MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Indonesia 6.8 and : 5.1 Vanuatu! More info here.

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

• Report: Israel sends 2 warships to Egyptian border,Iran set to send 15th fleet to area as well as 'to thwart pirate activity'.(Ynet).The Israeli Navy (INF) has decided to boost its presence and patrols near Israel's maritime border with Egypt due to a viable terror threat in the area, Ynet learned on Monday.Israeli security sources told the Associated Press that two additional warships have been dispatched to Israel's Red Sea border with Egypt.On Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz order to bolster the deployment across the entire southern sector, especially in the area near the Israel-Egypt border, following intelligence indicating am imminent threat.The area adjacent to the border has become the scene of military deployment once security source described as "unprecedented." The IDF has also deployed advanced technology in the area in order to thwart terror attacks. Still, No changes in security alignments were observed on the Egyptian side of the border. Military intelligence suggests that a terror cell has left the Gaza Strip and intends to infiltrate Israel through Sinai. According to a report in Egypt's al-Masri al-Youm newspaper, Minister for Home Front Defense Matan Vilnai said that the cell may number as many as 10 terrorists. The security situation in southern Israel has been particularly tense over the past few weeks, following a series of terror attacks that claimed the lives of eight Israelis in mid-August; as well as several days in which Israel's western Negev communities suffered heavy shelling by Gaza Strip-based terror groups. Following the terror attack, in which five Egyptian troops were also killed, Israel and Egypt agreed to increase the presence of Cairo troops in the Sinai Peninsula. As a result, some 1,500 Egyptian soldiers deployed across Sinai on Monday.Meanwhile, Iran's Press TV reported Monday that Tehran has decided to dispatch the 15th fleet to the Red Sea once more.Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the state-run agency that the Islamic Republic is planning to send its 15th fleet to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, adding that the fleet's main operation objective will be to patrol the high seas and thwart pirate raids. The Islamic Republic's 15th fleet is comprised of a submarine and a several warships. Sayyari noted that Iran's Navy plans to have "an active presence in the high seas in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei with the purpose of serving the country's interests.“The presence of Iran's army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries,” he said.Hmmmmm......As i said September will be a very 'hot' month.Read the full story here.

• Algeria would hand over Qaddafi to ICC as Libya ‘final battle’ approaches.(AlArabiya).Algeria would hand over Muammar Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court if he entered the North African country, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday, a day after Algiers gave safe haven to members of his family, as the rebels' military chief said the final battle in Libya was imminent.Algeria announced on Monday that Qaddafi’s wife, two of his sons and his daughter had crossed into its territory, prompting Libya’s ruling interim council to demand that they be handed back to face trial.Quoting Algerian sources, the el-Shorouk newspaper said on its website that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had told government ministers during a cabinet meeting on Monday that Algeria would respect international law on all matters related to the Libyan conflict.“Should Qaddafi try to enter Algerian soil amid talk that the rebels are tightening their grip on the border with Tunisia, and Egyptian (border) restrictions, Algeria would arrest him and hand him over to the International Criminal Court in compliance with international agreements,” the newspaper said, according to Reuters.It said the decision was not a reaction to the toppling of the Qaddafi regime but was in accordance with the ICC’s arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief over accusations they committed crimes against humanity.No one was immediately available for comment from the government.In a separate report, Shorouk said Qaddafi’s family members, who had crossed into Algeria, were in the southeastern Illizi province, which borders Libya, and would not be allowed to go to the capital Algiers.Qaddafi’s location remains unknown a week after Tripoli fell to his foes.Hmmmm.....Who else was in the six armored Mercedes that crossed the Algerian border three days ago?Read the full story here.

