MFS - The Other News

                      Morning  Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 22. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Syria Live Blog - April 22. Here (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.5 and 4.7! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 95.On 22.04.2011 at 03:07 GMT+2
  
  Tokyo Electric Power Company says radioactive substances that leaked into the sea at the damaged Fukushima plant over six days from April 1st are estimated at 4,700 terabecquerels. This is 20,000 times more than the annual allowable limit at the complex, NHK reported. At a news conference on Thursday, Tokyo Electric said it calculated the total amount of leaked water assuming that the leak began on April 1st. The leak of contaminated water from a pit of the Number 2 reactor was found on April 2nd and was stopped four days later using liquid glass. The utility firm said that 520 tons of the high-level radioactive water is likely to have leaked into the sea during the period. The estimated level of radiation in the water is roughly one 100th of what the government announced on Tuesday of last week as the total amount of radiation released into the air from the Daiichi complex. The figure is about 10,000 times more than that released in the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Levels of iodine131 were found to be 7.5 million times the safety limit on April 2nd near the water intake of the Number 2 reactor. Tokyo Electric has since set up underwater barriers near the intake to prevent the spread of radioactive water in the sea. The radiation level of seawater in the area has been gradually falling and, as of Tuesday, the iodine level was 1,200 times the limit. Tokyo Electric says radioactive water may possibly be still leaking out through unidentified routes. The firm is trying to determine the routes and to continue monitoring data and grasping the impact of the radioactive water on marine life and the sea.
  
  Situation Update No. 94 - On 21.04.2011 at 13:32 GMT+2
  
  Radioactive water 20,000 times the allowable limit leaked into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power said Thursday. The plant operator estimated the early April leakage lasted for six days through April 6 and amounted to 520 tons, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported. Japan's worst nuclear crisis was triggered by a massive 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11. In a related development, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced his government will enforce a no-entry zone within a 12.4-mile radius of the crippled nuclear plant, prohibiting evacuees from returning to their homes without government permission. The restriction has been in force since the early days of the disaster but has often been ignored. Many of the 78,000 residents who have homes in the evacuation zone have gone back in recent weeks to retrieve their belongings and check on businesses. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters entry into the area will now be highly regulated. People who temporarily return will have to wear protective suits and ride into the restricted zone on a designated bus.Source : Here .

