MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Vanuatu 5.4 - Japan 5.6 and Tonga 5.5 ! More info here.

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

• North Korea seizes South Korea’s assets.(HurriyetDaily).North Korea seized all South Korean-owned assets in a jointly-run resort in the North on Monday and ordered all South Koreans to leave, state media said, in a move that will raise already simmering tensions.Mount Kumgang had been closed since a North Korean soldier shot a South Korean tourist there in 2008, and Pyongyang said time had run out to resolve the dispute. “All assets owned by South Korean companies in Mount Kumgang resort are banned from being taken out as of August 21,” the official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA said.“We consider that the South has completely given up all rights on properties owned by South Korean companies and now start legal disposal of them,” KCNA said in a statement. The seizure of the resort, once a symbol of cooperation between the Pyongyang and Seoul, comes with increasingly isolated North looking to reach out to the global community for aid as it struggles with famine and deadly floods. Mount Kumgang, developed by the South’s Hyundai Asan and opened in 1998, was a vital source of hard currency for Pyongyang, once earning the impoverished North tens of millions of dollars a year. Seoul called Pyongyang’s latest move “regrettable” and vowed to take “all possible measures including legal and diplomatic actions” to reverse the decision.Nuclear talks, energy to top Kim, Medvedev summit.North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are to meet later this week to discuss the possible relay of Russian natural gas and other energy to North and South Korea and long-stalled negotiations on ending the North’s nuclear ambitions in return for aid.Medvedev and Kim are widely expected to meet in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan Ude near Lake Baikal in the Buddhist region of Buryatia, 5,550 kilometers east of Moscow, possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday. The summit is bound to go down in history as a major milestone in ties and provides a chance for Moscow to burnish its credentials as a negotiator capable of dealing with so-called pariah regimes. The talks however will hardly bring any foreign policy breakthroughs or firm economic deals, analysts said. “The main result of the visit is the very fact of the visit,” Konstantin Asmolov, a Korea specialist at the Moscow-based Institute of the Far East, said.Read the full story here.

• Breaking! Gadaffi dead?Photo :Gaddafi was killed?: News: Azerbaijani some unofficial sources said moments before the killing Muammar Qaddafi of Libya announced the revolutionary forces. It also coincided with the release of this news release Gaddafi Svyry of bloody corpses. Official sources have yet to confirm this.Iranian Source - Picture here.

• Obama’s Diary: Day 3 Of The Listening Tour.(Aipolitics).The President pontificates on criticisms from Maxine Waters and looks forward to hanging out with millionaire friends.Listen to the full speech here.

