MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Saudi Arabia Says It's Not Involved In NYC Ground Zero Mosque.Saudi Arabia said late Monday it is neither involved in plans to build a mosque near the site of the September 11 attacks in New York, nor in possible talks to move the mosque to a less controversial site in Manhattan. The kingdom "has no involvement, either directly or indirectly, with Park 51, formerly known as Cordoba House, in New York City, nor is it involved --in anyway--in talks that may be taking place to relocate the proposed community center," the country's embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement. "The Government of Saudi Arabia considers this issue a domestic American matter," it added. Hmmmm.......As i said here on MFS and tweeted it right away when hearing the story about moving the Mosque: "I Don't think so"!Read the full story here our post on this subject 19 Dec.why not 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 Christmas, peace to all of good will.Read the full story here

• Sewage Spill Forced Into Kailua Bay Where President Obama and Family are Staying.The City &County of Honolulu reports there were an estimated 14 sewage spills during the heavy rainstorm last weekend, at least four of which the state says happened in the windward community of Kailua where President Obama and his family are staying this holiday season.Those sewage overflows rose from waterlogged manholes and went into the Kaelepulu Stream, which is one of two major waterways in the Kailua district. No total for the sewage gallon count total has been posted yet.In addition, residents and visitors are on Christmas holiday, and want to enjoy the ocean and it is even more brown than it was after the initial rain storm.To top it off, President Barack Obama and his family are visiting the islands, and in fact, are staying right on Kailua beach in the homes where the brown water, bubbles and all, will finally land.The state says it has done its part, issuing a brown water warning and telling people to stay out of the water.The city has in fact posted warning signs in Japanese and English at various beach spots.Hmmmm....Bad weather follows that guy like ....?Merry Christmas? Read the full story here

• 'Anarchists' launch bomb attacks on two Rome embassies.Anarchists are suspected of having launched parcel bomb attacks on the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome. The first explosion, which occurred at midday (11amGMT) seriously injured a caretaker at the Swiss embassy. The second, which occurred at around 3pm (2pm GMT), was at the Chilean embassy, also injuring one person. The Rome prosecutor's office has opened an investigation on suspicion of "an attack with terrorist aims," ANSA news agency reported One of the investigators said that one of the main lines of inquiry was on "anarchist circles of the eco-terrorist movement." Another possibility mentioned by investigators is that "the attack was organised by insurgent anarchist groups."Read the full story here.

• HT:TheJawaReport. Video : Censored 31 - - Exclusive interview with Abou Imran of Shariah 4 Belgium."This community is broken,these people live like animals".Read and see the full story here.

• Armenian 'guerrilla attack' in US Congress meets its Waterloo (Thanks to Obama?).Backed by influential politicians and a major media campaign, the pro-Armenian lobby’s defeat by its conventionally powerful rival in the “genocide resolution” debate shows both the strengths and limits of guerrilla tactics in political battles.Throughout the later phases of the battle, Turkey and the Obama administration did play their parts well. Turkey refrained from blatant threats against the United States, and the White House declined to put public pressure on Pelosi. The pressure was of the behind-the-scenes variety. “Obama and his people deliberately stayed away from actions that would be seen as undermining Pelosi and the House’s sovereignty,” said one analyst in Washington.Hmmm....The Armenian victims :"We'll be back!".Countries that do recognise the Armenian Genocide: Here.In France, Greece and Russia it is ILLEGAL to deny the Armenian Genocide.Read the full story here.

• Stand-up comedian under fire for Burka Woman version of Pretty Woman. A stand-up comedian has become a hate figure in Pakistan after his cheeky remake of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman, with the title Burka Woman, became an internet sensation.Saad Haroon has been accused of mocking Islamic values prompting bloggers to call for him to be stoned to death. The video follows his tongue-in-cheek efforts at serenading a "sexy ninja" or "mystery prize" hidden beneath a black niqab, with only her dark eyes visible through a narrow slit. "Burka woman, in your black sheet," he sings, "Burka woman, with your sexy feet, "Burka woman my love for you it grows, every time I see your toes." He even describes going home to "practise flirting with my living room curtain". However, the video has caused a storm in Pakistan, the cradle of the Taliban, where conservative religious leaders hold considerable influence.Hmmmm.....I"m at home flirting with my living room curtain"?Read the full story here, videoclip here.

