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 Vanuatu 5.1 !More info here.

• Eight of March - International Women's Day.4,530 women behind bars in Turkey on women’s day.(TZ).As women around the globe celebrate International Women’s Day, a total of 4,530 women in Turkey remain behind bars, according to a report released today by the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS).ICPS, an academic partner of the University of Essex, reported in the second edition of its World Female Imprisonment List that there are more than 625,000 women and girls in prisons worldwide as either pre-trial detainees or convicts. The report, prepared by researcher Roy Walmsley, was conducted in 212 prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories. The female prison population has increased on all five continents compared to the first edition of the list published in 2006, but especially in Asia and Europe.One-third of all women and girls imprisoned worldwide can be found in the United States. In about 80 percent of prison systems, female prisoners make up between 2 and 9 percent of the total prison population, according to the report. The median rate is 4.45 percent. The ICPS report found that 3.6 percent of the total prison population in Turkey is female.Turkey has more female inmates than many of its regional neighbors, including France (3.5 percent), Israel (2.3 percent) and Iraq (1.6 percent). It trails Germany (5.6 percent), Greece (4.9 percent) and other European countries, however.ICPS Director Peter Bennett, in a written statement about the report, said: “The fact that the female prison population continues to rise, and indeed has risen by a considerable 16 percent since our last edition of the list in 2006, is a cause for serious concern. Given the high financial and social cost of imprisoning women, the data should prompt policy-makers in all countries to consider what they can do to limit the number of women in custody. Excessive use of imprisonment does nothing to improve public safety.”Read the full story here.

• Turkish women face discrimination, violence, illiteracy despite small gains.(TZ).Discrimination, violence, unequal power relations, lack of education and child marriage are still problems that Turkish women face on this year's March 8 International Women's Day, which is being marked by several events highlighting the worrying issues women have to deal with instead of joyful celebrations.“Aren't you ashamed?” asked the Association for Education and Supporting Women Candidates (KA.DER) which has been keeping track of the number of women in public offices for the last five years.“For five years the situation has not changed. We are tired of reporting the same statistics each year. We are concerned,” said Çiğdem Aydın, representing KA.DER. The reason for their outrage was explained in the statistics they have compiled. In a nationwide campaign prior to the June 12 elections last year, they asked for 50 percent representation in Parliament, but the percentage of women who entered Parliament remained at only 14.2 percent. This is a small increase from 9.1 percent female lawmakers in Parliament in 2007. Moreover, out of 26 ministers in Turkey's cabinet there is only one woman, Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Şahin.In other administrative public offices, the situation is also bleak: Only 26 female mayors out of 2,924; 65 village heads out of 34,210; one female governor out of 81; five female rectors out of 103 and 21 female ambassadors out of 185. There are no female undersecretaries and no female members at the Supreme Court of Appeals, Court of Accounts or the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.“What do we have in Turkey?” KA.DER representatives asked again. “Violence against women, exploitation of female labor and bodies, female poverty, female unemployment, child brides and girls who are not sent to school.”Like KA.DER, most women’s organizations are concerned with increasing cases of violence in Turkey where at least one in three women have suffered from physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Last year, women’s groups did not celebrate March 8 in protest of violence against women.In a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and all lawmakers in Parliament, 237 women’s groups under the umbrella of the Platform to End Violence (Şiddete Son Platformu), wrote:“We are objecting to the fact that the law’s name has been changed to protect family, not women; that the centers which are supposed to work on a 7/24 hour basis have not been organized in a way that women’s groups demanded, which would help women to access support under one roof once they face violence; that the law does not refer to women’s shelters and sexual violence crisis centers; and that women’s organizations are not allowed to take part as co-plaintiffs in important violence cases. And we demand that changes be made accordingly.”The percentage of child marriages in Turkey -- marriages in which one spouse is underage -- is 14 percent, a study by the International Strategic Research Agency (USAK) found in a report released last year in November. Turkey has the second highest rate of early marriage among European countries, according to the USAK survey, following Georgia, where 17 percent of marriages are underage.The report found that an estimated 10 to 12 million girls are forced into marriage at an early age every year in the developing world. In Turkey one out of every three women was married as a child.USAK’s findings indicate that early marriages cannot just be explained by cultural factors or traditions and beliefs, saying that the practice is caused by a large number of factors including socio-cultural factors, education, gender equality in society as well as wars and natural disasters.The report found that roughly half of the people who were forced into early marriages in Turkey are illiterate and 31.7 percent of the children forced into early marriages know how to read and write, but have no formal education.Read the full story here.

• Obama: There'll be a price to pay for premature Iran action.(JPost).US President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that there would be consequences for both Israel and the United States if any action is taken prematurely on Iran, warning there would be a price to pay. It is important, he said, to take a "careful, sober and thoughtful approach" on the Iranian nuclear issue.The US president also pushed back against suggestions that Washington was on the cusp of making a decision about possible military action against Iran, pledging to take a 'sober' approach to dealing with Iran's nuclear program.Amid mounting speculation that Israel could attack Iran's nuclear sites in coming months, Obama said that American politicians 'beating the drums of war' had a responsibility to explain the costs and benefits of military action.He said the notion that the United States needed to make a choice in coming weeks or months was "not borne out by facts."Hmmmm....Just try to imagine Obama as president during the Cuba missile crisis.............exactly.Read the full story here.

