MFS -The Other News - What the main papers don't say.

  Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Russia 5.4 ; Saint Helena 5.4; Tonga 5.2 !More info here.

• ‘Hope and Change’ Only for America’s Enemies, Islamic Extremists.(BigPeace).By Dr. Marc Weisman.With the presidential election looming, I thought it wise to revisit president Obama’s 2008 campaign theme. He ran on the adage, “hope and change.” Let’s look into hope and change, Obama style.Islamism is so pervasive, so zany, so entrenched all over the world that I could throw a dart at the globe any random day and find a story to discuss involving extremism, violence, or oppression from its adherents. And it’s getting worse. Why is it getting worse, you ask? No doubt there are many reasons, but the one that sticks in my craw is that American weakness is largely responsible. Weakness will always invite aggression, and this president’s profound lack of leadership—weakness—has inspired our enemies the way fuel enrages wildfire. I guess we should have taken president Obama at his word and believed his conviction for “hope and change.” But hope for whom? What type of change?Allow me to share a few examples for whom hope (and change) springs eternal due to the feckless actions of the Obama administration.So, hope and change are indeed upon us, just as president Obama promised. Unfortunately, the beneficiaries of this hope and change are our enemies. We Americans and our allies are the victims.Read the full story here.

• Latest: US, EU Urging Iran Not To Execute Pastor Nadarkhani.(V).Jailed Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was believed to be still alive Saturday, February 25, after the European Union and the United States urged Iran not to carry out an execution order and demanded his immediate release.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said through her spokesperson that she is “extremely worried about reports that the execution of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Rasht, Gilan province, may be imminent.”Nadarkhani’s ‘Church of Iran’, a large network of house churches, told online news agency BosNewsLife early Tuesday, February 21, that the Gilan Court had again ordered the execution for “apostasy”, or  ”abandoning Isam”.“The High Representative has in several instances expressed her serious concerns over the increase in executions in Iran and called on Iran to free the Iranian Pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani and other Iranians sentenced to death for offenses which according to international standards should not result in capital punishment,” Ashton’s spokesperson said.“The execution of Pastor Nadarkhani on apostasy charges would be another illustration of the deteriorating situation of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran…She strongly calls on Iran not to execute Pastor Nadarkhani. He should be released immediately,” the statement added.In Washington, the White House called the execution order “another shocking breach of Iran’s international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values.”It said that “The United States stands in solidarity with Pastor Nadarkhani, his family, and all those who seek to practice their religion without fear of persecution-a fundamental and universal human right. ”Mark Toner, spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State, released a similar statement this week saying that “We stand with religious and political leaders from around the world in condemning Youcef Nadarkhani’s conviction and call for his immediate release.”Eighty-nine members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter condemning Iran for their treatment of Nadarkhani and one congressman, Representative Joe Pitts, a Republican from Pennsylvania, issued a House resolution that if passed would stand as a condemnation from the entire House of Representatives.The last Iranian Christian convert from Islam executed by the Iranian government was Assemblies of God Pastor Hossein Soodmand in 1990.However several other Christians, including at least six Protestant pastors, are known to have been assassinated by unknown killers in recent years.Yet, citing from the Bible, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani wrote in previous letters to his fellow believers not to fear persecution in the strict Islamic nation, saying Jesus Christ gives him strength. “As we’ve heard He has said: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”Some Muslims have condemned the reported execution order. “These types of cases, especially around apostasy, are too frequent occurrences in the Muslim world and as a Muslim, I am appalled,” said Harris Zafar, national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.“To do this in the name of Islam, I know that this isn’t Islam. It is a violation of human rights and it is a violation of Islam,” the US-based Cable News Network (CNN) quoted him as saying in a reaction. Zafar, whose organization is considered more liberal than other Islamic communities, cited de Koran to make his point. “Whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve,” reads the Koran 18:29.The apparent execution order came after local Christians said last month that Nadarkhani rejected an offer to be released from prison if he publicly acknowledges Islam’s prophet Mohammed as “a messenger sent by God.”His appeal against that ruling was seen as being rejected in 2011.The Supreme Court said “he can be executed” but added it would first ask a “re-examination” by the same court that already sentenced him to death.The Gilan Court eventually asked Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khameini for an opinion in what critics saw as an attempt to make someone else responsible for his execution. It is not clear what role, if any, Khameini played in the reported decision to hang him for apostasy.Read the full story here.

