MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - May 15. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - May 15. Here (Al-Jazeera).

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

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 109.Source : Here .

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

• Breaking: 'Palestinians' from Syria invade Israel, tens wounded; UPDATED .(IsraelMatzav).At Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, hundreds of 'Palestinians' from 'refugee camps' in Syria crossed the border into Israel. Tens have been injured in firefights with the IDF and there are apparently some (at least one) dead. The area is a closed military zone, and Magen David Adom has announced a multi-casualty incident.In Lebanon, the Lebanese Armed Forces shot in the air to stop 'Palestinian refugees' from crossing into Israel from a rally across the border from Avivim in Ras Amoun.'Palestinians' claim 45 people where hurt in a march to the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel (which has been closed for months).A couple of lesser incidents in and around Jerusalem.Read the full story here.

• Breaking - Al Qaeda suspects arrested Sunday in Tunisia, carrying explosives belt and bombs.(Al-Arabia).Two suspected North African Al Qaeda militants have been arrested in possession of an explosives belt in southern Tunisia, state television reported Sunday.The men also had bombs with them when they were arrested in Nekrif, in the Tataouine region, 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the border with Libya, the report said.The television did not immediately give any other details on the circumstances of the arrest or the men's nationality. They were described as suspected members of the shadowy Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI).But a source told Al Arabiya that one of the suspects was an Algerian, arrested with an explosive belt, while the second suspect was Libyan and has been arrested in possession of grenade. Both apparently entered the country from Algeria. The Tunisian interior ministry on Thursday called on citizens to immediately report any suspect movements or any “sheltering of foreign nationals” to the authorities.The appeal came after two Libyans were arrested in possession of a homemade bomb in Tataouine, 130 kilometers from the Dehiba border post with Libya.The men had come from Algeria and were trying to return to Libya with the bomb when police arrested them on Tuesday night, the interior ministry said.Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• America Is Rapidly Bleeding Wealth And Jobs: 28 Statistics About The Gutting Of The U.S. Economy That Will Blow Your Mind.(AmericanDream).Red alert! Over 40 billion dollars of America's national wealth is being shipped out of the country every single month. Our economy is being gutted and we are bleeding wealth and we are bleeding jobs. This is a distress call. Is anyone listening? Thousands of our factories and millions of our jobs are being shipped overseas. Over the past decade over 6 trillion dollars have been transferred into the hands of foreigners. Our national government is so broke that they constantly have to go and beg those foreigners to lend us back some of that money in order to finance our exploding debt. The number of good jobs continues to decline and there are millions upon millions of my countrymen that are unemployed. Can anybody help us? Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!Sadly, the vast majority of Americans really are dead asleep on this issue. They just continue to run out to the big retail stores and fill their carts with products made in China and yet they seem completely bewildered by the fact that the number of good jobs continues to decline.Over the past decade, the number of middle class jobs has fallen by about ten percent. There is a reason for this. America is becoming poorer. The economic pie is shrinking. When we ship 40 to 50 billion dollars into the hands of foreigners every single month, that means that there is a lot less wealth for all of us to divide up.Every single month, the U.S. ships in massive amounts of foreign oil and massive amounts of cheap plastic trinkets from places such as China which we greedily consume. In return, we send them a giant pile of money.This happens month after month after month. You see, we always need more of their oil and more of their plastic trinkets. They are more than happy to keep getting richer and richer.Meanwhile, thousands of our factories and millions of our jobs continue to be sent overseas where labor is far cheaper. Thanks to globalization, American workers much now directly compete for jobs with workers that are willing to work for less than a dollar an hour on the other side of the globe.The dismantling of our economy is happening right in front of our eyes and most of our politicians are not doing a thing to stop it.The following are 28 statistics about the gutting of the U.S. economy that will blow your mind....Read the full story here.

• TurboTax Tim Geithner's Apocalyptic Debt Ceiling Rhetoric: 100% Pure Lies.(DougRoss).Just moments ago, our beloved, tax-challenged Treasury Secretary issued his latest salvo in the debt ceiling propaganda campaign.With the government about to hit its $14.3 trillion debt limit, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned of "catastrophic" consequences and a new recession if Washington is not able to borrow more.A divided Congress has run out of time to raise the debt limit before Monday's deadline, forcing Geithner into an emergency reallocation of funds so the government can meet its obligations, including payments to Treasury bondholders.Those measures are only expected to give the government until August 2 before it will start defaulting on payments including those on Treasury debt, an event that could trigger chaos in world financial markets."A default would inflict catastrophic, far-reaching damage on our nation's economy, significantly reducing growth and increasing unemployment," Geithner said...Real 'wrath of God'-type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! 40 years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes. The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!Legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller says Geithner is a fool and a liar. Or at least, that's how I interpreted his debunking of Timmay's apocalyptic rhetoric.Mr. Druckenmiller had already recognized that the government had embarked on a long-term march to financial ruin. So he publicly opposed the hysterical warnings from financial eminences, similar to those we hear today

......He recalls that then-Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin warned that if the political stand-off forced the government to delay a debt payment, the Treasury bond market would be impaired for 20 years. "Excuse me? Russia had a real default and two or three years later they had all-time low interest rates," says Mr. Druckenmiller.

