MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Four IDF soldiers injured from gunfire along Gaza border.Terrorist cell ambushes paratrooper patrol.Four soldiers were injured by gunfire along the border fence of the central Gaza Strip Friday evening.According to preliminary reports, a cell of terrorists was situated along the fence near Kibbutz Nirim and opened fire on IDF soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade with automatic weapons and mortars.Palestinian sources reported that the firefight lasted 20 minutes and that tank shells were fired, according to AFP. There was no word of Palestinian casualties.The cell apparently waited in ambush for an IDF patrol and opened fire when the patrol passed by. An officer in the Southern Command told Channel 10: "We are still learning the details of the event. The soldiers were transferred to the trauma center at Soroka Hospital [in Beersheba] where their condition will be determined."The officer continued, "From initial details, it seems that we are dealing with a planned ambush by a terrorist cell that intended to observe IDF forces operating in the area where the incident occurred." He added that additional forces were quickly called to the location.Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that IAF helicopters fired missiles into the Strip in response to the incident, which the IDF spokesperson declined to confirm or deny.Responding to reports of suspicions that some of the soldiers were injured by friendly fire from another unit operating in the area, the IDF spokesperson said that the possibility is being investigated along with several other scenarios. The spokesman noted that an investigation has not yet been carried out.Read the full story here.

• Package Addressed to Napolitano Ignites at D.C. Postal Facility Day After Maryland Scare.WASHINGTON -- A package addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ignited at a Washington postal facility Friday, a day after fiery packages sent to Maryland's governor and transportation secretary burned the fingers of workers who opened them.It was unclear if the package had the right address, but a law enforcement official confirmed to Fox News that Napolitano's name was on it and it appears to be related to the packages that ignited Thursday in Maryland.FBI Spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin said initial information indicated the parcel that ignited in northeast Washington about 2:45 p.m. was similar to the two packages opened in Maryland on Thursday. The Washington postal facility was evacuated and no injuries were reported.The Maryland packages contained a note railing against highway signs urging motorists to report suspicious activity, investigators revealed.The message read: "Report suspicious activity! Total Bull----! You have created a self fulfilling prophecy."The packages, addressed to Gov. Martin O'Malley and to Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley, have been taken to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., for forensic analysis.They were opened within a 15-minute period Thursday at state government buildings 20 miles apart.The workers who opened the packages singed their fingers, but there were no significant injuries.Soon after, mailrooms across Maryland were cleared and two other suspicious packages uncovered, though they turned out to be a toner cartridge and laptop batteries.Explosive material wasn't found in either package that ignited and authorities aren't sure if any other dangerous packages are out there, but mailroom employees were back at work Friday. They had pictures of the packages and were advised to be vigilant about anything suspicious.
  Hmmmm....Did i not mention yesterday in my posting about the exploding packages that this will probably result in more TSA scanners?Well the link to Napolitano is there.Read the full story here.

• Updated : IDF soldier killed in Gaza clash.IDF soldier killed, four others wounded during exchanges of fire with terrorists approaching border fence; mortar shells also launched by Palestinians. Wounded soldiers evacuated to Beersheba hospital.An IDF soldier was killed Friday evening during exchanges of fire with terrorists along the Gaza border, near Kibbiutz Nirim.Another soldier sustained moderate wounds in the incident, while three others were lightly wounded.According to initial reports, Palestinian terrorists approached the security fence separating Israel form the Hamas-ruled territory and opened fire on the Israeli troops using automatic weapons. News agencies reported that Palestinians also launched mortar shells in the soldiers' direction.The IDF is trying to determine whether some of the soldiers, who belong to the Paratroopers Brigade, were injured from friendly fire. Eyewitnesses said another IDF force may have opened fire and hit the paratroopers.A few weeks ago a paratrooper sustained severe injuries when an IDF tank accidently opened fired at him with a machinegun near the Gaza border fence. The tank was alerted to the scene following a report of an attempt to infiltrate Israel. The wounded soldiers were evacuated to Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center.Read the full story here.