• Qaddafi’s daughter gives birth in Algeria: authorities.(AlArabiya).Muammar Qaddafi daughter Aisha, who fled to Algeria with other family members, has given birth to a baby girl, Algerian authorities announced Tuesday. “Aisha gave birth very early this morning. She had a little girl. Mother and daughter are doing fine,” said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Libyan interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil on Tuesday said he believes Qaddafi’s family members will leave Algeria for another country, adding that Algeria would not keep “criminals” wanted by the international justice.But Algerian foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani said his country authorized the entry of Qaddafi’s wife and three children for “strictly humanitarian reasons.”Asked by AFP about a request issued by Libya’s ruling Transitional National Council (NTC) for the return of the children, Aisha, Mohammed and Hannibal, and Safiya, Qaddafi’s second wife, as well as details of where they are, Belani simply replied: “These people have been admitted to Libya for strictly humanitarian reasons.”“We have informed the Secretary General of the United Nations, the president of the (UN) Security Council and the president of the executive council of the executive council of the NTC,” he said in an e-mail sent to AFP.When the Libyan foreign ministry on Monday announced the arrival of the Qaddafi family, the rebels’ justice minister Mohammed al-Allagya told AFP that the Algerian authorities would be asked to send them back to Libya.The spokesman of the rebel government, Mahmud Shammam, said on Monday evening that the NTC had been told by Algeria of the family’s arrival.Read the full story here.

• Rebel officer says Qaddafi’s son Khamis killed in clash near Tripoli.(AlArabiya).Fallen Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi’s son Khamis has been killed in a clash near Tripoli, a senior rebel officer said on Monday.Colonel Al-Mahdi Al-Haragi, in charge of the Tripoli Brigade of the rebel army, said he had confirmation that Khamis was badly wounded in the clash near Ben Walid and Tarhoni.He was taken to a hospital but died of his wounds and was buried in the area, Haragi said, without confirming the date of his death. No independent confirmation of the death was available.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could not yet independently confirm Khamis’ death but said similar information was being received in Washington from “reliable sources.”Earlier on Monday, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told Reuters he had intended to apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis Qaddafi.Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.The Hague-based ICC has already approved warrants for the arrest of Muammar Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.Khamis Qaddafi had already been reported to be killed twice during this year’s uprising against his father.Read the full story here.

• White House Aide Says Obama Upset Black Leaders Aren’t Giving Him Any Credit: “The Whole Thing Is bull-sh-t”.(Politico).If there’s anything close to a political certainty in 2012, it’s that Barack Obama will get more than 90 percent of the African-American vote.But that doesn’t mean every black Obama supporter will vote for him happily – nor does it guarantee that turnout will approach the stratospheric levels of 2008, even though Obama needs a huge showing from his base to offset the expected loss of swing voters in states like North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.With that in mind, prominent black leaders — fearing Obama is not only taking them for granted but avoiding them in public — have turned up the heat on the nation’s first African-American president, transforming all-in-the-family concerns into open criticism of the president at a time when they had hoped the completion of a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. near the National Mall would bring a moment of unity.The leaders are tired, they say, of Obama dog-whistling his support for a broad black agenda rather than explicitly embracing the kind of war on racism, poverty and economic segregation embodied by King.“You can spend a lot of time trying to win over white independents, but if you don’t pay attention to your base, African Americans, if you have not locked up your base yet, you’ve got a serious problem,” said CNN contributor Roland Martin.In a striking turnabout for a president who has rewritten American racial history, Obama finds himself the target of criticism from the black cultural and political elite that has, for the most part, been leery of airing its disappointment.The president is reportedly angry that African-American leaders aren’t crediting him for his hard-bought achievements that will especially help communities of color, including health care reform, aid to cities, student aid and protecting Medicaid.“The whole thing is bull-sh-t… We have met with [black leaders] more than any other group and we are increasing our outreach,” said a person close to Obama.But Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), who represents several predominantly-black Los Angeles-area neighborhoods, brings up an issue that African-American leaders repeatedly raise when talking about Obama: They say he’s worried about being too closely identified with the community that gave him inspiration and bedrock support.“I understand that you’ve got to be president for all people, but this administration has gone just too far, they really don’t even say ‘African-American’ or talk about [our] specific issues,” Richardson told POLITICO.Read the full story here.

