MFS - The Other News

                       Morning  Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - May 25. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - May 23. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - May 27 . Here. (Al-Jazeera).

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

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 120.On 27.05.2011 at 03:09 GMT+2
  
  The operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant says they will investigate a possible radioactive water leak. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has been pumping enough water into the reactors at the plant every week. But it has created a new problem since the plant was not set up to store huge pools of water. About 60 tons of radioactive water is at risk of having leaked from the building. But TEPCO says there is no evidence showing leaks of radioactive water into the ground. Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO General Manager, said, "As for the underground water supply we have been monitoring it for radiation and have not detected any iodine or cesium. So we don't believe at this point that there has been a leak into the ground.
  Source : Here .

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

• Sarah Palin’s All-American Road Trip !!!Restoring the Good in America!Our nation is at a critical turning point. As we look to the future, we are propelled by America's past. It's imperative that we connect with our founders, our patriots, our challenges and victories to clearly see our way forward. A good way to do this is to appreciate the significance of our nation's historic sites, patriotic events and diverse cultures, which we'll do in the coming weeks on our "One Nation" tour.We'll celebrate the good things that bring Americans together; those things that will give us the needed strength to meet the heady challenges ahead. I’ve said many times that America doesn’t need a "fundamental transformation," instead we need a restoration of all that is good and strong and free in America! So, together let’s prepare ourselves for the days ahead by reminding ourselves who we are and what Americans stand for.We'll celebrate the meaning of our nation's blueprints, our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, which are the threads that weave our past into the fabric necessary for the survival of American exceptionalism. Our founders declared "we were born the heirs of freedom", and despite our difficulties and disagreements, we remain one nation under God in freedom, indivisible. Through visits to historical sites and patriotic events, we'll share the importance of America's foundation.We encourage you to support the pro-America events we'll be privileged to participate in during these coming weeks. Discover the ties that bind Americans, our history, our traditions, and the exceptional nature of our country!Follow the One Nation tour at www.SarahPAC.com-Sarah Palin.Read and see the full story here.

• TSA now the "Official US Groper in chief"?(Current)Saturday night, a certified TSA official will be at the Santa Fe High School prom to oversee student searches.This all comes after two Capital High School students, sisters, filed a lawsuit saying they were groped by a security agent at Capital High School's prom last month. On Friday, the court ordered Santa Fe Public Schools and the security company ASI to provide at least one TSA certified person at the Santa Fe High School prom and the Capital High School graduation.The restraining order also spells out the specific ways security can perform searches. It says a pat-down is only to be used if there are reasonable grounds and that pat-downs should not be used as a first approach for every student.KOB Eyewitness News 4 talked to one of the sisters suing the district earlier this week. Candice Herrera said, "She grabbed my breast and shook the inner part of my bra and shook it and then picked up the front of my dress to mid thigh and she was patting down my bare legs."Capital's Principal told us she was standing right there when students were searched and doesn't remember any students complaining about the pat downs.Meanwhile, Santa Fe Public Schools says it's happy to comply with the Federal Court's decision, saying, student safety is a priority.Hmmmm....When will they start at the 'kindergarten'?Read the full story here.