• Obama mouthpiece Robert Gibbs was forced out by new henchman William Daley.I wondered yesterday whether Robert Gibbs jumped or was pushed and noted that President Barack Obama’s words indicated that it was “not an entirely voluntary departure”.It’s being reported by John King on CNN right now that Gibbs wanted to be a presidential counsellor – something he’s been putting about for quite a while – but William Daley, the new chief of staff, nixed this because he believed that too many cooks would spoil the presidential broth. So that’s why Gibbs is out.Additionally, King reports that Valerie Jarrett, whose sole qualification to being a senior counsellor seems to be that she’s a long-time Chicago buddy of Barack and Michelle Obama, will have her wings clipped. Daley, not Jarrett, will be the person speaking to the business community.So the next question is: with Gibbs and David Axelrod gone, how much longer will Valerie Jarrett last?Read the full story here.

• Egypt Threatens NYC/Bloomberg Removal of Cleopatra's Needle.Since 1881, the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle has stood in New York's Central Park, but a letter from the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities indicates that this may change if the monument is not taken better care of. Recently, Zahi Hawass, the aforementioned secretary general and archaeologist, wrote to the Central Park Conservancy and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to inform them that if steps are not taken to protect the obelisk, it would be removed."I am glad that this monument has become such an integral part of New York City, but I am dismayed at the lack of care and attention that it has been given," Hawass wrote. "Recent photographs that I have received show the severe damage that has been done to the obelisk, particularly to the hieroglyphic text, which in places has been completely worn away. I have a duty to protect all Egyptian monuments whether they are inside or outside of Egypt. If the Central Park Conservancy and the City of New York cannot properly care for this obelisk, I will take the necessary steps to bring this precious artifact home and save it from ruin."The obelisk was originally one of a pair - the other currently resides in London - built around 1500 B.C. to honor Pharaoh Thutmose III. They were placed in the ancient city Heliopolis in Egypt, where they sat for a little over 1,500 years until 18 A.D., when they were taken by the Romans and placed at the entrance of the Ceasarium in Alexandria, according to TravellersinEgypt.com, a website that compiles information from people who have traveled in Egypt.In 1869, to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal, the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, gave the United States the obelisk that now sits in Central Park. The gift was an attempt to cultivate trade relations between the two countries, according to the Central Park Conservancy. Hawass finished his letter, which is posted on his blog, by writing "I strongly urge you to focus your efforts on saving this obelisk and preserving it for future generations. I am confident that you can find the resources in New York City to conserve this monument properly and pay this treasure the respect that it deserves. I eagerly await your prompt reply." A statement from Jonathan Kuhn, director of Art and Antiquities for the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation states: "We have been working in recent years with the Metropolitan Museum and the Central Park Conservancy to further analyze the condition of the obelisk and monitor its condition. There is no evidence at this point of any significant ongoing erosion."Hmmmm.....Obama and Bloomberg probably nodding in agreement to Zahi Hawass his letter.Read the full story here.HT:AstuteBloggers.

• HT:CreepingSharia.Oooooooh Canada !OTTAWA — There is one law for all Canadians, and no religious group should expect special treatment when it comes to enforcement of the law, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.The remarks were made in response to reports that RCMP officers had apologized for arresting Muslims on terrorism-related charges during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.On Aug. 25, the RCMP and Ottawa Police arrested two Ottawa men — Hiva Muhammad Alizadeh, Misbahuddin Ahmed — on terrorism-related charges. A third man, Khurram Syed Sher, was arrested elsewhere.The next day, Aug. 26, the RCMP and city police staged a special, hour-long meeting with members of Ottawa’s Muslim community with the ostensible purpose of ensuring them that their community was not regarded with undue suspicion despite the arrests. However, at least one officer was heard apologizing during meeting for the arrests having occurred during Ramadan, which ran last year from Aug. 12 to Sept. 9.Asked Thursday about the apology, Harper said: “In fairness this is an operational matter for the RCMP and I wouldn’t pretend to know all the details and aspects of the story. But the general approach that this government would expect to see (from law enforcement agencies) is that the law, our important laws, are enforced every day of the year.”Prominent members of the Muslim Canadian Congress applauded the prime minister’s remarks, saying it is about time that senior government officials emphasized the unitary nature of Canadian law, and that religious sentiment cannot be allowed to interfere with the law.“He (Harper) is right,” said Salma Siddiqui, vice president of the Congress. “We have one law in Canada and it applies to everybody. We need to stop all this political correctness.”“The notion that in Ramadan you can’t arrest people is so foolish,” Tarek Fatah, a founding member of the Congress, told a Calgary radio station.Hmmmmm......Harper ....Canada's John Wayne?Read the full story here.

