MFS - The Other News

                   Afternoon  Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - March 31. Here .(Al-Jazeera)And  here (BBC).

• Sirya live blog - March 30  here.(Al -Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan between 4.3 and 5.1 today. More info here.

• Latest official Situation Update No. 69. On 31.03.2011 at 18:17 GMT+2

Radioactive substance about 10,000 times the limit was found at the groundwater around the No. 1 reactor of the troubled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, local media reported Friday. A official with the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that the radiation level is "extremely high," according to Kyodo News report. Also on Thursday, the level of radioactive iodine-131 found in seawater near the nuclear power plant, about 240 kilometers northeast from Tokyo, has soared to its highest reading yet at a concentration of 4,385 times the legal limit. The Japanese authorities have been stepping up efforts to fix the plant crippled by devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Situation Update No. 68. On 31.03.2011 at 14:44 GMT+2

Radiation levels in a Japanese town outside a government-ordered evacuation zone have exceeded one of the criteria for evacuation, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday. The agency said it advised Japan "to carefully assess the situation." The elevated levels were found in Iitate, a town of 7,000 residents about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the earthquake- and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the agency said. The evacuation zone covers a 20-kilometer (13-mile) radius around the plant. The agency did not say what levels it found in Iitate, but the environmental group Greenpeace said Sunday it had found radiation levels in the town that were more than 50 times above normal. Though that is far below the level that would cause radiation sickness, it does pose a risk of cancer to residents in the long term, Greenpeace said.Source.

• HT:PaulLangley.Radiological Dispersal from Fukushima hits new highs.The level of radioactive iodine in the sea off Japan’s disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear plant has soared to its highest reading yet at 4,385 times the legal limit, the plant operator said.The level of iodine-131, reported a few hundred metres south of its southern water outlet, has risen in a series of tests since last week.Previous readings taken by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) were 1,250 times the legal maximum on Friday, 1,850 times the limit on Saturday and 3,355 times the limit on Tuesday.Authorities believe the damaged plant may be leaking radiation continuously into the nearby ocean, with fears the increasingly high levels of radiation could impact global shipping.Several shipping operators are either halting services to the ports of Yokohama and Tokyo or have established no-go zones around the Fukushima plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says safe radiation limits had been exceeded at Iitate village, 40 kilometres north-west of the plant and well outside the government-imposed 20-kilometre exclusion zone.Japan’s top government spokesman, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano, said: “The IAEA has informed us the level of radiation in the soil exceeded one of the IAEA standards”.“And the IAEA has advised us to carefully assess the situation on the basis of this report,” he said.When asked whether Japan would expand the exclusion zone, he said: “I don’t think this is something of a nature which immediately requires such action”.“But the fact the level of radiation is high in the soil is inevitably pointing to the possibility that the accumulation over the long term may affect human health,” he said.“Therefore, we will continue monitoring the level of radiation with heightened vigilance and we intend to take action if necessary.”According to Elena Buglova, head of the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre, the reading in Iitate village was 2 megabecquerels per square metre.That was a “ratio about two times higher than levels” at which the agency recommends evacuations, she said.Read the full story here.

• HT:ExposeTheMedia.Gasoline Up 100% Under Obama, Media Makes Excuses.The media and democrats blamed George W. Bush for high gas prices, but they make excuses for high gas prices under Barack Obama even though Obama told us “under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket”. Meanwhile, Obama subsidizes Brazilian oil drilling with taxpayer dollars and prevents drilling in the U.S.Feeling pain at the pump? Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office. According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office. Today the national average is $3.58. The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA. Four-dollar-a-gallon gas has arrived on average throughout California, and a number of other states are headed in that direction. The U.S. needs to encourage constant drilling and exploration for oil and natural gas all over the United States and the Gulf. It would not only lower the price of gas and add hundreds of thousands of jobs all over the private sector, but the government would increase their revenues greatly and could start to pay off the debt. It’s that simple, but that is not what Obama and Democrats want because if they did, they would be doing it.The media and president actually make fun of those who say drill, baby, drill and at the same time blame them for high gas prices.Hmmm.....Destroy,Destroy baby,destroy !Read the full story here.

