MFS - The Other News

                       Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 16. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Live Blog: Middle East protests April 15 Here. (Al-Jazeera)

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.7 and 4.9! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 87.On 15.04.2011 at 16:57 GMT+2
  
  Japan widened its evacuation zone surrounding the quake-hit nuclear power plant due to increased levels of radiation, which have had accumulated, as a strong aftershock hit the area on Monday, a month after the devastating incident occurred. Tokyo and eastern part of Japan was shook with a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Monday evening, which then triggered a small tsunami alert. State television said the aftershock caused an off-site power supply for the damaged reactors to shut down. Geological survey conducted by the United States said that the aftershock hit 38 kilometers (24 miles) west of the Iwaki city at a depth of 14 kilometers (8 miles). Workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co had ceased pouring cooling waters on reactors no. 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima power plant. Families living in towns and villages outside the 20 kilometer evacuation zone, where more radiation have had accumulated, would be evacuated, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. He said hospitalized patients, children and pregnant women should avoid the area within 20-30 kilometers from the Fukushima complex. Also, Edano said that the decision to expand the evacuation area was based on the data analyzed from the accumulated radiation exposure information. He said the evacuation precautions are meant to secure the safety of the people who might live in the area for 6 months to one year. However, it is not necessary to evacuate immediately, he added. Previously, Japan did not agree to the proposed plans to extend the evacuation zone despite concerns from neighboring countries regarding the radiation that might spread from the damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima.Source : Here .

• Japan  : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog

• Syria to lift emergency law. President Assad expects legislation to be enacted "by next week" and pledges further reforms.Syria's president has said he expects his government to lift the decades-old emergency law next week.Bashar al-Assad also pledged further reforms in a televised speech to his new cabinet after it was sworn in on Saturday."The juridical commission on the emergency law has prepared a series of proposals for new legislation, and these proposals will be submitted to the government, which will issue a new law within a week at the most," he said."When the lifting of the emergency law package is issued, it should be firmly enforced. The Syrian people are civilised. They love order and they do not accept chaos and mob rule ... We will not be lenient toward sabotage."Lifting the 48-year-old state of emergency has been a key demand during a wave of protests over the past month.The emergency law gives the regime a free hand to arrest people without charge and extends the state's authority into virtually every aspect of Syrians' lives.While pledging dialogue with unions and a number of reforms, he maintained that stability is his top priority."We do not want to be hasty. Any reforms have to be based on maintaining internal stability," he said.Assad said unemployment remains the biggest problems in the country and pledged that his new government will follow through on measures introduced by the former cabinet.He said he realises there is a gap between citizens and the state institutions and that the government has to "keep up with the aspirations of the people"."The world is rapidly changing around us and we have to keep up with developments," he said. "We have to focus on the demands and the aspirations of the people or there will be a sense of anger".Assad also said he was saddened by the loss of lives in the demonstrations and called thsoe killed 'martyrs'. "We pray for their souls, whether they're from the armed forces, the police or ordinary citizens. Investigations are continuing to find those responsible and hold them responsible."Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, described his speech as "much more conciliatory and realistic" than his speech on March 30 in which he blamed foreign conspirators for the unrest."He used key words that the protesters use. For example he spoke about people's need for dignity, for more freedom, for justice. This will strike a cord with some of those who have been protesting on the streets, but not with all," she said."He acknowledged the new reality, how the police and the security forces here are not trained for this kind of situations and that they should be retrained and need new equipments. He's saying peaceful protests are now parts of people's lives and will be tolerated."Rights groups say at least 200 people have been killed in a brutal crackdown since protests began.Scores of people have been arrested, and US-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday that many of those released said they had been tortured while in detention. Adel Safar, the prime minister, unveiled the new cabinet on Thursday, and it is expected to carry out broad changes. But the government has little power in the one-party state dominated by Assad, his family and the security apparatus.Protests against Assad's rule have intensified despite the use of force and mass arrests mixed with promises of reform and concessions to minority groups and conservative Muslims.Read the full story here.

• Druze in Golan rally against Assad.For first time, Druze living in Golan Heights join protests against Syrian government.For weeks, Druze residents in both Syria and the Golan Heights have voiced their support for Syrian President Bashar Assad – but things started to change Saturday.Following a rare anti-Assad protest by Druze in Syria, some 200 Druze residents of Golan Heights villages demonstrated against the Syrian ruler. The protestors held up Syrian flags and signs supporting anti-Assad protestors across the border."A government change is unavoidable," said Ahmad, who resides in Majdel Shams. "It's true that Assad spoke about change, but that came after a massacre against our people. It's true that not too many people arrived at the protest, but some stayed home yet still support us."Some protestors lit candles in honor of those killed in Syrian riots and called for an end to the bloodshed. "We in the Golan are united around the fact that we are an inseparable part of Syria, yet the disagreement has to do with the regime that will lead the state," said another protestor, Yusef. "There is no doubt that change must come, and we saw it in Tunisia, in Egypt, and in Libya too recently." The rally ended after about an hour and a half with no incident.Read the full story here.

