MFS - The Other News

                                                                                         


                       Afternoon Posting.

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

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

• Yemen Live Blog - June 15 . Here. (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan  today 5.6 ,increased activity in Turkey! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 130.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 - 55 Source.

• Obama regime to Congress you can take your War Powers Act and Shove it!(NYTimes).The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it. In a broader package of materials the Obama administration is sending to Congress on Wednesday defending its Libya policy, the White House, for the first time, offers lawmakers and the public an argument for why Mr. Obama has not been violating the War Powers Resolution since May 20. On that day, the Vietnam-era law’s 60-day deadline for terminating unauthorized hostilities appeared to pass. But the White House argued that the activities of United States military forces in Libya do not amount to full-blown “hostilities” at the level necessary to involve the section of the War Powers Resolution that imposes the deadline. “We are acting lawfully,” said Harold Koh, the State Department legal adviser, who expanded on the administration’s reasoning in a joint interview with White House Counsel Robert Bauer. The two senior administration lawyers contended that American forces have not been in “hostilities” at least since April 7, when NATO took over leadership in maintaining a no-flight zone in Libya, and the United States took up what is mainly a supporting role — providing surveillance and refueling for allied warplanes — although unmanned drones operated by the United States periodically fire missiles as well.It remains to be seen whether majorities in Congress will accept the administration’s argument, defusing the confrontation, or whether the White House’s response will instead fuel greater criticism. Either way, because the War Powers Resolution does not include a definition of “hostilities” and the Supreme Court has never ruled on the issue, the legal debate is likely to be resolved politically, said Rick Pildes, a New York University law professor. “There is no clear legal answer,” he said. “The president is taking a position, so the question is whether Congress accepts that position, or doesn’t accept that position and wants to insist that the operation can’t continue without affirmative authorization from Congress.”Hmmmmm......Dictatorship , Thugocracy........Democracy?Read the full story here.

• Watch the total lunar eclipse online. The only way to experience the eclipse from North America is over the Web!Total Lunar Eclipse LIVE (18:22 GMT to 22:02 GMT) From Siliguri. WB, IND.By Alan Boyle.North America is totally out of the picture for Wednesday's unusually long total lunar eclipse — unless, that is, you're tuning the show in over the Web. If you click on the right website, the view could be totally cool.Read and see the full story here.

• Congress To Discuss Islamists Recruiting In Prison.(BigPeace).A former federal prosecutor and a former New York state prison official who investigated radical Islamist recruitment will discuss the threat of prison radicalization during a House hearing Wednesday.Former prosecutor Kevin Smith likely will discuss a California case in which inmates radicalized at Folsom prison plotted to attack Jewish targets in Los Angeles and the LAX airport. Patrick Dunleavy, former deputy inspector general for New York state prisons’ criminal intelligence unit and a contributor to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, has emphasized the role prison chaplains play in the radicalization process and the lack of effective oversight over their selection.It is the second hearing called by Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., on radicalization within the American Muslim community. In March, committee members heard from relatives of men who became radicalized and from a Muslim who actively opposes Islamist organizations.“Prisoners in jail often are looking for a new alternative. Being converted to Islam, there’s actually nothing wrong with that. In fact in many cases it’s ideal for prisoners, it’s the religion they are looking for,” King told Politico. “The problem is you get radical Muslims, radical chaplains who then radicalize them and turn them toward terrorism, turn them toward violence. It’s not only in the prison itself. It’s when they get out of prison and go to the so-called rehab programs, often they are also radical.”Despite this situation, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, dismissed the hearing’s premise out of hand. “The facts have proven that prison radicalization is an unfounded fear in America,” Thompson said ina statement. “According to the Congressional Research Service, in the ten years since 9/11, only one of the more than 40 attacks committed by violent Muslim extremists involved radicalization in prison. The U.S. prison system has not become a hotbed for radicalization and terrorist activity – nor is it likely to become one.”The hearing’s focus “on people who are already known and behind bars” is misguided, Thompson said. Rather, it should be on homegrown terrorists and possible “lone wolf” attackers.The Los Angeles Police Department disagrees. In an article published in the October issue of the FBI’s “Law Enforcement Bulletin,” Lt. Dennis Ballas details the James case, but concludes it “is not an isolated event.”Disaffected prison inmates are a captive audience for “charismatic extremist leaders,” Ballas writes. Many prison chaplains are poorly qualified and poorly vetted, leaving wardens to trust local agencies for referrals or even the inmates themselves.“Of particular concern are people…who can be paroled into the community after radicalization. Such individuals pose the threat of committing acts of violent jihad,” Ballas writes.The JIS considered it a duty “to target for violent attack any enemies of Islam or ‘infidels,’ including the United States Government and Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel,” James admitted in his plea agreement. It became a rallying point for other Muslim converts in New Folsom Prison. Followers had to take an oath of allegiance to James and the JIS. Once released, the group waged a series of armed robberies to finance its thwarted terror plot.Police investigating one of the robberies uncovered the true motive behind the crime spree.In that case, James created his own theological message. Elsewhere, however, prisons have used chaplains who preach a radical interpretation of Islam. That’s what Dunleavy saw while working in New York state prisons. He was part of an investigation dubbed “Operation Hades” that probed the radical Islamic recruitment movement from both inside and outside prison walls.His book, The Fertile Soil of Jihad: Terrorism’s Prison Connection, is due to be released in September.He has focused on Warith Deen Umar, a radical imam who has preached that Muslims should “be prepared to fight, be prepared to die, be prepared to kill” for their religion. Umar also made disparaging remarks against Israel and Jews at the 2009 Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention and previously said the 9/11 hijackers should be considered martyrs.Prisoners who receive such messages from chaplains can be radicalized, Dunleavy said. At least two of the defendantsconvicted in a synagogue-bombing plot in the Bronx were radicalized while incarcerated.“A terrorist is not hatched overnight,” Dunleavy wrote for the IPT in 2009. “Long years of sowing the seeds of Wahabbi/Salafist teachings in the fertile soil of prison are starting to produce a crop of home grown jihadists.”Hmmmmm....."Radical Islamists Recruiting In Prison"Something the UK government admitted years ago.Read the full story here.

