turkish airspace to hit Israel, he said, adding that Israel has complicated relations with some other NATO countries that are critical of some Israeli policies.While he described the outcome of the NATO summit as a win-win situation for both Ankara and Washington, he warned the question of operational control of the system remains an important one.“Everything should be agreed in advance. And it should be agreed on in a way that the system could not be shut down on the whim of one general or politician," he said.Cohen believes Turkey's general strategic vector is worrying a lot of people. Turkey's refusal to let United States soldiers use Turkish territory to enter Iraq in 2003, as well as its refusal to let U.S. warships enter the Black Sea, the offer of the Turkish-Russian platform which excluded the European Union and the U.S. during the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 and more recently the Turkish-Brazilian initiative on the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West, are all examples of worrying developments, he said."Obama has spent tremendous political capital by coming to Turkey in the early days of his administration, to highlight Turkey as a model of a democratic Muslim state. But he was thinking of the Turkey of eight years ago. This image no longer applies. Turkey has wasted its goodwill in Washington. Many in the U.S. are disappointed," he said.Cohen also criticized the U.S. for remaining passive in public diplomacy, saying it should have objected to movies like "Valley of the Wolves" that depict a negative image of Americans.Hmmm...Finally someone with common sense,get Turkey out of NATO NOW ! Read the full story here.

• HT:WND.Spreadin' the glove: TSA infecting U.S.?Latex coverings 'have been in crotches, armpits, touching people who may be ill'.Those latex gloves Transportation Security Administration agents wear while giving airline passengers those infamous full-body pat-downs apparently aren't there for the safety and security of passengers – only the TSA agents.That's the word being discussed on dozens of online forums and postings after it was noted that the agents wear the same gloves to pat down dozens, perhaps hundreds, of passengers, not changing them even though the Centers for Disease Control in its online writings has emphasized the important of clean hands to prevent the exchange of loathsome afflictions. "For those of you who fly and opt for the 'pat down,' you need to demand the TSA thugs change their gloves. I've been watching on the news how they operate. People are being searched [with] dirty gloves ... gloves that have been in crotches, armpits, touching people who may be ill, people who pick their noses. Do you want those gloves touching you? "These thugs are protecting themselves from you. You need to be protected from them," she wrote. "In a hospital, nursing home, in-home care, or even labs, that would never even be considered an option." Respondents to the comment were outraged, "That's just plain disgusting and most certainly not acceptable ... procedures as set forth by the CDC for usage of gloves for protection," said one. "Reasoning being is that the bacteria count in your pockets is about the same is your mouth or armpit." Wrote another forum participant, "Those gloves are soiled if they come out of your pockets and before handling my stuff you will be expected to obtain a clean, from the original container, pair. ... Who knows what filth inhabits your pockets!" Officials at the city-owned Denver International Airport, some 20 miles northeast of downtown, said they had no participation in making any health policy regarding the gloves used by TSA screeners on Denver passengers, and, in fact, did not know if there was a policy.Hmmm..."We feel your pain"?Read the full story here.

• Should Obama's 'internet kill switch' power be curbed?Under a World War II-era law, the US president appears to have authority to disconnect computer systems and servers from the internet in the event of a national emergency. But the next US Congress is poised to change that.The law was passed in 1942. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had provoked fear of a foreign invasion of US soil, and Congress responded by giving President Franklin Roosevelt broad power to commandeer or shutter telephone and telegraph networks.Nearly 70 years later, telegraph networks have disappeared, and the telephone is only one of many means of communication.But although the 1942 law makes no mention of the internet - merely of "any facility or station for wire communication" - the Obama administration in June told Congress it would cite it in an emergency.It has not been tested in court, but experts say section 706(d) of the Communications Act could give the president wide-ranging authority to shut down key computer systems. With typical Washington hyperbole, the law has become known as the presidential "internet kill switch".Civil liberties campaigners are concerned at the potential for the power to be abused."It's unlimited," said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, about the president's current power."They have the authority, and we've seen since 9/11 that the executive branch has always pushed its power to the limit."Privacy advocates say the law must be adjusted to ensure the president cannot use emergency war powers to snoop improperly on Americans' e-mail or other information.Hmmm...another step closer to total control, only the "Shutzstaffels" are missing...... for now.Read the full story here.

