MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

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

• Libya Live Blog - June 25. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - June 25. Here. (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan 4.8 max today.More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 134.Source : Here .

                                                                      

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

• Indigenous Woman 'aged 120 years old' discovered in Brazil.(Al-Jazeera).Her name is Maria Lucimar Pereira and she is reportedly 120 years old. No, that is not a typo. One hundred and twenty years old.Workers for Brazil’s national institute of social security (INSS) say they discovered her while doing routine checks of state birth records, according to an article posted Friday night on the website of Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.Her birth certificate says she was born on September 3, 1890. Ms Pereira is indigenous, and reportedly has lived most of her life on a reserve in the remote northwest Brazilian Amazon state of Acre, the nearest town being Feijo (population 32,261).When social workers found her birth records they radioed the isolated indigenous community where she lives (there is no mobile service) and arranged to have her brought to the nearest town to confirm her identity. She is apparently from the kaxinawa indigenous ethnic group, and reportedly she speaks only a few words in Portuguese.The social workers are still trying to verify if there were any mistakes made on her birth certificate, but no irregularities have cropped up as of yet.If it is verified that Ms Pereira really is 120, she would instantly become the world’s oldest living person - by far.Oddly enough, earlier this week Brazilian woman Maria Gomes Valentim passed away. She was 114, and at the time of her death regarded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living person.As for Ms Pereira, it’s said she has 10 kids and 22 grandchildren.Read and see the full story here.

• DOE Announces Details Of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Firesale.(ZeroHedge).Following the earlier general announcement that the SPR would sell 30 MM barrels of oil a lot of questions were left unanswered, such as what kind of crude will be sold, where will it be sold from, and at what price. The wait for answers is now over: The DOE has just released all the missing data. Per Reuters: "Under the terms of the U.S. sale that were issued by the department, the government does not plan to stagger the sale of the oil and will offer all 30 million barrels in one bid sale. The department will offer "sweet" crude oil from three of the reserve's storage sites: Bryan Mound and Big Hill in Texas and West Hackberry in Louisiana. The oil will have a base price of $112.78 a barrel, a spokeswoman for the SPR said." Which does not however mean that this is the price at which the oil will be sold: "Traders can bid above or below the "Base Reference Price" of $112.78, which is derived from the last five days of trading of Light Louisiana Sweet crude oil, as assessed by energy pricing agency Argus. Companies will submit their bids for the oil through a special department website. Delivery of the oil to the winning companies would take place over the month of August. Winning companies would pay for their oil during the month after the crude is delivered." Which simply means that China will convert quite a bit of America's trade deficit from dollars into oil.In other words, all of Asia thanks to America's stupidity yet again, and specifially its service-based, oil hungry economy, which is about to proceed with the first of many fire sales of crude which will merely move from Point A (US) to Point B (somewhere in Asia).Hmmmmm......The 'genius' strikes again, screw the American taxpayer.Read the full story here.

• Reason.tv: Why I Was Arrested Yesterday at a D.C. Taxi Commission Meeting.(BigGovernment).Here’s Reason.tv Producer Jim Epstein’s account of what happened: On June 22, 2011, I attended a meeting of the D.C. Taxi Commission for a story I’m currently working on about a proposed medallion system in the district.About 30 minutes into the meeting, I witnessed journalist Pete Tucker snap a still photo of the proceedings on his camera phone. A few minutes later, two police officers arrested Tucker. I filmed Tucker’s arrest and the audience’s subsequent outrage using my cell phone.A few minutes later, as I was attempting to leave the building, I overheard the female officer who had arrested Tucker promise a woman, who I presumed to be an employee of the Taxi Commission, that she would confiscate my phone. Reason intern Kyle Blaine, overheard her say, “Do you want his phone? I can get his phone.”(The woman who was given assurances by the officer that she could have my phone can be seen at the end of the video telling me, “You do not have permission to record this!”)As I tried to leave, I was told by the same officer to “stay put.” I told her I was leaving and attempted to exit the building. I was then surrounded by officers, and told to remain still or I would be arrested.I didn’t move, but I tried to get the attention of a group of cab drivers who were standing nearby. At this point I was arrested.I spent the remainder of the day in a cell in the basement of the building. In the late afternoon, I was released.Hmmmm.....Freedom of the press?CHANGED.Read and see the full story here.

• Obamunism on the Cover of Time.(Moonbattery).The latest cover of Time Magazine tells you all you need to know about the agenda of the left-wing media establishment that installed Barack Hussein Obama in power so that he could oversee the "fundamental transformation" of America.To ask a question like this is to give the answer, which is: not to our moonbat rulers it doesn't.The July 4 cover date is reminiscent of the "Is God a Fairy Tale?" covers we see around Easter.Read the full story here.

• "These boots are made for walking"Gunwalker Moment: Melson "reportedly eager to testify to Congress about the extent of his and other officials' involvement."(LATimes).The acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is strongly resisting pressure to step down because of growing controversy over the agency's surveillance program that allowed U.S. guns to flow unchecked into Mexico, according to several federal sources in Washington.Kenneth E. Melson, who has run the bureau for two years, is reportedly eager to testify to Congress about the extent of his and other officials' involvement in the operation, code-named Fast and Furious.Melson does not want to be "the fall guy" for the program, under which ATF agents allowed straw purchasers to acquire more than 1,700 AK-47s and other high-powered rifles from Arizona gun dealers, the sources said. The idea was to track the guns to drug cartel leaders. But that goal proved elusive, and the guns turned up at shootings in Mexico, as well as at the slaying in Arizona of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in December."He is saying he won't go," said one source close to the situation, who asked for anonymity because high-level discussions with Melson remained fluid. "He has told them, 'I'm not going to be the fall guy on this.' "Added a second source, who also requested anonymity: "He's resisting. He does not want to go."Melson has an open invitation to appear on Capitol Hill. So far, he has not been given Justice Department approval to appear before Congress.This week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said he hoped that Melson would give a full accounting of how the gun operation was conceived and carried out. He also said Melson should resign, and that other senior leaders at ATF and the Justice Department should be held accountable as well.Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also is awaiting answers from Melson, and cautioned this week that even if the acting director stepped down, it "would be, by no means, the end of our inquiry."Hmmmmm.......These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.Read the full story here.

