MFS - The Other News

                        Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 26. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Syria Live Blog - April 26. Here (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.9 and 5.0! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 99..Source : Here .

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

• Obama not running an re-election campaign, but an Insurgency? The word insurgent is defined as one who revolts against civil authority or an established government, as well as one who acts contrary to the policies and decisions of one's own political party"The 2008 campaign was the most special thing a lot of us have ever been a part of," Messina said in a Web video. "But if we just run that same campaign, we stand a good chance of losing. We've got to run a new campaign."“We ought not act like an incumbent, we’ve got to act like an insurgent campaign that wakes up every single day, trying to get every single vote we can,”Hmmmm....Chicago politics mixed with Egypt insurgent ingredients ,i'm sure the unions & New Black panthers will be able and willing to truck in the goons for this event .American Patriots : the country is in grave danger!Read and see the full story here.

• Obamination: Easter Prayer Breakfast.By Dajjal.(Bloggerbase) Was it really about resurrection, salvation & prayer, or was it about cronyism, politics and image making?

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you. Please, please have a seat.

Well, it is absolutely wonderful to be here with all of you today. I see so many good friends all around the room.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge one particular member of my administration who I’m extraordinarily proud of and does not get much credit, and that is USAID Administrator, Dr. Raj Shah, who is doing great work with faith leaders. (Applause.) Where’s Raj? Where is he? There he is right there. Raj is doing great work with faith leaders on our Feed the Future global hunger program, as well as on a host of other issues. We could not be prouder of the work that he’s doing. I also want to acknowledge Congressman Mike McIntyre and his wife, Dee. (Applause.) Mike -- as some of you know, obviously, North Carolina was ravaged by storms this past weekend, and our thoughts and prayers are with all the families who have been affected down there. I know that Mike will be helping those communities rebuild after the devastation.

To all the faith leaders and the distinguished guests that are here today, welcome to our second annual -- I’m going to make it annual, why not? (Laughter and applause.) Our second Easter Prayer Breakfast. The Easter Egg Roll, that’s well established. (Laughter.) The Prayer Breakfast we started last year, in part because it gave me a good excuse to bring together people who have been such extraordinary influences in my life and such great friends. And it gives me a chance to meet and make some new friends here in the White House.I wanted to host this breakfast for a simple reason -– because as busy as we are, as many tasks as pile up, during this season, we are reminded that there’s something about the resurrection -- something about the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ, that puts everything else in perspective.

We all live in the hustle and bustle of our work. And everybody in this room has weighty responsibilities, from leading churches and denominations, to helping to administer important government programs, to shaping our culture in various ways. And I admit that my plate has been full as well. (Laughter.) The inbox keeps on accumulating. (Laughter.)

But then comes Holy Week. The triumph of Palm Sunday. The humility of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. His slow march up that hill, and the pain and the scorn and the shame of the cross.

And we’re reminded that in that moment, he took on the sins of the world -- past, present and future -- and he extended to us that unfathomable gift of grace and salvation through his death and resurrection.

In the words of the book Isaiah: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Dr. Raj Shah Why did the President make a big deal of introducing one of his appointees at a prayer breakfast celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why introduce unrelated issues to a spiritually oriented function? Perhaps it fits into the pattern of the Passover statement, with its polemical concluding paragraph. Could it be that he had a similar screed ready for delivery at the prayer breakfast but omitted it for some reason?

Good excuse     That is the sort of throw away phrase that appears incongruous in a situation of this nature. A celebration of the most profound act of deity is hardly to be considered as an excuse. If he wanted to have a party to reward old friends and make new ones, he could do it privately, without publicity and finance it from his own funds rather than having us pay for it.something about the resurrection When I heard Rush Limbaugh read those words on his radio show, I immediately recalled the title of a certain movie which featured a girl with a sticky substance in her hair, which formned a cowlick. That is hardly the sort of association proper to be made with the event being celebrated.