• Euro-Zone Rifts.Watchdog Worried About Europe's Banking Sector.(Spiegel).The head of Europe's banking watchdog has called for the euro rescue fund to provide direct aid to ailing banks to help calm markets. The head of the IMF made a similar demand, exposing an apparent rift with EU governments on how to handle the debt crisis. Berlin and the EU have rejected such changes.Read the full story here.

• Head of Euro-Zone Bailout Fund:'The Crisis Will Be Over in Two to Three Years'.(Spiegel).By Christian Reiermann.Klaus Regling, the German CEO of the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, is confident that the monetary union can overcome the current crisis. He considers the euro zone to be in a better position than the US when it comes to public debt, and accuses his fellow Germans of "hysteria." Regling also views all the manic fear in Germany of a so-called transfer union as "nonsense." In the "only case of insolvency in the euro zone," namely Greece, only private-sector creditors -- and no public ones -- have been asked to contribute so far. "Only if Greece was expelled from the currency union, as some economists have demanded, would there be a high probability of transfer payments," he says. At that point, the country would no longer be able to pay back the loans it had taken out from its partner countries, which would continue being denominated in euros.Indeed, Regling's long-term faith in the euro remains unshaken. "The currency union is not going to break apart, because strong and weak countries have a common interest in its survival." The economic price of its failure would be too high, he says. "The chances that the euro will be abandoned by anyone, no matter who, are practically zero."The fact that things have already almost reached that point in the past doesn't change Regling's mind. A year ago, he predicted that "the most likely scenario" was that he and his EFSF would not actually have to intervene. The facility's very existence would be enough to calm the markets down, he argued at the time. However, things turned out differently. Sometimes an optimist is nothing but a person who refuses to let themselves be discouraged by their own mistakes. Indeed, Regling believes that there is "good reason to hope that the crisis will be over in two to three years' time." The precondition for this, he adds, is that the euro-zone countries continue their austerity and reform plans and that the global economy doesn't collapse.Read the full story here.

• Obama Seeks to Control Education Through Waivers.(HumanEvents).A new tale of presidential waiver abuse is brewing, and this time it has nothing to do with ObamaCare. The President is preparing to grant waivers from the decade-old “No Child Left Behind” program, a huge transfer of educational authority from states to the federal government, with a hefty $25 billion annual price tag.  After chugging along for ten years, NCLB has not accumulated much of a fan base. Is the Obama waiver program a relatively well-intentioned attempt to legislate through executive fiat: unraveling a badly frayed law, returning control to the states, and encouraging innovation?Keep dreaming! Of course Obama would never do anything that reduced federal power. No, these waivers are an attempt to centralize control of education even more.  Among other things, NCLB sets difficult educational performance goals for states to meet, and our current public education system is not very good at meeting difficult goals. Obama is offering the states a way to escape from NCLB’s demands… but in exchange, they have to adopt the Administration’s agenda in a number of key areas. The power of the Department of Education would increase tremendously. As the House Committee on Education and the Workforce puts it in a press release:

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration seems determined to override Congressional efforts to reform the law and enact a backdoor education agenda. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan continues to push forward an ill-conceived plan to offer states and school districts waivers in exchange for reforms rooted not in the law but in the secretary’s own education agenda. Despite Chairman Kline’s efforts to gain more details about what these conditional waivers may entail, the Secretary refuses to provide any information about the administration’s controversial proposal.

In other words, the states would go from being pushed around by Congress to being micro-managed by the Administration. Education policy would become the latest area of American life that our elected congressional representatives no longer get to vote on. As Rachel Sheffield of the Heritage Foundation notes:

While Obama is pushing his education agenda on states, he is doing so under the guise of flexibility. Yet, temporary relief bound by the strings of greater federal regulation is anything but flexible.For nearly five decades, Washington has attempted to improve schools with top-down policies. Rather than helping students achieve, this has only extended federal overreach. Pulling states more tightly into the grip of central government will do nothing to loosen the red tape ensnaring the nation’s education system.States need education reform that offers true flexibility—allowing states to meet the needs of students rather than toe the line set by Washington.