• Gunwalker: Rep. Darrell Issa Defends ATF Whistleblowers from Retaliation.(PajamasMedia).As the Operation Fast and Furious scandal deepens, Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has fired another broadside at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Issa has sent a letter to Deputy ATF Director William J. Hoover, insisting on assurances there would be no reprisals against the ATF agents who have chosen to testify about a program Issa called “felony stupid”:

I write to request your assurance that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will not retaliate against witnesses who have provided information to this Committee. I make this request in light of the fact that on June 15,2011, in a hearing before the Committee entitled “Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes,” three veteran ATF special agents gave testimony highly critical of the ATF. They should not face reprisals of any kind for their testimony. No other ATF employees who cooperate with Congress should face retaliation either.

Issa’s concerns about retaliation against ATF agents are well-founded. At least one of the agents who testified was reluctant to do so for fear of job repercussions, as quoted in Issa’s letter:

[T]here has been a lot of undertones of retaliation. Like I took the schism as, hey, you don’t like what we are doing here, quit, or we will fire you or whatever. … ATF is just — they have been known historically from my experience … just depending on the supervisor, to be a very retaliatory agency. And that’s why when … your office reached out to me, I wanted to talk back then, but it would have been under the guise of a whistle blower. And … this is important enough to blow a whistle on, but I would be afraid of the retaliation that still might be coming down.It is against federal law to retaliate against whistleblowers — which doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. In fact, the Web site CleanUpATF.org, which purports to be run by ATF agents who want to clean up an organization which has, at best, a bad reputation within law enforcement, claims abuse of field agents by management is common.Meanwhile, the Department of Justice claims they did comply with a subpoena by Issa by sending him more than 90 pages of documents — most of them all but completely redacted. One person familiar with the case said an “insane amount” of the pages were redacted, so many they didn’t bother to count. Indeed, Issa himself said in a hearing that DOJ may as well have sent him a ream of blank printer paper.While all this is going on, and Issa and his staff are preparing for the next round of hearings, the New York Times, Washington Post and presumably the rest of the mainstream media are attempting to take Issa down.As PJM reported on June 22, the New York Times has run an editorial claiming what is needed is a new assault weapons ban, while continuing to make the claim that most weapons in Mexico came from the U.S. — an assertion which was debunked months ago. This editorial gives credence to the theory the entire Gunrunner operation was nothing but a stunt to promote gun control. The Post is employing a different tactic, trying to destroy Issa’s credibility: their article claims Issa was aware of the operation from the beginning — and uses anonymous sources to say so. Which brings up the question: if Issa really was briefed in on the operation, why would WaPo need to hide the identity of their sources?In the end it seems clear the rot at ATF — and the DOJ — goes deep, and no one knows at this point where the bottom of the sewer is.Hmmmm......Gunwalker: "One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin".Read the full story here.

• Issa: DOJ Covering Up on Mexican Gun-Running Scandal.(CNSNews).House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) told CNSNews.com in an interview that he believes the Justice Department is covering up information relevant to a congressional investigation of an operation in which the department knowingly allowed intermediaries of Mexican drug cartels to purchase guns at licensed firearms dealers in the United States and then get away without being arrested or the guns being retrieved.Last December, two of those guns ended up at the scene of the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed by alleged agents of the Mexican drug cartels.Issa pointed to two things he says indicates a Justice Department cover up. First, he cites a letter that Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, head of the Justice Department’s office of legislative affairs, sent to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 4, 2011. Issa characterizes that letter as a “lie. Secondly, Issa says the Justice Department made excessive and unjustifiable redactions in documents it provided to his committee.Additionally, Issa says he does not believe Attorney General Eric Holder testified accurately in the Judiciary Committee on May 3, when he told Issa (who also serves on that committee) that he had only learned of the gun-running operation—called “Operation Fast and Furious"--a few weeks before that.“There are two kinds of cover ups,” he said. “There is one in which you lie to people in order to mislead them. That letter represents that type of coverup. There’s also the one in which you delay and deny in an attempt to simply not have the facts come out. Clearly they’ve done that with Sen. Grassley, first, and then with our committee, because some of the things that they redacted, we have the unredacted versions from whistleblowers. We believe they did excess redacting, which again is denying us that which would be reasonable to deliver us. We’re hoping that that’s changed. We hope that what was said yesterday, there is in fact a change in the administration’s view in order to not be embarrassed.”Issa says he does not think the president personally knew about the operation.“I take the president completely at his word there; that this isn’t something that would ordinarily rise directly to the president,” Issa said. “Was it briefed to people in the White House? I’m sure it was. Did he know about it personally? Probably not. Now that he said it should be looked into, the clock has been ticking a long time and nothing has happened as far as their releasing any findings.”The Justice Department’s Inspector General is investigating the matter.Republican staffers for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a report this week that said the operation was “known and authorized at the highest levels of the Justice Department."Hmmmmm.........Read and see the full story here.

