Overnight Music Video - Hot Chocolate - So You Win Again.

Video - Femen targets Islam in bare-breast protest in front of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque in Brussels.

Video - Femen targets Islam in bare-breast protest in front of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque in Brussels.HT: AstuteBlogger. (HLNNews).Five women have staged a topless protest in front of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque in Brussels.

The Femen demonstration was in support of a woman in Tunisia called Amina, who posted pictures on the internet of her naked body bearing anti-Islamic slogans.

As a result, one cleric called for her to be killed. Wahabi Salafi preacher Almi Adel, who heads the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, said the 19-year-old should be stoned to death.

There are unconfirmed rumours that the woman’s family have locked her up at home.

One of the Femen activists at the Brussels protest, who gave her name only as Margaux, said: “It is an action in support of Amina who is locked up and under medication by her family because she had the courage to get naked, to advocate her rights to have her own body and to use her own body as she pleases, as she wishes; the situation of women in a lot of countries is unbearable but we will not let this go.”

Nobody came out of the mosque during the protest, which lasted 10 minutes, and there was no police presence.Hmmmm......On Friday....we get fireworks and on Saturday we get Femen.Read and see the full story here, video here and pictures here.

"It's a Zionist plot" - Ahmadinejad Blames Jews For Erectile Dysfunction.

"It's a Zionist plot" - Ahmadinejad Blames Jews For Erectile Dysfunction.(DC).Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed Jews today for the "global scourge of erectile dysfunction."

In a speech broadcast on state television, the Islamic firebrand claimed an international Jewish cabal is provoking male impotence though chemicals in bottled water and then making billions by treating the syndrome with pharmaceutical drugs like Viagra.

In the middle of one of his more typical rants against Israel, the United States, and global Zionism, Ahmadinejad unveiled his latest conspiracy theory.

"One of the most insidious new methods of global Zionist oppression is the effort to sap the life-forces of non-Jews around the world," he thundered.

"According to my closest advisers, almost 95 percent of Iranian men now have difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection. I have to admit that on very rare occasions, I have had such trouble myself, despite my legendary virility.

"Clearly we see the work of the Zionists in this situation. Why else would good Muslim and Christian men everywhere be suffering this embarrassing lack of manly function?"

Ahmadinejad then detailed how he believes Jews have created this epidemic of male impotence.

"Jewish interests have taken financial control of all the bottled water companies in the world," he explained. "They have used the dominance to slip chemicals into our bloodstreams, which destroy our ability to become erect.

"Very attractive, sexually vibrant men have unwittingly become victims of this humiliating condition. But the Jew is not content to humiliate his enemies. He must bankrupt them too. And so they have created a cure for this induced disease - drugs such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra.

"Hard working men all over the world are spending billions on such cures just to keep themselves sexually viable. Many are facing complete financial ruin.
"And who sells these drugs? Just look at these pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo Smith Kline - these are all Jewish names!

"We must unite to fight this conspiracy, beginning with a complete ban on bottled water in our country and a lawsuit seeking compensation for all the money Iranian men have spent on these terribly expensive erection pills."Hmmmmm......I drink about 4 liters of bottled water a day, must be drinking the wrong stuff i guess?Read the full story here.

Salafists attack residence of Iranian charge d'affaires in Cairo.

Salafists attack residence of Iranian charge d'affaires in Cairo.(AO).Dozens of protesters attempted to storm the residence of the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Cairo on Friday. The protesters, mostly Salafists, threw stones at the building and daubed offensive slogans on the outer wall.

They chanted against Iran, Shias and the Muslim Brotherhood and in support of the Syrian opposition.

"Let all the Muslim Brothers hear, we will not accept relations between Egypt and Iran," the protesters chanted. "Iranian ambassador, Egypt will not be Shia, Egypt is a Sunni country" and "Egypt and Syria are one hand."

The protesters carried banners saying "No to Shias in Egypt."

A number of journalists and photographers were assaulted during the protest.

Security forces dispersed the protesters with tear gas after a man tried to hang the Syrian independence flag on the gate of the residence.

"There were around 40 to 50 protesters in front of the residence. They were mostly Syrians from the opposition and they had the Syrian opposition flag," Mogabati Amani, Iranian charge d' affaires in Cairo told Ahram Online.

"These people are dangerous for Egyptian security because they are serving foreign interests," he said. "We know very well that the enemies of Egyptian-Iranian relations want to harm Egypt."

Amani said talks were underway with the foreign ministry to ensure such "actions will not be repeated again."
"Such actions could be harmful to the relations between the two countries, " stressed Amani.

Eyewitnesses said most of the protesters were Egyptian Salafists.

Salafists have been holding lectures across the country in recent weeks to warn against the spread Iranian Shiism to Egypt. Tourism between Iran and Egypt has recently resumed for the first time in three decades.Hmmmm.......Islam: 'The Religion of Peace'.Read the full story here.

"Time is On MY Side" - Iran, world powers remain "far apart" - EU's Ashton.

"Time is On MY Side" - Iran, world powers remain "far apart" - EU's Ashton.(TI).World powers and Iran remained far apart after ending two days of intensive talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on Saturday, the European Union's foreign policy chief said, prolonging a stand-off that risks spiralling into a new Middle East war, Reuters reported.

The failure to reach a breakthrough deal aimed at easing growing international concern over Iran's contested nuclear activity marked a further setback for diplomatic efforts to resolve the decade-old dispute peacefully.

Underlining the lack of substantial progress during the meeting in the Kazakh city of Almaty, no new negotiations between the two sides appeared to have been scheduled.

"Over two days of talks, we had long and intensive discussions on the issues addressed in our confidence-building proposal," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

"It became clear that our positions remain far apart," Ashton, who represents the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - in dealings with Iran, told a news conference.

Ashton said that for the first time there had been a "real back and forth between us when were able to discuss details, to pose questions, and to get answers directly ... To that extent, that has been a very important element"

But, she added: "What matters in the end is substance. We know what we want to achieve and the challenge is to get real engagement so we can move forward with this and that's the ambition."