• Egyptian court adjourns NGOs trial.(VOC).The chief judge in Egypt’s trial of dozens of pro-democracy activists, including Americans, on charges of receiving illegal funding adjourned the case to April 26 after the trial began on Sunday.Most of the 43 accused did not attend the first hearing in the packed Cairo suburb courtroom. One defendant told AFP during a court recess that the 14 defendants who did show up were all Egyptian.A prosecutor in the court in a Cairo suburb read out the charges against the defendants, saying their alleged acceptance of the illicit funds had “detracted from the sovereignty of the Egyptian state.”They are also accused of operating their groups illegally.An AFP correspondent said the 14 defendants who did appear denied they had committed crimes when asked by the judge.Each one answered the judge in Arabic, and one defendant told AFP during a recess that the defendants in the court’s black metal cage were all Egyptian.After the brief hearing, the judge adjourned the trial to April 26, allowing the defendants who had appeared in court released until then. The first hearings in Egyptian trials usually allow the defendants to register their pleas and lawyers to make their demands.Judicial sources said that along with 19 Americans, the remaining defendants were Norwegian, German, Serbian, Egyptian, Palestinian and Jordanian.The politically charged case has set off a crisis in relations between Cairo and Washington and threatened $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid.The 43 foreign and Egyptian non-profit workers – including the son of the U.S. transportation secretary – are accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad and carrying out political activities unrelated to their civil society work.A senior U.S. official said Washington and Cairo were holding what he described as “intense discussions” to resolve the crisis within days.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in the Moroccan capital after visits to Algeria and Tunisia, has met Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr twice in the last three days, the official said on condition of anonymity.Rights campaigners say the case is retaliation by Egypt’s ruling generals against pro-democracy groups that have been among the army’s harshest critics since it took power when Hosni Mubarak was overthrown a year ago.“The whole basis of this case is unfair,” an Egyptian activist working for one of the organizations told Reuters.It was unclear whether all of the accused – who are banned from leaving Egypt pending trial – would appear in court.A number of them were already abroad when the ban was placed, and some of those who remained in Egypt have taken refuge in the U.S. embassy in Cairo.The U.S. pro-democracy groups whose staff have been charged deny they have done anything illegal. They say the crackdown is an attempt by Egypt’s military rulers to derail democracy.Egypt says the case is a judicial matter and all groups must heed Egyptian law.Negad al-Borai, a lawyer representing the accused in Cairo, said the charges referred only to a short period in the groups’ activities and could therefore be argued against.“The charges made involve only the period from March 2011 to December 2011,” he told Reuters. “These groups have applied for permits before that period.”Read the full story here.

• Afghanistan Meltdown: Grenades Thrown at U.S. Base, Diplomatic Visits Cancelled, NATO to Prosecute Alleged Quran Burners.(BigPeace).By Sun Tzu.From the Government Media and Information Center of Afghanistan: NATO officials promised to meet Afghan nation’s demand of bringing to justice, through an open trial, those responsible for the incident and it was agreed that the perpetrators of the crime be brought to justice as soon as possible.Read the full story here.

• US State Department participating in conference to 'defend Jerusalem' in Qatar.(IsraelMatzav).There's a conference going on in Doha, Qatar on Sunday and Monday - its logo is at the top of this post. It's officially called the 'International Conference for Jerusalem,' but it is also known as the International Conference for the 'Defense of Jerusalem,' and what Jerusalem is being 'defended' against is 'Judaization.' Speaking at the International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem in Doha, Qatar, Abbas was quoted by the Palestinian Ma'an news agency as saying, "The Israeli occupation authorities are using the ugliest and most dangerous means to implement plans to erase and remove the Arab-Islamic and the Christian character of east Jerusalem."The Palestinian Authority president accused Israel of "surrounding Jerusalem with an Apartheid wall and a band of settlements in order to isolate the city from its surroundings in the West Bank."Abbas slammed Israeli authorities for setting up barriers preventing Palestinians from entering Jerusalem without "almost impossible to obtain" permits.Among those present at the conference are five 'Israeli Arab' members of the Knesset: Ahmad Tibi, Taleb a-Sanaa, Haneen Zoabi, Jamal Zahalka and Ibrahim Sarsur. There's also a representative of the US State Department there: Kenneth Raymond Insley, Jr. And a representative of American Friends of 'Peace Now': Lara Friedman.One has to wonder what the State Department - and even 'Peace Now' - are doing at a conference against the 'Judaization' of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, I know already.Read the full story here.