MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• The volatile Lybian situation live streams here.

Live Blog Libya - Al Jazeera. here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.The 'Human Rights Watch' hierarchy. Here's a look at some of the people in the hierarchy of 'Human Rights Watch'.A deep look into the HRW’s hierarchy reveals their anti Israel agenda:For starters -

-The former Human Rights Watch’s military expert, Marc Garlasco, is a collector of Hitlerian memorabilia.

-According to the Ngo Monitor, Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, took part in a conference on “Zionism and Racism” at the University of Baghdad in 1976, under the auspices of Saddam Hussein.

-Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, promoted boycott campaigns against Israel.

-Researcher Lucy Mair worked for the radical website “Electronic Intifada”.

-Associate Nadia Barhoum campaigned to divest from Israel.

-Staff member Darryl Li, promoted a project on the “Israeli war criminals” at Harvard.

-The “European Press Director”, Reed Brod,y took an active role in the effort to bring Ariel Sharon to trial in Belgium.

-The vice chair of the Human Rights Watch board was instrumental in inviting Iran’s Ahmadinejad to Columbia University in 2007.Hmmm....Sounds really amazing,your tax Dollars at work. Read the full story here.

• UN Resolution Singles Out Israel Over Treatment of Women, Ignores Iran and Libya.A U.N. policy-making body dedicated to “gender equality and the advancement of women” adopted a resolution accusing Israel of holding back the advancement of Palestinian women, but it took no action on the emergency in Libya or the legally enshrined discrimination faced by women in Iran.The only country-specific resolution passed by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at its recent session in New York was one condemning Israel over the Palestinian issue.Libya is a member of the 45-country CSW, and Iran has just taken up a seat on the body for the next four years.In Libya, a U.N. aid coordinator estimates this week that some 600,000 people affected by the conflict now underway will need humanitarian help. Many of those will be women.Difficulties experienced by Libyan women long predated the current crisis. Human rights monitors say women’s and girl’s rights are routinely violated by the state in so-called “social rehabilitation” facilities, where those suspected of violating moral codes – including rape victims – can be held indefinitely.Hmmmm.....This 'organisation' is a joke,all over the world especially Iran women are mistreated and they single out Israel.The UN just lost all credibility!Read the full story here.

• Witness at King Hearing to Warn 'Political Fear' Stifling Debate Over Radical Islam.Relatives of two young men who were lured away by Islamic radicals plan to tell a House committee Thursday that Muslim leaders in America "brainwashed" and "manipulated" their family members, and that "political fear" is preventing people from talking about Islamic extremism. The witnesses are part of the panel Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., plans to call at a controversial hearing on the threat posed by radical Islam in the United States. Two witnesses are expected to provide a first-hand account on how their relatives were exploited by Islamic radicals. Melvin Bledsoe, whose son allegedly attacked an Army recruiting center in Arkansas, said in written testimony -- which Fox News has seen -- that Americans are ignoring the issue. "There is a big elephant in the room, but our society continues not to see it. This wrong is caused by political correctness. You can even call it political fear," he said. Bledsoe plans to describe how his son, Carlos, was radicalized when he went off to college in Nashville, Tenn. In his testimony, he explained how his son's personality changed and how, when he returned home for the holidays in 2005, he told his family he converted to Islam. From that point, he changed his name and eventually traveled to Yemen. "Some Muslim leaders had taken advantage of my son. But he's not the only one being taken advantage of. This is going on in Nashville and in many other cities in America," Bledsoe plans to say. "In Nashville, Carlos was captured by people best described as hunters. He was manipulated and lied to. That's how he made his way to Yemen." Bledsoe claims his son's link-up with Yemeni extremists was "facilitated by their American counterparts in Nashville. ... Something is wrong with the Muslim leadership in Nashville."The Council on American-Islamic Relations joined other groups for a press conference Wednesday denouncing the hearing. CAIR Director Nihad Awad said that King's "bias" and "fear-mongering" make him "unfit" to lead the House committee. Awad condemned violent extremism but said King was spreading "false" allegations and "irresponsible rhetoric" about American Muslims. CAIR was among the groups that backed a protest in New York City over the weekend. Dozens of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, also sent out a letter Tuesday comparing King's plans to "McCarthyism and Japanese internment." But King in his statement plans to urge "responsible" Muslim leaders to reject CAIR and plans to defend his hearing as the "logical response to the repeated and urgent warnings" coming out of the Obama administration."There is no equivalency of threat between Al Qaeda and neo-Nazis, environmental extremists or other isolated madmen. Only Al Qaeda and its Islamist affiliates in this country are part of an international threat to our nation," King plans to say.Hmmmmm......Ever heard of Al-taqiyya ?Read the full story here.