• Japan nuclear crisis: Fukushima radiation detected in MILK in 2 US states.Low levels of radiation have been detected in milk in two U.S. states, the first sign Japan's nuclear crisis is affecting American food.The findings, in Washington state and California, prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to announce it was increasing its monitoring of radiation in milk, rain and drinking water.But in a joint statement with the Food and Drug Administration it urged consumers not to worry, saying the levels found were far too low to pose any risk to humans.The announcement came as the number of states which have detected radiation particles from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant increased to at least 15.The FDA said the readings were to be expected in the next few days, as the fallout from the nuclear crisis spreads.But the the agency said the amount of radiation found in milk was 5,000 times below risk levels, and it expected readings to drop quite quickly within the next few days.Patricia Hansen, a senior FDA scientist, said: 'Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day.Read the full story here.

• Fukushima nuclear plant to be entombed in concrete as Japan admits it has lost battle with crippled reactors.Japan has finally conceded defeat in the battle to contain radiation at four of its crippled reactors and they will be closed down.Details of how this will be done are yet to be revealed, but officials said it would mean switching off all power and abandoning attempts to keep the nuclear fuel rods cool.The final move would involve pouring tonnes of concrete on the reactors to seal them in tombs and ensure radiation does not leak out.With a deep bow and a grimace, Mr Tsunehisa Katsumata finally offered a humble apology for the failure to stop the leakage of radiation.His face pale as he spoke in Tokyo, Mr Katsumata said he felt particularly sorry for people who have had to flee from their homes or even refrain from stepping outside while they have been trying to cope with the impact of the March 11 earthquake and aftershocks.In admitting that four of the troubled reactors would have to be shut down for good, he left no doubt in the minds of observers that he knew the battle to keep their fuel rods cool could not be won.'I am very sorry for the trouble and anxiety caused by the radiation leaks,' said Mr Katsumata, speaking in public for the first time since problems at the plant surfaced in the days following the earthquake and tsunami.'We've not been able to cool the reactors but we are employing maximum efforts to stabilise them,' he said.Yesterday the levels of radiation in the ocean was measured at 3,355 times above the standard.Officials have attempted to downplay the dangers posed by the high presence of radioactive isotopes in the water, saying that the iodine-131 isotope loses half of its radiation every eight days.But amounts of the cesium-137 isotope - which has a 30-year 'half life' - have also soared to 527 times the normal level.Michael Friedlander, a U.S. based nuclear engineer, told CNN: 'That's the one I am worried about.'Plankton absorbs the cesium, the fish eat the plankton, the bigger fish eat smaller fish - so every step you go up the food chain, the concentration of cesium gets higher.'Fishing is not allowed with 12 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, but authorities still do not know where the radioactive water is coming from.But with four reactors now in line to be shut down and the stability of the two remaining reactors at the Fukushima plant in doubt, there are questions whether the blackouts will cease - the diminished power from Fukushima puts pressure on other electric companies operating nuclear plants around the country.The U.S. military has sent a marine unit specialising in nuclear emergency response to be on hand if needed, ABC News reported.Around 155 Marines from the Chemical Biological Incident Reponse Force (CBIRF) are scheduled to arrive in Japan tomorrow.The team, trained in personnel decontamination and radiation level monitoring, will provide decontamination from Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo.Japan will also be using U.S. robots to help identify radiation leaks.The robots, which feature miniature tank tracks, radiation sensors and a camera to view what is going on, will be sent from the U.S. Energy Department in Idaho.Hmmmm......Don't you love the way they follow the Chernobyl script?Read the full story here.