• $105.5 Billion in Automatic Obamacare Spending: Half Billion to Community Organizations to Police ObamaCare in Their Areas.Thanks to the irrepressible Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who is emerging as the most energetic and principled conservative leader of the 112th Congress, the Congressional Research Service published a report on Feb. 10 detailing how the Obama administration is planning to spend $105.5 billion that was put on an appropriations autopilot in the health care legislation the Democrat-majority Congress enacted last year.Unless the Republican-controlled House in this Congress can force President Obama to sign new legislation forbidding disbursal of this $105.5 billion, the administration will spend it to lay the basic foundations for a socialistic health care system in the United States.The CRS report includes a 12-page table itemizing a broad array of intrusions into the prerogatives of states and individuals authorized by provisions in the Obamacare law and funded for this and future years without the need of Congress passing the customary annual appropriations laws to underwrite them.Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., joined with Steve King in sending a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., asking them to include language in any new continuing resolution prohibiting the administration from spending any of the $105.5 billion in automatic funding built into the Obamacare law."If we do not stand our ground on the CR, leverage it as the 'must pass bill' that it is, and use it to stop the $105.5 billion in automatically appropriated funds, Obamacare will be implemented on our watch," King and Bachmann wrote the Republican leaders.Boehner and Cantor did not heed King and Bachmann. They pushed a CR that did not stop the $105.5 billion in automatic spending.Now every American who opposes a government takeover of our health care system should ask Boehner and Cantor: How exactly are you going to stop this $105.5 billion?Or are you going to let Obama spend it?Hmmmm......Dictatorship or Democracy?Read the full story here.

• Democrats' Disgust With Obama.Via.Yahoo.NEW YORK – The budget deal, angrily rejected by Nancy Pelosi as it passed Thursday, was the last straw. Patricia Murphy on why some liberals are now pushing for a primary challenge to the president.As President Obama headed to Chicago Thursday afternoon to kick off the first official fundraiser of his re-election campaign, he left behind a sizable collection of dispirited Democrats.They were not relishing the chance to vote on a budget-cutting bill that had been forged without their input and that most found repugnant.The compromise that Obama struck last week with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to keep the federal government running contained steep cuts to some of the party’s most cherished programs—nutrition for poor women and children, long-stalled transportation projects, funding for community health centers—as well as language barring the District of Columbia from using its own tax dollars to finance abortions.Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, warned that the $38 billion in promised cutbacks would hurt the most vulnerable Americans. “We don’t have enough time to talk about the ways it violates our values,” he told The Daily Beast.There is no more visible symbol of Democratic disgruntlement than the woman who was perhaps the president’s closest ally when she wielded the speaker’s gavel. When Nancy Pelosi voted against the budget measure Thursday, she did little to hide her anger with the White House over the fact that Obama, for the first time, had left her out of the negotiations on a major deal. Instead, he chose to work directly with Boehner and Reid to hammer out the compromise that each could take back to their caucuses for approval.“I have been very disappointed in the administration to the point where I’m embarrassed that I endorsed him,” one senior Democratic lawmaker said. “It’s so bad that some of us are thinking, is there some way we can replace him? How do you get rid of this guy?” “I feel no ownership of that or responsibility to it, except to say we don’t want to shut down the government,” the minority leader said. “As was pretty evident, House Democrats were not a part of that agreement.”Hmmm....You created the 'dictator' now you're afraid?Read the full story here.

• "Who needs a Constitution"?Gov't asks high court to take GPS tracking case.Via .MyWay.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to take up an important privacy case for the digital age, whether the police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements.The administration is appealing a lower court ruling that reversed a criminal conviction because the police did not obtain a warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car.The federal appeals court in Washington said that officers violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches. Other appeals courts have ruled that search warrants aren't necessary for GPS tracking.The Justice Department says prompt resolution of the divergent opinions is critically important to law enforcement.A three-judge panel of Democratic and Republican appointees unanimously threw out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones of Washington, D.C., a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring.Police put the GPS device on Jones' Jeep and tracked his movements for a month. The judges said the prolonged surveillance was a factor in their decision.The government has argued that using a GPS device is no different from a beeper authorities used, with the high court's blessing in 1983, to help track a suspect to his drug lab. The court said then that people on public roads have no reasonable expectation of privacy.The Justice Department said GPS devices are especially useful in early stages of an investigation, when they can eliminate the use of time-consuming stakeouts as officers seek to gather evidence.Four other appellate judges in Washington said the entire appeals court should have heard the case, faulting their colleagues for the ruling in favor of Jones.In another case, from California, a three-judge panel in San Francisco upheld the use of a GPS device without a warrant, saying it was no different from having officers tail a suspect.That decision provoked a blistering dissent from Judge Alex Kozinski, who said the court handed "the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives."Hmmm.......Democracy or Dictatorship welcome to the "Age Of Obama"?Read the full story here. 