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

• The first Amendmend Just passed away in Dearbornistan!Pastor Terry Jones' rally becomes battle over free speech.With some of metro Detroit’s biggest political and religious leaders united behind Muslims in Dearborn, Florida Pastor Terry Jones is expected to appear in court this morning for a jury trial that will determine whether he can hold a rally at the largest mosque in the city.This “bigot does not represent” us, Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, declared to a crowd of about 700 metro Detroiters at a rally that drew U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat, and the local heads of the Catholic and Episcopal churches.Qazwini’s mosque is where Jones wants to rally today against what he calls “the radical element in Islam.” Jones appeared in court Thursday and refused to post a bond for the massive security effort Dearborn says it would have to deploy if Jones were allowed to rally. The judge then ordered the trial.Dearborn officials and Wayne County prosecutors sought to convince Jones to post a bond for security costs if he wants to protest in Dearborn. And they urged him to rally not at the Islamic Center of America — his desired spot — but instead in front of their City Hall or civic center. Dearborn District Judge Mark Somers sided with government officials, finding their arguments compelling. The officials argued that for logistical and security reasons, Jones should not be allowed to rally at the Islamic center.The government should “not impinge on a person’s right to protest, even when their speech is as distasteful and offensive as Rev. Jones’ is,” said Rana Elmir, communications director for the Michigan ACLU. “We should combat hate speech with more speech. I disagree vehemently with Rev. Jones’ message, but I believe wholeheartedly in his right to express himself.” Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad said there are serious problems with having Jones protest outside the Islamic Center of America, noting that Jones has received numerous death threats and has a $1.2-million bounty on his head from a Pakistan-based terrorist group. Moreover, the mosque is surrounded by several churches that have Good Friday services, making traffic an issue, he argued. The site also is logistically a challenge because of its layout, he said. The city already had denied Jones a permit to protest. “It would have been chaos,” Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly Jr. told the Free Press on Thursday. “We just couldn’t do that.” O’Reilly, an attorney, said the government has to make “reasonable accommodation” for free-speech rights, which he says the city routinely does by providing free-speech zones in front of Dearborn City Hall and the civic center. Dearborn is known for its frequent rallies and protests, especially as they relate to the Middle East. “We know the Constitution,” O’Reilly said. “A lot of people really don’t understand the Constitution.” But Elmir of the ACLU said: “We can’t forget both religious freedom and the right to protest. The City of Dearborn should honor both of those rights equally.” Elmir said the ACLU is concerned about anti-Muslim hate speech and discrimination, but the solution is not censorship. “The government cannot silence demonstrations in anticipation that their message will not be welcome,” she said.Majed Moughni, a Dearborn attorney, agreed that Jones has the right to protest. Moughni is not a fan of Jones, having burned him in effigy last year because he had threatened to burn the Quran. But Moughni said it’s wrong for the city and county to try to hinder Jones’ rights. “Instead of him being the bad guy, now he’s the hero,” Moughni said. “They’ve turned him into a hero of the First Amendment. “The prosecutors should withdraw their demands and let him speak as he wishes, which is his right under the Constitution.” Michael Steinberg, legal director with the ACLU of Michigan, said the government’s actions are unconstitutional. “In a free society, the government can’t place a price on a person’s ability to speak,” Steinberg said.Hmmmm.....Meanwhile the First Amendmend has been burried in a 'private' ceremony in the courthouse according to the Sharia law rites?Read the full story here.More here .

• Related - Islamophobes in Michigan Assert Muslims More Violent Than the Rest of Us.(TheJawaReport).I am constantly being called an Islamophobe because I don't like religious law and I have the audacity to suggest that political Islam might be a causal factor in the majority of today's terrorism.Okay, if I get this story right then:

A) Terry Jones, the Quran burning pastor is holding a protest in Dearborn, Michigan, a city with one of the highest Muslim populations in the US.

B) The city is worried that Muslims might riot in response.

C) So, the city says it will only give Jones a permit if he posts a bond to cover additional security measures.

D) Jones is refusing to pay the bond and faces jail time.

So, if I'm reading all of this right .....Then the City of Dearborn is saying that Muslims are like children in that they can't help but rioting when they get offended? Jones is following the law and exercising his right to protest, while those he's protesting against can't be trusted to do the same? The city is in fact asserting as a matter beyond dispute that Muslims are less responsible than other citizens. If this is the case, then why isn't the so-called "Muslim community" being forced to pay the bond? They are the ones the city alleges will be breaking the law, so why shouldn't they be the ones paying for extra police protection?Read the full story here.

• Mubarak about to be transferred to the Tora Prison hospital?Egyptian Prosecutor-General Abdel-Magid Mahmoud has appointed a leading forensic doctor to assess the state of the Tora Prison hospital contemplating the transfer of the ousted Mubarak there. The doctor is expected to ascertain whether the hospital is equipped to tend to Mubarak's health care and needs.The 83-year-old is currently under arrest at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and has been remanded for 15 days in jail pending investigations on April 13. The deposed Mubarak is due to be questioned about allegations of corruption and alleged violence against protesters during the popular uprising which began January 25 and led to his stepping down February 11.The former president’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are also serving a 15-day detention order in Tora Prison. According to Egypt's state news agency Mena reported on Thursday Mubarak’s health is unstable.In a new bout of corruption exposed both wives of Mubarak’s sons have been summoned for questioning over the vast amounts of assets and funds accumulated during Mubarak’s reign.Related, a court in Egypt has ruled that the names of the ousted Mubarak and his wife Suzanne be removed from all public places. Hundreds of public squares, streets, libraries and schools across Egypt are named after the couple. It is expected that Mubarak’s name would also be removed from all ministry facilities, including a major underground station in central Cairo. According to Judge Mohammed Hassan Omar said who ordered the removal it has become clear that the size of the corruption that's being uncovered every day exceeds by far anyone's imagination. BBC in Cairo reports that there have been suggestions for streets to be renamed after the people who were killed in the recent anti-government protests.Thursday’s papers also reported that one of the Egypt’s most prestigious awards, the Mubarak Award, has been abolished adding the cabinet announced it approved a diktat law on the establishment of the Nile Prize in the fields of literature and the arts and social sciences, science and technology in its place.Source.