• Yes 'WE' Can - White House warned to get distance from Google.(Politico).Consumer Watchdog is telling the White House that its cozy relationship with Google is inappropriate, given ongoing reviews by both the FTC and the Department of Justice.The group, a vocal critic of Google, is asking White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who is responsible for overseeing ethics policy, “to rule that the president and other members of the administration must distance themselves from Google until the investigations are concluded,” according to a letter delivered to the White House on Friday.Google is reportedly the subject of an antitrust investigation by the FTC, and Justice is reviewing its $400 million purchase of online advertising firm Admeld. In addition, Justice, the FDA and the Rhode Island U.S. attorney are reportedly looking into allegations that Google profited from selling online ads to illegal online pharmacies.Despite those ongoing reviews, Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Vice President Marissa Mayer were guests at last month’s State Dinner to honor German Chancellor Angela Merkel.“Allowing such executives to hobnob at a gala White House event inevitably sends a message that the administration supports them and undercuts the ability of federal investigators to proceed with their case in a fair and unbiased way,” reads the letter, signed by Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court and Privacy Project Director John Simpson.Schmidt has been friendly with President Barack Obama for several years, having advised his presidential campaign and transition team and now serving on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The warm relationship between Schmidt and Obama has been called into question before by Google critics who worried the search giant was getting special treatment in certain areas, such as broadband policy.“Nonetheless, given the current circumstances, the president and top administration officials must distance themselves from Google until the serious allegations against the company are resolved,” the letter said.Complicating the situation is Google’s refusal to send Schmidt or CEO Larry Page to testify at an upcoming hearing on competition. Sens. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, said they may pursue a subpoena to force one of the Google executives to appear.Google is in touch with the subcommittee and will “send them the executive who can best answer their questions,” spokeswoman Mistique Cano said Thursday.Hmmmm......The most 'transparant' administration evah!Read the full story here.

• Five Russian scientists who helped Iran with nuclear secrets were among 45 killed in plane crash.(DailyMail).Five Russian scientists who died in a plane crash on Tuesday had been helping Iran with nuclear secrets, it has been revealed.They were among 45 killed when the plane's lights failed in heavy fog and careered into a motorway in north-west Russia before bursting into flames - leading conspiracy theorists to believe it was a deliberate plot to kill the nuclear experts. Russian security sources confirmed that the dead scientists worked at the controversial Bushehr nuclear plant on the Iranian Persian Gulf.Due to open this year, the nuclear facility has been worked on since 1975, and has raised international concerns that it may be used to covertly build nuclear weapons for Iran.But despite the controversial project, Russia still believe that it was poor weather and pilot error that caused the crash rather than foul play.Among the dead scientists was Andrei Trokinov, one of Russia's top nuclear technological experts, which will be a huge blow to the Russian and Iranian nuclear industries.'Although Iranian nuclear scientists have in the past been involved in unexplained accidents and plane crashes, there is no official suspicion of foul play,' a source said today.'Investigators are investigating human error and technical malfunction as the causes of the crash.'Three of the scientists had worked for Hydropress, a company closely involved with Bushehr, a plant with uniquely complex designs built on the join of three Tectonic plates, it was revealed. One was Sergey Ryzhov, general director of the company and a distinguished constructor of nuclear plants.The other dead scientists were named as Nikolay Trunov, Gennady Banyuk, and Valery Lyalin, and all were described as eminent today.It is unclear if the scientists were still actively engaged at Bushehr or had worked on any other nuclear projects in Iran. They were travelling to a conference when they died. Eight passengers survived the crash of the flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk in north-west Russia, though one, a boy of ten, has since died.All but one of the injured are severely hurt. Today Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday expressed condolences to the Russian nation and families of the victims of the plane crash.Hmmmm......Stuxnet works in mysterious ways?Read the full story here.

• Getting Closer To justice For Fatima.(BigPeace).In a press released yesterday, David Caton, Executive Director of Florida Family Association, has announced that his request to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission to investigate the Medical Examiner Report in the August 2009 death of Fatima Abdallah has been granted.

Dear Mr. Caton, I am replying to your email on behalf of Bureau Chief Glen Hopkins, since I am the staff member responsible for investigating complaints against medical examiners and associate medical examiners.We have contacted the District Thirteen Medical Examiner’s Office in order to obtain information from their files in this case. We will keep you apprised of our investigation into this matter. Please keep in mind that the Medical Examiners Commission is only able to investigate the portion of this complaint that involves the District 13 Medical Examiner, and his Associate Medical Examiners. The portions of this complaint involving the State Attorney’s Office and Law Enforcement agencies that also participated in the investigation are beyond our jurisdiction.

 On Friday, June 24, 2011 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm there will be a rally for Fatima held by Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) at the Embassy Suites, 3705 Spectrum Blvd. Tampa, Florida 33612 by USF. The National Organization for Women (NOW) is holding their annual conference, Daring to Dream: Building a Feminist Future.The National Organization for Women was created to advance the opportunities for women across the country. They must be called out on this, as their silence is sanction. Where are they when young women in this country are being “honor killed” for becoming too “western?” Where do they stand on gender apartheid, clitoridectomies, forced marriage and child marriage under the shari’ah in Muslim countries?As fate would have it, Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor will be delivering the welcome speech at the NOW convention.This is the perfect occasion to show your support and demand that justice be served in the case of Fatima Abdallah. Let’s not let her death be swept under the rug because the circumstances are too controversial to be properly, and more importantly, legally, addressed.This woman deserves better from Tampa, from Florida, and from the United States of America.Read the full story here.

• A Bullseye for Rep. Peter King: Two Men Arrested For Planning Ft. Hood-Style Assualt In Seattle Converted To Islam While In Prison.(ABC).Two men who converted to Islam have been arrested and charged by federal authorities with plotting a Ft. Hood-style assault on a Seattle military installation in which they could kill military personnel and then either escape or die as “martyrs.”Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, born Joseph Anthony Davis, and Walli Mujahidh, born Frederick Domingue Jr., are accused of planning to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station in Seattle with grenades and machine guns. Abdul-Latif, 33, and Mujahidh, 32, allegedly purchased machine guns from undercover agents to use in the assault. Their alleged objective was to deter further American military action in Islamic countries. . . .According to officials, Abdul-Latif, of Seattle, and Mujahidh, of Los Angeles, met while in prison for earlier offenses. Both converted to Islam while incarcerated.Hmmmm.......The U.K. could have said 'told you so'!Read the full story here.