• Hundreds of Gaza Christians leave for Bethlehem.IDF coordinates rare passage to West Bank; Roman Catholic vicar says Christians in Strip not targeted by authorities, but 'Islamic lifestyle that is being imposed.More than 500 members of the Gaza Strip's tiny Christian community left the blockaded territory on Thursday to participate in Christmas celebrations in Jesus' traditional birthplace of Bethlehem.The Israeli military coordinated the rare passage to the West Bank ahead of the holiday, saying it was part of its goal to ensure freedom of worship for all religions.Hamas says it is committed to protecting the Christian minority, but no arrests have been made in any of the incidents.Hmmmm.....That's why crucifixes had to be removed from souvenir shops?Read the full story here. 

• HT:CreepingSharia.Plotting an Islamist American Movement and Sharia…on Christmas.Islamists who continue to infiltrate all areas of American government and life will again continue to plot the demise of America, and the rise of Islam. This year, at the Hyatt in Chicago.We posted on this last year, Plotting Islam in America on Christmas: MAS-ICNA convention to feat Islamists, terror-linked individuals, and Uighur leader, and this year it appears the Muslim Brotherhood founded MAS, and ICNA, are getting more bold. Many of the most notorious Islamists in the U.S. are featured, as well as some up and coming Islamists including the bin-Laden linked Khalilah Sabra and Islamo-thug Sharif el Gamal.This session will summarize the outcome of the Muslim National Leadership Initiative, an effort in which took place during the MAS Convention. Leaders from many national Islamic organizations came together to discuss the agenda of the American Muslim community as it begins a new phase.What phase is that?Some background on a few of the participants, that read like a Who’s Who, or more like a Most Wanted list.Hmmmm....New phase?Read the full story here.

• Prince William with 'mystery' woman on new coin.The Royal Mint has been slammed for a new coin where Kate Middleton is unrecognisable.The design for an official commemorative coin to mark the engagement of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton was unveiled on Thursday, but not everyone might recognize the bride-to-be.The depiction, based on photographs of the couple at a sporting event, bears some resemblance to William but less so his fiancee.Royal watchers said she appears much fuller in the face on the coin than she is in real life."This coin is of historical importance -- to get it so wrong seems ridiculous," Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine, Ingrid Seward, was quoted on the Sky News website as saying.Production of the coin has yet to begin, and it is not clear how many will be struck, but orders have been taken.Read the full story here.

• WikiLeaks: US encouraged pope to open up towards Islam and Turkey. The United States initially saw Pope Benedict XVI as a 'eurocentric' pontiff who was 'unlikely to cut a prominent figure on the world stage,' according to WikiLeaks documents published Thursday. The confidential US diplomatic cables obtained by the whistleblower website were quoted by the Spanish daily El Pais. German-born Benedict XVI would face a 'steep learning curve' on international issues, US diplomats wrote after the then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005. Some of the cables focus on a 2006 academic lecture given by the pope, who quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor saying that the Muslim prophet Mohammed had brought 'only evil and inhuman things.' The quote sparked furious criticism in the Muslim world. 'It taxes the imagination' to suppose that such a reference by the pope 'would pass unnoticed,' a US diplomat wrote. According to his assessment, the pope made the reference on purpose, but without foreseeing the consequences, which were followed by apologies by the Vatican. The pope's 'approach toward Islam and toward inter-religious dialogue is cooler than that of his predecessor' John Paul II, the diplomat observed.The controversy was followed by the pope's trip to Turkey, during which he toned down the uneasiness he had expressed about Turkey's eventual European Union membership while he was still a cardinal. The Vatican's official stance now is, that it is not opposed to the membership as long as Turkey meets EU conditions including religious freedom for its Christians.Unofficially, however, top Vatican officials told diplomats they were skeptical about Turkey's commitment to religious freedom. The Holy See does not believe theological agreements with Islam are possible, but is convinced that better mutual knowledge will allay suspicions and facilitate peaceful co-existence,' US diplomats wrote in 2009. Hmmmm.....For someone claiming to be a "Christian" this President sure loves Islam?He even advices the Pope what to do?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheDailyCaller.Sacramento-area pilot punished for YouTube video.An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security.The 50-year-old pilot, who lives outside Sacramento, asked that neither he nor his airline be identified. He has worked for the airline for more than a decade and was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit.He is also a helicopter test pilot in the Army Reserve and flew missions for the United Nations in Macedonia.Three days after he posted a series of six video clips recorded with a cell phone camera at San Francisco International Airport, four federal air marshals and two sheriff’s deputies arrived at his house to confiscate his federally-issued firearm. The pilot recorded that event as well and provided all the video to News10.Hmmmm.....Probably he's now on the "Domestic individuals to watch" list?Read and see the full story here.