• FBI investigates suspicious Jihadi like photos at Rock Hill shop.Via .Heraldonline.ROCK HILL -- The FBI was called to investigate suspicious activity after photographs were developed at a Rock Hill Walgreens of someone holding an AK47 and the Koran.Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, an employee called Rock Hill Police to alert authorities about pictures that a 36-year-old St. Louis man was having developed at the Celanese Road store. The pictures showed the man with the assault weapon and Koran in front of buildings in a couple of different major cities within the United States, according to a Rock Hill police report.There also were photos of Muslim foreign lands.Police asked the man to look at the photos, and he agreed. He told officers the pictures from foreign lands were from a book, although he didn't know the book's name, the report states.The photos of himself and the Koran were at a friend's house in the "country somewhere." He told police he was in Rock Hill visiting friends for a few days.An FBI agent responded to the scene to conduct his own investigation.Walgreens provided CD copies of the photos and surveillance video from the store.An arrest was not made.Hmmmm......Let me guess some Leprechauns and Djinns in disguise rehearsing a Jihad play? Read the full story here.

• Ankara appeals to French leaders against ‘genocide’ bill.Via .TodaysZaman.Turkey has intensified efforts to block the adoption of a bill pending in the French Senate which proposes that anyone who denies claims that Armenians were subject to genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire will be punished. Accordingly, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and head of the parliamentary Turkish-French Parliamentary Friendship Group and former foreign minister Yaşar Yakış, of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), will send letters to their counterparts in Paris, diplomatic sources told Today’s Zaman on Friday. The letters in process of being drafted will be sent to Paris shortly, sources said.Meanwhile, ruling Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will also send a letter to the leader of the Socialist Party of France, which has recently decided officially to use his parliamentary rostrum on May 4 -- the day on which members of parliament can submit bills -- to submit the issue of ratification of the law, Today’s Zaman has learned.In the letters, Turkish leaders will warn their counterparts that “adoption of the bill will lead to permanent damage to Turkish-French relations.” The letters will also highlight the inappropriateness of politicians’ making decision on assessments of historical matters, while stating that “the bill is also against freedom of expression.”The bill, the cause of unease in Ankara, returned to the agenda again last month in the run up to the upcoming anniversary of the deaths of Anatolian Armenians during World War I, which is marked on April 24 as “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.”The French Parliament recognized the so-called Armenian genocide in 2001, which resulted in short-lived tension between France and Turkey. In 2006 the French National Assembly adopted a bill proposing a punishment for anyone who denies the Armenian genocide. However, it must be passed by the Senate in order to be enforced. As a result of efforts by a group of Socialists, the bill will be debated at the Senate’s plenary session on May 4.Earlier this week, in remarks that sound surprisingly close to Turkey’s position, the French Foreign Ministry announced that the French government and President Nicolas Sarkozy are against the Senate taking up the bill. Responding to a formal question from a ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party deputy, the Foreign Ministry said a new legal measure was unnecessary given that France already recognized the “Armenian genocide” in 2001 and that French laws already ban action that stir ethnic violence, ethnic hatred and discrimination, private TV station NTV reported on Wednesday. The UMP deputy was inquiring as to why the bill still has not been taken up by the Senate, although it was passed by the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, years ago.Hmmmm.....Erdogan "Muslims don't commit Genocide"Read the full story here.

• President Obama Issues “Signing Statement” Indicating He Won’t Abide by Provision in Budget Bill.In a statement issued Friday night, President Obama took issue with some provisions in the budget bill – and in one case simply says he will not abide by it.Last week the White House and congressional Democrats and Republicans were involved in intense negotiations over not only the size of the budget for the remainder of the FY2011 budget, and spending cuts within that budget, but also several GOP “riders,” or policy provisions attached to the bill.One rider – Section 2262 -- de-funds certain White House adviser positions – or “czars.” The president in his signing statement declares that he will not abide by it.Hmmmm......A shadow government not controlled by the Congres a new tyrant is leading America.The Congress is the only body which may appropriate funds and if they say there are no funds for czars then there are no funds for czars. If Obama does not abide by this then we have a Constitutional crisis and he has committed an impeachable offense."Read the full story here.