• Pharao Obama's plan: Palestinian state, without right of return.(Ynetnews).White House works out peace deal that focuses on Israel accepting Palestinian state, Palestinians giving up right of return. PM plans to present own peace plan before Kensset, US Congress.WASHINGTON - The White House has been working on a new peace initiative for the past three months, one that revolves around a few key principles: A Palestinian state without the right of return, Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and an emphasis on Israel's security needs.According to an article published in the New York Times Thursday, the details of the proposal are yet to be hashed out.Officials at the Prime Minister's Office did not rush to respond to the NY Times report. Thursday evening, sources in Jerusalem said that Israel was not surprised by the American plan currently being worked out. "Everyone knew something is being formulated in Washington," one official said. At this time it's unclear whether Prime Minister Netanyahu was aware of the initiative and gave it his blessing. Some officials estimated that the Obama plan is meant to affect the PM's upcoming speech, which is expected to feature Israel's new peace initiative.Though US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced last week that President Barack Obama will be “speaking in greater detail about America’s policy in the Middle East and North Africa in the coming weeks,” it is still unclear whether Obama will use the occasion to present a new peace plan. An unnamed official told the Times that both Obama and Clinton are in favor of such move, while the president’s senior adviser on the Middle East, Dennis Ross, is against it.According to the article, if Obama does, in fact, present a peace initiative, it will discuss four terms of reference: Israel's acceptance of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders; Palestinian acceptance that there would be no right to return to Israeli land; Jerusalem as the capital of both states; and the protection of Israel's security needs.Read the full 'story' here.

• White House readies ‘US Shake Out’ to prepare citizens for earthquakes.(TheHill)The Departments of Homeland Security and Education are reaching out to millions of people in central U.S. states to get them to participate in an earthquake preparedness drill.In an event called the “Great Central U.S. Shake Out,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are reaching out to areas in the Midwest that could be impacted by an earthquake along the New Madrid fault line.According to the event’s website, more than 2.5 million people have committed to taking part in Thursday’s drill in which participants will be told how to react in the event of an earthquake.“It's critical that all members of the nation's emergency management team — including the federal government, state, local and tribal officials, the private sector and the public — are prepared,” said Napolitano.“Learning how to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event of an earthquake or other disaster is a vital life skill — and we look forward to working with schools, colleges and our other partners to strengthen the resiliency of communities across the central United States,” she said.The White House is reaching out to schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.“The ShakeOut drill is an important exercise for parents, students, teachers and schools leaders across the country, and I hope it encourages more schools to develop, implement and evaluate emergency plans,” said Duncan.Nearly 200 years ago, a series of earthquakes along the New Madrid fault line rippled throughout the United States, causing a vast shadow of destruction and disrepair.Hmmmm......An earthquake that might be good for a few votes if you're preparing it and lay waiting for it?Is this going to be a natural occuring earthquake in the New Madrid or a HAARP induced quake?Read the full story here.

