MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Egypt volatile situation :  - Al Jazeera English - Live Streams From Egypt ! Here .
• Egypt protests on Twitter!  here.
• Liveblog - Egypt's protests erupt. here.

• CNN warns of Egyptian-style takeover of electronic communication in the U.S.It seems like this is the kind of thing Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck has been criticized for putting out on the airwaves – the notion the government could shutdown electronic communications in the United States similar to what has been done in Egypt over the past several days, as its government has reacted to turmoil engulfing the country.On Sunday evening’s “CNN Newsroom,” host Don Lemon and his guest, hacker-turned-cyber security expert Gregory Evans, explored all the various way this Egyptian movement was attempting to overcome blocks put on electronic communications by the government. Lemon suggested that the U.S. government could do that same thing the Egyptians are doing now, and even said he thought “it probably could happen in the United States.”And according to Evans, he was right.“It could happen here and it will happen – when, you know that emergency broadcasting system everybody never really pays attention to?” Evans said. “So that right there – if we were in the state of an emergency, in a civil war, the government can then seize all communications and since Internet is part of that communications – yes, they can take over your TV, your radio and your Internet.”Read the full story here.

• "The war on Christianity".Turkish Supreme Court Rules Against Assyrian Monastery and State takes land from the Christian Monastery.In a ruling issued on January 26, 2011, Turkey's Supreme Court granted substantial parts of St. Gabriel Monastery, an Assyrian Christian religious center established in the 397 A.D. in south-east Anatolia, to the Turkish Treasury. This decision reversed a June, 2009 ruling by the district court of Midyat, which had rejected the claim of the Treasury, sending the case to the Supreme Court in Ankara. Kuryakos Ergün, the chairman of the foundation of the monastery, could not comment on how the monastery will react to the verdict, as the details are not clear yet.The trial is part of an orchestrated effort since 2008 by three neighboring Kurdish village heads associated with the ruling party AKP and the Turkish State to expropriate the monastery's lands (full coverage). The treasury claims land inside and adjacent to the monastery, which the monastery has owned for decades and has paid taxes for, belongs to the State. The many trials concerning this case have been closely followed internationally and have raised many concerns about religious freedom of Christians in Turkey. The monastery is one of the oldest monasteries of Christendom.Symbol of repression of Christianity in Turkey.Erika Steinbach, the spokesperson for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the German Parliamentary Group, said in a statement on January 27th, "The deprivation of the land of the monastery of St. Gabriel stands as symbol of repression of Christianity in Turkey. Even though we do not yet have the verdict and the full-text available and it has not yet a legal force, this landmark decision is a major setback for Christians in Turkey. The negative trend in religious freedom in Turkey is incompatible with human rights."Dr. Renate Sommer, member of the European Parliament and an expert on Turkey, characterized the verdict as "expropriation." She regards the repeated postponing of the trials against the monastery as a demoralization effort towards the remaining Assyrians in Turkey, to induce them to leave the country. Regarding the plaintifs, she said "Unfortunately these fanatics are supported by the Turkish government, which has put a spoke in the monastery's wheels for decades. Since 1980 the monastery has been prohibited from educating priests. In addition to that the governing AKP supported the plaintiffs against the monastery."Ironically on the day of the verdict the Turkish President Abdullah Gül, while visiting Strasbourg, criticized in another context the discrimination against Christians by the authorities of his country. However, such statements are perceived as camouflage.Hmmmm.....These are the People Obama calls his friends?The worst Human Rights violators?Strange behaviour for a self proclaimed "Christian" President.Read the full persecution story here.