...In the future, he says, "People aren't going to wonder whether 20 years ago we delayed an interest payment for six days. They're going to wonder whether we got our house in order." Which begs the question: if interest rates are so low today, is the market not appreciating the current path of "financial ruin"?

...Asked if the future is not so bad judging by today's low bond rates he says, "Complete nonsense. It's not a free market. It's not a clean market." The Federal Reserve is doing much of the buying of Treasury bonds lately through its "quantitative easing" (QE) program, he points out. "The market isn't saying anything about the future. It's saying there's a phony buyer of $19 billion of Treasurys a week."

...Of course, there is another name for this type of arrangement and so far only Bill Gross has used it: Ponzi Scheme.Read the full story here.

• Breaking story - Pakistan - Suicide blast kills seven on Kharian bound bus.(PakoObserver).Kharian—Seven people were killed and 15 injured in a suicide blast on a passenger bus traveling from Kotla to Kharian in the Sara-e-Alamgir area on Saturday. Sources say, a blast had occurred on the bus at 7:35pm when it arrived near Chak Kamal village.According to information available, explosion was believed to be a suicide blast. Local officials had confirmed that a bomb had detonated on the bus, setting the bus and nearby fields on fire. Initial reports state that three women and one child died killed as a result of the blast. The bus had caught fire and more casualties were feared. Read the full story here.

• Obama administration spends more than a $1Million a day aiding Turkey combatting the PKK.(HurriyetDaily).US reconnaissance plane supplying Turkey with intelligence.A United States reconnaissance plane called EP–3E, which specializes in intercepting communication and radar signals, has allegedly been relaying critical intelligence to the Turkish military about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, movements.The U.S. ambassador to Ankara, Francis J. Ricciardone, however, refused to disclose any further information regarding his earlier claims that the U.S. incurred about $400 million in annual costs, or about $ 1 million a day, assisting Turkey to help fight terrorism.“The PKK also knows that we are [assisting Turkey in her fight.] They must be wondering why the targeting is so accurate,” said Ricciardone who added he would not be able to divulge any details about intelligence disbursements, while talking to members of press in Istanbul on Wednesday.The U.S. military unit that supplies information to the Turkish military is called VQ–2, or Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two, originally founded in 1955. The EP–3E reconnaissance planes, allegedly relay key intelligence about PKK movements to the Turkish military, are reportedly part of this unit, which operates under the U.S. Navy. The unit is located on Whidbey Island, but in case it is involved in PKK-related operations, it would then be serving under the command of the 6th U.S. Fleet, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Command.Ambassador Ricciardone also said political and military cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey always was and still is strong during his visit to the 2011 International Defense Industry Fair, or IDEF, in Istanbul between May 10 and 13. The U.S. diplomat added that Turkish and American military personnel, diplomats and civilians were working shoulder to shoulder to maintain peace and security in the world, citing Libya and Somalia as examples of successful cooperation between the two countries. Ricciardone further said as the defense industry grows, it would prove to be one of the primary links in economic ties between Turkey and the U.S.Hmmmm.....Makes you wonder who supplies the chemical weapons used against the PKK?No wonder Obama calls Erdogan weekly.Read the full story here.

