MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Iran Live Blog : 25 Bahman / 14 February. "The Bloody Valentine's Day Massacre "? Here. Television viewers around the world following events in Cairo over the past few weeks have become familiar with the layout of Tahrir Square, epicenter of the Egyptian uprising. Here's a bird's-eye comparison with Azadi Square, the intended destination of the Monday march planned for Tehran. Here.

• Iran forces in streets to thwart opposition rally.Scores of Iranian security forces deployed in the streets of Tehran on Monday to prevent a planned opposition rally in solidarity with popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia that toppled their presidents, witnesses said.The day is likely to be a test of strength for the reformist opposition, which has not taken to the streets since December 2009, when eight people were killed. Iranian security forces are still unlikely to hesitate to use all means to stop any protest.Opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi took advantage of official Iranian backing for the huge Arab street protests to call their own demonstrations in support, but authorities refused their request.The opposition nevertheless renewed the call for the rally. Iranian authorities have warned the opposition to avoid creating a "security crisis" by reviving protests that erupted after the vote, the biggest unrest in Iran since the 1979 revolution."There are dozens of police and security forces in Vali-ye Asr Avenue ... They have blocked entrances of metro stations in the area," a witness told Reuters by telephone, referring to a large thoroughfare that cuts through Tehran.Another witness said police cars with windows covered by black curtains were parked near Tehran's notorious Evin prison.Mousavi's website, Kaleme, said security forces had set up a roadblock, refusing access to the opposition leader's residence in southern Tehran. It said both mobile and landline telephone communications with Mousavi's house were cut."It seems these newly-set restrictions are aimed at preventing Mousavi and his wife (Zahra Rahnavard) from attending the rally," Kaleme said. Plainclothes police stopped Rahnavard leaving the house, Karroubi's Sahamnews website reported.Hmmmm......And of course Obama is silent,not wanting to be medling in others their politics? Read the full story here.

• Friedman: White House disgusted with Israel.Senior New York Times columnist describes Israeli cabinet as 'out-of-touch, in-bred, unimaginative and cliché-driven'; says Jerusalem unable to adjust to changes in Egypt.The Israeli cabinet is cliché-driven and Jerusalem used the crisis in Egypt to to score propaganda points to the point where the White House was disgusted with Israeli interlocutors, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote Sunday. Friedman, who visited Cairo following the recent uprising, described the Israeli government as out-of-touch, in-bred and unimaginative. He expressed concern over Israel’s future due to its inability to adjust to changes in the region as it sided with Mubarak until the very last moment.He admits that Israel's concerns are valid – "The peace treaty with Egypt has been the cornerstone of Israeli strategy and economic growth for 30 years", but claims the way Jerusalem was handling itself wasn't not helping."When young Egyptians looked around the region and asked: Who is with us in this quest and who is not?, the two big countries they knew were against them were Israel and Saudi Arabia. The children of Egypt were having their liberation moment and the children of Israel decided to side with Pharaoh." Friedman argues that Israel will ultimately have no choice but "to make peace with 80 million Egyptians" when a democracy is established in Cairo.Hmmmm......Israel prepare to be stabbed by Obama ,but hey this was his goal all along,for a second i thought i heard Erdogan speaking.Read the full story here.

