MFS - The Other News

                       Morning  Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - June 08. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - June 08. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - June 08 . Here. (Al-Jazeera).

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

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 129.Source : Here .

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

• Europe - Latest official Situation Update on E-Coli epidemic 44- On 08.06.2011 at 03:27 GMT+2

A deadly bacterial outbreak that has killed at least 23 people in Europe is limited to an area around the German city of Hamburg and does not require Europe-wide controls, a top European Union official said Tuesday. "There is no reason as of today to take ... measures at (the) European level," EU Health Commissioner John Dalli said, adding, "We consider any ban on any product as disproportionate." A new death in Germany due to the E. coli outbreak was announced Tuesday, bringing the total there to 22. The other death, in Sweden, was of a person who had visited Germany. Top European farming officials met Tuesday in Luxembourg, where EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos proposed a 150 million euro ($220 million) compensation plan for farmers affected by the panic. But he said that offer may have to be increased in the face of complaints that it's not enough. Farmers are demanding compensation for losses due to being wrongly blamed for causing the outbreak. Spain alone seeks about $600 million in lost farm exports of cucumbers, tomatoes and other produce from the past few weeks, and farmers in Belgium, France, Holland and even Germany say they have millions of dollars in losses, too. Ciolos said the EU Commission may come back with an "improved offer" as early as Wednesday, and hopes to have a decision within days. But he said paying 100 percent of claims -- as some countries demanded at the meeting -- would not be possible given the EU budget restraints.

"The commission is assuming its responsibility within the limits of our regulation and of our budget," Ciolos said. The cause of the outbreak remains unclear, as new test results Tuesday proved negative. There was no trace of E. coli in a pack of bean sprouts in a household in Hamburg, where a man had become infected, health authorities there told CNN. The sprouts came from the farm which officials believe could be the source of the outbreak. But initial tests showed no sign of E. coli there, agriculture officials in the German state of Lower Saxony said Monday. But authorities said that does not mean their suspicions are not correct; they would not expect to find evidence of E. coli if the tainted sprouts were no longer in the supply chain. Test results are back for 20 of the 40 samples, Lower Saxony officials said Monday. It was not clear when the rest of the test results would be available. On Sunday, officials said German-grown sprouts are the likely source for the E. coli outbreak. "There is a direct link between this company and these people getting sick," said Gert Lindemann, the agricultural minister in Lower Saxony. It was not clear how the rare strain may have gotten into the sprouts, officials said. E. coli has not been found in the company, Gaertnerhof, which has halted production and is recalling its products. Gaertnerhof, in the town of Bienenbuettel, said in a statement it was "shocked and worried. ... that part of our production has been linked to E. coli infections" and had never had a problem in its 25 years of growing sprouts. It said it had found no evidence of E. coli during routine testing in January or during tests last month in response to the health scare.

But a leading German microbiologist said Monday that sprouts were a "plausible" source of the infection. Sprouts can harbor bacteria, which can spread during the growing process, said Alexander Kekule of the University of Halle-Wittenberg. "Either it was inside the seed, which I do not think is the case, or the bacteria was inside the water," Kekule said on Germany's NDR radio. He is not working directly on the case. Sprouts are bred in drums that are heated to slightly warmer than body temperature -- ideal conditions for the growth not only of sprouts, but of bacteria, the agriculture ministry of Lower Saxony said. Authorities say the sprouts may have become tainted so long ago that trace-back tests may never identify the company as the source. But several restaurants and cafeterias linked to the outbreak got sprouts from the company, officials said. And two workers at the agricultural company have come down with severe cases of diarrhea; in at least one of those cases, E. coli was the cause, Lindemann said. Bienenbuettel is in the district of Uelzen in north-central Germany. Last week, Spain rejected suggestions that its cucumbers could have been the source after the European Food Safety Alert Network said E. coli bacteria were found in organic cucumbers originating from Spain, packaged in Germany and distributed to various countries.

Authorities initially called for the cucumbers to be pulled from sale. But Germany later said Spanish produce was not the source of the infection -- leading to the claims for compensation. Ciolos said that some farmers who belong to producer organizations might also find additional compensation there, and that some of those funds are also backed by the Commission. The Commission will need to document how the compensation money is paid out, he said. A growers' cooperative representative in southern Spain said earlier Tuesday that farmers around the town of El Ejido, a major year-round producer of fresh produce under expansive greenhouses, are busy filling out claims forms already. The outbreak of the virulent strain of E. coli has infected more than 2,400 people in at least 13 countries, European health authorities said Monday. The vast majority are in Germany, where doctors have found 630 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) -- a form of kidney failure -- in the current outbreak, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That's more cases of HUS than in any other recorded outbreak worldwide.

