MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Faith and Art :Goddess of Love emerges into foaming Cypriot row.She may be the ancient Greek Goddess of Love, but a picture of a nude Aphrodite on the new passport of Cyprus has set more than hearts racing.Cypriot diplomats are furious with the interior ministry for failing to consult with the foreign ministry before issuing passports with a depiction of a naked immortal that might offend conservative foreign cultures."They are worried that civilians and diplomats could get into trouble, particularly traveling to very conservative Islamic countries," the authoritative Phileleftheros daily newspaper wrote on Thursday.The interior ministry said it was too late to change them, the newspaper said.Local legend says Aphrodite (also known as Venus to the ancient Romans) emerged from the sea on a crest of foam just off the Mediterranean island.The image on the new biometric passports is modeled on a Greek marble statue of a completely naked Aphrodite in the Cyprus Museum located in the capital Nicosia.Hmmmmm....The "Death" of art as we know it?Read the full story here.

• Muslim Public Affairs Council Convention.Islamophobia, rampant racism, escalating hate crimes – is there an answer for these attacks on the Muslim community? This question was posed and discussed by a broad field of speakers during the 10th annual convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) this past weekend in Los Angeles.The first panel featured MPAC President Salaam Al Marayati as moderator. Speakers were: Rashad Hussain, President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy to the OIC; civil rights attorney Reem Salahi; Pastor Bob Roberts of the Northwood Church in Texas; Rev. Madison Shockley of the Pilgrim United Church of Christ in California; Angela Oh, Executive Director the Western Justice Center, and Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.The second session featured Edina Lekovic as moderator. Ms Lekovic is the Director of Policy and Programming for MPAC. Her co panelists were: Dr. Maher Hathout, a respected speaker and activist in the Islamic community and in interfaith work; Imam Suhaib Webb, an activist and Islamic scholar; Asma Uddin, Founder and Editor and Chief of ; Imam Johari Abdul Malik of Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center; Dr. Abdul Azziz Sachedena, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, and stand up comedian and film producer, Aman Ali.All the speakers emphasized the importance of civic engagement as an antidote to Islamophobia and racist attitudes.Hmmmm....Islamophobia :Guestspeaker :Imam Johari Abdul Malik"Islam will be USA's First Religion" he gave this sermon in November 2004, at Dar al Hijrah, a mosque located in Falls Church, Virgnia. The mosque has been a place of worship for notable terrorists and extremists including Abdurahman Alamoudi, who attended the mosque before his September 2003 indictment for illegal fnancial dealings with Libya, and Hamas political leader Mousa Abu Marzook, who attended the mosque while living in the United States.Now why would people be Islamophobic ,my guess they have Islamosophia. Read the full story here.

• Bloomberg's aides provided political support for Ground Zero mosque, released emails show.Mayor Bloomberg's top deputies went to great lengths to help the developers of a planned mosque near Ground Zero - even drafting a letter to the community board for them.A flurry of emails released by City Hall yesterday revealed the coaching Hizzoner's brass gave to the imam pushing to build the mosque, Feisal Abdul Rauf.At one point, Community Affairs Commissioner Nazli Parvizi even drafted a letter for Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, to send to Community Board 1, which was voting on the project.Another email shows that Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Fatima Shama expedited a temporary public assembly permit for the group to conduct prayers in January at the site, known as 51 Park.City Hall says it is the job of the community and immigrant affairs commissioners to assist community groups, including drafting letters for them. Officials noted Bloomberg has always been in favor of building the mosque near Ground Zero.But one critic of the mosque charged that the emails prove that backers rigged the public approval process."They were in cahoots all along," steamed Andy Sullivan, a Queens construction worker and vocal mosque critic.
  Hmmmm.....Businesss"Blooming"with Islam?Read the full story here.

• HT:AmnonAndJonathan.Sad story about 72 happy virgins.Poor medicare and social taboo conspire to chain a mentally-ill patient to a post or send him to Israeli "settlement," hoping IDF would shoot him.Boy caught near central West Bank settlement of Beit El, said family forced him at gunpoint to go to settlement in hopes he would be killed.Hmmmm....Merry Christmas.Read the full story here.

