MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Gaddafi's Next Move: Sabotage Oil and Sow Chaos?There's been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos. Two weeks ago this same man had told me the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt would never touch Libya. Gaddafi, he said, had a tight lock on all of the major tribes, the same ones that have kept him in power for the past 41 years. The man of course turned out to be wrong, and everything he now has to say about Gaddafi's intentions needs to be taken in that context. The source went on and told me that Gaddafi's desperation has a lot to with the fact that he now can only count on the loyalty of his tribe, the Qadhadhfa. And as for the army, as of Monday he only has the loyalty of approximately 5,000 troops. They are his elite forces, the officers all handpicked. Among them is the unit commanded by his second youngest son Khamis, the 32nd Brigade. (The total strength of the regular Libyan army is 45,000.) My Libyan source said that Gaddafi has told people around him that he knows he cannot retake Libya with the forces he has. But what he can do is make the rebellious tribes and army officers regret their disloyalty, turning Libya into another Somalia. "I have the money and arms to fight for a long time," Gaddafi reportedly said.As part of the same plan to turn the tables, Gaddafi ordered the release from prison of the country's Islamic militant prisoners, hoping they will act on their own to sow chaos across Libya. Gaddafi envisages them attacking foreigners and rebellious tribes. Couple that with a shortage of food supplies, and any chance for the rebels to replace Gaddafi will be remote. Pressed, my Libyan source acknowledged Gaddafi is a desperate, irrational man, and his threats to turn Libya into another Somalia at this point may be mostly bluffing. On the other hand, if Gaddafi in fact enjoys the loyalty of troops he thinks he has, he very well could take Libya to the brink of civil war, if not over. Hmmmm........We all know who we have to thank for the rising petrol prices these days.Perhaps a few more drilling bans would be usefull to speed up the destruction of the American economy?Is this why only Time has this destruction of pipelines story?Read the full story here.

• ‘Google caused Egypt unrest’.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s deputy blamed Google Inc. in an interview published on Tuesday for stirring up trouble in the revolution that ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly-placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told the Wall Street Journal. Such strong comment from one of Putin’s most trusted deputies is a clear signal of growing concern among Russian hard-liners about the role of the Internet in the unrest which has swept across the Arab world. Sechin gave no further details on his concerns. Google executive, Wael Ghonim, became an unlikely hero of the uprising in Egypt which led to Mubarak’s deposition. In contrast to state television, Russia’s Internet is remarkably free and the home to often scathing criticism of Putin, President Dmitry Medvedev and the entire Russian elite.Hmmmm......Obama.....Google....I'm glad he said it and for once not I,anyone else of the same opinion?Read the full story here.

• Russian President Medvedev Predicts “Fires for Decades” if Islamists Come to Power in Toppled Arab Countries.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday predicted decades of instability in the Arab world if protesters whom he called fanatics come to power, adding no such scenario will be permitted at home.Medvedev’s words fall in sharp contrast with the European Union, which said in a statement on Monday that it “deplores the violence” and “repression” against the pro-democracy protesters by authorities in one of the troublespots, Libya.Speaking at a security meeting in the Caucasus city of Vladikavkaz, Medvedev didn’t name countries, but he was referring to the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa — which has brought down governments in Tunisia and Egypt and sparked protests in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Morocco and Jordan.“These states are difficult, and it is quite probable that hard times are ahead, including the arrival at power of fanatics. This will mean fires for decades and the spread of extremism,” Medvedev said in televised comments.“They have prepared such a scenario for us before, and now more than ever they will try and realize it. In any case, this scenario won’t succeed,” he said, without identifying the people he considers could threaten the Kremlin.Hmmmm.......Obama...."I will stand with my Muslim brothers"?Read the full story here.