• Militia says Western spies concocting Iran revolt.Western spies are conspiring to ignite an uprising in Iran by recruiting a candidate willing to set himself on fire in an anti-regime protest, the Islamic republic's volunteer militia warned on Sunday.Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naghdi's accusation came as Washington and Tehran engage in a war of words over Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's ouster under the weight of a popular uprising."Western intelligence agencies are searching for a mentally challenged person who can set himself on fire in Tehran to trigger developments like those in Egypt and Tunisia," Naghdi said, quoted by Fars news agency."They (the West) are very retarded and think by imitating such actions they can emerge victorious," said the powerful Islamist volunteer militia's commander.Tunisia's uprising last month that led to the fall and flight into exile of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was set off by the self-immolation in December of a young student.Copycat acts of desperation followed in Egypt as well as other Arab countries in the days leading up to January 25, when protesters first took to the streets for daily mass protests against Mubarak.The 18-day popular uprising in Egypt ended on Friday when Mubarak handed power to the military after 30 years of autocratic rule.Tehran has come out in support of Arab uprisings but refused to allow its domestic opposition to hold a rally on Monday in support of the Arab uprisings that critics say is a ploy to stage an anti-government rally in Iran.Iranian authorities crushed opposition rallies which erupted in Tehran soon after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009.On Sunday, Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani accused the United States of hijacking the Egyptian revolution to meet the demands of Israel, the regional arch-foe of the Islamic republic."The statesmen of this country aim to seize the revolution of the Egyptians and nip it in the bud," Larijani said on state news agency IRNA."The Americans trampled the national dignity of Egypt, which is a great and educated country, by its cooperation with the Zionist regime," he said, as he led a rally of Iranian MPs in support of the Egyptian uprising."They now cheekily say that future democratic conditions in Egypt should respect the shameful Camp David treaty," he said, in reference to the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace accord."What kind of democracy is this which is shaped within an illegal military council by American orders?" he said, referring to Egypt's army which has been handed transitional power and has vowed to honour international commitments.While Tehran criticises Washington, US officials are hoping the Arab revolts spread to Iran.Hmmmmm.........Lets hope it doesn't end again in a "Valentine's day massacre.Read the full story here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.Obama Well Knows What Chaos He Has Unleashed.Not content with creating havoc in the U.S. economy, setting Americans against each other, and forcing through a health reform act which has nothing to do with health but everything to do with the redistribution of wealth and an immense increase in governmental interference, our president has now opened a Pandora's Box in the Middle East. It may well usher in a catastrophe not seen since World War 2.From his notorious Cairo speech to the present, President Obama speaks, and disaster follows. Some commentators believe that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are so utterly naïve as to make themselves unable to understand what will happen in Egypt as a result of their undermining of the Mubarak regime. The question is justifiably asked: Do they truly believe that the next regime that comes to power will have the interests of the U.S. and the West at heart? My fear is that Obama is not naïve at all, but he instead knows only too well what he is doing, for he is eagerly promoting Islamic power in the world while diminishing the West and Israel, however much innocent blood will flow as a result. Inevitably, sooner or later, the Muslim Brotherhood will take power, usher in a barbaric Islamist power in Egypt that will control the Suez Canal, and show no mercy to its own people or its perceived foes. So now we see what the present incumbent in the White House has wrought, and so can our few remaining allies. They must now wonder what confidence they can ever have in any future alliance with the United States. We should be aware of what endemic Islamic violence has wrought in the past. For example, assassinations of Arab leaders are not an infrequent occurrence. After the 1948 Arab-Israel War, the King of Jordan, Abdullah, was murdered by followers of the Muslim fanatic, the Mufti of Jerusalem. The Egyptian prime minister, Nokrashi Pasha, was also struck down. The forces behind the killings were elements of both Arab socialist movements and the Muslim Brotherhood. Today, in the streets of Cairo, we have an unholy alliance of the current radical left with the same Muslim Brotherhood. The Suez Canal is a major lifeline for the economies of Europe and the United States. It has been the source of political disruption in the past, as it may well be in the near future. And the Muslim Brotherhood may soon control it. As always, the past is our guidepost to the future.It is clear to any child that a new Egyptian regime will, if not immediately, be hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now calling for Egypt to prepare itself again for war with Israel and for the blockading of the Suez Canal to American, Western, and Israeli shipping. Obama is no fool; he engineered this.So, thanks to President Obama, we are back to square one with an Islamic Egyptian regime poised to send Egypt's massively armed army back into Sinai and towards the Israeli border with the aim of exterminating the Jewish state. So much for "land for peace." Under Obama's watch, the true democratic revolution against the mullahs in Iran was snuffed out because the American president refused to support the demonstrators in the streets of Tehran. In contrast, the same Obama ordered Hosni Mubarak to leave office and let the rioters in Cairo have "free" elections.What, one wonders, will history say of the foreign policies of Barack Hussein Obama?Hmmmm.....The Manchurian President who destroyed America? Read the full story here.