• Hezbollah official: We won't destroy Lebanon.A Hezbollah parliament member, Walid Sukkarieh, made an unusual statement Wednesday and said that "even if Hezbollah murdered Rafik Hariri, we have no interest in destroying Lebanon," the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat reported. Hezbollah is denying involvement in the former Lebanese prime minister's murder and making efforts to prevent indictments against the group being filed with the international tribunal investigating the affair. It is feared that Hezbollah will respond violently should indictments be filed.Hmmm...."Even if we killed Hariri"? Read the full story here.

• Commander snubs president, his wife in NATO summit.Turkey's military representative at NATO refused to welcome President Abdullah Gül upon his arrival in Lisbon for a summit of the alliance's leaders apparently because Gül's wife wears a headscarf, sources have said. Lt. Gen. Mehmet Veysi Ağar dismissed a question on whether to welcome President Gül, saying he was accompanied by his wife, Hayrünnisa. Diplomatic sources confirmed that Ağar had not welcomed Gül upon his arrival in Lisbon for the NATO summit on Nov. 19-20. The commander greeted Gül and his wife at their hotel but in a civilian outfit and not in his military uniform. Mrs. Gül's presence in state protocol has caused rifts with the staunchly secular military commanders in the past.In 2007, now Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Aslan Güner turned his back on the first lady and did not shake her hand, ostensibly because she wore a headscarf, as he bid farewell to the president at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. In a statement issued in October, three years after the incident, the General Staff said the general did not intentionally turn his back on the first lady but that he had to get into place at the farewell ceremony. Until recently, Mrs. Gül did not walk on the red carpet along with her husband in official welcoming ceremonies for foreign leaders because high-ranking military officers in the protocol avoid contact with her.Hmmmmm....a man with principles,who raises above the ranks.Read the full story here.

• TSA Blasts Planned Boycott of Body Scanners on Thanksgiving Eve as 'Irresponsible'.The growing backlash over the government's use of high-tech body scanners finally comes to a head Wednesday, the day activists have urged airline passengers to opt out of what they call a virtual strip search and submit to an "enhanced" pat-down.National Opt-Out Day arrives the day before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year. More than 24 million people are expected to fly on U.S. airlines over 12 days ending Nov. 30.The boycott has not been organized beyond a website -- a weakness that will likely undermine the goal of organizers to cause headaches at airports across the country.Yet TSA Administrator John Pistole still called the boycott "irresponsible."Read the full story here.

• Russian agent says Islamic charity tied to terrorism.A former Russian counterterrorism agent testified Tuesday that an Islamic charity that once had its U.S. headquarters in Oregon was financing Islamic fighters battling the Russian Army in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.However, under cross-examination, Col. Sergey Ignatchenko acknowledged that the names he had of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation officials tied to terrorism did not include defendant Pete Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty."I never knew about him, I never heard about him," he said.Judge Michael Hogan postponed sentencing, saying he needed a couple weeks to prepare a written response to legal issues, particularly whether to apply the so-called terrorism enhancement that would give Seda the maximum eight years in prison for his convictions for tax fraud and conspiracy.A former Ashland, Ore., peace activist and tree surgeon, Seda is an Iranian-born, naturalized U.S. citizen and a co-founder of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in the U.S.Hmmm....the religion of peace.Read the full story here.

• HT:BloggerBase.Defamation of Religions Resolution Passed in Third Committee.Draft was adopted with 76 votes in favor, 64 against and 42 abstentions.Many of the news reports mention the decreasing level of support for the resolution. So it got five fewer votes in favor and nine more in opposition. Big deal, it still passed. While the trend is encouraging, it is not satisfying. The U.N.'s press release is ambiguous, leaving uncertainty about the identity and content of the draft which was voted on.This provision is an obvious demand that our schools be used to indoctrinate students with hagiographic images of Islam, falsely portraying it as a "religion of peace" They are waging war against us, trying to out breed & subvert us and we are supposed to tolerate it. Yeah, right. We are supposed to respect a war cult whose members believe that they have a divine mission to conquer us. Yeah, right. This vote by the third committee sets the stage for final passage by the General Assembly next month. That will give Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and others immoral support for the local laws used to persecute minorities. On a parallel track, running under the radar, the HRC's Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards is working on a protocol to inject the resolution's provisions into ICERD, giving them the force of international law. Few know about this, nobody is doing anything to stop it. Now is the time to rise up and raise Hell! For liberty's sake, sign, publicize, promote and share this petition: International Qur'an Petition.Read the full story here.