• Turkey - Together against murders of women,is Erdogan planning to turn back the women rights according to Islamic teachings?(HurriyetDaily).Ayşe Paşalı has become a symbolic name of murdered women in Turkey.Before she was stabbed to death by her ex-husband, Ayşe was beaten-up as we saw her purple-eyed swollen face in newspapers and on TV, God knows how many times.Ayşe Paşalı was a symbol because she was denied the protected she requested.Beaten-up and threatened she was killed by her ex-husband in the end as a result of 11 knife strokes.We learned that Paşalı’s ex-husband, İstikbal Yetkin, was accused of “voluntary manslaughter” and sentenced to a heavy lifetime in prison.The decision might be appealed at the Court of Appeals though.If the high court reaches a parallel decision, it would be a relief for everyone.Such a decision in the Ayşe Paşalı murder case is in fact a success of women organizations to some degree.For instance, let’s see what the Istanbul Feminist Collective has done for keeping the Paşalı murder case on the agenda and until the court reached a fair decision: The Istanbul Feminist Collective “stayed on guard” [for two days] in squares and organization centers in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Van, Diyarbakır, Sinop, Urfa, Mersin, Adana, Mersin, Eskişehir, Nevşehir, Samsun and Trabzon until the court reached the verdict in the Paşalı murder case.As the verdict came in the Ayşe Paşalı case, we received more good news in the issue of violence against women.The Council of Europe opened the convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence to be signed during a council meeting in Istanbul.A total of 13 countries, including Turkey, signed the convention.A few hours later, I was with the Council of Europe Deputy Secretary, General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, at the Çırağan Palace, Istanbul.In office since 2002, Boer-Buquicchio is the first female deputy secretary general in the Council of Europe.She has been fighting for women’s and children’s rights for years.Exerting efforts for years to materialize the Council of Europe convention, Boer-Buquicchio says Turkey has played an active role in preparation of the blueprint.The Council of Europe’s convention gives us hope for the prevention of violence against women. However, this is Turkey and we have both good and bad news.The Gender Equality Mechanisms Women Platform, an umbrella organization for nearly 60 member women organizations, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.The platform poses question to Erdoğan about the claims concerning the abolishment of the State Ministry for Women’s Issues and Women’s Status and Issues General Directorate under the prime ministry.The reason for claims is the law numbered 6223 that has passed for radical changes in the government structure.The law implies that the State Ministry for Women could be transformed into a kind of Social Services Ministry and Women’s States General Directorate into Women and Family Directorate.Women organizations naturally question why the preparation phase of the law is not transparent and why they are not consulted with along the process.Will Erdoğan reply to this letter?Hmmmm.......Obama's buddy Erdogan:“I do not believe in gender equality”.Read the full story here.

• Two Egyptian Christian protesters shot, blast near Sinai tomb.(Reuters).Two Egyptian protesters were shot in Cairo during Christian and Muslim demonstrations and an explosion occurred near the tomb of a prominent Muslim sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula, state news agency MENA said.A car driving on a bridge over the area where the protesters were gathered, which is in front of the state television building, fired gunshots into the crowd, wounding two people late Saturday.The agency did not say the religion of the victims, but a security source said they were Christians. There were no further details about the Sinai blast, but both acts of violence will add pressure on Egypt's military rulers to ensure stability and security following the popular revolt that forced out President Hosni Mubarak in February. Although Muslims and Christians came together to overthrow Mubarak, interfaith tensions have since grown and 12 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in recent clashes.Sectarian strife often flares in Egypt over conversions, family disputes and the construction of churches.State television aired footage Sunday of fighting between what it said were Christians and unknown people, with 10 people hurt."Cairo's security forces have managed to arrest one of the shooters and he is currently being questioned to know who his partners are and the motives behind such violent action," MENA said.Last Saturday, violent confrontations between some of Egypt's majority Muslims and minority Christians prompted angry protests by Egyptians from both faiths who called on army rulers to use an "iron fist" against the instigators. Egypt's interim ruling military council which took over after Mubarak stepped down on February 11 vowed Friday to use all means to crack down on what they described "deviant groups" threatening stability and security.Hmmmm......Christians are 'fair game' since Obama removed Mubarak,well done Mr President.Read the full story here.

• Related -Scores wounded in sectarian clashes in Egypt.(Al-Jazeera).Coptic Christian pope calls for end of demonstration after 78 people wounded at state television building. Clashes between Coptic Christians and unidentified assailants at a sit-in near the state television building in Cairo have left 78 people injured, the Egyptian Health Ministry said on Sunday.During the sporadic fighting, which lasted for several hours, two Christian protesters were hit by gunfire that came from a car parked on a bridge above the protest, the Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm reported. Earlier on Sunday, state television reported that two people had died as a result of the fighting, but the Health Ministry said none had been killed.The fighting began at around 9pm Saturday night, when dozens of men from poor neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the state television building attacked the Christian sit-in with stones, Molotov cocktails and live ammunition, witnesses said. The protesters were armed with clubs and metal chains and could be seen throwing rocks and their own petrol bombs, they said.Demonstrators had earlier prevented a motorist from driving through the sit-in, prompting him to fire at them with birdshot, the AP news agency reported, citing a security official. The protesters chased the man down and beat him, which may have inspired at least some of the members of the mob that returned to attack the protest, the AP said.Military troops formed a cordon to separate the sit-in from the attackers, fired into the air and used tear gas to stop the fighting early on Sunday.At least 10 cars were set ablaze and 50 people were arrested, interior ministry sources said.  Four hours after the start of clashes, state television announced that the military had intervened and succeeded in restoring order.Alfred Raouf, a witness on the scene, said armoured vehicles later blocked traffic and pedestrians from going down from the bridge toward the protest area.Egypt's interim ruling military council vowed on Friday to use all means to crack down on what they called "deviant groups" threatening stability and security.Copts account for up to 10 pecent of the country's more than 80 million people. They complain of discrimination, and have been the target of repeated sectarian attacks.Hmmmm......The 'people' the Obama regime gave one Billion Dollar and promised 1.57 Billion Dollar in 2012.Read the full story here.