• HT:UnifiedPatriots.Wild Thursday in Store for Madison.Amid reports that security has all but disappeared in the Wisconsin capitol, expect a wild day of union protesters finding interesting, creative and imaginative ways of making a specatacle of themselves on Thursday.Note that many outlets reported that the WI bill had ended collective bargaining for public sector employees. The new legislation keeps collective bargaining in place for base pay, but curtails union negotiations on benefits packages.Hmmmm......"Dear Leader smiling about his 'troops'?Read the full story here.

• Ex-soldier linked to white supremacist group arrested over 'plot to bomb MLK Day parade'.An ex-soldier has been arrested in connection with a bomb planted at a Martin Luther King Day parade that could have killed hundreds.FBI vehicles converged on a home about 75 miles north of Spokane, Washington, earlier today and arrested Kevin William Harpham, 36, who has been linked to white supremacist groups.The bomb was found on January 17 inside a backpack by city workers on the side of the street before the start of the parade.It was recovered and defused before it could cause any injuries but was said to have had the potential to kill hundreds.The Southern Poverty Law Centre confirmed that Harpham was a member of the National Alliance in 2004 and a member of the U.S. Army in 1996 and 1997.The two T-shirts, found inside the backpack, led agents to the area he lived in Colville, Stevens County.For weeks, the FBI said nothing about possible suspects, but public opinion from the beginning focused on some of the white supremacist groups that have brought notoriety to the region in the past three decades. The area once served as headquarters for Richard Butler's Aryan Nations, whose members were lured by the small number of minorities.Officials for the FBI in Spokane, which is leading the search, declined to comment on the developments Wednesday.Spokane has 200,000 residents and is about 100 miles south of the Canadian border.Hmmmm......A notion of being the "Herren Volk" can only lead to destruction as we've seen with the Nazi's in the past.Read the full story here.

