MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:RadicalTruth.Who is Allah: Is he the God of the Bible?I wrote this initially as a message for the Jr. High School students at my local church. In California, students in the public school system begin learning about Islam as part of their history curriculum. The textbooks used most frequently in public schools tend to cast Islam in glowing terms, often glossing over intentionally some of the more unfavorable aspects of it. For a good analysis, read the report by the American Textbook Council on Islam in the Classroom.One frequent opinion voiced by educators and politicians alike is the idea that the God that Muslims worship is the same as the God of the Bible. Even former President George Bush said so. But is this so? The answer to this question is the subject of the following.The Description of God.We can learn about the difference between the God of Christianity and Allah of Islam by examining the description given each in the Bible and The Qur'an respectively.Trinity or Absolute Unity?The views of God in Islam and Christianity differ in how they describe God. This is our first clue that the God of Christianity and Islam are not the same God.Read the full story here.

• ‘Khamenei ordered Hariri killing, Hizbullah takeover'. Lebanese minister says UN findings will be released next week; Saad Hariri calls for dialogue after government’s forced disintegration .A UN tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is expected to accuse Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei of ordering the killing, while Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said that dialogue is the only way out of the country’s political crisis after a Hizbullah-led coalition toppled his Western-backed government.According to the US-based Newsmax website, the investigative body will lay out evidence showing that the 2005 murder was committed by Iran’s Quds force, along with Hizbullah.The order to murder Hariri was transmitted to Hizbullah’s military leader, Imad Mughniyeh, by Quds force chief Qassem Suleymani, sources told Newsmax.Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus on February 12, 2008. According to Saturday’s report, Mughniyeh put together the hit team that carried out the attack at the behest of Iran, with the help of his brotherin- law.“The Iranians considered Hariri to be an agent of Saudi Arabia, and felt that killing him would pave the way for a Hizbullah takeover of Lebanon,” a source told Newsmax.Iran was not the only country involved in the assassination plot, they said. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and his brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, the head of Syrian intelligence, also played key roles in the plan to murder Hariri, a source was reported as saying.The UN team intended to submit a draft indictment later Saturday, according to a report by the Lebanese daily A-Nahar. According to the report, the tribunal is set to hand in a preliminary copy to pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen.In Washington, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, strongly condemned Hizbullah for quitting the coalition, and the White House promised to help Lebanon peacefully reconstitute a government.Hariri stopped in France and Turkey on his way back to Lebanon as part of his efforts to rally international support.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday after meeting with Hariri that he would consult authorities in Iran, Syria and Qatar on Friday to try to find a solution to the crisis, the Anatolia news agency reported.Oussama Saad, a Sunni politician who is a Hizbullah ally and potential candidate, called for a new prime minister who would “defend the resistance.”“We cannot accept Hariri’s return to the post of prime minister,” he said Friday.“We call for a new prime minister who does not draw strength from the outside against the people of his country, and one who doesn’t conspire against the resistance.”Besides finding a Sunni candidate, Hizbullah would need the backing of Walid Jumblatt, the influential leader of the Druse sect who broke with his former allies in Hariri’s camp in 2009. Jumblatt has been a shrewd politician, known for shifting loyalties.He met with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday night, but did not comment on the talks.Meanwhile, Nasrallah is expected to make a public statement on the political turmoil in Lebanon on Sunday on Hizbullah’s Al-Manar Television at 8.30 p.m., Hizbullah sources said.Hmmmm.....Expect the same thing in Iraq.Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Al-Siyassa: Iran Will Have Three Nuclear Bombs by 2013; One Will Go to Hizbullah.The Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, known for its anti-Iranian and anti-Syrian orientation, reported, citing a senior source in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, that Iran would complete the production of three small nuclear bombs by 2013, one of which would go to Hizbullah, while the other two would serve as deterrence against the Gulf states, especially those hosting foreign military forces.Source.