• Arab League suspends Libya; minister defects.In response to fiery speech in which Gaddafi vowed to cling to power, US says will take ' appropriate steps'. Al-Jazeera says Libyan interior minister announced his support for 'February 17 revolution'. official news agency says 'brother leader told Berlusconi Libya is fine'.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday Libya must end violence against protesters seeking to end Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule and the United States would take "appropriate steps" in time. "As we gain a greater understanding of what actually is happening -- because you know, of course, that communication has been very effectively shut down and we are trying to gather as much information as possible -- we will take appropriate steps in line with our policies, our values and our laws," she told reporters during a news conference. "But we are going to have to work in concert with the international community." Witnesses streaming out of Libya into Egypt said Gaddafi had used tanks, warplanes and mercenaries to try to crush protesters who have taken to the streets following uprisings that overthrew authoritarian rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.Earlier, the State Department said it had been unable to move any of its nonessential US diplomats and embassy family members out of Libya on Tuesday and expected them to depart in coming days.German Chancellor Angela Merkel described Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's speech on Tuesday, in which he vowed to cling to power, as very frightening and said he had virtually declared war on his own people. Merkel told a news conference she would support eventual sanctions against Libya if Gaddafi failed to stop the violence. "The news we've had from Libya yesterday and today is worrying and the speech by Colonel Gaddafi this afternoon was very, very frightening, especially because he virtually declared war on his own people," said the German chancellor. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stated after Gaddafi's speech that the organization has decided to halt the participation of the Libyan delegations from all Arab League sessions, the Al-Jazeera network reported.Gaddafi, facing the worst popular revolt against his 41-year rule, told Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday that his country was fine."The brother leader reassured during (the) telephone conversation the friend Berlusconi that 'Libya is fine, its people are ... holding on to its security, stability and national unity'," the official JANA news agency said."Whoever wants to know the truth should closely follow the Libyan media and not turn to the lies and the fabricated information broadcast by the organs of traitors and the depraved," JANA added.Hmmmm.....No word from Obama it's easyer to bully an 82year old man?Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.Video - Israel,s apprehension validated.2 million Egyptians in Tahrir Square chant “To Jerusalem we are heading, Martyrs in the millions.Hmmmm.....Just think these are the 'people'Obama is giving 1,57 $Billion in 2012!If ever a President needed to be impeached it's now!Read and see the full story here.

• HT:AmnonAndJonathan.Gadafi :- "It takes a mad man to split Libya" !Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to fight on to his "last drop of blood" and roared at his supporters to take to the streets against protesters demanding his resignation, shouting and pounding his fist in a furious speech today after two nights of a bloody crackdown in the capital trying to crush the uprising that has fragmented his regime. It was the second time Gaddafi has appeared during the week of upheaval across his country. Swathed in brown robes and a turban, he spoke on state TV from behind a podium in the entrance of his bombed-out Tripoli residence hit by US airstrikes in the 1980s and left unrepaired as a monument of defiance. At times the camera panned back to show a towering monument of a gold-coloured fist crushing an American fighter jet, outside the building. But at the same time, the view gave a surreal image of the Libyan leader, shouting and waving his arms wildly all alone in a broken-down lobby with no audience, surrounded by broken tiles dangling from the ceiling, shattered conrete pillars and bare plumbing pipes. "Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle, at the pinnacle of the world," he proclaimed, pounding his fist on the podium. "I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said, vowing to fight "to my last drop of blood." "Let us show them what the popular revolution is like," he said. "Go out from your homes starting now." "Forward, forward, forward!" he barked at the speech's conclusion, pumping both fists in the air as he stormed away from the podium. He was kissed by about a dozen supporters, some in security force uniforms. Then he climbed into a golf cart-like vehicle and puttered away. His call could signal a sharp escalation of bloodshed in the Libyan capital of two million people after two nights of clashes. Streets in several neighbourhoods were littered with the bodies of dead protesters this morning after a fierce crackdown through the night, as pro-Gaddafi militiamen shot on sight anyone found outdoors to crush protests.He insisted that since he has no official title, he cannot resign — Gaddafi is referred to as the "brother leader," but is not president. He said he had not ordered police to use any force used against protesters — that his supporters had come out voluntarily to defend him. "I haven't ordered a single bullet fired," he said, warning that if he does, "everything will burn." He said that if protests didn't end, he would stage a "holy march" with millions of supporters to cleanse Libya. He demanded protesters in Benghazi hand over weapons taken from captured police stations and military bases, warning of separatism and civil war. "No one allows his country to be a joke or let a mad man separate a part of it," he declared. Read the full story here.

