MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan today 5.2  ! More info here.

• Volcanic Activity : Mount Hekla -Situation Update No. 6  - Source.

• Japan - Nuclear disaster - Situation Update No. 141 - On 11.07.2011 at 06:18 GMT+2

Radioactive cesium beyond the legal limit has been detected in the meat of 11 cows shipped to a meatpacking plant in Tokyo from a farm in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, the Tokyo metropolitan government said Saturday. On Friday, the metropolitan government found that meat of one of the 11 cows shipped from the farm to the meatpacking plant in Minato Ward, Tokyo, contained radioactive cesium measuring 2,300 becquerels--4.6 times the provisional legal limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram. On Saturday, the metropolitan government conducted similar inspections on the remaining 10 cows and found they were contaminated with radioactive cesium at three to 6.4 times the legal limit. Meat from the 11 cows was not distributed to the market. On Friday night, the Fukushima prefectural government asked Minami-Soma to refrain from selling beef cattle. It is the first time radioactive cesium beyond the limit set by the Food Sanitation Law has been found in meat, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

A ministry official downplayed the danger of the beef, saying, "Even if people eat the meat with an excessive level [of radioactive cesium], the radiation dose is very small and won't affect human health." The ministry has started backtracing six cows that were shipped from the Minami-Soma farm between May 30 and June 30. The farm is in an area between 20 and 30 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that is designated as an emergency evacuation preparation zone. In April, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry informed the Fukushima prefectural government that cows raised in the planned evacuation zone and emergency evacuation preparation zones can be shipped if the surfaces of their bodies are checked for radioactive substances and the safety of their forage and water is confirmed. The 11 cows from the Minami-Soma farm Friday were judged safe following testing by the Fukushima prefectural government. However, an excessive level of radioactive cesium was found in the meat of one of the cows when the Tokyo government conducted a sample test later that day.Source .

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

• Japan - Radiation at Thyroid Gland Found in 45% of 1,000 Children Tested in Fukushima.(NuclearHistory).(Ex-SKF).“The Nuclear Safety Commission headed by Haruki “Detarame” Madarame disclosed on July 4 that the test conducted in late March had found 45% of 1,080 children tested in Fukushima Prefecture had internal radiation exposure at thyroid gland, according to Tokyo Shinbun.3 months, that seems to be the amount of time that these government people must feel safe to disclose what they had known all along. After 3 months, people may forget, and/or people will give up because the disclosure is too late.The NSC says the levels were low, and there was no need for more detailed evaluation.If you look at the numbers, though, you may wonder how they came to the conclusion. To them, 100 millisieverts per year body dose equivalent for 1 year old (or 0.2 microsievert/hour) was acceptable because the ICRP says so. Since the highest they found was 50 millisieverts per year body dose equivalent, they concluded there was no need for further testing.

From Tokyo Shinbun (7/5/2011):

Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission disclosed on July 4 that the survey done in late March on 1,000 children living near Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant had revealed that 45% of the children were exposed to radiation at the thyroid gland. Commissioner Shigeharu Kato says “The radiation level was not the level that would require more detailed examination.”The survey was conducted by the national government and the Fukushima prefectural government from March 26 to 30 in Iwaki City, Kawamata-machi, and Iitate-mura, where the authorities expected the high probability of internal radiation exposure at the thyroid gland. 1,080 children aged zero to 15 were tested, and 45% had the internal radiation exposure.According to the NSC, the highest dose was 0.1 microsievert/hour (body dose equivalent of 50 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old). For 99% of the children tested, the dose was 0.04 microsievert/hour or less, which is the dose equivalent of 20 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old. However, Commissioner Kato said in the press conference on July 4, “To consider body dose equivalent, the survey was too coarse. There was no child who need further detailed examination.”According to the ICRP recommendation, 100 millisieverts per year will increase the risk of cancer by 0.5%, and that amount is set as the maximum annual exposure limit in a nuclear emergency. In the survey this time, the standard was set at 100 millisieverts, and the detailed examination was to be done if 0.2 microsievert/hour dose was found, which would be the dose equivalent of 100 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old.The Japanese government submitted the report to the IAEA which mentioned the survey done on 1,080 children for radiation at the thyroid gland, but the government did not disclose what percentage of the children were actually affected.So the Japanese government was secretly testing the children in Iitate-mura, as it scoffed at the suggestion by IAEA that the radiation level in the village was very high and evacuation should be considered. All back in late March when it could have made a difference.According to Tokyo Brown Tabby who read the Japanese post and called up the NSC, the NSC says the data was uploaded in May to the NSC website. So far I haven’t managed to locate it. The NSC also says they informed the parents. I hope so.”See earlier enteries in my blog on the effects of Radio Iodine uptake by Native Americans in high fallout rural areas during the period of US nuclear testing. The specific lifestyle and diet of these people (including consumption of local game, fish and fresh milk on site) is admitted by the US CDC (2006) to have caused a greater rate of thyroid disease over decades in these people. Granted that differences exist in the Native American and Japanese experience, points of similarility do exist.Hmmmmm........As i said from day one "Chernobyl revisited".Read the full story here.