• Hassan Nasrallah : Hezbollah 'will not back Hariri'.Hassan Nasrallah makes first public comments since the group's ministers brought down the Lebanese government.Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, has said his party will refuse to back Saad Hariri, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, in forming a new government.Nasrallah's comments, broadcast on Al-Manar television on Sunday, were his first public comments since Hezbollah ministers and their allies pulled out of Lebanon's government causing it to collapse.Hezbollah, which has a political bloc in parliament as well as a powerful military wing, commands strong support in Lebanon's Shia Muslim community."The opposition unanimously will not name Hariri tomorrow," Nasrallah said, calling his party's move to bring down the government "constitutional, legal and democratic".Lebanon's crisis is the result of long-simmering tensions over the UN tribunal that is investigating the 2005 assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister and the father of Saad Hariri.The tribunal is widely expected to indict members of Hezbollah, which many fear could rekindle violence in Lebanon."Despite the fact we reject the indictment simply for being politicised, Lebanon is our homeland and we are keen on its safety and stability," Nasrallah said in his speech."The tribunal is an independent, international judicial process whose work is not subject to political influence, either from inside Lebanon or from outside," Maura Connelly, the US ambassador to Lebanon, said on Sunday."The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and independence."Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beirut, said that a new government might be formed relatively quickly."It could be a very quick process, that's what the opposition want - they want a new government that will do what Mr Hariri was not willing to do, which is to end Lebanon's co-operation with the tribunal," she said."However, they are still not sure if they will have enough members of parliament who would support such a move."Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Qatari emir, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, are due to meet Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in Damascus on Monday to discuss the situation.Hmmmm....Nice to see that Ahmadinnejad Erdogan will be there.Read the full story here,more here at AmnonAndJonathan.

• Imam Rauf Wants Us To See Islam As An American Religion “Not An Alien Religion”.The cleric who became the public face of efforts to build an Islamic center near ground zero in New York began a national speaking tour Saturday night by urging Muslims to help "depoliticize" their faith and play a role in shaping relationships with America.Feisal Abdul Rauf began his tour to inspire "interfaith understanding" in Detroit, saying Islam should be seen as an American religion "not an alien religion." The Detroit area is home to the largest Muslim population in North America.The imam told about 400 people at a diversity forum sponsored by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan and the Islamic Society of North America that the backlash against Islam that arose from the New York City mosque plan was "triggered by a mix of race, religion and politics in America.""Our role now is to depoliticize our faith," he said, adding that Islam must not be used as a wedge between Democrats and Republicans or political ideals anywhere in the world.Saturday's forum was part of a celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The event, titled "Realizing the Dream: Finding Strength Through Diversity," focused on the importance of respect within the Muslim community.Hmmmm.....Now those to are "using" Dr Martin Luther King as a platform for their goals?"depoliticize our faith" talk about Al-taqiyya .Read the full story here.

• Ht:Althouse"Before We are Democrats or Republicans, We are Americans," said Obama in his weekly address this morning.And what's the first thing you notice — the difference between today and the speech he gave at the memorial? Right. Different color hair. Gray for the memorial, signifying the wise elder, the father figure. Back to dark hair to signify the vigorous young man, ready to forge ahead, solving problems, and restoring his party's electoral fortunes. Hmmmm.....Is Everything "Make believe" with this Man?Read the full story here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.Rev. Obama's Revival Meeting.Although a committed Christian, I've never appreciated whipped up revival meetings complete with dancing, falling backwards, or crippled people being yanked out of wheelchairs. After three decades of voyeuristic research, I possess a heightened ability to spot a snake oil salesman a mile away. Oftentimes, under bouffant hairstyles, oversized pinky rings, and weepy confessions, one finds self-absorbed individuals who exploit the Gospel for gain while living contrary to the message they preach.Yet, year after year, gullible sheeple continue to support ministries, submit to fleecing, and attend events where flesh and blood are exalted and where the credulous place unquestioning faith in fraud.It was that kind of finely honed discernment of mine that spotted a similar dynamic at work at the memorial service, where Barack Obama spoke in honor of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, thirteen severely wounded bystanders, and six individuals, including a nine-year-old girl, all mortally wounded by a madman on a mission.To the untrained eye, the University of Arizona ceremony appeared to be a well-meaning memorial service visited by a somber president attempting to heal the nation. However, to an educated onlooker, the event closely resembled a tent revival run by a hypster whose pious pontificating was more about furthering a political agenda than consoling the aggrieved. Was I the only one who recognized that when Obama entered the packed stadium, all that was missing was a donkey and palm branches?"In an electrifying moment, the president revealed that Giffords, who ... was shot point-blank in the head, opened her eyes for the first time shortly after his hospital visit[.]" Obama's comment was obliquely suggestive of Jesus saying, "Talitha koum!" (That means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!")Like a faith healer working the crowd with stirring images, Obama painted a picture of his presence in a room stimulating a response from a woman in a coma. The crowd and the nation was so taken by the whole affair that in one sentence, Obama went up in the polls, sent tingles up the leg of pundits on both the right and the left, probably settled the Arizona lawsuit, and quelled any further opposition to health care reform.Nevertheless, as a person who prides herself on recognizing the genuine from the counterfeit, it appeared to me as if Vicar of Veracity Barack Obama, in Christina's stead, was attempting to "jump in rain puddles" by quoting from Job. Unknowingly, Obama revealed the underlying spirit of the service with words from Job 30:26 that, when spoken in context, say, "Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness."Hmmmm.....AMEN To that!Read the full story here.