• Indiana Exodus: Dems trigger Statehouse showdown.Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.A source tells The Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.The House came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.House Speaker Brian Bosma said he did not know yet whether he would ask the Indiana State Police to compel the lawmakers to attend, if they can be found.Hmmm....Anyone still doubting this is the dear leader his way to finally get to revolution and dictatorship?This is no longer democracy but pure tiranny.First Tsars now 'Brownshirts"?Read the full story here.

• HT:SultanKnich.The protests in Wisconsin represent a split in American politics. Not a split between Republicans and Democrats, but between those who believe that the government should continue expanding, and those who see the continued expansion of governments as the greatest threat to their political and economic freedoms. This is not just a debate over budgets, it is a battle over political power, and it is the country's most fundamental split since the Civil War.The combination of abuses of power by an out of touch liberal party, an economic recession and growing insecurity about America's future have touched off something that is more than a taxpayer's revolt. Instead it's turning into a showdown over the nature of government itself. This is not a war between the rich and the poor. For the most part it is a civil war within the middle class. The American middle class is shrinking and endangered. Too many Americans can foresee a day when, as in George Orwell's 1984, the remaining middle class consists only of government employees. And if government continues expanding, that is exactly how it will be. The choice is between a small subsidized middle class and a larger unsubsidized middle class. That is also what the taxpayer's revolt is really about.Obama's victory lit the fuse of the taxpayer's civil war. The Republicans had failed to present a meaningful alternative, and when the party crumbled, a grass roots movement gained force. Its adherents understand that their economic survival depends on cutting back government. On taking away its power to constantly raise and spend money, and its drive to regulate everything. Once they had pushed past the elites of the media and the political kingmakers to be heard, the pro-government forces pushed out their armies of the redistributive electorates, the people who had been cashing their checks for years and could be counted on to challenge one revolution with a counter-revolution of their own. At stake is the simple question of freedom. Political freedom originates inextricably from economic freedom. There is no political independence without economic independence. A government that begins to tightly restrict economic freedoms will eventually also restrict political freedoms. The redistribute electorates are the greencoats of big government. They are the beneficiaries of the destructive economic policies and their final line of defense. If they go on as they are, then they will bankrupt the system. Like Rome's Praetorian Guard, they will appoint new emperors who will do what they say regardless of the consequences.No fundamental change is possible without confronting and defeating them. The taxpayer has lost battle after battle to them. We lost California. We can't afford to lose Wisconsin.Hmmmmm......."The beginning of the Fight for freedom has begun,the choice is yours Freedom or Dictatorship",choose wisely.Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids. Video - Obama admin spending US Tax Dollars on building Mosques and Muslim internet services.Great. While the US taxpayer is fighting for his and her financial life and the jihad rages around the world, the US under the Obama administration is freely spending money it doesn’t have on building mosques or refurbishing them, while building up the Islamic world’s internet infrastructure. What in the hell are these jerks thinking? This will all be used against the West, with imams and jihadis laughing at the US taxpayer while they preach jihad and actively work to carry it out. Calling it a moronic policy is an understatement.Hmmmm......."They don't trust me because of my middle name"?Read the full story here.

• Lawsuit alleges FBI violated Muslims' freedom of religion.An FBI informant who infiltrated a California mosque violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of Muslims by targeting them for surveillance because of their religion, the ACLU and a Muslim group said in a lawsuit Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed against the FBI and seven of its agents and supervisors, focuses on the actions several years ago of Craig Monteilh, a paid FBI informant. Monteilh has said he was instructed to spy on worshipers at an Irvine mosque in a quest for potential terrorists, allegations that prompted fierce criticism of the FBI from some Muslims in Southern California and nationwide. The lawsuit alleges that Monteilh was ordered by his FBI handlers to conduct "indiscriminate surveillance" of Muslims, violating their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. Filed on behalf of three Muslim plaintiffs, the 64-page document seeks class action status, unspecified damages and a court order instructing the FBI to destroy or return the information Monteilh collected."The FBI should be spending its time and resources investigating actual threats, not spying on every American who happens to worship at a mosque,'' said Peter Bibring, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, which filed the complaint along with the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.Hmmmm......We are above the law?Read the full story here.