• Indonesian Muslim cleric warns against over-the-top Christmas.JAKARTA (Reuters Life!) - Opulent Christmas decorations at shopping malls in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, could incite anger among non-Christians, the country's highest Islamic authority said on Thursday.Although 90 percent of the country's 240 million people are Muslim, the capital's myriad glitzy malls have been decorated with Christmas lights and bunting -- including faux snow, Santas and nativity scenes."Christmas describes a certain religion, and if the religion advertises it too overtly -- even though they have only a small number of followers -- it will cause jealousy and anger from other groups," said Ma'ruf Amin, of Indonesia's Ulema Council.Retailers say the giant Christmas trees, paper mache reindeers and carols serve no religious purpose and are there to attract more shoppers during the holiday seasons.But Amin said over-the-top festivities could hurt existing tolerance."You can attract buyers without using religious symbols," he told Reuters. "Even the majority (Muslims) celebrate their big days modestly. How come a few followers who have plenty of money celebrate it the other way?"Indonesia's Muslims are overwhelmingly moderate, but analysts say hardliners are becoming increasingly vocal, creating tensions that if not managed, could spark the sort of religious violence last seen over a decade ago.The Jakarta Post quoted a pluralist group, The Wahid Institute, recording 133 challenges to religious freedom this year, saying the attacks were directed at Christians and Ahmadiyya followers, an Islamic sect considered heretical by some.Officially secular, Indonesia nevertheless marks Friday as a Christmas public holiday.Hmmmm......Obama "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

• Rape Victim Arrested at Airport After Refusing TSA Pat Down.Early Wednesday morning, a computer glitch shut down a security checkpoint for a couple of hours at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The line snaked out the door as many travelers waited for more than an hour and some missed their flights. One of the first people in line after that shutdown never made it through. She was arrested and banned from the airport.Claire Hirschkind, 56, who says she is a rape victim and who has a pacemaker-type device implanted in her chest, says her constitutional rights were violated. She says she never broke any laws. But the Transportation Security Administration disagrees.Hirschkind was hoping to spend Christmas with friends in California, but she never made it past the security checkpoint."I can't go through because I have the equivalent of a pacemaker in me," she said.Hirschkind said because of the device in her body, she was led to a female TSA employee and three Austin police officers. She says she was told she was going to be patted down."I turned to the police officer and said, 'I have given no due cause to give up my constitutional rights. You can wand me,'" and they said, 'No, you have to do this,'" she said.Hirschkind agreed to the pat down, but on one condition."I told them, 'No, I'm not going to have my breasts felt,' and she said, 'Yes, you are,'" said Hirschkind.When Hirschkind refused, she says that "the police actually pushed me to the floor, (and) handcuffed me. I was crying by then. They drug me 25 yards across the floor in front of the whole security."Hmmm....."It's unfortunate that that happened and she didn't get to fly home, but it makes me feel a little safer," said Emily Protine.Read the full story here.

• King County transit service pull "Anti Israel" adds.Citing potential for disruption to transit service, Executive implements interim Metro policy restricting new non-commercial advertising on buses.Escalation of global interest in ad critical of Israel raises risk of service disruption; Metro rejects ad and response adsCiting the potential for disruption to transit service, King County Executive Dow Constantine today approved an interim policy from Metro Transit that calls for a halt to the acceptance of any new non-commercial advertising on King County buses. Under provisions of the previous policy, Metro officials today also rejected a proposed ad from the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign and the proposed response ads from two other groups."The escalation of this issue from one of 12 local bus placards to a widespread and often vitriolic international debate introduces new and significant security concerns that compel reassessment," said Executive Constantine."My job is to deliver essential services to the people of King County, including transit service," he added. "I have consulted with federal and local law enforcement authorities who have expressed concern, in the context of this international debate, that our public transportation system could be vulnerable to disruption."Metro sells advertising to raise revenues to provide transit service. Metro's existing policy restricts advertising that can be reasonably foreseen to result in harm to, disruption of, or interference with the transportation system. Given the dramatic escalation of debate in the past few days over these proposed ads, and the submission of inflammatory response ads, there is now an unacceptable risk of harm to or disruption of service to our customers should these ads run."In light of the recent escalation of events, Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond today asked his advertising consultant to notify the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign that Metro is rejecting its proposed ad, and for the consultant to notify the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the American Freedom Defense Initiative that Metro will not accept their proposed ads, as posing an unacceptable risk of harm to, disruption of, or interference with bus service, as defined under current policies."We cannot and would not favor one point of view over another, so the entire category of non-commercial advertising will be eliminated until a permanent policy can be completed that I can propose to the King County Council for adoption," said the Executive. "Further work during the coming weeks will help determine what constitutionally-valid policy is best for the safety and well-being of the transit-riding public, our drivers and personnel, and the community at large."I thank everyone who has reached out to us to express their interests on this matter."Hmmm.....Merry Christmass , peace to all of good will.Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.The bears talk Turkey.Here are the animated bears talking about Israel's relationship with Turkey.Read and see the full story here.