• HT:GatewayPundit.Breaking: Senator Grassley Has Damning Documents on Obama’s Stimulus-Funded Gunrunner Project.Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has damning evidence that US ATF officials sanctioned or allowed the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers. The agency was doing this on purpose. The government encouraged this. Two of the weapons ended up at the murder scene of a US border patrol agent in Arizona, Brian Terry. Obama says he and Holder knew nothing about Operation Gunrunner.Senator Grassley spoke out on his investigation yesterday on the floor of the senate.Between 13 and 1,700 guns got away and that’s just what has turned up so far. Several of the guns have been connected to criminal acts. Obama’s failed stimulus plan helped fund the program.This is an amazing video.Hmmm.....Can we start impeachment now?Read the full story here.

• HT:DailyMail.Kim Kardashian's anger as Turkish Cosmo puts her on the cover as Armenia marks Genocide Remembrance Day.Kim Kardashian has always been vocal about how proud she is of her Armenian heritage. Now the 30-year-old socialite has expressed her anger after her image appeared on the front cover of Turkish Cosmopolitan in time for her homeland's annual Genocide Remembrance Day.The day marks the systematic extermination of the Armenian population by Turkey during and following World War I, and Kim has spoken out about the horror in the past.The photograph appeared on the cover after Kim took part in an international photo shoot that went to various magazines published by Cosmopolitan.She wears a burgundy strapless mini-dress and smiles as she poses for the camera.Today Kim took to her blog to comment about the cover.She said she had no idea that the image would be used as the cover shot.'I just found out today that I am on the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine in Turkey this month,' she wrote. 'Cosmopolitan Magazine has a number of international editions all around the world that run in various territories, and when I did this shoot for the international covers I had no idea that Turkey was planning to run my story on their cover THIS month, considering Genocide Remembrance Day is this month.'My Armenian heritage means a lot to me and I’ve been brought up to be incredibly proud of my family’s background and culture so as an Armenian-American woman it is a huge honour for me to be on the first ever Armenian Cosmopolitan cover.'The same image was used for the cover of the very first Armenian edition of Cosmopolitan back in March.Sources told website TMZ that Cosmopolitan neglected to tell Kim's representation that the Turkish publication would be using the picture, and that there was no way Kim would have ever allowed it. To make matters worse, the edition coincides with April 24, the date in which Armenians commemorate the genocide.A source told E! News that Kim is upset but realises that it was just a slip up.Although only half-Armenian, Kim has said in the past that she was raised with a huge Armenian influence, 'always hearing Armenian stories, eating Armenian food and celebrating Armenian holidays.The Armenian Genocide is also known as the Armenian Holocaust, and by Armenians, as the Great Crime.It refers to the obliteration of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I.Hmmmm......Erdogan "Muslims don't commit genocide".Read the full story here.

• 'I didn't know what they were doing to me': Boy, 8, on trip to Disneyland given full body search by TSA agents.Via .Dailymail.Pictures have emerged of an 8-year-old boy on a family trip to Disneyland being full body searched by TSA agents at airport security.Spencer Sheahan was pulled aside and searched by a burly TSA agent at Portland International airport as the family made their way to Disneyland last week.Appalled at the treatment, Heather took out her camera and photographed the invasive search of her little boy.Speaking to NWCN News, Heather Sheahan said her family were moving through airport security when her son set off an unusual sounding alarm.She said: 'It didn't buzz like a normal buzz. It beeped like a beep you normally don't hear.'They went up his leg, into that area, down the next leg, up here (chest), felt all over.'I'm all for any adult doing it. But for a child ... I don't think it's right.'Spencer added: 'I was confused. I did not know what they were going to do to me.'The incident comes just days after a video showing a 6-year-old girl being searched in New Orleans airport caused outrage after it was posted on-line.

Selena and Todd Drexel, from Kentucky, said they want the TSA to change how it screens children after their daughter Anna was subject to an invasive body search.The disturbing footage shot by the Drexel family showed little Anna being called forward for a full pat down and finger search by a burly TSA security agent.Just before the search begins Mrs Drexel asks 'can't you just re-scan her', before being told 'no' by the TSA guard as the small child is called forward for the search.The gloved guard feels the child all over, poking her fingers down the child's trousers before running her hands around the waist band.As the female guard touches the child's bottom she says: ' I am touching your sensitive area with the back of my hand.She also runs her hands over the child's legs, arms, chest and groin areas.The couple, who also have a nine-year-old daughter, Grace and a two-year-old daughter Caroline, said everyone bar Caroline had to go through the airport scanner, but it was little Anna who was selected for a pat down.The search is just one of several invasive incidents that have enraged air travellers in recent years.Last year it emerged the TSA were being sued for an incident at the Corpus Christi airport when a woman's breasts were exposed.An unnamed 23-year-old college student was allegedly singled out for 'extended search procedures' before flying in 2008.'As the TSA agent was frisking plaintiff, the agent pulled the plaintiff's blouse completely down, exposing plaintiffs' breasts to everyone in the area,' the Amarillo Globe-News quotes the lawsuit as saying.Last November the video of a 3-year-old girl being frisked at a Tennessee airport caused national outrage.Hmmmmm.........Don't you love "Obama land"previously known as the 'Land of the free'?Read the full story here.Read the full story here.