• Video: Arrow 2 missile defense successfully tested.Missile defense system tested off California coast, destroys simulated Iranian missile; Barak calls development a milestone.Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system off the coast of California early on Tuesday morning, when it destroyed a target simulating an Iranian ballistic missile.It was the 18th test of the Arrow, and the second in which the modified Arrow 2 was tested in its entirety, along with the Green Pine radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.The test was conducted jointly by the IAF, the Defense Ministry’s Homa Missile Defense Agency and the US Missile Defense Agency. The Arrow is a project developed in cooperation by the IAI and Boeing.The Arrow interceptor was launched at around 10:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time from a US Navy base along the California coast and intercepted a missile fired from a nearby navy vessel. Defense officials said the “enemy” missile impersonated a “future threat that Israel could one day face in the region.”Defense officials lauded the successful launch as another indication of Israel’s defense capabilities in the face of Iran’s continued quest for a nuclear weapon. They said that the Arrow system could protect Israel from all of the missiles in Iran’s arsenal.The Green Pine Radar – an integral part of the Arrow missile defense system – detected the enemy missile and, after identifying it, related the information to the Arrow battery, which launched the missile interceptor.Arieh Herzog, head of the Homa Missile Defense Agency, said the Arrow system worked as designed and completely destroyed the target.The interceptor used in the test incorporated new software that will now be installed in all of the Arrow interceptors currently in IAF use.“This test is important for Israel as it prepares to counter the ballistic missile threat in the region,” Herzog said. “This test proves the success of the system after it underwent new upgrades.”Israel and the US are also jointly moving forward with the development of Arrow 3, which will be called Reshef (Flash) in Hebrew. The first flyout test of the Arrow 3 is scheduled for later this year and the system is expected to become operational in 2015.Hmmmm......Is it wise to base your defence on an American President who's clearly anti Israel?I believe this could be the worst mistake ever.Read the full story here .

• HT:JudicialWatch.U.S. Fails To Secure Flight Schools.Nearly a decade after terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon how could the U.S. government permit an illegal immigrant to obtain a pilot’s license and run a school that trains dozens of foreigners to fly small aircraft?The question is directed at the Homeland Security agency responsible for scrutinizing all foreign flight students before they can take lessons or get a pilot’s license in the U.S. Here’s a hint; the agency was created after 9/11 specifically to prevent another terrorist attack by protecting the nation’s transportation system, especially aviation. It’s the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).A few months ago a news report alerted TSA officials that a flight school in Stow Massachusetts, a rural community about 25 miles west of Boston, was operated by an illegal immigrant who somehow got a U.S. pilot’s license. Enrolled in the school (TJ Aviation Flight Academy) were more than 30 illegal aliens who were actually cleared by the TSA to train as pilots. Several of them had entered the U.S. legally but their visas expired, just like several of the 9/11 hijackers.Many have been deported but the TSA has failed to implement any security controls to prevent a similar atrocity, though the agency is working “to refine the process for checking the immigration status of alien flight school students,” according to a spokesman quoted in a Boston newspaper this week. The story reveals that Homeland Security officials have not instituted new safeguards to stop other flight schools from enrolling illegal immigrants who could present national security threats.The TSA, which has 55,000 employees, has compromised the nation’s security on many occasions and its lapses have been well documented over the years. The agency approved background checks for illegal immigrants to work in sensitive areas of busy airports, violated federal standards by not screening cargo and passengers on hundreds of thousands of planes that fly over the U.S. annually and allowed guns and bombs to slip by at major U.S. airports during random tests.In the meantime tax dollars keep pouring into TSA coffers. President Obama has given the agency more than $3 billion in recovery funds—including $98 million for “advanced technology X-ray units” that screen baggage—and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants Congress to increase its 2012 budget by $459 million to a whopping $8.1 billion.Hmmmm........Time to put a stop to another "Obamination"?Read the full story here.