The talks were held against a backdrop of flaring tension between big powers and North Korea, which like Iran is defying international demands to curb its nuclear programme. But unlike North Korea, which has carried out three nuclear tests since 2006, Iran says its nuclear energy activity is entirely peaceful.Hmmmmm.......North Koreans among 40 dead at Iran nuke plant......“engineering team from the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the Iranian organization that developed the Shehab-3 ballistic missile in North korea” Peaceful indeed. Read the full story here.

Obama's BFF Erdoğan will go to Gaza, but how?

Obama's BFF Erdoğan will go to Gaza, but how?(HD).By Murat Yetkin.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s second visit to Turkey in almost one month seems to be focusing on the Middle East Peace process. Especially after the Israeli apology to Turkey, made possible by the U.S., the White House believes that Turkey should be included back in the peace process alongside Egypt, but with a more active role considering its apparently persuasive influence over the Hamas regime in Gaza.

After accepting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology for the killing of nine Turks on their way to Gaza in 2010, thanks to the personal mediation of U.S. President Barack Obama, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan has added a Gaza visit to his travel plans, in order to make the point that Turkey will not allow the Palestinians to live in isolation.

It will certainly be flattering for Khaled Meshaal, the re-elected leader of Hamas, to host Erdoğan there. But it will possibly be not so pleasant for Mahmoud Abbas, as the Fatah President of the Palestinian state divided into two between Gaza and Ramallah, the West Bank. Right after the apology, a Jerusalem Post story quoted an unnamed Palestinian official in Ramallah saying that Fatah would not be happy about a visit by Erdoğan to Gaza only. The story was denied by the Palestinian Embassy in Ankara, but the point was taken.

During the recent Arab League summit in Doha on March 26-27, Abbas casually asked a question to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu about whether Erdoğan would visit Gaza, and if so, when. Davutoğlu’s reply was that no study had yet been done to clarify that, according to diplomatic sources talking to HDN. That still holds as of Friday, April 5. It is clear that Erdoğan wants to go to Gaza, and he wants to go there preferably in the second half of April or in the first half of May, before he goes to visit Obama on May 16. In the mean time, there is Erdoğan’s U.S. visit, which itself may be further complicated by Armenian initiatives in Congress, as in every April.

And there are also geographical restrictions. If Erdoğan would like to go to Gaza, without touching Israeli soil, there are only two ways: 

One is the Mavi Marmara route, the sea way, which is not likely.

The other is the Refah border gate between Gaza and Egypt, taking the example of the Arab League that visited Gaza in November 2012; Erdoğan would then have to go to Egypt first. If he wants to include Ramallah in his visit, the option would be to travel through Israeli territory. 
A third option would be to visit Israel and both Palestinian territories together. That would be the easiest route, using Ben Gurion Airport as the terminal.

This option could be the most favorable, not only for the U.S., but for the Palestinians and the Israelis as well. It will be interesting diplomacy to watch. Read the full story here.

Iran lines up behind North Korea, warns the US of “great losses”, Kerry talking with Palestine.

Iran lines up behind North Korea, warns the US of “great losses”, Kerry talking with Palestine.(Debka).Tehran’s intercession in the Korean crisis on the side of its ally in Pyongyang was predictable, even though the US preferrs to ignore the close interrelations between the two allies. And so, on Friday, April 5, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri stepped forward to point the finger at Washington:

[“The presence of the Americans in [South] Korea has been the root cause of tensions in this sensitive region in the past and present. The US and its allies will suffer great losses if a war breaks out in this region,” he said, adding for good measure: “Independent countries will not submit to the US mischief. The time for Washington’s bullying and extortion is long past.”

DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources: The second part of the statement was a perfect fit for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s flat refusal to accept US demands on Iran’s nuclear program. The Korean crisis gave the Iranians the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

As Kim Jong-Un moved two intermediate missiles to the east coast of North Korea, Gen. Jazayeri’s rhetoric landed on the latest round of talks the six powers were holding with Iran in Amaty, Kazhakstan for a diplomatic resolution of Iran’s nuclear challenge.

Washington hoped to spread some cheer over a diplomatic process that had long past proven futile by planting advance reports that Khamenei had ordered a slowdown of Iran’s nuclear program up to the June presidential election to avoid crossing a red line that would trigger a military response.

But when the parties came to the table, Iran’s senior negotiator Saeed Jalili refused outright to respond to the proposals put before Tehran in the previous session. He seemed to have taken his cue from Kim Jong-Un, who too has stuck to his father’s rejectionism in the face of every American proposal for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program.

DEBKAfile: The inevitable convergence of the Korean and Iranian crises confronts America’s three top officials, President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, with their most challenging international test. 

Kerry would be well advised to take a break from his Sisyphean efforts to crack the latest of umpteen Israel-Palestinian disputes, call off his weekend appointments with Israeli and Palestinians leaders and instead fly to Moscow and Beijing.
There, he could start bargaining with Russian and Chinese rulers for preliminary understandings with Washington on Iran and Syria that would make it worth their while to use their leverage for bringing the out-of-control North Korean firebrand to heel. So long as the Obama administration sticks to its current separate policies on Syria and Iran, Iran and Korea, Moscow and Beijing won’t lift a finger to apply the brakes to Kim Jong-Un before he drives the world to catastrophe.Hmmm......Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred....... Their's not to make reply, Their's not to reason why, Their's but to do and die.Read the full story here.

Russian bomber conducts practice strikes on U.S. missile defenses in Asia.

Russian bomber conducts practice strikes on U.S. missile defenses in Asia.(WT).
A Russian bomber recently carried out simulated cruise missile attacks on U.S. missile defenses in Asia, raising new questions about Moscow’s goal in future U.S.-Russian defense talks.

According to U.S. officials, a Russian Tu-22M Backfire bomber on Feb. 26 simulated firing air-launched cruise missiles at an Aegis ship deployed near Japan as part of U.S. missile defenses.