• Video - Libyan rebels in Tripoli's central square.(Al-Yazeera).Gaddafi forces offer little resistance as rebels moved from the western outskirts into the capital. Euphoric Libyan rebels have moved into the centre of capital Tripoli as Muammar Gaddafi's defenders melted away.Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeera's correspondent said from the Green Square: "There's a party in the Libyan capital tonight. The people are in charge of the city. They've decided the square is now called Martyr's Square, the original name. They're shouting "we're free" and shooting at a poster of Gaddafi."Earlier, the rebel leadership said on Sunday that two sons of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been arrested.Seif al-Islam and Mohammed were arrested in a tourist village in western Tripoli, Abu Bakr al-Tarbulsi, a rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera from the Libyan capital. There was no word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi.Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said Seif al-Islam Gaddafi has been detained and the ICC will speak to the rebel National Transitional Council about his transfer to the Hague.There were unconfirmed reports that two South African air force planes were spotted at Tripoli airport.Speculation was rife that the planes were there to ferry Gaddafi out of Libya but Mahmoud Shamam, of the NTC told Al Jazeera that it is unlikely the planes were meant for that purpose as the “entire area” was under rebel control. He added that he "did not believe that Gaddafi is in Tripoli".The rebels said they had entered the Green Square near the compound of Gaddafi where his supporters gathered nightly throughout the uprising to rally for their leader of more than 40 years.Our correspondent said the rebels met little resistance as they moved from the western outskirts into the capital in a dramatic turning of the tides in the six-month-old Libyan civil war."We are in the Libyan capital, and people have taken to the streets, dancing and chanting 'we are free' ... We aren't able to head further to the city centre, where the Green Square is located, because ... we have been told by opposition fighters here, there are still gun battles taking place there.""Clearing up operations are continuing but within this area did not witness any resistance, Gaddafi's army, his security personnel - there are nowhere in sight. The people are on the street, they are distributing sweets and dancing."There was opposition within the capital, but they were not able to do much [as] they needed the arms and they need external support and now that they have received external support through hundreds of men entering Tripoli with weapons and residents are now on the streets dancing ...and there is no sign of Gaddafi's army or security personnel at all."A senior rebel official said the military unit in charge of protecting Muammar Gadhafi and the capital Tripoli has surrendered.Mahmoud Shamam, of the the NTC told the Associated Press news agency that the unit commander "has joined the revolution and ordered his soldiers to drop their weapons."Earlier in the day, the rebels overran a major military base defending the capital, carted away truckloads of weapons and raced to Tripoli with virtually no resistance."What we're seeing tonight is the regime crumbling," chief NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told AFP news agency of the rebel push in the capital."What you are seeing tonight is the cumulative effect, over time, of the eroded capabilities of the regime," Lungescu said, citing more than 4,000 military targets damaged or destroyed in the last four months."We are not taking part in any formal coordination on the ground," she maintained. "That's not the mandate -- we're not there to provide immediate assistance, or cover, if you like, yes."Obviously, though, we do track what's happening on the ground -- and if we see tanks or other equipment going out to attack, we fire," she said of the rebels' aerial umbrella.Gaddafi's whereabouts were unknown. But he delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages broadcast on state television. He was not shown in the messages. In the latest one, he acknowledged that the opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad."How come you allow Tripoli the capital, to be under occupation once again?" he said. "The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli."In it, he refused to surrender and pledged to emerge "victorious" from the fighting for Tripoli. He also called on the people of Libya to come from all regions to liberate Tripoli, saying he was in the city with them and that together they would fight to the end."We will not, we will not abandon Tripoli to the occupants and their agents. I am with you in this battle," he said. "We do not surrender and, by God's grace, we will emerge victorious." Read and see the full story here.More here and here.

• Cantor Slams Obama As Being “Fueled By Efforts To Incite Class Warfare”.(Politico).WASHINGTON — Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor slammed Barack Obama on Monday in an op-ed criticizing the president as “anti-business, hyper-regulatory [and] pro-tax” and “fueled by efforts to incite class warfare.”Cantor’s op-ed, which appeared in the Washington Post, reiterated many of the Republican Party’s ongoing criticisms of the president, but outlined specific attacks on new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on ozone, new standards on the composition of cement and the president’s silence on the National Labor Relations Board’s decision to file a complaint against Boeing regarding their labor practices.Cantor also slammed Obama for being “fueled by efforts to incite class warfare,” arguing that this is illustrated by Obama’s desire to raise taxes on individuals making over $200,000 per year and small businesses earning more than $250,00 a year.Cantor argued that the president was driving a wedge between those making more than $200,000 a year and the rest of America, that though he talks of only millionaires having to pay their ‘fair share’, the president “insist[s] on higher taxes” because he is ideologically driven to “permanently increase the size of government.”Further, Cantor said that the president has been unwilling to deal with Republicans on balancing the budget, suggesting that “we have found President Obama to be an unwilling partner when it comes to getting America’s fiscal house in order. Since taking office, he has added trillions to the debt, ignored the recommendations of his own fiscal commission and put forth a budget that failed to address the drivers of our debt.”Hmmmm......If he really wanted to destroy 'the American way' would he do anything different?Read the full story here.

• 21 Signs That The New Reality For Many Baby Boomers Will Be To Work As Wage Slaves Until They Drop Dead.(BlacklistedNews).All over America tonight, millions of elderly Americans are wondering if their money is going to run out before it is time for them to die. Those that are now past retirement age are not going to be rioting in the streets, but that doesn’t mean that large numbers of them are not deeply suffering. There are millions of elderly Americans that are leading lives of “quiet desperation” as they try to get by on meager fixed incomes. Many are surviving on Ramen noodles, oatmeal, peanut butter or whatever other cheap food they can find in the stores. There are some that are so short on cash that they will not turn on the heat in their homes until things get really desperate. As health care costs soar, millions of elderly Americans find themselves deep in debt and facing huge medical bills that they cannot possibly pay. A lot of older Americans would go back to work if they could, but jobs are scarce and very few companies seem to even want to consider hiring them. Right now caring for all of the Americans that have already retired is turning out to be an overwhelming challenge, and things are about to get a whole lot worse. On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers turned 65. A massive tsunami of retirees is coming, and America is not ready for it.Sadly, most retirees have not adequately prepared for retirement. For many, the recent economic downturn absolutely devastated their retirement plans. Many were counting on the equity in their homes, but the recent housing crash crushed those dreams. Others had their 401ks shredded by the stock market.Meanwhile, corporate pension plans all across America are vastly underfunded. Many state and local government pension programs are absolute disasters. The federal government has already begun to pay out significantly more in Social Security benefits than they are taking in, and the years ahead are projected to be downright apocalyptic for the Social Security program.So needless to say, things do not look good for the Baby Boomers that are now approaching retirement age.The following are 21 signs that the new reality for many Baby Boomers will be to work as wage slaves until they drop dead….Read the full story here.