• Change you can see!America within days of breaching $14.3TRILLION borrowing limit.The United States has surpassed $14trillion in debt for the first time in history while continuing on a course to hit the legal limit on the national debt in less than one week, while Democrats continue to battle the GOP on raising the debt ceiling to avoid a new financial crisis.House Majority Leader Eric Cantor warned Democrats that he is willing to let the U.S. default to creditors if GOP demands for massive cuts to spending and budget process reforms are not met by President Obama and House Democrats, who are seeking to increase the debt ceiling to avoid another economic crisis.‘With the debt-limit window fast approaching, House Republicans have made clear that, if the President and our Democratic colleagues refuse to accept serious reforms that immediately reduce federal spending and end the culture of debt in Washington, we will not grant their request for a debt limit increase,’ Cantor said is a statement Wednesday.A balanced budget amendment, statutory spending caps and a two-thirds vote requirement for tax increases are potentially some of the GOP’s top demands before a debt ceiling agreement can be reached.Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has warned of catastrophic consequences if the ceiling is not raised, saying that it will lead to an even worse crisis then the recession that the country is just emerging from, as an increase in interest rates and borrowing costs would be seen for Americans nationwide.Gold and silver rallied on Thursday, with both increases viewed as a result of the dismal economic outlook for the U.S., along with the country’s historically low interest rates, coupled with a rise in inflation and on-going concerns about European debt.Democrats are trying to avoid another stand-off with Republicans on the contentious matter. But the debate has emerged as Standard and Poor delivered a massive blow to the U.S., changing its debt outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’.The country’s borrowing limit currently stands at just under $14.3trillion. According to the Daily Treasury Statement released Wednesday, the national debt subject to this legal limit is now officially at $14.26trillion. This leaves only $25.635billion left for the U.S. treasury to borrow until the limit is hit.Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar stumbled on the world markets, falling against most major currencies yesterday and hitting a 15-month low against the euro.Hmmm...Considering the trouble the Euro is in that says a lot about the Dollar!Read the full story here.

• Sen. Jim DeMint (R): Obama Regime “Acting Like a Bunch of Thugs”.I thought I’ve seen all, but now this administration is acting like a bunch of thugs. I mean they really are trying to bully and intimidate, not just Boeing, they are attacking every right to work state,” Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) about White House union ties possibly blocking a move of Boeing to South Carolina.Read and see the full story here.

• Old habits die hard: Obama Omits “Creator” From Declaration.....again.(TheBlaze). I propose a new drinking game. And this is one even a recovering alcoholic can play.For every time that Barack Obama recognizes that the Declaration of Independence has the word “Creator” in it this campaign season, we all have to take a shot. So for example, when he quotes the phrase “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” we all drink. Simple.But it probably won’t be that much fun. That’s because if we all decide to play, we’ll probably end up like Glenn — sober.As we’ve noted several times, Obama has a habit of leaving out “Creator” when he quotes the founding document (see here, here, and here). And he did it once again while speaking to supporters in San Francisco last night.Oversight? Does he think it’s unnecessary? Or maybe, do you think he’s just trying to save us from alcoholism?Hmmmm....."There can be only one 'God' in the room?Read and see the full story here.

• Senators Battle Environmentalists Seeking to Ban Lead in Ammunition, Fishing Tackle.(Fox).As environmentalists battle to ban the use of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle out of concern for wildlife and their habitats, several U.S. lawmakers have rushed to defend the tools of hunters and fishermen with a new bill to shield such items from regulation.Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont, and John Thune, R-S.D., co-chairmen of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, unveiled this week legislation to clarify the longstanding exemption of ammunition and its components under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which allows the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate "chemical substances" under certain circumstances.Citing tax revenue as justification, the lawmakers say a ban would lead to higher excise taxes on more expensive bullets that would price out many hunters and fisherman."Hunting, shooting and fishing are more than just pastimes in Montana – they're part of our outdoor heritage," Tester said. "They're Montana values that we pass on to our kids and grandkids. And I'll fight for those values whenever Washington D.C.'s rules get in the way of commons sense.""Outdoor activities, including hunting and fishing, not only provide recreational opportunities, but also greatly contribute to South Dakota's economy," Thune said. "The EPA's overreaching regulations in other areas are already negatively affecting jobs and businesses across the country, and I am committed to ensuring that ammunition and tackle do not become subject to arbitrary regulation.""I guarantee that if the EPA were to ban lead ammunition, there would be no difference in the excise tax taken by federal officials," Keats said. "It's not a rational argument. The premise requires you to believe hundreds of thousands of people who are not allowed to use lead ammunition will instead give up hunting."Miller said the excise tax equally applies to ammunition sold regardless of its composition."Sales of copper-based ammunition brings in just as much money for conservationists," he said. "It's a nonissue. That tax would continue."Read the full story here.