• Google hides Gay Pride rainbow.(Hurriyetdaily).Google creates "doodles" for all kinds of random occasions.The search engine changed - or doodled - the logo on its home page in celebration of the painter Paul Cezanne's 172nd birthday; Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th birthday; the first day of school in Poland; and Pac-Man's 30th anniversary. All of these, with the exception of Poland, which appeared only in that country, were automatically visible to everyone who visited Google.com.But for Gay Pride Month - which, in case you didn't notice the parade in the city center, is happening now - the company took a much less visible approach.It's one that's stirred up criticism from the gay community.According to CNN, there's never been an actual Google Doodle in honor of Gay Pride. Instead, during June, a little rainbow pops up next to Google's search bar only when users search for certain "pride-related" terms, including, "gay," "lesbian," "homosexuality," "LGBT," "marriage equality," "bisexual" and "transgender.""During the month of June, Google is celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, Pride," the company said in an e-mail. "For some Pride-related search queries, we are showing a rainbow at the end of the search bar."The gay community is disappointed with Google for putting the rainbow in a not-so-visible manner. But some critics say Google is hiding it to avoid criticism from anti-gay advocates.A company spokeswoman did not provide specifics."We enjoy celebrating holidays and special events at Google. As you may imagine, it's difficult for us to choose which events to celebrate on our site, and have a long list of those we'd like to celebrate in the future," a statement said.Critics say Google is hiding the feature to avoid criticism from anti-gay groups, whose members may be less likely to search "pride-related" terms.The hidden doodle "should keep the six-color rainbow, a symbol universally associated with gay pride ever since San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker created it 33 years ago, from appearing on the pages of those who are still opposed to gay rights. And keep Google from having to deal with any backlash," writes Nicholas Jackson on The Atlantic's tech site.Jackson, who is gay, calls the fact that Google hasn't created a full-blown doodle in honor of Gay Pride "disappointing.""Instead of boldly declaring its support of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, Google added a tiny rainbow to the end of its search bar," he writes.Hmmmmmm......."some critics say Google is hiding it to avoid criticism from anti-gay advocates".....now who might they be?Read the full story here.

• Muslims and Leftists to Appeal Geert Wilders Verdict Internationally.(IslamVersusEurope).For the Mohammedans and their leftist friends, the Not Guilty verdict in the Geert Wilders trial is not the end of the matter. They're planning to appeal the verdict internationally. The Scotsman reports: Farid Azarkan of the SMN association of Moroccans in the Netherlands said he feared the acquittal could encourage others to repeat Wilders' comments. "You see that people feel more and more supported in saying that minorities are good for nothing," Mr Azarkan said. Minorities groups said they would now take the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, arguing the ruling meant the Netherlands had failed to protect ethnic minorities from discrimination.

The Dutch News reports:

Lawyer Gerard Spong, one of the first people to accuse Wilders of incitement to hatred was disappointed. ‘We are thinking of going to the European Court. I think Wilders went too far. I was surprised and shocked when he said at the end of the trial that he had meant to be rude and insulting. That is an admission in itself. If he had said that during the trial he would have been convicted. By acquitting him the judges have paved the way to making Muslims second rate citizen.’ Spong called the judge’s comment that Wilders has remained within the context of public debate ‘vague and meaningless’. The AD writes that the organisations behind Wilders’ prosecution will be turning to the human rights committee of the United Nations. Their lawyer Ties Prakken is quoted as saying that ‘the verdict has damaged the right of minorities to be protected from hatemongering’. One of the organisations, the Beweging to Herstel van het Respect (movement to bring back respect) said: ‘The court has effectively given Wilders permission to turn his threats into action and refuse Muslims to enter the country, forbid the reading of the Koran in the Netherlands and put a stop to building more mosques.’ It has announced it will take the state to court in order to bring about ‘effective measures’ to prevent Wilders from carrying out the alleged threats.Read the full story here.

• Jehovah's Witness Prince : "“It’s fun being in Islamic countries, to know there’s only one religion. There’s order. You wear a burqa. There’s no choice. People are happy with that.”.(NewsTime).Prince says he respects the “order” of Islamic countries.The ‘Purple Rain’ singer believes strict Middle Eastern countries which make their laws based on the Muslim religion and dictate what their citizens can do and wear cannot just be dismissed as oppressive and wrong.In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Prince — who has been a Jehovah’s Witnesses since 2001 — said: “We can’t do what we want to do all the time. If you don’t have boundaries, what then?“It’s fun being in Islamic countries, to know there’s only one religion. There’s order. You wear a burqa. There’s no choice. People are happy with that.”When asked what he would say to Muslim women who are unhappy to be forced to wear burqas — which cover the wearer’s entire body apart from their eyes — he replied: There are people who are unhappy with everything. There’s a dark side to everything.“I don’t want to get up on a soapbox. My view of the world, you can debate that forever.” Hmmmm......I wonder what girlfriend Bria Valente thinks of being forced to wear a burka?Read the full story here.

• Chicago Top Cop Blames Sarah Palin and Racism For City’s Gun Violence (Video).(GWP).Rahm Emanuel’s top cop Garry McCarthy blamed Sarah Palin and institutionalized racism for the gun violence in Chicago’s black and Latino communities.Notice too that he delivered this speech at radical Father Pfleger’s wacky church.The pervasion of illegal guns in America’s black and Latino communities is a result of “government-sponsored racism,” akin to “slavery, segregation, black codes [and] Jim Crow,” Rahm Emanuel’s new police chief, Garry McCarthy, told parishioners at St. Sabina’s Church earlier this month.“This is sensitive. You know, because everybody’s afraid of race. Have you noticed that? Everybody’s afraid of race. I’m not afraid of race,” said McCarthy, who told of growing up in the Bronx with guns, gangs and drugs plentiful.“Let’s see if we can make a connection here. Slavery. Segregation. Black codes. Jim Crow. What, what did they all have in common? Anybody getting scared? Government sponsored racism.”“Now I want you to connect one more dot on that chain of the African American history in this country, and tell me if I’m crazy: Federal gun laws that facilitate the flow of illegal firearms, into our urban centers across this country, that are killing our black and brown children,” he said.McCarthy blasted the NRA, telling parishioners that their communities have paid the price while the gun manufacturers are getting “rich and living in gated communities.”And he told an anecdote of just one night with the New York Police Department. After returning home from investigating a pair of shootings, he said he flipped on the television to relax, only to find “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” being broadcast.“She was caribou hunting, and talking about the right to bear arms,” he said. “Why wasn’t she at the crime scene with me?”Hmmmm......."That are killing our black and brown children"how about the other white and jellow children?Now hunting will become illegal in Obama Chicago Town?Read and see the full story here.

