MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

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

• Judge rules Obama health care law unconstitutional.President Barack Obama’s health care reform legislation, assailed as an abuse of federal power in a 26-state lawsuit, was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. judge.U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Florida, declared the law unconstitutional in a ruling today. Then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum filed suit on behalf of 13 states on March 23, the same day Obama signed into law the legislation intended to provide the U.S. with almost universal health-care coverage. Seven states joined the litigation last year, and six signed on this year.The White House says a ruling by a federal judge against the new health care law is an example of judicial "overreaching" and "activism.""This ruling is well out of the mainstream of judicial opinion," Stephanie Cutter, an assistant to President Obama, wrote on the White House's blog after Judge Roger Vinson in Florida ruled that the entire law isunconstitutional. "Today's ruling ... is a plain case of judicial overreaching. The judge's decision contradicts decades of Supreme Court precedent that support the considered judgment of the democratically elected branches of government that the Act's 'individual responsibility' provision is necessary to prevent billions of dollars of cost-shifting every year by individuals without insurance who cannot pay for the health care they obtain."A senior administration officials said the judge's analysis of the ruling was "odd and unconventional" and expressed confidence that the decision won't stand. "A good deal [of the analysis] is built on sort of, rhetorical conjecture," an official told reporters on a conference call."Obviously this case will be appealed. ... This is not the last word byany means."Hmmmmm.......Can the Obama administration be more dictatorial?Read the full story here.

• Who is Mohammed ElBaradei?Last week, few Westerners knew the name Mohamed ElBaradei. Today, this well-educated, genteel-sounding, Nobel laureate has suddenly emerged as the face of the protest movement in Egypt. But who is he really, and is he a force for genuine, positive change? Three clues tell us the answer is “no,” ElBaradei is not someone we can trust, and we do not want him running Egypt.Hmmmmmm......Sounds almost like Obama?Read the full story here.

• Coptic Christians Worry About Future Without Mubarak.ALEXANDRIA, Egypt—Like the protesters who have flooded the streets of Egypt in the past week, the country's large minority of Coptic Christians worry about joblessness and lack of freedoms. But most want President Hosni Mubarak to stay in power.Fear of what may follow the removal of Mr. Mubarak, a secular strongman who has ruled the country for the past 30 years, is making reluctant supporters out of the country's Christians, an estimated 10% of Egypt's 80 million population. Mr. Mubarak has been aggressive in pursuing perceived Islamist extremist groups, a policy that has endeared him to Coptic Christians, not to mention the U.S. Many Copts worry that Mr. Mubarak's exit would leave them dangerously exposed—either by chaos, or to a government that may be more tolerant of Islamist extremists.In Alexandria, where the Coptic Orthodox Church was founded in A.D. 42, worshippers slipped through a crack in the gate at St. Mark's and St. Peter's Church on Monday morning, for the first service to be held here since Egypt's anti-Mubarak protests began.As recently as New Year's Day, this church suffered a horrific terrorist attack. Twenty-three people died and 97 were injured when a large bomb packed with nails and ball bearings detonated outside just after midnight, as the service was ending. "We need Mubarak. What we need above all is to be safe," said Samy Farag, director of the St. Mark's Hospital, which is attached to the church and where the dead and injured were brought immediately after the bombing."We feel safer with him because he heads a big, strong party. If he leaves, parties will come to power that we don't know," said the 65-year-old doctor. He added that this included any government that might be headed by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize winner and former international nuclear official. "We just don't know what their policies toward Christians would be," Dr. Farag said.Read the full story here.