How, exactly, does the passion, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ put current political affairs in perspective? Perhaps it shows us the truly small and petty nature of the man who used the phrase.puts everything else in perspective Perhaps it puts the Jewish Temple sacrifice rituals into perspective, but it does nothing for temporal issues of rule & ruin imposed by dictators & demagogues.

grace and salvation God manifested himself in human form, to be able to share humanity and communicate directly with mankind on our level. He sacrificed his human life and restore it to himself to demonstrate his power over death.

the gift of our son Our son? In the next phrase, he uses the correct terms. I wonder whether the expression was an error or was intended to send some sort of perverse theological message.

Why is it that there was no proclamation of Good Friday or Easter? Freedomeden has the details of inconsistency,. Thee is another question: of sincerity. Two quotes from one of his biographies raise doubt.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance By Barack Obama - Page 163

I realized then, standing in an empty McDoinald's parking lot in the South Side of Chicago, that I was a heretic. Or worse--for even a heretic must believe in something, if nothing more than the truth of his own doubt. -   Page 286

And I would shrug and play the question off, unable to confess that I could no longer distinguish between faith and mere folly, between faith and simple endurance; that while I believed in the sincerity I heard in their voices, I remained a reluctant skeptic, doubtful of my own motives, wary of expedient conversion, having too many quarrels with God to accept a salvation too easily won.

Was the Easter Prayer breakfast founded in sincerity or was it a political charade? If it was purely spiritual, why was it followed by briefings with administration officials in which policy matters were discussed? Hmmmm......"Foolishness, weakness and shame in human eyes are wisdom, strength and honor in God's eyes "(1 Cor 1:20, 25). A true Christian wouldn't consider Jesus Crucifixion as "Shameful".Read the full story here.

• Imperial White House Admits Working On Executive Order Attacking First Amendment.(YidWithLid).It started with Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the right of corporations and unions to donate to campaigns, throwing out parts of McCain Feingold campaign finance law. The Court said the law violated the First Amendment to the Constitution. Little Chucky Schumer tried to create legislation to once again put restrictions on campaign (and internet free speech). He called it the "Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act" the DISCLOSE act. DISCLOSE "Get it?" asked Schumer when he announced the bill. Oh we got it, this is another progressive attempt at silencing Corporations while allowing labor unions to do just about whatever they want. Schumer's bill couldn't make it through the Congress dominated by his own party, so now the President is preparing an executive order that goes around the legislature and ignores the first amendment. The executive order is called the “Disclosure of Political Spending By Government Contractors,” the order would implement parts of Chucky Schumer's DISCLOSE Act and just like Schumer's law it restricts corporations while giving unions Carte Blanche.McConnell said in a statement last week, after reports of the draft emerged. “So recent press reports about an unprecedented draft Executive Order raise troubling concerns about an effort to silence or intimidate political adversaries’ speech through the government contracting system,” he said. “If true, the proposed effort would represent an outrageous and anti-democratic abuse of executive branch authority. No administration should use the federal contracting system for campaign purposes.” Hans A. von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, was skeptical of Carney’s assertion that the president was merely committed to transparency. “If transparency is the true goal, why isn’t the proposed executive order covering any outside entity that gets federal money? It only applies to government contractors, not grant recipients like Planned Parenthood,” he told CNSNews.com. “Public employee unions are also exempt from this order.” The draft executive order would require government contractors to disclose:

•“All contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of federal candidates, parties or party committees made by the bidding entity, its directors or officers, or any affiliates or subsidiaries within its control.”

•“Any contributions made to third party entities with the intention or reasonable expectation that parties would use those contributions to make independent expenditures or electioneering communications.”

In the end this is just one more attempt by the Obama administration to beat down the constitution and to go around Congress. Just as he did with Obamacare, the Auto Buyout and the Czars this President's arrogance continues to place him at odds with the welfare of the American People.Hmmmm......."Democracy or dictatorship"?Read the full story here.