• Turkish Imams Rule Against Mosque Chairs.Seats in mosques and critical claims that their presence causes Muslim houses of worship to resemble Christian churches were the subject of a Dec. 1 meeting of the directorate’s High Board of Religious Affairs.Seats in mosques and critical claims that their presence causes the Muslim houses of worship to resemble Christian churches were the subject of a Dec. 1 meeting of the directorate’s High Board of Religious Affairs.The increasing use of seating in Turkey’s mosques “is not compatible with Islamic culture,” the country’s Religious Affairs Directorate has declared, calling on physically healthy Muslims to refrain from sitting while praying.The board ruled that people who pray while sitting could have “clear consciences” in doing so only if they could perform the salat in no other way.Hmmm...Anyone still doubting in what direction Turkey is heading?Get Turkey out of Nato!Read the full story here.

• HT:AstuteBloggers.WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ATHEIST: "The idea that Islam is a “peaceful religion hijacked by extremists” is a dangerous fantasy—"Sam Harris : "The idea that Islam is a “peaceful religion hijacked by extremists” is a dangerous fantasy—" ... All civilized nations must unite in condemnation of a theology that now threatens to destabilize much of the Earth.Read and see the full story here.

• Obama to regulate carbon from power plants.US President Barack Obama's administration said Thursday it will regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, after legislation on climate change died in Congress.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would regulate fossil fuel power plants and petroleum refineries -- which together emit nearly 40 percent of US greenhouse gases -- starting in 2012."We are following through on our commitment to proceed in a measured and careful way to reduce greenhouse gas pollution that threatens the health and welfare of Americans and contributes to climate change," EPA chief Lisa Jackson said in a statement.The initiative is likely to set up a clash with lawmakers of the rival Republican Party, who will assume control the House of Representatives next month.Hmmm....Just what America needs probably another Carbon tax  for pollutors,this will result in higher Hydrocosts and massive layoffs ,if he wanted to destroy America from the inside would he do anything different?Read the full story here.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Indiana County Throwing Man off His Own Property For Living in Camper.A county government in Indiana has decided that a man that is bothering no one, a man living a very simple lifestyle, a man living on his own property must be evicted from it. Why have these jackbooted government thugs decided that this must be done? Because the man has the gall to live so simply that he has no plumbing or electricity in the camper he is living in.WISH TV news in Indiana told the tale of Dick Thompson, a 72-year-old man living on his own 38-acre property in Madison County. Thompson lives on the property with several horses, a dog, and a bird. He resides in an old camper that has no sewer and no electricity.“I’m a country boy,” explains Thompson. “I just want to be left alone.”This is just one more example of how out of control our various governments have gotten. It is none of this county government’s business how simply Mr. Thompson is living. If he wants to live in a camper on his own land, then he has every right to do so. If he is not causing any hazards for the neighbors then the government should butt out.Oh, but these un-American government thugs seem to feel they have every right to force this unoffensive citizen to do what they want him to do. Our country has strayed very far from the land of liberty it once was if a man cannot even live on his own land, bothering no one, without government thugs harassing him.Hmmmm.....America the land of the "Free".Merry Christmas.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.Obama is Creating Jobs…in Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.President Obama is now promising to focus on job creation and says that what he wants to do is create high-paying employment opportunities for Americans.But Obama has already proven to be a job creator–overseas. Because of his continued anti-oil policies, he is pushing American producers away from expanding exploration and production here in the United States. By blocking offshore oil drilling and issuing fewer permits in those areas where drilling is already allowed, oil companies increasingly look overseas for production opportunities. And countries like Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, couldn’t be happier. Why not? Oil prices are pushed higher and they are energy exporters. For energy importers like the United States, this is like an extra tax on consumers. Obama’s approach to energy is tantamount to rationing our petroleum resources.Oil production creates high-paying jobs, both entry-level and those with experience. At the same time, greater domestic production would mean that we are sending fewer dollar overseas. As WikiLeaks revealed, many of the oil producing gulf states that we buy our oil from are heavily funding terrorism. So President Obama’s misguided energy policies are a trifecta: they damage our economy, enrich our adversaries, and indirectly fund terrorists.So why is Obama clinging to this dangerous policy? One can only conclude that for him, ideology trumps realty. It is really more important for him to be “green” and punish oil companies than to create jobs for ordinary Americans. So the next time you hear that Obama has failed to create any jobs, please correct them. Just ask oil workers in Tehran or Caracas. They’ll tell you he’s created them there.Hmmm....If he wanted to destroy America would he do anything different?Read the full story here.