• Egyptian woman arrested over deadly sectarian violence.(HurriyetDaily).A young Egyptian woman whose complicated love life led to Muslim-Christian clashes that killed 15 people in Cairo was arrested on Thursday and charged with polyandry, a judicial source told AFP.Abeer Talaat Fakhry, 26, was living with her Christian husband in the southern city of Assiut when she ran away from home, converted to Islam and "married" Muslim Yassin Thabet, the source said.Hundreds of ultra-conservative Muslims known as "Salafists" attacked a church in the poor Cairo district of Imbaba on Saturday, spurred on by rumors that Fakhry had converted to Islam and was being held there against her will. Salafism is a strain of thought in Islam that seeks to interpret religion through the prism of Islam’s "Salaf," or forefathers.In subsequent clashes with Christians, 15 people died and more than 200 others were injured.But the source said Fakhry was actually with her new "husband" in a house next door to the church and had fled when the clashes began.The largest Christian community in Egypt is that of the Copts, in whose church divorce is extremely difficult to obtain.There have been a number of cases, in which unhappy women have left their husbands, converted to Islam and "married" Muslims, but those marriages are not recognized by law, hence, the charge that Fakhry committed polyandry, or had more than one husband.Claims that Christian women, who had converted to Islam, were kidnapped and being held in churches or monasteries have soured relations between the two communities for months.Islam allows non-Muslim women to marry into the faith, but prohibits Muslim women from marrying outside of it.Copts account for up to 10 percent of the country's 80 million people. They complain of discrimination, and have been the targets of fairly regular sectarian attacks.Read the full story here.

• Osama bin Laden hiding place visited by Taliban.(Telegraph).Osama bin Laden received visits from Taliban leaders and wealthy Arab supporters while he was hiding out in a fortified compound in a Pakistani garrison town, it has emerged. The revelation that the al-Qaeda chief had direct contact with his followers - and did not rely solely on messengers - came as a US-led task force urgently trawled captured documents and computer files for terror plots and information about extremists.British intelligence agents last week joined their US counterparts to sift through the material after repeated references to Britain were found in the haul retrieved from bin Laden's compound when US commandos killed him this month.An AfghanTaliban commander, who has previously provided reliable information to foreign media, disclosed that he had visited bin Laden at the compound in Abbottabad.He said that the Saudi terror chief also received sporadic visits from leaders of his al-Qaeda network, Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers.The disclosure will be crucial for Western intelligence chiefs as they try and assess bin Laden's role in international terror operations. They had initially believed that his contact with the outside world was conducted via messages on computer thumb drives.When the commander, who asked not to be named, last saw bin Laden in Abbottabad two years ago, he seemed healthy and well briefed on recent developments, but concerned about his safety and money.Bin Laden confided that he had to continue to meet top aides because so many senior lieutenants had been captured or killed. "He said he had no choice but to be active and meet people, despite the security risks," the Taliban leader said. "He was meeting with other top al Qaeda leaders who could get access to Abbottabad without endangering their safety."Agents with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate are refusing to share details of suspects or plots in protest at the US operation to kill bin Laden, raising the potential threat of attacks on Western cities. Read the full story here.

• 'All the kids are scared of Arabs now'.(Ynet).Truck driver responsible for killing one, injuring 17 during road rampage, hit school fence, stirring panic among elementary schoolchildren. 'All the kids started crying and ran to their parents,' says fourth grade student Liraz.The road rampage of a 22-year old Israeli-Arab from Kfar Kassem ended right outside the entrance to an elementary school. Luckily, no schoolchildren were outside at the time."It was just before lunch break, and when we entered the classroom we saw the teacher calling the police. Then we looked outside the window and saw that a bus and truck collided into the school gate.Sixth grade student Linoi said she heard a loud boom and "everybody looked out the window. Everyone was frightened and we weren’t allowed to leave the classroom. Later they asked us to go downstairs to the courtyard and they locked the school building. I was very frightened, I really hope these things never happen again," she noted. Ravit, the mother of a fourth grader at the school, said her son didn’t want to go to school and stayed home. "My older daughter read on the internet that there will be terror attacks today – and so they didn’t want to go to school. Right by where the truck stopped there is an 'animal corner' next to which the kids plant seeds twice a week. It was a miracle that no one was injured," she said. Another parent said "my husband works with Arabs and we try to teach our daughter that not all Arabs are bad, but this kind of incident is very traumatic for a little girl and makes it hard for her to understand that there are differences between people. Read the full story here.