• Fears of Domino Effect Pervade Europe .Loss of Confidence Extends From Ireland to Spain, Portugal; Bond Spreads Widen as Euro Tumbles.Contagion once again emerged in Europe as investors turned from Ireland's debt crisis and set their sights on Portugal and Spain.Both Spanish and Portuguese bond prices fell sharply Tuesday, and the yields above German bunds rose to records. The euro slid below $1.34 for the first time in two months, though part of the weakness came as investors turned to the safe-haven status of the U.S. dollar after North Korean artillery attacks on South Korea."People that are betting on contagion are probably making the right bet here," said David Gilmore, a strategist at Foreign Exchange Analytics. "There's not really anything to stop the markets from pushing the next domino over".Hmmmm....Still beats being your own US debt holder.Read the full story here.

• Bangladeshi man lashed 100 times for having sex with Filipina maid in the UAE. A unmarried foreign couple who admitted having sex in the United Arab Emirates have been ordered to receive 100 lashes by a sharia court.The pair - a Filipina maid and her Bangladeshi boyfriend - were also ordered to be deported after the harsh punishment meted out just 20 miles from Dubai in Sharjah.Police arrested the couple after a house owner reported how she saw the man, only identified as S.M., leave the home.The man is believed to have already undergone his punishment, sustaining horrendous welts on his back and legs.But the man's ordeal may not yet be over - it was reported that the man may face a year in prison for illegally entering the sponsor's home.According to Sharia law if Muslims commit adultery they will be lashed and deported if they are expatriates, but non-Muslims will only be jailed and deported.Hmmm...Obama "Islam is a great religion".Read the full story here.

• Islamic Nations’ ‘Religious Defamation’ Drive Is Losing Steam. An Islamic-led campaign against “religious defamation” suffered a fresh setback Tuesday when a U.N. General Assembly committee passed an annual draft resolution on the subject by the smallest margin ever. Just 12 votes separated countries voting for and against the measure.The vote by the General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with social, cultural, and humanitarian issues, passed 76-64, with 42 abstentions.The full General Assembly will vote on the resolution next month, but in previous years the committee vote usually has been a good indication of the final one. (In 2009 and 2008 the vote difference shrank between the time it moved through the Third Committee and the final General Assembly vote; in 2007 it went the other way.)Read the full story here.

• Protester killed as Egypt Christians clash with police.One demonstrator was killed and dozens injured on Wednesday as Christian protesters clashed with Egyptian police over the refusal of permission for a new church, a security official said.The clashes came amid mounting sectarian tensions in the Arab world's most populous nation after Muslims set fire to homes owned by the family of a Christian man rumored to have flirted with a Muslim girl in the south. A security official told AFP that a young male demonstrator was killed during the protests over the church and that a senior police officer was among the injured."People here feel very discriminated against. We can't build the church - why are they stopping us?" asked Samih Rashid. "Every street has a mosque, every church has a mosque next to it," he complained.More than 20 young Muslim men shouting anti-Coptic slogans threw rocks at the demonstrators under a bridge on the ring road where some of the police fired tear gas at the Copts. "This is the way the government starts sectarian strife," said one of the demonstrators, who were heard chanting: "With our blood and with our souls we will sacrifice our lives for you, oh Cross."They were protesting against the government's decision not to allow the Copts to turn a community centre that they were building into a church, with witnesses saying construction workers had been arrested on their way to the site.Hmmmm....Interfaith dialog at it's best?Read the full story here.More here - Islamists lay siege to Coptic church near pyramids.

• Next step for body scanners could be trains, boats, metro.The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats.Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists will continue to look for U.S. vulnerabilities, making tighter security standards necessary.“[Terrorists] are going to continue to probe the system and try to find a way through,” Napolitano said in an interview that aired Monday night on "Charlie Rose." “I think the tighter we get on aviation, we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime. So, what do we need to be doing to strengthen our protections there?”“I think there’s some important work that’s being done on that but … the Secretary of Homeland Security cannot wait for that.”Hmmm... i said already earlier here on this blog that they would place them on other locations also.It's all about control and money making " "I do think at a certain point you've made enough money"?Read the full story here.

