MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:Stratfor.The Threat of Civil Unrest in Pakistan and the Davis Case.On Feb. 13, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issued a statement demanding that the government of Pakistan execute U.S. government contractor Raymond Davis or turn him over to the TTP for judgment. Davis, a contract security officer for the CIA, has been in Pakistani custody since a Jan. 27 incident in which he shot two men who reportedly pointed a pistol at him in an apparent robbery attempt.Pakistani officials have corroborated Davis’ version of events and, according to their preliminary report, Davis appears to have acted in self-defense. From a tactical perspective, the incident appears to have been (in tactical security parlance) a “good shoot,” but the matter has been taken out of the tactical realm and has become mired in transnational politics and Pakistani public sentiment. Whether the shooting was justified or not, Davis has now become a pawn in a larger game being played out between the United States and Pakistan. When one considers the way similar periods of tension between the Pakistanis and Americans have unfolded in the past, it is not unreasonable to conclude that as this current period plays out, it could have larger consequences for Davis and for American diplomatic facilities and commercial interests in Pakistan. Unless the Pakistani government is willing and able to defuse the situation, the case could indeed provoke violent protests against the United States, and U.S. citizens and businesses in Pakistan should be prepared for this backlash.Hmmmm.......How long before pakistan turns against the US?Read the full story here.

• In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council.The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal. But the Palestinians rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesday of Arab representatives and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution on Friday, according to officials familar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospect that the Obama adminstration will cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council. Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with Israel and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to its key ally to stop its construction of new settlements. U.S. officials were not available for comment, but two Security Council diplomats confirmed the proposal. The Palestinian delegation, along with Lebanon, the Security Council's only Arab member state, asked the council's president late Wednesday to schedule a meeting for Friday. But it remained unclear whether the Palestinian move today to reject the U.S. offer is simply a negotiating tactic aimed at extracting a better deal from Washington.Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, outlined the new U.S. offer in a closed door meeting on Tuesday with the Arab Group, a bloc of Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East. In exchange for scuttling the Palestinian resolution, the United States would support the council statement, consider supporting a U.N. Security Council visit to the Middle East, the first since 1979, and commit to supporting strong language criticizing Israel's settlement policies in a future statement by the Middle East Quartet. The U.S.-backed draft statement -- which was first reported by Al Hurra -- was obtained by Turtle Bay. In it, the Security Council "expresses its strong opposition to any unilateral actions by any party, which cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community, and reaffirms, that it does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity, which is a serious obstacle to the peace process." The statement also condemns "all forms of violence, including rocket fire from Gaza, and stresses the need for calm and security for both peoples."Hmmmm......"Let me be clear"He did exactly what i have been saying for the last 10 months.When will Israel realise he is their enemy?Read the full story here.

• Poll: Most support House look at radical Islam in USA.Americans haven't heard much about upcoming congressional hearings on the radicalization of U.S. Muslims, yet more than half think it's a good idea, and nearly as many believe Muslims here haven't done enough to fight extremists in their midst, according to a new poll.At the same time, 62% say American Muslims are an important part of the religious community, and a clear majority (72%) say Congress should investigate religious extremism anywhere it exists, not just among Muslims, according to a new survey released today by The Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service.The PPRI/RNS poll was released as House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., prepares to hold hearings on the threat of homegrown Islamic extremism during the week of March 7.The poll examined attitudes toward both the hearings and American Muslims, analyzing the responses by gender, age, most trusted news source, and religious and political affiliation.Overall, men, viewers who trust Fox News, white evangelicals and Republicans are more likely to think the hearings are a good idea and to believe Muslims want to establish Shariah law in the United States.Those groups are also among the most likely to say they feel "well informed" about Islam and the "religious beliefs and practices of Muslims."These groups aren't necessarily more knowledgeable, however -- just more confident in their beliefs, researchers explained. Researchers said a person's preferred news source is significantly correlated to how much they worry about American Muslim extremism."The Muslim community has been fairly successful at demonstrating themselves as neighbors, but the question becomes are they good neighbors?" said Gottschalk, chairman of the religion department at Wesleyan University."There's a double standard that Muslims are responsible for extremism by people who happen to be Muslim, but all Christians aren't responsible for abortion clinic bombers or the KKK."Key findings:

•Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans haven't heard anything about the upcoming hearings to investigate U.S. Muslim extremism.