• Disaster on the Volga!56 Year old cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in minutes,so far 9 people dead!(RaiNovosti).A total of 79 people were rescued, while around 100 are still missing and nine, including a child, have been found dead."One hundred and ninety six people were on board," Minnikhanov said. "Fifteen people were not on the list as they did not buy tickets," he added."Eighty people were rescued with 79 of them taken to Kazan [the capital of Tatarstan]. Two people were taken on a cutter and 77 on the Arabella cruise ship that happened to be near the scene of the incident," the spokesperson said adding that 14 people were hospitalized, including one in grave condition.Local health officials said that five of 14 hospitalized people were later discharged and allowed to go home.Rescuers have so far recovered bodies of five people, including a child.The spokesperson also said that currently 223 people, including 80 divers, are involved in the relief operation. The vessel rests at the depth of 20 meters (65.6 feet) about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the nearest shore.A criminal case into the ship's sinking on charges of safety violations has been launched, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, to "form an investigative team to establish the cause of the tragedy and find those responsible for the incident."The Russian Transportation Ministry set up a crisis center that probes into the cause of the tragedy.Tatarstan's President Rustam Minnikhanov has canceled his vacation over the accident and returned to Kazan to head the emergency operation center.The Russian Transportation Ministry said in a statement that the vessel successfully passed a regular technical inspection on June 15 this year and was certified for the further exploitation.The Bulgaria carried all the necessary life-saving equipment, the ministry said adding that the ship had life-saving rafts for 120 people, two lifeboats for 36 people, as well as 165 life-saving vests for adults and 12 for children.Russia's transport watchdog, Rostransnadzor, also said that the vessel was in good technical condition with all the necessary certifications. There was "an abrupt sinking of the vessel," Rostransnadzor said.Igor Panshin, the head of the emergencies ministry department in the Volga Region, said that the vessel carried 185 people instead the amount of maximum 120 obliged by technical regulations for this type of the vessel."On top of all, there were six fare dodgers on board the vessel. There is a possibility that the number may be higher," he said.The Russian Tourism Industry Union said earlier that the 56-year old vessel was not renovated unlike other cruise ships used for voyages down the Volga River.The Bulgaria was built in 1955 in Czechoslovakia and belongs to a local tourism company. It was traveling from the town of Bulgar to the regional capital, Kazan.A tourism expert said the lack of partitions inside the Bulgaria made it vulnerable to breaches."In case of an accident these ships sink within minutes," Dmitri Voropayev, head of the Samara Travel company, told RIA Novosti.Russia's Union of Tourism Industry said the ship had not been inspected or retrofitted for years, according to the Interfax news agency. One of the tragedy survivors said the vessel heaved down on its right side and sank in a three-minute time. "It was almost impossible to survive as there were about 200 people aboard...There were a lot of children. Prior to the tragedy they were taken to the children's room on the second deck."The survived passenger also said that just after Bulgaria's sinking two vessels passed by the scene of the tragedy and did not stop to save people. "It was what it looked like a barge and an oil ship. They didn't stop."Read the full story here , pictures here.Death toll can climb to over one hundred mostly children.More here.