• Israel - PM Netanyahu: We'll aggravate Hamas prisoners' conditions.(Ynet).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday a plan aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing captive soldier Gilad Shalit two days before the five-year anniversary to his abduction. Netanyahu said he has decided to change Israel's policy towards terrorists incarcerated in the country.The prime minister said that Israel has no other obligations beyond adhering to Israeli law, international law and international treaties. Speaking at the Presidential Conference in Jerusalem he said that the State will put an end to the Hamas prisoners' excessive conditions.He did not specify the steps the government will take to alter confinement conditions but noted that he has canceled the "absurd" protocol allowing terrorists to enroll in academic studies. "There will be no more doctorates of terror," he said, "This party is over." In March 2009, a committee headed by then Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann recommended worsening Hamas prisoners' conditions. No other decisions were made since. The committee recommended limiting family visits and denying physical contact, banning television, radio and newspapers and changing legislation to prevent administrative release and lawyer visits.Netanyahu said that Israel must continue to pressure Hamas politically, morally and daily in order to advance Shalit's release. He congratulated leaders in France, Italy and England who urged Hamas to free the captive soldier and allow Red Cross visits. Referring to the peace process, Netanyahu again called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to recognize the Jewish state. He addressed his Bar-Ilan speech in which he supported the two-state solution, and said he will accept a Palestinian state. The prime minister stressed that Israel's non-Jewish residents have full rights, the only Arabs in the region with such privileges. He rejected the notion of a bi-national state stressing that Israel must have a solid Jewish majority with an Arab minority. Netanyahu expressed hope that Palestinian leaders will overcome the obstacle for peace, and recognize the Jewish state, paraphrasing the Nike ad with the message – "Just Say It." President Peres said during the conference that he would like to see the Palestinian state as the first Arab country to enjoy democracy and peace. "I would like to see us live in peace, prosperity and security," he said.Referring to relations with Egypt he said, "It may not be a perfect peace, but an imperfect peace it better than a perfect war. The time has come to conclude the agreements with the Palestinians, it's possible and better later than never. Compromises are necessary for our children, their children, our mothers, their mothers will live in peace."State officials said that Netanyahu has been holding consultations recently and instructing legalists and security experts to draw up a list of minimal prisoner conditions required by the Red Cross and revoke anything beyond this. Inmate studies were canceled and phone calls and visits were limited. The sources said that the steps taken in recent weeks were not publicized so as to prevent riots. "Any step taken has consequences," one state official explained. "We don't want theses steps to hurt Shalit or to see an uprising in the territories and the jails. The plan is to take steps that meet international law requirements." Netanyahu's decision was met with rage in the Palestinian Authority. "There is nothing more with which to make the prisoners' lives harder as their current state is terrible," Qadura Fares told Ynet. He claims the inmates' conditions have already been aggravated. "For three years now the prisoners have been barred from doing their matriculation exams. Israel is already creating difficulties for institutions trying to introduce text books in jails." Meanwhile, Hamas official in Gaza Salah Bardwil questioned the Red Cross's call to allow its members to visit Gilad. He accused Israel of exploiting the organization to influence world opinion."Israel is trying to use some of the international organizations to cover for its heinous crimes of arresting thousands of Palestinians and preventing them from seeing their loves ones and murdering them under torture while causing a stir using the Red Cross. Shalit fell captive while bombing our men in Gaza with his tank," he said. The Shalit family responded to Netanyahu's statements with a measure of indifference."We ask why have Israeli governments waited five years, in which Gilad rot in the Hamas jail?" Noam Shalit said. "Israeli governments failed to pressure Hamas for five years and therefore it is doubtful they will know how to do this today." Head of the Shalit campaign Shimshon Libman said, "I respect the prime minister who after five years has decided to use the Hamas prisoners' confinement conditions to push Hamas."He nevertheless noted that this option has been open for all governments since Shalit's adduction. "Now it's too little too late. We stand resolute – Gilad has paid the price and there's no time for playing games now. The prime minister must carry out the deal and return Gilad home at once."Read the full story here. 

• Iran fights Western fashion.(HurriyetDaily).It’s an Iranian rite of summer: Islamic morality squads pressure women to keep their headscarves snug and coverings in place, and after a few extra tugs for modesty’s sake the crackdown inevitably fades.This year, however, Iran’s summer fashion offensive appears bigger and more ominous, and has expanded the watch list to men’s hairstyles and jewelry considered too Western.No official explanation has appeared for the sterner approach this season. But it fits with the steady push by Iran’s ruling theocracy to reel back the liberal fashion trends that began in the 1990s - such as body-hugging coverings for women and earrings and tattoos for men - and to sweep away non-Islamic influences in universities and cultural institutions.The drive to turn back the clock - part of what Iran calls a “moral security plan” - also could reach deeper as the all-powerful clerics running Iran move to reinforce their authority.The conservative forces around Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have already struck back hard at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attempts to expand his power base, and are expected to set a hard-line tone for parliamentary elections early next year.Nearly two-thirds of Iran’s parliament has signed a statement supporting the latest fight against “Western cultural invasion.” It’s blamed for such challenges to Islamic dress codes as women’s headscarves pushed back and pants cropped short to show as much leg as possible.Some 70,000 police officers have been deployed in Tehran this month to enforce the dress codes, the state news agency IRNA said.“Confronting those who are not sufficiently veiled is a legitimate demand of the people,” said Iran’s police chief, Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam, who was added to the U.S. sanctions list earlier this month for his alleged role in the political clampdowns after Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in 2009.The fashion targets this year also include men’s hairstyles and “un-Islamic” jewelry such as necklaces.Women, however, often get a lecture on Islamic clothing and values, said Tehran Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan.“If they don’t take action immediately and rectify the problem in their outfit, they will be arrested,” IRNA quoted him as saying.Then their families are asked to bring “appropriate” clothing to the police station. The detainees are freed only after signing a pledge “not to appear in public again like that,” he said.But the lines between fashionista and fashion outlaw keep shifting.What was once common and seldom challenged - such as tight-fitting and knee-length outer coverings on a woman - could now bring rebuke, according to authorities. Earlier this month, a hard-line Friday prayers leader, Ahmad Khatami, said that even a woman’s necklaces and bracelets should not be shown to men outside her immediate family.Hmmmm......Only the 'official necktie' is allowed?Read the full story here