A second mock attack was conducted Feb. 27 against a ground-based missile defense site in Japan that officials did not identify further.
The Pentagon operates an X-band missile defense radar on the northern tip of Japan that is designed to monitor North Korean missile launches and transmit the data to missile-firing ships.
The bomber targeting comes as Russia is building up forces in the Pacific by modernizing submarines and building a spy ship specifically for intelligence-gathering against U.S. missile defenses.
Officials said it was not clear why the Russians conducted the practice strikes. However, the simulations may indicate Moscow has targeted its offensive ballistic missiles on Japan or U.S. military bases in the region.
U.S. missile defenses in Asia currently are at a heightened alert status as a result of tensions with North Korea. The communist state has threatened to conduct nuclear missile attacks on the United States and South Korea.
The incidents were detected by U.S. intelligence-gathering systems in the region and reported recently inside the Pentagon.Read the full story here.

US Secretly Deploys B-1 Strategic Bombers, E-6 "Doomsday" Planes Near North Korea.

US Secretly Deploys B-1 Strategic Bombers, E-6 "Doomsday" Planes Near North Korea.HT: Zerohedge. First the US fanfared the placement of two F-22 Raptors in the Osan airbase of South Korea. Then it demonstratively launched a B-2 stealth bomber on a training mission over a South Korean gunnery range. Then it deployed an anti-ballistic missile defense system to Guam and positioned two guided-missile destroyers in the waters near Korea.

And now, courtesy of the Aviationist, we learn that the Pentagon has escalated once more in an ongoing cat and mouse game with North Korea, of who blinks first, and dispatched several B-1 ("Bone") Lancer strategic long-range bombers to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

What is different this time, however, is that unlike the previous very public and widely trumpeted reciprocal escalation steps, this particular deployment has been kept secret from the public (at least the broader public), "a fact that could be the sign that the U.S. is not only making symbolic moves (as the above mentioned ones), but it is preparing for the worst scenario: an attack on North Korea."

How has the Aviationist learned this?

From his station in Amarillo, Texas, author, investigative journalist, technologies expert Steve Douglass heard something interesting. In a message he sent us on Facebook he said:

“Late last night I monitored “DARK flight of seven” on PRIME (311.000 MHZ STRATCOM PRIMARY) asking for current weather for UAM [airport code for Guam - Andersen Air Force Base]. On the frequency of 251.100 Mhz,DARK flight also was calling for “GASSR 11 and GASSR 12? (KC-135s) for “Tanker drag to BAB [Beale AFB, California]“.

“Dark” is the standard radio callsign for the 7th Bomb Wing’s B-1s based at Dyess AFB, near Abilene, Texas.

Even if U.S. bombers routinely deploy to Guam (where at least two B-2s are reportedly already based), the fact that seven “Bones” were apparently moving together is something a bit unusual, even if they were not going to Andersen AFB (they might need the weather report for UAM because it was an alternate airfield or simply a stopover on their way to somewhere else).

Actually, it’s also weird that some many big bombers were flying together (as the “flight of seven” heard by Douglass seems to suggest) since a standard ferry flight of multiple planes would normally see the aircraft move individually. And, another strange thing is that the pilot talked about their destination in the clear: if they wanted it to be secret, they would speak on secure radios.

Nevertheless, this might have been a non-standard deployment; a move ordered hours after U.S. satellites and spyplanes from South Korea and Japan had spotted North Korean missiles being readied for launch. What is even more curious is that instead of merely serving as very expensive deterrence props, the squadron has a very offensive role, and is preparing for attack:

Earlier [Douglass] had intercepted an interesting communication off a military satellite in which an Ellsworth AFB’s B-1B, call sign “Slam 1?, was training to hit a “missile facility” in Snyder, Texas.

A practice run for a mission in the DPRK with a school bus depot standing in for the real thing?

Maybe.

American B-1 bomber pilots have reportedly shifted their training programs, focusing on in East Asia, more than Afghanistan and the Middle East. And, above all, any training mission has many similarities with actual sorties that would be flown against a real enemy in combat.

Anyway, Douglass has recorded an audio snippet of the exercise (available here). Based on the coordinates for Snyder, Texas here‘s the target on Google Maps.

Finally, and most disturbing, is that another aircraft also in the process of deployment is none other than the E-6 Mercury "Doomsday" plane, which are among the pinnacle in US Airforce nuclear war preparedness, tasked with "providing command and control of U.S. nuclear forces should ground-based control become inoperable" and whose core functions include conveying instructions from the National Command Authority to fleet ballistic missile submarines and also to further command post capabilities and control of land-based missiles and nuclear-armed bombers.

You can read more about the military air activity recently monitored by Steve Douglass in an extremely interesting article he posted on his blog that not only summarize the contents of the messages he sent to The Aviationist, but provides some more details about the alleged overseas deployment of E-6 Mercury “doomsday” planes from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma.

Perhaps to Kim Jong-un the military escalation to nuclear war is only one big joke, but to the US it is increasingly appearing very serious. And perhaps this is precisely what the Pentagon wanted all along?Hmmmm......Why present a budget if you can start WW III and declare Martial law?Read the full story here.

'I'm Not A Dictator' Obama Claims That Government Tyranny is Impossible, Because “Government is Us”.

'I'm Not A Dictator' Obama Claims That Government Tyranny is Impossible, Because “Government is Us”.(Breitbart).By Ben Shapiro.In his big pitch in Colorado on Wednesday for further gun control, President Obama made an astonishing statement about gun rights advocates’ fears of governmental gun seizures. He said that such worries would just feed “into fears about government. You hear some of these folks: ‘I need a gun to protect myself from the government. We can’t do background checks because the government’s going to come take my guns away.’ The government’s us. These officials are elected by you … I am constrained as they are constrained by the system that our founders put in place.”

There are two odd angles to this statement. The first is Obama’s overarching theme: government violation of rights is impossible because “the government is us,” and we can’t violate our own rights. 
Were this true, we could do away with the Constitution altogether. We would also never have to worry about democracies turning tyrannical, or electing tyrannical rulers. In this odd vision, Germany, Italy, and Spain remained liberal democracies throughout the twentieth century, World War II never happened, and Egypt, the Gaza Strip, and Turkey are all thriving centers of freedom.

The government is most assuredly not us – at least not all of us – which is why our system of government is designed to protect the rights of minorities while still allowing majorities to legislate without violating those rights. Obama’s defense to charges of incipient tyranny is that tyranny can never happen here. Which, of course, makes it more likely that tyranny will happen here.Hmmmm......Obama Blames “Founding Fathers” For Making It Difficult For Him To “Bring Change”But..."I will keep plotting" Read the full story here.