• HT:TheMuqata.Israeli Arab Leader Demands: Remove Old City Mezuzot.The Israeli Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, led by Sheikh Raed Salah, is now demanding the removal of all "Mezuzot"** on the gates of Jerusalem's Old City.According to the movement, the mezuzot are an attempt to Judaize the "Arab heritage" of the Old City.In a statement issued by the movement, it stated that during a patrol in the Old City, they saw mezuzot on the various gates, and Jews touching the mezuzot as they passed through the gates."This is a disgusting attempt to Judaize the Arab and Islamic heritage of the Old City," the statement said, "and all the relevant Islamic institution are called up to to act quickly to remove the mezuzot."Mahmoud Abu Atta, spokesman for the institution "Mossad Al-Aqsa" said that he sees these mezuzahs "as continued attempts to Judaize the Old City. A Mezuzah is put on the door of a Jewish home yet this [the Old City of Jerusalem] is an Arab city."**A mezuzah (Hebrew: מְזוּזָה‎ "doorpost") (plural: mezuzot (מְזוּזוֹת)) is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These verses comprise the Jewish prayer "Shema Yisrael", beginning with the phrase: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One"Hmmmm......How much "Change" we have seen in Jerusalem since Obama became President?Read the full story here.

• Five Palestinian workers suspected of raping teenage girl.Five illegal Palestinian aliens working in Israeli construction site arrested on suspicion they gang raped 18-year-old girl from Rehovot area.Five Palestinian construction workers, who were residing in Israel illegally, are suspected of gang raping an 18-year-old girl from Rehovot. The victim's family filed a complaint against the five claiming that last Friday, as she was walking home, she encountered one of the suspects near the construction site. He allegedly convinced her to accompany him, only to rape her followed by his friends. The suspects deny the allegations. The victim testified that after she agreed to accompany the suspect, he led her to the construction site where he worked. There she was met by several of his co-workers, all illegal Palestinian aliens, who she claimed raped her under threats.The following day she told her parents of what had happened and they filed a complaint with the Rehovot police station. A special investigation unit was tasked with probing the case and was directed to the construction site by the victim. Police forces later arrested the suspects.The five all denied any involvement and claimed they had never met the girl. However, the investigation revealed some discrepancies in their testimonies. The five now face a remand hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court to be held later on Sunday. Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.English Defence League: Mission Statement.

1. Human Rights: Protecting And Promoting Human Rights.
2. Democracy and the Rule of Law: Promoting Democracy And The Rule Of Law By Opposing Sharia.
3. Public Education: Ensuring That The Public Get A Balanced Picture Of Islam.
4. Respecting Tradition: Promoting The Traditions And Culture Of England While At The Same Time Being Open To Embrace The Best That Other Cultures Can Offer.
5. International Outlook: Working In Solidarity With Others Around The World.Read the full Mission statement here.