• Gates : Rag-tag rebels will not topple Gaddafi by military force, admits U.S. as dictator vows to stay in Libya 'until the end'.The United States today appeared to admit that the rag-tag Libyan army has little hope of toppling Colonel Gaddafi by force - as Defence Secretary Robert Gates predicted the dictator would be brought down by political and economic pressure. It came on another miserable day for anti-Gaddafi forces, as they again fled heavy shelling in their pick-up trucks and the dictator insisted he would stay in Libya 'until the end'. The latest fighting centred on Brega, a town important to Libya's oil industry on the coastal road that leads to Tripoli. It has gone back and forth between rebel and loyalist hands, and it was today a no man's land, with Gaddafi's forces at the western gate and rebels east of the city.Mr Gates was echoed by scores of Western officials including the Italian foreign minister who said the dictator would be undone by more defections after foreign minister Musa Kusa rather than 'acts of war'.The rebels came under heavy shelling by Gaddafi's forces today. Black smoke billowed in the air over Brega as mortars exploded.Rebels fired back from sand dunes, chanting 'Allahu akbar' with each rocket fired. Spotters with binoculars watched where they landed and ordered adjustments.'Gadhafi's forces advanced to about 18 miles east of Brega,' said rebel fighter Fathi Muktar, 41. Overnight, he said the rebels had temporarily pushed them back, but by morning they were at the gates of Brega. "There were loads of wounded at the front lines this morning,' he said of rebel casualties.Many people also have fled Ajdabiya, a rebel-held city about 50 miles to the east, for fear that government forces were on their way.The fighting has highlighted the rebels' weaknesses - some ran screaming to cars after being frightened by the outgoing fire from their own side.Their continued failure to make progress is despite the revelation that Barack Obama signed a secret order to give them covert assistance weeks ago. CIA teams have long been on the ground with rebel forces and helped rescue the weapons systems operator of a downed F15E-Strike Eagle earlier this month.The U.S. has not yet authorised the supply of weapons to the rebels - but has not ruled it out. Mr Gates told a Congress hearing today: 'Deposing the (Gaddafi) regime, as welcome as that eventuality would be, is not part of the military mission.' 'In my view, the removal of Colonel (Gaddafi) will likely be achieved over time through political and economic measures and by his own people.Hmmmm.....Another "Obamination" has been achieved.Read the full debacle story here.

• Pakistani hardline leader escapes blast, 12 killed.Peshawar: A suicide bomber struck a convoy carrying a prominent hardline Islamist leader in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing 12 people in what was the second attack that targeted the politician in as many days, police said.Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, told local TV after the attack in Charsadda town that he was unharmed but his vehicle was slightly damaged. The attack came a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up amid a crowd of Rehman's supporters minutes after he passed by in a vehicle.Rehman has been an outspoken supporter of the Afghan Taliban, but some militants in Pakistan have shown a willingness to target anyone connected to the U.S.-backed government. U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks last year also revealed that Rehman allegedly sought support from U.S. officials in Pakistan despite his fierce criticism of Washington in public.The 12 dead from Thursday's attack included at least three policemen, said Liaquat Ali Khan, police chief in Peshawar city. The blast also wounded at least 20 people. It was unclear if the bomber was on foot or on a motorcycle.Hmmmm.....Now who would do this?Read the full story here.

• Sen. Harry Reid Visits Las Vegas Jamia Masjid,praises Sharia lifestyle bashes Sen. King hearings.Senate majority leader Harry Reid visited the Jamia Masjid of Las Vegas on March 25 and sat through the Khutbah given by Dr. Aslam Abdullah on the subject of Sharia. He later spoke to the congregation and praised them for their peaceful persistence and commitment to human rights and justice.Hmmmm.........Sharia and Human rights????Read the full treason story here.