• HT:BigGovernment.Unions Storm Madison, Break Windows: Capital in Chaos.We have almost completely lost control of the Capitol building. We now only control the 3rd and 4th floors.Teachers Unions are sending out robo calls and emails to all their members, asking them to get to the capitol NOW. We know this as a fact.Democrat Senators are opening windows and letting protesters in. Door’s have been ripped off their hinges.Next 6-8 hours will determine who controls the capitol. If we lose control, the assembly can’t meet tomorrow.Quasi-military forces are the only option to win back control of building. They are very close to being called in.Law enforcement are leaking legislators whereabouts to protesters. No one is safe.Today they escorted State Senators across the street via an underground tunnel. It’s top secret, but protesters were waiting for them.National Guard may be called in….plans have been set. We are running out of options.Hmmmm.......Obama's "Reichstag fire" finally here?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheBlaze.No. 3 House Dem to Join Louis Farrakhan for Program on ‘Disappearing Black Community’.U.S. Assistant House Minority Leader James Clyburn, D-S.C., will join controversial Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan Friday at Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center for African American Culture for a live broadcast discussion on “The Disappearing Black Community and How We Can Get It Back.”The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported Tuesday that Clyburn — a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus — and Farrakhan were scheduled to be joined by Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. However, Campbell has since announced she will not appear alongside Farrakhan and has chosen not to participate.If he attends, Clyburn won’t be the first member of Congress to appear with Farrakhan. In 2004, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., stood on stage at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion as Farrakhan delivered remarks on “Reparations: What Do America and Europe Owe?“I’m honored to join this distinguished leader who gives hope and understanding to people all over the world, of every color, of every religion, and of every political belief,” Conyers said of Farrakhan during the 2004 “Saviours Day” celebration. What Does Allah (God) Promise?”“What is God’s promise?” Farrakhan rhetorically remarked in 2004: “Justice, after which (Blacks in America) will come out with great substance,” he answered. “What does America and Europe owe? They owe everything. They must repent or be destroyed from the planet.”Additionally, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to Congress, is reportedly a “former” member of the Nation of Islam. When he was elected in 2006, FrontPage Magazine labeled Ellison “Farrakhan’s candidate“ and the Weekly Standard called him ”Louis Farrakhan’s First Congressman.”The [Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party] is now handing its “greatest stronghold” over to a candidate with long ties to Louis Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic Nation of Islam and who has already accrued at least an estimated $20,000-$35,000 in funding from the terrorist-connected Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), including the maximum personal donation from CAIR chief Nihad Awad. [...]Blogger Michael Brodkorb at Minnesota Democrats Exposed uncovered two articles that Keith Ellison wrote for the Minnesota Daily under the name Keith E. Hakim as a University of Minnesota Law student in 1989 and 1990. In one Ellison-Hakim repeats standard Nation of Islam (NOI) rhetoric, complaining of “the burden of brutal white savagery” and calls for a secessionist black “land base”…consisting of “Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.”While Smith did not defend or excuse any comments Farrakhan has aimed toward Jews, she insisted they were not relevant to Friday evening’s town hall meeting. “This is a conversation for and to African Americans,” she said. “We’re not talking about anti-Semitism. We do not tell the Jewish community who to talk to and we never have.”Hmmmm......"Change we can see"?Read the full story here.

• Gross Eliminates Government Debt From Pimco's Flagship Total Return Fund.Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., eliminated government-related debt from his flagship fund last month as the U.S. projected record budget deficits. Pimco’s $237 billion Total Return Fund last held zero government-related debt in January 2009. Gross had cut the holdings to 12 percent of assets in January, according to the Newport Beach, California-based company’s website. The fund’s net cash-and-equivalent position surged from 5 percent to 23 percent in February, the highest since May 2008.As the Fed maintains its target rate at a record low range of zero to 0.25 percent and has made an increase in inflation a cornerstone of its monetary policy, Gross noted that inflation may be a bigger factor than many suggest. Gains in so-called headline inflation matter more for the U.S. economy than Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggests and rising oil prices may cut U.S. gross domestic product by a quarter to half a percentage point, Gross said March 4 in a radio interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene. “Bernanke tends to think this doesn’t matter -- at least in terms of headline versus the core -- we do,” Gross said.Hmmmm....Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.Muslim Journalist: Congressman King’s Radical Islam Hearings A Good Idea.The political spin against Thursday’s congressional hearing into Islamic radicalization against America is off base, a Muslim journalist argues. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., is not waging a McCarthyite witch hunt, but acknowledging a problem self-anointed Muslim political leaders refuse to see.As she does so often, Asra Nomani swims against the tide in columns published by the Daily Beast and the Washington Post. Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who just completed a compelling investigation into all the players behind the murder of her former colleague Daniel Pearl, has been pushing for Muslim Americans to do a better job policing their own communities.It’s difficult, she writes, for “shame-based societies” to break through a reflexive denial that any problem exists. Instead, they deliver “obtuse PR campaigns that don’t address issues of radicalism head-on.”That’s what national Islamist groups are doing this week, drumming up protests and condemnation of King and of the hearing’s focus on radicalization among Muslims, as opposed to political violence in general.Muslim Americans “have to shake off the fear of shame and own the problems inside our community. In a sense, we need to be shameless,” Nomani writes. “We have to realize that neither our community nor Islam has to be defined by criminals such as [Fort Hood shooter] Maj. Nidal Hassan and [Times Square attempted bomber]Faisal Shahzad, but they will be if we don’t disavow these men and their ideologies.”Hmmmmm.......Read the full story here.