• HT:Aina.Egypt's False Prophet.The Mubarak regime is likely in its last days and the Muslim Brotherhood has now endorsed former IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) director Mohamed ElBaradei to replace him. The wise move by the Islamists will allow them to control the next government while soothing the fear over the creation of the Islamic Republic of Egypt.The Muslim Brotherhood has allowed ElBaradei to lead a new coalition called the National Association for Change that also includes secular democrats and other opposition figures like Ayman Nour and Dr. Osama al-Ghazali Harb. This coalition led by ElBaradei is going to begin forming a national unity government that will exclude President Mubarak's National Democratic Party, removing a potential secular voice in the next regime. Once this national unity government is put together, it will force the U.S. to pick either the Mubarak regime or the opposition regime as the government of Egypt.The Brotherhood decided to embrace ElBaradei because it will make it easier to pursue an Islamist agenda. One of the group's officials did not try to disguise this, saying "The Brotherhood realizes the sensitivities, especially in the West, towards the Islamists, and we're not keen to be at the forefront."The West should not find comfort in the prospect of ElBaradei leading Egypt instead of an official Brotherhood member. He may be a secular democrat ideologically, but his foreign policy stances are not much different than the Brotherhood and he is a stalwart defender of the organization. He has just compared them to "new evangelical…groups in the U.S., like the orthodox Jews in Jerusalem" and says "[t]his is total bogus that the Muslim Brotherhood are religiously conservative. They are [in] no way extremists."He also asserts that the Brotherhood has "not committed any acts of violence in five decades," drawing a deceitful distinction between the Brotherhood and its Palestinian branch, Hamas. The constitution of Hamas states it is "the arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine" and in March, a top Hamas operative reaffirmed that it remains so. There are already unconfirmed reports that armed members of Hamas are now entering Egypt to link up with the Brotherhood. ElBaradei has in the past defended "the Palestinian resistance," saying that "the Israeli occupation only understands violence."An Egypt under ElBaradei would be friendly to Iran. As the director of the IAEA, El-Baradei was repeatedly accused of covering-up incriminating evidence about the Iranian nuclear program. He opposes sanctions on Iran and says "they are not like the stereotyped fanatics bent on destroying everybody around them. They are not." It has been reported that an Iranian official gave $7 million to an associate of his in Hungary to finance a presidential campaign and the Iranians also offered other forms of assistance, including information to undermine Mubarak. This could be an attempt by Egypt's Arab allies to undermine ElBaradei but at the very least, the Iranian state media is supporting the revolution.Hmmmm......They think life in Egypt will be better?Forget it just look at Iran to see Egypts future!Read the full story here.

• Egypt could become a greater threat than Pakistan, say analysts.Turmoil in a state western counter-terrorism agencies have been able to rely on could have 'far-reaching consequences'.Egypt has the potential to take Pakistan's place as the country posing the greatest threat to Britain's security, intelligence analysts said today.Political turmoil in a state western counter-terrorism agencies have been able to rely on would also have "far-reaching consequences for the Arab-Israel relationship and regional instability", a former senior intelligence official said.There would also be serious implications for European security, yet neither Europe nor the US could influence events in Egypt now, analysts warned.But European governments, and their security and intelligence agencies in particular, have wanted stability above all. "They have to talk the talk, but don't expect [reform] to happen," is how one observer described their attitude.Now some more acute officials say reform is needed but not too quickly. John Sawers, head of MI6 and a former British ambassador to Egypt, in the first public speech of a serving head of Britain's foreign intelligence service, referring to the "Islamic world", said: "Over time moving to a more open system of government in these countries, one more responsive to people's grievances, will help."But if we demand an abrupt move to the pluralism that we in the west enjoy, we may undermine the controls that are now in place. Terrorists would end up with new opportunities."Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle East policy studies at City University, London, suggested the view of western intelligence officials or diplomats would be: "Senior military people should quietly tell him [Mubarak], 'We need a more benign version of you.Read the full story here.

• Egypt’s currency plummets as protests go on.The popular uprising against Egypt’s iron-fisted ruler Hosni Mubarak is hitting the Egyptian pound, as investors bet political turmoil will hurt the nation’s economy. According to forward contracts, traders expect the currency to sink 5.2 percent in three months against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s joins the ranks of agencies to slash Egypt’s credit rating.“The situation is grim,” Bhanu Baweja, global head of emerging-markets currency strategy at UBS in London, said in an interview Monday. “‘We can easily see the pound depreciating by 20 to 25 percent.”Trading in the spot currency market is all but closed, Baweja said. Thousands of protesters demanded President Hosni Mubarak resign in a uprising that has left as many as 150 dead and sent markets tumbling worldwide. Egyptian bonds sank Monday, while the cost of protecting the country’s debt against default jumped to the highest level since April 2009, after Moody’s Investors Service lowered its credit rating to Ba2, two levels below investment grade, and said the outlook was negative.The non-deliverable contracts, which are settled in dollars and allow investors to buy or sell currencies at a pre-set price and date, weakened 3.5 percent in the past five trading days as Egyptian bonds tumbled. The stock market was shut for a second day Monday. Egypt’s EGX 30 stock index plunged 16 percent last week, the most in two years.The protests may accelerate the decline of a currency whose depreciation the government has tried to manage, according to Baweja. The Egyptian pound is down 2.6 percent against the dollar over the past three months.“The authorities are keen to engineer a slow and steady depreciation,” Baweja said. “It will be difficult.”In another development, Henkel, the German maker of Persil detergent and Loctite glue, halted its washing-powder production in Egypt and evacuated some expatriate workers, while ABB has temporarily closed its factories, according to company statements.Henkel also told the 850 local workers at its factory in Port Said to remain at home due to security concerns, Lars Witteck, a spokesman for the company said.ABB has also closed its factories in Egypt, where the Swiss engineering company generates about $300 million in revenue, and has begun flying out foreign workers, spokesman Thomas Schmidt told Bloomberg News. The company is monitoring developments in the North African country “by the hour” and has tightened travel restrictions to Egypt, Schmidt said, adding that neither have any facilities been damaged nor any of the 1,600 local workers harmed.Hmmmmm......Egypt get ready for "Change" that is going to bite!Change because of a single straw and end up in a haystack?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video: IAEA Director-General Dr. Muhammad ElBaradei: Iran Can Produce Enough Enriched Uranium for a Nuclear Bomb in Six Months to a Year.Hmmmm.....Don't buy a used car from this man.Read the full story here.