• HT:BigPeace.The Obama Doctrine: Only I Can Decide, Only If I Want To.The President spoke recently about the kinetic military action in Libya. He proceeded to use 3,300 words to give a speech that gave – at first glance – no understanding for the use of force. No regard for military might. No strategy for the pursuit of Freedom and Liberty.As I stated in a previous article, the President’s worldview is predicated on a multi-culturaist view point, and a desire for rapid government growth. Obama waited for the United Nations to act, and spoke with the Arab League, but not Congress. In Obama’s mind, the world must act, and the US can not be the leader. We don’t deserve to be the leader, and if we lead, we do more harm than good. Better that we just provide the majority of the intelligence, weaponry, manpower and money to make the project work, then give the credit to other nations.The President made much of handing over command and control to NATO. Yet, as former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton told PJTV in Iowa recently, giving control to NATO is like the US moving control from the right hand to the left hand. 25% of the NATO budget comes from the United States. Germany has already pulled out of the NATO mission, and Italy is not far behind. In the latest reporting, and undermining the statements of Obama, NATO is not in command. An announcement today states that the transition will take more time. President Obama went to great lengths to praise the swift NATO take over of operations.But in this speech – at second glance – the President came clean. The Obama Doctrine was not hidden; rather, it was laid bare, and made clear last night. Simply, the Obama Doctrine is – What I want, When I want, Where I want and How I want; No One Can Do It Better Than Me.To prove the Obama Doctrine, as believed by President Obama, I use the words from his speech. In regards to What I want, When I want, Where I want and How I want, the President stated clearly:There will be times, though, when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and values are. Sometimes, the course of history poses challenges that threaten our common humanity and common security – responding to natural disasters, for example; or preventing genocide and keeping the peace; ensuring regional security, and maintaining the flow of commerce….This is not a war doctrine, or a blueprint for the US to pattern action against. Interests and values are not set in stone with this President, as his own body of work would place his values and interests in sharp contrast with the vast majority of Americans. Obama’s interests and values include the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which is opposed by a majority of citizens. Obama’s interests and values include ceasing space exploration in NASA, but utilizing NASA to reach out to Muslim communities to make them feel good. Obama’s interests and values are predicated on the teachings of Saul Alinsky, Bill Ayres, Rev. Wright and the far left professors he – based on his own admission – sought out in college. The final proof of Obama's Doctrine (What I want, When I want, Where I want and How I want; No One Can Do It Better Than Me) comes from Obama's own text. Obama stated:

Born, as we are, out of a revolution by those who longed to be free, we welcome the fact that history is on the move in the Middle East and North Africa, and that young people are leading the way. Because wherever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States. Ultimately, it is that faith - those ideals - that are the true measure of American leadership.

I could not agree more with the above statement, and one might use this paragraph to show that my understanding of the Obama Doctrine is wrong - that Obama loves his country, loves freedom and is showing true leadership.However, it was a paragraph that should have been said over a year ago, in relationship to the attacks by Ahmendinejad on the Iranian people, when those who wanted the right to vote were being shot in the streets. Young people leading the way. People who longed to be free. People who looked to find a friend in the United States…and found nothing. The Obama Doctrine was in effect then as well. The deaths of innocent people, and the oppression of the people did not rise to the level of his interests, nor to the core of his values.You will only find a "friend," as Obama puts it, if HE should decide to grant you his friendship. Here's to hoping that those who yearn to be free catch Obama on a good day.Hmmmm.......Dictatorship or democracy?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheAmericanDream.A List Of 28 Things That Will Make You Think That There Is Something Seriously Wrong With This Country.What in the world is happening to America? Perhaps you have asked yourself that question from time to time. Today it seems like everything is falling apart. Our economy is crumbling, our politicians are incompetent, we have just gotten involved in another war, corruption is everywhere and the Americans people are so addicted to entertainment that hardly anything can wake them from their stupor. It is enough to make you think that there is just not much hope for America. But the truth is that we should never give up. It is when the times are darkest that the greatest heroes arise. We truly do live in challenging times, but that just means that there are great victories to be won and great stories to be written. There may be a whole lot of things that are very wrong with America right now, but that doesn't mean that the game is over quite yet.Unfortunately, right now most Americans are completely asleep. Just like during the declining years of the Roman Empire, most people that live in the U.S. are spoiled, decadent and completely addicted to entertainment.The following is how many Americans actually plan their weeks....