• Syrian protesters storm US, French embassies after ambassadors visited opposition stronghold.(Yahoo).BEIRUT - Syrian government supporters smashed windows at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Monday, raised a Syrian flag and scrawled graffiti calling the American ambassador a "dog" in anger over the envoy's visit last week to an opposition stronghold, witnesses said.French Embassy security guards in the capital fired in the air to hold back supporters of President Bashar Assad's regime who were also protesting the French ambassador's visit to the same city, Hama, in central Syria. Protesters smashed embassy windows and shattered the windshield of a diplomatic SUV outside the compound. The French flag was removed and replaced with a Syrian one."God, Syria and Bashar. The nation that gave birth to Bashar Assad will not kneel," read graffiti written outside the embassy. One witness said three protesters were injured when guards beat them with clubs. The witness asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.There was no immediate word on casualties among protesters at the American Embassy demonstration.A U.S. official said the Obama administration will formally protest the attack and may seek compensation for damage caused when a mob breached the wall of the compound before being dispersed by Marine guards.The official said the State Department would summon a senior Syrian diplomat on Monday to condemn the assault and demand that Syria uphold obligations to protect foreign diplomatic missions. The official said no buildings were entered and there were no injuries to embassy personnel. But the official said the attackers damaged the chancery building.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Syrian security forces were slow to respond to the attack.The Syrian regime called the French and American ambassadors' visits to Hama last week interference in the country's internal affairs and accused the envoys of undermining Syria's stability.The protests erupted after U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford harshly criticized the Syrian government's crackdown on a popular uprising.Read the full story here.

• Obama administration wants to sell 125 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.(Jpost).On Friday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale of 125 M1A1 Abrams tank to Egypt – the first large arms deal since Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February – including associated weapons, equipment, parts, training and logistical support at an estimated cost of just over $1.3 billion.If approved, the deal would increase the number of Abrams tanks in Egypt from around 1,000 to 1,130. According to the notification to Congress, Egypt would receive 125 tanks, parts of which would be produced in Egypt, as well as M256 Armament Systems, M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 7.62mm machine guns, spare parts, maintenance, support equipment, personnel training and other related elements of logistics and program support.The Pentagon told Congress – which has 30 days to object to the deal – that the sale of the tanks would “contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.”The sale would “provide Egypt with a modern tank fleet, enhancing its capability to meet current and future threats,” the Pentagon further stated.News of the deal raised eyebrows in Israel, which has carefully watched arms sales to Egypt ever since Cairo began to receive annual military aid of some $1.3b. from the United States following the peace treaty the two neighbors signed in 1979.Israel has in the past lobbied Congress against specific arms deals to Egypt. In the past few years, Egypt has purchased 24 F-16 fighter jets, Hellfire missiles, Harpoon antiship missiles, TOW anti-tank missiles, Chinook transport helicopters and Apache attack helicopters.Israel is concerned that Egypt might take a radical shift in elections expected to be held in the fall and might once again turn into an enemy state, depending on the identity of the new president and the number of seats the Muslim Brotherhood wins in parliament.Handing over advanced tanks to the Egyptian military is not the path to either democracy or prosperity for that country. Congress must act to halt this sale immediately.Hmmmm......"I will stand with my Muslim Brothers"?If he really wanted to destroy Israel would he do anything different?Read the full story here.

• Allen West: Obama must remove Eric Holder, or he’s complicit with Fast and Furious cover-up.(DailyCaller).Florida Republican Rep. Allen West is demanding that President Barack Obama force Attorney General Eric Holder to resign.Appearing on Nashville radio host Steve Gill’s show last week, West said Obama would be “complicit” with what he sees as Justice Department attempts to slow down and avoid a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner if he didn’t push his attorney general to resign. “The president needs to realize that Eric Holder needs to be removed from the Department of Justice,” West said after detailing why he thinks Holder should appear before an investigative committee to testify about how the DOJ has handled its response to the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. “Or else I believe President Obama is complicit and he is in approval of the actions of his attorney general.”Gill followed up by asking West if he thought a special prosecutor was needed to investigate Operation Fast and Furious. West said he thought so, adding that the mishandling of the operation is a part of a “trend” he sees forming at the DOJ. West said the way Holder has handled Operation Fast and Furious is reminiscent of how he handled the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation scandal.“This is just another sad chapter in the Eric Holder book of ineptness and incompetence,” West said.Read and see the full story here.

• Former White House Staffer Fights Michelle her 'unhealthy' Food plans.(National Journal - Washington Post) – Foodmakers, fast-food chains, and media companies have teamed up to battle government efforts to create voluntary nutritional guidelines for foods marketed to children. And the group is being managed by former White House communications director Anita Dunn.The group, called the Sensible Food Policy Coalition, includes General Mills, Kellogg, PepsiCo, and Time Warner. Disclosure records show they spent $6.6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year, and the members of the group collectively have spent nearly $60 million on lobbying since the start of the Obama administration, the newspaper reports.Media giant Viacom is one of the members. It owns the Nickelodeon television network, whose animated characters such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants are featured prominently on food products marketed to children. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also weighing in.Dunn, who is now at SKDKnickerbocker, is managing the campaign, the newspaper said. She was White House communications director under President Obama in 2009 and is married to Robert F. Bauer, the former White House counsel.First lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity her signature issue, and she has urged food manufacturers and retailers to curb the marketing of unhealthy foods.Read the full story here and here.