• HT:AlArabiya.Obama pressured Mubarak to make speech.Despite the appearance of supporting of the Egyptian demonstrators, and President Obama's call on President Hosni Mubarak to address the demands of the Egyptian protesters and to reform his political and economic policies, the US government hopes that Mubarak can survive the biggest challenge to his 30-year rule to date.The timing of Obama's speech was carefully coordinated to come after Mubarak's own speech in which he addressed his nation supporting the protestors' right to demonstrate but warning those who want to create "chaos" and "destruction." Mubarak also dissolved the government promising to have a new government formed the next day. Learning the lessons from the Tunisian experience, the Obama administration behaved proactively by advising the Egyptian government on steps it should take in order to address the volatile situation it faces.The US is going for a win-win situation in Egypt, especially that the uprisings sweeping the Arab world are underpinned by internal political, economical and social reasons. If Mubarak's regime survives with significant modifications and reforms, it will give the US a breathing room until he leaves the scene more peacefully and naturally.If Mubarak meets the same fate as Tunis's Ben Ali, the US government can, then, claim that it sided with the Egyptian people during the crisis, and that it supported their democratic and economic aspirations. The US will, therefore, see to it that the new ruler in Cairo will maintain the same level of American-Egyptian strategic relations that was under Mubarak.Read the full story here.

• HT:CarolineGlick.Our World: Clueless in Washington.Does the US fail to understand what will happen to its strategic interests in the region if the Muslim Brotherhood is the power behind the throne of the next regime? The Egyptian multitudes on the streets of Cairo are a stunning sight. With their banners calling for freedom and an end to the reign of President Hosni Mubarak the story these images tell is a simple one as old as time.On the one hand we have the young, dispossessed and weak protesters. And on the other we have the old, corrupt and tyrannical Mubarak. Hans Christian Andersen taught us who to support when we were wee tots.But does his wisdom apply in this case?The problem with this recommendation is that it is based entirely on the nature of Mubarak’s regime. If the regime was the biggest problem, then certainly removing US support for it would make sense. However, the character of the protesters is not liberal.Indeed, their character is a bigger problem than the character of the regime they seek to overthrow.According to a Pew opinion survey of Egyptians from June 2010, 59 percent said they back Islamists. Only 27% said they back modernizers. Half of Egyptians support Hamas. Thirty percent support Hizbullah and 20% support al Qaida. Moreover, 95% of them would welcome Islamic influence over their politics. When this preference is translated into actual government policy, it is clear that the Islam they support is the al Qaida Salafist version.Eighty two percent of Egyptians support executing adulterers by stoning, 77% support whipping and cutting the hands off thieves. 84% support executing any Muslim who changes his religion.When given the opportunity, the crowds on the street are not shy about showing what motivates them. They attack Mubarak and his new Vice President Omar Suleiman as American puppets and Zionist agents. The US, protesters told CNN’s Nick Robertson, is controlled by Israel. They hate and want to destroy Israel. That is why they hate Mubarak and Suleiman.WHAT ALL of this makes clear is that if the regime falls, the successor regime will not be a liberal democracy. Mubarak’s military authoritarianism will be replaced by Islamic totalitarianism. The US’s greatest Arab ally will become its greatest enemy. Israel’s peace partner will again become its gravest foe.They have pointed out that the Obama administration’s behavior – as well as that of many of its prominent conservative critics – is liable to have disastrous consequences for the US’s other authoritarian Arab allies, for Israel and for the US itself.The question most Israelis are asking is why are the Americans behaving so destructively? Why are President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton charting a course that will necessarily lead to the transformation of Egypt into the first Salafist Islamic theocracy? And why are conservative commentators and Republican politicians urging them to be even more outspoken in their support for the rioters in the streets? Does the US not understand what will happen in the region as a result of its actions? Does the US really fail to understand what will happen to its strategic interests in the Middle East if the Muslim Brotherhood either forms the next regime or is the power behind the throne of the next regime in Cairo?Distressingly, the answer is that indeed, the US has no idea what it is doing.SO THERE we have it. The US policy towards Egypt is dictated by the irrational narcissism of two opposing sides to a policy debate that has nothing to do with reality.Add to that Obama’s electoral concern about looking like he is on the right side of justice and we have a US policy that is wholly antithetical to US interests.As Prof. Barry Rubin wrote this week, “There is no good policy for the United States regarding the uprising in Egypt but the Obama administration may be adopting something close to the worst option.”Unfortunately, given the cluelessness of the US foreign policy debate, this situation is only likely to grow worse.Hmmmmm.....I don't believe for a second that Obama is clueless,he wants the Muslim Brotherhood in command in Egypt,he stands with his Muslim faith against Israel.Read the full story here.