Monday: Watch Dancing With The Stars

Tuesday: Watch The Dancing With The Stars Results Show

Wednesday: Watch American Idol

Thursday: Watch The American Idol Results Show

At this point, most people in this country cannot even intelligently discuss the pressing issues of our day.In fact, 63 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 cannot find Iraq on a map and 90 percent of Americans in that same age group cannot find Afghanistan on a map.We've got a lot of work to do.America is in sorry shape and it desperately needs some heroes.The following is a list of 28 things that will make you really think that there is something seriously wrong with this country.Hmmmm......."Only the educated are free" Epictetus.Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Surprise: Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri jailed on treason charges.You can't say he wasn't warned.Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri returned to Iran in July 2010 after defecting to the United States. In January, I reported that he had been tortured. Now comes word that he has been imprisoned and charged with treason and could face the death penalty. Shahram Amiri, who returned to Iran in July after apparently defecting to the US, is under investigation for divulging secrets about Iran's clandestine uranium-enrichment program, The Times has learnt.Sources inside Iran have confirmed Mr Amiri's arrest. If convicted of treason, he will almost certainly be executed.Hmmmm.........Why did they dump him?Read the full story here.

• Dandy-in-Chief Won’t Throw First Pitch on Opening Day.Stephen Strasburg isn’t the only pitcher who will be missing from the mound when the Washington Nationals host the Atlanta Braves this afternoon to open the 2011 Major League Baseball season. President Barack Obama won’t be on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch either.Like Strasburg, the 22-year-old phenom who underwent Tommy John surgery in September to repair ligament damage in his right elbow, Obama may be letting his wounds heal. The president got a PR pummeling earlier this month for taking time away from world affairs to appear on ESPN to reveal his March Madness basketball picks.Or perhaps the president is still sensitive after the national chortling he set off when he appeared in his high-waisted “dad jeans” at an earlier All-Star Game — although he seemed to make up for that fashion flub at last year’s home opener when he sported khaki trousers, a red Nats jacket and a Chicago White Sox cap as he launched a high toss in the direction of Ryan Zimmerman.Another possibility is that Obama’s absence could be calculated to avoid a possible boo beatdown from fans unhappy with . . . well, pick your gripe. It wouldn’t be the first time a baseball crowd heckled a president: As the Great Depression and Prohibition dragged on in the early ‘30s, Herbert Hoover was verbally roughed up at a World Series game in Philadelphia by a crowd that chanted “We want beer!”Whatever the reason for Obama’s absence, he is departing from a largely unbroken, century-old tradition that began with William Howard Taft on opening day 1910 when the hometown Senators took on the Philadelphia Athletics. (The Senators won, 3-0, as Walter Johnson fired a one-hitter.) For you trivia fans, the first president to take the show on the road was Richard Nixon, who launched the 1973 season from Anaheim Stadium, home of the California Angels. (They won, too, 3-2.)This isn’t Obama’s first whiff. He skipped out on the 2009 opener as well, sending Joe Biden to Baltimore in his place. In characteristic fashion, Biden trotted to and from the mound like a JV player getting his big break.In Obama’s (and Biden’s) place this year, the Nationals will have five flag officers — one from each branch of the U.S. military — throw the ceremonial first pitches. It’s safe to say no one will boo them.Hmmmm....Perhaps he has other commitments that day like for example a photoshoot for "Inspire' the Al-Qaida magazine?Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.Hezbollah Snakeoil: Will the Obama Administration Buy It?The US ambassador to the UN and the commander of NATO can fight over “flickers” of al Qaeda and Hezbollah among the Libyan rebels, but it’s clearly indisputable that enemy Hezbollah leader Nasrallah (along with al Qaeda’s Abu Yahya al-Libi and MB’s Qaradawi as noted here) is firmly in their camp. Which means “our” camp. This is clear from an hour-plus address the Iranian puppet and terror-master gave earlier this month in Beirut.But there’s more to it than that.