• Revealed: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services DVD file listing 'records relating to Barry Soetoro' AKA Barack Obama.(BirtherReport).The Ken Allen FOIA response file now updated with a copy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services DVD file listing "records relating to Barry Soetoro...." Do all the redacted pages in the FOIA response contain information about the living person named Barry Soetoro A.K.A. Barack Obama? And why would Barry Soetoro A.K.A. Barack Obama have immigration records. The DVD was provided to Pixel Patriot by Ken Allen. You can view the original FOIA request related to the latest dump here.

Pixel Patriot: On the surface it would appear…the list of contents inscribed on the FOIA DVD response #HQS2011000019 released by The U.S. Department of Homeland Security would be a bit trivial except for the realization that the implications of an illegal alien officially designated as and so named Barry Soetoro is Usurping the Presidency are astronomical, and consequently must not be ignored.The name Barrack Hussein Obama II is merely a facade…although apropos for the treacherous and treasonous figure for whom even the presidential seal wont stick. Another dark day for the Republic no matter how you try spin it. Hmmmmm.........Is it me or what?Soetoro keeps mentioning his wife Ann Durham, but not a SINGLE time Barack Hussein Obama II is mentioned in these documents!Mentioning that she has no income and is ill. Mentioning a 4 year old child in her care would improve his chances to stay!Why did he not mention Barack Hussein Obama II?Read the full story here.

• "I'll  Do The Thinking For You "- Agenda 21 – “Outsmarting” America.(NoisyRoom).By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton.From The American Dream:Jerry Day, an electronics and media expert from Burbank California, recently detailed many of the ways that smart meters act as surveillance devices when they are installed in our homes….

They individually identify electrical devices inside the home and record when they are operated causing invasion of privacy.

They monitor household activity and occupancy in violation of rights and domestic security.

They transmit wireless signals which may be intercepted by unauthorized and unknown parties. Those signals can be used to monitor behavior and occupancy and they can be used by criminals to aid criminal activity against the occupants.

Data about occupant’s daily habits and activities are collected, recorded and stored in permanent databases which are accessed by parties not authorized or invited to know and share that private data.

Those with access to the smart meter databases can review a permanent history of household activities complete with calendar and time-of-day metrics to gain a highly invasive and detailed view of the lives of the occupants.

Those databases may be shared with, or fall into the hands of criminals, blackmailers, law enforcement, private hackers of wireless transmissions, power company employees, and other unidentified parties who may act against the interests of the occupants under metered surveillance.

“Smart Meters” are, by definition, surveillance devices which violate Federal and State wiretapping laws by recording and storing databases of private and personal activities and behaviors without the consent or knowledge of those people who are monitored.

It is possible for example, with analysis of certain “Smart Meter” data, for unauthorized and distant parties to determine medical conditions, sexual activities, physical locations of persons within the home, vacancy patterns and personal information and habits of the occupants.Saddle up boys and girls… Things are about to get very interesting in these United States of America. In a fascist sort of way that is.Here we are at ‘opposites’ day again… In the name of reducing energy costs, the government wants to replace all meters with these creepy Smart Meters. The meters will cause energy bills to ‘necessarily skyrocket’ (wait, where have I heard that before?) and have a whole set of nifty nasty side effects such as failing systems and the opening of your personal information to hackers. The Feds are spending a ton of money on this conversion process and ask yourself, why is that? It’s obviously not to save money as the costs are astronomical. It’s also not to save the environment as it virtually does nothing to help it. But it does give government control over you – when and for how long to shut down your power, how much you have to pay for said power, usage monitoring, etc. This is all being done in part to catch the smallest of entrepreneurs who work from home to force them to get business licenses and submit to oversight by the government, with the added bennie of forcing many of them out of business. This is the Progressive groundwork to drastically raise the cost of energy, raise taxes and fees and to box Americans in, corralling them with judgments over their income, credit ratings, habits, etc. It’s a Marxist’s dream come true and the ultimate nightmare for freedom-loving Americans. How do you like Obama now America?Hmmmm......Makes you wonder if those non existent Fema camps have smart meters?Read the full story here.