• HT:CrossroadsArabia.Watching Egypt.The chaos continues in Egypt. The army has been called in to keep the peace after the regular police (and, apparently, many of the special police) were driven off the streets, their precinct buildings burnt down. Prisoners are reported to have escaped from Demu Prison in Fayoum and are terrorizing the neighborhood (scroll down at the link). Pres. Mubarak has sacked his rubber-stamp cabinet and named Omar Suleiman as his new Vice President. The Internet was shut down and remains down; cell phones had but cut off but now appear to be back in service.King Abdullah made a formal statement, supporting Mubarak and condemning violence. I think he’s right about the violence. About Mubarak, though, no.Saudi Arabia—and Saudis in general—have a religiously-based belief that rulers are to be both respected and obeyed. That is not a bad method to keep civil peace. It has its limits though. Leaders are respected only so long as they hold the respect of the people they govern. When people feel themselves abused by their leaders, they demand change, often of those leaders. Leaders can go quietly, as did Tunisia’s Bin Ali, or they can go violently. Unjust leaders deserve neither respect nor obedience, as Mubarak is discovering. Mubarak, though he may believe differently, is not the Government of the Republic of Egypt. He is its elected leader and that alone. If he no longer holds the confidence of his citizens that he can rule justly, then he needs to go. I suspect there’s a guest palace available in Jeddah if he decides to take a short flight east.The big question, of course, is ‘After Mubarak, what?’ I’m sure Mubarak feels, as did Louis XV, Après moi, le déluge. It’s possible that he’s right. I am not at all confident that were Mubarak to fall his replacement would be liberal, far-sighted, or even very democratic at all. There is some truth in the saying about familiar devils being preferable to new, but strange ones.Meanwhile, there’s turmoil in Yemen and Jordan, with people taking to the streets to denounce government failings and calling for change. On the streets of Jeddah, a group gathered today to protest the failing of the municipality and the national government to establish sufficient infrastructure to abate floods. On the videotape I saw, it appeared to be about a hundred people or so protesting. It’s not comparable to what’s going on in Egypt, nor is it likely, I think, to act as a fuse toward any kind of explosion. I’m seeing quite a bit of talk about it doing that, but so far that chatter seems to be coming from stock market ‘advisors’ who see easy money being made as the price of oil rockets on fears of just such a thing. It’s all to their financial benefit to promote such rumors, but it doesn’t make it true.Saudi Arabia is in dire need of its own reforms. There’s no doubt about that. High unemployment, low salaries, ill-educated youths with degrees that do nothing to put them into jobs, half the potential workforce—the female half—is arbitrarily excluded from most work, poor infrastructure… the list goes on. To date, though, those problems have not reached a critical level. They can and, unless changes come more rapidly, they likely will. But not today and not tomorrow.Hmmmm.......The Domino Effect.Read the full story here.

• HT:Imra.Obama calls Saudi King Abdullah January 31, 2011.QUOTE: "US president understood the viewpoint of the King concerning the stability and security of the region"" Saudi King: stabilty of Egypt and the safety and security of its people was a 'non-negionable issue'".CASABLANCA: King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,received a telephone call late Saturday night from US President Barack Obama in which the two leaders discussed the situation in Egypt and expressed their disapproval of the chaos and looting and threats to security and safety.King Abdullah said that the stability of Egypt and the safety and security of its people was a “non-negotiable issue” and that threats to them were“unjustifiable under any pretext”.According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), King Abdullah also described the achievements and advancements of Egypt as “inseparable from the achievements and advancements of the Arab and Islamic Ummah”.SPA said that the US president understood the viewpoint of the King concerning the stability and security of the region.Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), meanwhile, said Sunday[30 Jan] that the GCC “wants stability in Egypt”.Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), also released a statement the same day expressing his“extreme concern”.Ihsanoglu called upon the people of Egypt to exercise “utmost self-control”and “protect lives”.Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said Sunday he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen.Hmmmm..........What if the Saudis would help restore the peace and calm in Egypt?Read the full story here.

• Muslim Brotherhood Wants War With Israel.Mohamed Ghanem, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, calls Egypt to stop pumping gas to Israel and prepare the Egyptian army for a war with it’s eastern neighbor.Speaking with Iranian television station Al-Alam, Mohamed Ghanem blamed Israel for supporting Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Ghanem also said that the Egyptian police and army won’t be able to stop the Muslim Brotherhood movement.There are doubts about the loyalty of the Egyptian army to president Mubarak. If the brotherhood takes control over Egypt, it will be very messy from the whole region.In the meantime, EUR/USD , GBP/USD other pairs have enjoyed the relative calm in the Egyptian crisis and regained most of their losses on Friday. An escalation will send them down, and will strengthen the dollar, yen and Swiss franc.Hmmmmm.....ElBaradei "The MuslimBrotherhood is like the Orthodox Jews".Read the full story here.