There aren’t too many examples of ruinous central planning more vivid than the collapse of American public education. The growth of the Department of Education, and the rising power of teachers’ unions, came at the expense of educational quality. There’s nothing particularly complicated about this, because centralization destroys accountability. The “suggestion box” for public schools has been moving further and further from individual parents and communities. Bad teachers became almost impossible to get rid of, and the educational establishment responded to every criticism with angry demands for more money. The money and power amassed by the educational establishment is almost comically inverse to their performance.The last thing Americans need is for the current President to grab more power by selling “Get Out Of Legislation Free” cards that turn out to be anything but “free.”Hmmmmm......The 'Totalitarian presidency'?Read the full story here.

• JOHNSON: Obama at a loss.(Washingtontimes).Applying business sense to government can get U.S. back on track.When stock prices were plunging earlier this month, President Obama strode to the teleprompter and utterly failed to calm the markets or the American people. Sadly, they saw what I saw - and have come to exactly the same conclusion: Mr. Obama does not know what to do. He never did.Since taking office in admittedly tough economic conditions, the president has taken America 180 degrees in the wrong direction. His failed $825-billion stimulus, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and the explosion of his administration’s other job-killing regulations have combined to put a stranglehold on our economy. Until these policies are reversed, the lack of confidence that dampens consumption, business investment and job creation will be the order of the day. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama is blinded by ideology and refuses to acknowledge the harm his agenda has wreaked on America and our economic future.Fortunately, some in Congress understand the harm his agenda is causing and are working hard to reverse course.As a thought experiment, imagine how much uncertainty would be removed and the level of confidence that would return if the entire Obama agenda were repealed tomorrow. A pretty pleasant thought, isn’t it?We can’t repeal the additional $4 trillion that has been added to our nation’s debt during his tenure, but we can repeal his agenda - the sooner the better. I can’t think of a more effective first step in any “jobs program,” and I challenge anyone to come up with a better one. I’m confident the president’s umpteenth attempt at a jobs program will be nothing more than a slight variation on already-tried-and-failed themes. Why would we expect anything different or think he has any personal knowledge on how to create jobs?Few on Mr. Obama’s team have ever built a company, manufactured or marketed a product or balanced the company books. They have no clue how to get our economy reignited and no clue how to create an atmosphere in which the private sector can create the jobs we need. To them, the private sector is little more than a cash cow to fund bigger, more expensive government in Washington.As the former chief executive officer of a midsized manufacturing business, I do understand the value of the real job producers in America. I also understand how Mr. Obama’s policies affect their ability to expand their businesses and create new jobs. What we need to do to get our economy moving again is pretty obvious. Here’s a short outline of the necessary components of a solution.Read the full story here.

• Kyl Says Obama Said No Border Security for Political Reasons.(NewZeal).On June 18, 2010, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl told the audience at a North Phoenix Tea Party town hall meeting that during a private, one-on-one meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office, the President told him, regarding securing the southern border with Mexico, “The problem is, . . . if we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’” [Audible gasps were heard throughout the audience.] Sen. Kyl continued, “In other words, they’re holding it hostage. They don’t want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’”Read the full story here.

• Video - TSA officer admits to allowing drug dealers to bypass airport security.(RightScoop).Through the work of two buffalo women, a drug dealer was able to obtain a fake birth certificate and bypass security at a Buffalo airport:Today a drug dealer. Tomorrow a suicide bomber. This is going to be a problem.Hmmmm.....No todlers or Grannies passed unchecked?Read the full story here.