• Child pornography found on Assistant U.S. Attorney’s computer,Attorney General Eric Holder doesn't file charges!(DailyCaller).Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday requesting an explanation as to why the Justice Department declined to file charges against a federal prosecutor with child pornography found on his work computer.The finding against the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) was made by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).According to the Inspector General’s report, the AUSA admitted to spending a significant amount of time each day viewing porn at work.“The OIG conducted an investigation concerning allegations that an AUSA was using his government computer to view inappropriate material on his government computer,” the Grassley letter quoted from the OIG report. “The investigation determined that the AUSA routinely viewed adult content during official duty hours, and that there was at least one image of child pornography recovered on the AUSA’s government computer. The AUSA acknowledged that he had spent a significant amount of time each day viewing pornography.”Grassley further questioned why the department kept employing the individual for at least two months following the report; what types of cases this AUSA prosecuted; the status of the individual’s pension; and what types of Internet filters the Department now uses.Last year 33 employees at the Securities and Exchange Commission were found to have viewed pornography on the taxpayer’s dime without receiving harsh discipline. Read the full story here.

• EU Holds Crisis Meeting as Concern Grows Over Italy.(Spiegel).Die Welt:"The euro zone's sovereign bailout fund, which has a nominal size of €440 billion euros, was not large enough to protect Italy."The last meeting of euro-zone finance ministers before the summer recess was meant to focus on a second aid package for Greece. But over the weekend, attention switched to a far more important euro-zone member: Italy, the third-largest economy in the single currency bloc. According to media reports, there is mounting concern that the debt crisis could spread to Italy, due partly to the nation's high government debt and sluggish economy, but also to worries that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may be trying to thwart efforts by Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti to cut spending and get the budget deficit under control.Concern over Italy seems to be so great that a small group of top EU officials is meeting on Monday ahead of the euro-zone finance minister talks. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso were be joined in their meeting by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the region's finance ministers, and Olli Rehn, the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner.EU officials have stressed that it's not a "crisis meeting." But it is precisely that. The group was extended to include Trichet, Juncker and Rehn after nervous markets on Friday pushed the risk spread between 10-year Italian government bonds and their German equivalents (used as a benchmark) to the highest level since the launch of the single currency. At the same time, the shares of Italian banks plunged. The Financial Times is reporting that major hedge funds are targeting the country.The trigger for the market uncertainty is the instability of the government in Rome. Tremonti, until now regarded as the guarantor of a strict austerity program, is under mounting political pressure. Investors fear that the savings program of €40 billion ($57 billion) already decided by the cabinet may be watered down in parliament. On Friday, Berlusconi announced that changes would be made to the package of cuts. In a newspaper interview, he said politics was about votes. Tremonti, by contrast, wants to balance the budget by 2014 -- otherwise, he had warned last week, there would be a "catastrophe." Such words scare investors.But how badly is Italy really off? Its debt mountain has long been among the highest in Europe -- its debt-to-GDP ratio of 120 percent is the second highest in the bloc after Greece.But the budget deficit is under control, and private household debt is relatively low. The economy is well-diversified. In central economic points, Italy is in a better state than beleaguered euro-zone members Portugal, Ireland or Greece.The fears that are turning investors against Italy are vague, and they are being exacerbated by the failure of the euro-zone finance ministers to agree on a second bailout for Greece, The controversy over how private-sector investors should be included in future bailouts is making it more difficult for all the high-debt nations in the euro zone to borrow money in the financial markets.Read the full story here.

