MFS - The Other News

                       Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 17. 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. 89..Source : Here .

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

• Lobbying Report: Drones Fly Through Congress to Enter US Skies.Within weeks and possibly days, President Obama is likely to sign into law a bill that will bring unmanned aerial vehicles - drones - into US general airspace, crisscrossing the country in company with passenger planes and other human-carrying aircraft.The story of how planes without on-board pilots will gain entry into our crowded airspace, where birds are life threatening, possibly within the next three years, is one involving campaign contributions, jobs and fear. As we will see, safety appears not to be the top priority.Drones like the Reaper are also used for assassination, killing people without trial or conviction, a violation of international law, compounded by the problem of misidentification.The Reaper can also be used strictly for surveillance and there are a variety of drones that can perform either killer or surveillance functions. Drones are also being produced for commercial uses, which include scanning land and oceans for agricultural, mining and fishing enterprises.Given the deadly record of drones, I and others in New York State and elsewhere, moved to lobby Senator Schumer to end his support of the drone amendment.Hmmmm.....Dictatorship coming soon to a neighbourhood near you?Could be inforced with these neat little hummingbird drones once they passed legislation for them?Quote"The company, based in California with 732 full-time employees, expects to sell even more drones to the Government once rules are relaxed to allow spying within America.Read the full story here.

• "Obama regime 'Protecting' Gadhafi?Report: US seeking country to take in Gadhafi.The Barack Obama administration has launched an intense search for a country that could provide refuge to Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, The New York Times reported Saturday."We learned some lessons from Iraq, and one of the biggest is that Libyans have to be responsible for regime change, not us," a senior Obama administration official told the newspaper. But amid looming indictments against Gadhafi by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for the atrocities committed against his own people during the ongoing popular uprising and for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103, U.S. officials only have a narrow list of potential host countries.Three officials for President Barack Obama's administration told the Times they were considering finding a country that has not signed or ratified the Rome Statute, which requires countries to turn over anyone being indicted for trial by the ICC.That approach raises the prospect that Gadhafi could find haven in another country in Africa, where about half of the continent's countries have not signed the treaty. The United States is also not a signatory due to worries that is military officers and intelligence officers could be prosecuted "What we're simply trying to do is find some peaceful way to organize an exit, if the opportunity arises."Hmmmm.....It seems almost like Farrakhan has Barack Hussein Obama's ear?Read the full story here.

• Clinton warns intolerance threatens Arab revolts.Via :Forbes.BERLIN -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning that rising intolerance toward women and religious minorities threatens to hijack democratic transitions around the Arab world and spread violent extremism.Clinton told an award ceremony in the German capital on Friday that she was disturbed by recent developments in post-revolt Egypt in which women and Coptic Christians were singled out for attacks and abuse. She said such incidents test the unity of pro-democracy demonstrators whose peaceful protests ousted Egypt's authoritarian president and could fracture the reform movement.Clinton said she feared similar backsliding elsewhere in the Mideast and stressed it was critical for Egyptians and other Arabs whose nations are in the throes of change to resist intolerance and demand that their new leaders embrace open and inclusive governments.Source.

• Texas University Endowment Stockpiling $1 Billion in Gold Bars.The University of Texas Investment Management Co., the second-largest U.S. academic endowment, took delivery of almost $1 billion in gold bullion and is storing the bars in a New York vault, according to the fund’s board.The fund, whose $19.9 billion in assets ranked it behind Harvard University’s endowment as of August, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, added about $500 million in gold investments to an existing stake last year, said Bruce Zimmerman, the endowment’s chief executive officer. The holdings are worth about $987 million, based on yesterday’s closing price of $1,486 an ounce for Comex futures.The decision to turn the fund’s investment into gold bars was influenced by Kyle Bass, a Dallas hedge fund manager and member of the endowment’s board, Zimmerman said at its annual meeting on April 14. Bass made $500 million on the U.S. subprime-mortgage collapse.“Central banks are printing more money than they ever have, so what’s the value of money in terms of purchases of goods and services,” Bass said yesterday in a telephone interview. “I look at gold as just another currency that they can’t print any more of.”Hmmmm....Anyone else thinking the country is heading in the right direction.Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Interview: 'Palestinians' want Fogel murderers released.Earlier, I reported that eight 'Palestinians' have been arrested in connection with the murder of five members of the Fogel family, two of whom have confessed to perpetrating the murder.Dr. Aaron Lerner spoke with Sa'd Nimr, the Director General of the 'Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Detainees. Dr. Lerner asked Mr. Nimr if the 'Palestinian' demand for the release of all detainees includes the murderers of Udi, Ruti, Yoav, Elad and Hadas Fogel HY"D (may God avenge their blood). You can guess the answer.Read and hear the full story here.