Fifteen patients in Germany have died of HUS, according to the center, while six died of enterohemorrhagic E. coli, a strain that can result in abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea and causes intestinal hemorrhaging. The center said 1,601 people have that E. coli strain but do not have HUS. Infections have also been identified in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, according to the organization. Source.

• Obama, Merkel warn of wide impact of Greek default.(TodaysZaman).President Barack Obama said Tuesday he worries that a Greek default on its debt could have disastrous implications for the U.S. economy.Speaking in a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama said that Germany and other European countries needed to act together to help Greece stabilize its economy. He said that America's economic growth depended on a sensible resolution to Greece's problems. "We think it would be disastrous for us to see an uncontrolled spiral and default in Europe because that could trigger a whole range of other events," he said. The news conference came on a day of high pomp at the White House beginning with a 19 gun salute to welcome the German leader. Later, Obama was to present Merkel the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a formal dinner. The gestures appear aimed at boosting a relationship that has seemed more cordial than close. In their joint appearance, the interaction indeed seemed relaxed and friendly. At the end of the event, Merkel defended Obama against talk in Germany that he had skipped Berlin in his visits to Europe as president. "Berlin opens its arms to him every day, but the Berliners can also wait," she said. "They have proved this throughout their history." Merkel also noted the link between the U.S. and European economies. "Through the global financial and economic crisis, we've seen how interdependent we are," she said. "So we do see clearly our European responsibility. And we're shouldering that responsibility together with the IMF." While the black-tie dinner has been in the works for months, the White House was keeping a tight lid on all aspects of the evening. Among the few known details: Both the dinner and reception and entertainment will be held in the Rose Garden, a first for the Obamas. Workers were laying down carpet on the lawn Monday evening in preparation. Guests also are likely to dine on fresh lettuce and other produce from Mrs. Obama's garden.Hmmmm......Real 'classy' carpet on grass.Read the full story here.

• CAIR now representing the US Government?The US Government Sends an Islamist Extremist to Tower Hamlets.(Harry'splace).The day after the Government’s Prevent policy decisively rejected the notion that “non violent Islamists” should not be promoted and funded, supposedly as a bulwark against Al Qaeda, we discover that the US Government is actively undermining that policy.“Non-violent Islamists” is a misnomer. “Non-violent Islamists” are, almost invariably, supporters of terrorism, against civilians, in other countries.The United States Embassy has caused uproar by flying an outspoken American Islamic campaigner to meet young British Muslims as part of a strategy to help them to reject terrorism.Basim Elkarra is a senior figure in an organisation that has been accused on Capitol Hill of radicalising Muslims and obstructing co-operation with the forces of law and order.British anti-extremism experts said they were shocked that the US Government was introducing teenagers to an organisation that promotes Islamic political activism.Mr Elkarra was due to be sent last month into the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which has a worsening reputation for intimidation by Muslim extremists.A religion teacher was horrifically beaten in the borough by a gang because he was a non-Muslim; posters have declared a gay-free zone; and a chemist was threatened with death for not wearing a veil.Tower Hamlets, home to a fast-growing Bangladeshi community, last year voted in Britain’s first directly elected Muslim mayor, who had been expelled from Labour after claims of Islamist links.After The Times raised questions, the borough postponed Mr Elkarra’s visit because of “logistical difficulties”. The local authority made clear that the embassy had proposed the visit by the Islamic activist to the local youth council.Mr Elkarra nonetheless made his second official visit to Britain last month to meet other Muslim youth and community groups as a guest of the embassy.The Americans’ proposal to bring Mr Elkarra to a hotbed of tension is part of a little-known strategy attributed to one of President Obama’s high-flying experts on terrorism.Quintan Wiktorowicz, an academic formerly at the embassy in London and now promoted to the US National Security Council, interviewed hundreds of British Islamists for research.He concluded that the highly religious were the most resistant to becoming terrorists and he set about encouraging engagement with a broad range of non-violent Muslims.Mr Elkarra, an executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was chosen to meet Britain’s Muslim youth.His invitation came despite CAIR being severely criticised at a hearing on Muslim radicalisation held by the House of Representatives homeland security committee in March.Hmmmmm.......(Coral Springs, FL) Americans Against Hate (AAH), a civil rights organization and terrorism watchdog group, is calling on United States Senator Barbara Boxer to rescind the award she has presented to the Executive Director of CAIR-Sacramento, Basim Elkarra. The award, a certificate of achievement for "outstanding service," was given to Elkarra earlier this month. As Executive Director, Basim Elkarra has defended someone who trained for jihad in a Pakistani terrorist camp; he has defended an imam who urged a Pakistani crowd to wage attacks on America; and he has defended an imam who was attempting to build an Islamic school for the purpose of teaching children how to commit violent acts against Americans. Also, Elkarra has described Israel as a "racist" and "apartheid" state, and he has moderated an event that featured a Hamas operative who spent five years in an Israeli prison and who is currently on trial in the U.S.Read the full story here.