• NASA's outreach to Muslims!The same Egyptian Nasa scientist who asked to honor Tahrir Square martyr name on a spacecraft that will head for Mars is looking for water in the Middle East deserts with NASA's help.Egyptian scientists, but the U.S. space agency (NASA) Plans Months ago to fight a war on the environment puts the water in Deserts The world, most notably in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan, (Anyone interested in regime change?)and the only weapon of glasses through which contemplates an increase in space over 400 miles to discover the water between the layers of the earth asleep so he sees it and others in the post, have exploded Eyes From under the sand dunes.Says Dr. Essam Heggy, Engineer, Department of jet engines, rocket-propelled Agency "NASA" famous, is not a dream or a mirage, one of the easiest thing to be. The project, however, "requires from 15 to 20 years to become a reality," as he put on the phone with "Arab. Net" Tuesday 6/4/2010 where he lives in the suburb of Los Angeles. Except that the period could be shortened to 6 years ago if the insurance costs of the project, which is from 200 to $ 500 million, from outside the NASA budget,The usual cost of insurance programs from their budgets are in accordance with their priorities.Known as Dr. Haji (34 years of age) to play with water in some Arab countries are more dangerous than playing with fire, because it Egypt Born and lived some years of his childhood in Tripoli, Libya. Also lived in Cairo and Tunis, and was concerned about the scarcity of Arab-General Water In the entire region is threatened by desertification and terrorism decade Bad Astronomy environment and its resources, the most important sources of water, it was stated that "the oil that Livni has certainly alternative.The Water There is no alternative to him at all, and we must look for and find him and Nstkrjh for public use, which is present even in the desert, and we are an agency, "NASA" We used special technology led to the discovery of ice on Mars is far from the Earth hundreds of millions of kilometers, and we can use to discover Water In the desert, "he said.Dr. Essam Mohamed Haji, a graduate in the Faculty of Science at Cairo University before earning a doctorate in space sciences from the University of Paris 8 years ago, as a researcher in the Department of Agency "NASA" specialist imaging radar aimed at the discovery of water on the moon and Mars, a city of Mansoura Egypt, and married to a Tunisian competent biology Hagar Abraham (not Abraham)With whom he has one daughter named Jasmine and two years old, and he wanted to anticipate the things he said: "My wife is not Jewish for those who may be thinking that from her family name, but a Muslim like me."(Being Jewish is Bad?)Lakes of fresh water under the Darfur. The technology that has been developed over the past five years have led to the discovery of giant lakes of freshwater asleep since 6000 under an arid area in Sudan's Darfur region after a survey done by the satellite, "NASA" Darfur is currently lacking to the water.This technology is the basis of the project, which works by Dr. Haggai and take responsibility, which is the production of a satellite equipped with radar scanner to the layers of the earth and able to hit what is underneath, and at a depth of two kilometers, ray radio frequency back to the originating carrier information confirmed the presence of Water In the target area, a project started by choosing its staff of researchers from the "NASA" and beyond, and optimistic that will be including Arabs with that number the year will not be more than 15 researchers and specialist survey and photography, which will by the satellite, believed that he will travel in an orbit around the earth an average elevation of 400 km from the earth, which is equipped with the ball cleared the entire floorThe filming layers of groundwater and select it and then after that bombardment of radio waves reveal reservoirs Water Imported for human thousands of years ago.Dr Haji, holds French citizenship as well as Egyptian.The experience of hope, Dr. Haji repeating this these Days over the desert of the Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia, he wants to soar above by helicopter to film the underground sites at a depth of 2000 meters under the desert, and then wants to present evidence that Water Who helped "NASA" to find him ice on Mars can be detected liquid tortured on the ground.'We, as Arab nations, must use space technology to find water. It is a duty, not a choice,'.Hmmmmm.......What else is NASA (The obama Administration) doing for the Muslim world ?Read the full story here more here.

• Egypt reportedly losing control of Sinai to Beduin.Concern is mounting in Israel over reports that the Egyptian police force has abandoned the Sinai Peninsula in face of growing Beduin violence, and that the territory will turn into a breeding ground for global jihad.According to information that has arrived in Israel, Egyptian police authorities have abandoned dozens of police stations throughout the peninsula after they were attacked by Beduin armed with missiles and assault rifles.This concern was behind Israel’s decision two weeks ago to allow the deployment of 800 Egyptian soldiers in Sharm e-Sheikh and Rafah.Additional requests since then have been rejected.In recent years, the Sinai hasturned into a launching pad for attacks against Israel, including by Hamas, which several months ago launched Katyusha rockets into Eilat from the Egyptian territory.The Egyptian military has for years encountered difficulty in controlling the Beduin population, which does not hold allegiance to the Egyptian government in Cairo.“The Sinai is already known as a lawless land,” a senior defense official said over the weekend. “There is real concern that if the Egyptians don’t get the Sinai back under their control, it could develop into a major threat to Israel.Israel has shared these concerns with its allies, as well as on a personal level between Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen.Gabi Ashkenazi and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen.Read the full story here.