Overnight Music Video - Ella Elle L'a - France Gall.

UNRWA suspends Gaza distribution after Palestinian demonstrators angered by aid cutbacks storm headquarters.

UNRWA suspends Gaza distribution after Palestinian demonstrators angered by aid cutbacks storm headquarters.(Ynet).The main UN humanitarian agency for Palestinians said on Thursday it was suspending operations in the Gaza Strip after demonstrators angered by aid cutbacks stormed its headquarters.

Some 800,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of Gaza's population, depend on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the shuttering could exacerbate hardship caused by Israeli and Egyptian controls on the isolated enclave's borders. Citing budget shortfalls, UNRWA said it had suspended some of its cash handouts and that this provoked violent protests this week, culminating in Thursday's breach of its Gaza headquarters.

"What happened today was completely unacceptable: the situation could very easily have resulted in serious injuries to UNRWA staff and to the demonstrators. This escalation, apparently pre-planned, was unwarranted and unprecedented," Robert Turner, head of the agency's Gaza operations.

"All relief and distribution centers will consequently remain closed until guarantees are given by all relevant groups that UNRWA operations can continue unhindered," he said in a statement.

Gaza security officials had no immediate comment. Turner said that despite the trimming of cash disbursements, UNRWA's food distribution in Gaza "will continue unchanged".Hmmmm.....The more money they receive the lower their GDP.......go figure.Read the full story here.

'Israel's Staunchest Ally' - White House Scraps Jewish Heritage Month Reception.

'Israel's Staunchest Ally' - White House Scraps Jewish Heritage Month Reception.HT: WhitehousDossier.By Keith Koffler.

The White House is picking winners and losers as it cuts back because of the sequester, and a planned reception for American Jews is getting the short end of the stick.

Many other events are proceeding as planned, but according to the Jewish news service JTA, the annual White House celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month is canceled.
“Jewish invitees usually include luminaries in the arts, sports and sciences, lawmakers, armed services personnel and the Israeli ambassador, as well as organizational leaders and political supporters of the president,” according to JTA.
The sequester cuts kicked in March 1, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from staging a variety of fun events marking all sorts of occasions.
The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day last month included an East Room bash with hundreds of guests and a separate breakfast party at the vice president’s residence.
Tuesday, the Obamas took in an exclusive viewing in the White House theater of the movie “42,” which chronicles the life of Jackie Robinson, with the film’s cast and crew. Earlier, in the day, Michelle hosted a “42 Film Workshop” for kids in the State Dining Room that featured Harrison Ford.
Obama even got in a reception for the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings and major league soccer champs LA Galaxy on March 26. And there’s money around to transport him to the golf links, where he traveled by motorcade last weekend.
Next Tuesday, the Obamas will be treated to a command East Room performance “celebrating” Memphis soul music, with performances by stars like Justin Timberlake and Queen Latifah.
Deciding what to cancel could become problematic for the White House, as various groups begin to despair at not getting coveted presidential treatment.
For example, next month also traditionally includes a White House celebration of Cinco de Mayo. But it would seem doubtful Obama would nix that event, given the fierce competition for Hispanic voters.Hmmm....."Israel's Staunchest Ally"?Read the full story here.

'New Axes Of Evil' - North Korea and Iran are both caught moving weapons; Israel shores up its cyber defenses.

'New Axes Of Evil' - North Korea and Iran are both caught moving weapons; Israel shores up its cyber defenses.(TOI).The Friday front page of Haaretz focuses on North Korea and how the rogue nation stole the spotlight this week from Iran’s nuclear talks with the US. The paper also includes a profile of Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, which includes recent highlights from his regime, including a marriage, a nuclear test, and a visit from former NBA star Dennis Rodman.
Haaretz also includes a short article about American sources stating that North Korea has moved missiles and could be preparing a launch.

That movement of missiles may not have raised alarm bells at Haaretz, but it is the top story over at Israel Hayom – “At the push of a button,” reads the article headline. The paper includes an opinion piece by Boaz Bismuth, who tries to explain the recent rise in tensions on the Korean peninsula. “What North Korea really wants is recognition, not war,” Bismuth writes. He goes on to state that the balance of power between North Korea and the United States is laughable, but the Americans aren’t laughing, partly because they don’t have a clear intelligence picture on the country. He writes that North Korea is using the nuclear option to ensure the survival of the regime, just like Iran.

Carl in Jerusalem brings us the following story: Israel preparing for cyber attack!

The attack is set for Sunday, April 7 — coincidentally, or perhaps not, the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel. Computer system administrators and security experts have been shoring up network defenses, changing passwords, and ensuring that they have the Internet bandwidth to withstand an attack.

In their latest screed, the hackers behind the newest incarnation of #OpIsrael, the ongoing attempt to “wipe Israel off the map of the Internet,” appealed for unity in the hacker community, which needed to come together to attack Israel. “We can’t be consumed by our petty differences any more,” said the message, posted on hacker-friendly websites. “We will be united in our common interest. We will once again be fighting for freedom.” In a theatrical flourish (using a quote from the 1996 film “Independence Day,” which portrayed mankind fighting off a Martian invasion), the hackers state: “’We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on, we’re going to survive.”

While the attacks are aimed at government, bank, academic, and business websites (the hackers have published extensive lists of their targets), ordinary Israelis should take precautions as well — just in case, said the Israel Internet Association (ISOC), which is taking the threat so seriously that it will be operating a hotline (03-9700911) for people to report attacks, and will update its website throughout the day with status reports about what is going on in cyberspace.Hmmm.......Unknown to them, they are heading for eternal judgment, they think they are coming to make war against God, but they are being gathered for judgment. ~ Isaiah 13:6-8. Read the full story here and here.

North Korea 'asks' Russia to consider evacuating embassy staff.

North Korea 'asks' Russia to consider evacuating embassy staff.(Yahoo).MOSCOW (Reuters) - North Korea asked Russia on Friday to consider evacuating staff from its embassy in Pyongyang because of increasing tension on the Korean peninsula, a spokesman for the embassy said by phone from Pyongyang.