• Peter King smacks down Sheila Jackson Lee in prison radicalization hearing.(TheRightScope).One thing is clear from listening to the prison radicalization hearings held by Rep. Peter King this morning, that the Democrats want to try once again and suggest that Islamic Radicals are no different than gang members, other criminals, and in the case of Sheila Jackson-Lee, Christian militants who have bombed abortion clinics. In fact that is where Jackson Lee put much of her focus when it was her turn to ask questions.Rep. Peter King however was quick to remind Jackson Lee, after she submitted statements on white supremacist and Aryan Brotherhood gang members for the record, that the minority held the committee for four years yet never looked into any of the issues:

"I would just remind the members of the minority for four years they controlled this committee and they could have had hearings on any of these issues at any other time if they wanted to. I never heard any mention of any of these groups at these hearings until we held our first hearing on Muslim radicalization. I wish you would have been as attentive during the previous four years."Read and see the full story here.

• $48.4M in Federal Grants Given to ACORN.(Gao.gov).Seventeen of the 31 agencies identified more than $48 million--$44.6 million in federal grants and at least $3.8 million in subawards (grants and contracts awarded by federal grantees)--to ACORN or potentially related organizations, primarily for housing-related purposes, during fiscal years 2005 through 2009. Agencies were not required to collect data on subawards; consequently, agencies were limited in their ability to identify all funding they provided to ACORN or potentially related organizations through subawards. Agencies reported that their monitoring of awards to ACORN and potentially related organizations was based primarily on the award amount or available resources and ranged from reviewing progress reports to conducting site visits. We found that agencies' monitoring of these awards generally did not detect issues identified by inspectors general or internal audits. Audits conducted by inspector general offices or the internal audit unit at six of the agencies supplemented agency monitoring and identified issues regarding the organizations' use and documentation of funding--such as lack of proper recording and accounting for how funds were spent--that were not detected by the agency, except in one case. The audits were generally more detailed than agency monitoring. Agency officials said they plan to use the findings of the audits to modify their monitoring processes for future grants, for example by revising monitoring guidance. Of 22 investigations and cases of election and voter registration fraud and wage violations involving ACORN or potentially related organizations from fiscal years 2005 through 2009, most were closed without prosecution. One of the eight cases and investigations identified by the Department of Justice resulted in guilty pleas by eight defendants to voter registration fraud and seven were closed without action due to insufficient, or a lack of, evidence.Hmmmmm.........Most were closed without prosecution.Read the full story here.