• HT:TheBibiReport.Eitan Haber/ Mubarak was last obstacle in face of threatening Islamist tsunami.Eitan Haber, Rabin's former press secretary and a veteran Yediot columnist, writes in Ynet, that In un-politically correct terms, rather then laud the masses and join in the celebration of democracy, remembers Mubarak who was forced to quit, as remaining the only obstacle to radical Islam extremism in the middle east:"It is very possible that Hosni Mubarak was not an ideal leader. It is very possible that the regime in Cairo was corrupt and not enlightened. It is certainly difficult to be an Egyptian in Cairo, Ismailia, Alexandria and Luxor. Yet Mubarak and his people understood something that 100 Obamas will not understand even 50 years from now: Mubarak and his regime were apparently the last obstacle in our conflicted world in the face of the Islamist tsunami, a predator that is already devouring some European states and turning the world into an increasingly less comfortable place to live in.President Mubarak was indeed a tyrant. He was apparently corrupt as well. Yet this is the same Mubarak who wore suits and ties, spoke English, upheld the peace treaty, hosted Israeli leaders at his palace, arrived at the Rabin funeral, and even – imagine that – provided us with gas at a special price.Hmmmmm......Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln.Read the full story here.

• Obama's budget to call for slashing oil tax breaks, boosting clean energy.President Obama is expected to call on Congress Monday to eliminate billions of dollars in oil industry tax breaks, while setting aside money for his top clean-energy policy priorities.Obama will send his fiscal year 2012 budget request to Congress on Monday. The budget comes as Republicans are calling for massive cuts in spending, unveiling a proposal this week to fund the government through the end of this fiscal year that would cut $100 billion in spending when compared to Obama’s 2011 budget request.Obama’s 2012 budget request will also make major budget cuts. It will freeze domestic spending for he next five years and cut the deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next decade.Obama’s budget request will call for eliminating a series of oil industry tax breaks. The Department of Energy estimates that such a repeal will save $3.6 billion in fiscal year 2012 and a total of $46.2 billion during the next decade.But the proposal to eliminate oil tax breaks faces major opposition in Congress. Though Democrats have thrown their support behind the proposal, Republicans have said any attempt to revoke industry tax breaks could harm the economy and result in job losses. The president has long called for cutting the tax breaks, but Congress has not been able to muster the necessary support to pass such a proposal.The electric vehicles rebate proposal is modeled after the successful “cash-for-clunkers” program, which gave consumers rebates for exchanging older vehicles for more fuel-efficient ones. Obama will propose turning a current $7,500 tax credit, which would be redeemed on consumers’ income taxes, into a rebate, which would be received at the point of sale.Obama also targets the Pentagon, traditionally considered untouchable by both parties, by adopting $78 billion in savings proposed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.In order to reach the energy efficiency goal, Obama’s budget request will outline a proposal to provide new tax credits for energy efficient buildings and to offer local and state government incentives to streamline their building codes.Despite the administration’s commitment to key clean-energy programs, the budget will make significant cuts at the Department of Energy.In an overview of the department’s budget Friday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the budget request will call for cutting $70 million in hydrogen energy research. That is about 40 percent of the research program. The budget for the department’s Office of Fossil Energy will be cut by 45 percent or about $418 million.“Fiscal responsibility demands shared sacrifice – it means cutting programs we would not cut in better fiscal times," Chu wrote in a blog post on the Energy Department’s website.Meanwhile, the budget request will call for cutting a program to clean up the Great Lakes by $125 million.The administration will also propose major cuts to a program that provides financial assistance for low-income Americans who are having trouble paying their heating bills. The budget request will propose cutting the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by $2.5 billion.Hmmmm......Out of touch with reality and delusional.Good luck with your electric vehicle in the midst of winter!And where will you find your cheap electricity to charge your car?Bottom line : A dictator trying to force his view on the American people without any second thought for putting the poor , less fortunate and the elderly in the cold!Read the full story here more here.

• Top US Military Official Visits Jordan, Israel.The top U.S. military officer will be in Jordan and Israel beginning Sunday to reassure the key allies of U.S. support following the ouster of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen is scheduled to go to Amman to meet with his military counterpart and King Abdullah. Mullen then travels to Israel for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. The Joint Chiefs chairman will also bid farewell to his outgoing Israeli counterpart General Gaby Ashkenazi. He is also expected to meet Israel's incoming military chief, General Benny Gantz before heading back to Washington Monday. Egypt was Israel's strongest Arab ally, and Israel's leaders have expressed concern that a change in leadership could damage that relationship.Jordan has lately seen some unrest following the protests that recently that drove both Mr. Mubarak and Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from power. On Wednesday, King Abdullah swore in a new government that has promised to broaden public freedoms and continue political reform.Hmmmmm........No don't worry we won't stab you in the back.......yet?Read the full story here.