• HT:TechLibFront.Two Scathing Dissents on the FCC’s Illegal, Unnecessary & Harmful Net Neutrality Order.The FCC’s order still isn’t out (just a news release in .DOC form), but the Commissioner’s accompanying statements are. Anyone interested in net neutrality regulation or the coming political, legal and constitutional fights over it must read the scathing dissents by Commissioners Rob McDowell and Meredith Baker.Commissioner McDowell’s jeremiad about “one of the darkest days in recent FCC history” makes clear the utter impossibility of reaching a “compromise,” as Chairman Genachowski insists he wanted. Commissioner McDowell summarizes his dissent beautifully:

1. Nothing is broken in the Internet access market that needs fixing;
2. The FCC does not have the legal authority to issue these rules;
3. The proposed rules are likely to cause irreparable harm; and
4. Existing law and Internet governance structures provide ample consumer protection in the event a systemic market failure occurs.Read the full story here.

• Related?Obama's deputy CTO leaves to launch start-ups.Andrew McLaughlin, the nation's deputy chief technology officer, said Wednesday he is resigning his post to launch two start-ups aimed at technology development in communities in the United States and abroad.McLaughlin, who previously worked as a Google executive, oversaw many of the White House's Internet policy initiatives including Internet access regulations, the expansion of broadband connections and global cybersecurity. The announcement of McLaughlin's departure comes a day after the Federal Communications Commission passed its controversial net-neutrality rules, which bar broadband providers from impeding Internet traffic into American homes. President Obama has endorsed the regulations, which he promised during his election campaign and said Tuesday he would work to uphold them.McLaughlin gained special scrutiny from Rep. Darryl Issa (R-Calif.) and some privacy advocates critical of the search giant after it was discovered he corresponded by e-mail to Google employees, which breaks his ethics pledge."I'm interested in fostering low-cost, collaborative tech for state and local governments, and also in supporting new start-ups in developing countriesone non-profit the other for-profit," McLaughlin wrote in an e-mail.McLaughlin also said he will return to teaching law, which he did at Harvard University's Berkman Center seven years ago.McLaughlin joined the White House's high-tech advisory and policy office headed by CTO Aneesh Chopra and CIO Vivek Kundra after working on President Obama's transition following the election.Read the full story here.

• HT:WZ.Afghanistan: ISAF Captures Iranian Qods Force Operative Working With The Taliban.Coalition and Afghan special operations teams have captured a Taliban commander who doubles as an Iranian Qods Force operative and helped ship weapons from Iran into Afghanistan.The Taliban/Qods Force operative, who was not named, was detained during a Dec. 18 raid in the Zhari district in Kandahar province, the International Security Assistance Force reported in a press release. ISAF and Afghan forces are currently working to secure Zhari and the neighboring districts of Panjwai and Arghandab from the Taliban.“The joint security team specifically targeted the individual for facilitating the movement of weapons between Iran and Kandahar through Nimroz province,” ISAF stated. “The now-detained man was considered a Kandahar-based weapons facilitator with direct ties to other Taliban leaders in the province.”In the initial press release, ISAF did not identify the Taliban commander as a Qods Force operative. But, in response to an inquiry by The Long War Journal, ISAF confirmed that the target of the raid was indeed a member of the Qods Force, the special operations branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.“According to intelligence reports, the targeted insurgent is a member of the Qods Force,” a public affairs official at the ISAF Joint Command press desk told The Long War Journal.This is the first reported instance of the capture of a Qods Force operative in Afghanistan. US forces in Iraq captured several senior Qods Force commanders and operatives during operations in that country from 2006 to 2008.Read the full story here.