• Related - Driver's mom: My son doesn't kill Jews.(Ynet).Police suspect Tel Aviv incident in which one man was killed is terror act as witnesses describe 'murder in driver's eyes'. But relatives of truck driver Islam Ibrahim Issa claim 'he must have been tired'.The family of a 23-year-old Kfar Kassem resident, Islam Ibrahim Issa, strongly denies his involvement in a terror attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday. "He was probably tired," a relative told Ynet.The truck driver who ran over some 15 vehicles and caused the death of one person and injured 17 others, is currently being questioned by police.During questioning, the Issa told police his tire had exploded causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Meanwhile all of the eyewitnesses on location are certain it was a terror attack. "He had murder in his eyes," claimed the driver of a bus hit by the truck. "I was driving on the Lod road and saw from a distance a truck running over cars from all directions. I saw the truck approaching me and decided to turn right. I immediately realized it was a terror attack because of Nakba Day." Other witnesses said the truck driver got out of the truck and tried to assault a woman with a traffic light that had collapsed.Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch addressed the attack in Tel Aviv saying: "The situation is under investigation. The young man is being questioned and police are still checking whether it was an accident or a terror attack." He added that the suspect has "no nationalistic background."However, the Issa's relatives argue the truck driver had no malicious intent. They described an ambitious young man who was the only breadwinner in his family after his father became ill.Read the full story here.

• Crown prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops with help from founder of Blackwater.(HurriyetDaily).The billionaire founder of Blackwater Worldwide, a scandal-plagued U.S. security firm accused of abuses in Iraq, was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops, The New York Times reported Sunday.Citing unnamed U.S. officials and corporate documents, the newspaper said that Erik Prince, who came to live in the United Arab Emirates last year after his security business faced mounting legal problems in the United States, is using $529 million from the sheikdom to complete the mission.The force is intended to conduct special operations missions inside and outside the country, defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks and put down internal revolts, the report said.Such troops could be deployed if the Emirates faced unrest or were challenged by pro-democracy demonstrations in its crowded labor camps in the oil fields or democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world this year, the paper noted.The UAE's rulers also hope that the troops could blunt the regional aggression of Iran, the country's biggest foe, the report said. Their training camp is located on a sprawling Emirati base called Zayed Military City, according to the report.The first recruits include Colombians, along with South African and other foreign troops, who are trained by retired U.S. soldiers and veterans of the German and British special operations units as well as the French Foreign Legion, the paper said.Blackwater security guards were accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. Last month, a U.S. appeals court reopened the prosecution of four of these former guards.Hmmmmm.......We won't be kicked out like Mubarak?Read the full story here.More here.

• Reports of Prison Rapes of Iranian Dissidents Spark Call for Protests.(Fox).As Iranian students call for demonstrations on Sunday as a sign of solidarity with jailed student leader Majid Tavakoli, the blogosphere is buzzing over another imprisoned figure who has written an incendiary letter exposing the sordid details of sexual assaults against political prisoners and others.Journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian, serving a five-year prison sentence in Rejaie Shahr prison, wrote a September 2010 letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The letter has just been published on Kaleme, a website close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man who challenged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the last elections.

Mahmoudian, a member of the Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, which advocates “democratic interpretations of Islam,” says it is his religious duty to alert Khamenei’s attention to the abuses taking place in prison. Most shockingly, he writes in great detail about men being raped in the prison.“Throughout the different quarters of Rajaei Shahr prison, sodomy has become a commonplace routine occurrence. And it seems that to lessen the dangers of contamination, prison guards provide health products to inmates.”Mahmoudian does not use the word condoms, but that is the implication when he discusses “health products.” His letter goes on to say “anyone with a little beauty of the face, but who lacks physical strength in his arms or money in his account to pay extortionists, will be paraded in different rooms, and each quarter has a boss who will make money from this, and after a while can sell him to another.”According to the account of one political prisoner, a young man was raped seven times during a single night. “In the morning, when he complained about this to the guards, he was transferred to solitary.” Mahmoudian claims prison guards effectively use inmates as “rent boys,” selling them off for as much as $250.