• A majority (56%) believes that a hearing on American Muslim extremism is a good idea, including most Republicans (71%), people who trust Fox News (76%), and white evangelicals (70%). The hearings find less support among Democrats (45%), people who trust CNN (45%) or public television (28%), and white mainline Protestants (50%).

• Nearly half (49%) of Americans do not believe Muslims in the U.S. have been unfairly targeted by law enforcement; more than one-third (36%) believe Muslims have been targeted unfairly.•One in five (22%) Americans believes U.S. Muslims want to establish Shariah law here. This view is far more common among Republicans (31%) than Democrats (15%), people who trust Fox News (35%) than those who trust public television (9%), and white evangelicals (34%) than white mainline Protestants (20%) or white Catholics (22%).

•A plurality (46%) believes American Muslims have not done enough to oppose Muslim extremism, including most men, white evangelicals, Republicans and Fox News viewers. In contrast, only 42% of Democrats, 43% of people who trust CNN or network news (42%) or public television (30%) say American Muslims haven't done enough.

• Americans are split over whether they feel well informed about Muslims and Islam, but men (56%) and viewers who trust Fox News (52%) are more likely to report feeling well-informed than women (36%), and viewers who trust CNN (41%) and network news (31%).Hmmmmm......At least half of America is awake it seems.Read the full story here.

• HT:AmnonandJonathan.POLL will Israel be at war ?Read and vote here.

• HT:Redstate.Obama’s assault on our domestic energy now a 4-alarm fire.Make no mistake. It’s all. About. Control.I am talking about Sunstein, Obama, EPA, Steven Chu (Dept of Energy), Ken Salazar, Soros, Brasil, BOEMRE, Working Families Party, the whole nine yards. Did I leave anyone out? There is so much going on here, so as not to take up too much space I am going to bullet the more urgent and important items and the others will be in the scribd. document below.People are going to have to start paying attention and this has to get to the right people who can legislate, go to court, enforce contempt of court rulings, etc. or we’ll be living in caves with no wood, no matches. Only solar panels where there is no sun and windmills where there is no wind.And to Doc Hastings Chair of House Natural Resources: let me be perfectly CLEAR, I’m sure you are competent and a very nice man, but writing letters to Obama’s minions, doing op-eds in The Hill and issuing press releases is NOT going to get this fixed. Even if Obama does read these letters, which I highly doubt, I am sure he immediately tosses them in the huge trash can next to his desk which also contains wadded up copies of the Constitution. We are losing thousands of jobs. We are losing coal mines, natural gas and oil wells and exploration. Millions upon millions of dollars in revenue and taxes which should be keeping us energy independent from the Middle East especially now when things are so uncertain are going down the tubes.I am not normally an alarmist, but what I am seeing is truly alarming. A four-alarm fire with no fire hydrant in sight. Gonna lay it all out.Hmmmm........Dictatorship or Democracy?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheExaminer.Report--Obama quietly appoints Muslim Brotherhood to key posts.By Anthony Martin.An ex-CIA agent and counter-intelligence expert has revealed in a special report that Barack Obama has quietly appointed members of the Muslim Brotherhood to key posts within the Administration. Dr. Clare Lopez, professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, wrote a policy paper in December of 2009 which details the systematic appointment of Sharia-friendly advocates within the State Department and other government agencies.For example, the Tehran-born Dr. Vali Nasr was appointed to co-direct Obama foreign policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. Former Saudi Arabian supplicant Charles Freeman was appointed by Obama to chair the Administration's National Intelligence Council, but withdrew his name when it was revealed he issued a 2-page screed in which he postulated a conspiracy theory claiming he had been 'victimized' by American supporters of Israel. In addition, John Limbert was appointed to direct U.S. policy toward the Islamist regime in Iran. Limbert, who was taken hostage during the Iranian upheaval of the late 70s-early 80s, is an Iranian sympathizer who advocates negotiation with one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.While it is true that some of the initial appointees have departed from the Administration, the fix was already in. The Obama Administration is manned by Sharia-friendly appointees who help steer American foreign policy in the Middle East.Why is this relevant to 2011?Events which are currently unfolding in the Middle East are a consequence of the behind-the-scenes work of Islamic advocates within the Administration.The goal was to push moderate Muslim dictators out the door in countries such as Egypt, while advocating so-called 'democracy' which would then insure the rise of Muslim Brotherhood-supported Islamists to fill the power-gap.How would such a grand scheme be accomplished?The reports expose a consortium of Leftwing organizations, Islamic groups, labor unions, and Obama-friendly corporations which would organize and fund a 'youth movement' in certain areas around the Middle East which would then take to the streets in protest against current governments.Some of the corporations involved are Google, YouTube, MSNBC, Facebook, National Geographic, M-TV, and Pepsi. In addition, the U.S. State Department, Columbia Law School, and various Islamic extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and others are central to the plot.Obama's top national security advisor declared that the Muslim Brotherhood is a 'secular' organization, non-extremist, and dedicated to 'peace.' Obama himself, in an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, refused to refer to the Brotherhood as an Islamic extremist organization, in spite of the fact that the group's own charter, and recent statements made by its leadership, indicate exactly that.And a Muslim board member of CPAC, of all things, declared in a news conference that 'there is no Muslim Brotherhood in the United States,' despite the fact that the group issued a document in 1991 indicating its North American objectives.At the very least it is clear that things are not as they seem on the surface in Eqypt, Iran, nor within the Obama Administration and the American Muslim community. And, due to the fact that the mainstream media merely parrots the official Administration propaganda, the American people are being bamboozled.Hmmmmm......"The thruth nothing but the truth"?Read the full story here.