• ‘Successful’ Post-Surge Iraq?(BigPeace) Massive Baghdad Shiite Rally Chants “No, No America”.While the fierce bravery and fighting skill of our troops, combined with a massive infusion of cash hand-outs (“baksheesh”) to “tribal leaders,” throttled Iraq’s Sunni insurgency, it did nothing to alter the country’s transformation—certainly a large swath of it—into a Shiite client state of Iran. This is a disturbing phenomenon—rife with anti-Americanism and a general hatred of the infidel West, especially (of course) Jews and Israel—that I have warned about (see here) since 2006, within the larger failed policy context of “Making the World Safe for Sharia,” initiated under President Bush II. Perhaps the apotheosis of this geostrategical boondoggle in Iraq—a complete failure of will and imagination—is our negotiated “SOFA” (status of forces agreement) with our “Iraqi allies” which, as per Article 27, paragraph 3 (“Iraqi land, sea and air shall not be used as a launching or transit point for attacks against other countries.”) prohibits the US from attacking, for example, Iranian nuclear production facilities, from Iraqi bases and airspace.Today (5/26/11) an estimated 70,000 plus followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an Iranian proxy, and integral member of Prime Minister Maliki’s ruling coalition, rallied in Baghdad. Decrying the continued presence of American troops, they waved Iraqi flags, while shouting, “No, no America.” Marching protesters stomped on painted US, Israeli, and British flags, and the overall sentiments of those rallying were captured in these remarks by Mohammed Moyad:I am ready to fight the Americans whenever Sayyid (Muqtada) orders me to. According to U.S. officials, more than 300 busloads, carrying up to 70 passengers each, traveled from Iraq’s Shiite south, and were joined by Shiites who live in Baghdad’s northeast Sadr City neighborhood, where the rally was held. Some 24,000 militiamen from southern provinces donned matching T-shirts which bore the Iraqi flag, while spectators burned American and Israeli banners. Along the parade route, smaller bands of youths also struck Americans flags with twirling kickboxing moves, delighting onlookers.Top Sadr aide Salah al-Obeidi threatened that if the U.S. troops stay beyond the current December 31, 2011 “We will be obliged to fight and do our best to liberate our country.” Moreover, parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, issued a statement claiming the march represented “clear proof to Iraq’s unity.”Adding bitter irony to geostrategical insult, as my colleague Diana West has observed astutely, President Obama now appears allied with foolhardy Bush era “making the world safe for Sharia” utopians to delay the scheduled US troop withdrawal from Iraq beyond December 31st of this year. As West notes, Obama’s cynical manipulation of former political foes could spare him and his re-election campaign from the following election-sabotaging images: How would/will it look while Obama and his teleprompter are out on the hustings in 2012 when, say, the Iranian mullahs make Karbala their summer White House, Hezbollah opens headquarters in Sadr City, and the Revolutionary Guard starts an amusement park in downtown Baghdad called “US Embassy” with a take-your-own-hostage ride?US troops should be removed from Iraq as scheduled, with attention only to their safe withdrawal. Then as matters unfold there, without our troops in (needless) harm’s way, we can begin a serious domestic debate on the merits to our security of expending vast quantities of precious US blood and treasure “democratizing” Muslim societies, and giving free reign to Sharia mores.Hmmmm.....Obama: If we work hard, Afghanistan could be a success…like Iraq!Read the full story here.

• Expanded Analysis: Forged Birth Certificate; Not Necessary to Prove Birthplace; Facing Forgery Charges and Conspiracy to Commit Forgery.(BirtherReport).It is no longer necessary to prove where President Obama was born. The provable crime is now FORGERY of a government document used for identification, which is a FELONY.

Dear Fellow Americans,

First of all I want to say that it does not matter if you are a Republican or Democrat. What Obama and company did was lie to all of us and was aided by companies in the media who looked the other way, in essence they covered up for him. What I have presented is irrefutably proof that the Certificate of Live Birth that President Obama presented to the world on April 27, 2011 is a fraudulently created document put together using the Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator programs and the creation of this forgery of a public document constitutes a class B felony in Hawaii and multiple violations under U.S. Code section Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sec.1028, and therefore an impeachable offense. When this comes to the public’s attention, it will be the greatest scandal in the country’s history—nothing comes even close. This will surpass the all previous scandals including the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration.

Since I wrote the report, I have been contact by other graphic artists who had found more errors in the Certificate. I have put up addition facts that they have found.