• Euro Crisis in Athens.Greek Prime Minister Papandreou Offers to Resign.(Spiegel).On a day of protests and general strikes in Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou offered to step down to pave the way for a unity government to lead the country through its current crisis. But Europe still hasn't been able to agree on a new aid package for the deeply indebted country.Papandreou's offer came on a day of massive protests on the streets in front of the Greek parliament building in Athens. Some 20,000 demonstrators were on hand to protest the extreme austerity measures imposed by the government in an effort to get the country's budget under control. Several protesters threw rocks and bottles, with the police responding with tear gas. Papandreou's car was hit by a hail of oranges as it passed.According to a Reuters report, demonstrators also attacked the Finance Ministry using Molotov cocktails. There were also fights between masked left-wing anarchists and right-wing extremists in the center of the Greek capital. Greek television reported that the two groups attacked each other with clubs.Wednesday also saw a general strike in Greece resulting in the cessation of all train, ferry and bus connections. Ministries, banks and several companies remained closed for the day. Air traffic controllers did not take part in the strike so as not to unduly harm tourism.Read the full story here.

• Lebanese PM forms cabinet 5 months after taking office.(JPost).Hezbollah-led coalition has majority in new cabinet; PM Najib Mikati says new gov't committed to "liberating lands under Israeli occupation."BEIRUT - Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced on Monday a long-delayed new government dominated by allies of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers.Mikati was appointed to form a government after Hezbollah and its allies toppled Western-backed former premier Saad Hariri's coalition in January over a dispute involving the UN-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, Saad's father.The Cabinet's majority is made up of the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, and Mitaki was quoted as saying by the Lebanese Daily Star that the "government will be a government for all Lebanon and will work for all the Lebanese people without discrimination.""Let us go to work immediately according to the principles and basis that we have affirmed our commitment to several times, namely ... defending Lebanon's sovereignty and its independence and liberating land that remains under the occupation of the Israeli enemy," Mikati said at the Baabda Presidential Palace.Political wrangling had held up the formation of the cabinet, including disagreements over sensitive posts.The new government gave three ministers to President Michel Sleiman, seven to Mikati, and three to Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party, with the March 8 coaltion claiming the remaining 18 seats.Mohammed Safadi, the former economy minister, was named finance minister and will try to improve Lebanon's growth outlook which stands at about 2.5 percent this year, driven down by the political stalemate.Fayez Ghusn was named defense minister and Marwan Charbel as the interior minister. Nicolas Sehnawi was given the telecommunications portfolio, a post ridden with controversy due to disagreements over privatizing the sector.Hariri, who is supported by the West and Saudi Arabia, has refused to join Mikati's government.A main aim of the government will be to agree on a unified stand to face indictments by the tribunal expected to implicate members of Hezbollah in the 2005 killing of Hariri. The group denies any link to the attack.Mikati, who says he is politically neutral, said the Lebanese government would seek to maintain positive ties with all Arab countries.Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been fighting a popular revolt against his 11-year rule, telephoned Mikati to congratulate him, Lebanese media said. Syria is a strong ally of Hezbollah, the main player in the political coalition which helped bring Mikati to power in January."This government is committed to maintaining strong, brotherly ties which bind Lebanon to all Arab countries without exception," Mikati said.Hmmmm......A long hot Summer is about to start.Read the full story here.

• Report: Hizbullah Moving Rockets over Fears of Spillover of Violence from Syria.(Naharnet).Hizbullah began shifting the long- and medium-range rockets it had allegedly stored in northern Lebanon to locations in the center of the country, the Israeli Debkafile website reported.Western military sources told the website that “Hizbullah was taking the precaution of keeping its arsenal safe from a spillover of violence from Syria.”Debkafile said the sources learned on Tuesday that Iranian intelligence had advised Hizbullah to remove its rockets out of range of a possible American operation in Syria.Meanwhile, the U.S. deployed the USS Bataan amphibian air carrier strike vessel opposite Syria's Mediterranean coast with 2,000 marines, 6 war planes, 15 attack helicopters, including new V-22 Ospreys, and 27 choppers for landing forces aboard, military and intelligence sources told the Israeli website.The USS Monterrey cruiser armed with Aegis surface missile interceptors has additionally been stationed in the Black Sea.Western sources also report a build-up of ship-borne anti-missile missile strength in the Mediterranean basin.“Moscow, Tehran and Damascus, are taking this exceptional spate of American military movements in and around the Mediterranean as realistically portending American intervention in Syria,” the report said.Western intelligence sources in the Persian Gulf said that “Washington is coordinating its military movements with Ankara and that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Erdogan quietly agreed to place Turkish bases at U.S. disposal for an operation in Syria.”Hmmmmm...........Read the full story here.