• Mysterious Bird Deaths Mapped on Google.The story out of Arkansas late last week that 5,000 blackbirds had fallen out of the sky over Beebe, a small town in the northwest part of the state, had people scratching their heads. What caused the mysterious deaths? Google's custom mapping features were put to use yesterday afternoon to build a map that highlights dozens of similar incidents that have taken place around the world this month. Most of the mass bird deaths have happened over the United States, but reports are also coming out of Sweden, the Philippines, Italy and many other countries.The map provides a quick read on what places have been affected, but it could also help to solve the conundrum. One reader left comments suggesting that the map could be superimposed over a current global oil exploration map to test the hypothesis that the deaths could have been caused by ground penetrating tomography.View -- and interact with -- the map here.Hmmmm....Something poisonous traveling along the Jet stream?Read the full story here.

• Magnetic North Pole Shifts, Forces Runway Closures at Florida Airport.The planet's northern magnetic pole is drifting slowly but steadily towards Russia -- and it's throwing off planes in Florida.Tampa International Airport was forced to readjust its runways Thursday to account for the movement of the Earth's magnetic fields, information that pilots rely upon to navigate planes. Thanks to the fluctuations in the force, the airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to change taxiway signs to account for the shift, the Federal Aviation Administration said.The poles are generated by movements within the Earth's inner and outer cores, though the exact process isn't exactly understood. They're also constantly in flux, moving a few degrees every year, but the changes are almost never of such a magnitude that runways require adjusting, said Paul Takemoto, a spokesman for the FAA.The magnetic fields vary from place to place. Adjustments are needed now at airports in Tampa, but they aren't immediately required at all airports across the country.So just how often is something like this necessary? "It happens so infrequently that they wouldn't venture a guess," Takemoto told FoxNews.com. "In fact, you're the first journalist to ever ask me about it.""You want to be absolutely precise in your compass heading," he pointed out. "To make sure the precision is there that we need, you have to make these changes." Kathleen Bergen, another spokeswoman for the FAA, explained that runway designations and charting rely upon geomagnetic information. "Aviation is charted using latitude and longitude and the magnetic poles," she told FoxNews.com.The shift is likely a normal oscillation of the Earth's magnetic field, Stoner said, and not the beginning of a flip-flop of the north and south magnetic poles, a phenomenon that last occurred 780,000 years ago. Such reversals have taken place 400 times in the last 330 million years, according to magnetic clues sealed in rocks around the world. Each reversal takes a thousand years or more to complete. "People like to think something special is happening in their lifetimes, but despite the dramatic changes, I don't see any evidence of it," Stoner said. "It's probably just a normal wandering of the pole." Hmmmm....What and who else is affected by the Pole Shift?Read the full story here.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Rep. Blackburn Introduces Bill to Preempt FCC Internet Takeover.Representative Marsha Blackburn (R, TN) has introduced a bill to preempt the December power grab by the Federal Communications Commission’s Chairman Julius Genachowski and she has made the bill bipartisan with the support of Democrat Dan Boren (Oklahoma).Blackburn is reporting that 60 members support her bill to halt the FCCs efforts to take control of the Internet without legislative action.Blackburn’s bill would place all rules governing the Internet in the purview of Congress and would take the issue out of the hands of the FCC.“The FCC’s Christmas week Internet-grab points out how important it is that we pass this bill quickly,” Blackburn said in a statement to the media.This issue is just one more example of Obama’s tendency to use regulation to get around the legislative process, to get around the courts, and to get around the voters and to instill his left-wing agenda by regulatory fiat.Blackburn should be supported in her efforts to thwart Obama’s cynical power grab.Hmmmm....What his "Czars' don't "Fix" he will do executive powers?Read the full story here.