Denis Samsonov said Russia was examining the request but was not planning an evacuation at this stage, and there were no outward signs of increased tension in the North Korean capital itself.

He said other foreign embassies had received similar requests.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry representative "proposed that the Russian side consider the issue of the evacuation of employees in connection with the increasingly tense situation", Samsonov said.

North Korea has said nuclear conflict could break out at any time on the Korean peninsula, in a month-long war of words that has prompted the United States to move military assets into the region.

According to South Korean media, North Korea has placed two of its intermediate-range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them on the east coast of the country, in a move that could threaten Japan or U.S. Pacific bases.Read the full story here.

Related: North Korea Tells Countries To Evacuate Their Embassies By April 10th

Western official: "Iran yet to give 'concrete response' to nuclear offer," Iran claims it did offer new proposal.

Western official: "Iran yet to give 'concrete response' to nuclear offer," Iran claims it did offer new proposal.(HD).Iran has yet to give a clear response to a proposal from world powers for ending the decade-long dispute over its nuclear programme, Western officials said on Friday after a first round of talks in Almaty.

"There has not yet been a clear and concrete response to the E3+3 Almaty I proposal" that the powers made at the last nuclear negotiations at the same venue in February, a Western official said in a statement to AFP also backed by a second source.

"Their presentation was pretty much a repetition of what they put forward in Moscow ( at talks last year). There were some not fully explained general comments on our ideas," said the official, who requested not to be named.

"We have insisted that at this afternoon's plenary at 4:45 pm (1045 GMT) that they respond in the kind of detail that will enable us to make progress," the Western official said.

[…]

"This morning, Dr. Jalili (Iran's chief negotiator) presented the opposite side with Iran's specific proposals for the start of a new round of cooperation between the G5+1 and Iran," Jalili's deputy, Ali Baqeri, told reporters in a press conference in Almaty on Friday.

"These proposals have been regulated within the framework of Iran's overall plan presented in Moscow," added Baqeri, who is an Undersecretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the second man in the Iranian team of negotiators.

"On the very same basis, the proposal that Jalili offered to the representatives of the G5+1 countries this morning presented a specific framework to the opposite side," the Iranian negotiator added.

According to Baqeri the talks will continue this afternoon and, if necessary, tomorrow in a bid to provide both sides with an opportunity to exchange their views to pave the ground for cooperation.

Baqeri had also on Thursday informed the media that the Islamic Republic would enter the new round of talks with the G5+1 group with clear, groundbreaking proposals. Hmmmmm.....Iran: Tehran has offered the six world powers a set of specific proposals for the start of a new round of cooperation. So Who's LYING?Read the full story here, more here.

Updated: More here.

Two Canadian Scientists Charged with Smuggling Dangerous and Highly Contagious Pathogens to China.

Two Canadian Scientists Charged with Smuggling Dangerous and Highly Contagious Pathogens to China.(CTV).Canadian federal police on Wednesday charged two former government scientists with allegedly trafficking in dangerous and highly contagious germs.

Klaus Nielsen and Wei Ling Yu, former researchers at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), are accused of attempting to export harmful pathogens that could infect humans and livestock to China.

Last October 24, RCMP and Ottawa police intercepted Nielsen, a well-respected scientist, on his way to the Ottawa airport. Officers found 17 vials of pathogens in Nielsen’s possession that “he was attempting to export in an unsafe manner.

“These vials were analyzed by the PHAC and found to contain live brucella bacteria that can infect livestock and humans.”

University of Guelph Prof. Keith Warriner said humans who come in contact with the bacteria can develop flu-like symptoms “that go on and on for months and months.”

Warriner told CTV’s Power Play Wednesday that brucella is what is known as a select agent, because it is “very nasty” and highly contagious.

“What the brucella was going to be used for is anyone’s guess,” Warriner said. “Certainly it’s a select agent that’s been put out there as a high risk. So what somebody was doing with 17 vials in an airport or in their own home is alarming.”

It mostly affects cattle, deer and horses, but can also be passed on to humans and cause flu-like symptoms. There is no vaccine and the only way to control its spread is to cull animals suspected of being infected.

Nielsen was reportedly praised in 2006 for helping to develop a quick test for detecting brucellosis in cattle.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said he and Yu were allegedly making “unlawful efforts to commercialize (the) intellectual property belonging to the CFIA and a private commercial partner.”

US company Diachemix currently manufactures and licenses the test.Read the full story and more here.

Video - Hyeonseo Lee: My escape from North Korea.

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Turkish Minister of Development Asks for Closer Trade Ties with Iran.

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Turkish Minister of Development Asks for Closer Trade Ties with Iran.(Fars).Turkey's Minister of Development Cevdet Yilmaz voiced Ankara's willingness to boost trade and economic relations with Tehran, and called for stronger efforts by both sides' officials to expand economic and trade ties between the two neighboring nations. The Turkish Minister of Development made the remarks in a meeting with Tehran's Ambassador to Ankara Alireza Bigdeli.

Yilmaz called on the two countries' officials to do their best to increase the trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey.

Meantime, he noted that the value of Iran-Turkey annual trade exchanges should be increased to $35 billion.

Bigdeli, for his part, underlined the need for expansion economic and trade ties between Iran and Turkey.

Iran and Turkey have recently expanded their bilateral relations, especially in trade and energy fields. Trade between Turkey and Iran has risen sharply over the past decade.

Iran-Turkey trade value exceeded $22bln in 2012.

Also, Turkey was Iran's fifth-largest oil customer in 2011, buying around 200,000 barrels per day, 30 percent of its total imports and more than 7 percent of Iran's oil exports.

The two countries officials stressed the necessity for stronger relations and pursuing the planned increase of mutual trade to $30bln by 2015. Hmmmm......US Congres?.....Sanctions?What sanctions?We're Obama's BFF.Read the full story here.

Don’t Misunderstand Khamenei’s Nuclear Fatwa.

Don’t Misunderstand Khamenei’s Nuclear Fatwa.HT:Arms Control and Regional Security. By Ariane Tabatabai.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reiterated a number of times that the use of nuclear weapons is prohibited under Islamic law. One declaration in particular has received a lot of attention and has become known as the fatwa (a fatwa is a religious edict, which is traditionally issued by a mujtahid - a Shiite scholar who is competent to interpret sharia - to provide an answer to a religious question).