• HT:Dawn.Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal doubles in a couple of years now tops 100.WASHINGTON: Pakistan has doubled its nuclear weapons stockpile over the past several years, increasing its arsenal to more than 100 deployed weapons, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.Citing US non-government analysts, the newspaper said that only four years ago, the Pakistani nuclear arsenal was estimated at 30 to 60 weapons.“They have been expanding pretty rapidly,” the report quoted David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, as saying.Based on recently accelerated production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, Islamabad may now have an arsenal of up to 110 weapons, Albright said.As a result, Pakistan has now edged ahead of India, its nuclear-armed rival, The Post noted. India is estimated to have 60 to 100 weapons.Hmmmm.....Dammed This "Outreach to Muslims" really made the world a much safer place?Read the full story here.

• HT:ElliotAbrams.The Invisible Hostage Crises.It is now a year and a half since Iran jailed three American hikers on trumped-up spying charges. The three, Shane Bauer, his fiancée Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal were detained on July 31, 2009; Shourd was released on September 14 of last year. Recalling the hostage crisis that helped bring down Jimmy Carter in 1980 and that ended on the twentieth of January thirty years ago, it is striking that the Administration appears only mildly disturbed that they continue to sit in jail—as does Congress.It’s worth noting that two Germans are imprisoned as well, although “only” since this past October—and they were newspaper reporters, not hikers who wandered into harm’s way. Still, German society has reacted far more than our own: German media are campaigning for them, and on January 2nd over a hundred German leaders appealed publicly for their release. The list included the Foreign, Finance, and Defense ministers, plus the heads of Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Daimler—and even Boris Becker, the retired tennis star. The appeal is unlikely to do much good in Tehran, but it does show that the imprisonment is not being forgotten.Thinking of the Americans in prison in Iran, at what point do we as a nation say “enough?” I hope we have conveyed to the regime that if a hair on their heads is injured, there will be hell to pay—immediately. Should we go further right now, and tell the ayatollahs to let them go by a date certain or suffer some sanction? Bluffing would be counterproductive, so if we make that statement we must follow through with a blow to some Iranian asset.But on the other side of the scale, we are paying a price by acting as if we were Belgium or Costa Rica, unable to do more than wring our hands and plead. We are reducing respect for the United States in a capital where the level of respect matters. We are allowing two fellow citizens to be used as human sacrifices by an odious regime that puts no value on human life, and pays little price for doing so. We are behaving as if we were powerless, and as we do so we persuade others that perhaps we are.Hmmmmm.......Perhaps we really are "powerless" with such a President in charge?Read the full story here.

• Israel agrees to some Egyptian troops in Sinai.As anti-Mubarak protests rage on, Israel allows two Egyptian battalions - about 800 soldiers - into Sharm el-Sheikh area for first time since 1979 peace treaty. Officials: Move aimed at preventing arms smuggling to Gaza.Israeli officials said Monday that they have agreed to let Egypt move several hundred troops into the Sinai Peninsula for the first time since the countries reached peace three decades ago. With street protests threatening the Egyptian regime, the officials say that Israel allowed the Egyptian army to move two battalions - about 800 soldiers - into Sinai on Sunday. The officials said the troops were based in the Sharm el-Sheikh area on Sinai's southern tip, far from Israel.The Israeli officials spoke Monday about the troop movements on condition of anonymity because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has banned the government from discussing the situation in Egypt. There was no confirmation from Egypt, and David Satterfield, the director general of an independent 12-nation monitoring force in Sinai, refused to comment.Israeli President Shimon Peres said "we always have had and still have a great respect" for Mubarak. "I don't say everything that he did was right, but he did one thing for which all of us are thankful to him: He kept the peace in the Middle East," Peres said Monday.He acknowledged the unrest in Egypt has put Western powers, especially the US, in the difficult position of choosing between a longtime ally and a grass roots protest movement demanding more freedom."I think when people criticize America over this, they're being a bit unfair," Blair said, adding that President Barack Obama has handled the crisis in "the only way he can."Hmmmm.......Meaning?Read the full story here. More here.