• Spain: the Govt wants to forbid religious images in taxis.(Tea and Politics).It is not uncommon to see in taxis religious images, especially of the Virgin Mary, among the self-employed taxi sector. This tradition continues especially in Andalusia, where the image of a local virgin, as well as of St. Christopher, patron saint of drivers, have become iconic symbols for these workers. Industry representatives have complained that, with the Religious Freedom Act, will be forced to remove religious symbols from their cars. The Government contends that, under the principle of secularism, possession of symbols or clothing that express a religious affiliation in public services be prohibited.This law prohibits carrying “overt” symbols (ie visible and taken with the intent to be seen) of belonging to a religion. “Instead of banning things that do not harm anyone, the Govt should worry about those who search through Spanish dumpsters for food“,complains Alvaro Sevilla, a taxi driver that has no problem in displaying an image of the Virgen del Rocío over the glove compartment of his vehicle. Like him, his colleagues do not understand a measure that would end a practice of many taxi drivers, so they require “greater flexibility in this regard““There is no secular symbol that comfors me more than a picture of the Virgen del Carmen”, says Alberto Ibáñez, a businessperson from Cordoba. He remembers excited a serious accident at the entrance of Lucena and in which he was miraculously saved by that image. At least he feels that and hasn’t found any standard secular value that makes he think otherwise. Another partner of the province of Montilla (Cordoba) recalled that on one occasion, a temporary worker from the Maghreb complained about the presence of a small crucifix with the wheel and for that reason, refused to travel on board in the “blasphemous” vehicle.Hmmmmm.......Rodrigo de Vivar rolling over in his grave.Read the full story here.

• Syrian Protests Turning Against Hezbollah.(Cyberdissidents).Syrian cyber-dissidents have been posting videos, pictures, and comments on YouTube and Facebook, showing protesters in multiple Syrian cities chanting against Hezbollah, a group internationally recognized as an Islamist terrorist organization backed by Iran.In many cities and towns, people are expressing their opposition to the terrorist group by burning pictures of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the flags of Hezbollah and Iran. In this video, a protester burns the flag of Hezbollah in the town of Homs. In Latakia, a city near Assad’s home village, Qirdaha, protesters burned Nasrallah’s likeness. In another YouTube video, an image of Nasrallah was burned in the Damascus suburb of Duma. In addition to burning the Islamic Republic’s flags, protesters also burned a Russian flag for opposing international action against Assad’s regime. Syria’s president Bashar Assad commonly argues that he is “supporting the resistance,” a populist claim that appears to be losing traction with his people. Assad has traditionally blamed Syria’s lack of democracy and official corruption on Israel; Syria’s protesters seem to be sending the message that they no longer believe him.Hmmmmm.......The assault seems to increase on Assad's reign.Read the full story here.

• Tulsa Police Captain Suspended For Not Forcing Officers To Attend Mosque Event.(TulsaWorld).A Tulsa police captain who disobeyed an order to make officers attend a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at a Tulsa mosque was suspended without pay for two weeks.In February, Capt. Paul Fields was temporarily transferred from the Police Department’s Riverside Division to the Mingo Valley Division, and an internal investigation was launched into the matter.Fields filed a federal lawsuit two days later, claiming his First Amendment rights were violated.His suspension began June 12 and will end June 25, according to a personnel order signed by Police Chief Chuck Jordan.Specifically, he was suspended 40 hours for violating the department’s rule on being obedient and another 40 hours for violating a rule on conduct unbecoming to an officer.Hmmmm......"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".Read the full story here.