Khamenei’s fatwa prohibiting ‘nuclear weapons’ has once again gained international attention as various Iranian officials are pushing for it to become an ‘international document.’ The former spokesman for Iran’s nuclear negotiators, Seid Hossein Mousavian, currently a research scholar at Princeton and viewed by Westerners as a moderate voice on nuclear issues, has adopted the fatwa discussion as his leitmotif, calling for it to be taken ’seriously’.

There are several issues with the ‘fatwa‘ itself, its wordings, its binding nature, its date of issuance, in addition to questions arising from giving a key role to a religious edict that could have direct implications on the ongoing international negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

First, the Iranian authorities have never presented the text of this ‘crucial’ document and the term fatwa is in fact only used by other parties (including the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its nuclear negotiators, and U.S. officials) and never by the Ayatollah himself. 

The Supreme Leader’s website, which is extremely comprehensive and includes the texts of all of his teachings, statements, and speeches, has not uploaded this piece, which is referred by others as the ultimate rule regarding the nuclear issue by Iranian officials.
If this decree is indeed the key legal document regarding the most important issue in the country’s foreign policy, as it is claimed, then the fact that its exact wordings or date of issuance has not been disclosed (and does not seem to be known by the authorities) is peculiar.

Second, if such a fatwa exists, its scope has seemed to change overtime.

The most relevant statement by the Supreme Leader that could be considered as the fatwa, stipulates:

According to our faith, in addition to nuclear weapons, other kinds of WMD, such as chemical and biological weapons also constitute a serious threat to humanity. The Iranian nation, which is a victim of the use of chemical weapons itself, feels the danger of the production and stockpiling of such weapons and is ready to employ all its means to counter them. We consider the use [کاربرد] of these weapons as haram [prohibited under Islamic law], and the attempt to immunize human kind from this great disaster the responsibility of all.

According to the Iranian 2005 Communication to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the wording of the fatwa was as follows: ‘the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam.’

Yet, in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei message, which was read at the opening of the International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation in 2010 , the Supreme Leader’s explicit prohibition has merely encompassed the ‘use’ of these weapons.
Recent statements, by the Ayatollah himself, merely highlight a ban of the use, with philosophical and ethical discussion about the production and stockpiling of these weapons, rather than a concrete prohibition. The possession is not mentioned in his statements, leaving a grey area in what is the key issue in Iran’s nuclear debate.
The fact that the only concrete line is drawn for the ‘use’ of these weapons raises a question regarding the stance of the Supreme Leader on nuclear deterrence. Indeed, he has made it clear that he does not believe the ‘possession’ of weapons of mass destruction is in the interest of the country and raises ethical and philosophical issues with these weapons. Yet, he falls short of taking a clear legal position on the production and possession of these weapons, which may hint at his wish to.
This narrowing of the scope of this prohibition was later limited to the ‘use’ of such weapons, creating some confusion in the West, mainly due to inaccurate translations, which did not highlight this shift in the leadership’s discourse. Hence, if a fatwa was, infact, issued by Khamenei, it no longer seems to reflect his current stance on the issue.

Third, there are also a number of pending questions regarding the significance of the fatwa itself. 

Mousavian argues: ’[t]he validity of the fatwa should not be underestimated. Because of the strong bond between religion and politics in Iran, the supreme leader’s religious fatwas carry both legislative and religious importance.’
This is not the case. Whether or not the Supreme Leader can even issue such a decree is debatable, as he is not a marja in the traditional sense, but rather a member of the Shiite clergy, who has received much of his authority not from his religious education and status but from his political power. It is important to note that until his presidency in 1981, Khamenei was merely a hojjat al-Islam and has, until now, not received the approval of any major marja. 
In fact, the requirement set by the first Constitution of the Islamic Republic, according to which, the Supreme Leader needed to be a marja was removed in the second version of it, as the founder of the regime, Ayatollah Khomeini, knew well that otherwise no one would be able to succeed to him, as among his followers were no prominent religious authorities.
For this reason, an institution was established under the Islamic Republic, called shora-ye fatwa or the Fatwa Council is in charge of issuing fatawa. Hence, the Supreme Leader’s fatawa (plural of fatwa) only have a political and ideological weight and no religious grounds. one.

Fourth, despite the growing consensus built around the fatwa being the key to solving the nature of the Iranian nuclear program among the various Iranian officials and former officials, there is no information regarding the date it was issued.

Some sources cite a fatwa dating to 2003, while according to Hassan Rouhani, his ‘first negotiation with the European ministers was on December 13, 2004, a month after the fatwa.’ Yet, the country’s Foreign Minister, Aliakbar Salehi, states in his 2012 opinion piece that ‘[a]lmost seven years ago, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a binding commitment. He issued a religious edict - a fatwa - forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons.’ This would mean sometime in 2005.

Fifth, a fatwa is not an absolute and irreversible rule.

Furthermore, the idea of maslahat-e nezam, the rough equivalent of Raison d’Etat in the Islamic Republic’s Shiite political ideology (the notion in its modern, abstract form does not exist in the Islamic tradition), enables the Supreme Leader to overrule any religious rule, including temporary suspension of explicit Qur’anic prescriptions - even in the cases of the foundations of the faith - in order to safeguard the regime, let alone fatawa.
Indeed, the Supreme Leader’s ultimate goal is to preserve the Islamic state and the notion of maslahat-e nezam provides him the tool to do so.

It was with this idea in mind that the founder of the regime, Ayatollah Khomeini, had formulated this notion: the preservation, at all costs, of the Islamic state. In other words, should Iran be attacked, threatening the Islamic Republic, it could resort to not only producing but also using nuclear weapons.

Sixth, the fatwa seems to have been created to convince a western audience of Iran’s peaceful intentions, rather than a domestic one.