• HT:BigGovernment.Obama Wants a “Cabinet Czar” Liaison to His Own Administration.The Middle East is in flames, China will shortly rival our military power, trade deals needed to help our limping economy continue to lag, and the Washington Post reports the Administration is now engaged in a major diplomatic effort to improve relations with their own cabinet secretaries?The lowlight:“News this week of the first departure of a Cabinet secretary from the Obama administration comes amid a wide-ranging effort under the new chief of staff, William M. Daley, to repair badly frayed relations between the White House and the Cabinet.”The “solution” includes the creation of a new “Cabinet Czar”…“At the same time, the White House recently created the position of Cabinet communications director, appointing media adviser Tom Gavin to the job. The goal, according to the official statement, is ‘to better coordinate with and utilize members of the Cabinet’ and is a ‘high priority.’”…even as the Post reports that part of the problem is the current “czars.”“Part of the problem, people on both sides said, has been an abundance of issue specialists – the ‘czars’ – who manage matters on the environment and the economy within the West Wing. ‘The White House loops people out. The czars keep people from getting in,’ said one senior Democratic official who has fielded such complaints from three agency heads. ‘The level of frustration is pretty high.’”Of course Rahm is to blame – but only now that he is gone.Hmmmm.....A liason between the different "Chains of Command"?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video :Aziza Ibrahim, Former Bodyguard of Libyan Leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi, Recounts Her Experiences: We Had to Watch Students Being Executed.Aziza Ibrahim has nothing left but memories. Today, 17 years after her return from Libya, the "revolutionary nun," as Al-Qadhafi called his female bodyguards, decided to acknowledge that she was one of them. She has no photograph or evidence to support what she says, but we believe her, because she knows more than expected. Aziza Ibrahim: First, Al-Qadhafi's female bodyguards must refrain from getting married. He calls them "revolutionary nuns," and nuns cannot get married. Secondly, she needs to have a strong personality, because she has to get along without her family. She may have to kill members of his family. There was a female bodyguard, for example, called Jamila Abu Ghneim, who used to terrify us. She killed his cousin, Colonel Hassan Shkeir Al-Qadhafi. He raised his voice at Mu'ammar during an argument, in front o fall of us, and just because of this, she shot him, next to Al-Qadhafi.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.On the use of the term 'Palestinian'.Those of you who have been to this blog more than once or twice know that I always put the term 'Palestinian' in scare quotes. The reason I do this is that - as they have admitted themselves - the term 'Palestinian' was an invention of the Arab countries in a bid to separate the 1948 and 1967 wars (which were undertaken by the Arab countries) from their consequences. Many of the usages of the term 'Palestinian' before 1948 referred to Jews.Yisrael Medad has gone a step further and has researched the use of the word 'Palestinian' to refer specifically to Arabs (and not to Jews) in the 1920's starting around the time that what is now known as the 'kingdom of Jordan' was detached from the Palestine Mandate. Of course, if the term 'Palestinian' was a common usage for Arabs only in the 1920's, perhaps my claim that there is no such thing as a 'Palestinian people' is unfair. On the other hand, if the term 'Palestinian' was rarely or never used to describe Arabs only that would be evidence for my point.Yisrael's research is not conclusive, but it certainly seems to lean to the view that there is no distinctly 'Palestinian people' who are Arabs.Hmmmm......."What's in the Name?"Read the full story here.