• HT:Imra.Transcript: Former Mossad head Danny Yatom slams President Obama for Abandoning Mubarak. Anchor: We are continuing our conversation with former head of the Mossad, Danny Yatom [AL: and former Labor MK], on Obama’s abandonment [AL: of Egyptian President Mubarak]. How do you see it?Yatom: I think that the Americans are making a mistake. if I may point this out to the Americans.Anchor: Another mistake?Yatom: Yes. They made a different mistake when they didn’t support the demonstrators from the opposition in Iran. They should have supported them with much broader support. Much more massive support. Because the relationship between Iran and the United States is like the relationship between two enemies. Certainly not two lovers.There is an important strategic relationship between Egypt and the United States. Egypt holds an important role in American policy. And the way that President Obama and Hillary Clinton both abandoned Mubarak is very very problematic and hints, in my opinion, with regard to other allies. For example Israel. Those such things could take place under harsh conditions also for us and also for others.They erred. Because they should have talked about a transition process.They should have demanded reforms from Mubarak. They should have demanded from Mubarak a change of the government but they didn’t need to say “Mubarak – you are finished. And now hand over, in an organized way, the regime to those who come after you.”They should have supported Mubarak but demanded from him a much sharper demand and I think that he would have responded and carried out all the reforms he needed to carry out.Hmmm.......Obama has "Stabbed" almost every ally from America, WHY?You tube video here(Hebrew).Source.

• HT:Ansamed.Egypt:Italy's EM, NO to radical Islamism in power! BRUSSELS - "We do not want a solution that leads to radical Islamism finding itself in power". This is according to the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, who has arrived at the EU Council in Brussels for talks on the Egyptian crisis.Asked about the European and Italian position on the matter, Frattini said that "as is almost always the case, the EU and Italy have a common vision with the USA. We want an orderly transition towards democracy, we do not want to be the ones to decide who stays and who goes, the Egyptians will do that, but at the same time, we do not want a solution that leads to radical Islamism finding itself in power - this would not be democracy".The Foreign Minister was asked if a phase of transition meant an end to the Mubarak regime. "Phase of transition means whatever the Egyptians decide at the next elections," Frattini answered. "For the moment, there is a period of profound change in the Egyptian government. This is a step that must be accompanied by important radical reforms recognising civil rights". Source.