• Bahrain Police Use Force to Crack Down on Protests.MANAMA, Bahrain — Without warning, hundreds of heavily armed riot police officers rushed into Pearl Square here early Thursday, firing tear gas and concussion grenades at the thousands of demonstrators who were sleeping there as part of a widening protest against the nation’s absolute monarchy. Men, women and young children ran screaming, choking and collapsing. The square was filled with the crack of tear gas canisters and the wail of ambulances rushing people to the hospital. Teams of plainclothes police officers carrying shotguns swarmed through the area, but it was unclear if they used the weapons to subdue the crowd. “There was a fog of war,” said Mohammed Ibrahim as he took refuge in a nearby gas station. He was barefoot, had lost his wallet and had marks on his leg where he said he had been beaten. “There were children, forgive them.”At least two people were killed in the mayhem, according to witnesses at a nearby hospital and news agency reports. Many people were injured in the chaos — trampled, beaten or suffocated by the tear gas. Only hours earlier the square had been transformed from a symbol of the nation — anchored by a towering monument to its pearl-diving history — into a symbol of the fight for democracy and social justice that has been rocking autocratic governments all across the Middle East. Tens of thousands of people had poured into the square during the day, setting up tents, giving rousing speeches and pressing their demands for a constitutional democracy. By 11 p.m. Wednesday, the square had started to quiet down. Young men sat smoking water pipes, while young children slept on blankets or in tents. At 2:45 a.m. Thursday, the camp was quiet, those awake still reflecting on the remarkable events of the day. And then, the blue flashing lights of police vehicles began to appear, encircling the square. At first there were four vehicles, then dozens and then hundreds. Wearing white crash helmets, the police rushed the square. “Everybody was sleeping, they came from upside and down,” said Zeinab Ali, 22, as she and a group of women huddled, crying and angry, in small nearby market. Read the full story here.More here.