• Egypt Gas Shut Off Also Affecting Jordan.Israel is not the only country who isn't receiving gas from Egypt following the sabotage of the Egyptian gas pipeline in Sinai during January's unrest which led to former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. While most focus solely on Egypt's failure to resume the supply of natural gas to Israel, Jordan isn't receiving any gas from Egypt, either, according to Dr. Aaron Lerner of International Media Review Analysis.“Given that there is absolutely no problem in relations between Jordan and Egypt there is no reason to attribute the failure to resume gas supplies to Israel to any possible problem in Israeli-Egyptian relations,” Dr. Lerner wrote, citing a press release on the website of the Jordanian National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).In a statement to Al Doustour, on Sunday, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Khaled Tuqan, said: “Our brothers in Egypt told us yesterday it was the finalization of all technical procedures at the plant, which was vandalized last month, and that there are internal procedures for the resumption of pumping gas.Under current agreements between the two countries, Jordan's import of natural gas from Egypt via the Arab gas pipeline passing through the Hashemite kingdom's territory accounts for 80% of electricity production in the kingdom.Israel, who receives 40% of its natural gas supplies from Egypt under a deal that went into effect three years ago under which Egypt is to sell Israel 1.7 billion cubic meters a year for at least 15 years, has taken the interruption of gas from Egypt as a sign it needs to achieve diversified energy security."Israel needs to achieve security of energy supply. This is one of the most fundamental security and economic aspects of a country," said Gina Cohen, an electricity and gas industry consultant based in Israel.Israel's recently discovered Leviathan and Tamar gas-fields, may prove to be game-changers in terms of the region's energy politics, however. Combined, the fields contain an estimated 24 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. The finds are enough to keep Israel energy self-sufficient for decades – and may allow Israel to export natural gas to its neighbors.Hmmmm.......If the UN doesn't change the Lebanese Borders,with support from Obama?Read the full story here.

• HT:Aina.Ethiopia Sends Military to Stop Muslim Violence Against Christians.Washington -- International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Ethiopian government has sent military forces to put down the anti-Christian violence perpetrated by Muslims in Asendabo and the surrounding areas. Government officials have arrested several Muslims suspected of attacking Christians in the area.When the attacks began on March 2, Muslims killed one Christian, wounded several others, burned down 55 churches, 30 Christian homes, a Bible school, a Christian orphanage, and a church office. More than 3,000 Christians are now displaced because of the violence.The violence started after Muslims falsely accused Christians of desecrating the Qur'an. The local police and government officials did nothing to stop the attackers. Federal government officials have now stepped in and removed the local Muslim administrator for his failure to protect Christians.A Christian leader told ICC that the attacks were organized by members of Kwarej, a radical Islamic group that fights to establish an Islamic state in Ethiopia. The Muslim attackers came from different parts of Ethiopia, including the Somali region."It's very sad that a radical Muslim group destabilizes the unity of Ethiopian Christians and Muslims. We are devastated by the attacks and we urge all concerned people to help us. We call upon Ethiopian officials to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future," the church leader added."Islamic radicals are fighting to establish an Islamic state in Christian majority Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the Christians have borne the brunt of the Islamic attacks. Christians will continue to be killed unless the government of Ethiopia starts taking serious measures to stop Islamists from carrying out similar attacks. We urge all the concerned to put pressure on Ethiopia to protect its citizens," said Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa.Read the full story here.