• Beck: We are entering the age of the miracles of God.(JPost).US media personality opens four-day Restoring Courage rally in Caesarea; 2,000 Christians, mostly Americans, fly in especially for Beck’s event.The solutions to the problems of our times are not within the reach of political leaders, rather divinity, US pundit Glenn Beck told nearly 3,000 enthusiastic followers in the Caesarea Amphitheater on Sunday night, at the opening event of his four-day Restoring Courage rally.“I’ve spent the last few years trying to find solutions for what is happening in the world,” he said on the backdrop of the pillars of the grand stage. “While there may not be a political solution, the good news is the God of Abraham ain’t running for office,” he said to loud applause. “Be not afraid, know who he is, know his face, know that he is a God of covenants and miracles. We are leaving the age of man-made miracles of spacecraft, and we are entering the age of the miracles of God.”The pleasant evening wind carried the gentle fragrance of the adjacent Mediterranean Sea to the audience in the ancient outdoor theater, the dozens of buses that brought them to the northern city lined up impeccably and awaiting their return in the parking lot like Roman legions. The group of nearly 2,000 Christians who flew in especially for Beck’s event, most of them Americans, will attend an event Monday in memory of the Holocaust, with the grand finale of the tour being the Wednesday Restoring Courage event, to take place near the Western Wall.Beck addressed the sensitivity of the Christian Evangelist love to Israel and Jews, which many shy away from in suspicion.“There is a 2,000-year-old flinch of the Jewish people, when someone says I love you; I’d imagine the Jewish people at first would say thank you.”he said. But over the years, Christian love of Jews and their desire to bring them to the truthful beliefs cost too many lives.“It’s not just the Holocaust, it’s happened over and over again,” said Beck. “There’s an important distinction of saying I love Israel, I defend Israel, and not separating that from the Jewish people. Make sure to say not that we only love Israel, but we love the Jewish people as they are.”One Jew not afraid of contemporary Christian love is Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Efrat’s chief rabbi, who is active in Jewish-Christian dialogue. “He is the reason I had hope, because he reached back and didn’t question, just heard love and that is good enough for him,” Beck said of Riskin, who was instrumental in making Beck believe he could pull off the event.“For close to 2,000 years we were persecuted by the church, suffered wars at the hands of the church,” Riskin said. “Now, despite the fact we are different, Jews and not Christians, who respect Jesus as a Jewish teacher and not as god – you Christians have the courage to love us in our otherness. We are grateful to your courage to love us, stand by us, in the time of our grave need and danger, as rockets fall on southern towns.”Pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel, equated today’s Israel to West Berlin of 1963 when JFK gave his “Ich bin ein berliner” speech.Like that part of the city in the midst of Communism, “Israel is today a tiny island, an outpost swimming in a sea of tyranny. I stand here with a strong message, at this difficult juncture in history – please know that what I say now is shared by multiple Christians – ani yisraeli – I am an Israeli,” Hagee said, the crowd chanting with him.Beck also addressed the controversy over his visit here, which is being frowned upon by politicians from the Left.“Somebody said we’re going to bring chaos, mayhem,” in the Wednesday rally, close to the Temple Mount, “and I thought- it’s the Middle East, how would you know?” “We don’t bring chaos and mayhem,” he said in a more serious tone. “No, we bring truth, we bring peace, we bring support, we bring comfort. Let our actions this week and from here out – let the Jewish people know, no matter what our governments say – we are not our governments, we stand with you.Hmmmm.......Or are we entering the age of God's wrath?”Read the full story here, more here and at PJM Barry Rubin.