“I don’t know what will become of me once this letter is published,” Mahmoudian also wrote.He has since been transferred to solitary confinement, his mother, Fatemeh Alvandi, told BBC Persian. She says also that he is being denied visitors, and his father was turned away from jail on Thursday after waiting hours to see his son.Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, tells Fox News that he understands sexual assault takes place in Iranian jails. “We know rape was used as a form of punishment against post-election protestors on a wide scale, and within prisons today, rape appears to be common, encouraged by prison guards as a way to punish targeted prisoners.”Even cleric Mehdi Karroubi, former speaker of the Iranian parliament and another participant in the 2009 elections, has written about the sexual assault of young men in prisons. He says the assaults leave the men demoralized, with “physical and psychological problems, and unable to even leave their homes.” He also says reports of such abuses have been revealed to him by people in “sensitive positions.”Rejaie Shahr prison was once notoriously known as a holding pen for hardened criminals and drug users. Today it's home to prisoners of conscience, such as Mahmoudian and Ahmad Zeidabadi.Fox News met Zeidabadi in 2005. Zeidabadi is known by Iranians as the “honor of the pen” and came across as a warm and humble man, and patient though somewhat nervous. He was willing to be interviewed by an American journalist because he already had his run-ins with Iranian authorities.A religious man, Zeidabadi has always advocated democracy in his country. But his insistence on referring to the supreme leader simply as "Mr. Khamenei” as opposed to a divine supreme leader got him into trouble. Zeidabadi was awarded the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2011 for his reporting.Zeidabadi was sentenced to six years imprisonment, after which he is to be exiled for five years to the desert town of Gonabad. The most unusual and unprecedented aspect of his sentence is a “lifetime ban from political and social life.Hmmmm.......Where's the 'Christian' Bible passage quoting US President now?Read the full story here.

• "Life and death in Iran's prisons."Jailed Student Zia Nabavi Writes Letter to Iranian Judiciary’s Head of Human Rights.(Persian2English).Seyed Zia Nabavi, a university student and the spokesperson for the Council of the Right to Education, who is jailed in exile in the city of Ahvaz, recently wrote an open letter to the head of human rights for Iran’s Judiciary describing the horrific and inhuman conditions in Karoun prison. Shortly after the letter was published on various Persian news sites, Zia Nabavi was transferred to another prison in Ahvaz with better conditions. The jailed student activist graduated from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology with a chemical engineering degree, but was prevented from completing his Master’s degree in Sociology after he was tagged a *’starred’ (banned) student.

To Mr. Mohammad Javad Ardeshir Larijani, the Head of the Human Rights Council for Iran’s Judiciary,

The letter you find before you has a long and detailed history. When I think back to October 2010, the date I was exiled to Karoun prison, I realize how many moments I had spent contemplating writing this letter. Of course, it goes without saying that there is a significant difference between contemplating something and actually doing it. This state of uncertainty is a characteristic of human behaviour that often creates doubt, suspicion, and apprehension, which results in our ineffectiveness.

Writing this letter was not easy by any means. Every time I took the pen to write on the paper a few lines of criticism, I kept questioning whether it was the right thing to do. I wondered what the purpose of writing such a letter was and if the conditions could indeed ever change. I kept deliberating what my role was: who am I to criticize? Am I capable of expressing my thoughts on paper? Does anything I say carry any weight?

Believe me, in the months since my exile to Karoun prison, I have often struggled with what I should do and how I should react in the face of the inhumane, unbearable, and disastrous conditions at this prison. Of course, since my arrival, I have discussed the prison conditions with the prison officials and judicial authorities; an act that has led to some positive results. The conditions in this prison are, however, so utterly out of the realm of what is considered appropriate, that I doubt [the issues] will be resolved even with the determination of all the prison authorities. We need a new approach and higher levels of authority in order to bring about the changes needed badly.I am fully aware that when reading this letter, your impression of [my] motives will strongly determine your reaction. I dare to hope that this letter will have a positive effect, [because I believe] you will read this letter with an empathetic point of view. However, I realize that your reaction to this letter is out of my hands. Frankly, any effort on my part to defend my motives (motives that are unclear even to me), would be immoral and incorrect to say the least. Perhaps it is best that you ignore my intentions altogether and look objectively.

I can guarantee, if nothing else, that I have not exaggerated my account on the conditions in Karoun prison. And although I may have inadvertently omitted information about the [prison's] shortcomings, I have not added anything that is not true. I have chosen to limit the content of this letter to my own experiences in Karoun prison’s ward 6, where I am currently jailed. It goes without saying that, in addition to the general challenges associated with this ward, I am dealing with my own unique set of problems related to the shortcomings of my legal case. Since discussing my case is beyond the scope of this letter, I will not delve into that matter.