• HT:NewsRealBlog.These Singers Won’t Back Down.With the release of Kid Rock’s terrific pro-freedom and pro-American anthem “Born Free,” and the latest installment of John Ondrasik’s “For the Troops” compilation, I got to thinking about songs that go against the so-called liberal grain of pop culture and espouse either a pro-military, pro-American, or just pro-liberty theme.Some are overtly topical to the political or cultural situation in their time or even battle cries. Others are merely personal anthems that project an American sense of independence, self-reliance or willingness to fight for what is right. They are alike in their timeless appeal.Here are my Top 10, with a few runners-up thrown in.10. Ballad of the Green Berets, Sgt. Barry Sadler.Read the full list here.

• HT:Memri.Jordanian Daily: Private Schools In Jordan Teach About Holocaust.The Jordanian Al-Dustour daily reports that private schools in Jordan are teaching about the Holocaust, using "The Diary of Anne Frank." Jordanian Education Ministry officials said that the ministry had not approved the material and that the matter was being looked into.Source.

• Turkey is working to establish regional dialogue.Gul said that he would like to thank Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who elected Gul as the term president of the ECO.Turkish President said on Thursday that Turkey, located at the center of Eurasia, attached a great importance to peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a dinner in honor of the participants of Economic Cooperation Organization's 11th Heads of State and Government Summit in Istanbul.Afghan Head of State Hamid Karzai, Pakistani President Asıf Ali Zardari, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and many other guests attended the dinner at Prime Ministry office in Dolmabahche Palace.In his speech, Prime Minister Erdogan pointed to global economic crisis and said it is too early to say the crisis is over.Hmmmm.......Turkey....Iran....Afghanistan and Pakistan What do they have in common to export? "Islamic radicalisme"?Read the full story here.

• Ahmadinejad In Turkey: Replace Capitalist World Order With Islamic World Order.In a speech at the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) meeting in Turkey, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked the secular and capitalist world order and called for it to be replaced by an Islamic order that will provide a solution to the social and economic crises. Ahmadinejad suggested that ECO member states cooperate in energy infrastructure and banking. Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan are ECO members.Hmmmm....What did i just say in the previous post?Read the full story here.

• HT:RefugeeResettlementWatch.COLUMBUS, Ohio — Federal and local authorities are investigating a possible hate crime after a Muslim woman said she was verbally harassed and pepper sprayed on Monday outside of an Islamic center on the city’s west side.“I had a bad feeling about the man while I was driving,” she said. “He looked at me in a very strange way.”According to the woman, the man followed her to the Abubaker Siddique Islamic Center, where he got out of his vehicle and approached her.“He just started yelling at me, cursing me out,” she said. “Saying he’s going to kill me, and saying, ‘I’m going to kill all of you, all you guys. Tell the Muslims to go back from wherever they are from.’”The woman, who was wearing Islamic attire, told 10TV News that the man then used pepper spray on her.“He took the spray and just sprayed it all over me,” she said. “Like, all over me. My whole eyes, my whole face, everything.”Fortunately there is a surveillance video posted with the story. Please watch it! Clearly she is seen driving very fast into a parking space with another vehicle hot on her tail. The man blocks her vehicle with his and is seen jumping out and running to the passenger door and shouting at her. Who knows what he said, maybe she had just cut him off on the highway and this was a road rage incident.However, this is the questionable part: WHAT WOMAN IN HER RIGHT MIND WOULD HAVE OPENED THE CAR WINDOW TO ALLOW HIM TO DO ANYTHING TO HER? She was also completely covered with a hajib from head to toe, so that doesn’t jive with her description of him spraying her whole face. And there didn’t appear to be anything in the man’s hands nor did he make any motion of spraying anything.CAIR sure got involved fast wouldn’t you say!Endnote: It is not clear if the woman was an immigrant, a refugee, or an American convert to Islam. I was just interested in the story.Update! Now I see they are saying she is a Somali immigrant. Please go listen to her speak in the interview in the above story then read this below.You gotta laugh if you watched the surveillance tape, this is how the story is being told in a Somali publication. They say she was beaten up by men!A Somali women was attacked by men with pepper spray in COLUMBUS Ohio, on Monday.The men attacked Ms.Saida Said as she was leaving a Mosque in the city, they used pepper spray while they were beatening her up, say eyewitnesses.It is not yet known the reason behind the attack on the 20 years old female from Somalia.The mosque officials reported the assualt and provided security camera recordings to the police.Hmmm...To me it looks like a roadrage incident.what surprices me is that when she’s out of the car she can have a “Normal’ conversation with the man who came to her “rescue”, somehow i think if you’re sprayed with pepperspray you’ll be in a hurry to clean and rinse your eyes?Read and see the full story here.