• Iran - Recap of March 8th Opposition Protests in Iran + Videos.Since a newly formed Green opposition group called for mass peaceful protests to take place in Iran on every Tuesday in the month of March, until the day of the Fire Festival (Charshanbe Soori, March 14th), Iranian citizens have responded by heading to the streets on the specified days to chant slogans against the Islamic Republic regime. The scheduled protest on March 8th was to mark the anniversary of International Women’s Day.Reports and videos that surfaced from Iran today show a heavy presence of security forces on the streets of Tehran and Shiraz.According to the human rights group HRANA, anti-riot police and plainclothes forces were positioned at the main squares in Tehran since before noon, to prevent the formation of protests. Security forces blocked the streets leading to the squares and told the people, “Downtown is closed today.” On Takht Tavoos Street, security forces took extra measures to prevent the formation of protests. They performed public physical checks and interrogations on pedestrians and investigated their mobile phones. On Yousef Abad Street, there were clashes reported between protesting civilians and security forces. On Fatemeh Street, Special Guard Unit forces attempted to disperse civilians [who were planning to gather] by using tear gas and firing shots in the air. HRANA reported on mass beatings and arrests of civilians by regime forces.A banner with the picture of Khamenei and the text "Dictator, say hello to the end" hangs from a bridge over the Niayesh highway in Tehran.The Human Rights and Democracy Activists group reported that numerous teenage Basiji forces harassed and attacked the Mourning Mothers of Laleh Park group near Amirabad Street. The mothers attempted to gather in recognition of International Women’s Day.Additionally, Iran News Agency reported that a large crowd had gathered today on Molasadra street in Shiraz. People chanted, “Death to the dictator” and “Mubarak, Ben Ali, now it’s time for Seyed Ali”. Regime forces reportedly beat up protesters. The video below shows the brave Shirazi people booing regime forces who terrorized the streets with their suppressive and violent actions.Hmmm......WHY is Obama silent,WHY does he protect this Dictator?Because he's the Enemy of Israel?Read and see the 6 videos & the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Young Members of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Call for 'Revolution' Within the Movement.Recently, some of the younger members of the Muslim Brotherhood have called for a revolution inside the movement, demanding recognition for the vital role of youth and women within the Brotherhood and greater representation in the movement's institutions. They also demanded that the Muslim Brotherhood Shura Council and the Office of the General Guide be dissolved, pending open elections under proper judicial oversight. The members threatened that if these demands were not met, they would demonstrate en masse with the aim of overthrowing the movement's leadership.On February 23, 2011, the "coordinators of the Muslim Brotherhood youth revolution" held a conference in Alexandria at which they presented their demands. They warned that if their demands were ignored, over 30,000 would demonstrate on March 17 to advance their cause. The editor of the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Tariq Alhomayed, wrote that the hostility to the Mubarak regime had been a uniting factor for the Muslim Brotherhood, and that with Mubarak gone the time was ripe for an upheaval within the movement: "The mere fact that Muslim Brotherhood youths are planning to recruit close to 30,000 members, and to stage a revolution against the old faces [in the movement], indicates that the members feel disgruntled. [They are dismayed that] their movement has aged, and that an exclusive clique controls its decisions – [especially considering that] the Brotherhood itself called on the former Egyptian regime, and on the Arab states, [to allow] greater pluralism and openness, among other demands. "This youth revolution within the Brotherhood is not a mere imitation of the January 25 revolution [in Egypt], for young members have called for a revolution inside the movement in the past. But naturally, the clandestine [nature of] the Brotherhood's activity, and its hostile relations with the former Egyptian regime, helped the movement to maintain its cohesion – because, as everyone knows, a [common] enemy is a uniting factor. With the regime threatening the movement as a whole, the Brotherhood managed to [contain] its malcontents. But today, things are different..."All this pertains not only to the Muslim Brotherhood. As a colleague of mine said, 'Who knows, maybe we will see a youth revolution in Hizbullah soon.' But it looks as though the success of such a revolution depends on the success of the Green Revolution in Iran.Hmmmmm........."Once upon a time in there was a revolution in Egypt"?Read the full story here.