• China Wants To Construct A 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South Of Boise, Idaho.(TheAmericanDream).Thanks to the trillions of dollars that the Chinese have made flooding our shores with cheap products, China is now in a position of tremendous economic power. So what is China going to do with all of that money? One thing that they have decided to do is to buy up pieces of the United States and set up "special economic zones" inside our country from which they can continue to extend their economic domination. One of these "special economic zones" would be just south of Boise, Idaho and the Idaho government is eager to give it to them. China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach for short) plans to construct a "technology zone" south of Boise Airport which would ultimately be up to 50 square miles in size. The Chinese Communist Party is the majority owner of Sinomach, so the 10,000 to 30,000 acre "self-sustaining city" that is being planned would essentially belong to the Chinese government. The planned "self-sustaining city" in Idaho would include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail centers and large numbers of homes for Chinese workers. Basically it would be a slice of communist China dropped right into the middle of the United States. According to the Idaho Statesman, the idea would be to build a self-contained city with all services included. It would be modeled after the "special economic zones" that currently exist in China.Perhaps the most famous of these "special economic zones" is Shenzhen. Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village. Today it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people.If the Chinese have their way, we will soon be seeing these "special economic zones" pop up all over the United States.So exactly who is "Sinomach"?The following description of the company comes directly from the website of Sinomach....With approval of the State Council, China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH) was established in January 1997. SINO-MACH is a large scale, state-owned enterprise group under the supervision of the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.As you can see, Sinomach is basically an arm of the Chinese government.The borrower is always the servant of the lender, and now China is buying up America.The reality is that Sinomach is not looking only at Idaho. Sinomach is in discussions to develop "special economic zones" all over the United States.Sinomach has recently dispatched delegations to Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania to explore the possibility of establishing "special economic zones" in those states.Will such "self-contained communities" soon start appearing from coast to coast?According to Dr. Jerome Corsi, the U.S. government has already set up 257 "foreign trade zones" across America. These "foreign trade zones" will apparently be given "special U.S. customs treatment" and will be used to promote global free trade...."The FTZs tend to be located near airports, with easy access into the continental NAFTA and WTO multi-modal transportation systems being created to move free-trade goods cheaply, quickly and efficiently throughout the continent of North America."So what do our politicians think about all of this?Most of them are greatly in favor of it."Idaho’s the last state that should say we don’t want to do business with Asia," Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little said last year. "Asia’s where the money is."So will all of this "foreign investment" really bring jobs back to the American people?Perhaps a few, but the truth is that these "special economic zones" that the Chinese are setting up are designed to be self-contained communist Chinese communities. Some Americans will likely be employed in these areas, but not nearly as many as our politicians would have you to believe.In addition, these "special economic zones" represent a massive national security threat. The communist Chinese could potentially be able to bring in and store massive amounts of military equipment virtually undetected.The world is changing and nothing is ever going to be the same again.Just ask the residents of Boise, Idaho - they are about to have a 50 square mile self-contained communist Chinese city plopped right into their backyard.Hmmm........Suddenly those Obama administration landgrabs get a whole different meaning.Read the full story here.

Hmmmm......reflections on this news :

China Wants To Construct A 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South Of Boise, Idaho.According to Dr. Jerome Corsi, the U.S. government has already set up 257 "foreign trade zones" across America. These "foreign trade zones" will apparently be given "special U.S. customs treatment" and will be used to promote global free trade...."

1. I seem to remember reading that Turkey wants such economic ventures with the Native American communities, lately there's a lot of two way travel between Turkey and texas , could these include some of the 257 foreign trade zones?

2. Also Obama signed the UN charter about native people one of the clauses contained restoring land to them , could there be a link between this also?

3.What would be the odds that China get chunks of land that hold oil ?Could this be one of the reasons why he is with holding drill permits?

• U.N. Agreement Should Have All Gun Owners Up In Arms.(Forbes).It may not come as surprising news to many of you that the United Nations doesn’t approve of our Second Amendment. Not one bit. And they very much hope to do something about it with help from some powerful American friends. Under the guise of a proposed global “Small Arms Treaty” premised to fight “terrorism”, “insurgency” and “international crime syndicates” you can be quite certain that an even more insidious threat is being targeted – our Constitutional right for law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms.