• HT:RightTruth.Christmas: The Insurrection of God.Humans like to adorn themselves with the majesty and pageantry of greed. Politicians speak from podiums, academics line their offices with framed parchments, athletes and entertainments hawk merchandise they often fail to use. Museums proudly display oil paintings of Napoleon on horseback and nightmares envision the “latest” fuehrer to champion in front of ecstatic crowds of wide-eyed believers. Indian prince Siddhartha wandered his kingdom of wealth before he became “the Buddha” and Muhammad cast away his mere “five camels, a flock of goats, a house, and a slave” in order to take Arabia by sword. Only God came as a homeless infant, born in a manger unfit for animals.No human could conceive of such a conception, but God chose to come into his earthly world unhindered by human expectations. Had he arrived with all the power and glory he is capable of rendering unto our minuscule existence, his human subjects would have run and cowered behind every rock and tree they could find. Instead, he chose, in his infinite wisdom, to arrive amongst his flock in the most unthreatening way imaginable – as an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. Only absolute evil remains threatened by a baby.Read the full story here.

• Opec Secretary-General Badri "If it goes to $100 due to speculation, Opec will not move".Arab Opec ministers began arriving in Cairo on Thursday ahead of talks expected to broach how high an oil price the world economy can stand as the market hovers near two-year peaks above $90 a barrel.A full conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) earlier this month elected to make no change to an output policy it has stuck to since December 2008.Since then oil has maintained a more than 30 per cent rally from this year's low struck in May and this week scaled a high of $90.80, the steepest in two years.The Organization of Arab Exporting Countries (Oapec) brings together the Arab members of Opec, including top exporter Saudi Arabia, which has traditionally been viewed as a price moderate.Ministers began arriving on Thursday in time for Saturday's meeting when they will not take any formal decision on output, but can still discuss production and price."About $100 would be a fair price for the time being," Libya's most senior oil official Shokri Ghanem told Reuters.Analysts have said the likelihood is the strong price would encourage Opec to produce more oil, although first of all by informally pumping in excess of agreed limits rather than through a policy change.Hmmmm....As i said before wait till Iran is Chairman of Opec in Januari 2011,by the way where are those "experts" with their $ 85 A barrel?Better sack them all they're not worth their wages.Read the full story here.

• Iran Stops Fuel Delivery, Afghanistan Says, and Prices Are Rising.KABUL, Afghanistan — Government officials expressed alarm on Wednesday about what they described as Iran’s unexplained ban on fuel exports to Afghanistan, asserting that at least 1,400 loaded tankers were parked on Iran’s side of three border crossings. Abdul Karim Barahwe, the governor of Nimroz Province in western Afghanistan, said the Iranian authorities had started halting tankers bound for Afghanistan about 10 days ago. The effect is driving up fuel prices just as winter is setting in. “We really don’t know the exact cause of the ban; Iran doesn’t officially say the cause of the ban,” he said. Now, he said, both the Interior and Commerce Ministries, as well as President Hamid Karzai’s office, “are trying to sort out this problem with Iran.” The governor said that tankers full of fuel were backed up at the border crossings of Nimroz, Farah and Islam Qala.There has been no word in Iran about a ban on Afghanistan-bound fuel. The restriction may reflect Iran’s own energy problems, caused in part by Western sanctions on the country over its nuclear program, as well as a sharp increase in Iranian fuel prices caused by a government phase-out of subsidies that began this month. Or it could represent an effort to retaliate against the United States for the sanctions, even though the fuel is not supposed to be supporting the American war effort.Hmmmmm....Ahmadinejad wants more money from Karzai?Read the full story here.