• Islam is the enemy, the Czech presidential candidate warns the world.(BigPeace).In recent days the Czech mainstream media have brought to light statements from Miloš Zeman, a prominent leftist politician, regarding Islam. This former prime minister of the Czech Republic (1998 – 2002), also at one time a presidential candidate, is well-known for his open statements and uncompromising humour. Most of these statements were taken from his report presented at the international conference entitled “Europe united and free?”, held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and country’s Defence Ministry. The rest come from a subsequent press release. These statements have already led to charges against the aforementioned politician.“NATO has declared itself as a defensive alliance without questioning what is it defending against. But it all begins with defining the enemy,” Zeman stated. He then continued: “The enemy is the anti-civilization spreading from northern Africa all the way to Indonesia. Inhabited by two billions of people and financed partly by gasoline sales, partly by drug sales,” speaking about the world of Muslims.With his mention of drugs, he was mostly referring to Afghanistan and Kosovo. With the former NATO became mired in an endless war, while the latter got help from the alliance to secede from Serbia. This involvement he regards as a failure.“I don’t believe there are Muslims and radical Muslims. Just as I don’t believe there are moderate and radical communists. There are only Muslims and communists,” Zeman addressed the conference participants.He believes that one of the mistakes the West has been making is its willingness to negotiate and its responsiveness towards Muslim countries.“Just remember the appeasement politics during the ‘30s. The victims were thrown directly into enemy’s guts, and (see) where it ended. The 21st century is not going to be Fukuyama’s ‘End of History’, but Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’,” predicted the retired Zeman.If NATO should expand in the future, it must be Israel that is adopted, according to Zeman. “Not the state whose president regards Stalin and Beria his main heroes,” he declared, referring to Georgia as governed by Mikhail Saakashvili. However, this could not be so easily done without changing the political climate in the NATO countries. And this is exactly what the politicians are afraid of, Zeman believes.Nor was the EU spared. “The EU reminds me of an overweight kid who is starting to throw up,” summed up Zeman about the union of states, some of which have already asked for huge financial support.“Even if one might agree that women should not be allowed to drive a car, in every other aspect the Islamic anti-civilisation makes women into a subjugated and second-class minority,” he added in a separate press release.“There is no doubt that Islam’s ideological basis is the Koran. A Muslim can be identified as an adherent of Koran, just as Nazi is an adherent of racial supremacy and anti-Semitism, or a Communist an adherent of class struggle and proletarian dictatorship,” he further elaborated in his press release.“Islam is incomparably more aggressive and intolerant that today’s Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism and other world religions,” added the former presidential candidate, referring to Koran.Read the full story here.

• Terror tots of the Taliban: Children as young as five training to be Al Qaeda 'martyrs' in secret camp.(DailyMail).Baby-faced children aim AK-47 rifles as they train for war on British troops. They are being taught about combat even if they can barely hold the lethal weapons.Shocking video shows toddlers as young as five being trained as 'martyrs' at a secret al-Qaeda camp. They are learning how to blow up buildings and mount roadside bomb attacks.British commanders in Afghanistan say Taliban fighters are increasingly using children as suicide bombers and as human shields during battles.Footage shows children cheering as a toy police car is blown to pieces by a bomb after a youngster presses a button on a mobile phone.The anxious youngsters - some dressed in camouflage uniform - are made to stand in line before being handed the rifles.Militants are training hundreds of them to become killers in the camp based in North Waziristan before being sent across the border to face western troops.The children come from families within the Turkic ethnic group of Uyghur people - Chinese Muslims who have fled and settled in Pakistan Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.Terrorism expert Neil Doyle told the Sunday Mirror that the video which appears on an underground website, was released as part of a Jihad recruitment drive.Hmmmm......The 'people' the Obama administration is talking with.Read the full story here.

• "I'll put a spell on you "?Saudi Arabia - Indonesian housemaid held for putting family under magic spell.(Emirates24/7).Saudi Arabia’s religious police arrested an Indonesian housemaid for putting her 10-member national employing family under a magic spell after all of them fell ill, a newspaper in the Gulf Kingdom reported on Monday.The family members had all been well before they have started over the past six months to have bad headaches, joint pain, breathing difficulty and shivers, the Arabic language daily Alsaudi said in a report from the eastern town of Hufuf.Unable to find a medical explanation, the father decided to complain to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the most influential law enforcement authority in the world’s oil superpower.A search of the house by the Commission members resulted in the discovery of talismans and other magic-related items in the housemaid’s room.After pressing her, the 40-year-old maid confessed that she had done a magic spell to the family and that she had buried magic work in the back garden.“After Commission members unearthed 10 nails and other items in the back garden, some family members screamed as the spell was broken...the maid was arrested but she has not explained why she had done this to the family.”Hmmmmmm.......Lord have mercy.....?Read the full story here.

• Saudi Woman pays heavy price for joke.(Emirates24/7).An arrogant Saudi woman made the mistake of her life when she retaliated to a heavy joke by her husband with a much heavier one. The husband simply turned his joke into reality and married another woman.The unnamed couple were visiting the wife’s family when her husband joked by telling her brothers that he would marry again.“His wife joked back but it was a much heavier joke when she told him ‘I can kick you with my leg any time and marry another one with my money.”“Her husband got furious and decided to marry another woman…her brothers tried to calm him down but he felt very offended,” Kabar newspaper said in a report from the capital Riyadh on Monday.“The real joke is that he went ahead with the marriage and the brothers of his first wife paid all wedding costs….that wife paid a heavy price of her joke.”Hmmmmm..........Read the full story here.