The Laws that Have Been Broken

I am not an attorney but was an accountant and worked for three CPA firms before I went into business for myself. I have read and understood the Federal Tax code, so understanding Title 18 is no problem. I have listed in Appendix D of the full report, the entire section of the Federal Code that directly covers the seriousness of this fraud.Under Hawaii State code §708-851, it would be forgery in the first degree which is a Class B Felony (Appendix B).The Federal charges are much more extensive because of the nature of the crime, and who did it and the ramifications to the country. It would not surprise me that maximum prison sentences were given out but of course a judge and jury would have to determine that. The Federal law is covered under Title 18-Crimes and Criminal Procedures; Part 1-Crimes, Chapter 47- Fraud and False Statements, Section-1028-Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information is the main section that the forgery of a Certificate of Live Birth would be covered under. 1. Forgery of a public document; 2. Conspiracy to commit forgery, because Obama had to have paid someone to create the forgery and it is evident others were involved; 3. Obstruction of Justice if this went to trial; 4 and 5. If the conspirators had bribed a County Clerk(s) to insert this PDF file into the county’s document imaging system, you would have bribery and tampering with government records. All of these are felonies and are impeachable offences. The penalty for committing the forgery is up to 15 years in prison and for just forging the unique Certificate number is another 5 years. At this point it doesn't matter if he was born in Kenya or Hawaii. He is now facing forgery charges and conspiracy to commit forgery.If Congress does not hold a hearing on this forgery, the vast majority of Americans will lose most of our faith in the country’s legal system and government institutions, and you don’t want to go there. As it is, the public poll numbers for Congress are in the low two digits. Congress and the ruling elite have to decide whether we are a country of laws or are the laws only enforced on the little people and those outside of the ruling political party.My Credentials

I have a unique background for analyzing this document. I owned a typesetting company for 11 years so I know type and form design very well. I currently own Archive Index Systems since 1993, which sells all types of document scanners worldwide and also developed document imaging software (TheRepository). I know how the scanners work. I have also sold other document imaging programs, such as Laser Fiche, Liberty and Alchemy. I have sold and installed document imaging systems in city and county governments, so I know their procedures with imaging systems and everything about the design of such programs. This will be important in understanding what has happened with Obama’s Certificate of Live Birth.(Source).Read the full story here.

• The Obama Administration’s ‘Sidam Touch’.(PajamasMedia).According to the Urban Dictionary, a person with “the Sidam Touch” has an ability that is “[t]he opposite of The Midas Touch, which turns everything to gold.” A person with the Sidam Touch “breaks and/or ruins everything.”To say that President Barack Obama and his administration, especially what’s left of his economic team, has the Sidam Touch is the understatement of the 21st century.In early February 2009, in the run-up to the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), known to most as “the stimulus,” the newly sworn-in Obama flexed his Sidam Touch muscles, repeatedly telling the nation: “Doing nothing is not an option.” Fittingly, Obama flew Ohio’s Sherrod Brown in on a government plane from the funeral of Brown’s mother so that the Buckeye State senator could cast the deciding vote.So how has it worked out? In December 2010, James Cogan and John Taylor at the Hoover Institution overestimated the impact of the stimulus plan by saying that it accomplished “zero.” On May 12, Professors Timothy Conley and Bill Dupor released more precise results demonstrating that ARRA really “created/saved 450 thousand government-sector jobs and destroyed/forestalled one million private sector jobs.” For the math-challenged, that’s a net loss of 550,000 jobs. A bit over two years later, it is abundantly clear that doing nothing would have been vastly preferable.It may be lip service, but the president and his advisers continually tell us that private sector growth is important. On May 10, White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee said: “You want the private sector to be the source of growth because that’s where the sustainable job creation is.” That’s interesting, because, as seen below, after almost three years, largely thanks to the Sidam Touch employment results just noted, the private sector’s inflation-adjusted size is barely back to where it was before the recession as normal people define it began, while the federal component of gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 12%:The situation is much worse than it appears, because personal consumption expenditures, which are part of the private sector total above, include money spent by those who receive their “income” from government transfer payments. Such handouts have exploded, even after the recession’s end in June 2009. From that point until February of this year, the number of food stamp recipients ballooned to over 44 million, an increase of more than 9 million. Shoot, you can have over $80,000 in the bank or win a $2 million lottery prize and still receive food stamp benefits. Overall, government payments as a percentage of all income hit 18.3% in 2010, an all-time high.In the housing market, we see the administration’s Sidam Touch on steroids. Since President Obama and his brain trust surely know that the Sidam Touch actions being taken against Texas will hinder its economy and hurt job growth, one can only conclude that they don’t care. This leads to a broader and much more important question: do they really care if the economy recovers anywhere else, or are they on an entirely different mission?Read the full story here.