• Michelle Obama: First Lady of Junk Science.By Michelle Malkin.While her husband may have paid lip service to ending the abuse of science for "politics or ideology," First Lady Michelle Obama gave herself a super-sized waiver. Two of her showcase social engineering campaigns -- tax preferences for breast-pumping working mothers and expanded nutrition labels -- are based on distorting or dismissing the prevailing public health literature.Just as the White House costumed Obamacare activists in white lab coats, the fashionable Mrs. O has cloaked her meddling anti-obesity crusade in medical fakery.Over the past year, the first lady has marshaled a taxpayer-subsidized army of government lawyers, bureaucrats and consultants against the "national security threat" of childhood obesity. She has transformed the East Wing of the White House into Big Nanny's new Central Command headquarters. The biggest threats to Mrs. Obama's 70-point plan for national fitness: parental authority and sound science.As part of her "Let's Move!" anniversary celebration this week, Mrs. Obama rolled out a new breastfeeding initiative because "kids who are breastfed longer have a lower tendency to be obese." She made her assertion to an invitation-only group of handpicked reporters who were barred from asking questions about her scientific conclusions. It's not healthy to challenge Super Nanny, you see.After the Internal Revenue Service carefully studied and rejected an advocacy push to treat nursing equipment as a tax-deductible medical expense last fall, the tax agency suddenly reversed itself in time for the first lady's new public relations tour. The surgeon general has also issued a "Call to Action" to pressure private businesses to adopt more nursing-friendly environments to combat childhood obesity, all while denying that government is intruding on personal decisions. "No mother should be made to feel guilty if she cannot or chooses not to breastfeed," Surgeon General Regina Benjamin asserted, while laying an unmistakable guilt trip on moms and moms-to-be.So, what do studies on breastfeeding and babies' weight actually say? Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D., research director of George Mason University's Statistical Assessment Service, points out that the literature is inconclusive or demonstrates that the health advantages of bosom over bottle are short-lived. Despite weak evidence, there is a lingering conviction that formula causes obesity among pediatricians and the press; if anything, the study about infants should make us reflect more carefully on this conclusion."Alas, such nuance from Mrs. Obama and her unquestioning media water-carriers is scarcer than tofu at Taco Bell.But as I've noted many times over the past year, Mrs. O's real interest isn't in nurturing nursing moms or slimming down kids' waistlines. It's in boosting government and public union payrolls, along with beefing up FCC and FTC regulators' duties.Will the first lady and her food cops be chastened by the science that undermines their spin? Fat chance.Hmmmm....On the other hand the Cro Magnum did not eat fat and was for sure breastfed!Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video - Muslim Brotherhood-Affiliated TV Clerics Launch Campaign to Replace Egypt's Religious Leadership.Read and see the full story here.

• Arctic communities choking on sky-high food prices.IQALUIT — Nunavut's MP and officials from the Northwest Company went into damage control mode Tuesday after photos of expensive food at a Northern Store in Arctic Bay caused outrage in the North and awe in the South.Among the items pictured were a $13 bag of spaghetti, a $29 jar of Cheez Whiz, a $77 bag of breaded chicken and a $38 bottle of cranberry juice.David Anderson, the manager of major market stores for the Northwest Co., told a meeting of Baffin mayors in Iqaluit that prices on those items went up when the supply shipped last summer by sealift ran out."When they reordered the product by air, the new rate kicked in, which resulted in a price increase," he said.Anderson said the Northwest Co. will try to ship larger quantities of items that aren't subsidized by Nutrition North Canada via sealift in an effort to control price increases.But he said the Northwest Co. backs Nutrition North and promised Nunavut customers will see a drop in prices of "healthy-living product" when the new program kicks in April 1.Leona Aglukkaq, Nunavut's MP and the federal health minister, said "misinformation that's out there" is to blame for people attacking Nutrition North for food price increases, when the program hasn't started yet.The Arctic Bay prices shown in the photos "have nothing to do with Nutrition North Canada," Aglukkaq said.Complaints about the price of foods not covered by Nutrition North should go directly to retailers, she said.Quttiktuq member of legislature Ron Elliott, who distributed the photos of Arctic Bay groceries through his email list, said he'll wait until the new program starts April 1 before he passes judgment."If the prices do go down, I'll be the first to stand up and applaud," he said.Aglukkaq said the government will step up efforts to communicate with northerners about how the new program works."The federal government needs to be a little bit more aggressive in their communications plan," Elliott said.In a technical briefing for reporters Wednesday, Terry Lloyd, the head of Nutrition North Canada, said the government will roll out a communications plan after the program starts April 1.Hmmmm.......One could call it "High North Robbery".Read the full story here.

• Iranian Govt. Calls for Friday Rally to Show 'Hatred' for Opposition.Iran's clerical establishment has called for a major rally in Tehran on Friday, to express what it calls its "hatred" of reformists who organized a day of major anti-government protests earlier this week. In a statement Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Propagation Coordination Council urged Tehran residents to join the rally after Friday prayers to show anger at what it calls the "crimes" of "seditionist" leaders and their rebel allies. Iranian conservative lawmakers have accused reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi of sedition for organizing anti-governments protests that drew thousands of people to the streets of Tehran and other cities Monday. Sedition is a crime punishable by death in Iran.Iranian authorities say two people were killed in Tehran Monday as police dispersed the protesters. One of the dead was a Tehran University student whom authorities identified as a government-allied Basij militiaman. But opposition activists say the student, Sanee Zhaleh, came from their ranks. Iranian state television says a memorial ceremony for Zhaleh at Tehran University erupted into fighting between opposition activists and government loyalists. It says the government loyalists forced the opposition activists to leave Wednesday's ceremony by chanting slogans calling for the death of seditionists.Read the full story here.