• HT:WestForTheWestWing.Walid Phares shocks Lou Dobbs with revelations of which groups in Middle East the Obama administration has been working with — and which ones it has not.Dr. Walid Phares is a Lebanese-American legal scholar, professor at National Defense University, and Fox News expert on the Middle East. If you watch Fox News very much, you’ve probably seen him, and you already know he is one very sharp guy. Prepare to be blown away by this interview he gave on the Lou Dobbs radio show on Monday regarding the situation in Egypt, and the inner workings of the Obama Administration. It’s dynamite. We’ve got to hope Republicans in Congress are listening.Hmmmm......"They don't trust me because of my middle name"?Listen to the full story here.

• Turkish President Gül arrives in Iran on maiden trip.Abdullah Gül arrived in Tehran on Sunday on a visit aimed at boosting economic and political ties with the Islamic republic. The visit marked his first trip to Iran as the Turkish president.During his visit, which ends on Wednesday, Gül will meet senior officials including his counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and businessmen.In an interview carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA on Saturday, Gül said Turkey backs a negotiated settlement of the Islamic republic's nuclear issue."Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Thus, Iran's nuclear issue should be solved through negotiation and Turkey will continue to facilitate this," he said.Hmmmmm.......It's pretty obvious to the whole world where Turkey's allegiance lays,get them out of NATO!Read the full story here.

• ‘1,298 bodies lie in 88 mass graves in southeast Turkey’.The association issued a report on Friday about mass graves in the region. İHD Diyarbakır branch secretary Serdar Çelebi said they were very surprised by the figures and listed the places where the graves are located and the number of bodies in each.“We have been told that there are 206 people in 15 graves in Siirt, 251 people in 13 graves in Bitlis, 216 people in 19 graves in Diyarbakır, 149 people in nine graves in Van, 102 people in eight graves in Batman, 68 people in six graves in Hakkari, 57 people in five graves in Bingöl, 80 people in four graves in Şırnak, 35 people in four graves in Mardin, 50 people in one grave in Elazığ, 41 people in one grave in Ağrı, 19 people in one grave in Tunceli, 14 people in one grave in Iğdır and 10 people in one grave in Gaziantep. Area locals supplied us with this information,” Çelebi explained.According to the İHD, the bones of 171 individuals have been found in 26 mass graves. The secretary of the İHD Diyarbakır branch further said they had received hundreds of tip-offs concerning mass graves in the region.Hmmmm.......Erdogan "Muslims don't commit genocide.Read the full story here.

• Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel.TRIPOLI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian refugees should capitalise on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday.Gaddafi is respected in many parts of the Arab world for his uncompromising criticism of Israel and Arab leaders who have dealings with the Jewish state, though some people in the region dismiss his initiatives as unrealistic.He was giving his first major speech since a popular uprising in neighbouring Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, an event which electrified the Arab world and prompted speculation that other Arab governments could also be toppled."Fleets of boats should take Palestinians ... and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved," Gaddafi was shown saying on state television. "This is a time of popular revolutions.""We need to create a problem for the world. This is not a declaration of war. This is a call for peace," he said in a speech given to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohamed, a holy day in the Islamic calendar.He also said: "All Arab states which have relations with Israel are cowardly regimes."Gaddafi also issued a call to Muslim countries to join forces against Western powers. He said the world was divided into white, denoting the United States, Europe and their allies, and green for the Muslim world."The white colour has decided to get rid of the green colour," Gaddafi said. "These countries should be united against the white colour because all of these white countries are the enemies of Islam."Hmmmm.......Aren't you glad we send the Lockerbie bomber back?Read the full story here.