• EPA again blocks Shell from drilling on leases it bought from the federal government for billions, which should do wonders for gas prices.(DougRoss).For those of you drones out there who still think, naively, that President Obama is trying to help out the little guy, may I present the following chart?This is the average, retail national price of a gallon of gas over the past year.So, Doug, you say -- the price of gas isn't President Obama's fault. It's the speculators. And the oil companies. And Sarah Palin.The Environmental Protection Agency -- also known as the flat-Earth, no growth, taxpayer-funded, eco-Marxists (which is the term they prefer, I hear) -- is intentionally killing off domestic energy production. Presumably this makes good on at least one of President Obama's campaign promises -- in this case, that energy prices "will necessarily skyrocket."We are the only country on the face of the Earth that restricts access to its own vast energy resources.These suicidal policies represent an existential economic and national security threat.And this is an intentional strategy on the part of President Obama.I hate to use the I-word, but I truly feel that these policies -- opposed by the vast majority of Americans and unworthy of a "Commander-in-Chief" -- represent a crime of the highest order.And this setback will cost Shell roughly $4 billion or more, which should do wonders for gas prices. Republicans better stand up to these bullying environmental nuts and de-fund the entire EPA until Obama is out of office.Hmmmm......"My Mission to destroy America from within"?Read the full story here.

• Not a Joke - Petrol station charges €9.99 a litre $40/gallon)for gas.(TundraTabloids)Police were called after a petrol station near Stuttgart began charging €9.99 per litre ($40 per gallon) of super gasoline amid dwindling supplies on Easter Monday.In the town of Filderstadt, south of the Baden-Württemberg capital, the Esso petrol station apparently raised the price to a prohibitive level in a deliberate attempt to dissuade motorists from buying it, police reported. The station was running low on the fuel amid a nationwide shortage.Nevertheless, several customers still used the pump, despite the fact that it actually carried a warning sign against filling up with super. They were then taken by complete surprise when they got to the cash register.Customer Yunus G. told daily Bild he put 21 litres in his BMW and was asked to pay €209.98.“I didn’t pay attention to the price. Who expects something like that? Nearly €10 for one litre? It’s a swindle,” he said.He called the police but was told he needed to pay, otherwise the Esso station would make a complaint.One woman from Filderstadt was asked to pay just under €200 for 20 litres. Another customer filled up with 10 litres. Both also refused to pay and instead called the police.The Esso attendant had done nothing wrong, police said, because he had no say in the fuel price.“The price was determined by the head office,” a police spokesman said.About one in five petrol stations in and around Stuttgart had run dry of super on Monday afternoon. There was a choke on fuel supplies across the country because of the combination of Easter traffic, the holiday ban on fuel tankers, and logistical problems for petrol companies associated with the introduction of the E10 ethanol fuel.But it had not been as bad as expected, according to Shell spokeswoman Cornelia Wolber.“The situation is for nowhere near as bad as feared,” she said.Hmmmm.....A glimps in to America's near future?Read the full story here.

• Report: CIA chief held secret talks on Syria in Turkey.(Ynet).Report: CIA chief held secret talks on Syria in Turkey .Ankara-based newspaper says Leon Panetta spent five days in Turkish capital reviewing recent unrest sweeping through Arab nations, mulling possible regime change in Syria.United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Chief Leon Panetta reportedly held a secret visit to Turkey lately, the Ankara-based Turkish daily Sabah reported.Talks included planning for a possible regime change in Syria and ensuring the safety of the Assad family, the paper said. Panetta reportedly set up a camp in the Turkish capital for five days in order to discuss the uprisings in Arab countries with top Turkish officials. Panetta is rumored to have met with head of the Turkish Intelligence Organization (MIT), members of the government and officials from the General Staff.MIT chief Hakan Fidan was sent to Syria to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month.The talks also touched on the fighting in Libya, Turkish-Israeli relations, intelligence-sharing in Iraq, cooperation in Afghanistan and the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, Sabah said. Sabah's claim that Panneta's talks included planning for possible regime change in Syria and ensuring the safety of the Assad family, were not corroborated by any other source.Hmmm....Weekly phone calls between erdogan and Obama ,CIA head in Turkey ,since when is Turkey running US Foreign policy?What's the next step ....Turkish troops occupying Israel?Read the full story here.