The most significant challenge facing Karoun prison in Ahvaz is the intense overcrowding in, for example, ward 6, where I am currently incarcerated. Based on the number of beds available, this ward has a maximum capacity of 110 prisoners, but, on average, it holds more than 300 prisoners at a time; that is three times the maximum capacity that is permitted. It is obvious that with such overcrowding, [we] experience difficulties fitting in the rooms, even when standing, which has [forced] many to sleep on the floors ( I slept without a bed for six months). A third of the prisoners sleep outside in the courtyard, so the entire area allocated to prisoners to receive fresh air is covered with prison blankets. Additionally, a large number of prisoners are forced to spend day and night outdoors, regardless of the weather conditions. And when it rains at night, many of these prisoners are forced to take refuge in the prison’s kitchen, bathroom, or showers. Believe me, even witnessing such an event is horrific. These days the only thing that makes me happy is knowing that I am alive. I am grateful that I have never had to endure sleeping outside in the courtyard or in the bathroom like so many of the other prisoners.

The overcrowding at the prison has resulted in the integrating of prisoners. Although ward 6 is referred to as a “security” ward, only one out of every six inmates is charged with political or security-related crimes. The other inmates are held in the ward on drug-related charges or theft. One of the three rooms in the prison has been assigned to political prisoners and prisoners with security charges. However, with the exception of the sleeping quarters, all prisoners share the courtyard, kitchen, bathrooms and showers.

The prisoners charged with theft and drug-related crimes have their own specific set of problems like, drug addiction, dangerous illnesses, and other hygienic challenges that is generally not found in political prisoners. This makes it very difficult to be in close proximity to these prisoners.

It is worth mentioning that Ahvaz has a second prison dedicated to prisoners charged with financial crimes. This prison has much better hygienic conditions and would, without a doubt, have been a more logical location for the incarceration of political prisoners and prisoners charged with security crimes.

The courtyard where prisoners can take advantage of fresh air in ward 6 measures 8 x 15 meters, and, given the overcrowding of the ward, this means that during the assigned time to receive fresh air, each square meter is shared by three prisoners at a time. Only someone who has experienced prison life understands how torturous it is to be deprived of fresh air and an area to walk a few steps to stretch your legs. In addition, the courtyard is covered with a ceiling joist made of round iron bars that form a melded mesh. Though designed to prevent prisoners from escaping, it limits the amount of fresh air and results in extreme heat during the hellish summers in Ahvaz that make the courtyard feel like an oven. Sadly, there is also no shaded area, which leaves many prisoners exposed to the strong sunlight. The mesh ceiling also deprives prisoners of the limited pleasure of looking up at the blue sky, which makes [us] feel like caged animals.

The hygienic conditions at this prison are non-existent. Honestly, one cannot expect much more from such an old prison, considering the overcrowding and the types of prisoners held here. Some of the prisoners who lived simple lives outside of prison, are used to these conditions and have easily adapted to their surroundings. These individuals never shower, do not change their clothes, do not use any kind of soap, and walk around bare foot even when entering the bathrooms and other areas. Given their presence, I am sure you can begin to get a picture of the hygienic conditions in this ward. The bathrooms in ward 6 are also very dirty and sub par. In order to use the bathrooms or take a shower, one is forced to wait for hours. The running water in the shower is often cold. The bathroom sinks consist of six old water taps in a row that [only give cold water] and drain into a highly contaminated waterway. Oddly enough, [the bathroom area] is used for multiple purposes. Try and imagine a two meter area where someone is washing their hands, another is drinking water, someone else is brushing their teeth, another is washing dishes, someone else is cleaning himself for prayer, another is shaving, someone else is washing and draining their rice, while another blows his nose. Even though this is a nauseating thought, for those who experience it, sadly, there is no escape.

Another significant challenge in ward 6 is the sewage system. As a result of the inadequate sewage system, living with mice and cockroaches has become common for prisoners in this ward. A much more serious problem, however, is that the sewage system clogs once in a while, pours into the courtyard, and covers the area where prisoners sleep. The smell fills the entire outside area and lingers for hours. Honestly, at times, the contamination and stench is so maddening that it depicts a whiff of fresh air in an unattainable dream.