• Will Turkey make its own Nuclear bomb?(HurriyetDaily).Last month, a big spread page article on Hürriyet showed the elegant photo of an aircraft carrier with a huge Turkish flag on its flight deck, with a big upper headline that said: Great news! But a microscopic photo caption read: Photoshop on USS Theodore Roosevelt. The curious story went on to quote Turkey’s top defense procurement official as heralding that “Turkey’s local industry was now almost capable of manufacturing an aircraft carrier.”Then I found the inspiration I may have involuntarily caused, while knowing I could not: “Politicians in Ankara and Athens should have a look at the scraps of metal, in which they have buried many billions of dollars in the past years but, thank God, never have had to use. What’s next? A fleet of Turkish and Greek aircraft carriers on the Aegean Sea?” this column read on Apr. 30, 2002 – and, no typo here; yes, nine years ago.And indeed, a military vessel looking like a small aircraft carrier to outsiders of the defense industry docked in Istanbul a few weeks ago. It was the Juan Carlos I, a handsome Landing Platform Dock, or LPD, which Spanish shipyards Navantia hopes to sell to Turkey, if it defeats two other bidders in a competition. Not really an aircraft carrier, but Turkey will soon own an LPD, leaving us in curiosity about which lands the Turkish government plans to ground on with it.“Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül’s announcement [in December that] ‘Turkey has decided to design, develop and produce its own, domestic, made-in-Turkey fighter jet’ must have been the first steps toward the soon-to-be-launched domestic, made-in-Turkey spaceship,” I wrote in this column (Turkish fighter jets, Turkish astronauts… Turkish avatars coming soon?, Hürriyet Daily News, Jan. 4, 2011).No, the Turkish avatars are not coming so soon. But there is wonderful news. According to Osman Yıldırım, president of the state-run Turkish Aviation Institute, Turkey will start training astronauts next year. And there is better news. Mr. Yıldırım has said we will send our first shuttle into space in the year 2023. Mr. Yıldırım did not say how soon the Turkish avatars will raid enemy lands. But it should not take too long.All the same, with the utmost fear of potentially inspiring our leaders, I guess the next in line could be the first Turkish-made nuclear bomb.Since it will be practically impossible to strip Israel of its nuclear capabilities – and Iran soon joining the club – the new Middle East order will give perfect legitimacy for a Turkish bomb. Could that be a reason why the Turkish government has been too soft on Iran’s nuclear program? No, forget conspiracy theories. But always keep in mind that Foreign Minister Ahmet Zero-Problems-Davutoğlu’s vision is either no nuke in our region or… after all, regional leaders should possess leading, game-changer military capabilities.But can Turkey make its own bomb? After fighter jets and space shuttles, it will be a piece of cake. And mark the news that quoted Energy Minister Taner Yıldız as saying that Turkey will soon send 300 Turkish students to Russia to study nuclear engineering “to run Turkey’s future nuclear power stations.”That will be the Pennsylvania-Moscow-Ankara axis completing the Pyongyang-Islamabad-Tehran axis. Then we’ll knock on Dr. Fischer’s door for a fascinating bomb party.Hmmmm.......Read the full story here.

• "Caliphat"- Revival of Muslim empire.(HurriyetDaily).Is it not a wild idea to assume that the radical Islamist fantasies of the neo-Ottomanists of the dissolution period of the Ottoman Empire or the mostly Egyptian Arab forefathers of jihadist Islam or the restoration of the Caliphate movement might have a minute chance of coming true?If we are to take out the fundamental difference between the neo-Ottomanist ideology, which was centered on the creation of a united “Caliphate State” something like today’s European Union, with the caliphate remaining in Istanbul – and the Egypt-centered Arab jihadist or the restoration of the Caliphate movement, that was obsessed with Arabs taking back caliphate to the holy Mecca, there was a common cause: To achieve the united state of the nation of Islam, or the “ummah.”Creation of the modern, democratic and secular Turkish republic and the March 3, 1924 abrogation of caliphate was a setback to both the neo-Ottomanist and pan-Arabic caliphate movements or aspirations of a united caliphate state of the ummah. [This is a complex discussion as according to many researchers caliphate is not indeed abrogated; its functions were ended while the institution and its powers were transferred to the Turkish Parliament.] The obsession of reviving the state of Islam – like the state that existed during the lifetime of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad and the succeeding first four caliphs – never ever died out and indeed has been one of the fundamental pillars of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, which this way or the other, under many names, exists all through the Arab geography today. Interestingly enough, though with some slight, yet very meaningful differences, the movement exists in non-Arab Muslim societies, including Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere.Of course, no one can claim that al-Qaeda and the Nationalist View Movement in Turkey, or the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, are one and the same, though both come from the same tradition of political Islam. No one can claim either that both Hamas and the al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun of Egypt are one and the same. There are national and cultural divides between all these parties, which irrespective whether they officially declare it or not, aspire for the creation of the united caliphate state of the ummah, where shariah or the rule of Quran would strictly prevail.Hmmmmm......Talk about 'Islamophobia'?Read the full story here.