• Poland urged to combat anti-Semitism.Anti-Defamation League calls on Polish gov't to take swift action in response to attack on head of Jewish-themed NN Theater in Lublin.The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday urged the Polish government to take swift action in response to an anti-Semitic attack on the home of the head of a Jewish organization in Lublin, Poland.On the evening of December 17, bricks with swastikas and a small explosive device were thrown through the window of the home of Thomas Pietrasiewicz, head of a Jewish-themed organization in Lublin.“This anti-Semitic hate crime directly targeted Thomas Pietrasiewicz, but was also clearly intended to terrorize the broader Jewish community, of which Mr. Pietrasiewicz is a prominent member,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director.“The attack represents a dangerous escalation from previous anti-Semitic incidents against the theater -- including threatening letters and vandalism on the theater door depicting a Star of David hanging from a gallows.”Pietrasiewicz said police have not yet identified the perpetrators, but the swastikas mean it is likely that right-wing extremists targeted him for his remembrance work.He said he had mostly avoided speaking about the incident in recent days, explaining that he didn't want to play it up because he wanted to avoid giving extremists from such a tiny minority more attention than they deserved.Hmmmmm....Looking back at history,where would there have been more Pogroms against the Jews Poland or Russia?Read the full story here.

• HT:RT.If diplomacy fails, Israel may attack Iran’s nuclear facilities – Israeli analyst.Israel would prefer not to attack, but is very close to launching a strike on Iran to prevent it from assembling a nuclear weapon, says senior Israeli military and intelligence analyst, Dr Ronen Bergman.Israeli leaders understand the possible horrendous results of such an attack, the possible intervention of Hezbollah and Hamas, possibly Syria, the condemnation from Europe, the ballistic anger from the US and other outcomes,” he says. “Therefore, if Israel could stop the Iranian nuclear initiative using diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions or supporting economic sanctions imposed by the international community and clandestine operational intelligence means, Israel would prefer to take this path.”“However, if all of these don’t work and Iran is getting too close to a bomb, then I think that the European intelligence communities and the US – I think they don’t understand how close Israel is to launching an aerial strike on the nuclear facilities of Iran.”The analyst says Israel may strike Iran soon. “Iran has already crossed some of the so-called points of no return – and still there is a return from that point. The red line lies somewhere between the point in which we are now, where Iran is already enriching uranium and has closed the nuclear fuel cycle etc, to the point where Iran assembles the first nuclear military device,” Dr Ronen Bergman says. “According to the latest German, American, British, French, Israeli intelligence assessment, Iran is something like half a year to a year behind the ability to enrich uranium to 93 per cent.”Hmmmm...Israel can't rely on Obama to help them in this, he would be only to glad to get rid of Israel.Read and see the full story here.

• Native American poverty continues under Obama.In his opening remarks during the second annual Native American Tribal Conference, US President Barack Obama declared, “So long as I held this office, never again would Native Americans be forgotten or ignored.”However, the same promises were made a year ago, when Obama pledged a new chapter for Native Americans.The President signed the Tribal Law and Order Act and mandated 90 days for government agencies to implement serious reforms toward Indian country, all in an attempt to reach out to a population that has historically been overlooked and abused by the US government.One year later, little has changed on the Mattaponi Reservation in Virginia.Obama closed the conference saying, “So we’re making progress.We’re moving forward.And what I hope is that we are seeing a turning point in the relationship between our nations.”A relationship shattered by broken treaties and empty promises for the country’s first people.Hmmm....“one who doesn't pick up his shoes or socks” and promesses?Read the full story here.

• HT:RT.Video of largest-ever South Korea war games as drills nag North.Source.

• And now for something completely different.Turkish police catch mannequins with pants down, warn shop owner.Municipal patrol officers in Sivas have ordered a store owner to change his shop window design because of several mannequins that were displayed with their pants below their knees, Doğan news agency reported Wednesday.Eren Mert, the shop’s manager, set up the display, in which the otherwise mannequins held banners reading “İndirim,” Turkish for both “sale” and “taking down.”“The municipal patrol claimed that the mannequins in the window would be wrong for the sexual development of children. But there were people coming to have photographs in front of the shop window,” said Mert.Hmmm....Sounds more like the Islamic virtue police to me.Read and see the full story here.