• $500 Million Obama Administration Program Will Help Kids 'Sit Still' in Kindergarten.(CNSNews).Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the administration's new $500 million early learning initiative is designed to deal with children from birth onward to prevent such problems as 5-year olds who "can't sit still" in a kindergarten classroom.“You really need to look at the range of issues, because if a 5-year-old can’t sit still, it is unlikely that they can do well in a kindergarten class, and it has to be the whole range of issues that go into healthy child development,” Sebelius said during a telephone news conference on Wednesday to announce the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge.Sebelius, adding on to comments from Asst. Education Secretary Joan Lombardi, pointed to studies done in her home state of Kansas, where she served as governor. “When we looked at 5-year olds--and we tested about half the 5-year-olds in a relatively homogeneous state like Kansas -- and found that about half of them were not ready for kindergarten at age 5," Sebelius said."And some of those skills were missing: readiness for their math or reading," she said. "A number of children were missing the social and developmental skills which would allow them to sit in a classroom or play with others or listen to a teacher for any period of time. So I think it was an indicator that you couldn’t just test curriculum readiness.”According to the U.S. Department of Education, awards in Race to the Top will go to “states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive early learning education reform.”Hmmmm.....Reminds me of the Sovjets wrapping the Newborns in order to obtain more docile adults......creepy.Read the full story here.

• Is this the worst case of animal cruelty ever? Dog shot 40 times in head, tied up and buried alive... but survives.(Video)(DailyMail).The discovery of a dog that was buried alive up to its nose after being shot in the head 40 times has led to calls for Malta to reform its animal welfare laws. The crossbreed mongrel, which was named Star by his rescuers, was found near the city of Birzebbuga by animal welfare officers investigating an unrelated case. After hearing whimpering coming from beneath a wooden board with a tree stump placed on top of it to weigh it down, officers were confronted with the distressing sight of a dog's face buried in the dirt.But worse was to follow. When Star was dug out of the ground they discovered all four limbs had all been tied together and that she had been repeatedly shot with a pellet gun. Miraculously, after doctors removed 40 pellets from her skull during emergency surgery at the Ta' Qali hospital, Star survived. The case has caused outrage in Malta where, regardless of the nature of the act, the maximum sentence one can face for animal cruelty is a one-year jail sentence, or a maximum fine of 46,500 euros.A pending change in legislation will raise the maximum fine to 50,000 euros but the one-year jail maximum will remain. Animal lovers are holding a silent protest in Valetta next week to express their disgust. With the abuser still at large, people have expressed their support with dedicated Facebook pages, the largest of which has 7,000 followers.More than 1,000 people have also signed an online petition to help catch the perpetrator and to generate funds to meet Star's vet bills. A local jewellers has offered a 250 euro gift voucher as a reward to help catch the sick individual who abused Star.But her case has touched hearts much further afield and Star has received a personalised blanket from Canada as well as letters of concern from the Amsterdam Fire Brigade.Having gone through an appalling ordeal, Star is now spoilt for choice with 20 potential loving new owners offering to adopt her. However, due to the level of trauma through which she has been, Star is considered too withdrawn to be re-homed at the moment.  'We have another 110 dogs that also went through bad experiences and need a home, maybe people can help them,' Malta Animal Welfare Department spokesman Janice Chetcuti told The Times Of Malta.Hmmmm.......An eye for an eye suddenly sounds reasonable.Read the full story here.

• Egyptian Group Says It Will Form Nazi Party.(Memri).The Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Yawm reported that a group of Egyptians have announced their intent to establish a Nazi party with "a contemporary frame of reference," according to an independent Egyptian news website.The paper said that the leftist news portal Al-Badeel, in its posting yesterday, quoted founding member Emad Abdel Sattar as saying that the new party would bring together prominent figures from Egyptian society. The party’s founding deputy is a former military official.The party believes in vesting all powers in the president after selecting him or her carefully, Abdel Sattar said, adding that preparations are underway to choose the most competent person to represent the party, according to the report. The Nazi party operated secretly under former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, whose regime prevented party leaders from carrying out their activities freely, said the paper.Although Al-Masri Al-Yawm could not verify the news reported by Al-Badeel, two Facebook pages have appeared recently under the title of "the Egyptian Nazi Party," it said.Hmmmm......Let me guess they hate Jews?Read the full story here.