I listened to about 20 minutes. After Nasrallah insists neither al Qaeda nor Iran (hah) nor, for that matter, the United States, have had anything to do with unrest in the Middle East, I heard his chilling iteration of the “R2P” driver I’ve been working through and writing about lately: Israel as the Umma’s pricetag to “reconsider the US stance.” (Nasrallah’s phrase.) What’s chilling is that this combination devil’s-fool’s bargain is one our Intelligentsia (many with big jobs in the Obama administration) seem all too eager to make, despite its immorality, strategic senselessness and sheer ignorance — as though feeding the jihad beast will make it anything but more rapacious.Like a snakeoil salesman at the fair, Nasrallah makes his pitch: No amount of US solicitude for the human rights of Muslims will be regarded as genuine until the United States abandons our best ally Israel. Does he have any takers? I can just hear Samantha Power presenting this “opposition” argument out of “humanitarian” concern at the next National Security Council meeting.Nasrallah, meanwhile, remains quite suspicious of the Great Satan. These suspicions about American intentions are rooted in his naive notion that the United States under the Obama administration is pursuing, or even concerned with “American” interests. Hmmmmm.........A scorpion trying to charme a serpent?read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.WTF?Salafi Jihadist Clerics Disagree on Issue of NATO Forces in Libya.On March 28, 2011, the Salafi-jidahist website Al-Tawhid published two conflicting fatwas in response to a question about whether it is permissible to obtain aid from NATO forces to oust the regime of Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi in Libya. Two senior jurisprudents, Sheikh Abu Muslim Al-Jazairi and Sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti, both members of the website's Shari'a Council, agree that Muslims are forbidden from forming alliances with infidels. However, while Al-Jazairi considers the ban to be absolute and unbending, Al-Shinqiti believes that in cases of extreme necessity – such as the "imminent destruction" the Libyan people are facing at the hands of the Al-Qadhafi regime – it is permissible to obtain help even from an enemy and to return to fighting this enemy once the danger has passed.Hmmmmm.....That makes all clear now,thank you Barack HUSSEIN Obama!Read the full story here.

• Good News: Libyan Rebel Fighters Number Less Than 1,000.During “In the Arena,” Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer for The New Yorker reporting from Benghazi, Libya, tells Eliot Spitzer that the number of opposition fighters on the front lines are fewer than anyone would think and that they are poorly armed and badly trained. Anderson says, “Effective number of fighting men, well under 1,000. Actual soldiers, who are now in the fight, possibly in the very low hundreds on the opposition side.”Hmmmm....Not including the CIA men?Population Libya 6,5 Million.Read the full story here.

• IMF Boss May Challenge Sarkozy for French Presidency.The so-called "phantom candidate" stands in the kitchen of his American home in Washington, DC, gently placing a slab of Chateaubriand on the stove, which has been converted to a grill.White-haired, bronzed and bull-necked, Dominique Strauss-Kahn chose prime time on a Sunday evening to tell the French people how much he missed them. He said he was keeping a close eye on developments back home.Then, while the camera panned between the sizzling meat and Strauss-Kahn's striking features, with his wife preparing a salad in the background, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally addressed the issue on everyone's minds. Regrettably, he said, he already had a "mandate." Everything else was secondary. He flashed an enigmatic smile.Strauss-Kahn is set to continue in Washington as head of the IMF until 2012. In this role, he earns €30,000 net a month, meets nearly all the world's leaders in person and flies around the globe about ten times a year (according to his assistants). Whenever IMF staffers play soccer against the World Bank, they wear T-shirts bearing the inscription "Yes, we Kahn." And Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most powerful men.Hmmmmm.....New world order anyone?Read the full story here.