• 'British show demonizes Israel'.British mini-series based in Israel 'worse than anything I've seen,' London embassy spokesman says; show draws parallels involving IDF, Nazi era, heroine helps Palestinians smuggle arms into Gaza.A British mini-series that slams the IDF and the State of Israel has been slammed by the Jewish state's embassy spokesman, Amir Ofek, as "a new category of hostility towards Israel." The mini-series, which provoked accusations of demonization and hate-mongering, has been hailed by British TV critics as the year's best drama.The show, which was mostly filmed in Israel, provoked fury among many British Jewish. Ofek told the Jewish Chronicle that "In my 15-year career I have never seen anything like it in the Western media. I'm aware of artistic freedom, but nevertheless I feel this is worse than anything I've seen." "It's obvious there was a special attempt to demonize Israelis," he said. They used every tool available - visuals especially - to undermine the Israeli perspective." The show's heroine is a young British woman who travels to Israel ahead of her Israeli friend's enlistment with the IDF. Before the trip, she comes across a dairy written by her dying grandfather, who during the 1940s helped save Jews from death camp and was later sent to the Land of Israel at the service of Her Majesty. In Israel, the young Londoner searches for Muhammad, a friend of her grandfather. While at it, she helps the Palestinians smuggles arms to Gaza, just like her grandpa helped the Arabs earlier.Embassy Spokesman Ofek said IDF troops were portrayed as blood-thirsty, while the Palestinians were mostly in the role of helpless victims. The diplomat also slammed the portrayal of wealthy Israeli families spending their time in the swimming pool as unrepresentative of Israeli society. "In my time here, we have never had as many complaints from people as we have had for this program. When I asked people if they had watched all the episodes they said they had given up because it was so upsetting," he said. Hmmmmm........Germany 1939 anyone?Read the full story here.

• HT:Stratfor.Bahrain and the Battle Between Iran and Saudi Arabia.By George Friedman.The world’s attention is focused on Libya, which is now in a state of civil war with the winner far from clear. While crucial for the Libyan people and of some significance to the world’s oil markets, in our view, Libya is not the most important event in the Arab world at the moment. The demonstrations in Bahrain are, in my view, far more significant in their implications for the region and potentially for the world. To understand this, we must place it in a strategic context.As STRATFOR has been saying for quite a while, a decisive moment is approaching, with the United States currently slated to withdraw the last of its forces from Iraq by the end of the year. Indeed, we are already at a point where the composition of the 50,000 troops remaining in Iraq has shifted from combat troops to training and support personnel. As it stands now, even these will all be gone by Dec. 31, 2011, provided the United States does not negotiate an extended stay. Iraq still does not have a stable government. It also does not have a military and security apparatus able to enforce the will of the government (which is hardly of one mind on anything) on the country, much less defend the country from outside forces.The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq sets the stage for Iran to pursue this goal, profoundly changing the regional dynamic.Iran has another, more challenging strategic interest, one it has had since Biblical times. That goal is to be the dominant power in the Persian Gulf.For Tehran, this is both reasonable and attainable. Iran has the largest and most ideologically committed military of any state in the Persian Gulf region. Despite the apparent technological sophistication of the Gulf states’ militaries, they are shells. Iran’s is not. In addition to being the leading military force in the Persian Gulf, Iran has 75 million people, giving it a larger population than all other Persian Gulf states combined.With the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, this strategy is being abandoned in the sense that the force needed to contain Iran is being withdrawn. The forces left in Kuwait and U.S air power might be able to limit a conventional Iranian attack. Still, the U.S. withdrawal leaves the Iranians with the most powerful military force in the region regardless of whether they acquire nuclear weapons. Indeed, in my view, the nuclear issue largely has been an Iranian diversion from the more fundamental issue, namely, the regional balance after the departure of the United States. By focusing on the nuclear issue, these other issues appeared subsidiary and have been largely ignored.As important, the U.S. withdrawal will cause a profound shift in psychological perceptions of power in the region. Recognition of Iran’s relative power based on ground realities will force a very different political perception of Iran, and a desire to accommodate Tehran. The Iranians, who understand the weakness of their military’s logistics and air power, are pursuing a strategy of indirect approach. They are laying the foundation for power based on a perception of greater Iranian power and declining American and Saudi power.Hmmmmm......Another result of this 'Obamination.Read the full story here.