• Justice Served in an American-Islamic Honor Killing.Via:Aina.Arizona Judge Roland Steinle has just sentenced Faleh Almaleki to 34½ years in prison. According to live reporting from the courtroom, the judge noted that Almaleki showed no remorse after the murder, that he did not forgive his daughter, that he did what suited his own purpose. The judge also said this was the hardest case he had to face in his six years on the bench. He found no mitigating factors and sentenced Almaleki to 34 and 1/2 years: 15 years for the aggravated assault of Khalaf, 3 and 1/2 years for leaving the scene of an accident, and 16 years for the second-degree murder of his daughter. He was facing a maximum total of 46 years.Thus, today we have witnessed Iraqi-American Faleh Almaleki being sentenced in Phoenix, Arizona for having honor murdered his 20-year-old daughter Noor and for having attempted to murder Amal Khalaf, the woman who was trying to protect her. In October of 2009, he followed the daughter, whom he had tormented all her life, to a shopping mall, lurked outside, then boldly ran over her precious, lovely body with a two-ton Cherokee jeep. He also tried to run Amal Khalaf down and managed to injure her seriously. Then he fled. Faleh flew to England via Mexico, but was arrested at Heathrow Airport and sent back for trial.He made his escape with the help of his wife, Seham, Noor's mother, and his son, Ali. Seham made sure Faleh had his diabetes medicine with him; perhaps she packed a little bag for him too. Seham was no kinder to Noor than her father was. Seham cursed Noor on a regular basis and made life at home so impossible that Noor left. She moved in with the sympathetic Amal, whose son, Marwan, Noor may have begun to date. Seham soon cursed the woman who dared give Noor shelter.What exactly was Noor's crime? She had refused to remain in an arranged marriage in Iraq. She wanted to live in America, not Iraq. Noor also insisted on dressing like a modern, American girl--worse, she dared to choose her own boyfriend, another Iraqi-American. In her family's eyes, she was a "whore," a "disobedient" daughter who deserved to die. Their honor depended on her death.Faleh Almaleki was convicted of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of fleeing the scene of a serious-injury accident. He claimed that it was all "accidental," that he only meant to drive past his daughter and spit at her. He claimed that he lost control of the car.I cannot imagine what it might be like growing up in a family and in a culture where you know, in advance, that your own parents, brothers, sisters, first cousins, and uncles might be the ones who will one day kill you. I would think that "trust" and "intimacy" would be difficult and that paranoia, based on reality, would run rampant.I do not believe that most Americans understand how profoundly different a shame and honor culture is from our own. I do know that the media has consistently misled American readers about what an honor killing is and who commits most honor killings in America, Canada, and Europe. Based on my 2010 study, it is clear that 91% of all honor killings in the West are committed by Muslims. Yes, Hindus and Sikhs commit the rest, but otherwise, they confine their honor killings to India and do not export them to the West. It is not relevant whether Islam, Sharia law, pre-Islamic tribal customs, a misunderstanding of either tribal law or Islam are responsible for such murders. What is relevant is that leading Islamic religious and political figures have not abolished such crimes or excommunicated such murderers.In America, a murder is a murder and must be treated as such. There are no "cultural" justifications or multi-cultural justifications that belong in an American court of law.Immigration, cultural identity, and religious freedom are complex and emotionally charged issues. Immigrants need to bring something of "home" along with them; food, language, religious practices have, in the past, been assimilation-friendly. Many Muslim immigrants are sophisticated and Western-oriented; some are even staunchly secular and/or anti-Islamist. However, the kinds of Muslims (or Sikhs and Hindus) who commit honor murders on our soil are not. They are importing barbarism and criminal misogyny. The remedies will be costly and take a great deal of time and will include a combination of careful screening procedures, combined with citizenship, police, judicial, and social work education.I don't think this will solve the problem. I am not sure what will, other than closing our doors to Muslim immigration which is something that I cannot in good conscience recommend. Many Muslims and other immigrants from Third World countries are in flight from at-home tyranny; many Muslim girls and women are in flight from being honor murdered or genitally mutilated in their home countries. Do we really want to close our doors to them?Hmmmm......"In America, a murder is a murder and must be treated as such. There are no "cultural" justifications or multi-cultural justifications that belong in an American court of law."Amen.Read the full story here.