• "The War On Christianity".Persecuted for his cross: Electrician told he faces the sack for Christian symbol on his van dashboard.(DailyMail)An electrician faces the sack for displaying a small palm cross on the dashboard of his company van.Former soldier Colin Atkinson has been summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the giant housing association where he has been employed for 15 years because he refuses to remove the symbol.Mr Atkinson, a regular worshipper at church, said: ‘The treatment of Christians in this country is becoming diabolical...but I will stand up for my faith.’Throughout his time at work, he has had an 8in-long cross made from woven palm leaves attached to the dashboard shelf below his windscreen without receiving a single complaint.But his bosses at publicly funded Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in West Yorkshire – the fifth-biggest housing organisation in England – have demanded he remove the cross on the grounds it may offend people or suggest the organisation is Christian. Mr Atkinson’s union representative said he faces a full disciplinary hearing next month for gross misconduct, which could result in dismissal. The association strongly promotes ‘inclusive’ policies and allows employees to wear religious symbols at work.It has provided stalls at gay pride events, held ‘diversity days’ for travellers, and hosted a gender reassignment event entitled A World That Includes Transpeople.Mr Atkinson, who has an unblemished work record, said he had not been shown similar respect. ‘The past few months have been unbelievable, a nightmare,’ he said.‘I have worked in the coal mines and served in the Army in Northern Ireland and I have never suffered such stress. The treatment of Christians in this country is becoming diabolical. It is political correctness taken to the extreme.’But he added: ‘I have never been so full of resolve. I am determined to stand up for my rights. If they sack me, so be it. But I am standing up for my faith.’Mr Atkinson’s battle follows a series of similar cases involving Christians who claim their freedoms have been curbed following the introduction of controversial equality laws.Campaigners accused the housing association of ‘remarkable intolerance’ at a time when millions of Christians will be celebrating Palm Sunday today, a week before Easter Sunday. Palms are traditionally distributed during services to mark Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, which is backing Mr Atkinson, said: ‘Colin Atkinson is a decent and hard-working man, yet after many years of service he has been told he cannot continue to have a small palm cross in his van.‘This smacks of something deeply illiberal and remarkably intolerant. Is this the kind of society the British public want to live in? ‘The cross is a profound symbol of God’s love for all of us. We should not be embarrassed about it.’Mr Cunliffe said his union abhorred any form of discrimination, but the association was ‘taking its politically correct policies far too far’. He said: ‘The company is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is totally disproportionate that someone should face dismissal for displaying a discreet religious symbol. Hmmm......When will the Pope do the right thing and confront this "War on Christianity"?Read the full story here.

• Israel may let new flotilla reach Gaza.(IrishTimes)Israel is considering allowing the Freedom Flotilla 2, due to sail next month, to reach Gaza, to prevent a repeat of last summer’s clash between flotilla participants and Israeli forces.A document drawn up by the foreign ministry in Jerusalem and presented to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested as one option allowing the vessels to reach Gaza without interference.Such a scenario, it was argued, would not undermine the legality of Israel’s naval blockade imposed on the Hamas-controlled strip. As proof, foreign ministry officials noted that when Ehud Olmert was prime minister several vessels were permitted to reach Gaza.Another alternative presented to Mr Netanyahu is to have Cypriot forces carry out security checks on the flotilla. If the vessels were not carrying weapons, they would be allowed to proceed.According to reports, Turkey’s IHH organisation is planning a large flotilla to mark the one-year anniversary of last year’s interception. Six vessels were boarded by Israeli commandos on May 31st, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish activists when clashes broke out on the main vessel, the Mavi Marmara. The lead vessel on this year’s flotilla is again expected to be the Mavi Marmara, which will be accompanied by 15 vessels and nearly 1,000 activists from dozens of countries.Irish supporters have reportedly purchased a vessel to take part in the flotilla. Irish activists due to sail include former Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews and his party colleague Senator Mark Daly, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Left Alliance TD Richard Boyd Barrett, Sinn Féin councillor Gerry MacLochlainn from Derry and artist Felim Egan.In tandem with the diplomatic moves, the army continued preparations to intercept a new flotilla.Operation Green Pastures is aimed at stopping the vessels as far as possible from Gaza. Military sources said the army was working on “new methods” to deal with the activists, but warned that despite the planning there was a “high probability” of casualties this time around as well.Read the full story here.