• HT:InfidelBloggers. Female Genital Mutilation.Compiled by Laura Reymond, Asha Mohamud, and Nancy Ali. Funding was provided by the Wallace Global Fund.Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia. External genitals include the clitoris, labia, mons pubis (the fatty tissue over the pubic bone), and the urethral and vaginal openings. The practice of FGM is often called "female circumcision" (FC), implying that it is similar to male circumcision. However, the degree of cutting is much more extensive, often impairing a woman's sexual and reproductive functions. Newborns, Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults Are Affected.•Most girls undergo FGM when they are between 7 and 10 years old. However, FGM seems to be occurring at earlier ages in several countries because parents want to reduce the trauma to their children. They also want to avoid government interference and/or resistance from children as they get older and form their own opinions.

•Some women undergo FGM during early adulthood when marrying into a community that practices FGM or just before or after the birth of a first child (Mali and Nigeria).FGM is Practiced Globally

•FGM is practiced in at least 26 of 43 African countries7; the prevalence varies from 98 percent in Somalia to 5 percent in Zaire. A review of country-specific Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) shows FGM prevalence rates of 97 percent in Egypt8, 94.5 percent in Eritrea9, 93.7 percent in Mali 10, 89.2 percent in Sudan 11, and 43.4 percent in the Central African Republic.12

•FGM is also found among some ethnic groups in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as well as in parts of India, Indonesia, and Malaysia.13

•FGM has become an important issue in Australia, Canada, England, France, and the United States due to the continuation of the practice by immigrants from countries where FGM is common.Read the full story here.

• "The war on Christianity".University of California Davis Defines Christians as “Oppressors”.The University of California at Davis has backed away from a policy that defined religious discrimination as Christians oppressing non-Christians after more than two dozen Christian students filed a formal complaint.The definition is listed in a document called, “The Principles of Community.” It defines “Religious/Spiritual Discrimination” as “The loss of power and privilege to those who do not practice the dominant culture’s religion. In the United States, this is institutionalized oppressions toward those who are not Christian.”“This is radical political correctness run amok,” said David French, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. The conservative advocacy group had written a letter on behalf of more than 25 students who object to the policy. He said it’s absurd to single out Christians as oppressors and non-Christians as the only oppressed people on campus.Raheem Reed, an associate executive vice chancellor at UC-Davis, said he received the letter and removed the definition Wednesday afternoon.“I certainly can see how a Christian student reading that definition might feel and that’s why it was immediately disabled and taken down,” Reed told Fox News Radio. “This is not how we define religious discrimination.”However, one student said they complained to administrators last November about the policy and nothing was done.“Christians deserve the same protections against religious discrimination as any other students on a public university campus,” French told Fox News Radio. “The idea that a university would discriminate against Christians is a very old story, unfortunately, and one that we see played out every day.”One student, who asked not to be identified, said university officials asked her to reaffirm “The Principles of Community” last semester. She refused to do so when she realized that Christians were not protected under the policy.“To have a non-discrimination policy that excludes the Christian faith is a cause for action,” she said. “In higher academia, one would hope that a diversity of ideas and beliefs would be appreciated. But my experience has been that this has not always been the case. There is a real fear of academic bias against the Christian faith.”Hmmmm......Now just image if it were the other way around?Read the full story here.

• Russia Plans Food Fund to Regulate Prices.Russia may create a fund to buy and sell food to help regulate prices as inflation accelerates, Kommersant reported, citing government documents. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov ordered the Agriculture, Finance and Economy ministries to formulate mechanisms to regulate food prices, the Moscow-based newspaper reported today. The government may start with buying and selling potatoes, which have jumped 25 percent in price since the start of the year, Kommersant reported. The government may fund the program from money received from selling stockpiled grain, the newspaper said.Read the full story here.