• Belgium rounds up 26 in anti-terror raids.BRUSSELS — Police busted Tuesday a Chechnya-linked Islamist network plotting to attack Belgium and rounded up another extremist group suspected of recruiting jihad fighters, amid heightened terrorism fears in Europe.Authorities detained 11 people in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany as part of an investigation into a plot against an unspecified target in Belgium.Hours later, Belgian officials announced the detention of some 15 people in Brussels in connection with a separate probe into a group suspected of recruiting would-be "jihadists" willing to do battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.In the first operation, a Chechen and six Belgian-Moroccan men were detained in the northern Belgian port city of Antwerp, three Dutch men in Amsterdam and a Russian national in Aachen, Germany, officials said."There were plans aimed at committing an attack in Belgium by an international terrorist group using for this purpose an extremist internet site, Ansar Al Mujahideen," said the Belgian prosecutor's office.The Belgian prosecutor's office announced later the arrest of "around 15 people" following searches in homes across Brussels in a pre-dawn operation aimed at "dismantling a group with terrorist characteristics".The arrests followed a three-year investigation into the Belgian Assabil Islamic Centre, considered a hotbed for Muslim radicalism since the 1990s.Read the full story here.

• Poll: Majority oppose body scans, nearly half seek alternative to flying.The use of backscatter x-ray machines to scan travelers' bodies and new pat down procedures at airports will cause 48% of Americans to seek an alternative means of transportation, according to a Zogby International poll.Of the 2,032 likely voters polled between November 19 and November 22, 61 percent said they oppose the use of body scanners and pat downs.The findings of the Zogby poll strikingly contradict an earlier poll of 1,137 adults conducted by CBS News November 7 to November 10. That poll found only 15 percent of respondents were opposed to the use of body scanners at airport security checkpoints, with four out of five saying they're in favor.A Washington Post-ABC News poll of 514 adults conducted on November 21 found over half of respondents supported the use of body scanners and 70 percent supported the use of profiling at airports.Another poll, conducted by USA TODAY/Gallup and published today, found that most travelers are bothered or angered by pat downs.The American Civil Liberties Union has received more than 600 complaints from passengers, a legislative counsel for the organization told the Associated Press.Read the full story here.

• U.S. aircraft carrier to take part in joint drills with S. Korea.A U.S. naval task force led by the George Washington nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will join South Korean warships in naval exercises on November 28 - December 1, Yonhap news agency said Wednesday.The United States and South Korea earlier announced joint naval drills in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.The drills will be held in the wake of a recent military clash between North Korea and South Korea. The South claimed it returned fire after the North opened artillery fire on the its Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, killing at least two South Korean marines. Sixteen others were injured, along with three civilians.North Korea later blamed the South for causing the incident.Read the full story here.

• Obama’s Pick for ATF Chief Is ‘Anti-Gun,’ Say Pro-Second Amendment Groups.Gun rights advocates are unhappy with President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).Obama announced on Nov. 15 his intent to nominate Andrew Traver, presently the special agent in charge of the ATF's Chicago office, to be the director of the agency.Both the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) criticized the president’s selection.According to the NRA, "Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers.”Alan Gottlieb, chairman of CCRKBA, told CNSNews.com that as ATF director, Traver would exercise vast control over all levels of the firearm industry.Read the full story here.

• Arctic air mass finalized to hit Southern California hard.A very abnormal air mass is set to hit the Southland at an alarming rate, according to forecasts at the Southern California Weather Authority.Multiple weather alerts have been issued for this air mass, including the Wind Chill Warning for the Santa Ana Wind prone areas."I've been warning about this one for days now and it looks like it may actually happen", Meteorologist Kevin Martin said. "This will be the first Wind Chill Warning at the Southern California Weather Authority for the areas that get Santa Ana Winds. The air mass is so cold up there and temperatures will already be freezing when these winds hit. An arctic wind is about to hit the Southland on Wednesday night through Thursday".In addition to the Wind Chill Warning, several other freeze products are also issued at the Southern California Weather Authority.Read the full story here.