• Jihadi who helped train 7/7 bomber freed by US after just five years.Exclusive: Release prompts claim Islamist was US informant while assisting London terrorist.An American jihadist who set up the terrorist training camp where the leader of the 2005 London suicide bombers learned how to manufacture explosives, has been quietly released after serving only four and a half years of a possible 70-year sentence, a Guardian investigation has learned.The unreported sentencing of Mohammed Junaid Babar to "time served" because of what a New York judge described as "exceptional co-operation" that began even before his arrest has raised questions over whether Babar was a US informer at the time he was helping to train the ringleader of the 7 July tube and bus bombings.Lawyers representing the families of victims and survivors of the attacks have compared the lenient treatment of Babar to the controversial release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.Babar was imprisoned in 2004 – although final sentencing was deferred – after pleading guilty in a New York court to five counts of terrorism. He set up the training camp in Pakistan where Mohammad Sidique Khan and several other British terrorists learned about bomb-making and how to use combat weapons.Babar admitted to being a dangerous terrorist who consorted with some of the highest-ranking members of al-Qaida, providing senior members with money and equipment, running weapons, and planning two attempts to assassinate the former president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf.In 2008 he was granted bail awaiting final sentencing, after being warned by a judge that his conviction on five terrorism offences carried a maximum 70-year term.Although a probation report dated 9 July 2010 recommended that Babar remain in jail for another 30 years, the US attorney's office submitted their own report to the New York court, known as a 5K1, which praised Babar's work.One extract read out in court stated: "Over the last six and a half years the level of assistance provided by Babar to both the United States government and foreign governments has been more than substantial. It has been extraordinary."A law enforcement agent who arrested Babar and spent more than 500 hours debriefing him said he believed Babar was selfish.The officer, who wished to be known as agent A, said: "Babar wasn't a hero. He didn't look at the American flag and suddenly become all patriotic. When his back was against the wall he did what was right for him ... he was selfish."Freed from prison and no longer in the witness protection scheme, it is not known where Babar is currently living. Visiting Babar's childhood home in the Jamaica area of Queens, New York, the Guardian was told that Babar's mother was on holiday in Pakistan. The woman who answered the door and identified herself as Babar's cousin did not know where Babar was living and refused to comment further.Hmmm.....Pakistan?He's probably already plotting the next attack on the "Infidels".Read the full story here.

• HT:WestToTheWestWing.Christ in Cairo.We get a lot of news from Cairo each day — but I’ve never seen this awesome story in the drive-by media : Father Sama’an has possibly the most unusual parish in the world. It is located on Muqattam Mountain, home to 30,000 garbage collectors — or zabbaleen — in Cairo. But this extraordinary man has brought a wonderful beauty to the ashes of this area teeming of narrow dirt lanes — a parish church that is a modern marvel not just for the garbage collectors, but for all who visit it.His incredible “Cave Cathedral” is the largest church in the Middle East. It seats 20,000 and would do justice to the Hollywood Bowl with its modern sound system, and closed-circuit television. It is spectacular, as a huge overhanging rock covers most of the amphitheater. The church is affiliated with the Coptic Orthodox church that has about 6 million adherents in Egypt, or 13.5 percent of the total population.As word has spread through the Middle East about the Muqattam “Cave Cathedral,” it has drawn together evangelicals, Orthodox, and Catholics. Its pulpit has attracted not only the Coptic Orthodox pope, but also western evangelicals.Clad in Orthodox garb and sporting a beard, this humble cleric — who preaches like Billy Graham and also prays for the sick — met with me and a few friends recently before the regular Thursday services, which was attended by thousands of believers from Cairo. They left the village’s pungent odors and crowded into the cavern for a night of vibrant singing with the help of a praise choir….Many in the congregation had spent the day collecting and sorting through a mountain of garbage. Cairo’s 14 million people daily produce an estimated 7,000 tons of garbage, but municipal and private trucks collect less than 50 percent of the city’s refuse. During the past 35 years, thousands of Christians, fleeing poverty in rural Upper Egypt, have congregated into villages within Cairo’s garbage dumps, collecting trash and recycling metal, plastic, paper, and bones. Although the villages are disease-prone and poverty-stricken, the Christian community has emerged, as believers have developed schools, health clinics and churches.Through an interpreter, the priest explained that his ministry began. “It started because of one Egyptian garbage collector,” he said. “Through him, I became a changed man and eventually a worker for the Lord.“I was living in Cairo, and was a counselor in one of the big companies. I had lost one of my precious watches. It was very expensive and I was very sad. One day, I received a knock at my door. A man in a long dirty dress, carrying a bag, asked me if I had lost something. I asked him how he knew that I lost something. I was afraid of him. The garbage man told me he had asked at all of the apartments in the building and everyone had denied that they lost something and when I took the garbage from here and while separating the garbage at home, I found something. ‘So, sir, please tell me what you lost.’ I told him I lost a watch.“He took it out and said, ‘Is this the one you lost?’ I was shocked. I told him to please come in and asked him his name and where he lived. I also asked him, ‘Why did didn’t you take the watch for yourself?’ He replied, ‘My Christ told me to be honest until death.’ ‘You are a Christian?’ I asked him and he said he was. I didn’t know Christ at the time, but I told him that I saw Christ in him. This watch was very expensive, it cost about $11,000.“I told the garbage collector, ‘Because of what you have done and your great example, ‘I will worship the Christ you are worshipping.’”So began the Christian life of one Farahat, who eventually became an Orthodox priest and took the name Father Sama’an, after an 11th-century saint. He began visiting the Muqattam area and was confronted with a terrible state of affairs there, with drunkenness, sickness and violence. So he began to emphasize the need for repentance. “Only if our spiritual life with God is improved, God will provide for our well-being,” he told Kees Hulsman for an article that appeared in Christianity Today. Egyptian physicians began providing free medical assistance, and Sama’an continued to preach a message of repentance. “People have to give their lives to Christ,” he asserts.This article was written in 1999 — but the Cave Cathedral is still there, bigger than ever, and Fr. Samaan and his co-workers are still doing their magnificent ministries. Upheaval and uncertainty may be reigning in the city all around them, but thousands of Christian believers continue to gather in the great cave in Muqattam Mountain, where “the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)Read the full story here.Find out more about the Cave Church here.