• Pakistan court blocks release of US official suspected of shooting dead two men. A Pakistan court today blocked the release an American official arrested over the killing of two Pakistanis despite U.S. insistence that he has diplomatic immunity and has been detained illegally.Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry also ordered the government to place the American on the 'exit control list' to prevent him leaving the country. Legal experts questioned whether the court had the authority to issue such orders, but the rulings could further complicate what has become a serious diplomatic incident between the two countries.The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad has argued that the American, who it has not named, acted in self-defence when he shot the two men in Lahore last Thursday because they were trying to rob him at gunpoint. It has issued several statements insisting he has diplomatic immunity and demanding he be released.A copy of the American's passport obtained by The Associated Press identifies him as 36-year-old Raymond Allen Davis.Federal government officials, including the president and the prime minister, have said they must wait until provincial legal officials finish their review of America's claim for diplomatic immunity, and also that it is up to other federal ministries to decide.But local officials in Punjab province have said it is up to the federal government, not provincial authorities, to decide the issue. If not, provincial prosecutors have said they will pursue murder charges.A third man died when he was allegedly hit by an American car that rushed to the scene to help Davis. Pakistani police have said they want to question the driver of that vehicle as well.Many Pakistanis already regard the U.S. with suspicion or enmity because of its occupation of neighbouring Afghanistan and have said the recent shooting was a further example of American brutality.The U.S. has said Davis was a member of the embassy's technical and administrative staff but has not clearly identified his job or explained why he was carrying a gun.The lack of clarity has fueled media speculation that he may be a CIA agent or security contractor and raised questions about whether he qualified for diplomatic immunity.Hmmmmm.......Lets hope he doesn't commit "Blasphemy" while in custody.Read the full story here.

• HT:AhmadiyyaTimes.Pakistan: Court asks review of social networking websites for blasphemy.Lahore, Jan 28 (PTI) A Pakistani court has directed the Foreign Ministry to inform it about steps that have been taken to raise the issue of blasphemous caricatures and material against the Prophet Mohammed and Quran at the international level.Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry issued the order while hearing a petition against social networking website Facebook and other websites for allegedly hosting blasphemous content.The petition, filed by lawyer Muhammad Azhar Siddique, asked the court to direct the government to take steps for blocking such websites in Pakistan.Deputy Attorney General Naveed Inayat Malik appeared during the hearing of the case yesterday and assured the court about the compliance of its orders.He told the court that a detailed report on the matter would be submitted at the next hearing.A report submitted by Ministry of Information Technology said that an inter-ministerial committee is working to stop the display of objectionable material on websites, including Facebook.The report said hundreds of websites that contained anti-Islam or blasphemous material had been blocked by the committee since July last year.The petitioner contradicted the claims of the ministry, saying blasphemous contents were still present on some websites.He said the government did not raise the issue at the UN General Assembly by tabling a resolution as directed by the court in an earlier order.Read the full story here.

• Veena Malik : 'I'd die so women can have the right to wear jeans': Crusade of fearless Pakistani actress branded a porn star for wearing shorts.A glamorous actress has claimed she would die so women could have the right to wear jeans after being publically savaged for sporting shorts and swimming with Pamela Anderson.Veena Malik, who is one of Pakistan's most prominent stars, has attacked hardline clerics who demand modest Muslims should be suitably covered at all times.The 32-year-old said that women should have the right to wear clothes that make them feel comfortable as well as good education and freedom from oppressive, outdated values. 'If a woman is cool with wearing a burqa, she should wear a burqa. If a woman, being a Muslim, wants to wear jeans, then she should wear jeans. 'That's your right,' she said in an interview with The Australian newspaper. 'I'm not scared of anything, Being a woman, you will just target me because I'm a soft target. But I won't take it. Even if I die.'She also launched a stringent attack on honour killings, highlighting that women were always the target and not men.'Have you ever heard that they've thrown acid in a guy's face in Pakistan?,' she asked.Miss Malik has starred in a large number of 'Lollywood' movies - the term used to describe films made in Lahore.But she found greater fame when she took part in Big Boss 4, the Indian version of Big Brother last year.Dressed in shorts and seen hugging actor Ashmit Patel as well as swimming with Baywatch star Pamela Anderson , she was accused of behaving improperly by some Muslim clerics.Hmmmm......Pakistan ...welcome to A.D. 620?Read the full story here.

• HT:BigGovernment.The Government Bubble: Crisis in Egypt Reveals Positions of Power.We are navigating through truly uncharted political and economic territory. Members of the financial cognoscenti have freshly alluded to the notion of the ‘government bubble’ as the next blow to the world economic order.The cost of insuring Egyptian sovereign debt also rose more than 50 basis points in early trading Monday, as the country’s political turmoil continued amid fears the unrest could spread to neighboring countries.Unemployment, rising costs, and poverty have all been labeled as catalysts to the national protests against the Mubarak regime. These domestic economic concerns have now turned into a bigger geo-political question in terms of oil supply.Let’s just say the mere thought of the Muslim Brotherhood taking control of the Suez Canal is enough for traders and governments alike to not only raise their eyebrows, but pace frantically around the room. With the capacity to transport over 4 million barrels of oil a day, apart from oil, the Suez Canal accounts for over 8% of global seaborne trade.Despite the closure of every other port, the Suez Canal remains open today. Shipping companies have seen a noticeable increase in security as the government has essentially militarized the canal. But this doesn’t take away concern over a regime change, which is why uncertainty and fear are driving oil prices worldwide.Read the full story here.