• Russian Muslim leader calls for crescent as part of national emblem.Via.RaiNovosti.Russia's Chief Mufti wants crescent as as part of nation emblem.A Muslim crescent should be part of Russia's national emblem along with Orthodox crosses, Chief Mufti of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin said on Friday in an interview with Moskovskiye Novosti daily.Tadzhuddin, the head of the Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate in the southwest Russian republic of Bashkiria and the Chief Mufti of Russia proposed adding the Muslim crescent above one of the crowns that decorate Russia's symbol, the double-headed eagle.In February, Tadzhuddin shared his idea with President Dmitry Medvedev. The president "listened attentively," the imam said.Since about 18% of Russia's population (20 million people) is Muslim, the national emblem should equally symbolize all the religious minorities living in the country, Tadzhuddin said."Our ancestry has lived here for ages. We have united into one state by Divine will. So our neighbor is like a brother," Moskovskiye Novosti quoted Tadzhuddin as saying.In February, Tadzhuddin suggested establishing a "spirituality tax" to raise money for the construction of new mosques and cathedrals. The tax was to be collected from all residents of Bashkiria, regardless of their faith.Hmmmm........Мне жаль, но я думаю, что это нu korдa бyдet.Read the full story here.

• Flotilla renames voyage in honor of slain activist.The next voyage to break the siege on Gaza will be named Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human in honor of slain Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni.Arrigoni’s body was found in a home northwest of Gaza City on Friday, hours after he was kidnapped by radical Islamists in the coastal enclave.Arrigoni was writing a book titled “Stay human.”The Freedom Flotilla steering committee condemned the killing, “a tragedy for his family, for those of us who knew him, and for the Palestinians who loved and admired him.”NOTE: Is it humane to try an break weapons blockade on a genocidal regime that has no humanitarian crisis, which discriminately shells Israeli civilian centers while using its own people as human shields? What a joke of a title.Hmmmm.....Another "Martir" for the masses,but why did they not kill one of their own?Hijacked for the greater good of the cause?What have Salafis to do with the Israeli blockade?Read the full story here.

• Britain to ban export to US of three drugs used to carry out lethal injections .Via TodaysZaman.Britain said on Friday it would ban the export to the United States of three drugs used to carry out lethal injections and called on other European Union countries to follow suit. The British government said it was putting additional export controls on the export of pancuronium bromide, potassium chloride and sodium pentobarbital. Last year, the London-based human rights group Reprieve sued the British government to stop it exporting another drug, sodium thiopental, a sedative legally required for US lethal injections, which was in short supply in the United States. That led to Britain, which opposes the death penalty, imposing an emergency export ban on the drug. “We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and are clear that British drugs should not be used to carry out lethal injections,” Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a statement. “That is why we introduced a control on sodium thiopental last year -- the first of its kind in the world. And it is also why we are now controlling the export of the other drugs used in lethal injections in the US.”Read the full story here.

• "What Shari’ah Law Actually Means"By .MuslimMediaNetwork.Last week in Tennessee, a Republican legislator introduced a bill that would make following Shari’ah — Islamic law — a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. How such a law would be enforced is not clear; furthermore, it’s probably unconstitutional.It is clear, though, that an anti-Shari’ah movement is growing in the United States. Last year Oklahoma voters approved a measure that bars courts from considering Shari’ah. Similar measures have now been introduced or passed in at least 13 other states. Indeed, anti-Muslim political operatives have been warning of “creeping Shari’ah” and “Islamist lawfare” for years, though the anti-Shari’ah efforts have gained new prominence in recent months.

But even basic facts about Shari’ah — what is it? how is it used in American courts? — are hard to come by. So I decided to talk to Abed Awad, a New Jersey-based attorney and an expert on Shari’ah who regularly handles cases that involve Islamic law. He is also a member of the adjunct faculties at Rutgers Law School and Pace Law School. He recently answered my questions via e-mail.

Can you define Shari’ah — is it a specific body of laws?A lot of critics of Shari’ah have cited a case in New Jersey in which a husband cited Shari’ah to argue that he did not rape his wife. What happened in that case?

The case is S.D. v. M.J.R. It’s not about Shari’ah as much as it is about a state court judge who failed to follow New Jersey law. In this case, the plaintiff-wife sought a restraining order against her husband, alleging that his nonconsensual action constituted physical abuse. She testified that her husband told her repeatedly that, according to his religion, she was obligated to submit to his sexual requests.