• Zardari’s mysterious meetings with Obama, CIA chief.ISLAMABAD: The meeting between President Barack Obama and President Asif Ali Zardari has taken place without a formal agenda and no official brief account of the bilateral ties was readily available to the visiting president that could help him in the talks.The Foreign Office was kept in dark about the meeting. President Zardari spoke to the four political leaders on phone about his trip just before his departure for the United States, but without dropping any hint about the one-to-one scheduled encounter with the US president. This he did because he could claim that he took the political leadership into confidence about the meetings.The meeting followed by Asif Ali Zardari’s all-important get-together with the CIA chief has made it further convoluted. The subjects, which have reportedly taken up for discussion, are strategic cooperation, economic relations and terrorism.At the same time it has been speculated that an assurance had also been sought from the US president for further endorsement of the incumbent political set-up back in the country. It could not be ascertained that either of the two had brought the performance of the administration in Pakistan under discussion and its image among the masses.Asif Ali Zardari, who left with three personnel of his staff, did not take any official from the Foreign Office for the trip declared ‘private’.Nobody can challenge that what did he discuss in Washington and why did he opt this course. The people who are known for their proximity with the presidency are portraying the meetings as big achievement and calling it success of the presidential tricks. It is understood that Asif Ali Zardari while reviewing the regional situation must have briefed the US president about the Chinese premier’s historic trip to Pakistan last month. Yet another intriguing aspect of the meetings is that President Zardari who had extensive meeting with the US Vice President in Islamabad two days back had a meeting with the US president without discussing follow-up of the earlier meeting with the relevant people in Islamabad.The friends of Asif Zardari always have been claiming that he was brought to the office by the Americans and they are the biggest guarantor of his power. As long blessings from Washington are available to him nothing could harm his government. He establishes yet another point by such meetings back home to his friends and foes that he is alone fountain of power in Islamabad as the US umbrella is available to him alone. The Foreign Office spokesman was not available for his comments regarding the developments.Hmmmm......Is this worth tens of Billions of US Dollars?Read the full story here.

• Israel Tested stuxnet worm at Dimona?The Dimona complex in the Negev desert is famous as the heavily guarded heart of Israel’s never-acknowledged nuclear arms program, where neat rows of factories make atomic fuel for the arsenal. Over the past two years, according to intelligence and military experts familiar with its operations, Dimona has taken on a new, equally secret role — as a critical testing ground in a joint American and Israeli effort to undermine Iran’s efforts to make a bomb of its own. Behind Dimona’s barbed wire, the experts say, Israel has spun nuclear centrifuges virtually identical to Iran’s at Natanz, where Iranian scientists are struggling to enrich uranium. They say Dimona tested the effectiveness of the Stuxnet computer worm, a destructive program that appears to have wiped out roughly a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and helped delay, though not destroy, Tehran’s ability to make its first nuclear arms. “To check out the worm, you have to know the machines,” said an American expert on nuclear intelligence. “The reason the worm has been effective is that the Israelis tried it out.” Read the full story here.

• Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his family's 'Mafia rule'.As Tunisia's President Ben Ali is granted leave to remain in Saudi Arabia, the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the president and his family is coming into the spotlight. Their preferred title was "Tunisia's First Family". To the people they ruled over, though, president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his clan were known as "The Mafia" - a ruling clique whose greed and nepotism ultimately caused their downfall. Following in the footsteps of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and numerous other deposed dictators, Mr Ben Ali was granted refuge in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, starting what will likely be a comfortable, if less than dignified, political retirement. But as millions of Tunisians celebrated the end of his 23-year-long authoritarian rule, it was not just the 74-year-old president they were glad to see the back of. Far more reviled, it seems, was his second wife Laila, a feisty brunette more than 20 years his junior, who was dubbed "The Regent of Carthage" for her power behind the throne. A former hairdresser from a humble background, she stands accused of using her marriage to Mr Ben Ali to turn her family, the Trabelsis, into the desert nation's most powerful business clique.Read the full story here.

• HT:PJM.How Much of Your Money Wasted on ‘Climate Change’? Try $10.6 Million a Day.Seems everyone is talking about the massive United States federal deficit and how it has now reached an unfathomable $14 trillion. Is there any way to comprehend such a bloated number? Try this: the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. At that speed a photon of light starts at the surface of the Sun and reaches the Earth in 8 minutes. On Star Trek, the speed of light is warp one — at that speed the Enterprise would travel about 6 trillion miles in one year. If each dollar of the deficit is represented by one mile, it would take the Enterprise more than two years traveling the speed of light to go 14 trillion miles.So what can we cut out of the federal budget to make any kind of dent in this enormous pile of borrowed money? We could start with the vast sums of cash being wasted on climate change research.This year, your government will spend in the neighborhood of $4 billion on global warming research, despite the fact that there has been no global warming since 1998, and despite all of the billions that have been spent so far yielding no conclusive evidence that using fossil fuels to make energy has any significant effect on Earth’s temperature.The human component of carbon dioxide that is injected into the air each year is very small, on the order of 3%. Half the carbon dioxide emitted into the air by human activity each year is immediately absorbed into nature. Carbon dioxide is 8% of the greenhouse effect; water in the air is 90% of the greenhouse effect. By volume, carbon dioxide is currently at about 390 parts per million in the atmosphere, increasing at about 2 parts per million annually. In other words, carbon dioxide is increasing at a rate of .5% per year. Since human activity adds 3% of the carbon dioxide that gets into the air each year, the human component of the increase in carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year is 3 % of .5%, or just .015%.If you’re looking to cut the budget, climate change is a good place to start. If we don’t get a handle on Washington’s spending soon, and I mean very soon, climate change will be the least of our problems.Hmmmmm.......You have no idea how profetic these words are!Read the full story here.