• Sobbing Coptic Christians mark grim Christmas Day in wake of suicide bomb attack on church.Egyptian Christians, many sobbing and garbed in black, attended Christmas Eve masses despite security fears after a New Year's suicide bombing which killed 21 worshippers at an Alexandria church.Al-Qaida in Iraq had threatened Christians in Iraq and Egypt in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Militant websites had even posted names and addresses of churches in Egypt to target, raising fears of a follow-up attack on celebrations of the Orthodox Christmas, which Egypt's Coptic Christian minority marks on Friday.A heavy police detail was assigned to guard Christmas Eve services across the country today.Vehicles were blocked from parking near churches. Police and church staff checked IDs, which denote religion - as well as people's wrists, where many Egyptian Christians bear the tattoo of a cross.A line of riot police stood at each end of the street at Saints Church in Alexandria, the target of Saturday's attack. Security officers with walkie-talkies fanned out across the streets surrounding the cathedral in the capital, Cairo, and metal detectors were set up at the entrances.Despite the fears, turnout was heavy for a service Christians said they were determined to attend. Muslims also joined some services as a show of solidarity.State TV gave heavy coverage to the Christmas Eve Mass to promote a sense of unity. President Hosni Mubarak's two sons and several Egyptian government ministers attended the services, as did some foreign diplomats.As in past years, state TV broadcast live Pope Shenouda III leading prayers and delivering his sermon at Cairo's Coptic Cathedral. The 87-year-old head of the Coptic Church recited the prayers, his voice sounding tired and cracking.He offered condolences 'to our sons in Alexandria and in several other countries for the martyrdom of innocent people.''I echo President Mubarak's remark that the blood of our sons is not cheap,' the pope said.At Saints Church, blood stains on the wall were a grim reminder of last weekend's sectarian violence. A stream of black-clad worshippers flowed in as Mass began.'It's worse than before,' said Marina Sammy, a young woman at the Saints Church whose family owns a store in Alexandria.'The events haven't improved attitudes at all. We've been attacked and insulted and our store windows were broken. There's no security at all.'Hmmmm....How many hours until the next attack?Read the full story here.

• HT:CrossRoadsArabia.Divorced women in Kingdom struggle to find social acceptance.JEDDAH: To be a divorcee in Saudi society is like having a scarlet letter burned on the chest. Many women who happen to leave marriages are forced into a life of shame; for some this is so much that they remain perpetually hidden behind closed doors.One thing that is for sure is that society fails to give these women a chance to breathe; they are spoken about and made to feel awkward wherever they go. “Nobody educated me about the next step after getting married and I blame my parents for that,” said Nadia Al-Otaiby, a 38-year-old divorcee. “I asked for a divorce only one month after I got married because I found out that the man I married was impossible to live with. There were also some other reasons which I prefer keeping to myself,” she said.“Imagine what people said about me when I got divorced just 30 days after getting married. Now I’m forced to walk shamefully whenever I leave the house as if I did something wrong,” she added.Every woman dreams to have a wedding day in which she is the center of attention among hundreds of women. However, when she gets divorced she turns into the center of attention of not just those who were invited to her wedding but the entire society.Read the full story here.

• Disgraced ex-senator John Edwards 'asked mistress to marry him three weeks after his wife died of cancer'.John Edwards asked his mistress to marry him just three weeks after his wife lost her fight against breast cancer, it was claimed today.The disgraced ex-senator also introduced his three children to Rielle Hunter as well as the child he fathered with her, according to a report in the National Enquirer. Ms Hunter is said to have wept with joy during the meeting and told her lover's grieving children 'Call Me Mommy'.Elizabeth Edwards, who was battling cancer, immediately ended their marriage after her husband admitted to fathering a child. Friends said she would have been devastated by her children being taken to meet Hunter. 'This is the absolute last thing in the world [Elizabeth] wanted,' the tabloid quoted a source as saying. 'Rielle is the woman she once labelled 'pathetic' and 'a homewrecker' . . . She did not want John to introduce their kids to his love child - let alone Rielle.She cut her estranged husband out - instead leaving everything to her three children.The couple's eldest daughter, lawyer Cate, was named as the executor of the will, which Mrs Edwards signed on December 1 - just six days before she lost her battle to breast cancer.Read the full story here.