• Jon Voight Visits Rocket Attack Victims.(Aretzsheva).American actor and ardent Israel supporter visited victims of the rocket attacks at the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.The people who are hospitalized in the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva after being wounded in the rocket attacks over the weekend received a surprise visit on Sunday from none other than American actor Jon Voight.Israel’s Channel 2 News reported that Voight came to the hospital to express his support for Israel and to strengthen those who were wounded.“I am here to express my love and my loyalty to Israel,” Voight told Channel 2, emphasizing that he sees in his presence in Israel a mission, and that part of his job is to prevent the misperception of Israel in other countries.“I’m here to fight the propaganda and lies distributed against Israel,” he said, adding, “Chabad has given me the opportunity to visit the wounded and I was glad to come.”Voight, an ardent supporter of Israel, visited the country in January along with Republican politician Mike Huckabee.During that visit Voight said that Jonathan Pollard did not have a fair trial due in part to anti-Semitism. He revealed the secret conversation between Pollard and his father that could have changed everything.In the past, Voight authored a scathing open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, accusing him of “putting Israel in harm’s way.”Read and see the full story here.

• Iran moves centrifuges to underground site.(Ynet).Iran has moved some of its centrifuge machines to an underground enrichment site that offers better protection from possible airstrikes, the country's vice president said Monday. Engineers are "hard at work" preparing the facility in Fordo, which is carved into a mountain to protect it against possible attacks, to house the centrifuges, Fereidoun Abbasi was quoted as saying by state TV. Abbasi, who is also Iran's nuclear chief, did not say how many centrifuges have been moved to Fordo or whether the machines installed are the new, more efficient centrifuges Iran has promised or the old IR-1 types. Uranium enrichment lies at the heart of Iran's dispute with the West, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for bomb. The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity, not a nuclear bomb. Iran has been enriching uranium to less than 5% for years, but it began to further enrich its uranium stockpile to nearly 20% as of February 2010, saying it needs the higher grade material to produce fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients. However, Iran's higher-grade enrichment efforts are of particular concern to the West because material at 20% enrichment can be turned into fissile material for a nuclear warhead much more quickly than that at 3.5%. Abbasi said Tehran was in no rush to install the centrifuges and that experts are observing all technical standards.In June, Abbasi said Iran plans to triple its output of the 20% enriched uranium and move the entire program to the new, secretly-built Fordo facility, just north of the holy city of Qom in central Iran. The bunker facility is to house approximately 3,000 centrifuges. Preparations have been well under way for months now, with electrical wiring, pipe work and other preliminary installations completed in recent weeks. The West argues that it revealed the existence of Fordo for the first time Sept. 25, 2009 at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh but Iran says it did nothing wrong and that it informed the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a Sept. 21 letter, at least two years before being operational.Hmmmm.........All this for peacefull means.Read the full story here.

• Turkey prepares to impose 'Plan B' against 'Israel'(KC).On August 23 will be released an UN report about the attack by the Zionist forces on the humanitarian ship Mavi Marmara, which killed Turkish citizens.According to TV channel HaberTurk, Turkey wants "Israel" before or after the report to apologize, pay compensation to the victims of Jewish terror attack and remove the blockade of Gaza. However, recent statements by «Israeli» side reduce the likelihood of this. If the requirements are not met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming days will reveal the "Plan B". Turkish media circulated details of "Plan B":

1) Temporary diplomatic mission will be withdrawn called off. Diplomatic relations will be cut. After closing its embassy Turkey has in "Israel" in Tel Aviv a temporary diplomatic mission of Turkey. There is a question of calling off a representative Tolga Uncu. If "Israel" does not apologize Uncu will be called off and no one will be appointed to replace him. Diplomatic relations will be reduced to zero.

2) "Israeli" ambassador will not be granted a visa to Turkey.In September expires term of office of "Israel" ambassador in Turkey Gabby Levin. Turkey will not issue to the new ambassador of "Israel" a visa.

3) Erdogan will visit Gaza.If there is no apology comes, Erdogan will visit the Gaza Strip in September.

4) Support will be granted those who are going to sue "Israel". Victims of Mavi Marmara will sue the Zionist regime. Turkish Foreign Ministry will legally support this step. "Israel" will be weakened financially and morally.

5) Palestine will be given full support. Turkey will lobby membership of Palestine in the UN. And "Israel" will remain isolated at all international platforms.

6) Military cooperation will end. Turkey annually invited "Israel" to military exercises. After that Turkey will not invite "Israel" to any doctrines, military cooperation will end. Joint projects in the defense industry will not be carried out.