• Confirmed: We’re Literally On the Brink of Catastrophic Collapse.We’ve been told a lot of things since the global economic crisis first became apparent in 2007. In March of that year Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, “the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the sub-prime markets seems likely to be contained.” Clearly, Mr. Bernanke’s assessment was incorrect and the sub-prime real estate issues were only part of a broader, systemic issue.The fundamental problems within our economy became mainstream news in the latter part of 2008 when stock markets around the world were in free fall and most major financial institutions were on the cusp of insolvency. In response, our government, with the full support and confidence of Congress, took unprecedented steps to save the system by injecting, first billions, and then trillions of dollars to bailout failed companies, stabilize deflationary price collapses and stimulate the economy.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson eventually wrote a book about the crisis, aptly titled On the Brink. But how close to the brink were we? If Representative Brad Sherman is to be believed, we were close. So close, in fact, that according to Sherman, Congressional members were told that if the bailout was not authorized by Congress the collapse would be so severe that martial law may have to be declared - basically, tanks in the streets.It’s a Catch 22 and there’s no way out.Defaulting on or inflating away our debt are the only viable solutions. Both of these will lead to the same end - a complete and total collapse of the way of life Americans have become used to.Just as Henry Paulson, President Bush, et. al. warned of economic collapse and depression in 2008, Mr. Geithner warns of the very same today. All of the trillions spent, all of the laws passed, and all of the manipulations of global asset markets, have done absolutely nothing to resolve the fundamental systemic problems we faced prior to the onset of the crisis.It is, quite literally, going to be the end of the world as we know it - and it cannot be stopped.It’s time for each individual to take steps to prepare for a national debt default and a complete debasement of the US dollar. It won’t be long before we either can’t meet our debt obligations or our creditors finally put a stop to our out of control borrowing. And when they do, the chances are high that we will experience a hyperinflationary monetary collapse, complete with disruptions to the normal flow of commerce, food shortages and out of control prices. The only refuge will be to understand what is money when the system collapses and start preparing now. The government is getting ready for it, so should you.Hmmmm....The clock is ticking,better prepare now!Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.How the Syria/Iran Terror Axis Targets Israel.Several new reports illustrate how Iran and Syria continue to aid terrorist groups that target Israeli civilians by providing weapons and terrorist training to jihadist organizations on Israel’s borders.In Gaza, Hamas and other terror groups have fired thousands of rockets and missiles into neighboring Israeli communities since Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005. They continue to be re-supplied by Iran and Syria. In Lebanon, Hizballah has received massive supplies of weapons from Tehran and Damascus, including large quantities of missiles and rockets, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles and attack aircraft.Both organizations are committed to Israel’s destruction and have gone to war with Israel in recent years: Hamas in 2008/2009 and Hizballah in 2006. And with Iranian and Syrian help, both terror groups are making substantial improvements in their weaponry.Hmmmm....Nice country where the new Ground Zero Immam was living?Read the full story here.

• 20 Israelis rescued from Tunisia.Thousands scramble to escape riots as Arab world hopes uprising will be lesson to other leaders. A group of 20 Israelis was rescued Saturday evening from Tunisia, where a violent uprising has succeeded in overturning the government.The complicated mission was orchestrated by a number of Israeli authorities, including the Foreign Ministry. The tourists were first transferred to a third country, from where are to continue to Israel by plane.Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said of the affair, "It is a story that ends well, but demanded life-saving efforts by the Foreign Ministry and other agents." European travel companies were also rushing Saturday to retrieve thousands of tourists on package tours to Tunisia after widespread protests toppled the North African nation's longtime president and brought chaos to some cities. Tour companies in Britain and Germany started the airlift process, sending planes to Tunisia to bring back tourists anxious to return home. The French national travel agency association, CETO, said French tour operators planned to evacuate tourists shortly and urged people planning trips to Tunisia in the next few days to cancel their plans and change their tickets.Egyptian activists opposed to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade regime danced outside the Tunisian Embassy in Cairo as the news broke on Friday, chanting "Ben Ali, tell Mubarak a plane is waiting for him too!"The Arab League appealed for calm in Tunisia as mass chaos broke out following Ben Ali's ouster.Arab League chief Amr Moussa urged Tunisians Saturday to look to the future and resolve the crisis by national consensus "in a way that guarantees respect for the will of the Tunisian people." He called the events "dangerous and historic," saying they mark "the beginning of one era and the end of another.Hmmmm......Egypt next?read the full story here.