• Wisconsin Union Goes After Right-to-Workers: “It is unfortunate that you have chosen ‘not’ to support public workers rights in Wisconsin”.Members of Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24, have begun circulating letters to businesses in southeast Wisconsin, asking them to support workers’ rights by putting up a sign in their windows.If businesses fail to comply, the letter says, “Failure to do so will leave us no choice but (to) do a public boycott of your business. And sorry, neutral means ‘no’ to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members.”Jim Parrett, a field representative of Council 24 for Southeast Wisconsin, confirmed the contents of the letter, which carries his signature. But he added that the union was also circulating letters to businesses thanking them for supporting workers’ rights.Parrett said that since the letters were sent out, he has received threatening phone calls as well as calls from people supporting the state workers.“I’ve gotten a lot of threatening phone calls,” Parrett said.Parrett said a number of WSEU locals in his region represent more than 1,300 union workers who have a combined yearly income of more than $56 million.“The recent actions taken on the governor’s budget repair bill have taken more from workers than dollars. It took away our right to bargain things such as: sick leave and how it is used, vacation and how it is used, overtime and how it is ‘fairly’ distributed. Our grievance procedure has been virtually destroyed. These are things that make life working in a 24/7 facility tolerable,” Parrett wrote in the letter.Parrett adds in the letter: “State employees fully expect to take some lumps financially in these tough economic times, we have offered and we will. But don’t take away rights to what has kept workplace peace for half a century and has worked well.”Terri Gray, executive director of the Union Grove Chamber of Commerce, said she had received many calls from member businesses about the union-led effort. She said most of the calls came from businessmen and women who preferred to remain neutral in the dispute between Gov. Scott Walker and organized labor.“They don’t want to pick a side,” she said. “I told them, ‘I believe you can choose to not choose.’”Gray said the campaign appeared to have started a day or two ago. She said she didn’t know whether the sign campaign was having an impact.Asked Wednesday about the boycott effort, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said “that any nonviolent tactic used to get attention to the steamroller tactics it seems to me are reasonable. I encourage people to remain nonviolent and disciplined in their protests.”Asked if he supported boycott efforts in Wisconsin, Jackson did not directly endorse them.He said: The best way to resolve conflict is when everybody is at the table and they can negotiate through some rational institutional process.”Hmmmm......Welcome to Nazi Germany 1939 workers unions?Read the full story here.

• This regime doesn't care what Congress thinks.President Barack Obama’s foreign policy “A” team — led by Cabinet secretaries Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates — failed to quiet criticism of U.S. military action in Libya Wednesday during a pair of classified briefings on Capitol Hill.More than anything, the meetings served to underscore how little influence Congress has in shaping the war.Lawmakers said they weren’t told much by Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen or Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that they couldn’t read in the newspaper or see on television.They said one dynamic was very clear: The administration doesn’t much care what Congress thinks about the actions it’s taken so far.Challenged on whether Obama overstepped his constitutional authority in attacking Libya without congressional approval, Clinton told lawmakers that White House lawyers were OK with it and that Obama has no plans to seek an endorsement from Congress, attendees told POLITICO.And, as if to add insult to injury, news broke during the House briefing that Obama had already signed an order authorizing covert action in support of the rebels. When asked about it after the first briefing, House members were unaware the president had taken that action.Hmmm......Welcome to 1939 Nazi Germany?Read the full story here.

• Canada : Immigrant youths lured by gangs, study shows.Refugees may see criminal life as chance to 'fit in'.After witnessing the execution of most of his fellow villagers, an eightyear-old boy from the civil warplagued country of Burundi, in eastern Africa, ran for his life with his family. Beside him was another family also dodging bullets, but they weren't so lucky. A woman and the child she held in her arms were both shot and killed -an image that still haunts the boy today.That boy is now a 14-year-old refugee living in Canada, who was never provided with any support to deal with the trauma he experienced in his homeland. He is now a member of a gang and was interviewed at a juvenile youth detention centre by Hieu Van Ngo, a PhD candidate with the University of Calgary's Faculty of Social Work, who wrote his thesis on why youths join gangs and the preventive supports necessary to support at-risk and ganginvolved youths.Ngo spoke at the 2011 National Metropolis Conference on Immigration, which was held last week at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver."That young person came here with lots of baggage and he acted out. His parents didn't know how to support him. They had to struggle to make a living so weren't at home a lot. They live in poverty in public housing, where youths are exposed to violence and drug dealing in that community," said Ngo.He said the numbers of refugee or immigrant youths who get involved in gangs isn't known because Canada does not keep race-related crime statistics. And while Ngo said he suspects the majority of refugees don't get into gangs, "We can't be complacent by bringing refugees in and leaving them to struggle without supports.Ngo said youths born in Canada also can experience a loss of their sense of Canadian identity, especially if they are from a visible minority background."They may have experienced discrimination and never felt accepted," he said. Ngo said another factor that makes them vulnerable to gangs is if they have an unravelling of their ethnic identity."This causes a social void and makes them vulnerable to connect with other young people who also don't feel connected. They form social cliques and commit delinquent activities and become progressively connected to established gangs or create their own."He said this doesn't happen overnight and is a process that begins with very young teenagers. He noted the youths in his study ranged from 12 to 18 years of age.Hmmmm.....Welcome to the Jihad incubators.Read the full story here.