• HT:NewsRealBlog.Palestinian Authority insults the US – and no one says a word.

"This first veto of the administration of President Barack Obama puts the credibility of the sponsor of the peace process in jeopardy…We see the U.S. veto as encouraging Israel to move forward in the processes of settlement and Judaizing Jerusalem, and the construction of a wall of annexation and expansion. [We] hold the U.S. administration to be fully responsibile for the consequences and repercussions."

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what an an insult looks like.The PA is officially calling the United States an “obstacle to peace.” It is saying that the US – a nation that has worked harder than any other to bring about peace, a nation that brokered Camp David – cannot be an honest broker in negotiations. Whether you agree or disagree with the present administration, this press release is an unacceptable slap in the face of the world’s superpower by an entity that cannot conceive of the idea of compromise for peace.This hateful screed has, so far, been ignored both by the media and by the current administration. There have been no public calls for apologies, no calling out of president Mahmoud Abbas who is responsible for this statement.Not only did Susan Rice’s little speech meant to blunt the veto not placate the Palestinian Authority – it is entirely possible that it emboldened them to slam the United States.In fact, it might be even more than an insult – it is practically a public statement that the Palestinian Arabs no longer subscribe to the peace process.Yet there are no angry recriminations, no evidence of displeasure, no outrage. It is almost as if the Obama administration is afraid of upsetting the Palestinian Arabs while they do not hesitate to find ways to be “insulted” by its friends.There is something deeply and profoundly wrong with this picture.Hmmm......The only thing wrong is this President and his administration.Read the full story here.

• HT:Ross'sRightAngle.Castaway! ‘Transportation to Desert Island’ Revived as ‘Final Solution’ to Ahmadi ‘Problem’.HM Busro said it was necessary to consider his scheme. “We’ve got a lot of of empty islands, 17 thousand islands in total, many of them empty,” he said in Parliament last week. According to Busro, disputes arise because people reject the Ahmadi presence. “Separation from non Ahmadis votes could settle down the conflict. We let them choose the island. They’re our brothers too,” he explained.The exasperating thing about Busro is that he appears genuinely to think this is a fair and reasonable proposal. He sounds quite idealistic about it, which just goes to show how far thinking on democratic rights is getting skewed here.The Ahmadiyah are NOT the problem. The ignorant Islamists ARE the problem.Despatch the FPI to some desert island. They might even have to do an honest day’s work there building log cabins etc. A novel change of life-style for the idle louts.Take the MUI along for the sheer adventure of it all. They could impose their loony fatwas on each other, no hair straightening, no girl motor-cycle taxi-drivers, no yoga, no wedding photos – what a delightful, care-free, killjoy castaway existence they’d have.They could stand on the beach, like sirens of legend, crooning to passing mariners, ‘Welcome to my Paradise!’Let FPI and MUI be the hardy pioneers, and once they’d installed the infrastructure, then start rounding up the hundreds of nasty cretins in Banten and Bogor and Lombok and Tasikmalaya and any others who object to living next door or even along the street from somebody of a different religion, and put them on boats and point them towards Ignoramus Island.They don’t belong in a nice civilised country like Indonesia.Don’t forget, many Ahmadis were driven from their own homes and farms by bigoted scum.Hmmmm....Obama "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

• Total suspends part of Libya oil production.French energy giant Total said on Wednesday that it was "starting to suspend" part of its oil production in Libya where protests against Moammer Gadhafi's rule have killed hundreds."We have started to suspend some of our production capacity in Libya," a Total spokesman told Agence France-Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.Total produced an average of 55,000 barrels per day, or bpd, from its Libyan wells in 2010.Italy's ENI, which produced 244,000 bpd in Libya in 2009, said on Tuesday it was temporarily suspending some of its oil and gas production activities and was also cutting its Greenstream gas pipeline between Libya and Italy.Total said on Monday it was repatriating most of its expatriate staff from Libya, although some would stay behind "with reinforced security measures".Read the full story here.