What, exactly, does the intended agreement entail?

While the terms have yet to be made public, if passed by the U.N. and ratified by our Senate, it will almost certainly force the U.S. to:

1. Enact tougher licensing requirements, creating additional bureaucratic red tape for legal firearms ownership.
2. Confiscate and destroy all “unauthorized” civilian firearms (exempting those owned by our government of course).
3. Ban the trade, sale and private ownership of all semi-automatic weapons (any that have magazines even though they still operate in the same one trigger pull – one single “bang” manner as revolvers, a simple fact the ant-gun media never seem to grasp).
4. Create an international gun registry, clearly setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation.
5. In short, overriding our national sovereignty, and in the process, providing license for the federal government to assert preemptive powers over state regulatory powers guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment in addition to our Second Amendment rights.

Have no doubt that this plan is very real, with strong Obama administration support. In January 2010 the U.S. joined 152 other countries in endorsing a U.N. Arms Treaty Resolution that will establish a 2012 conference to draft a blueprint for enactment. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to push for Senate ratification.Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton has cautioned gun owners to take this initiative seriously, stating that the U.N. “is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there is no doubt that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control.”Read the full story here.

• U.S. gives billions of dollars in foreign aid to world's richest countries - then asks to borrow it back.(DailyMail).The U.S. is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to some of the world's richest countries - while at the same time borrowing billions back, according to report seen by Congress.The Congressional Research Service released the report last month which shows that in 2010 the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4bn to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10bn in Treasury securities.Four countries in the world's top 10 richest received foreign aid last year with China receiving $27.2m, India $126.6m, Brazil $25m, and Russia $71.5m.Mexico also received $316.7m and Egypt $255.7m.And yet despite the massive outgoings in foreign aid, the receiving countries hold trillions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds.China is the largest holder with $1.1trillion as of March, according to the Treasury Department.Brazil held $193.5bn, Russia $127.8bn, India $39.8bn, Mexico $28.1bn and Egypt had $15.3bn.Foreign aid is earmarked for causes including HIV/AIDs prevention, combating weapons of mass destruction, fighting tuberculosis, and counter-terrorism efforts.The news has caused grave concern, with Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla, who requested the report seen by Fox News, calling the policy 'dangerous'.In a written statement Senator Coburn said: 'Borrowing money from countries who receive our aid is dangerous for both the donor and recipient.Read the full story here.

• Journalists protest Turkish president's linking of media, terrorists.(Hurriyet).A journalists organization responded with shock Tuesday to President Abdullah Gül’s statement that all arrested reporters are in jail for terrorist activities, calling on all Turkish political parties to change their aggressive stance toward journalists.“We are also shocked by the president’s latest statement that ‘Journalists are not on trial for their writings, but for being members of illegal organizations, armed and violent organizations, and [for being] people who are violent themselves,’” Media Institute Association deputy chairman Kadri Gürsel said in a statement on behalf of the entire Freedom to Journalists Platform, or GÖP. The statement was made at a press conference in the Istanbul offices of the Turkish Journalists Association.President Gül made these remarks Monday while answering a question posed by a student at the College of Europe’s Natolin Campus, where he participated in a conference. On Tuesday, however, Gül clarified that he did not mean all journalists, but said, “There are [also] some journalists in jail who are suspected [to have assisted] terrorist or illegal armed organizations.”“Gül upheld the state’s stance in his statement. As long as the anti-terror law is not changed, there can be no journalism or journalists in the country’s eastern and southeastern regions. This is so upsetting,” TGC Deputy Chairman Turgay Olcaytur told the Daily News on Tuesday, adding that he believed in freedom of expression, as long as thoughts are not turned into actions.“Freedom of the media is the freedom of people to be informed, thus when the first is violated, the latter is too,” he said. Imprisoned journalists must be immediately released pending trial, the GÖP said in its statement, adding that although there was less than one week left before the June 12 general election, political parties had made no comments on how they would guarantee press freedom.“We as journalists cannot stand this situation. Nowadays journalists in Turkey are faced with more than 10,000 court cases for the news they have prepared or written. Some 70 arrested or charged journalists are in prison,” Gürsel said in the group’s statement.The platform also said authorities had prevented its members from paying visits to journalists in jail in Ankara and in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır without giving any justification. “We will keep making requests to visit imprisoned journalists,” TGC Secretary-General Sibel Güneş told the Daily News, adding that they believed their request had been rejected because of the upcoming elections.Hmmmm.....Welcome to Turkey.....Iranian style.Read the full story here.