• "Sanctions....What Sanctions?"Turkey, Iran open third border crossing in regional cooperation effort.Iran and Turkey have opened a third border crossing at Kapıköy in eastern Turkey’s Van province, in what the foreign ministers of both countries called a symbol of friendship amid increased regional cooperation efforts.“Our prime minister has set a target of $30 billion in annual trade with Iran. That is why we are opening this border crossing,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Saturday. “We are announcing to the world that Turkey and Iran will be friends for eternity.”Hmmm......Get the traitor Turkey out of NATO NOW !Read the full 'story' here.

• HT:BigPeace.France: Waving A Foreign Flag May Soon Be Illegal.Fresh on the heels of the Burka ban, the French Parliament is considering a bill that would ban the display of any foreign flag. Connexion France reports:“WAVING or displaying foreign flags in France could become an offence if an amendment is passed by MPs.A bill originally targeting the waving or display of non-French flags at mairies in France, particularly at weddings, has had an amendment added to make it an offence to wave such flags in public.The new amendment, proposed on March 30, by MP Guy Teissier would “regulate the use of foreign flags in French public spaces by demanding prior permission”.According to news site rue89.com Mr Teissier said: “A certain number of people, be they French, foreigners or not, during a diverse range of occasions – national holidays, protests – or in their daily lives, wave the flags of their country of origin.”He added this was “provocation against the principles of the French republic”.If the amendment is voted through, waving a foreign flag in public without prior permission could be punishable by a fine of up to €1,500.Hmmmm....."Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira"Read the full story here.

• Prince William personally invites homeless girl,meanwhile the Obama's still not invited.From homeless shelters to a front row seat: Destitute girl, 20, who wowed Prince William is invited to Royal Wedding.Barely a year ago, she was living a desperate existence, sharing homeless shelters with drug addicts while recovering from a serious stroke.But in less than two weeks, Shozna will take her place alongside royals, A-list celebrities and foreign dignitaries after getting an invitation to the first 'people's royal wedding'.Prince William and Kate Middleton have invited the former homeless teenager to Westminster Abbey after she was rescued from destitution by Princess Diana’s homeless charity, Centrepoint.William, 28, followed in his late mother’s footsteps by becoming patron in 2005 and spent a freezing winter’s night sleeping rough in support of their plight two years ago.At a charity gala last summer he heard Shozna, now 20, tell the galling story of how the bright, bubbly, 5ft 2in teenager was made homeless after having major heart surgery and faced the prospect of life on the streets.William was so moved that he broke royal protocol by giving her a hug.And he has now handpicked her for a golden ticket to the ceremony on April 29.Hmmm.....A Prince with a heart,beats a heartless President anytime.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Kingdom Tower gets green light.Elevator to take 12 minutes to reach to the top.Kingdom Holding Company, owned by billionaire Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has got approval to build the world’s tallest tower – Kingdom Tower – near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.According to The Saudi Gazette, the go ahead has been given for the mile high tower to be built by the Kingdom Holding.But a report quoting, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture that had earlier been involved in designing the project said it is “definitely not working on the design.”Meanwhile, according to The Gazette it would take an elevator 12 minutes to reach the top of the $30-billion tower. The tower will nearly be double the height of the 828-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai and will include office, hotel and residential units.The paper also said that the new tower will be located in a new city that would be specifically built around the tower in Obhur, just outside of the port city of Jeddah.The 8.9-square-mile city will be able to accommodate 80,000 people and over a million visitors.Although the report indicated that the tower would be designed by Adrian Smith, who also designed the Burj Khalifa, a report in Wired.co.uk quoting the Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture said that the firm is "definitely not working on a mile-high tower design", and the reports are based on anonymous and unofficial sources.King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud at a presentation of a project in Jeddah.Hmmmm.....Why does it remind me of the 'Tower of Babel"?Read the full story here.