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 Japan 5.0 ; Vanuatu 5.0  !More info here.

• Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton in agreement over Apology for Qur'an Burning.(BN).Ron Paul is really courting that Muslim vote. I no sooner posted the link to the Big Peace article in which his campaign volunteers posted a flyer in Arabic that touted him as the candidate who would cut-off aid to Israel, when I noticed this.He is in agreement with the apology Obama issued to Hamid Karzai over the Qur'an burnings. He expressed this sentiment while questioning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.Via the National Journal:  Bringing up the scandal provoked by a viral video depicting American Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, Paul voiced his overall opposition to the war that created thousands of refugees in the country."Does it ever get to the point where apologizing about the Koran is rather minor, considering some of the other problems we have created in [Afghanistan]?" Paul asked.Clinton said she appreciated Paul's measured comments about Obama and other presidents offering apologies "when we are deeply sorry for unfortunate incidents that occur, that were not intentional, and which we know have emotional resonance with people."The premise a vast majority of the Pauliens operate from is one that says the U.S. Government (not Islamic terrorists) is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. As such, the inclination is to believe that the former is a greater threat than the latter. By their own admission, the Pauliens will tell you that the Islamic threat is overrated.Again, the only way these comments by Paul are not viewed as out of bounds is if you believe the government is worse than the terrorists.The 9/11 Truth crowd has found that the springboard for its conspiratorial beliefs is placing them in the camp of America's true enemies.Apparently, as an added bonus, the more Paul talks like this, the more he garners Muslim / anti-Semitic votes.Read the full story here.

• Judicial Watch Files Brief with U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Constitutionality of Obamacare.(BG).On February 13, 2012, Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae brief with the High Court challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, specifically the “individual mandate.” The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for the Obamacare case on March 26, 27, and 28, 2012.The brief maintains that the “individual mandate” provision of Obamacare, which requires every American citizen to purchase health care insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional – whether considered under Congress’ commerce power or taxing power: Petitioners are trying to defend a provision in an act passed by Congress that exceeds its enumerated powers. Though Congress enacted this provision under the Commerce Clause, Congress’ power under the clause is not broad enough to compel Americans to engage in commerce by purchasing a particular product. Though Petitioners try to rescue the provision by arguing that it is valid under Congress’ taxing power even if it is invalid under Congress’ commerce power, a provision of an act that is not a tax may not be construed as a tax merely to save it from being declared unconstitutional.Judicial Watch lawyers point out that if the Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of the individual mandate, “it must be willing to hold that Congress’ powers under the Commerce clause are plenary and unlimited, for there remains no principled way to limit Congress’ power if it is stretched as far as Petitioners [the Obama administration] ask.”Florida federal district judge Roger Vinson perhaps put it more colorfully when he struck down the law in its entirety last year. If the government can force American taxpayers to buy health insurance, it can also force them to decide “whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner or even a morning cup of coffee.”The Judicial Watch amicus was filed in support of a challenge to Obamacare by Florida and 25 other states.Demonstrating the importance of the legal battle over Obamacare, the Supreme Court will hear five-and-a-half hours of oral argument, a rare allotment of time in the court’s modern era. (The standard is one hour.) The Supreme Court’s scrutiny will focus on the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate. However, the court will also consider whether other components of Obamacare could take effect even if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, among other issues.In a December 14, 2010, editorial published in The Washington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argued that the individual mandate is essential to Obamacare: “Without an individual responsibility provision (or mandate), controlling costs and ending discrimination against people with preexisting conditions doesn’t work.”In other words, not even the Obama administration itself believes the law can survive if the individual mandate is struck down.Judicial Watch has been extremely active in the Obamacare debate right from the beginning. It has fought for transparency over the Obamacare waivers, ultimately discovering that Big Labor was taking in a disproportionate haul. It has exposed the Obama administration’s taxpayer-funded, multi-media propaganda campaign featuring television actor Andy Griffith.Judicial Watch has also fought for records detailing Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s involvement in any Obamacare defense discussions when she served as Obama’s Solicitor General. (It uncovered documents that raised questions about her role, causing a national uproar about her continued involvement in the High Court’s Obamacare deliberations.)The time has come for the Supreme Court to put an end to Obamacare once and for all. The President’s socialist healthcare overhaul is an affront to the U.S. Constitution’s provisions for limited government and, as you can see with the anti-religion Obamacare contraception mandate, a fundamental threat to our God-given freedoms.Read the full story here.