• US: Israel, Turkey relations improving.(Ynet).State Department says thawing relationship partly due to US efforts, Israel increasing shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip.WASHINGTON – State Department Spokesperson Vicotoria Nuland on Friday said the United States was noticing a slight improvement in Israel-Turkey relations, adding that the US is hoping to see this trend continue in the future.The American administration in recent weeks has made efforts to draw Jerusalem and Ankara closer.Nulan claimed the thawing relationship was partly due to Israel increasing shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip via safe and legitimate ways.Recently, Turkish passengers announced that they had withdrawn from the Gaza-bound flotilla, scheduled to set sail next week.On Friday, the State Department issued a statement warning activists against plans to send a new aid flotilla to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it would be irresponsible and dangerous."Groups that seek to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement, adding that there were established ways to move humanitarian aid to Gaza.We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla," Nuland said.As part of the campaign, US President Barack Obama reportedly held two phone conversations with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an attempt to soften his stance.Hmmmm......Something like "Don't send the Flotilla ,keep working with Abbas and Hamas i'll recognise Palestine in September."?Read the full story here.

• Muslims Surround Church of St George in Upper Egypt, Threaten to Kill Priest.(Aina).Hundreds of Muslims surrounded the church of St George today in the village of Beni Ahmed West, 7 KM south of Minya, vowing to kill its priest Father George Thabet, who was serving the morning mass and was locked in the church with a number of parishioners. Security forces arrived five hours later and escorted Father George in a police car to the Coptic Diocese in Minya. "Father George looked as if he was the criminal, leaving his church in a police car." said one of the eye-witnesses. The Coptic youth who were attending mass remained inside church to defend it from Muslim attacks.Eyewitnesses reported the Muslim mob, in their white dresses and long beards, chanted "We will kill the priest, we will kill him and no one will prevent us." One of their leaders said that they will "…cut him to pieces."It was reported that no police or security of any kind was present during the events.The attacks on St. George Church trace back to March 23, 2011, when Muslims had surrounded the 100-year old church, which held a renovation license, and ordered the church officials to stop construction immediately and undo what they had completed, otherwise they would demolish the church after Friday prayers. They had placed several demands on the church authorities, including the banning of Father George Thabet from Beni Ahmad village and gave him a time limit of 35 days, later extended to 50 days, to leave the village with his family. Muslims accused him of making extensions to the church and of causing sectarian strife. The Archbishop of Minya had sent a priest two months ago to assist Father George, in order to diffuse the situation, but the Muslims resumed their pressure on the church. Muslims started congregating near the church in small numbers since the evening of June 21, after learning that Father George is returning to the village. It is believed they were angry and wanted to kill him because he defied the ban they placed on him.The archdiocese of Minya issued today a statement formally reiterating its strong dissatisfaction with the incident and denouncing the "return of the Salafists to besiege St. George's church again, some carrying weapons, threatening to kill the priest unless he leaves the village."The statement rejected the interference in church affairs, saying the issue of care of the church is the responsibility of the church authorities alone, and not of any person or group. It called on government officials and security authorities to do their part in upholding the rule of law and maintaining security in the country.The archdiocese refused any preconditions to negotiate with political and security officials, demanding the security forces disperse the demonstrations before any negotiations can take place.After Father George left the church the Muslim mob remained until security arrived to disperse them. The Muslims threatened that if they do not hear from the military commander by tonight that the priest is banned from returning to the village, they will hold their Friday prayers, June 24, inside St. George's church.Hmmmm......The Religion of Peace.Read the full story here.

• President Bashar al-Assad bound to go, says former Turkish diplomat.(HurriyetDaily).Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is doomed to go following months of unrest in Turkey’s Arab neighbor, according to Özdem Sanberk, a former Turkish diplomat.Although the change is irreversible, the Middle East is at the beginning of a period of uncertainty and there could be a return to strongman regimes.

Q: How do you see the situation in Syria?

A: In Syria I believe the genie is out of the bottle. The regime is trying to buy time. But it is not realistic to expect a transition to a multi-party regime. It is going to be hard for the regime to survive. It will be difficult for [President] Bashar al-Assad to continue to stay on power. He will leave, maybe in a month or maybe in a year. We just can’t predict when the time will be.

Q: But Ankara still seems to continue to give him a chance.

A: It will be wrong to follow a policy to keep al-Assad in power. And I don’t think Turkey is doing that. But you just can’t throw him into the trash, as if he were paper. Turkey is following a policy so that the demise of the regime creates a risk neither to the Syrian people nor to the security of Turkey. In a way, Turkey is looking for a soft landing.

Q: If sooner or later al-Assad will go, should Turkey encourage a faster exit?

A: This will increase the tension. It is not clear what will replace him. Iran needs to be counted in on that equation. Turkey’s support for the Syrian opposition could lead Iranian hostility toward Turkey. Supporting the Syrian opposition would be a shot in the dark.

 Q: So in a way, Turkey will be doing crisis management.

A: Yes. The main principles of Turkey’s policies in the region will be maintained but there will be adjustments to new realities.One of the most important characteristics of the recent foreign policy is that we started to give importance to Islamic solidarity. Islamic solidarity is playing a role as a tool of action. But this is not happening for the first time. Islam became a variable of foreign policy in the 1970s when we entered the Organization of Islamic Conference. When there is Islamic solidarity as a variable, that adds an ideological color to Turkey’s policy.But strategic and economic interests ought to determine foreign policy. There is currently the impression that ideology determines foreign policy. This is both right and wrong. It is right, because Islamic solidarity plays a role on decision making. But it is wrong because the fact that Islamic solidarity plays a role in the foreign policy does not mean other variables are not being used.

 Q: Mavi Marmara [where nine Turkish citizens were killed last year when it took part in the Gaza bound flotilla] will not go to Gaza. Wasn’t that the main icebreaker?

A: Erdoğan’s election victory played a much more important role than the decision about the Mavi Marmara.The argument that Mavi Marmara could not go due to technical reasons does not seem to be convincing. There is the impression that the decision came as a result of government pressure.At the end of the day, the Mavi Marmara is not going, whether because of government pressure or not. I would not know that. But this cannot make us forget that Israel has killed nine Turkish citizens. We are still expecting Israel to accept their operational mistake.