• Mick Zais Son of Army's only Jewish four-star general, who fought the Nazis as a paratrooper commander in World War II "let's cut S. Carolina's Holocaust Education Funding".COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - In an effort to spare deep budget cuts to classrooms, South Carolina schools chief Mick Zais has recommended cutting $31,000 for Holocaust education. But legislative leaders said Wednesday that's one budget line they won't touch.Zais said that teaching the Jewish Holocaust is vital, but that it's already taught as part of regular middle school lessons. A separate designation isn't necessary as the state faces an $830 million shortfall, he said.The suggestion wasn't made flippantly, he said, noting his ancestors are Jewish and his late father was the Army's only Jewish four-star general, who fought the Nazis as a paratrooper commander in World War II"I was just looking for any areas that we can get some savings," said Zais, a retired Army brigadier general. "The Holocaust is covered three times in state standards."But the chairman of the state Council on the Holocaust, the beneficiary of the designation, said the money is used for training, trips and classroom materials. Just because state standards mention the Holocaust doesn't mean teachers are adequately trained or supplied to teach it, said Chairman Sheldon Smith."The council is trying to build a cadre of South Carolina teachers who could learn from each other," he said.Sen. Joel Lourie, the state's only Jewish legislator, said he was surprised Zais singled out the council's money."Though this is a very difficult year, the return on this minimal amount of dollars is worth 10 times what we spend," said Lourie, D-Columbia, whose late father helped create the council. "Tens of thousands of students have been touched by this program."Zais made the recommendation last month to the House Ways and Means subcommittee that writes the budget for public schools. The $31,000 was among 25 programs on his list of suggested cuts, which totaled $107 million.However, that panel, led by House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, later voted to keep the Holocaust money. Zais said he'll work to keep it in place as the budget moves through the GOP-controlled Legislature.House Speaker Bobby Harrell said he would, too."I think it's important to make sure school children never forget that episode of our world's history," said Harrell, R-Charleston.Hmmmm......“Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe" - (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5) Read the full story here.

• HT:Aina.Vigil for Iraq to Be Held in Front of White House on Monday.WASHINGTON -- Faith organizations plan to hold a prayer vigil in front of the White House in support of persecuted Christians and religious freedom for all in Iraq. The groups will be joined by staff from the Embassy of Iraq and Christians in Iraq via a conference call.The prayer vigil will be on Monday, February 14, at 11:00 A.M., in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW.This prayer event begins the observance of "The Rogation of the Ninevites", which is one of the oldest traditions in Christianity. The "Rogation" finds its ancient roots in the Prophet Jonah and is observed by Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians in Iraq and around the world.The "Rogation" is February 14-16 and includes 3 days of fasting, prayer and repentance. There will be "Rogation" observances all across America praying for religious freedom in Iraq. The groups will also be praying for religious freedom and liberty in Iraq for all religious minorities.Kris Keating, Director of Hillside Missions, who is in Iraq and will be leading the prayer from that country states,"Hillside Missions Organization is in Iraq in order to be invested in the cause of religious freedom for the benefit of the Iraqi people."The people of Iraq need to be free to choose and express their faith without fear of persecution. We are honored to be invited to participate in prayer, dialogue and events intended to increase international awareness of the problems facing religious minorities in Iraq."I am looking forward to working with diverse Christian communities in Iraq. There is a rich Christian heritage in that country. The international community must act in order to prevent the extinction of religious minorities in Iraq.Thirty genocides, large and small, have been committed against Assyrians by Muslims since 630 AD (see here). The Turkish genocide of Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks in World War One claimed the lives of 750,000 Assyrians (75%), as well as 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 Greeks.We can calculate the average time between genocides committed against Assyrians in the interval 661 AD to 1992 AD, and that is (1992-661)/30=45 years. Every 45 years on average there has been genocide against Assyrians by Muslims. It is even worse in the modern period. From 1842 to 1992 there were 13 genocides; the average interval for that period is (1992-1842)/13=11.5 years.Erdogan : "Muslims don't commit Genocide".It is time for Christians to unite and come to the defense of Assyrians and Christendom, and to stop the Islamic onslaught.Hmmmm.....Any word from the Christian President?Read the full story here.