• Obama Snubs VFW: First Time In Group’s History White House Not Sending Senior Official To Veterans Convention.((Fox News) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week will not feature a top-tier official from the Obama administration, a breach in tradition that the group’s commander described as an “insult of the highest magnitude.”However, an administration official claimed Monday that the White House made “every effort” to provide a speaker for the event, offering up a range of top officials.“In all instances, the VFW declined those offers,” the official said.The veterans group is accustomed to playing host to the nation’s most powerful people at its national conference. Obama addressed the VFW in 2009, followed by Vice President Biden in 2010.But the 2-million strong VFW accused the administration of snubbing its members by not providing a “first-tier speaker” for the first time in VFW history.“The VFW has had a long-standing tradition of inviting the sitting president to address our convention,” Richard Eubank, national commander of the organization, said in a statement, adding that the White House typically chooses a “high-level administration official” to speak if the president cannot attend.“It is an insult of the highest magnitude that for the first time in the history of the VFW, the White House has apparently decided that this great and iconic organization of combat veterans and all of its members are not worthy of its notice by not at least offering a first-tier speaker from the administration.”Hmmmm......."Commander in Chief or Vacationer in chief?"By the way :Texas Governor Rick Perry to Attend VFW Convention .Read the full story here.

• The Uproar Over Voter-ID Laws.(Heritage).The left is in an uproar over new voter-ID laws passed by states including Texas, Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Their complaint? That requiring someone to authenticate his or her identity at the polling place amounts to racial discrimination.The Heritage Foundation’s Hans Von Spakovsky writes in this week’s National Review that, in truth, the vast majority of Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds support voter-ID laws. And he breaks apart liberals’ arguments against the requirements:

Once you get past the race-baiting, you will find that opponents of voter ID generally rely on two arguments, equally specious: 1) There is no need for photo ID, because there is no voter fraud in the United States; 2) This is a deliberate effort to suppress the turnout of minority voters, who often don’t have photo ID. Liberals keep repeating these false claims despite the fact that they have been disproved both in the courtroom and at the polling place.

The claim that there is no voter fraud in the U.S. is patently ridiculous, given our rich and unfortunate history of it. As the U.S. Supreme Court said when it upheld Indiana’s photo-ID law in 2008, “Flagrant examples of such fraud . . . have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists.” The liberal groups that fought Indiana’s law didn’t have much luck with liberal justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the 6–3 decision. Before being named to the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens practiced law in Chicago, a hotbed of electoral malfeasance . . .

Election data in Georgia demonstrate that concern about a negative effect on the Democratic or minority vote is baseless. Turnout there increased more dramatically in 2008 — the first presidential election held after the state’s photo-ID law went into effect — than it did in states without photo ID. Georgia had a record turnout in 2008, the largest in its history — nearly 4 million voters. And Democratic turnout was up an astonishing 6.1 percentage points from the 2004 election, the fourth-largest increase of any state. The black share of the statewide vote increased from 25 percent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2008, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. According to Census Bureau surveys, 65 percent of the black voting-age population voted in the 2008 election, compared with only 54.4 percent in 2004, an increase of more than ten percentage points.Read the full story here.

• Timebomb in Euroland: The Eurozone is Heading for a Crash.(BlacklistedNews).By Mike Whitney.Bank funding costs are rising, liquidity is being choked off, and interbank lending has started to stall. A full-blown crisis can still be averted, but leaders will have to knuckle down and resolve the political issues fast. Otherwise the 17-member monetary union will fracture and the euro will be kaput. Here's a clip from the Wall Street Journal:"Commercial banks boosted their reliance on the European Central Bank, borrowing €2.82 billion ($4.07 billion) from an emergency lending facility on Tuesday ... While the amount of borrowing is tiny ... the increase from €555 million a day earlier, nonetheless suggest that some lenders are struggling to borrow from traditional funding sources."("Europe Banks Lean More on Emergency Funding", Wall Street Journal)Sure, it's a pittance compared to the trillions floating around in the EU banking system, but the pattern is the same as it was in 2007 when the troubles began at French bank PNB Paribas. Back then, the problems seemed small, too, but things got out of hand quick. Over the following year, trillions in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) were downgraded forcing bigger and bigger losses on the bondholders, many of which were the nation's largest banks. The bloodletting dragged on until September 2008, when Lehman blew up and the whole financial system went into cardiac arrest. The Fed had to rush to Wall Street's rescue with $12 trillion in loans and other guarantees in hand just to keep the patient from croaking on the Emergency Room floor. Now it looks like history is repeating itself.As the collateral the banks hold (mainly foreign sovereign bonds) continues to lose value, the banks will come under greater pressure making funding more costly and harder to get. In fact, the mad-scramble for short-term funding has already begun. Banks are hoarding capital just as they did after the Crash of '08, depositing larger and larger amounts in overnight accounts with the ECB in order to avoid lending to the other banks. All of this is taking a toll on consumer and household lending which will inevitably push eurozone GDP further into the red. The negative feedback loop into the real economy will send unemployment higher while further crimping business investment. This is from Businessweek:

"Despite the ECB’s best efforts, some of Europe’s banks may be inching toward insolvency. The cost of insuring the bonds of 25 European banks and insurers set a record high on Aug. 24 of 257 basis points, higher than the 149 basis-point spike when Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008, according to the Markit iTraxx Financial Index of credit default swaps.The banks aren’t required to mark down most of their holdings of government debt to market prices. If they did, some would be forced to default or seek a bailout." ("How Long Can the ECB Prop Up Europe’s Sick Banks?", Businessweek)Are you kidding me? The banks are sitting on a mountain of garbage paper and EU regulators haven't even forced them to write down the losses. Is it any wonder why public confidence is at all-time lows?U.S. money funds have been gradually reducing their exposure to EU banks due to worries about their collateral, much of which is bonds from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Greece (PIIGS). Eventually, these bonds will be pounded by downgrades and the banks will have to pony-up for the losses. That'll be the swan song for some of Europe's big name banks that are gravely undercapitalized. Of course, there could be a multi-trillion dollar bailout like in the US, but it's hard to imagine how that would work. After all, Germany has already rejected eurobonds; so why would they support the more offensive idea of bank bailouts? It just doesn't add up.And, in case there's any doubt about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's contempt for eurobonds; here's what she said on Tuesday: “At this time — we’re in a dramatic crisis — euro bonds are precisely the wrong answer...They lead us into a debt union, not a stability union. Each country has to take its own steps to reduce its debt.”Then she added this corker: “We are in no rush whatsoever to solve the crisis in Europe. We will not be swayed by market crashes or panics.”Hmmm. That doesn't sound like someone who appreciates the urgency of the moment. It sounds like someone who wants to teach the market "who's boss".But Merkel's bravado doesn't change the fact that the EU bank funding system is on the fritz; liquidity is drying up, stress gauges are blinking red, and the banks are too scared to lend to each other. It just demonstrates the obtuseness of grandstanding politicians.And, keep in mind that--while QE2 helped many of the European banks stockpile "rainy day" reserves in the US--those piles are beginning to dwindle as investors wise-up and head for the exits. They've seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well. Better to be safe than sorry.Here's an excerpt from a report by Nomura that shows how liquidity is gradually being drained from the system:"The USD cash buffer has been falling according to FED data from 889 billions USD on July 20 to 758 billions USD on August 3....In fact, according to the same report, there was a notable decline of 131 billions USD in two weeks, clearly a trend to watch.... ("Credit Terminal Velocity", Macronomics, Pragmatic Capitalism)Read the full story here.

• 'Gaza militants have Libyan arms'(Ynet).Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya during its six-month civil war, enlarging but not significantly improving their arsenal, Israeli officials said on Monday.While the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi has stirred concern abroad about the fate of Libya's ageing chemical weapons stockpiles, Israel has no indication Hamas or other Palestinian factions have sought these, the officials said.Instead, Israeli officials have detected an inflow of SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), said one official, describing an overland supply route that opened up between eastern Libya – after it fell to the rebels – and the Gaza Strip via Egypt. "We've been seeing more SA-7s and RPGs coming across," said the official. "It's not a major qualitative enhancement for them." The Soviet-designed SA-7 is a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile which Israel said Palestinians had previously smuggled into Gaza. Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), designed to penetrate armour, are plentiful in the territory. Another Israeli official said "thousands" of the weapons had reached Gaza in recent months, but did not provide figures on how many had originated in Libya. Egypt's Sinai peninsula, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has long seen traffic in arms bound for Palestinians. The weapons come up through Sudan or arrive by ship over the Mediterranean. State television reported in Cairo Monday that Egyptian border guards had discovered "a large quantity" of weapons at the border with Libya, giving no more details.Read the full story here.