• Terrorists threatened to kill my baby unless I became a Black Widow: Young mother on how she was groomed to be a Russian suicide bomber.A 24 year-old woman who was being groomed as a 'Black Widow' suicide bomber in Moscow has revealed the barbarity behind the terrorist cell which unleashed last week's airport bomb in the Russian capital, it was claimed yesterday.Before fleeing the extremist Islamic gang, Zeinat Suyunova was being schooled for the airport bombing, or a planned attack on a shopping centre almost underneath the Kremlin, say investigators.Now being debriefed by Russian intelligence, she is giving crucial information on preparations for the deadly attack under the radar of the secret services, claimed a Russian media report yesterday.The mother of one told how she discovered to her shock that her devout Moslem husband - the father of her baby daughter who she met when she studied at a respected medical academy in southern Russia - was involved in perpetrating a terrorist atrocity.Soon afterwards she was kidnapped, her daughter taken from her. She was told the child would be killed unless she became a bomber to avenge her husband's capture by the Russian secret services.'They threatened to kill my daughter if I did not agree to go to Moscow and help with explosions,' she told investigators.'They kept threatening, on and on, and in the end I agreed.'Hmmmm..........Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.First elected Muslim in US Congress caught thinking as a Muslim first ,American dead last.Keith Ellison: “The Middle East would be a much more powerful and dynamic place if there were less authoritarian regimes, and historically the U.S. has supported all of them,” argues Ellison. “We’re always on the side of ‘stability’ rather than justice. So let’s get on the right side this time.”First you rail against your own country you whining malcontent, then call for ”justice”. It most certainly would be just for people to vote you out of office come next elections. Remember folks, “justice” for the Muslim means Sharia Law, which means it’s not based on anything like sound principles and facts.Hmmmm.....Congressman King has lots off work ahead.Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.Danish free speech society president Lars Hedegaard declared not guilty by Danish court.President of the Free Press Society, Lars Hedegaard, in the Court of Frederiksberg acquitted of racist statements.The background is a good 35 minutes long interview to the site snaphanen.dk which Hedegaard gave in December 2009.Here, said Hedegaard, among other things, that “girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their dad.”The Court believes that Heath’s statements are insulting, but he was dismissed because he did not know that the interview that took place during a juleforkost, would be published.Lars Hedegaard has previously expressed regret if his statements gave the impression that he would accuse all Muslims of abusing their children.The day after the interview he stressed that his opinions were about Islam and not Muslims.The prosecutor would have Lars Hedegaard fined penalty because the 68-year-old journalist has not previously been convicted of violating racism paragraph.The priest Jesper Langballe was last year fined 5000 dollars for publicly backing up Hedegaards opinions.Read the full story here.