This is why the fatwa is hyped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former officials in the west, while it has remained virtually absent in domestic debates in Iran. Indeed, while the Supreme Leader, Ahmadinejad, and other officials address various aspects of the Iranian nuclear program (including national pride and technological progress) at length in their speeches, they do not put as much emphasis on the legal issue. The Supreme Leader has addressed it in passing but the fatwa discourse has never been a central element of any of his speeches regarding the nuclear program for several reasons. First, after the 2009 presidential elections and the subsequent wave of protest and unrest, many in the country began to question the regime’s true commitment to Islamic law. Indeed, many Iranians saw the actions perpetrated by the regime, including alleged rape, torture, and killing of members of the opposition, as against the faith. Hence, many believe that the regime will do whatever it takes to survive, regardless of its ethical and religious implications. Second, with the backbreaking sanctions increasingly affecting the population, the main problem for Iranians is not whether their nuclear endeavors are military or civilian in nature and are scarcely preoccupied with its accordance with Islamic law. Rather, the main issue is how the international community perceived it and the implications of this perception for the country. The west, however, in an attempt to take steps toward Iran, and to find a common ground with the Islamic Republic, has acknowledged the fatwa, which has inspired the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former officials to shape the nuclear discourse around it to a great extent.
The Iranian campaign for the international community to take the fatwa seriously is based on the Islamic Republic’s ideology and strategy: the portrayal of international law and the will of the international community as that of few ‘arrogant’ and ‘imperialist’ powers that need to be overcome.
International law and institutions are often depicted by the Islamic Republic as obstacles to overcome, rather than means of promoting international peace and security. Therefore, the fatwa is an extension of this worldview, a way of defying the international community and undermining its will and norms.
In the words of Hassan Rouhani, ‘[t]his fatwa is more important to us than the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] and its Additional Protocol, more important than any other law.’
Iran’s invocation of its religious stance to justify its compliance with international law is similar to a private citizen invoking his faith in court to support of his case. Indeed, as one’s faith cannot constitute evidence of one’s guilt or innocence, a state actor’s official religion cannot be seen as viable evidence supporting its claim to compliance with its international obligations. Additionally, a private citizen’s case cannot be supported by a religious decree as evidence of his good will in court. Likewise, a state actor’s good will cannot be measured with such a decree, may it be issued by a town cleric or its highest political power.

Some current and former Iranian officials have tried to give an international dimension to the fatwa. For instance, in January 2013, Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairssuggested the country was ‘ready for this fatwa being registered as an international document.’
This statement made ahead of the meeting between the IAEA and Tehran showed once again the country’s bizarre attitude toward international law and institutions such as the IAEA. It shows that Iran’s leaders expect the international community to take steps toward them rather than the opposite, and, rather than prove their compliance with international law, find it easier to create their own norms. This attitude toward international law and institutions indicates that the leadership is less than ready to accept and implement said law and cooperate with said institutions. International law is supposed to take precedence over domestic laws, yet a statement, which has not even been adopted as a piece of domestic legislation, is considered as superior by Iranian diplomats. To some extent, it demonstrates Iran’s lack of commitment to its international obligations and should Khamenei decide to take the extra step and weaponize, this decision would take precedence over the NPT.
Ariane Tabatabai is a Ph.D. candidate at King’s College, London, researching nuclear proliferation. She specializes in Iran and the ongoing nuclear negotiations with the P5+1. 


Related: Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran does not need atomic bomb

Hmmmm......Perhaps you have heard of taqiyya, the Muslim doctrine that allows lying in certain circumstances -- primarily when Muslim minorities live under infidel authority. Now meet tawriya, a doctrine that allows lying in virtually all circumstances—including to fellow Muslims and by swearing to Allah—provided the liar is creative enough to articulate his deceit in a way that is "technically" true.

Deceit and lying may be far more ingrained in the culture than previously thought.
The authoritative Hans Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary defines tawriya as, "hiding, concealment; dissemblance, dissimulation, hypocrisy; equivocation, ambiguity, double-entendre, allusion." Conjugates of the trilateral root of the word, w-r-y, appear in the Quran in the context of hiding or concealing something (e.g., 5:31, 7:26).
As a doctrine, "double-entendre" best describes tawriya's function. According to past and present Muslim scholars, several documented below, tawriya occurs when a speaker says something that means one thing to the listener, although the speaker means something else, and his words technically support this alternate meaning.
For example, if someone declares "I don't have a penny in my pocket," most listeners will assume the speaker has no money on him—although he might have dollar bills, just literally no pennies.
This ruse is considered legitimate according to Sharia law; it does not constitute "lying," which in Islam is otherwise forbidden, except in three cases: lying in war, lying to one's spouse, and lying in order to reconcile people. For these exceptions, Sharia permits Muslims to lie freely, without the strictures of tawriya, that is, without the need for creativity.
As for all other instances, in the words of Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Munajid (based on scholarly consensus): "Tawriya is permissible under two conditions: 1) that the words used fit the hidden meaning; 2) that it does not lead to an injustice" ("injustice" as defined by Islamic law, which mandates any number of things -- such as executing apostates, subjugating non-Muslims, pedophilia, amputating limbs for theft, stoning for alleged adultery, death for homosexuality, and so on—that are by Western standards, considered total injustices). Otherwise, it is permissible for a Muslim even to swear when lying through tawriya. Munajid, for example, cites a man who swears to Allah that he can only sleep under a roof (saqf); when the man is caught sleeping atop a roof, he exonerates himself by saying "by roof, I meant the open sky." This is legitimate. "After all," Munajid adds, "Quran 21:32 refers to the sky as a roof [saqf]."More here examples here.

Related:  World Powers Accept Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa against N. Weapons as Criteria, please inform Pakistan.

Iran - Fatwa against nuclear weapons political milestone

Iran says Khamenei’s ban of nuclear weapons binding

Hmmm.......Fatwas are issued in response to specific circumstances and can be altered in response to changing conditions. Ayatollah Khomeini modified his position on a number of issues during his lifetime—for instance, on taxes, military conscription, women’s suffrage, and monarchy as a form of government. Thus nothing would prevent Khamenei from modifying or supplanting his nuclear fatwa should circumstances dictate a change in policy.
Shiite tradition permits deception and dissimulation in matters of life and death, and when such tactics serve the interests of the Islamic umma (community).The context surrounding the original, rather expansive, nuclear fatwa and subsequent formulations that only prohibit the use of nuclear weapons demonstrates an important point: fatwas arise in response to specific circumstances and can be amended or reversed as circumstances change. Khamenei’s original fatwa was probably issued to deflect international pressure following the revelations regarding the Natanz centrifuge enrichment plant, and in response to concerns that after invading Iraq, the United States might invade Iran. Fatwas are not immutable, and no religious principle would prevent Khamenei from modifying or supplanting his initial fatwa if circumstances were to change.