• Gaza NGOs express 'horror' at new Hamas travel restrictions on Palestinians.(Haaretz).The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip recently imposed new travel restrictions on Palestinians active in non-governmental organizations in what the Palestinian NGO Network regards as another Hamas attempt to control and hamper them.The Hamas interior ministry announced on its website on August 10 that anyone leaving Gaza, in the framework of NGO activity, must provide details of the trip to the ministry’s NGO department. The details include: the purpose, duration and destination of the trip, a description of the project, and the names of the host and group involved, along with the names and personal details of other participants.The Palestinian Center for Human Rights issued a statement expressing “horror” at the new development. Gaza sources say the NGO representatives are trying to get Hamas officials to revoke the regulations, which are the latest in a series of government measures affecting the financial affairs and staffing of local and foreign NGOs. Tharut al Bic, head of the interior ministry’s NGO department, is cited in the government-owned al-Rai newspaper as saying that the new instructions are intended to make it easier for travellers to better organize their trip and to preserve order. He did not say how the numerous details the NGOs are required to provide would make the trip easier.These are not the Hamas government’s only restrictions on the freedom of movement of Gaza residents. Those leaving via the Erez border crossing must first pass through a Palestinian police inspection. Fatah members, among the few to whom Israel grants exit permits, are occasionally stopped at the Hamas inspection facility and required to go to the interior ministry’s national security department, where they are questioned about the purpose of their departure. Hamas sometimes denies Fatah or PLO members’ departure at the Rafah terminal in similar ways. In the past, Hamas has forbidden doctors, who wanted to travel to the West Bank for the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry exams in Ramallah, to leave Gaza. About 10 days ago Hamas prohibited high school students, who received a scholarship for a year’s study in the United States, from leaving the Gaza Strip. The government also prohibited children from leaving Gaza to attend a West Bank summer camp financed by a Western body, after Israel had issued them exit permits. Palestinians leaving Gaza via the Rafah terminal are required to register in advance at the interior ministry, to enable coordination with the Egyptian authorities and to ensure that sick people and other emergency cases receive priority. The number of people permitted to leave is restricted, if only for technical reasons.Since June, Hamas authorities have instructed foreign nationals who stay in Gaza for over a week to obtain a special visitor’s card. Every foreign national is required to register with the interior ministry a week after his arrival. At first Hamas charged 5 Jordanian dinars for a visitor’s card, but the Quartet on the Middle East prohibits nationals from Western states ‏(except for Switzerland and Norway‏) from maintaining official ties or engaging in financial transactions with Hamas authorities. As a result, Hamas agreed to exempt diplomats and UN officials from payment for the visitor’s card. Hmmmm.......Just cut all US aid to these terrorists.Read the full story here.

• Iran invites Libya rebel chief to Tehran.(Ynet).Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akabr Salehi has invited the head of the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) to visit Tehran, a foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday."In a phone conversation (Monday night) with the NTC head, Salehi congratulated the victory of the Muslim people of Libya and stressed (the desire) to deepen bilateral ties," said the statement, a copy of which was received by AFP.Following an invitation by the rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil, "Salehi invited the NTC head for a visit at an opportune time," it added.On Sunday, Salehi said Iran had "discreetly" provided humanitarian aid to Libyan rebels before the fall of Tripoli on August 21.Abdel Jalil, for his part, "thanked the Iranian government for its humanitarian aid and assistance during tough times," and called for the return of Iran's ambassador to Libya, according to the Tuesday statement.The phone conversation marked the first official contact between Iran and the NTC since Muammar Gaddafi's capital was overrun by rebels and he went into hiding.Iran has still not officially recognized the NTC.The statement said the Iranian ambassador, who "left Tripoli after the protest movement of the Libyan people," would soon return there.Since the Libyan uprising erupted in mid-February, Iran has adopted a dual approach -- criticizing the Gaddafi regime for its violent assaults on the rebels while at the same time condemning NATO's military intervention.Relations between Shiite majority Iran and Gaddafi's regime were soured by the disappearance in Libya in 1978 of the Iranian-born Imam Moussa Sadr, who is considered a spiritual leader of Lebanon's Shiites.Read the full story here.