• HT:JawaReport.Yemen: Orderly Uprising Set for Feb3.Well its on. Yemen's next protest is scheduled for February 3 and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands nationally, if not millions. This protest was called by Yemen's political party alliance, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). The JMP decided on a gradation of colors, from pink to red, if demands are not met as protests progress; so Thursday's should be fuchsia, maybe mauve. Other colors already carry too much significance.The opposition parties include the Yemeni Socialist Party, which formerly ruled south Yemen, and the Islah party, an Islamist reform party that ranges from hard-line Islamists to hard-line democrats and a strong tribal wing. Certainly elements of Islah (notably the Abdulmajid al Zindani wing) advocate the al Qaeda world view including jihad and child marriage. However it is those elements of the party that are in fact close allies of President Saleh and an essential component of his power.Hmmmm.....Another brick falls out of the wall.Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.Mohammed El Baradei – The Iranian Frontman.Mohammed El Baradei — self-annointed “leader of the Egyptian opposition” — has more in common with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than anything remotely resembling democracy. He had a 12-year run, ending in 2009, as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) where his primary legacy was to bring Iran to the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. He ran defense for Iran all those years, doing everything in his power to delay and delay and divert attention from the Iranian nuclear weapons program.The Egyptian Newspaper Al Youm Al Sabeh reports: In a communication to the Attorney General of Egypt, Dr. Yasser Najib Abdel Mabboud, has accused Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections, of receiving funds exceeding $7 million (US) from Iran’s leadership as support for ‘political reform in Egypt’.Abdul Mabboud , a candidate of the National Party and who like El Baradei is also running for the Egyptian Presidential election, was informed of the Iranian leadership’s willingness to support ElBaradei financially via an Arab businessman living in Europe. The check in the amount of $ 7 million is said to be meant to cover the financial costs of the election campaign and the activities of the Front for Change.Hmmmmm........"Change" the keyword?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheAmericanDream.10 Things That The Egypt Riots Can Teach Us About What Happens When Society Breaks Down.The rioting in Egypt is perhaps the biggest single news story so far in 2011. The pace at which Egyptian society has been transformed over the past week has been absolutely breathtaking. A few months ago, nobody would have ever dreamed that there would be huge riots in the streets of major Egyptian cities calling for the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. But it has happened, and now Egypt will never be the same again. So what does the future hold for Egypt? Well, many are hopeful that this revolution will bring about a better government in Egypt and a better way of life for average Egyptians. Personally, I am not nearly so optimistic. In fact, I believe that there is a great danger that an even more repressive government could take the place of the current regime. But in any event, there are important lessons that the Egypt riots can teach all of us about what happens when society breaks down. Societal collapse is often a very messy, very violent affair. Someday if the global economy completely implodes, we may see economic riots erupt all over the world (including inside the United States) and we all need to get prepared for that.So far more than 100 people have died during the rioting that has rocked Egypt over the past week. Other reports put the true number of dead much higher. Scores of shops and businesses have been looted. There have been dozens of rapes. Groups of citizens have formed vigilante groups to protect their own homes. These are the kinds of things that happen when society breaks down.But could such a thing happen in the United States? Of course it could. Just remember what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Imagine what would happen in this country if a disaster on an even larger scale happened.Will any of us be truly safe?Read the full story here.

• Ground Zero mosque developers apply for $5m grant from 9/11 fund.Last year, developers applied for a $5million grant from a fund set up to rebuild the city after 9/11.Serious questions have been raised about its backers including controversial Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf who refuses to rule out obtaining funding from countries in the Middle East which have backed terrorist regimes.‘If Imam Feisal and his retinue want to know why they're not trusted, here's yet another reason,’ said. Irshad Manji, author of The Trouble With Islam and Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University.‘The New Yorkers I speak with have questions about Park51. Requesting money from public coffers without engaging the public shows a staggering lack of empathy - especially from a man who says he's all about dialogue.’The application was made to the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation, which is overseeing the $20billion (£12.5billion) in federal aid which is earmarked for rebuilding New York and its communities.The bid appears to have been legal as religious groups can make such requests ‘as long as the request is for a facility or portion of a facility that is dedicated to non-religious activities or uses’.However the board that makes the final decision must also consider its commitment to ‘an open, inclusive, and transparent planning process’ which could scupper the deal.What is clear is that the application is well above the $100,000 to $1million which is the recommended range for grant applications, something else the board will have to weigh up. The board's decision is expected this year.Currently on the site of the proposed mosque is a disused branch of Burlington Coat Factory which will be demolished to make way for the new $70million (£44million) building.Construction is due to begin on September 11 this year – the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack.Some 2,995 people including 67 Britons were killed when terrorists flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers on September 11 2001.The funding application was uncovered by U.S. politics and culture blog The Daily Beast.It polled its readers to ask if the move was ‘inappropriate’ and 75 per cent agreed.Hmmmm.....In the light of the new Ground Zero Imam's his declarations perhaps now 99,9% might think it's ‘inappropriate’?Read the full story here.