• Obama Slashes Soldiers’ Benefits to Pay Back Healthcare Industry Donors,(BG).The Tea Party hit its stride in the summer of 2009 when concerned citizens showed up to town halls across the United States to protest the healthcare takeover law being considered in Congress. The people rightly felt that the bill’s labyrinthine and onerous regulations were corrupt and designed to increase the power of the government, line the pockets of shortsighted insurance companies, and squeeze as much blood from the country’s taxpayer turnip as possible.Just when America believed the US government health scandal couldn’t get worse, President Obama’s handlers go one step further—increasing service members’ and veterans’ medical premiums. This move is designed to push service members and veterans to opt out of Tricare and find a new insurance provider.President Obama’s new medical proposal seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget and $12.9 billion by 2017, the latter amount adding up to 0.99% of the $1.3 trillion deficit for a single year built into Obama’s proposed budget. To accomplish this spending reduction, service members should expect a 30% to 78% increase in Tricare annual premiums for the first year. In five years, service members will expect an increase ranging from 94% to 345%.The average annual salary for a four year single enlistee is approximately $34k. If that service member were married with dependents, the salary increases to approximately $42k. Are those numbers enough to make any sane person want to enlist today, knowing they will likely ship off to some foreign land to fight a losing war like that in Afghanistan? Are those numbers enough to justify risking one’s life–enough to afford an increased medical premium that could be raised by 78% just this year or 345% by the time their initial enlistment is over?Make no mistake; the President is downsizing our military, and this new military medical initiative is one sure way he will see volunteers leave the military knowing their benefits are jeopardized. At a time when Iran threatens the free world, Afghanistan’s violence is on a rise, and North Korea remains unstable, is now the time to play with our service members’ well-being?President Obama has taken an unprecedented action, crippling the livelihoods of our most worthy federal employees–our troops. And it’s easy to see who’s pushing for this change–the very elements that pushed for Obamacare and the recent contraception scandal, the political donors who represent America’s health industry.Our service members should never have to worry about their benefits, but today they do. They selflessly volunteer to place themselves in harm’s way believing in service before self. America must stand up for these warriors and vehemently oppose President Obama and his health industry puppet masters. They have finally crossed the line.Read the full story here.

• Obama Cedes Terror Cases to Civilian Law Enforcement.(BP).From the Wall Street Journal: President Barack Obama issued an order Tuesday giving civilian investigators broad power to handle the cases of U.S. terrorism suspects despite a law passed late last year favoring military custody.The decision is likely to raise hackles among lawmakers who included the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, and it could provide an election-year issue for Republicans.Mr. Obama signed the bill under protest Dec. 31 and attached a statement saying he intended to disregard portions interfering with his presidential powers.The law requires military detention for non-U.S. citizens accused of planning or carrying out an attack for al Qaeda and associated groups. At the White House’s insistence, it included discretion for the president to waive the requirement if necessary to avoid disrupting terrorism probes led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Tuesday’s order takes advantage of that discretion to the fullest, preserving for the FBI and other civilian authorities the leading role in handling terrorism arrests in the U.S. Military detention would be an option in limited cases, largely at the discretion of the attorney general and federal investigators.Mr. Obama’s interpretation of the waiver authority is likely to clash with the wishes of the bipartisan group of lawmakers who pushed the military-custody provision.Republican proponents of the military-detention provision said they would hold a Senate hearing, because they believe the president’s order might violate the spirit of the law. Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire issued a statement saying they were “concerned that some of these regulations may contradict the intent of the detainee provisions” in the defense bill.Mr. Obama has also come under fire from civil libertarians who said the law could pave the way for the indefinite military detention without trial of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. Such criticism came both from right-leaning tea-party supporters and groups on the left.Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the president should have vetoed the law, as signing it “turns the practice of indefinite military detention into a permanent part of American law.”Read the full story here.