The trial judge refused to issue the restraining order, finding that the defendant was operating under a religious belief that he was entitled to have marital relations with his wife whenever he wanted. Thus, he did not form the criminal intent to commit domestic violence. But, of course, the appellate court reversed the trial court decision, holding that the defendant’s nonconsensual sexual intercourse with his wife was “unquestionably knowing, regardless of his view that his religion permitted him to act as he did.” The appellate ruling is consistent with Islamic law, which prohibits spousal abuse, including nonconsensual sexual relations. A minority of Muslims mistakenly believe that a husband can discipline his wife with physical force in the interest of saving the marriage and avoiding divorce.Hmmmmmm.........Hellooooooooo!A minority of Muslims mistakenly believe that a husband can discipline his wife with physical force in the interest of saving the marriage and avoiding divorce.

In response to a ruling by Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals that marital rape is not a crime, İsmet Berkan wrote in his column in Radikal that because of the ruling, if a woman "resists and is killed by her husband in the end, his penalty even could be reduced due to 'grievous provocation!' He continued, "Unfortunately, the court's decision has the effect of turning women into sex slaves in marriages... Forcing someone into sexual intercourse is called 'rape.' In Turkey, which is making efforts to end violence against women, the Court of Appeals decision must have been a really bad coincidence..."Source. "Allah's Apostle said, "If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning." -- Bukhari, 4.54.460.Read the full 'story' here.

• HT:JIDF.(VIDEO) Anti-Semitic abuse 'rife among football (soccer) fans' .Interesting and important initiative which we celebrate.Anti-Semitic abuse is rife among football fans and must be treated as seriously as other forms of racism, a group of top footballers and celebrities has warned. David Baddiel, the comedian, has launched a campaign to stamp out use of the word “yid” in football chants which mock Jewish and Tottenham supporters.High-profile backers have also condemned fans for hissing at Jewish spectators, to imitate the sound of gas chambers used in the Holocaust.But many Tottenham supporters have said they use the term "yid army" themselves as a "badge of honour" and are not offended by it.The words “yid” or “yiddo”, meaning Jew, have been used for decades to identify Tottenham supporters, because of the proportion of Jewish supporters at the club.The campaign, supported by England midfielder Frank Lampard and Tottenham defender Ledley King, warns that while racism has become unacceptable in the stands, anti-Semitism remains dangerously commonplace.Baddiel, whose Jewish mother was forced to flee Nazi Germany during the Second World War, has made a film exploring the problem, entitled The Y-Word, which he hopes will spark a shift in attitudes among fans.Baddiel, 46, a Chelsea supporter, said: “Anti-Semitism is the other racism in football, and, because it so lags behind in visibility to racial abuse of black players, it is hardly ever discussed."It's an important issue, not least because, in my experience, there are more Jewish fans at most grounds than black ones - it is virtually impossible to be Jewish and male and not interested in football - and I know that they all dread the starting up of these chants."He added: “The film is not intended to censor football fans. It's simply to raise awareness that the Y-word is, and has been for many, many years, a race hate word.UEFA sent a high-ranking official to monitor Tottenham fans during Wednesday night’s clash with Real Madrid at White Hart Lane, following the Adebayor’s complaint.The campaign, organised through the anti-racism group Kick It Out, has also won the backing of the Football Association and numerous premier league clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea.Read the full story here.