• Jewish groups urge UN investigator to quit.(Ynet).Richard Flak, UN special rapporteur for Palestinian territories, slammed over 'overtly anti-Semitic' cartoon published on his blog.The Obama Administration and several American Jewish groups have called for the resignation of UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, after he posted an “overtly anti-Semitic” cartoon on his blog.The aforementioned cartoon depicts a dog clad in a yarmulke marked with a Star of David, and a body-warmer emblazoned with USA, urinating on Lady Justice whilst she obliviously holds its leash.The cartoon was apparently in response to the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity. "I am deeply disturbed that once again UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk has used his personal blog to publish abhorrent material. His shameful and outrageous behavior is an embarrassment to the United Nations. Someone who publishes such vicious images has no place in the UN system. "His shameful and outrageous behavior is an embarrassment to the United Nations. Someone who publishes such vicious images has no place in the UN system. We reiterate our call for him to step down,” stated Joseph Torsella, the US representative for management and reform to the United Nations.The Anti-Defamation League called on the UN top human rights official to publicly condemn Falk.“This cartoon is blatantly anti-Semitic and conveys the message that Jews and Americans care little about what is just and moral,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director. “While Mr. Falk writes on this blog in his personal and not professional capacity, the message of hatred in this cartoon nonetheless directly contravenes the principles of the Human Rights Council and of the United Nations itself.”In a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, the League said Falk’s decision to feature an anti-Semitic cartoon on his blog is only the latest in a pattern of unacceptable and inappropriate politicization of his position.On July 6, Falk removed the cartoon and posted an apology on his blog stating that it ““had strongly anti-Semitic symbolism that I had not detected before it was pointed out to me.” There has been no indication whether Falk will be relieved of his position, or at the very least condemned for his actions. Hmmmmm.......I'm sure the Obama administration will find a place for him.Read the full story here.

• Deadly Explosion Of Seized Iranian Weapons Kills 12 In Cyprus.(Rferl).Huge explosions have rocked the main Greek Cypriot naval base at Zygi in the south of the divided island, killing at least 12 people and knocking out a power station.The explosions at the Evangelos Florakis base reportedly occurred early on July 11 at a cache of weapons seized in 2009 from an Iranian ship that was en route to Syria.The blasts left dozens injured and devastated a nearby village.Damage to the nearby Vassiliko power station, which supplies almost half of the electricity on Cyprus, triggered power outages across large swathes of the island.The loss of electricity also prompted the closure of the Cyprus's desalination plants, which had allowed the gradual abandonment of summer water rationing over the past two years.Read the full story here.Updated with video : Defence minister and head of army quit after twelve people killed following explosions at a naval base munitions dump. Here.