• HT:DougRoss.Liberals: Democrat Party will split if Obama tries to prevent the collapse of the entitlement Ponzi schemes.The Soros-controlled, far left wing of the Democrat Party is warning President Obama against trying to save Social Security.The battle lines are forming within the Democratic Party over the charged question of reforming Social Security in the days leading up to President Obama’s State of the Union address.Liberals, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and labor unions, such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and SEIU, have taken a firm stand against cutting Social Security benefits... They are still reeling over the deal Obama struck with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in December to extend almost all of the Bush tax cuts and chop the Social Security payroll tax for one year by 2 percentage points.Back in the little land we like to call Reality, a Mish reader created several sobering graphs that represent the impending collapse of the Social Democrat schemes that would make Bernard Madoff blush.Read and see the full story here.

• Record $14 trillion-plus debt weighs on Congress.WASHINGTON – The United States just passed a dubious milestone: Government debt surged to an all-time high, topping $14 trillion — $45,300 for each and everyone in the country.That means Congress soon will have to lift the legal debt limit to give the nearly maxed-out government an even higher credit limit or dramatically cut spending to stay within the current cap. Either way, a fight is ahead on Capitol Hill, inflamed by the passions of tea party activists and deficit hawks.Already, both sides are blaming each other for an approaching economic train wreck as Washington wrestles over how to keep the government in business and avoid default on global financial obligations.Bills increasing the debt limit are among the most unpopular to come before Congress, serving as pawns for decades in high-stakes bargaining games. Every time until now, the ending has been the same: We go to the brink before raising the ceiling.All bets may be off, however, in this charged political environment, despite some signs the partisan rhetoric is softening after the Arizona shootings.With a $1.7 trillion deficit in budget year 2010 alone, and the government on track to spend $1.3 trillion more this year than it takes in, annual budget deficits are adding roughly $4 billion a day to the national debt. Put another way, the government is borrowing 41 cents for every dollar it spends.
  Hmmmm....Understand now,why Virginia and other states are introducing Bills to re introduce Gold and Silver as legal tender.Read the full story here.

• Catholic Doctor Explains Native American Prayer He Delivered at Arizona Memorial. Wednesday night’s memorial service for the shooting victims in Tucson did not open with a prayer from a Jewish rabbi, a Protestant minister or a Catholic priest--it began with a Native American “blessing” that left many puzzled about what it meant and why it was performed.The prayer, which did not use the word "God" and did not make the traditional request for God’s comfort for the bereaved that many might have expected, did mention the Creator and called for "honoring" the Seven Directions, including “Father Sky” and "Mother Earth”--and remembering our "fellow creatures" who "crawl on the earth” and “slither on the earth.”The blessing was presented by Dr. Carlos Gonzales, an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.“I was asked by the university to give a traditional Native American blessing,” Gonzales told CNSNews.com late Thursday. “This is the type of blessing that we give at memorial services to open up a ceremony. A medicine man will do a variation of it to open up a pow-wow. It’s basically a recognition of the powers of the seven directions and how they influence human beings--and how each direction has a certain characteristic; that when you pray to that direction, you ask for the inspiration that comes from that direction.”It would be a mistake, however, to call the Native American beliefs he was expressing a religion, Gonzales said.“It’s not truly a religion, it’s more of a way of appreciating spirituality,” Gonzales told CNSNews.com. “I’m Yaqui and Yaquis have been Roman Catholics since 1650. We were one of the first tribes in Mexico to actually peacefully absorb Catholicism; however we have always practiced Catholicism in our own unique manner, incorporating traditional beliefs, and so I grew up as a Roman Catholic with a Yaqui variation.”“In reality, I’m Catholic, but the spirituality I’ve come across with traditional healers is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen, and it’s a way of approaching people and it’s an additional way of healing that has actually helped me to be a better family doc.”None of the victims of the Tucson massacre were known to be Yaqui. Moreover, no rabbi, Catholic priest or Protestant minister, the known religions of the victims, was included in the memorial program.Gonzales said the idea for a Native American blessing came from University of Arizona President Robert Shelton.Gonzales, meanwhile, said his invocation was simply a way “to bring positive energy into a gathering of that type.”“I wasn’t trying to give a lecture to anybody,” he said. “It was a prayer. It was simply a prayer.”Hmmmm.......A memorial without religion?"Together we thrive" on What?Or Who ?Read the full story here .