• Two Iranian warships pass through Suez Canal.Shalom: Iran’s goal is to show the Arab world ‘who the new leader is’. Islamic Republic's naval vessels haven't sailed through canal since 1979. Two Iranian Navy warships crossed the Suez Canal on Tuesday, for the first time in over 30 years, in a belligerent move that the government says is an attempt by the Islamic Republic to project its power throughout the Middle East.The ships – the Kharg, which has 250 crew members and can carry three helicopters, and the Alvand, which has a crew of 135 and is armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles – entered the canal early on Tuesday morning and arrived in the Mediterranean Sea by the evening.Defense officials said the vessels did not pose a threat to the Israel Navy, which would be watching them from a distance and would not engage them. The Iranian ships will pass Israel at a distance as they make their way to Syria, where they are expected to dock for several months.“This is a major provocation,” a senior defense official said. “We will keep an eye on the ships.”It’s the first time Iranian military vessels have sailed into the Mediterranean since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.The ships reportedly paid about $300,000 in fees for the passage.Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters the move is part of an Iranian struggle “against the West for hegemony and control in the Middle East.”Iran’s goal is to show the Arab world “who the new leader is in the Middle East,” he said.Hmmmmm......."Egypt also cannot search naval ships passing through the waterway".Read the full story here.

• Media Fails to Note Muslim Group’s Controversial History.One of the largest Muslim organizations in North America is considering plans to build a summer camp on 114 acres of land in the Adirondacks.The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), based in Queens, New York, is not devoid of controversy in a history that spans over 40 years, yet there is scant mention of these controversies by the media. The Times Union article states that, “U.S. law enforcement agencies have investigated, but never prosecuted, ICNA for terrorist connections.” And there is coverage of a fundraiser involving speakers having made anti-American statements in the past, which is quickly justified by saying, “the meeting raised money for homeless women.”But the ICNA has so much more to offer in the way of newsworthiness, including an event involving radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as a link to the presently relevant Muslim Brotherhood.But if you’re looking for a current piece of news regarding the ICNA, then look no further than Egypt. Considered to be the North American branch of the aforementioned Jamaat-e-Islami, the ICNA also maintains close ties to international groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has objectives far different than the simple establishment of a camp for various religions.Or, in the case of today’s media, we can simply watch them build a summer camp without so much as a cursory look at who’s behind the project. A doctor named Sayeeda Tahera Jafar transferred the deed on the 114.4-acre property to the ICNA last week.Hmmm........Nothing to see here…Read the full story here.More here.