• Pakistan switches on to Islamic radicalism peddled by TV stars.Via :AhmadiyyaTimesWearing shoes with green soles can make you lose a cricket match. So goes the logic of a prominent Pakistani religious scholar, Aamir Liaquat, in comments he made on a leading private TV channel.He was analysing the reasons behind the defeats suffered by Pakistan's cricket team. Apparently this is because green is the colour of Islam - and also the colour of the national flag."These are matters of belief," explained Mr Liaquat. "Those who worship at the altar of reason will never understand them."Over the past few years Pakistan has undergone a media revolution. A decade or so ago there was just one major TV channel, the state run Pakistan Television. It was a mouthpiece for whichever government - civilian or military - was in power. Today the picture has dramatically changed with dozens of private news channels, enjoying more broadcasting freedom than counterparts in the Middle East (or even the West.But while free media has largely been a positive for Pakistan, in terms of exposing corruption and government misconduct, there is also a need for greater responsibility in what is being said on-air.It's worth noting Mr Liaquat is not a small-time scholar with a fringe following. Rather he is one of the most recognised religious figures in the country thanks to his TV shows. He has even served as minister of state for religious affairs under ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf.Mr Liaquat is no stranger to controversy. A few years ago guest scholars on his show described a persecuted religious minority in Pakistan, the Ahmedis, as Wajb-ul-Qatl (liable to death.) He has also openly spoken on TV of his support for the fatwa on Salman Rushdie over his Satanic Verses novel. And he once spoke in favour of Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws by comparing them to a computer "firewall." The popularity of such a figure on mainstream Pakistani TV, who many also consider to be a "moderate" voice, raises troubling questions regarding the kind of material being allowed to air by the "free" media in Pakistan.Certainly he is not the only one. Perhaps the most polemic is Zaid Hamid, a charismatic TV analyst who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. While he is not allowed his own programme, he still gets invited on and off to mainstream talk shows as a guest analyst to talk about political affairs and foreign policy. Often seen with a red beret on his head, Mr Hamid is an ultra-nationalist who believes the Mumbai attacks were conducted by "Hindu Zionists" and has spoken of his desire to see the Pakistani flag flying in Delhi. While he condemns al-Qaeda he also believes - as a lot of others in Pakistan - that the 9/11 attacks were conducted by the US itself. Troublingly even programmes which one assumes should be light-hearted have fallen prey to the conspiracy trap.For example, there is a clip doing the rounds on the internet where a morning show host Farah Hussain, roughly the equivalent to Lorraine Kelly, talks about a "deliberate" conspiracy to malign Islam. To illustrate, she displays a toilet mat with anabstract design on which she claims to make out the name "Allah" in Arabic. "This is definitely not accidental," she tells her viewers. "This is a planned effort."The success of radicals and loonies like Mr Hamid and Mr Liaquat in appealing to youngsters and other vulnerable elements in society can only be understood in the context of the failure of the more liberal elements to stand up for issues of justice and against state corruption. There is a very superficial definition of liberal as someone who wears jeans and watches MTV.Hmmmm......Makes you wonder if these 'zionists'ever rest?Read the full story here.

• Islamists attack Jordan police with swords, daggers.Via AFP.AMMAN — Islamist protesters armed with swords, daggers and clubs attacked police in the city of Zarqa on Friday, wounding 51 of them, as 32 more suffered from tear gas inhalation, Jordan's police chief said.Lieutenant General Hussein Majali told a news conference that "51 policemen, including senior officers, were stabbed with knives, beaten with bats or hit with sharp tools, while 32 other policemen were treated for tear gas inhalation."He said "eight civilians were also hurt when police fired tear gas and tried to stop Islamist Salafist demonstrators from attacking shoppers in Zarqa," adding that 17 protesters were arrested and that police are searching for more."It was clear that the demonstrators had plans to clash with police. They carried swords and daggers and were provocative, seeking to drag police into a bloody confrontation."Earlier, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Khatib told AFP six officers stabbed in the clashes were "in serious condition."He said police "had to fire tear gas after a group of Islamist Salafists attacked some citizens... accusing them of being atheists."The Salafists have been demonstrating for several weeks to demand the release of 90 Islamist prisoners, including Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi, the one-time mentor of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people demonstrated in Amman after midday prayers, demanding "regime reforms," Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit's ouster and the dissolution of parliament."The people want to reform the regime and eliminate corruption. Jordan is free, Bakhit, get out," demonstrators chanted as they marched from Al-Husseini mosque in the city centre to the nearby city hall.The protesters carried national flags and banners reading "the people want democracy and social justice" and "we want to dissolve parliament."The demonstration was organised by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), as well as leftist and other opposition parties."The demonstrations will continue until reforms are achieved," Jamil Abu Baker, Brotherhood spokesman, told AFP."So far, we cannot see any (government) intention to carry out reforms. The people are determined to have real reforms and get rid of corruption.Hmmmm.......The Muslim Brotherhood the people the Obama regime pledged 1,57 Billion Dollar in 2012.Read the full story here.

• Iran - Reports of violence in Ahvaz.There are reports of violence in the western city of Ahvaz in Iran's Khuzestan province, where according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, 15 people have been killed and dozens have been injured and detained.Al-Arabiya TV also has a brief report.Friday's crackdowns by Iranian security forces came during a protest (dubbed the "Ahvaz Day of Rage") meant to mark incidents that took place in Ahvaz in 2005, when the ethnic Arab population staged rallies against the Iranian government over what they said were systematic injustices and discrimination.On the April 15, 2005 protest, 360 people were reported to have been arrested. On June 12 of the same year, a series of bombs exploded in the Ministry of Housing, in front of the governor's house and in the Office of Civil Engineering in the provincial capital.At the time, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported two deaths.Hmmmm......Not all are awaiting the erturn of the 12Th Imam it seems?Read the full story here.