• HT:AhmadiyyaTimes.Pakistan:No adequate security for Aasia Bibi: Report.Lahore: The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has not taken any extra security measure to protect Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death on blasphemy charges, despite increasing threat to her life, an intelligence report said. No extra security measures have been taken to protect the life of Aasia Bibi whose life is constantly being threatened by militants and extremist religious elements, the Express Tribune reported citing a report compiled by a provincial intelligence agency.The severity of threat to the life of Aasia Bibi spiked after the assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who was killed by his body guard Jan 4.The Pakistani interior ministry has asked the Punjab government to increase security for Aasia Bibi in Sheikhupura Jail where she has been incarcerated in the women's barrack along with 15-16 other detainees.The provincial intelligence agency report said just one lady warden has been assigned to her inside the jail and five police constables were deputed to secure the jail's perimeter, along with two motorcycle squads assigned to patrol the jail periphery.The report said that the guards assigned to her "are not vigilant and most of the times they are absent, especially the motorcycle riders".Referring to many loopholes in Aasia Bibi's security, the intelligence agency pointed out that her husband, Ashiq Masih, is allowed to visit her like "a normal visitor in an ordinary/casual shed, and there are no special security precautions" on ground.The report also suggested that Aasia Bibi should be sent to women's jail in Multan. It said that there were "better security arrangements which preempts the chance of an attack or any untoward incident".Hmmmm....How long before she is killed as well?Read the full story here.

• Taliban torch 16 NATO tankers in Pakistan.Quetta: Taliban militants in southwestern Pakistan set ablaze 16 vehicles carrying fuel supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan today, officials said.The convoy was attacked before dawn outside the town of Dera Murad Jamali, some 400 kilometres southeast of Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province, local administration chief Abdul Fatah Khajjak said."The attackers, riding in a car, opened fire on oil tankers parked at a petrol pump waiting for daybreak to resume their journey to Afghanistan," Khajjak said.Some 16 oil tankers caught fire, but two more parked a distance away were undamaged, he said. A driver's assistant was wounded by the gunfire.Militants fled after the attack, Khajjak said. A security official confirmed the incident.Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq in a phone call to AFP claimed responsibility for the attack."It is in retaliation to drone attacks in tribal areas," Tariq said from an undisclosed location in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region."We will continue to attack NATO supply vehicles and warn those operating them to immediately stop doing it otherwise they may also be targeted," he said.Read the full story here.

• Power Again Changes Hands in Tunisia as Chaos Remains.TUNIS — Police officers and gangs of newly deputized young men with guns held the streets of Tunis on Saturday night after a day of renewed clashes with protesters and the second change of political power in 24 hours. The continued instability raised new questions about what kind of government might emerge from the chaos engulfing Tunisia.The latest shift in leadership came as throngs of protesters made it clear that they were not satisfied with their success toppling President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who fled the country on Friday, but were determined to chase his allies from power as well. Bursts of gunfire rang out through the capital all day Saturday, and a patient discharged from a major hospital here reported that the emergency room was packed with people who had gunshot wounds. Rooftop snipers were visible on the Interior Ministry, aiming down at pedestrians around Bourguiba Boulevard below. Human rights groups said they had confirmed dozens of deaths at the hands of security forces even before the biggest street battle began Friday, and on Saturday residents huddled in their homes for fear of the police. The political shakeup started Friday with the announcement by the prime minister that the president was gone and that he was taking charge. But the prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, a close ally of the former president, abruptly surrendered temporary leadership Saturday, handing the reins of government to the 77-year-old speaker of Parliament, complying with the succession rules spelled out in the Tunisian Constitution. The speaker, Fouad Mebazaa, is expected to hold elections to form a new government within 60 days.Read the full story here.