• Pow! Zam! Nyet! ‘Superputin’ Battles Terrorists, Protesters in Online Comic.(DangerRoom).Dictators are used to having their manliest poses carved into stone statues, or their most avuncular portrait printed on posters. But one Russian artist is bringing authoritarian iconography into the 21st century by drawing Russia’s boss-for-life Vladimir Putin as an ass-kicking character in an online comic book.Radio Free Europe reports that Russian writer, Sergei Kalenik has created a web comic that casts the Russian prime minister as a judo-chopping “Superputin.” Often portrayed in the west as a comically over-the-top villain, Putin is instead painted as a superhero fighting the twin evils of terrorism and public protest.It’s yet another addition to Russia’s weird and wonderful collection of personality-cult kitsch.Fresh from destroying a terrorist lair, Superputin is called into action to stop terrorists (inspired by the success of the action thriller Speed in Afghan cinemas) from detonating a bomb on a bus, designed to go off if the vehicle falls under 80 km per hour [50 mph].American diplomats once claimed that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev “plays Robin to Putin’s Batman,” acting as second fiddle in Russia’s ruling duo. In Superputin, Medvedev plays the sidekick yet again, placing him in the diminutive role of “nanoman.” His “League of Superheroes” file reveals Medvedev to be a “gnome raised by bears” — albeit one with the ability to morph into Russia’s national animal.It’s not just terrorists in Superputin’s crosshairs, but opposition groups as well. In the course of trying to keep a bomb-laden bus from detonating, Superputin is confronted by zombies with blue buckets on their heads. The bucket-hatted bad guys are an apparent nod to the real-life protesters against Russian officials’ allegedly promiscuous use of flashing blue lights to disregard traffic laws.It’s all part of a cult of personality that’s developed around Putin over the years. Pop starlets have put their yearning for a Putin-like mate into song.Like his spy pal Anna Chapman, Putin’s name gets stamped on all kinds of products to help them sell, with the Putin brand gracing everything from Vodka labels to canned food. He’s even got his own Kremlin-aligned pro-Putin youth group and a religious sect that believes he’s the reincarnation of Paul the Apostle.But it’s not purely grassroots imagination that conjures Putin into a comic book protagonist. Vlad’s adventures in public relations show that he’s deliberately cultivates the macho, take-charge superhero image. During Russia’s devastating wildfires last summer, he showed up on television hopping into a firefighting plane and co-piloting the aircraft to dump water on a raging inferno below.And who can forget his various manly man action-hero photo ops? Like a Russian GI Joe figure, he comes in many garbs — each sold separately. There’s Putin the Beastmaster, Putin the biker, Putin the rugged outdoorsman and, in the role most like his comic book alter ego, Putin the martial artist — complete with Kung-Fu grip.Photo: Superputin.ru, via RFERL.Hmmmm.......Why is he surrounded by Islamic Caucasus terrorists?Read the full story here.

• Video - On US Muslimmedianetwork: Ahmad Deedat :The Bible is not the Book of GOD!41:33  Mark:There are other things in  there that no decent man can telll his wife, mother,sister , or fiancee if she is a good woman.Hmmm........How about what's in the quran?For example:

"Slay them wherever you find them...Idolatry is worse than carnage...Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme." (Surah 2:190-)

"Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it." (Surah 2:216) Read and see the full story here.