• Boehner warns: 'We're broke' as Obama plans to increase speed of spending cuts to $1.1trillion.John Boehner has condemned President Obama’s new plans to slash the budget deficit by $1.1trillion over the next ten years, calling the country ‘broke’ and saying the cuts don’t go far enough.The House of Representatives Speaker warned: ‘Everything is on the table. We’re broke. Let’s be honest with ourselves.’His damning assessment comes as White House budget director Jack Lew said the cuts will put the government on track to halve the budget deficit by the end of Obama's first term in office in 2012.He said: ‘We are reducing programmes that are important programmes that we care about, and we're doing what every family does when it sits around its kitchen table: we're making the choices about what do we need for the future.’But angry Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, were quick to stress that the proposed spending cuts would not do enough to rein in the growing federal deficit and promised their own plan would go further.Boehner fumed: ‘He's going to present a budget tomorrow that will continue to destroy jobs by spending too much, borrowing too much and taxing too much.’The White House intends to get two-thirds of the $1.1trillion in savings from spending cuts and the rest from tax revenues, including closing several tax loopholes, sources close to the budget said.Boehner refused to rule out the possibility of a government shutdown when that stopgap measure runs out. ‘Our goal is to reduce spending, it is not to shut down the government,’ he said.Hmmmmm.......You don't give a dictator goodies cookies at a Tea party?Read the full story here.

• 'I was going to do her!' The grubby comments by TSA agents that infuriated one female passenger.It seems some airport security staff are more interested in looking at what lies underneath women’s clothes rather than respecting passengers.Amy Sullivan, senior editor of Time magazine, was at a security checkpoint in Miami Airport on Tuesday when she opted out of passing through a backscatter scanning device - described by experts as a 'virtual strip search'.When she went through a metal detector instead and was searched by a woman, a male Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official is alleged to have said: ‘Hey, I thought she was mine - I was going to do her!’Ms Sullivan was annoyed by the incident, in the context of a 'one-woman protest against the machines' that she said she is trying to make.Controversial backscatter devices have been used in selected airports since last autumn, and have provoked fury from thousands of Americans pushing for a boycott.The TSA was not reachable for comment today.But its head, John Pistole, has already made clear he understands public concerns about privacy in the wake of tough new airline boarding security checks, although he has also urged the public not to boycott body scans.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded into the row last November by saying she would avoid a TSA pat-down if possible.Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• HT:TWOT.Palestinian Government to Resign.VoA News: Palestinian sources say Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will submit his government's resignation Monday and immediately begin discussions with various political factions to form a new cabinet.The officials, speaking to news agencies on condition of anonymity, said the shake-up will come at the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Mr. Fayyad and some in Mr. Abbas's Fatah faction have long sought a cabinet reshuffle. This follows the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to a popular revolt that has set off reform calls throughout the Arab world.On Saturday, the Palestinian Authority announced plans to hold long-overdue presidential and legislative elections by September. That decision came after a meeting in Ramallah of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which oversees the Authority. Mr. Abbas is both Palestinian president and PLO chairman.An aide to Mr. Abbas said the Palestinian leadership is calling on all parties to “set aside differences” and focus on the upcoming elections.Hamas leaders, who rule Gaza, rejected the call for a new poll. Spokesman Fawzi Barhum said the Islamist group will not participate because the elections are not legitimate. Hamas has previously said that there could be no voting until the two governments are reconciled.President Abbas' four-year term expired in 2009 but has been extended indefinitely.Read the full story here.