• 35 radicals trained for terrorism at British mosques, Guantanamo files reveal.(DailyMail).Britain's mosques became an international haven for extremists who enjoyed state benefits while being trained for terrorism, leaked documents show.The WikiLeaks files, written by U.S. military chiefs, reveal that at least 35 Guantanamo terrorists were radicalised in London mosques before being sent to fight against the West. This is believed to be more than any other Western country.Of these, just 17 were British nationals or had been granted asylum, while 18 had travelled from abroad – cementing Britain’s reputation as a global training camp for terrorists.U.S. intelligence officers describe Finsbury Park mosque, in North London, as a ‘haven for Islamic extremists from Morocco and Algeria’ and ‘an attack planning and propaganda production base’.After their UK trip they were then flown to Pakistan and Afghanistan where they were taught to fight and make bombs. The leaked documents also show that an Al Qaeda ‘assassin’ accused of bombing two churches and a luxury hotel in Pakistan was at the same time working for MI6. Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili was captured in 2003 and sent to Guantanamo Bay where interrogators were convinced that he was an informer for British intelligence.U.S. intelligence reports describe the 35-year-old Algerian citizen as a ‘facilitator, courier, kidnapper, and assassin for Al Qaeda’. CIA interrogators found him ‘to have withheld important information from …British Secret Intelligence Service … and to be a threat to U.S. and allied personnel in Afghanistan and Pakistan’.He has been returned to Algeria but it is not clear whether he will stand trial there.Read the full story here.

• Video shows Turkish police singing Grey Wolf march.(Hurriyetdaily).An elite police unit chanted Grey Wolf slogans during April 10 Police Day ceremonies in Sivas in an incident that could deepen a recent debate between the government and the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, about mobilizing supporters’ groups, reports said.The video taken by a cell phone shows members of the Special Operations police unit marching along the Central Anatolian province’s Atatürk Avenue on their way back to the police headquarters from İstasyon Avenue, where the parade was held. Police units marching in the front lines were silent, but the Special Operations unit marched, singing nationalist anthems, such as “This movement shall never die, this cause shall never die,” composed by Ozan Arif, a leading name among the Grey Wolves.The records also show police chiefs walking at the front and chanting “Who are these?” while police units reply back “The Grey Wolves,” as passersby clapped and cheered in support.The videos were reported to be circulating on a number of video sharing websites, according to Doğan news agency, or DHA.The video comes shortly after an election quarrel between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, in which the former claimed that he could rally 10,000 supporters in Taksim Square in Istanbul if he wanted to in response to recent student demonstrations against the university entrance exam scandal. In response, Bahçeli claimed that just 1,000 of his Grey Wolves would be sufficient to rout the prime minister’s 10,000 supporters.The Grey Wolves, also commonly referred to as the Ülkü Ocakları (Idealist Hearths), are a youth organization with close links to the MHP.Hmmmm.....Keep Turkey out of the European Union!Read the full story here.

• Were Conquered Christians Really Liberated Muslims?(Aina).Imagine if a top American historian appeared on the MSM insisting that the only reason Europeans conquered the Americas was to "defend" the Native Americans--who somehow had adopted Christianity centuries before Jesus was born--from being persecuted by heathen tribes.While that would create a maelstrom of outrage and derision in the West, in the Arab world--where some think bewitched animals work as infidel operatives--such absurdities regularly pass for "truth."