• Pigford Breeds Internal USDA Corruption.The Pigford debacle combines billions of dollars, easy, repeatable methods to commit fraud, and no internal oversight, so it really comes as no surprise that some of the people inside the USDA would try to get their own slice of the Pigford Pie.Pigford researcher, author, and Hoover Institute fellow Peter Schweizer has spoke to multiple sources who claim that not only has at least one individual inside the USDA been responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud, but that person is actually still working at the USDA. This is just one more reason USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack needs to consider a career change. It seems like it’s going to take Congressional hearings to allow the whistleblowers to speak openly.Hmmmm....I just have this gut feeling that when this will blow it's going to be huge!Just keep it coming till one starts spilling the beans.Read the full story here.

• HT:BigGoverment.Former Agriculture Secretary Confirms FBI Investigations Into USDA Inside-Job Pigford Fraud.Yesterday, Pigford report co-author Peter Schweizer spoke to a specific USDA inside job wherein a federal employee was getting paid by Pigford lawyers to illegally sign up fraudulent claimants. Today, former Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Mike Espy, who now represents thousands of Pigford II claimants, says there is “no doubt” that he has heard those reports, and furthermore says there are FBI investigations that have looked into these troubling allegations. This comports with the Big Government witness report from a retired FBI agent who is willing to testify that he has evidence of widespread fraud involving Pigford claimants in Arkansas and a USDA employee, who still is on the job.This is not tying Mike Espy into any fraud. This is just showing that what Big Government has been reporting is common knowledge amongst many Pigford insiders.This video preview concludes the pre-Christmas roll-out of the Big Government Pigford report and ongoing documentary production. There are many more blockbuster interviews to come. More Pigileaks, as well. Even though the media continues conspicuously to ignore our revelations, we know that behind the scenes, Pigford principals are scrambling for cover and investigative bodies have been jump-started into action.Much, much more to come in the New Year.Hmmm....Where will the PigiLeaks eventually lead to,to what or to who?Read the full story here.