• Is Rehab for the radicalised Pakistan Taliban youth even possible?(Dawn).MINGORA: At the rehabilitation center for former militants in Pakistan’s Swat valley, the psychiatrist speaks for the young man sitting opposite him in silence. “It was terrible. He was unable to escape. The fear is so strong. Still the fear is so strong.”Hundreds of miles away in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, a retired army officer recalls another young man who attacked him while he prayed – his “absolutely expressionless face” as he crouched down robot-like to reload his gun.Both youths had been sucked into an increasingly fierce campaign of gun and bomb attacks by Islamist militants on military and civilian targets across Pakistan.But there the similarity stops.One is now being “de-radicalised” in the rehabilitation center in Swat, the northern region which only two years ago was overrun by the Pakistani Taliban and has since been cleared after a massive military operation.He will be taught that Islam does not permit violence against the state and that suicide bombing is “haram” or forbidden.The other had attacked the minority Ahmadi sect, declared non-Muslim by the state and subject to frequent attacks in Punjab, where many of them live.Though he was arrested after being overpowered by the retired army officer, survivors said many of their neighbors celebrated his act of violence with the distribution of sweets.The different responses to the two are symptomatic of Pakistan’s compartmentalised approach on counter-terrorism and counter-extremism.In some parts of the country – like Swat – violent Islamists are crushed and their beliefs confronted.In others – like Punjab, the heartland province far more important to the stability of Pakistan than the more talked-about tribal areas bordering Afghanistan – they are tolerated while their ideology of religious extremism flourishes.Swat is the Pakistan army’s success story. After Taliban militants imposed a brutal regime of beheadings and killings, the army sent in troops to clear them out and restore order.This week it held an international seminar on de-radicalisation in the main town Mingora and organised tours of its rehabilitation centers to demonstrate its commitment to fighting terrorism.The turbaned men who brought fear to Swat have been replaced by boys playing cricket in the cool before dusk; women are back out in the streets, some even showing their faces under casually draped headscarves, peace is enforced by a heavy military presence.At the rehabilitation center, a large brick building with high walls and barbed wire set between craggy grassy hills in the Swat countryside, an officer explained that several hundred prisoners had been selected for “the removal of radical thoughts.”The young man sitting with the psychiatrist – he cannot be named for his own safety – was a construction worker who ended up with the Taliban and is now being counseled in the hope he can return to a normal life. He still suffers from post-traumatic stress from the violence he witnessed.In another rehabilitation center, this one for juveniles aged 12-17, boys dressed in green and white striped shirts, brown trousers and black shoes are given classes about Pakistan.The setting is softer here – the boys have neat bunk beds with covers of blue floral print on pale brown, a living room with television and table tennis, a computer room, a small library including a collection of English-language novels.Some of them were used by the Taliban for menial chores – you have to rise one step up the hierarchy to become a suicide bomber, to be injected with drugs and dispatched to kill.The Swat story has less gentle sides – in the thousands of hard-core prisoners who visitors are not taken to see, in reports, denied by the army, of extra-judicial executions.Local people say they fear that the Taliban might yet return to an area mired in poverty and hit anew by devastating floods last year. But at least in terms of trend, Swat is a success.At the seminar on de-radicalisation, participants reeled off a list of reforms that needed to happen in Swat – prison and judicial reform, economic development, and education.Many of these factors could be applied to the whole country. Yet at the seminar, nobody explained how the programme of de-radicalisation begun in Swat was meant to be replicated in a much more complex and larger place like Punjab.Nobody asked how a confused and divided people were meant to distinguish between Pakistan’s experience of Islam, politicised by the army as a unifying force, and subsequently by both the religious right and the Taliban to varying degrees.Kayani promised the army was committed to taking “stern action against all terrorist groups” and called for the people of the country to rally behind the military.“Pakistan Army being a national army, derives its strength from the people of Pakistan and is answerable to the people and their representatives in the parliament,” he said.Nobody questioned that either. The seminar was concluded by an officer who spoke of unanimous consensus in how right the military’s approach to de-radicalisation was.Hmmmmm.........How confused they must be seeing a hostile government towards the U.S.?Read the full story here.

• PSR Poll of Palestinians: seek to emigrate: West Bank 25.8% Gaza Strip 39.5%.(AlexanderMünch).Read and see the full story here.

• Lebanon: We won't forfeit maritime rights.(Ynet). Beirut's minister of energy warns Israel against violating Lebanon's naval territory.Lebanon will not give up its maritime rights, Beirut's Minister of Energy Gebran Bassil warned Sunday, in wake of a move by Israel to set maritime borders. Sunday morning saw the Israeli cabinet ratify an agreement with Cyprus to that effect. The borders delineate an area thought to contain natural gas as well as oil reserves.Lebanon rejected the borders set by the two countries, claiming they infringe on its naval territory. Gebran warned Israel against violating Lebanon’s maritime borders, saying it "will face a big problem. Lebanon will not abandon its maritime border. "The borderline is clear, whether on the land or at sea," he told the Lebanese daily As-Safir. Gebran further said that exploring the natural resources within Lebanon’s maritime border is "a scientific matter and falls under the rule of international law." He added Lebanon will not hesitate to take the matter up at the United Nations. "Lebanon will not give up its maritime energy rights or its maritime rights in general," he said, further accusing the announcement as being "a prelude to an aggressive step by Israel… We are familiar with (Israel's) aggression against our maritime space, air and land, and now against our (gas) rights. "Lebanon has drawn its maritime borders based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Israel has yet to sign it and must respect international law by acceding to the Convention," Bassil stressed. The Lebanese ministers said that "as long as Israel respects international law there will not be any problem. We are not prejudice. We'll see what Israel has to say in the UN."Hmmmm.......Strange Obama hasn't slammed Israel yet for this move.Read the full story here.