• Turkey - Diplomacy on the brink: From zero problems to zero tolerance.Otto von Bismarck was recognized for his diplomatic skills. His approach of Realpolitik, the type of foreign policy focused on practical rather than moralistic considerations, was often seen as pragmatic and offensive and yet he advised, “Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rule of politeness.” In fact, isn’t the art of diplomacy all about gaining the strategic advantage through negotiating with the hope of turning unsuitable conditions into gold? Not in Turkey.Unfortunately, for the last couple of months Ankara has been falling short on conducting both successful public and foreign policy. The main reason behind this is the extremely harsh rhetoric of the government officials and their lack of tolerance for criticism.In January, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the "Monument to Humanity " in the eastern province of Kars a “freak.” As a result, the prime minister’s comment provoked a new public distrust in Erdoğan’s commitment to tolerance. The monument, which was built as an expression of the friendship between Turkey and Armenia, became a center of this discussion and eventually deteriorated the bilateral affairs between the two countries. Hence, let alone fostering good relations, the outcome of Erdoğan’s remark created a no-win situation for Turkey.On another front, since last December, it’s been hard to miss battle-like scenes between students and police on television. For months, university students have been protesting against government policies and these demonstrations grew stronger as the police force used remarkably heavy measures to deter protestors. The “youth of Turkey’s future” tried to protest against the fact that they were not allowed to attend a meeting as an audience at their own university where the country’s science policies were determined; instead they were pepper-sprayed. They protested for their fellow students who were harshly beaten by security services only to be greeted by tear gas.While the memory of these beatings is still fresh, a new case opened against a blogger, Barış Ünver, hit the news. Almost a week after Erdoğan’s speech stating that “he personally experienced the oppressive period of 1980s, therefore coercive measures cannot be their way of handling things in Turkey,” the 22-year-old blogger was sued by Erdoğan’s lawyers and he is now facing a two-year prison sentence for stating an opinion about last year’s constitutional referendum.This time Erdoğan referred to Turkish Cypriots as “dependents” and said they have no right to protest against Turkey, a country that shed blood for their survival. He couldn’t defend a legitimate idea any worse. First of all, everyone has a right to protest in a democracy.Last but not least, four journalists working at Oda TV, a controversial news portal known for its criticisms about the AKP government, were detained. They have been arrested for more than three days and we are yet to find out the charges about them. Many see this as evidence of political pressure against the media and a violation of press freedom. One thing is for sure though, with the image that Erdoğan created so far, it looks like it is easier to silence the opposition than to make solid arguments against it.The level of acceptance in freedom of thought and expression seems to be diminishing at a dangerous pace. Time magazine recently wrote about Erdoğan that “he has sued more journalists than any previous leader.” They also made a note of Erdoğan’s recent dismissal of critics of a new law about limiting alcohol consumption, where he said, “Let them drink until they spew up."In this regard, both Erdoğan and other government officials might need to work harder to master the art of staying calm and not giving hard line declarations. Otherwise, what they will achieve will project nothing but a frustrated population and tightened foreign relations. In this light, one can’t help but remember Talleyrand’s words: “A diplomat who says ‘yes’ means ‘maybe’, a diplomat who says ‘maybe’ means ‘no’ and a diplomat who says “no” is no diplomat.”Hmmmmm......Once again "Get Turkey out of NATO and keep them out of Europe".Read the full story here.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Must Read: Russia, China, Radical Islam and the Latin American Threat to US Survival.Brazilian philosopher, Olavo de Carvalho is an expert on the Latin American Left and its ties to Islam, Russia and China.In this interview, with Jeff Nyquist, de Carvahlo eloquently and forcefully states a theme I’ve long promoted on this blog – that Russia, China, Cuba, Iran radical Islam and the Latin American Left, co-ordinated by Cuba and Brazil through the Sao Paolo Forum, are working together to destroy the the United States of America.I emphasize – not to weaken, to marginalize, to impoverish – but to DESTROY the USA.It is worth noting that the Brazilian Workers Party came to power on the back of an alliance of Trotskyists, communists, black radicals, environmental activists, Christian socialists, youth activists and the poor – sound familiar America?Such alliances were promoted across the world in the early 1990s, by the Trotskyite 4th International and allied groups.Barack Obama was very much part of this movement, through his ties to Committees of Correspondence, Democratic Socialists of America and the Chicago New Party.The idea was to cobble together an big enough alliance to gain power ONCE. Then it became a matter of marginalizing and destroying your opposition, until your power could no longer be challenged.America is in this stage now.If the Obama Alliance is not decisively defeated in 2012, America will almost certainly go the way of Brazil and Venezuela – as will the rest of us eventually.Hmmmm.....New World order anyone?Read the full story here.