• Arab League Sec-Gen: Camp David Accords Have Expired.(Memri).The Camp David Accords signed between Egypt and Israel have expired and no longer govern the situation, Arab League secretary-general and potential Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa has said.Moussa, who participated in the negotiations with Israel in 1978, made the statements during a discussion with Egyptian youth.He added, "What governs the relationship between the two countries is the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 and the Egyptian-Israeli treaty."Source.

• Savage Beheading Reprise: Libyan Rebels Behead Captured Soldier.(TheJawaReport).Hmmmm.....Perhaps to celebrate the arrival of the drones send by Hussein...or is it to greet McCain?Read the full story here .Warning extremely graphic images!

• Indonesian police find bombs near church ahead of Easter, arrest 19 terror suspects.(Washingtonpost).JAKARTA, Indonesia — Terror suspects arrested Thursday led police to five massive bombs buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside Indonesia’s capital, officials said.Djoko Suyanto, a security minister, said he believed Islamic militants had been plotting an attack ahead of Easter celebrations. The U.S. embassy urged Americans to be vigilant.The explosives, safely defused at the scene, had been set to detonate by cell phone at around 9 a.m. Friday.“The army and police are under high alert,” Suyanto told reporters, adding that troops would be deployed at churches and other strategic locations. “We want to guarantee safety.”Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has been battling extremists since 2002 when al-Qaida-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.Several attacks since then targeted glitzy hotels, restaurants and an embassy, killing another 60. Hundreds of suspects have been arrested, convicted and thrown in jail.In recent months, small bands of militants hoping to turn the secular nation of 237 million into an Islamic state have shifted their focus to local “enemies.”They’ve gone after police, members of a minority Islamic sect deemed “deviant,” Christians and moderate Muslim leaders.National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the 19 suspects were arrested Thursday, including six accused in a series of mail bombs sent last month to liberal Muslim activists and a former anti-terror chief.Several people were wounded in the parcel bombings, none seriously.The arrested men eventually led police to the gas pipeline 100 meters (yards) from a Catholic church large enough to hold 3,000 people in Serpong, Pradopo said.They discovered five bombs that together weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and were rigged to be detonated by cell phone, according to Nardi Atmaja, a church official at the scene.Earlier police had said there was just one bomb. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.Local media quoted investigators as saying each explosion would have had a reach of up to 250 meters (yards), presumably engulfing the church in flames during Good Friday celebrations.The U.S. embassy in Jakarta issued a statement urging Americans to be especially cautious over the weekend and to stay clear of demonstrations.“Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence,” it said.Ninety percent of Indonesians are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith and abhor violence. A small, extremist fringe has become more vocal, and violent, in recent years.Hmmmm......Obama "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