• 'Missiles on Israel preferable to nuclear Iran'.(YNet).The mathematics of war: A missile salvo on the greater Tel Aviv area, thousand of rockets fired at northern Israel, terror attacks against Israeli targets overseas, scores of Israeli casualties and countless others in bomb shelters – that is how a former top Israeli official described Iran's possible reaction to an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. According to a Thursday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, the former official – speaking anonymously with the New York Times – detailed the formula by which Israel assessed the magnitude of Tehran's response: "1991 + 2006 + Buenos Aires, times three-to-five."In other words: The combined result of Saddam Hussein's missile attack on Israel in 1991, Hezbollah's missiles attacks on Israel during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the terror attacks in Argentina's capital in the early 1990s – times three.These attacks claimed the lives of hundreds of Israelis and Jews and the damage to the Israeli economy amounted to billions of dollars. "Forty missiles fired at Israel are no small matter – but it's better that a nuclear Iran," he said. The New York Times said that the assessment is based on the premise that while Iran would aspire to meet any strike with force, it would prefer not to ignite a regional war. US defense experts, however, qualified the statement, saying the West's ability to accurately predict Iran's moves was limited. Washington, the report said, believes that a strike on the Islamic Republic would result in a missile barrage on Israel; but it also believes that Iran would try to somehow disguise its connection to such a counter-attack, possibly by promoting terror attacks on nations who support Israel. The Americans also believe it is likely Iran will use any such strike as a pretext to close off the Strait of Hormuz. US defense sources said that Tehran is likely to try and avoid a direct attack on American interests, because the regime knows that an American military strike will inflict significant damage. Washington does, however, think Iran will opt for an indirect assault against its interests worldwide, or against oil production facilities in the Persian Gulf.US President Barack Obama is set to speak at the next AIPAC conventions in Washington, where he is expected to detail the US' "red lines" on Iran.Hmmmm.........Rumor has it he's colorblind.Read the full story here.

• Ten injured in blast near AKP building in Istanbul.(HD).Istanbul police chief Hüseyin Çapkın said ten people were injured in a blast in Istanbul this morning.Çapkın said the explosion was caused by a bomb that was remotely detonated. A blast shook Istanbul’s Sütlüce district this morning, as at least five police officers were wounded, according to news agencies. The blast took place near a midibus carrying police officers, on the İmrahor Street in a district near the Golden Horn.The location is also very near the Istanbul district office of the governing Justice and Development Party, and the headquarters of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD). The five were on duty at a building belonging to the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD), which is close to the AKP branch on İmrahor Street in Beyoğlu district’s Sütlüce neighborhood.Read the full story here.

• Egypt Christian man jailed for insulting Prophet.(BM).CAIRO: Egypt has jailed a Christian man for 6 years on charges of showing contempt of religion and insulting the Prophet Mohamed, the country’s state-owned al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday.The court, in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut, said that Makram Diab, a school employee, had made offensive remarks against Islam’s prophet, according to the report.The remarks infuriated Diab’s Muslim colleagues, who went on strike until he was arrested and prosecuted.The sentencing comes after a Cairo court earlier this week dismissed a lawsuit against the Christian business tycoon, Naguib Sawiris, who was accused of insulting Islam by tweeting images of Mickey Mouse with a beard and his counterpart Minnie wearing a veil.Sawiris faces two other lawsuits over the same images.Recent parliamentary elections have produced a strong showing for Islamists in Egypt, sparking concerns over freedom among liberals and Christians, who make up around 10 percent of the country’s 80 million population.The ruling has left the Coptic community angered over what a number of Christian activists told Bikyamasr.com was an “attempt to create divisions” between Muslims and Christians in the country.Noha, a political studies student at Cairo University and activist who regularly participates in demonstrations for Coptic rights, argued that the government is “continuing the policy of Mubarak by jailing and even putting these people in front of a court. It is unacceptable for a country where we hoped for free speech.”The Christian community has struggled to figure out the direction of transitional Egypt in the post-uprising atmosphere.In October, a pro-Coptic rights march ended in a bloodbath after the armed forces opened fire on the thousands of protesters and run them over with armored vehicles, leaving at least 27 dead.The ruling military junta said a “third-party” was responsible for opening fire, leaving many Christians questioning if they would receive justice after decades of animosity towards their minority community.Hmmmm......Egypt.....holyday destination?Yeah whatevah.Read the full story here.

• ‘U.S., Iran, Brotherhood’ trio of ‘direct threat’ to Gulf says chief of Dubai’s police.(AA).Chief of Dubai Police Force and Lieutenant General, Dahi Khalfan, warned that the United States, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are a threat to the security of the Gulf region, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Dahi, who was in charge of the investigation of the group suspected of killing a high-ranking Hamas official in Dubai, said in an interview published by the Kuwaiti newspaper, al-Nahar, that the ultimate goal of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists in the region is to be in power. “The Brotherhood does not want the current Gulf regimes to stay,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.Warning of another ‘Sykes–Picot’ in reference to the 1916 agreement that divided the Arab World between France and Britain, the Lieutenant General said that “there is a plan to spread chaos in the region including the GCC region. “Security in the Gulf won’t be achieved only through an agreement between GCC and Iran … Iranian officials have to stop creating political storms from time to time.”The police chief who advised Gulf States to create a confederation of unity to achieve security in the Gulf countries and in the region, showed skepticism over the Arab Spring, saying that it turned into “autumn” and has led to chaos citing Egypt as an example.Hmmmm.......Wait till it turns in to 'Nuclear Winter'.Read the full story here.