• Israeli traveler humiliated in Germany, Canada.German, Canadian authorities falsely arrest, humiliate Israeli traveler, accusing him of being terrorist, carrying fake passport. 'They didn't want to let me into Canada because I'm black,' he says.Ever since he was a little boy growing up in Ethiopia, Yohannes Damka dreamt of traveling the world. He never thought that the dream would soon turn into a humiliating nightmare."My biggest wish was to see the Niagara Falls, and travel around Canada," he told Ynet. "Not every immigrant from Ethiopia can afford to travel to faraway places, but I set a goal for myself and decided that it's a dream that I have to make come true."

Damka made aliyah in 2000. He worked at a restaurant in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion and saved for the coveted trip. A few weeks ago he was finally able to buy a $1,500 ticket for a Lufthansa flight to Vancouver, with a layover in Frankfurt, Germany.

Excited and full of expectations, he left for Canada on march 21. When he reached Frankfurt, however, things started to go wrong. Before he could board his connecting flight, he was picked up by the German border police on suspicion that he was carrying a fake passport, and was not, in fact, an Israeli citizen.Damka thought that the abusive experience was behind him, and that his passport will be returned to him once they land. But the trouble was not over yet. Upon arriving in Vancouver, he was greeted by four security guards who cuffed his hands and feet and took him in for questioning. "They caught me like a common criminal and cuffed me in front of everyone," he said. "They lead me to a tiny, empty room, and did a full-body strip search. After that, they questioned me for eight hours." Damka noted that he demanded to speak with the Israeli consulate, but his pleas went unanswered. "No matter what I said, nothing helped," he said. He did not reach Niagara Falls; on the next day, he was put on a plane back to Frankfurt. The Canadian authorities confiscated his passport and all other identification.When he returned to Germany, he was cuffed once again, and escorted into a questioning room - this time on suspicion that he was a member of a terrorist organization."They strip-searched me again," Damka recounted the horror. "The whole time they told me that I better tell them what terrorist organization I belong to, otherwise it will get worse." At one point, one of the investigators called out "Juden, Juden" and then made a noise of disgust. "I was furious," Damka said. "Four cops had to hold me back from hurting her." Once again, he demanded the investigators to get in touch with the Israeli consulate, but no avail. After five hours, they brought in a translator, who decided to call Damka's boss, retrieving the phone number from the cell phone that the cops confiscated earlier. It appeared that the conversation helped, because the investigators toned down their behavior. Eight hours later, he was allowed to board a plane back to Israel. "I arrived without any documents, but the Interior Ministry officials told me that there must have been a mistake, and that once my passport arrives back from Canada, it will be sent back to me," Damka said. "I have yet to receive it."Now that he is back, humiliated and disappointed, Damka is suing the Canadian and German authorities for damages."They treated me in a very humiliating way," he added. "Even if my identification card was fake, and I wasn't Israeli, they cannot treat a human being like that. I will prove that they were wrong."Responding to the accusations, the Canadian Embassy said that Damka's account did not match the information put forth by the Canadian Border Service Agency. It was also noted that anyone who wishes to enter Canada must fit a certain criteria.Hmmmm..........Read the full story here.