• HT:CrossroadsArabia.Saudi Reforms Need to Start Now.Sometimes, blindingly obvious problems have only complicated solutions. Those solutions must be sought, however difficult they may be. That’s the bottom line of this lengthy analysis of unemployment problems in Saudi Arabia by the Chief Economist of the Banque Saudi-Fransi (Saudi-French Bank).In its headline, Arab News suggests that the wave of reform sweeping the region will hit Saudi Arabia as well as Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen. Being unable to see a productive, personal future is definitely a motivator for protest and dissent. But fixing the multitude of problems that come together is not a job for the timid. With youth unemployment ranging toward the 40% mark, it’s clear that major changes need to be made. But with sub-standard education, rising food prices, and a housing crunch all piling up, it’s even clearer that reforms need to start now.Saudi youths’ struggle to find work raises urgency for reform.By John Sfakianakis.Education reform and job creation in Saudi Arabia and across Arab countries could come under the glare of publicity in the coming months as successful popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia renew the urgency to address these most-pressing social dilemmas. For years, improving the quality of education in a bid to engage youth in the Kingdom’s expanding economy has been a top state priority. Saudi Arabia’s budget dedicated to education spending has more than doubled in size since 2005. Allocations for education and training programs in 2011 amount to 26 percent of the country’s record SR580 billion budget, or SR150 billion ($40 billion).With unemployment among Saudis hovering around 10 percent according to the most recent Labor Ministry estimations – and youth unemployment as much as four times greater than that in some age brackets – education and labor market reform are the foremost challenges facing the country.Concern over whether the education system is arming students with relevant technical skills for the work force is paramount since only one out of every 10 employees working for a Saudi private sector company is a Saudi citizen. This scenario must be drastically reversed if the private sector can shoulder the burden of future job creation to meet the needs of the 66 percent of Saudis below the age of 30 in 2009. Of the country’s indigenous population of 18.5 million, 47 percent are 18 years old or younger.Read the full story here.

• Religious Intolerance Discussed in the European Parliament.BRUSSELS,PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, February 9, Member of the European Parliament Ana Gomes hosted a seminar titled "Religious Intolerance in Pakistan."Invited speakers of the event were Prof. Joel Kotek from the Free University of Brussels, Ruby Akhtar from the Christian Party, Amin ul Haq, who is the president of the Institute for Peace and Scheikh Majid, who is the chairman of the Pakistani, Belgian Friendship association.Ms. Gomes stressed she could not agree with the polarising comments of Ms. Akhtar, which "result in alienating Muslims" while what is needed is to "support pluralism and tolerance in all political areas."That means that she is just as opposed to the blasphemy laws in Pakistan that are creating hatred and are marginalising Christians and other minorities in Pakistan as she is to Islamophobia and the people in certain countries who use Islam as a scapegoat for the social and political problems.All speakers agreed that it is the radicals in Islam that hold the religion hostage in order to reach their own agenda and that the vast majority of Pakistanis are tolerant and moderate.Prof. Joel Kotek was able to give many examples of the way religious hatred has been misused in Europe before the WW II by political actors to increase their control over the population. "The Pakistani blasphemy laws are being used by radical groups inside the Pakistani establishment in order to disseminate fear amongst the Pakistani population and institute more control via this fear," Ana Gomes closed her remarks in agreement with Prof. Kotek that separation of Church from State was an essential factor to help distance ourselves from past religious wars and conflicts.Read the full story here.

• Roommate of Stingaree Muslim Cab Driver says He Feared for His Life.SAN DIEGO - Dan Rose says he has been living with [O]Sam[a] Hassan Daly for the last two months. Rose says, "he's a pretty solitary man kind of a recluse I guess you would call it." Rose says things have gotten progressively worse since he moved in. "It's been a very uncomfortable situation living here the last couple months."A photo shows Daly's cab parked in the garage before Saturday morning's crash. A crash and confrontation that injured 35 people in the Gaslamp district in front of Stingaree nightclub.Rose said he feared the 52-year-old Egyptian born cab driver. "Just very irrational behavior, um I don't know if it was necessarily a terroristic type thing or maybe he's just imbalanced."Rose said Daly called him names and confronted him for bringing a date home. The confrontation scared him so much, he began to carry a knife with him in the house.Rose says, "the reaction he had towards me kind of made me a little scared so I carry one with me even in my home when I'd go to the bathroom."Rose says Daly gave him his move out notice last Friday. That the home is in foreclosure and Daly was leaving the country and heading back to Egypt.The home is stark. Rose says, "he doesn't have any pictures or anything on the walls, pretty bare house pretty bare house pretty bare minimum."It's not clear if Daly had diabetes but it does appear he was on some kind of medication at the time of the crash.Hmmmmm.......Seems lately these kind of 'accidents' happen more often?Read the full story here.