• New Christian Convert from Islam Murdered in Somalia.(Compassdirect).NAIROBI, Kenya, April 20 (CDN) — Two Muslim extremists in Somalia on Monday (April 18) murdered a member of a secret Christian community in Lower Shabele region as part of a campaign to rid the country of Christianity, sources said.An area source told Compass two al Shabaab militants shot 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan in Shalambod town after entering his house at 7:30 p.m. “Two al Shabaab members dragged him out of his house, and after 10 minutes they fired several shots on him,” said an area source who requested anonymity. “He then died immediately.”The militants then shouted “Allahu Akbar [God is greater]” before fleeing, he said. Adan, single and living with his Muslim family, was said to have converted to Christianity several months ago. Area Christians said they suspected someone had informed the Islamic militants of his conversion. One source said that a relative who belonged to al Shabaab had told Adan’s mother that he suspected her son was a Christian. “This incident is making other converts live in extreme fear, as the militants always keep an open eye to anyone professing the Christian faith,” the source said.Read the full story here.

• Pollard in plea to Obama: Set me free for Pessah!‘Post’ obtains jailed agent’s letter; Pollard expresses remorse for crime, raises legal arguments for release; Obama yet to respond.Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard appealed to US President Barack Obama to commute his sentence and allow him to go home to Israel for Pessah, in a letter hand-delivered to Obama by President Shimon Peres that was obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.The letter to Obama was the first Pollard had written to an American president since he began serving his life sentence 25-and-a-half years ago. It has received no response from Obama, who also did not react when Peres brought up Pollard’s fate when he met with Obama at the White House on April 5.“I hope that my own personal appeal may touch your heart and elicit a compassionate, humanitarian response to my heartfelt request to be sent home to Israel for Passover, the holiday of freedom,” Pollard wrote Obama.“My release in time to celebrate Passover at home in Israel with my beloved wife would be a welcome gesture of friendship to the Israeli people, an act of solidarity with a staunch and long-time ally of the United States, and a deeply compassionate and humane gift of life to my wife and me.”In the letter, Pollard unequivocally expressed remorse for his crime, as he has publicly and privately on numerous occasions and in various documents. He noted that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had also apologized on behalf of Israel.“After serving more than a quarter century in some of the harshest prisons in the American penal system, I have had a great deal of time to think and to regret,” Pollard wrote. “I am genuinely and sincerely sorry for the offense I committed in passing classified information to Israel. My actions were wrong and I deeply regret that I did not find a legal way to act upon my concerns for Israel.”“Obama’s utter indifference to Peres’s request was very puzzling, but it has to be seen in context of the president’s indifference to all of the requests he has received to release Jonathan Pollard after 26 years in prison, not only from Peres and Netanyahu but also from ranking senior American officials,” she said.“The president’s resounding silence in the face of all of these requests leaves no room for any doubt. Clearly it is nothing personal against Jonathan, but it is, without a doubt, a devastating slap in the face to Israel and Jews worldwide.”.Hmmm...."Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house." Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different!Run Forest, run!Man runs 99 miles home after completing London Marathon.Sam Robson did what most people do after completing a marathon: He went home and fell asleep. Except rather than drive to his house, 99 miles away from the finish line of the London Marathon, Robson ran back. All the way.The 28-year-old from Central England finished Sunday's official race in 3 hours and 45 minutes before starting on the 99-mile second leg. He arrived to his home in St. Ives Cambs about 25 hours later, greeted by a cheering crowd. In total, he ran 125 miles in 29 hours, a pace of around 13 minutes per mile.That number sounds insane, but it's even more mind-boggling if you really think about it. Think back to what you were doing five hours ago yesterday. Now imagine you've been running since then. I don't know if most people could stay awake that long, let alone do anything remotely physical.He told reporters that the running itself was easy, but staying up, keeping hydrated and ingesting calories (to make up for the 15,000 he burned) was the hard part."I had to have regular breaks to refill my water and whenever I stopped my legs seized up so I couldn't rest for long. In terms of tiredness, my legs felt pretty good and the worst bit was I had to keep eating to replace all the calories I was burning.One day after his mega-run, Robson said he was doing fine except for some soreness. That's to be expected. It wasn't just his first 99-mile run, it was his first marathon too.Read the full story here.