• HT:Aina.Egyptian Revolt Not Only Political But Also Spiritual and Islamic.Rome -- The "document on the renewal of Islam" published by the magazine "The seventh day" (see 26/01/2011 Egyptian Imams and intellectuals: Renewing Islam towards modernity) is attracting great interest on the Internet. In one day alone it was published by at least 12,400 Arab websites. Each of these sites received many comments from the public.We must clarify one point of which we received confirmation today: yesterday we attributed the document directly to 23 figures from the Islamic world. In fact, the 23 figures are not really signatories: the document was prepared by the magazine according to indications received from more than 23 people interviewed. For each of the 22 items listed there are also comments and explanations that make it clearer and more profound.The importance of the document lies foremost in the themes indicated by the 23 scholars and the magazine's attempt to launch an interesting project of reform in Islamic discourse.Of course, it is worrying to see that 88% are opposed to the document, with about 12% favourable. However among those who are against it, there are those opposed to just one or two points.Another interesting aspect is that this project of reform of Islam was published Jan. 24, one day before the outbreak of demonstrations in Egypt. These protests have economic and political roots. This means that in addition to current politics, there is an intellectual current that is fed up with the Islam that has spread in the last 30 years in the country, an "externalized" Islam that puts the emphasis on external things (clothing, beard, veil, etc. ..). This shows that there is a global movement - both spiritual and political - in Egypt that wants to transform the country. And since it is a leading country in the Middle Eastern world, one can expect that the changes in act in Cairo will spread throughout the region. Perhaps the same demonstrations that are taking place on the streets of the capital will have an influence on this "externalized" Islam.Final Reflection.Judging from comments found on the Internet, we see that the great majority, contrary to the document, are prey to the external, traditional, formal, self-righteous Islam. There are still many intellectuals and religious thinking in a modern way, but they do not have the support of the institutions.In the face of social unrest and pressures for change that are occurring in several countries of the Middle East and North Africa, we must say that Salafism is somehow a kind of "opium of the people", it focuses people's attention on external religious and secondary practices, regardless of the development, the well-being of society,. For their part, the political powers to leave be, provided they do not involve themselves in politics.In Egypt, the political power is not a pure dictatorship, but to maintain power it allies itself, giving ever greater concessions to Salafism. The political power shows itself to be "Islamic" to avoid becoming an object of criticism of Salafism, or the Muslim Brotherhood. But each concession reinforces this exterior Islam and results in other, new concessions.Read the full story here.

• Israel Shocked by Obama’s “Betrayal” of Mubarak, Says He Can’t Be Trusted…If Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday.Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ministers of the Jewish state to make no comment on the political cliffhanger in Cairo, to avoid inflaming an already explosive situation. But Israel’s President Shimon Peres is not a minister.“We always have had and still have great respect for President Mubarak,” he said on Monday. He then switched to the past tense. “I don’t say everything that he did was right, but he did one thing which all of us are thankful to him for: he kept the peace in the Middle East.”Newspaper columnists were far more blunt.One comment by Aviad Pohoryles in the daily Maariv was entitled “A Bullet in the Back from Uncle Sam.” It accused Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of pursuing a naive, smug, and insular diplomacy heedless of the risks.Who is advising them, he asked, “to fuel the mob raging in the streets of Egypt and to demand the head of the person who five minutes ago was the bold ally of the president … an almost lone voice of sanity in a Middle East?”“The question is, do we think Obama is reliable or not,” said an Israeli official, who declined to be named.“Right now it doesn’t look so. That is a question resonating across the region not just in Israel.”Writing in Haaretz, Ari Shavit said Obama had betrayed “a moderate Egyptian president who remained loyal to the United States, promoted stability and encouraged moderation.”Hmmmmmm......."They don't trust me because of my middle name"and a million other things!Read the full story here.