• HT:Wired.U.S. Admits: Jailed ‘Diplomat’ Actually Works for CIA.He didn’t fire off any drone strikes. At one point, he worked for the most infamous private security firm on the planet. But U.S. officials have finally given up the ghost: the “diplomat” detained in Pakistan for shooting two men is part of its spy apparatus.Raymond Davis, who holds a diplomatic passport, is the source of a widening diplomatic rift between Washington and its frenemies in Islamabad. Pakistani authorities arrested him in Lahore last month after an incident in which he shot two men he claims were trying to rob him. In Davis’ possession were some non-standard diplomatic items, like a Glock and a telescope.U.S. officials have insisted for weeks that Davis is a diplomat, assigned to the U.S. consulate in Lahore. Pakistani media have speculated widely that he’s a spy. After reports circulated this weekend quoting officials with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence confirming Davis’ CIA affiliation, U.S. officials lifted their request to news organizations about hiding his CIA ties.So who’s Davis? Piecing together reports, he’s a contractor working for the agency, not a spy himself. Davis is a Special Operations veteran who began working in Pakistan as a contractor in early 2010, protecting CIA case officers as they move through Pakistan to meet with their contacts. The Washington Post reports that the unit Davis protects conducts “surveillance of militant groups in large cities” and has ties to the military’s elite terror-hunters in the Joint Special Operations Command At some point, he worked for Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, and it’s unclear if he still does. An anonymous official told the Wall Street Journal that it’s “simply wrong” to assert that Davis has anything to do with drone strikes.Of course, the Pakistani government is complicit in the lethal strikes against terrorist targets on its territory. But it resents additional U.S. spying in Pakistan, and is refusing Washington’s insistence that Davis possesses diplomatic immunity. (Diplomatic cover is a time-honored cover for spy work.) Cynically, the security services and the press have presented Davis as a whipping boy for the unpopular partnership with the U.S., even leaking the above video of Davis’ initial police interrogation, which has circulated on Pakistani TV.Davis is held at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat prison, where U.S. officials fear for his safety. The Guardian reports that dogs are sniffing and even tasting his food for poison. Yesterday, State Department officials told reporters that he’s still entitled to diplomatic protection even if the CIA pays his bills, and it told Pakistani authorities that last month.Hmmm.....And now what?Read the full story here.

• HT:Wired.Did a Spy Flap Stop the Drones From Blasting Pakistan?Is a spat over the diplomatic status of an American contractor in Pakistan responsible for the slowdown in U.S. drone strikes? Newsweek says so. But so far, the provable connections between the two events seems pretty thin — more like correlation than causation.The magazine’s Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai published a story today claiming that anger in Pakistan over the case of an American employee at the U.S. embassy charged with double murder has caused the American government to take an almost month-long break in drone strikes in the country.The last unmanned attacks in Pakistan took place on January 23, according to the New America Foundation’s drone strike database. That’s just four days before Raymond Davis, a “technical” employee at the American embassy in Pakistan, was arrested for shooting and killing two men chasing him on motorcycles. Speculation over Davis’ association with U.S. intelligence have only added to public outrage in Pakistan and chilled relations with America. It’s an open question whether Davis, still detained in Pakistan, is entitled to the protections of diplomatic immunity.The Newsweek story connects the Davis incident and the strike halt with a quote from a “senior Pakistani official,” who says the U.S. has nixed the attacks recently so as not to further inflame public opinion in the country.But there may be other explanations for the slowdown in drone strikes, such as increasingly cautious behavior on the part of the Haqqani network, a frequent target of such attacks.“The Haqqanis have gone to ground and the pace of drone strikes was slowing even before Davis’ arrest,” says Joshua Foust, a fellow at the American Security Project, in an email to Danger Room.Hmmmm.....The fact that the Obama administration is talking to the Taliban has nothing to do with it?Read the full story here.

• HT:Greenbaypressgazette.Missing Wisconsin state senators lose direct-deposit paychecks.MADISON — Wisconsin state senators who miss two or more session days will no longer get paid through direct deposit. They’ll have to pick up their checks in person on the Senate floor during a session.The new rule is aimed at forcing the return of 14 Senate Democrats who have been hiding in Illinois since Thursday. They fled the state to stall a vote on an anti-union bill, and have threatened to stay away until Republican Gov. Scott Walker agrees to compromise. Tuesday’s vote was along party lines. The three Republicans on the Committee on Senate Organization voted for it and the two Democrats opposed it. The measure applies to paychecks, per diem checks, and any expense reimbursements. The absent senators will have to collect their checks from the Senate majority leader.Hmmmmm......Somehow i get the feeling "Someone" is paying them right now.Read the full story here.