• The Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Their Plans for Egypt and the World.(Vinienco).

Q: “If you rise to power in Egypt, will you launch a campaign of Islamic conquest?”

Shehato: “Of course we will launch a campaign of Islamic conquest, throughout the world. As soon as the Muslims and Islam control Egypt and implement the shari’a [there], we will turn to the neighboring regions, [such as] Libya [to the west] and Sudan to the south. All the Muslims in the world who wish to see the shari’a implemented worldwide will join the Egyptian army in order to form Islamic battalions, whose task will be to bring about the victory of [our] faith. We hope that, with Allah’s help, Egypt will be the spark [that sets off this process]…”

Q: “You said that you endorse the ideology of Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Does this mean that your way of implementing shari’a in Egypt will be through violence and war, like their [way]?”

Shehato: “No, we will implement the shari’a through da’wa [preaching], while violence will be directed only at the infidel Arab rulers. In their case, there is no choice but to use force, though the shari’a does not call it ‘violence’ but ‘jihad for the sake of Allah.’ There is no other way… because they have power and weapons…”

Q: “How will the foreign ministry [operate] in an Islamic state?”

Shehato: “There are Muslims and there are infidels. We will have ambassadors in every country. We want to call all other countries to join Islam, and that will be the task of the ambassadors. If [the countries] refuse, there will be war. We will not tolerate mutual trade and cultural ties with non-Muslims.”“In the [Islamic] State, There will Be Only Islamic Culture”

Q: “If you rise to power, what will be your approach to tourism?”

Shehato: “There will be tourism for purposes of [medical] treatment, but the tourism sites of the pyramids, the Sphinx, and Sharm Al-Sheikh will be shut down, because my task [as a ruler] is to get people to serve Allah rather than [other] people [i.e., tourists]. No proud Muslim will ever be willing to live off tourism profits, because the tourists come [to Egypt] to drink alcohol and fornicate. [If they] want to come, they must comply with the conditions and laws of Islam. We will explain to them that, according to the shari’a, the pyramids are [the remains of] a pagan and polytheistic age.”

Hmmmm........the 'people' the Obama administration is pledging 2.57 Billion and Abrams tanks to.Read the full story here.

• South Sudan to uphold ties with Israel, despite pressure.(JPost).MK Danon visits new African country to discuss helping Sudanese refugees return to their homeland.South Sudanese President Salva Kiir told Israeli MK Danny Danon on Monday that South Sudan will uphold its diplomatic relations with Israel, despite pressure from Abu Mazen and Ismail Haniyeh to break relations. Kiir said that Hamas leaders Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh told him that as an Arab state, his country should cut ties with Israel.“I told them that I see Israeli embassies in Jordan and Egypt, and South Sudan is not an Arab state,” Kiir explained to Danon, who flew to the world’s youngest country on a visit intended to strengthen diplomatic ties and discuss refugees.Kiir also agreed to Danon’s request that the future South Sudanese embassy in Israel be built in Jerusalem, and he said he would visit the country.The new African country’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Daniel Akot said that “Israel is like a big brother to South Sudan,” and recounted that Israeli flags were waved at the state’s declaration of independence, 59 days ago.In meetings with the Sudanese Industry and Trade Minister, Foreign Minister and Finance Minister on Monday, Danon also discussed ways the new African state can work with Israel, pointing out that South Sudan has oil, gold, silver, lead, copper and other resources.“Israel’s technological wealth and South Sudan’s wealth of natural resources are a sure recipe for prosperity in both states,” he said.Hmmmm.....North Sudan declaring war....Countdown just started running.Read the full story here.