• HT:TranslatingJihad.New Video from Hezbollah Supporter Blasts Saudi Arabia for Allegedly Supporting Israel Against Hezbollah; Calls Wahhabism "a Knife in Islam's Back".A new video published on YouTube last week by an apparent Hezbollah supporter blasts Saudi Arabia for allegedly agreeing to finance Israel's war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. The video also quotes from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 to attack Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan for attending a private dinner with Pres. Bush within days of the 9/11 attack, and finishes by calling Wahhabism a "knife in Islam's back." Just more evidence of the violent Sunni-Shi'a divide.In the name of Allah the most mercifulThe Zionist website Filka published the following news on 12 May 2008.Bandar bin Sultan said to Olmert: “We will pay all the expenses of war for you to do away with Lebanese Hezbollah.” Bandar bin Sultan, General Secretary of the High Council for Saudi National Security promised to pay all the expenses of the war which the terrorist Zionist entity would launch with the objective of eliminating Lebanese Hezbollah.The video closes with,Know, Muslim brother, that wherever you see treason, conspiracy, or disaster befalling the Muslims in our present day—know that Wahhabi Saudi Arabia stands behind that disaster by way of petrodollars and weapons, or politics, or royal fatwas. And let us not forget that the first to sell the Palestinians to the Jews was ‘Abd-al-‘Aziz bin Al Sa’ud, the Wahhabi, in the ‘Aqir conference in 1922. Wahhabism is a knife in the back of Islam. With greetings from Basim al-Qurayni, Iraq.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:Imra.Iranian COS: Presence of Foreign Warships in Persian Gulf Unacceptable to Iran.TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi on Monday underlined Tehran's strong opposition to the deployment and presence of alien forces and warships in the Persian Gulf, saying such moves are "unacceptable" to Iran."The transit of ships via Persian Gulf is not illegal, but presence of foreign warships in the Persian Gulf on the pretext of thwarting threats is unacceptable," Firouzabadi said.He said that the Iranian navy fleet is in full control of the region investigating destination and cargo of any ship or vessel moving to pass through the area."The Iranian navy warships are stationed in the Persian Gulf waters and they permit the transit of foreign ships after registering their name and other details," he added.He noted that the transit of American, British, French and Russian vessels to the Persian Gulf are taking place for many years and it shows their grudge for the region's oil resources."The foreign countries have signed pacts with each other according to which each of them account for some the expenses of their presence in the region for plundering the region's oil resources," Major-General Firouzabadi said.Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.A recent study by a fellow at Harvard's Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Caitlin Talmadge, warned that Iran could use mines as well as missiles to block the strait, and that "it could take many weeks, even months, to restore the full flow of commerce, and more time still for the oil markets to be convinced that stability had returned".Read the full story here.

• HT:AmnonAndJonathan.DemoHartatia NOW !"No one pretends that DemoHartatia is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that DemoHartatia is the worst form of government like all those other forms that have been tried from time to time".A Short Definition of DemoHartatia.By Alexander Münch.A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the hands of a few people and exercised directly by them or by their nominated agents under a "FREE" electoral system.After the elections, the DemoHartatia goes trough a short phase of "Metamorphosis" and turns into one (or a combination !... ) of the following options :.........Read the full story here.

• HT:LogisticsMonster.Video:Glenn Beck, 1.31.2011: The Coming Insurrection.Glenn covers the revolution in Egypt, but goes global with his theory of world domination where a muslim caliphate controls the Middle East, Russia controls all her old satellites and part of Europe, and China controls Asia, parts of Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It’s an interesting theory except for the fact that NONE of these ass-clowns plays well with others, and this theory does not take the global elites’ or the Vatican’s agendas into account. Everybody should be looking at Africa.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:AstuteBloggers.Islamists submit their demands to Jordan's king Abdullah II.AMMAN - Jordan's powerful Islamists said on Monday they have started a dialogue with the state, saying that unlike the situation in Egypt, the opposition in the kingdom does not seek regime change."A group of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) met on Sunday with Prime Minister Samir Rifai and gave him our demands in writing," Zaki Bani Rsheid, member of the IAF's executive council, said."These demands include the resignation of the government, the amendment of electoral law and the formation of a national salvation government headed by an elected prime minister."IAF secretary general Hamzeh Mansur said the meeting was "the beginning of a dialogue" with the government."King Abdullah II has got and grasped the people's message. We now hope he will act quickly," he said."We recognise and acknowledge the legitimacy of the Hashemites," Mansur said, referring to the Jordanian royal family.Bani Rsheid agreed: "Today everybody agrees that they do not want regime change. They want reforms. But our demands today might change tomorrow if the authorities do not act quickly."Demonstrations have been held in Jordan after weekly Friday prayers for the past three weeks to demand political and economic reforms.Hmmmm....."The opposition Muslim Brotherhood has called for constitutional amendments to curb the king's power".Read the full story here.