• Israel ranks 145 on Global Peace Index.(Ynet).Annual peace index crowns Iceland world's most peaceful nation, Somalia its most dangerous.The Global Peace Index issued its annual report Thursday, and according to its authors, its results reflect the dramatic changes sweeping through the Middle East.Published by the Institute for Economics and Peace and Vision of Humanity, the index noted an overall drop in world peace – for the third consecutive year. The report also highlights what it defined as "a continuing threat of terrorism." Global Peace Index data indicated that 29 countries are now under bigger threat of terror, and 33 countries found themselves prone to violent riots over the past year. The Global Peace Index crowned Iceland the world's most peaceful country, while the dubious honor of being named the world's most violent and chaotic country went to Somalia – which ranked at the bottom of the list – 153. New Zealand ranked second and Japan third. Denmark, Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Canada, Norway and Slovenia rounded up the top 10, respectively the US is ranked at Nr 82.Israel did not fare so well and was ranked 145 – above Pakistan and Russia, but below Libya and Chad. Israel was ranked 144 in the 2010 GPI, and 119 in 2007. Israel's neighbors are apparently safer: Jordan was ranked 74, Syria came in at the 116th place, and Lebanon ranked 137. For the sake of comparison, a recent Gallup Happiness Index, ranked Israel seventh in the world.The Global Peace Index said that the Horn of Africa – which is home to over 40% of the world's most violent countries – is the least safe place in the world. Western Europe is the safest place in the world – for the fifth consecutive year. The unrest sweeping through the Arab world has shaken its nations' standing on the index: Libya dropped 83 places to 143, Bahrain tumbled 51 slots to 123 and Egypt lost 24 points and was ranked 73rd. The United States climbed to the 82nd place, the UK was ranked 26, France came in at the 36th place and China ranked 80.Read the full story here. 

• Mahmoud is shy?'Ahmadinejad wants friendship with Israel'.(Ynet).Muslim cleric claims Iranian president who threatened to wipe Jewish State off the map wants diplomatic relations, but is unable to publicly say so due to feud with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Unprecedented accusation against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: a Muslim cleric accused the Iranian president of wanting "friendship with Israel," an Iranian website associated with the opposition reported on Thursday. According to religious scholar Mahmoud Nubian, Ahmadinejad's top adviser Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei stated three years ago that Iran should have "friendly ties" with the Jewish State, but Ahmadinejad has refrained from reiterating this position in public because of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's fierce objection.Nubian further claimed that the Iranian president personally told him that he supported Mashaei's statement, but couldn’t say anything out of respect to the leader. According to the report, Nubian – who is associated with radical cleric Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi – said that since Mashaei entered the cabinet, "Khamenei has been forced to intervene," hinting at a split between the supreme leader and the president's top aide. The report came after several stormy weeks in the Iranian political apparatus over the unprecedented feud between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. The latter, who is known as having the final say on all state matters, has been increasingly worried about Mashaei's influence over the president, which is reinforced by their family relations, as Ahmadinejad's daughter is married to Mashaei's son. Hmmmmm.....Next they're going to say that Mahmoud is from Jewish descent?Read the full story here. 

• Turkey: Israel should avoid flotilla face-off.(Ynet).Foreign minister says he hopes Israel 'has gained sufficient experience' from previous flotilla raid.Turkey's foreign minister says he hopes Israel will avoid confrontation as a new aid flotilla prepares to depart for the Gaza Strip.Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview aired on Ulke TV late Thursday that he believes Israel "has gained sufficient experience" after last year's raid on a flotilla that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American and sparked international outrage. A coalition of pro-Palestinian groups say a flotilla will set sail in the third week of June. Israel has vowed to stop any attempt to breach its sea blockade of Gaza.A Turkish Islamic aid group said it expects the convoy to be at least twice as big as the one that attempted to reach Gaza last year.Read the full story here.

• Aegean drills canceled for military a.k.a. "Gaza Flotilla" reasons?(TodaysZaman).The cancellation of two major exercises in the Aegean Sea was a purely military decision, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying on Friday, apparently dismissing that it was linked to Turkish-Greek efforts to resolve their disputes in the Aegean.Erdoğan, speaking to a group of journalists during an election campaign trip to the central Anatolian province of Aksaray on Thursday, said he had discussed the issue with Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner during a meeting earlier on Thursday.“I asked him, our chief of General Staff. He said it really was his initiative,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying by the Zaman daily on Friday. “I told him that his convictions are very important in exercises like these. I told him that we as the civilian government cannot force the commanders to carry on the maneuvers," he also said, complaining that the issue has unnecessarily turned into a public "mystery."On Thursday, a senior Turkish commander also insisted that the planned exercises were canceled for military reasons. “The exercises were canceled only for military reasons. There is no other reason,” Brig. Gen. Tayyar Süngü, head of the General Staff's department of communications, told reporters during a reception on Thursday evening marking the anniversary of independence of Azerbaijan in Ankara.He did not elaborate on the military reasons.Hmmmm.....What would be the odds now for Turkish warships showing up behind the Gaza Flotilla?Read the full story here.