• Residents of Syrian town flee to Turkey.(Ynet).Assad's regime admits loss of control over Jisr al-Shughour as soldiers mutiny over brutal crackdown.A deadly mutiny of Syrian soldiers and loss of control over a tense northern town, from which residents were fleeing to the Turkish border Wednesday, appeared to show extraordinary cracks in an autocratic regime that has long prided itself on its iron control.Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not "close doors" to Syrian refugees Wednesday, adding that he was monitoring developments in Syria with concern and calling on Damascus to show more tolerance towards its citizens.Details about the events in Jisr al-Shughour remained murky. The government said 120 forces were dead, without explaining the enormous loss of life, and acknowledged losing "intermittent" control of the area.But the reports Wednesday from residents and activists, and the television appearance of a soldier who says he switched sides after his hometown was bombarded, were the clearest sign yet that the weekly protests of thousands of Syrians are eroding President Bashar Assad's grip. British Prime Minister David Cameron told his parliament Wednesday that "today in New York, Britain and France will be tabling a resolution at the Security Council condemning the repression and demanding accountability and humanitarian access"."And if anyone votes against that resolution or tries to veto it, that should be on their conscience," he said. Veto-wielding Russia has voiced opposition to the UN condemnation.Foreign Minister Alain Juppe of France, Syria's former colonial ruler with whom Assad maintained good relations, said the president had lost his legitimacy to rule. British foreign secretary William Hague said Assad must "reform or step aside."Activists and residents of Jisr al-Shughour told The Associated Press that a number of soldiers joined forces with protesters after days of crackdowns in the region, leading to fighting with officers and security guards in which dozens were killed.The Jisr al-Shughour resident said people were fleeing the area for the Turkish border about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away, fearing retaliation from a regime known for ruthlessly crushing dissent. The government vowed Monday to respond "decisively" to the violence there. "People were struck by fear and panic after the government statements last night, it's clear they are preparing for a major massacre," he said. Turkish authorities said 35 Syrians wounded in the clashes were being treated Tuesday at Turkish hospitals after crossing the border from Jisr al-Shughour.The Turkish Foreign Ministry said 224 Syrians were sheltering at a camp near the border and authorities were taking measures in case of an influx of refugees.Read the full story here.

• Saudi Arabia - Sri Lankan Maid locked up with no wage for 16 years.(Emirates247).A Saudi employer locked up his Sri Lankan housemaid at his house without a salary for nearly 16 years, during which she had never visited her home country, a newspaper in the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom reported on Wednesday.The unnamed employer has also refused to renew her residence visa and prevented her from leaving his house in the southern province of Jazan, the Arabic language daily Sabq said.“We have just discovered this serious act of human rights abuse,” said Ahmed Al Bahkali, branch manager of the Saudi National Human Rights Commission.“She has been living in tragic conditions…the man has been detained until he gives her all her rights and dues, and allows her to go home.”Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Sun Unleashes 'awe-inspiring' and Powerful Eruption.(Space).The sun unleashed a massive solar storm today (June 7) in a dazzling eruption that kicked up a vast cloud of magnetic plasma that appeared to rain back down over half of the sun's entire surface, NASA scientists say.The solar storm hit its peak at about 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), but the actual flare extended over a three-hour period, said C. Alex Young, a solar astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center who runs a website called The Sun Today, in a video describing the event."The sun produced a quite spectacular prominence eruption that had a solar flare and high-energy particles associated with it, but I've just never seen material released like this before," Young said. "It looks like somebody just kicked a giant clod of dirt into the air and then it fell back down.NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft caught high-definition video of the flare in different wavelengths. The event registered as a Class M-2 solar flare, which is a medium-class sun storm that should not pose a danger to satellites or infrastructure on Earth.An alert by the NOAA-operated Space Weather Prediction Center stated that the solar flare could create a strong geomagnetic storm on Wednesday (June 9) from the event's coronal mass ejection (CME), an explosion of charged particles triggered by the flare. Geomagnetic storms can lead to stronger than normal displays of Earth's auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights."It's nothing we really have to worry about," Young said in his video. "It's just really, really beautiful."The coronal mass ejection is directed at Earth and moving at about 3.1 million mph (5 million kph), SDO mission scientists said in a statement."Due to its angle, however, effects on Earth should be fairly small. Nevertheless, it may generate space weather effects here on Earth in a few days," they added.Read and see the full story here, video of the event here.