7) Trade sanctions.Turkey will limit economic relations with "Israel", reduce investment in "Israel." Cultural and social ties would be kept to a minimum.Source ;HT:IsraelMatzav.

• Escalating PKK tensions stir clashes in city’s heart.(HurriyetDaily).Tensions over the Turkish military’s cross-border raids against militant targets in northern Iraq erupted in clashes Sunday in central Istanbul’s Taksim Square when police intervened in a group that wanted to protest the army’s actions. The protest group, including pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, deputies Gültan Kışanak, Sebahat Tuncel and Levent Tüzel, began to conduct a sit-down protest amid police attempts to disperse them.Strikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, have been continuing since Wednesday night and Ankara vowed Sunday to continue the cross-border operations until the Kurdish militants are eliminated. PKK attacks have killed more than 30 soldiers in the last month.Turkey’s operation in northern Iraq is still continuing but the Kurdish Regional Administration says the issue can only be solved through dialogue as it condemns the military attacks. ‘It is no longer the time for violence or war. It is the time for peace and dialogue,’ the administration says in expressing its discomfortA group fronted by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party wanted to gather in the city’s central Taksim Square on Sunday to protest strikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, but was prevented by the police.Turkey vowed Sunday to continue cross-border military operations until Kurdish militants in northern Iraq are totally eliminated, but the bombardment has been slammed by Iraqi Kurds, who have demanded that Baghdad and world leaders act to end the attacks.“The fight against terror will continue until it is destroyed to its roots. As you have been seeing, air and land operations to the dens of terror have taken place, and they will continue without hesitation when necessary,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ told reporters Sunday during a visit to the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat, his constituency.The attacks, however, were met with a sharp rebuke by the Regional Kurdish Administration, which issued an online statement stating that Turkey was not only violating the law of friendship, but also international law.The military offensive followed a series of attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, that have claimed the lives of roughly 30 troops in the last month. An attack in the eastern province of Hakkari’s Çukurca district on Wednesday killed eight soldiers, as well as a village guard, prompting widespread public anger and Turkish jets to begin pounding PKK targets in northern Iraq, especially the group’s headquarters in the Kandil Mountains, which are believed to be the location of leaders Murat Karayılan and Cemil Bayık. The National Security Council, or MGK, convened a day after the Çukurca incident and announced a new strategy and era in the fight against terror.Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told constituents in the western province of Manisa on Saturday that terrorists would have to pay for the bloodshed. “We will for sure get even with them. We’ll save or people from this terror trouble.”Read the full story here.

• Kurd leader condemns shelling that killed 7 Iraqi Kurds.(Trust).ARBIL, Iraq, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The president of Iraq's Kurdish region on Monday condemned shelling by Turkish warplanes that killed seven Iraqis, as residents of the semi-autonomous northern area protested against the attacks. At least 2,000 people demonstrated late on Sunday in the northern town of Rania as the victims were buried, and 300 more marched silently from a bus station to a mosque in mourning on Monday, the town's mayor said. The protesters demanded an end to Ankara's bombing campaign against Kurdish rebels, which began on Wednesday and claimed its first civilian casualties on Sunday. "Turkish warplanes are shelling some areas of the Kurdistan region and as a result of shelling on Sunday, August 21, 2011, seven civilian citizens were martyred," Kurdish president Masoud Barzani said in a statement. "At this time I express my concern towards the martyring of those civilians and condemn (the shelling). I stress that the killing and harming of civilians is unjustified," Barzani said. "We demand that such incidents not be repeated." Ankara launched the raids against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels on Wednesday after increased attacks in southeastern Turkey. The rebels have killed about 40 Turkish security personnel in just over a month. The raids are the first against rebels in the mountains of northern Iraq in more than a year and are seen as an escalation of the 27-year-old conflict after the collapse of efforts for a negotiated settlement. Both the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Arbil have condemned the attacks but they have gained little notice outside Iraq as the world focuses on the war in Libya and unrest in Syria. Turkey has not confirmed Sunday's strike. The Firat news agency, which has close links to the rebels, reported the PKK as saying that three guerrillas had been killed in the Turkish air raids since the operation began. Rania Mayor Barham Ahmed Hama Rasheed said Sunday's victims were a family that once lived in his town and urged the United Nations to intervene to stop the shelling, calling the deaths "calamitous." "Among those killed there are three people who were under 18 years old, and there was a 3-month-old infant," Rasheed said. "People are angry and upset." Kardo Mohammed, a member of the Kurdish parliament, said the shelling constituted a breach of international conventions and agreements between the two countries. "The Turkish shelling targeted civilians basically, and the proof is the killing of these seven civilians, including children," Mohammed said. "We do not believe that the planes cannot differentiate between civilian and military, or a child and a fighter carrying a rifle." More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in 1984. Turkish investors have poured into Iraq's Kurdish region in recent years, building homes, offices and shopping malls. Hawri Kawa, a civic activist in Rania, said: "The protesters were so angry about the Turkish shelling that they burned the Turkish flag."Read the full story here.