• Abandon the knife. In the Pokot community in Kenya young girls are starting to fight against the brutal rite of female circumcision.(Al-Jazeera).The World Health Organisation estimates that between 100 to 140 million girls and women live with the consequences of circumcision or female genital mutilation, a right of passage and a prerequisite to marriage in many societies.Physically and psychologically painful it is without health benefits and mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and 15 years of age. In Africa alone it is estimated that 92 million girls from the age of 10 have undergone the practice.But in the Pokot community of highland Kenya, young girls are now fighting back against the process which they call "cutting". They are aided in their struggle by a grassroots movement know as "Abandon the Knife" which fights to change perceptions in a community where the practice of female circumcision has been entrenched for generations.The Pokot Community have been circumcising or cutting their girls for centuries. It is believed cutting began to stop women straying whilst men were away. Now it is just a way of life.It is early December and the cutting season has already begun."I saw the cutting. [...] They chop it, everything. And it was flat, it was flat and red you couldn't see anything. Somebody sat on our chest. Yeah, one sat on our chest. Somebody sat on our arms. And she was holding her leg, I mean her head, like this. Like you're cutting pieces of meat. And after then I ran. I just ran. I ran. I ran. I couldn't imagine how she was … Really, really painful. I don't want to talk about it anymore," Domtila Chesang, a Pokot girl, says.Rhoda Lodio, a midwife and member of the Pokot self-help group, says that due to severe bleeding some of the girls shock and at times they even die suddenly."The life of our own is decided by a man. Most of the work is done by the women … By undergoing FDM and withstanding the pain they can prove to the community that they can withstand the life here, the harsh life in this community," Rhoda says.Rhoda says that the practice of circumcising is mostly being done in the the very remote areas of the country."And these girls have not yet been empowered with somewhere to run to. The girls themselves see the way their mothers are suffering and that is why they are saying: marriage is like getting into slavery."Read the full story here.

• Protesters 'shot dead' by Syrian forces.(Al-Jazeera).  Reports of three people killed by security forces in southern village with fresh protests due after Friday prayers.At least three people are reported killed in the southern Syrian town of Dael after security forces opened fire to disperse a demonstration, according to activists.The three men were gunned down as they stood on rooftops chanting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest", the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP news agency.The killings came with further demonstrations expected on Friday after midday prayers, with pro-democracy advocates reaching out to the army to join their 10-week uprising that has been met with a fierce military crackdown.As prayers ended, demonstrations were reported to be taking place in Idlib, in the country's north west, in Deir al-Zur in the north east, and in Qamishli, Amouda and Ras al Ain in the Kurdish areas in Syria's north.At the demonstration in Deir al-Zur, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters demanding the "overthrow of the regim", the Reuters news agency reported, citing witnesses.The fresh violence comes after human rights group Amnesty International accused Syrian security forces of deliberately killing hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Deraa.Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive video that activists say shows the funeral of a 13-year-old boy in Deraa. Activists say he was arrested on April 29 while protesting with family and friends. He was not seen again until Wednesday, when his body was returned to the village.Read the full story here.

• Report: Syrian protesters torch Nasrallah photos.(Ynet).Turkish foreign minister urges 'shock therapy' of reforms as Syrian forces fire on protest, killing four. Syrian protesters in the eastern city of Albu Kamal are torching photographs of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, activists said Friday after an opposition group reported security forces opened fire on a late-night protest, killing four people.Activists and a tribal leader in the province told Reuters by phone that Nasrallah's speech in Beirut this week in support of Assad infuriated demonstrators. Gunfire also sounded in the city of Homs, where thousands of protesters gathered despite heavy security, a resident told Reuters.Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Syria may yet still be able to achieve stability if it carries out a "shock therapy" of reforms.Davutoglu told Ulke TV late Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad can gain the trust of his people if he implements a package of reforms that are far-reaching and include significant political changes."What is needed now is a shock therapy," Davutoglu said. "If reforms are brought about now, this would open the way for peace and change."Read the full story here.