Although breathing the same cigarette smoke filled air in a confined area as many other prisoners is torture in itself, when mixed with the stench of sewage, it becomes even more unbearable; particularly if it begins to rain heavily because the courtyard turns into a swimming pool and it becomes impossible to move back and forth to the bathrooms and toilets without a handcart. What is even more heart breaking is that, despite the sewage covering the entire outside area, the prisoners are forced to lay out their belongings and sleep and eat in that same area.

I will not speak of the food in prison since my observations may be interpreted as my personal preferences. It is suffice to say that the honourable prison cook will not even bother to peel the potatoes used in the food. The prison store rarely provides fresh fruit and, on average, after much conflict, each prisoner is left with a kilogram of fruit every six weeks at best. This makes contracting illnesses caused by vitamin deficiency very common in prison.

Cooking in prison has its own set of challenges. First, there are no refrigerators for storing fresh food. This makes it very challenging to cook; in particular during the warmer months. The prison refrigerators were removed after inspectors found drugs inside one. This is like removing all the cars from the street because drugs were found in one! The kitchen provided for cooking, apart from being dirty, is very small. It is approximately 3 square meters.

There are also many hardships with communication. The prisoners have no access to newspapers or magazines and they are banned from receiving any from the outside world. Prison authorities also impose many restrictions on books. I personally have not been able to receive books that are of interest to me. The books are not controversial in the area of philosophy, physics, and literature. When it comes to telephone access, each prisoner in ward 6 has telephone access for only three minutes a week. It goes without saying that three minutes is insignificant for someone who is thousands of miles away from their loved ones. Even this insignificant amount of time was taken away from all prisoners as a result of unforeseen circumstances. The prisoners are incommunicado. I was deprived of all telephone privileges at Karoun prison for a long period of time and banned from leaving my sleep area and using the prison’s library.

What occurs behind these prison walls is “indescribable” and impossible to convey. Until I was forced to live it, I had never in my life experienced or read and heard about anything quite like this. Such a prison has never been depicted in any movie or book. It was inconceivable to me that such a place could even exist. I suppose this tragedy stems from individuals being forced to spend every living moment under such unbearable conditions, held in a small, confined, and contaminated environment that is overcrowded with conflicting prisoners of all kinds. I have a difficult time describing a place that lacks even fresh air or a small area where prisoners can take a few steps.

Since the past months that I have spent in this prison, I have sometimes spent nights and days questioning my thoughts and behaviour. This process has made me come up with some surprising conclusions. I feel as though my life is slowly drifting from one where I live like a human to one where I am treated like an animal. The instinct of self preservation and the desire to survive have become my main drive and concern. It feels as though there is nothing else to worry about except to stay alive. When I leave my room, for example, I try very hard to avoid contact with anyone. If anyone sleeping in the courtyard addresses me, I pretend as that I do not hear them and ignore them rudely. When in line for the showers or to use the toilets, I find myself fighting like a prehistoric human, while trying at all times to limit contact [with the other prisoners] as much as possible. Believe me when I say that although I am not a picky person in the least bit, I feel as though one must be fearful of even breathing the air here. On cold winter nights, when I would stare at the two or three prisoners squirming under one damp and dirty blanket while sleeping, I was left shocked at my lack of pity and compassion for others. It felt as though I had completely accepted that this is and will always be the fate of the world and humanity at large. How can one be ethical in a place where humans don’t have the courage, if only for one moment, to put themselves in the place of others?

Perhaps I have said enough. There is so much left to say, but given my fear that expressing them will only render this letter less effective, I will refrain from saying more. My hope in writing this letter is to bring the attention of the authorities to this catastrophic situation so the unbearable conditions in Karoun prison may be improved. The conditions are so unfortunate that they can only be described as “bordering between humanity and barbarity”.

Zia Nabavi - Karoun prison, Ahvaz.Source.

• And now for something completely different!Married to the mob: the man who married 107 women... and had 185 kids.(Emirates247).A Nigerian man, now 87 years old, has finally called it a day after marrying 107 women and fathering 185 children, according to news reports.The man, Bello Maasaba, presently lives with 86 of his wives and the youngest of his 185 children was born just a month ago. The youngest of his wives is just 19.A report in the Los Angeles Times says the man is currently living with only 86 of his wives after he divorced 12 of the women and buried nine others. Bello has created a massive extended family for himself. Currently he has a total of 5,000 members in his extended family including nephews, in-laws, nieces, cousins and others.He was thrown to jail about three years ago in September 2008 when the Nigerian authorities became aware of the number of women he’d married. He was released after his wives said they had married him willingly.Bello lives in an 89-bedroom house with his family. Of his 185 children, only 133 are living.Hmmmm.....I don't even want to try to imagine all these wives having a 'chat' together.Read the full story here.