• Youth worker 'stabbed rival in the eye with machete while leading double life as gang boss'.A youth worker who lived a double life as a ruthless gang leader was jailed indefinitely today for blinding a man by hacking a machete through his eyeball.Saifour Rahman, 23, appeared to be a pillar of the community, giving up his free time to volunteer at an outreach project for youngsters.But beneath this veneer of respectability, Rahman headed an east London gang known as the Timber Wharf Boys and went by the street name of 'Jackal'.As the head of a mob of 20 armed with baseball bats and sticks, machete-wielding Rahman meted out a wicked attack on Razaull Ahmed, 22, on the Isle of Dogs.Mr Ahmed, who had been smoking a cigarette after a fast food meal, lost his left eye and was permanently disfigured after the act of 'shocking savagery'.Horrified witnesses had earlier watched the gang as they 'tooled up' in preparation for the unprovoked assault.Rahman denied the attack but he was convicted by a jury after a three week trial in November at Snaresbrook Crown Court.Read the full story here.

• HT:NewsRealBlog.ObamaCare Exceeds the Limits of Congressional Authority. Judge Miffed.One of the first orders of business for the 112th Congress is for the new House to fulfill its campaign promise to pass a repeal of ObamaCare. This will be a vain effort, however, as repeal will likely die in the Senate. But even if repeal were to get through the Senate, President Obama would surely veto a repeal of ObamaCare.The better way for ObamaCare to be struck down is not by repeal, but by appeal: appeal to the courts. A Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of ObamaCare would set huge precedents having far-reaching ramifications. The end of the first major skirmish in the legal war came December 13 with U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson’s decision in Virginia v. Sebelius. For ObamaCare, Friday the 13th came on a Monday.Created by the states, the federal government is a government of enumerated powers. The 10th Amendment makes this clear. But the Constitution does not specifically grant to the feds the power to do much of what they do. The feds therefore must find that power somewhere in the Constitution. So they invoke the Commerce Clause or the General Welfare Clause or something to justify what they do. But there must be limits to what the feds can do; otherwise America degenerates into just another totalitarian state. Where those limits are was the question before Judge Hudson, who ruled that the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision (Section 1501) of ObamaCare — better known as the “individual mandate” — is unconstitutional. Page 37 of Hudson’s decision:Congress lacked power under the Commerce Clause … to compel an individual to involuntarily engage in a private commercial transaction, as contemplated by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision. … The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers.Hmmmm......No to tyranny !Read the full story here.

• Head Of Mossad ReNamed As Dr Dolittle.As my colleague Dominic Waghorn reports Saudi police have arrested a vulture suspected of spying for Israel.After searching the vulture the authorities say they found a GPS system and an identification tag bearing the words 'Tel Aviv University' and 'R65'.Agent R65, as the bird has not yet been called is still being held. The conditions R65 is being held in are unknown. However it is thought he is singing like a bird.No doubt most sensible people in the Saudi government do not believe R65 is part of the Mossad, but a lot of people in the region will because there is long, amusing, and yet sad history of media reports giving credence to stories in which animals are part of a Zionist plot.Last year, in Egypt, the regional governor of Sinai suggested that a shark which had attacked tourists may have sent there by the Israeli secret service. 'It is not out of the question. But it needs time to confirm," said Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha.The Iranians once caught 14 Mossad squirrels inside the Islamic Republic. All were wearing listening devices and cameras. In 2008 they arrested two spy pigeons near a nuclear site. These birds were suspected of spying for either Mossad or MI6. Etemad Melli newspaper quoted a government source - "Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings," At the time a diplomatic source told me "It must be a shattering blow to our intel boys that that the 'invisible string' has been discovered, after all it's the first thing Britain has invented since the Hovercraft"Another added "It's clear there has been some sort of coo in Tehran", while a third told me, "I don't think this story has legs, but it does have wings"Also in 2008 the Palestinian newspaper WAFA printed a report claiming that jews had trained rats to distinguish between arabs and jews and released them into the Old City of Jerusalem. A year later the Israelis had trained wild boars to destroy Palestinian crops, antelope were patrolling the Lebanese border, and llamas were being trained but turned out to be too unruly and suspected of having pro Hizbollah sympathies.But squirrels wearing cameras? Sharks? Invisible strings, anti arab rats? And now Mossad vultures so stupid they forgot to take off their Tel Aviv ankle bracelets... to believe that, you have to believe that the Head of Mossad is not Tamir Pardo but in fact is...Dr Ben Dolittle.
  Hmmmm....Contra intelligence is now seeking desperatly to catch one of the Speaking Mossad parrots hoping to question him thoroughly.Read the full animal planet story here.