• Desperate mother-of-three in order to Avoid Being Evicted, sells handwritten letter from Obama in Which he Promised A Better Life If He Was Elected .(DailyMail).Opening the handwritten letter from President Obama brought a glimmer of hope to her life as he promised her that things would get better for her and her family.And despite the fact Destiny Mathis, from Hobart, Indiana, treasured the letter, more than two years later she has no choice but to sell it as she and her three children face eviction from their home.The 26-year-old was an avid campaigner for Mr Obama in 2008, getting T-shirts made and encouraging people in her neighbourhood to vote.Back then her life was tough but she had hope for her own future and the future of America.She graduated top of her class in 2005 and was working as a surgical technician while also helping her mother, who was battling cancer at the time.She said: 'I campaigned for him hard. I got the shirts made, the Barack the Vote shirts made. We've done a lot.'It was about half way into the President's term that things took a downward spiral for her.Her third baby was born prematurely with health problems and with limited daycare options she could no longer work.Her partner also left around this time.With nowhere else to turn, she decided to write the President a letter.She told the Huffington Post: 'I wrote him just expressing my concern about what's going to happen in the next two years. I know he's under a lot of stress, but I need to see more results.'She told him she was optimistic for change when she campaigned for him and that now she feels her future is bleak and unpromising. Despite this she also praised the President and his efforts.Out of desperation, the 26-year-old contacted Gary Zimet, president of Moments in Time, who has sold eight handwritten letters from President Obama, along with the actual Schindler's List and other pieces of American history. He said that the hand written letters on headed White House stationary are 'extremely rare' and he hopes to sell the letter for $11,000.Right now, Ms Mathis is hoping the letter sale will lead to a better future for her and her children Silas, Milan and Londyn and ultimately wants to go back to school to become a nurse.She said: 'I am just a little bit weary of the promises that (Obama) has made. I really haven't been seeing any kind of changes that affect me directly.'We need the money so we can move into something that's compatible with the kids and to help us out. We are really, really struggling. It's hard for us right now.'I really do trust that I'm making the right decision.'Hmmmm......"Oaths are but words, and words but wind." ~Samuel Butler.Read and see the full story here.

• "Jewhadist"(AmnonAndJonathan).

The Interrogation :-

Q - What's you name ?

A - Ilan Garpel

Q - Your father's name ?

A - "Shark"

Q - Your mother's name?

A - "Eagle B66"

Q - The purpose of your visit?

A - The cage fight with a lion

Q - The "Mossad Lion" ?

A - No! The SPHINX !...

It became a tradition in the Arab World, to show " Mossad series " late at night during the month of Ramadan.The next film is already under production ! Titled :- " Tantawi Vs. Bin Garpel "Everybody does it ! Kaddafi, Assad, Nasser-Allah, Ajad, Abu-Mazen &Co. Even the Turk - Erdogan ! Did you see the latest master piece? "The Valley of the Wolves - Palestine" ? Finger Lickin' Good !Wait another two weeks for the Flotilla and you will see in 3D " The Muzomboids Vs. the IDF Mossadoids ".Egyptians are known for their excellent sense of humor ! Your Mama.... Your President... Your MUHABARAT !... style...Read and see the full story here.

• Turkey - Owners of hacked computers will be punished, says official.(TodaysZaman).Computer users whose computers are hacked by Anonymous, an international group of hackers that has vowed to attack government websites in protest of an Internet filter system the government plans to introduce in late August, will be held legally accountable for the use of their computers in the attack, an official at the Ministry of Transportation and Communication has said.Head of the Internet Council, a part of the ministry, Serhat Özeren, said on Tuesday that if a user’s IP address is detected as having been used in an Anonymous attack, they will be held responsible. Özeren warned users to take computer safety measures, including password protection for Wi-Fi modems and updating the latest security software and installing firewalls to protect their computers from hacker intervention. Özeren said signatories of the Convention on Cybercrime, an international treaty to which Turkey is also a party, made clear that in the event of cyber crime, officials must track individual IPs to find the offender. “Although the real offender is somebody else, the owner of the compromised computer is punished,” Özeren said. He said Anonymous was a loose group of hackers whose members are located in different parts of the world. “What they are doing in their attacks is basically directing, say, a traffic that can only flow on a 10-lane highway to a three-lane road,” describing a so called denial-of-service attack, the method which Anonymous, which came into the spotlight last year when it attacked the websites of Visa, Paypal and MasterCard for their refusal to service WikiLeaks, uses in its attacks.Anonymous announced on Tuesday that it will continue its attacks on Turkish government websites. The attacks started last Friday, but the group took a two-day break for Turkey to be able to hold its general elections. Anonymous is helping Turkish Internet users, some of whom are highly suspicious of the filter system the government plans to introduce on Aug. 22. The government says the system will include four packages, including the standard package, which is no different from the current general access to the Internet, and is intended to protect concerned users from potentially harmful content Some Turkish users and Anonymous however, assert that any government filtering amounts to censorship. Thousands of blogs and sites are banned in Turkey, where YouTube was banned for two years until it was re-opened about a year ago.Hmmmm.......welcome to the Erdogan 'Halal' internet?Don't you 'love' the Iranian touch?Read the full story here.