• Related - Obama: There'll be a price to pay for premature Iran strike.(Jpost).US President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that there would be consequences for the United States as well as Israel if a premature strike is launched on Iran.“This is not just an issue of Israeli interests. This is an issue of American interests,” he said at a last-minute press conference. "It's also not just an issue of consequences for Israel if action is taken prematurely. There are consequences for the United States as well."He warned against the “casualness” of talk of possible military action and American politicians’ “beating the drums of war,” saying those who speak so loosely should consider the consequences of their words.Three of the four Republican candidates appeared at AIPAC Tuesday and criticized Obama for not acting aggressively enough to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capability.“There is a cost,” Obama said, recalling visits to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and condolence letters he sends to families.“Sometimes we bear that cost, but we think it through,” he continued. “We don't play politics with it. When we have in the past, when we haven't thought it through and it gets wrapped up in politics, we make mistakes."Republican candidates have been hammering Obama on his Iran policy, with three of the four candidates calling on his to take more aggressive steps against Tehran earlier in the day at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.Hmmmmm........Anybody starting to see the 'yellow' line in this?Read the full story here.

• Khamenei praises Obama for calming the drums of war.(JPost).Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday praised US President Barack Obama for recent remarks in which he warned against "beating thedrums of war."Calling Obama's statement good, and a "departure from the illusion," Khamenei nonetheless criticized the US president for his steadfast advocacy of continued sanctions against Iran. It is a mistake to think Iran can be brought to its needs, Khamenei told a gathering of the clerical council, the Assembly of Experts.At a White House press conference Tuesday on the heels of the AIPAC conference, Obama warned against the “casualness” of talk of possible military action and American politicians’ “beating the drums of war,” saying those who speak so loosely should consider the consequences of their words.There would be consequences for the United States as well as Israel if a premature strike is launched on Iran, he added.“There is a cost,” Obama said, recalling visits to the Walter Reed veterans hospital and condolence letters he sends to families.“Sometimes we bear that cost, but we think it through,” he continued. “We don’t play politics with it. When we have in the past, when we haven’t thought it through and it gets wrapped up in politics, we make mistakes.”Hmmmm.....With some luck the Iranians might give him another 'PeaceMedal'?Read the full story here.

• PA steps up security measures at Joseph's Tomb.(YNet).The Palestinian Authority has stepped up its fight against Breslov Hassidim's attempts to access Joseph's Tomb in Nablus without permission, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday. Breslovers often try to enter the compound at night, sans authorization or coordination with the IDF and the Palestinian security forces.Such past incidents have caused clashes between the hassidim and Palestinian troops, with one tragic clash ending in the death of Breslover Ben-Yosef Livnat. To prevent the hassidim form infiltrating the tomb, the Palestinian Authority has stationed cameras on the road leading up to the compound, as well as inside it. A fence has been erected around the compound and bars have been installed on all windows. So far, the measures have proven effective: "We had to turn back, we had no choice, we didn’t want to get caught," a Breslover told the newspaper. In an attempt to reach a peaceful compromise, the Breslovers distributed Arabic and Hebrew flyers in the area, reading: "To the Palestinian security forces: In the name of God almighty, to whom we all pray, we come in peace to pray at the holy tomb of Joseph the righteous."We do not seek war and we do not seek to provoke you. We respect you and have nothing against you. We ask that you allow us to pray here in a safe and free manner." Hassidic Rabbi Binyamin Machlev added: "We want to prove that you cannot stop our devotion to Joseph."Read the full story here.

• The Spirit of The IDF.(AlexanderMunch).The Spirit of The IDF: The Ethical Code of the Israel Defense Forces.The Spirit of the IDF is the identity card of the values of the Israel Defense Forces, which should stand as the foundation of all of the activities of every IDF soldier. The Spirit of the IDF, and the guidelines of operation resulting from it, are the ethical code of the IDF and the expression of the identity, values and norms of the IDF. These guidelines will be applied by the IDF, its soldiers, its officers, its units and corps to shape their mode of action. They will behave, educate and evaluate themselves and others according to the Spirit of the IDF. During every soldier’s basic training, the Spirit of the IDF is read and analyzed in depth together with their commanders. It is customary for a framed copy of the Spirit of the IDF to be hung in every office to be a constant reminder of the IDF’s values and guidelines.Read and see the full story here.

• U.S. says Iranian general key in Afghan heroin trade.(AA).Washington on Wednesday named a general in Iran’s elite al-Quds force as a key figure in trafficking heroin from Afghanistan.The U.S. Treasury designated Gen. Gholamreza Baghbani, who runs the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force office in Zahedan near the Afghan-Pakistan border, as a narcotics “kingpin” for facilitating Aghan drugrunners to move opiates into and through Iran.In return, the smugglers helped move weapons for the Taliban from Iran “on behalf of Baghbani,” the Treasury said in a statement.It said that Baghbani had also aided the smuggling of chemicals used to make heroin through the Iranian border into Afghanistan.He was the first Iranian to be officially named as a “specially designated narcotics trafficker” under the US “Kingpin Act”, which allows the Treasury to prohibit any US citizens or entities from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with the named individual.Treasury said that the designation of Baghbani “exposes (the Quds force’s) involvement in trafficking narcotics, made doubly reprehensible here because it is done as part of a broader scheme to support terrorism.”The Quds force is the shadowy special operations unit of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and often operates outside of Iran.read the full story here.