• Who is to blame for Turkish bombings?(EKurd).Kurdistan is in shambles once again. Hundreds of our green villages are razed to ground in a matter of few minutes by Turkish Jets. Since Saddam was gone, they had just begun to show some indications of recuperation. Turkish and Iranian militaries cannot lose such a golden opportunity to test-fire some of their latest weapon technologies in the unclaimed region of South Kurdistan [North of Iraq]. Chemical bombs, Shabab ballistic missiles, Zelzal short-range missiles, artillery shells, Turkish version of bunker buster bombs, poisonous gas have all been dropped on Kurdish mountains and examined by now. Thanks to the double-standard policies of imperial powers for constructing more Saddams, supplying them with sophisticated weapons, Thanks to the international community for indifferently observing, and most awkwardly, thanks to our leaders for remaining unresponsive and unprepared for such sceneries after holding more than two decades of experience in running government and more than in century in war.After investing so much funds and initiatives to make Kurdistan a toxic, mine and chemical free ambiance that can be existence-worthy by many foreign sponsor NGO's, they are once again reduced to ashes, becoming even more hazardously contaminated.7 members belonging to a same Kurdish family are reported killed just in a single day. Vulnerable Kurdish citizens are evacuating the affected regions in thousands and attempt to flee to seek safe shelter in other relative stable parts of Kurdistan. Turkish Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leaders portray the war crimes and atrocities carried out by Turkey as insufficient and call for a ground offensive in conjunction with warplane attacks as if they own South Kurdistan. Our national economy is impacted, and Kurdistan's global image as a prosperous and stable” other part of Iraq” is being tarnished. And all we hear from Kurdish Regional Government is a fabricated official statement posted on its website, mainly aimed to calm the public, pointing the finger at other Kurdish armed groups for using South Kurdistan as a staging ground against our neighbors. In deed, what an absurd explanation!The neighboring Saddam Hussains have ultimately unmasked their true humanitarian faces. Kurds in Turkey announced democratic autonomy while ago, but as pointed to in an article published by Jerusalem Post editorial (The Kurdish case), it was greeted with deadly silence. However, that silence did not succeed in calling off people’s strong determination for continuing to struggle for justice and equality. Rather, it further established global hypocrisies. In Syria and Libya,foreign countries auxiliary forces are directly involved in waging war alongside the anti-government opponents to help topple dictatorial regimes. In contrast, governments of Tehran, Damascus and Ankara boldly continue to commit the most gross human rights violations, war crimes, and genocides again a defenseless nation short of the slightest rebuke. Bombings of Kurdish border regions have been lingering for fairly a long time, and nothing is being done about it. Is the shortcoming on part of our government, the central government in Baghdad, the liberating forces or the occupying neighboring countries? Is Kurdistan Regional Government KRG really powerless to curb such frequent strikes? Or is KRG trying to fool or mislead its citizens? Questions abound, but whatever the cause, KRG is primarily and ultimately held liable for failing to extend the necessary protection to its own citizens. KRG is held liable for predicting what could possibly take place, but not doing enough planning in advance to prevent it.If KRG truly aims to put an end to Turkish-Iranian indiscriminate bombings and blazing of Kurdish villages, it could have and can still address the crisis. A simple instance is that, at least, KRG can encourage its supporters to orchestrate peaceful protest rallies in front of the respective countries embassies to draw the world attention to the situation. President Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani could appear on national TVs, and strongly condemn Iranian and Turkish criminal shelling of Kurdish territories, call them to immediately cease or face the consequences (counter response). If KDF (Kurdish Defense Forces) are not able to face these immense threats or lack the resources, then why there have not been genuine efforts to empower KDF adequately to neutralize such threats. Both Peshmerga Administrations have not been united as of now. Kurdish citizens have been pressing their government for the immediate establishment of a robust, united armed national defense force. Kurdish ruling parties feel intimidated if this materializes. The existence of such a force cannot be tolerated by the two ruling political parties in South Kurdistan.We have not heard from any prominent Kurdish politicians voicing any concern, leave alone condemnation, including: Iraqi foreign minister, Kurdish foreign minister, Kurdish prime minister, Dr. Barham Salih, Kirkuk governor, Dr.Najmaddin Karim, Kusrat Rasool, Malal Bakhtiar, Qubad Talabani, KRG’s spokesman to the US, Bayan Sami Abdulrahman, KRG’s representative to the UK, Masrour Barzani, the security chief, Mister of Peshmerga, Jabar Yavar, Islamic groups , parliamentarians, ministers and the so-called representative of the people, each driving a multi-million dollar worth bullet-proof armored vehicle.We all know our Achilles' heel. When our monopolistic rulers in Kurdistan have manipulated every sphere of public life, especially having made the defense dependent on partisan budgets, of course, our military will not be independent to function and make the right and wise choices. When a president in a country is everybody, he is a politician, an economist, a defense expert, a lecturer, of course, everybody becomes nobody and nobody becomes everybody in that society.Yesterday seven innocents’ lives were lost. Tomorrow the number could exceed in seven of thousands. If we are not able to confront few aerial strikes, how are w e going to be able to confront a viable full scale military occupation by the hostile neighboring countries? If Kurdish presidents are incapable to guarantee protection of Kurdish citizens, it would be wiser and more respectable for them to submit their resignations.Read the full story here.