Copts: Muslims Before Muhammad

Consider the case of Fadel Soliman, a celebrated Sharia expert and Arab media darling, who regularly appears on al-Jazeera. Director of the Bridges Foundation--which teaches Muslims "how to present Islam" to non-Muslims--Soliman also lectures at Western universities, churches, and governmental agencies, including the U.S. Dept. of Defense.His new Arabic book, Copts: Muslims Before Muhammad, asserts that, at the time of the Muslim conquest of Egypt (c. 640), the vast majority of Egyptians were not, as history has long taught, Christians, but rather prototypical Muslims, or muwahidin, who were actually being oppressed by Christians: hence, the Muslim conquest of Egypt was really about "liberating" fellow Muslims. Soliman's evidence is that the Arian sect, which rejected the claim that Jesus was coequal with God, was present in 4th century Egypt. Therefore, according to Soliman, the indigenous Egyptians were practicing Islam hundreds of years before it was founded in the 7th century.As with much of modern academia's approach to Islam, this thesis is based on pure fiction. While the Arians were pronounced heretics at the Council of Nicea (325) for their interpretation of the Trinity, they nonetheless accepted all of Christianity's core tenets--including original sin, crucifixion, resurrection, and salvation--all of which directly contradict Islam's teachings. What an imaginative stretch, then, for Soliman to portray the Arians as prototypical Muslims, simply because they did not believe Jesus was coequal with God (a standard that would make many people today "Muslims").Needless to say, no historian has ever suggested that Muslims invaded Egypt to liberate "proto-Muslims." Rather, the Muslim historians who wrote our primary sources on Islam, candidly and refreshingly present the conquests as they were--conquests, for the glory and empowerment of Islam and its followers at the expense of unbelieving infidels.Of course, with the weakening of Islam in the modern era, embarrassed Muslims began to euphemize their imperialistic history, portraying jihad as "defensive," "spiritual," etc.--culminating with Soliman's fairy tale. Even the unapologetic Sayyid Qutb, the sheikh of "radical Islam," interpreted jihad and the conquests as "altruistic" endeavors to "liberate" mankind.Considering Islam's lax views on deception, this comes as no surprise. After all, whether Muslims consciously deceive infidels or unconsciously deceive themselves, the goal has long been one: empowering Islam and its adherents--reality be damned.Hmmmm......Ergo "Truth becomes hatespeech"?Read the full story here.

• Iranian Judiciary Spokesman: Americans' Trial to Continue May 11.(Memri).The spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohsen-Ejei, announced that charges have been brought against Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Hashemi Rafsanjani, who said in an online interview that the hands of the Iranian regime were the hands of brutal thugs. Ejei said further that the trial of the three Americans (Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, who were captured near the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 and accused of spying) would recommence March 11. Sarah Shourd was released on bail of $500,000 last September and returned to the US. Source.

• Iranian women's carelessness in following the Islamic dress code had assumed the proportions of a "cultural disaster".(Memri).Iranian Cleric: Ahmadinejad Lax in Enforcing Islamic Dress CodeCleric Ahmad Khatami, a senior figure in the Iranian regime, said that Ahmadinejad's government was being lax in enforcing the Islamic dress code among women, and this in order to appease those Iranians who did not vote for Ahmadinejad in the previous elections. He added that the women's carelessness in following the Islamic dress code had assumed the proportions of a "cultural disaster."Hmmmm.....Expect soon major earthquakes in the region.Read the full story here.

• Demolition begins on Monument to Humanity in eastern Turkey.(Hurriyetdaily).The municipality is not destroying the “Monument to Humanity,” but “humanity” itself, said Naif Alibeyoğlu, the former Republican People’s Party, or CHP, mayor who originally approved the construction of the peace monument in 2004.A cable used in the demolition process snapped four times before the contractors, who shouted “Allahuekber” (God is Great) before beginning the work, were able to remove the head via crane. The firm decided to place the first head in a cargo truck after a smaller truck was unable to transport the massive head, Doğan News Agency, or DHA, reported.The head will be delivered to a storage site belonging to the municipality in the eastern province.Sculptor Mehmet Aksoy said in January 2010 that Alibeyoğlu had wanted a monument of peace as opposed to other monuments with messages of war and hatred. “War is a crime against humanity and people cannot progress forward with wars.”Aksoy has also warned that a demolition of the monument would resemble the Taliban’s destruction of ancient Buddhist statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, in 2001 and be an embarrassment for EU-candidate Turkey.“These two figures in the sculpture are actually a single human torn in half. They are in a position of confrontation against each other, made into enemies. The two figures become a single person again with the outreached hand.”Meanwhile, a group of people from the Republic Coalition Platform protested the demolition in front of the Culture Ministry building in Ankara, Anatolia news agency reported Tuesday.A press statement released by the group said it was remaining true to the principles of modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in trying to promote art.Recalling that long-time Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek one said in reference to a sculpture that “I spit at this kind of art,” the group said such behavior was being displayed again with the description of the Monument to Humanity as “freakish.”Hmmmmm........"Islam the religion of peace'.Read the full story here.