• 'NATO seizes Iranian arms smuggling en route to Taliban'.NATO forces intercepted the most powerful Iranian-made rockets ever smuggled to the Taliban in Afganistian, The Associated Press sited an international intelligence official as saying Wednesday. The rockets were to be used for the Taliban's spring campaign. NATO troops captured a three-truck convoy carrying 50 122 millimeter rockets in Southern Nirmuz, near the Iranian and Pakistani borders, the official said.The Associate Press reported rockets are capable of being fired up to 13 miles away from the target, and have an 80 foot explosion, a figure double that of what was previous provided to the Taliban from Iran since 2006, the official said.In December 2010, Shin Bet reported that Iran had smuggled into the Gaza Strip about 1,000 mortar shells, hundreds of shortrange rockets and a few dozen advanced anti-tank missiles throughout the year.Iran has continued to be Hamas's chief arms provider, smuggling through Sudan and Sinai.Read the full story here.More here.

• HT:ANSAMed.Egypt - Women Kicked Out Of Egypt's Tahrir Square On International Women's Day.CAIRO, MARCH 8 - Small groups of women protesting in Egypt's Tahrir Square to mark International Women's Day, have been removed from the square by young men who have treated the women aggressively, snatched their placards and thrown them to the ground. Tahrir Square was the focal point of the January 25 revolt in the country."I am very upset. It is not possible that women, whose presence contributed so much to the success of the Egyptian unrest, be denied their rights," the former Minister for Families, Moushira Khattab, told ANSA. After arriving in Tahrir Square, Khattab stayed only for a few minutes, disgusted at anti-female slogans being chanted by groups of men.Hmmmm.....Yes these changes in the Arab world are for the better Mr President.Read the full story here.

• British Government Gave Over $800K in Taxpayer Funds to Violence-Linked Islamist Group.LONDON- The Government gave more than half a million pounds of taxpayers’ cash to a controversial Islamic group, it has been revealed.The Department of Communities and Local Government handed the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and related groups £550,985 over three years.In March 2009 the Government suspended links with the MCB and demanded one of its leaders should be sacked for allegedly supporting violence against Israel.In a written Parliamentary answer tonight, the coalition detailed its grants to the MCB and linked organisations.It said £174,000 was given to improve mosques, £167,000 went to the Nottingham-based Karimia Institute for “youth leadership training”, and £25,000 was awarded to Young Muslims UK to “promote talent”.Read the full story here.

• Saudi protestors warned.Saudi Arabia to 'cut off any finger' raised against regime, foreign minister says.Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Wednesday that dialogue - not protests - is the way to bring reform and warned that the oil-rich nation will take strong action if activists take to the streets. "The kingdom does not interfere in the affairs of others and will not allow for anyone to interfere in its own affairs," Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday at a press conference in Saudi Arabia's port of Jiddah. Using a figure of speech, he said his regime would "cut off any finger" raised against the regime."Reform cannot be achieved through protests ... The best way to achieve demands is through national dialogue," he said. Inspired by a wave of uprisings in the Arab world, activists from Saudi Arabia's Shiite Muslim minority have called for a "Day of Rage" on Friday to demand the regime's ouster. The government accuses Shiites from outside the country of spurring the protests. The Interior Ministry on Monday reiterated that demonstrations are banned in the kingdom on grounds that they contradict Islamic laws and values and said in a statement that its security forces will act against anyone taking part in them.Hmmm....Read the full story here.

• The Belgium - Primo Magazine. 12 - 18 March 2011 . Carries on page 43 the following story : Obama's NOT invited by William and Kath. Most significant absentees on the guest lists are Barack and Michelle Obama,they have 'officially' no problem with this since this wedding is a private matter and not a states matter.But un officially it's said that especially Michelle has a problem with it.According to Michelle Obama : " I'm not invited to the Royal wedding because Camilla can't stand that I'm younger and more popular". Some say that Camilla was encouraged by Prince William because he heard from hearsay that Michelle called his mother the late Princes Diana "a sex enslaved fashion doll". Then Michelle continued: 'these idiots invite ex junkies and hooker visitors but not me'!Hmmm.......... Source.