• U.S. Woman Said Detained In Iran 'Did Not Use Armenian Territory'. Armenian authorities have insisted that a U.S. woman reportedly detained in neighboring Iran on suspicion of espionage did not travel to Iran from Armenia.Iran's state run "Iran" newspaper reported this week that the 55-year-old woman -- identified as Hall Talayan -- was detained as she attempted to cross the Armenian-Iranian border. The newspaper claimed an espionage device was found in her teeth and she had no Iranian visa.Iran's state-run television said subsequently that she did actually not manage to enter Iran via the border with Armenia. The station quoted a "well-informed" source as saying that she "tried to enter the country illegally, but she was prevented from doing so." It said the woman is in Armenia. Armenia's National Security Service (NSS), which runs all Armenian border crossings, denied this, however. "A person with that identity did not enter Armenia and could have therefore not left Armenia," NSS spokesman Artsvin Baghramian said in a written statement.The U.S. State Department has cited "conflicting reports" and said it was seeking more information through the U.S. Embassy in Armenia and Swiss officials, who represent U.S. interests in Iran.Iranian authorities have not publicly reacted to the report.Hmmm......Perhaps a Zionist group of squirrels sneaked her over the border?Read the full story here.

• Pakistan: Incitement | Man who offered reward for killing Taseer arrested.MULTAN: Khangarh police on Tuesday arrested a man who had announced a Rs20 million prize for whoever would kill Governor Salmaan Taseer. Sardar Ebaad Dogar had made the announcement at a rally organised last Friday against proposals to amend or reform the blasphemy laws.Talking to The Express Tribune after the rally, Dogar had said that he felt no embarrassment in making the announcement.He had said he would raise the reward to Rs30 million if someone from Khangarh would kill Taseer.Dogar had served as Khangarh’s district nazim on a Pakistan Muslim League-Q ticket. He was accused of association with banned organisation Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan before joining the PML-Q.The police have shifted him to unidentified location and started interrogation.
  Hmmmm.....Can they arrest the Clerics who called for the killing of the Blasphemer?Read the full story here.

• HT:RossRightAngle.Islamist Minister of of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali – ‘Religious Freedom Doesn’t Apply to Ahmadiyah Dissenters.’.But meanwhile, RRA’s ‘old friend’ Suryadharma Ali, Minister for Religious Affairs, has stirred up another row by honouring, among others, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, the man who has been hounding Ahmadiyah.As the Jakarta Globe reported 6th January, ‘critics have lashed out at the Ministry of Religious Affairs for recently handing out awards to Muslim leaders, saying it unduly favored Islam over other faiths.The ministry on Monday presented awards to six governors and 10 district heads and mayors for “explicitly including Islamic education in regional bylaws.” Recipients included the governors of Bangka-Belitung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi…..Ismail Hasani, a senior researcher at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said the ministry “showed favoritism” by handing out the awards.“It’s supposed to be the Religious Affairs Ministry, not the Islamic Affairs Ministry,” Ismail said on Tuesday. “I fear that the objectivity of the country’s public officials has been compromised,” he added. “They no longer work for all groups in society, but rather they see things based on the dichotomy of majority and minority….Zainul is an Islamic cleric whose grandfather founded Nahdlatul Wathan, the biggest Islamic organization in the province,” Ismail said. “Now he has ambitions to build the country’s biggest Islamic center there, for which he’s already had two schools bulldozed. Not to mention he’s already quarantined the Ahmadiyah.”Hmmm.....Obama "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

• HT:What'sUpWithThat.And now for something completely different! Are huge northeast snow storms due to global warming?That’s the theory; how about some data to show that a warmer climate should lead to less snow, not more. The data are easy to find and interpret. More than a century of winter snow totals and average winter temperatures (December-January-February) are posted on the NWS Philadelphia web site. Seasonal snow totals in Philadelphia are dominated by the occurrence (or non-occurrence) of large snow events (i.e., the snowiest winters have two or three major storms, and the least snowy winters had none). Here’s some charts and correlations.Read the full story here.