• AlJazeera: Jordan's King Abdullah dismisses government, names new PM admit protests.Hmmmm.....The Muslim Brotherhood at work.Source.

• HT:Intellicept3.Egyptian Mohamed Elbaradei In His Own Words: Views on the Muslim Brotherhood, Israel and the Iranian Nuclear Program.Most of us were surprised by the support which Elbaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood gave each other. It seems though that Elbaradei was pretty consistent of his views as regards this issue if we only cared to really listen and be concerned with his past interviews.On the Muslim Brotherhood:"The Muslim Brothers are described as allies of Osama bin Laden – total rubbish. They're conservative, it's true; they look inwards; but they are non-violent, they're not even trying to gain power. They have 20 percent of the seats in parliament, but they're not even recognised as a party – that's just a policy of putting your head in the sand. No, they have to be much more involved! They have great credibility because, with their excellent organisational structure, they do a lot for the basic needs of the people: health care, education, emergency assistance."One must not escape as well his views as regards Israel and the Iranian Nuclear program which he should know very well because of his tenure as IAEA chief. On Israel:"...a government must come to power in Israel that respects the 1967 borders. That accepts that repression is no solution."On the Iranian Nuclear Program:"Tehran is working on technologies that make the construction of a bomb possible and it is on the path to becoming a virtual nuclear power. But I do not believe that the Iranians are actually producing nuclear weapons.""...That is a status issue that is overrated by the West. It is a matter of prestige. The Iranians are showing the Arab world that technologically, they have caught up with the world's leading nations."Hmmmmm.....For a second there i thought he is the Muslim Brotherhood.Read the full story here.

• Five Muslim men in court charged with stirring up hatred of homosexuals.Three men have appeared in court accused of stirring up hatred of homosexuals in the first case of its kind in Britain.Ihjaz Ali, 41, Umar Javed, 37, and Mehboob Hussain, 44, are accused of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation after they were said to have handed out leaflets calling for the death penalty for homosexuals. Two of their alleged accomplices, Razwan Javed, 30, and Kabir Ahmed, 27, were charged with the same offence on Thursday. All five will appear in court next month for a committal hearing after a district judge ruled the case would have to be heard by the Crown Court. All three men plead not guilty to leafleting in Shaftesbury Crescent and Princes St, whilst Ali plead not guilty to a further charge of distributing leaflets outside the mosque.It is the first prosecution since laws outlawing homophobia came into force last March.Read the full story here.

• Call to give Obama 'kill switch' powers to cut internet access in the event of national cyber crisis.While the Egyptian government has drawn international criticism for shutting down internet and mobile phone access during civil unrest, it might alarm many Americans to learn that Barack Obama may soon have the same powers.Lawmakers are set to debate a controversial new plan to give the President the power to shut down the Internet in case of a cyber emergency. The proposal is certain to meet opposition, but Senator Susan Collins, the co-sponsor of the bill, insisted today that the legislation would not be used for censorship.Former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, chairman of the U.S. Homeland Security Committee, said safeguards were needed to ‘preserve those networks and assets and our country and protect our people'.He claimed national security was at risk from new foes such as ‘cyber warriors, cyber spies, cyber terrorists and cyber criminals'.He said: ‘For all its allure, the Internet can be a dangerous place with electronic pipelines that run directly into everything from our personal bank accounts to key infrastructure to government and industrial secrets.One contentious provision of the bill is that it would prevent private companies from contesting the shutdown in court. Steve DelBianco, director of the NetChoice coalition - which includes eBay, Oracle, Verisign and Yahoo as members - said: ‘Judicial review is our main concern. A designation of critical information infrastructure brings with it huge obligations for upgrades and compliance.’In some cases, said Mr DelBianco, a company might have a ‘good-faith disagreement’ with the government's ruling and would want to seek court review. He said: ‘The country we're seeking to protect is a country that respects the right of any individual to have their day in court. Yet this bill would deny that day in court to the owner of infrastructure.'Hmmmm......The only thing needed to grab power"Shut down communications"?Read the full story here.More here and here.