• Jailed for making sex tapes: Indonesian pop star gets three year sentence after home videos were broadcast online.Muslim extremists claim Ariel should have been jailed for up to 12 years.An Indonesian pop star who rocked the predominantly Muslim nation after his homemade sex tapes found their way to the internet has today been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail.Fans of Nazril 'Ariel' Irham broke down in tears, saying the singer recorded the videos in the privacy of his own home with no plans to make them public.But hundreds of Islamic hard-liners surrounding the court tried to smash down its gates, saying he'd gotten off too easy.Indonesia, a secular country of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any other country in the world. Though most are moderate, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.They have pushed through controversial laws - including the anti-porn bill - and been known to attack anything perceived as blasphemous, from transvestites and bars to 'deviant' religious sects.More than 500 demonstrators turned out earlier today, some pelting the police vehicle carrying Ariel to the court with rotten eggs and tomatoes. Others held placards criticising the star.When the verdict was read out, a man on a bull horn shouted, 'Too light! Too light!' and others charged past police to the gates of the courthouse.The singer's supporters were devastated with the judge's decision.'He's just a victim,' said Roslawati, 30, streaming tears. 'He didn't post that video ...' Like many Indonesians, she uses just one name. Hmmmm.....Obama"Indonesia an example of religious tolerance"Read the full story here.

• UK: Iranian nuclear weapon by 2012.British defense secretary disagrees with Israeli retired spy chief, says West should be wary of Iran and act 'in accordance'.Iran may be capable of developing a nuclear weapon by next year, Britain's defense secretary told lawmakers on Monday.Liam Fox told the House of Commons he disagreed with Israel's newly retired spy chief, Meir Dagan, who said this month that Iran would not be able to build a nuclear bomb before 2015.Fox said the West should be wary of optimism over Iran's nuclear program and make decisions on the basis of the most pessimistic assessment of its capability.Fox said that the West should act "in accordance with that warning."Hmmmmm.......Ex Mossad biggest threat in 2011 : Iran obtaining Nuclear weapon"! NOT 2012 !Read the full story here.

• New York City Investigates Arizona Gun Show.PHOENIX — Weeks after a shooting left six dead and 13 injured in Tucson, New York City sent undercover investigators to an Arizona gun show and found instances in which private sellers sold semiautomatic pistols even after buyers said they probably could not pass background checks, city officials said. The investigation, part of an effort by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration to crack down on illegal gun sales nationwide, took place Jan. 23 at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix, officials said. “The background check system failed in Arizona, it failed in Virginia and it fails in states around the country,” said John Feinblatt, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg. “If we don’t fix it now, the question is not whether another massacre will occur, but when.” Hmmmmm......Bloomberg and the Obama administration working together to abolish the Second Amendment?Read the full story here.

• HT:Dikgaj.How Islam came to India and why now it needs to go from India part 1.Islam's record in India has been always controversial. For a long time a particular reconstruction of Islam's role in India has been pushed through because of political reasons, and by a regime dependent and supported group of official historians, whose best iconic representation is Prof. Romila Thapar, a lady of Hindu origin who completed her PhD under the obscurantist and orientalist Basham.I refer to this common paradigm of Indian history established basically through government patronization, the Thaparite Scool of Indian History. In this Thaparite paradigm of Indian history, Islam came to India through peaceful means, mainly by the peaceful efforts of traders and Sufi preachers. Further, according to this paradigm, Islam took root because of Brahmanic oppression of “lower castes” and all claims of trauma of non-Muslims at the hands of Muslims are modern reconstructions by British Imperialists and post Nehruvian “Hindu” upper caste elite.It is not as if claims or records of trauma are not available, but they are all discounted by the Thaparite school as propaganda or myth created for various reasons. I will subsequently specifically analyze the Thaparite technique of historical interpretation and new narrative creation through her often repeated and favourite example – that of Somnath.Enslavement of non-Muslims of India.The Chachnama describes how Muhammad bin Qasim invaded Sind, enslaved many prisoners, especially women prisoners, and exported them to his homeland. Parimal and Suraj Devi, the two daughters of Raja Dahir, sent to Hajjaj for the pleasures of the Caliph, were part of a large shipment of girls remitted as one-fifth share of the state (Khums) from the booty of war (Ghanaim). After the capturing of the fort of Rawar, Muhammad bin Qasim halted there for three days and massacred 6,000 men. Their followers and dependents, as well as their women and children were taken prisoner. The total number of prisoners was calculated to be thirty thousand (Kalichbeg – sixty thousand), including thirty “daughters of the chiefs”. They were exported to Hajjaj.The head of Dahir and the fifth part of prisoners were forwarded in charge of the African Slave Kaab, son of Mubarak Rasti. Hmmmm........Erdogan"Muslims don't commit genocide".Read the full story here.