Q: Where are we on the working of the United Nation commission [that was established to investigate Israel’s attack]?

A: There will be suspense at the very last minute. The U.N. will never pinpoint one side. Independent of whatever the commission recommends, relations will not become normalized unless Israel agrees to provide an apology and compensation.Hmmmmm.........Islamic solidarity.Read the full story here.

• Obama's 'buddy' Turkey to launch international mobilization for Palestinian state’s recognition.(HurriyetDaily).Turkey could “declare a mobilization” in the international arena for the recognition of a new Palestinian state, Turkey’s prime minister has said, voicing strong backing for Palestinian aspirations to an independent state.“Turkey is determined to support Palestine [in its bid] to become a member of the United Nations,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a press conference after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.In his four-day visit to Ankara to seek support to solve a dispute with Hamas on establishing a unity government, Abbas received strong promises of help on the matter.While backing Palestinian ambitions to found their own state, Ankara also urged both Abbas and Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal to end their disagreements on who would be the new prime minister of the unity government. Meshaal had talks with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Istanbul on Tuesday.“Establishing an independent and viable state, whose capital will be east Jerusalem, is the basic condition to solve this problem,” Erdoğan said referring to the Middle East peace process with Israel.The prime minister said Turkey would host meetings for ambassadors of Palestine from various countries in Istanbul on 23-24 July.“We are continuing on the path of reconciliation and there will be no turning back,” Abbas said in the press conference.“We will make all efforts possible until the unity of our nation is achieved and a transitional government is established,” he said.Abbas said countries that have not yet recognized the independent Palestine state should recognize it in order to support peace and stability.Al-Fatah and Hamas have argued over who will be the next prime minister of the unity government. A meeting of al-Fatah and Hamas leaders in Cairo on Tuesday was postponed due to Hamas opposition to the reappointment of Western-backed economist Salam Fayyad.Turkey has urged Abbas and Meshaal groups to take advantage of the high moral ground they achieved with their agreement to form a unity government, stressing Palestinian groups should be united to properly use the leverage they achieved.Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, meanwhile, arrived in Ankara on Friday to hold talks with Turkish officials.Hmmmm.....High time for Israel to recognise the Kurdish independence.Read the full story here.

• Turkey denies feeding Gaddafi's Army.(Al-Jazeera).Suggestion of having breached UN sanctions rejected after Turkish-made food items are found with Gaddafi troops.Turkey has dismissed a suggestion that it may be breaching United Nations sanctions on Libya after Al Jazeera reported that Turkish food rations were feeding forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.The Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday it has no knowledge of any Turkish company exporting food rations or any other supplies to the Libyan government since UN Security Council sanctions were imposed on March 17.Among the supplies at three different bases, Al Jazeera discovered military rations which - according to their labels - were manufactured in Turkey.The rations are produced by UNIFO, a Turkish company which specialises in portable rations and meals ready-to-eat, according to its website. Labels show that bread packets from inside the rations were produced in March.In a statement issued on June 24, UNIFO denied any wrongdoing, saying that its products "can not be classified as military products" and that the company has "not made any sales contract with [the] Government of Libya".Turkey is a member of NATO, which has been carrying out a bombing campaign against Gaddafi's forces for months, and which participates in the UN sanctions.Hmmmmm.......I wonder what the Syrian army is eating?Read the full story here.

• Lebanon’s Top Sunni Clerics Say Banning Marital Rape Is “Heresy” And Contradicts Sharia Law.(AFP).BEIRUT  — Lebanon’s highest Sunni Muslim authority on Friday rejected a bill aimed at protecting women against domestic violence and marital rape, saying it would lead to the demise “of the family as in the West.”“Islam is very aware of and concerned with . . . resolving problems of poor treatment . . . but this should not happen by cloning Western laws that encourage the breakdown of the family and do not suit our society,” said the influential Dar al-Fatwa in a statement on its website.Dar al-Fatwa also slammed as “heresy” a clause in the bill that criminalises marital rape, accusing those behind the draft law of “inventing new types of crimes.”“This will have a negative impact on Muslim children… who will see their mother threatening their father with prison, in defiance of patriarchal authority, which will in turn undermine the moral authority” of fathers, it said.“We must continue to follow sharia (Islamic law) as concerns the Muslim family,” it added.The bill, drafted by feminist organisations, lawyers and forensic experts, was approved by Lebanon’s cabinet in 2010 and is currently under study in parliament.The bill, drafted by feminist organisations, lawyers and forensic experts, was approved by Lebanon's cabinet in 2010 and is currently under study in parliament.Should it be passed, the law would come under the penal code -- under which cases are referred to a criminal court -- rather than personal status laws, which are ruled on by religious authorities in multi-confessional Lebanon.The bill criminalises marital rape and calls for police intervention should a woman notify authorities of abuse by her husband or another family member.Hmmmm......."We must continue to follow sharia (Islamic law) as concerns the Muslim family,"meanwhile Sharia law is creeping inside America.Read the full story here.

• Senior Salafi-Jihadi Cleric: Duty Of Jihad Surpasses Duty To Care For Sick Parents.(Memri).In a fatwa published on the salafi-jihadi website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad in June 2011, Sheikh Abu Muslim Al-Jazairi responds to three questions submitted by three individuals on the topic of leaving one's sick parents in order to join the jihad. Al-Jazairi explains that jihad would not have prevailed throughout Islamic history if Muslims had clung to various excuses to avoid joining it – among them the hardships associated with jihad, life away from parents, spouse and children, and the lack of monetary incentive. Al-Jazairi shows his clear support for joining the jihad instead of remaining home to care for one's sick parents; still, he says, if one cannot wage jihad oneself, then other types of jihad (i.e. with money) are encouraged.Hmmmmm.......The religion of peace.Read the full story here.