• Related:Testimony: FBI Investigated ‘Broker’ Who Allegedly Recruited Pigford Claimants for Commission Cash.The following comes from a former FBI agent who was involved in the investigation of fraudulent Pigford claims in Arkansas:We were brought in because there were numerous reports that fraudulent claims were being filed under Pigford. Our investigation focused in part on the actions of a federal government employee who was reportedly helping to “broker” Pigford claims. This individual allegedly recruited people to file claims and then actually filled out the paperwork for them. In exchange this individual apparently received a cut of the settlement.In my mind there was ample evidence to proceed with legal action once our investigation was completed. But the decision was made by the U.S. Attorney’s Office not to pursue them. Why? I really don’t know.By my estimation, perhaps 50% of all Pigford claimants in this instance were fraudulent.Hmmm.....Who started all this and who benefited most from it should be the questions asked?Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.Iran Just Shipped Missiles to Venezuela. Hello? Is This Thing On?A massive security threat just blossomed, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an MSM or administration official who cares.Recent revelations about hostile incursions into South America have raised alarm in those who care about U.S. interests and security, particularly in America’s hemisphere. They have also raised questions about whether the Monroe Doctrine — America will tolerate no hostile incursions in her own hemisphere — is dead. These revelations have been, for the most part, ignored by those who care little for American sovereignty and security, such as the MSM and apparently the Obama administration.Among the two most alarming revelations is the already completed sale and delivery, to Venezuela by Russia, of nearly 2,000 advanced, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles capable of hitting aircraft as high as 19,000 feet. Equally and perhaps more alarming is an October agreement between Iran and Venezuela. The agreement establishes a joint ground-to-ground missile base on Venezuelan soil and calls for the sharing of missile technology and the training of technicians and officers. In addition, Venezuela may use the missiles as it chooses for “national needs” and in case of “emergency.” Several types of missiles will be deployed, giving Venezuela the ability to strike targets throughout South and Central America and throughout the U.S.The dangers arising from the Marxist, cult-of-personality rule of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez are many. These weapons are only the largest and most destructive purchased or finagled by Chavez. He has also purchased an enormous number of Russian assault rifles — the real thing, fully automatic military rifles, not the non-existent “assault weapons” of gun control imaginations and press releases — and related weapons and ammunition.Keep in mind that these are only the sales and transfers about which American authorities and the public are aware.With these weapons, Chavez can dominate the region. The consequences for U.S. and hemispheric security should be obvious to those who care about such things, but again, seem to entirely escape the Obama administration. But there are more direct, immediate threats.Weakness invites war; strength deters it. Never has America been stronger, with greater and more overpowering war fighting technology, and never has she had weaker, more ineffective leadership. Were this not so, what nation would dare America to repeat, even exceed, President Kennedy’s response to the Cuban Missile Crisis? If Barack Obama allows such blatant threats in America’s backyard, what if anything could possibly provoke him to act in her defense? Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believe the answer is nothing.Hmmmm....So do i ,question is does he really want to defend the USA?I for one think Obama and J.F.K. should not be compared, it's like comparing a Pussy cat to a Sabretooth Tiger.Read the full story here.

• Women 'Disappointed' By Nearly All-Male Iraqi Cabinet. Iraqi women legislators and rights activists have expressed disappointment that there is only one woman in the country's new government.Only one of the 38 ministers, Minister Without Portfolio Bushra Hussain Salih, is a woman.Suhail says that a campaign is being launched involving lawmakers, other public figures, NGOs, and the media to put pressure on the leaders of political factions to urgently remedy the virtual exclusion of women from the new government. Alia Nusayif Jassim, a member of the Sunni-backed Al-Iraqiyah bloc led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, says that by picking a practically all-male cabinet, Iraqi leaders have denied representation to more than half the population of Iraq.Jassim says that as head of the executive branch, Maliki should override all factions, including his own, and take the matter of appointing women ministers into his own hands. After all, Jassim says, it was the factions' failure to nominate women that led to an almost exclusively male government.Hana Edward, a longtime women's rights activist who now runs an NGO in Baghdad, says that the exclusion of women, whether in the negotiations that preceded the government formation or in the cabinet, runs counter to the principle of partnership laid down in the constitution.She adds that the marginalization of women in decision making will adversely affect efforts to consolidate security gains and further promote democracy in Iraq.Presenting his incomplete cabinet to parliament on December 21, Maliki vowed that he would not come back without women nominees on his list to fill the remaining ministerial posts.Hmmmm....Within a couple of years Iraq will be a second Iran and women never have any place in the radical Islam,lady you're just fooling yourself.Read the full story here.

• HT:Scheider.I think we need a law that explicitly makes it legal for people to record government officials'.I've written a lot on the "War on Photography," where normal people are harassed as potential terrorists for taking pictures of things in public. This article is different; it's about recording the police.Read the full story here.