• HT:TPM.'Pay China First' -- Republicans' Wild Plan To Avoid U.S. Debt Default.New Republican legislation in the House and Senate would force the U.S. government to reroute huge amounts of money to China and other creditors in the event that Congress fails to raise its debt ceiling. "I intend to introduce legislation that would require the Treasury to make interest payments on our debt its first priority in the event that the debt ceiling is not raised," Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) wrote in a Friday Wall Street Journal op-ed. If passed, Toomey's plan would require the government to cut large checks to foreign countries, and major financial institutions, before paying off its obligations to Social Security beneficiaries and other citizens owed money by the Treasury -- that is, if the U.S. hits its debt ceiling. Republican leaders insist they will raise the country's debt limit before this happens. But first, they're going to try to force Democrats to accept large spending cuts, using their control over the debt limit as leverage. That means gridlock, and the threat that they'll come up short.The top Democrats on the House and Senate Budget Committees call it a jaw-droppingly bad idea.Officials don't expect the U.S. to reach its debt limit until Spring. That gives John Boehner and Mitch McConnell (and, perhaps, Harry Reid) several weeks to figure out how to raise it. But Republicans on the Hill remain divided over if and how to get that done. And, it seems, about how to move forward if they fail.Read the full story here.

• Belgium poised to break world record as nation operating without a government for the longest ever period.Little Belgium is poised to hit it big in the record books as it lurches towards claiming the title of the nation with the longest record of operating without a government.Political paralysis has gripped Belgium since June last year due to enmity between the Dutch-speaking Flemings in the north of the country and the French-speaking Walloons in the south.Apart from Somalia, only Iraq has hitherto surpassed Belgium in not forming a government following democratic elections - 249 days until it saw a working administration emerge late last year.Come 17 February, Belgium will overtake that milestone. All attempts at reaching a solution have foundered between the seven political parties that won seats in the last general election.The bitterness between the rich north and the poorer southern regions of the country mirror those of Italy and what northern Europe thinks of Greece; a thrifty, hardworking majority feeling put upon to subsidise those they perceive have a diminished work ethic.Social networking sites like Facebook laugh at the political quagmire and there is even an Internet game called ‘Solve the Belgian Crisis’ in which players bang politicians on the head with hammers to gain points.There is also a 'Hairy Belgium' website with more than 650 signed on to grow their beards until Belgium forms a government.Another site, called 'Camping 16,' allows you to pitch a virtual tent in protest outside of the Prime Minister’s office in Brussels — located at “16″ Rue de la Loi.The two major parties, the Flemish nationalists and the French speaking socialists, have been gridlocked for months. Unless they manage to find common ground in the weeks ahead, the country may well have to call another election.The nationalists are in favour of a gradual secession of their bit of Belgium away from the French, citing the gap in GDP and productivity as reasons for breaking away.'The north is the economic powerhouse and it pays the wages, the health care and the welfare bills for the south,' in the words of one nationalist politician.While most political demonstrations in the world usually focus on getting rid of unloved elected governments, one in Brussels a week ago saw 30,000 people take to the streets demanding that Belgium forms one.Hmmmmm......" l'Union fait la farce"?Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Mother-of-two who spent 11 years in a wheelchair is crowned Ms America.After being abducted as a small girl, losing her mother to cancer and spending over a decade in a wheelchair, Tracy Broughton has had a life crammed with adversity.She’s been paralysed and wheelchair-bound twice and has raised twin boys as a single mother while also modelling, working with charities and running a legal aid business.But the 36-year-old’s incredible resolve and determination has now been officially recognised with the award of the Ms America 2011 title.A big sister of sorts to the Miss America pageant, entrants in the Ms America competition are all 26 and above and have no restrictions on their marital status.Ms Broughton, from Ladera Ranch in Orange County, used a crutch on the runway as she continues her recovery from a 1996 hit-and-run that left her in a wheelchair for 11 years.‘I was able to overcome my disability through a combination of experimental therapy, faith and perseverance,’ she told the Orange County Register.‘The only thing that has been consistent is that my faith is so strong. It helped me through everything for sure.’Hmmmm........The Lord works in mysterious ways.Read the full story here.