• North Korea's armored train reaches Russia.(RaiNovosti).The armored train of secretive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has arrived in Russia’s Far East, kicking off an official visit.The bullet-proof wagons had been spotted close to the border two months ago, prompting speculation that the long-time-no-see leader might be back in the saddle again.And on Saturday the Kremlin press service confirmed that Kim was planning to repeat his 2002 tour of Siberia and the Far East, and is expected to meet President Dmitry Medvedev in Ulan Ude on Tuesday.The trip, which comes days after Russia announced that 50,000 tons of grain will be sent to North Korea as a humanitarian gesture, might be linked to festivities planned to mark next year’s centenary of the founder of North Korea, Kim’s father Kim Il-sung.But there is also an urgent need for Pyongyang to get help with an economic crisis.The sinking of a South Korean naval corvette last March has prompted sanctions from the south and a ratcheting of tensions along the border, with many experts saying the north is reminding Seoul not to get complacent.Sporadic saber-rattling aside, however, it is Russian gas which offers North Korea the best prospects of future prosperity – perhaps prompting the mission to Moscow.A massive project to build a natural gas pipeline across North Korea into the south may become a solution for the political and economical issues at the Korean peninsula. Less than three weeks ago, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Sung-Hwan on the trade relations.“We discussed the steps being taken in order to make trilateral energy and transport projects involving Russia, South Korea and North Korea a reality,” Lavrov said. If built, the pipeline through North Korea will transfer around 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to South Korea, comparing to the current 25 million tons of LNG imports.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different!World's oldest woolly mammoth found in Russia.(RaiNovosti).The world’s oldest woolly mammoth has been found in Russia, scientists have confirmed.Following the world-wide success of Lyuba, a remarkably well-preserved 40,000-year-old carcass found in 2008, a second corpse found one year later is now believed to be at least 10,000 years older.That’s according to scientists at the Zoological Institute of St. Petersburg, who have analyzed the body of the young female found near the Khrom River.And the more recent find, which is named Khrom after its final resting place, could be even older – current techniques do not allow accurate dating of relics more than 50,000 years old. Both Lyuba and Khrom have been identified as youngsters of barely two weeks at the time of their deaths.But scientists are surprised that Khrom is almost twice the size of Lyuba, suggesting that in ancient times mammoths may have been even bigger than currently believed.Mammoth disappointment - Despite the excitement in St. Petersburg, there was bad news for mammoth fans over the weekend.Late last week it was reported that another mammoth corpse had been uncovered on the Yamal Peninsular in Russia’s Arctic north.But experts at the Salekhard Museum and Exhibition Center later confirmed that the skull had in fact come from a walrus, although it is possible that the marine mammal had also lived thousands of years ago before being entombed in the ice.Read the full story here.