Was the Late Christopher Stevens in Benghazi Trying to Get His Hands on Gadaffi's MANPADS?

Was the Late Christopher Stevens in Benghazi Trying to Get His Hands on Gadaffi's MANPADS?HT: BarryRuben.

Let’s begin with Syria. As U.S. officials became increasingly worried about the visible Islamist domination of the Syrian opposition—which their own policies had helped promote—they have realized the horrible situation of creating still another radical Islamist regime. (Note: This column has been warning of this very point for years.)

So the response is to try to do two things. The first is to train, with Jordanian cooperation, a more moderate force of Free Syrian Army (FSA) units. The idea is to help the non-Islamists compete more effectively with the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafist, and especially al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra group) affiliated units.

The second is supposedly to create a buffer zone along Syria’s borders with Jordan and perhaps later Israel and even Iraq in order to avoid the conflict spilling over—i.e., cross-border jihad terror attacks—to those countries.

Why isn’t the United States working full-time to stop the arms flows to the Islamists by pressuring the Saudis and Qataris (perhaps the point of Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip but hardly effective) and to rein in Turkey’s enthusiasm for a Syrian Islamist regime?

Speaking of Turkey, now we see the reason for the attempted Israel-Turkey rapprochement, because on top of everything else there will be a Kurdish-ruled zone not run by moderates but by the Syrian affiliate of the radical PKK, which is at war with Turkey.

What does this have to do with Benghazi?

Read this paragraph from the Washington Post:

Obama administration officials have expressed repeated concern that some of about 20,000 of the weapons, called MANPADS, have made their way from the arsenals of former Libyan dictator Moammar (sic) Gaddafi to Syria.

This weapons system might be the most technologically impressive arms ever to fall into the hands of terrorists. Once Libya’s regime fell (another U.S. foreign policy production), these weapons were grabbed by the Libyan rebels and sold to the Saudis and Qataris, who supplied them, respectively, to the Syrian Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to reliable sources, Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was in Benghazi trying to get those MANPADS back and was negotiating with radical militias toward that goal. Stevens was doing something good—trying to take weapons out of the hands of terrorists—and not running weapons to terrorists.

Yet that doesn’t mitigate the mess unleashed by the administration’s policy. At any rate, Stevens and these efforts failed. The money was too good for the Libyan insurgents to pass up, not to mention helping fellow Islamists and anti-Americans. And now thousands of advanced, easily launched anti-aircraft systems are in the hands of anti-Jordanian, anti-Iraqi, anti-Israeli, and possibly anti-Turkish terrorists.

And just imagine the very real possibility of commercial passenger planes being shot at, or even shot down, by terrorists armed with a weapon they obtained because of U.S. government ineptitude or even involvement.Read the full story here.

North Korea moves second missile launcher to the coast.

North Korea moves second missile launcher to the coast.(Fox).North Korea has begun moving its mid-range missile launchers, possibly indicating a looming test as tensions are already boiling on the peninsula, U.S. officials told Fox News.

Reuters reported early Friday that North Korea has placed two of its intermediate range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them on the east coast of the country, citing a South Korean news agency.

South Korea said Thursday North Korea moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast after an unnamed spokesman for the North Korean army warned the U.S. Wednesday that its military has been cleared to wage an attack using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weapons.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin dismissed reports in the Japanese and South Korean media that the missile could be a KN-08, which is believed to be a long-range missile that if operable could hit the United States.

Kim told lawmakers at a hearing that the missile's range is considerable but not far enough to hit the U.S. mainland. He said he did not know the reasons behind the missile movement, saying it "could be for testing or drills."

The range he described could refer to a mobile North Korean missile known as the Musudan, which has a range of 1,800 miles. That would make Japan and South Korea potential targets, but little is known about the missile's accuracy.

In Pyongyang, the military statement said North Korean troops had been authorized to counter U.S. "aggression" with "powerful practical military counteractions," including nuclear weapons.

"We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means," an unnamed spokesman from the General Bureau of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by state media, referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The U.S. had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation."

However, North Korea's nuclear strike capabilities remain unclear. Read the full story here.

Video - Michelle Obama calls herself a ‘busy single mother’.

Hmmmm.....Michelle Obama, as [CFP] reported on July 7, is not served by twenty-two attendants who stand by to cater to her every whim.

She is served by twenty-six attendants, including a hair dresser and make-up artist.

The annual cost to taxpayers for such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000 without taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages afforded to every attendant.

Number of vacations: Michelle's ski trip marks 16 Obama vacations........"Busy Single mother" indeed, it's good to be Queen.

Overnight Music Video - I will follow him, Nun's Chorus.

Jewish Leaders Welcome French Move To Designate Hezbollah A Terrorist Organization.

Jewish Leaders Welcome French Move To Designate Hezbollah A Terrorist Organization.(Matzav).Jewish organizations around the world welcomed the French government’s decision to support the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization by the European Union. This follows the declaration by the Bulgarian government of Hezbollah’s responsibility for the attack in Burgas in July, 2012 and the conviction of a Hezbollah operative in Cyprus.

“During the Conference of Presidents Mission to France, we had extensive discussions about this issue with President Hollande, Prime Minister Ayrault, and Foreign Minister Fabius, and found them responsive to the arguments we put forward,” said Richard Stone, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“We hope that other European countries will now follow and join to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization which would impose restrictions on various dealings and transactions, in which Hezbollah is a party. Hezbollah’s involvement in terrorism around the world continues to increase, including in Syria and other parts of the Middle East.
The designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization by the European Union will send an important message about the determination of Europe to deal with terrorism seriously.”Read the full story here.

Video - Former Egyptian MB Member Al-Kharbawi: 'The MB Is a Fascist Group that Wants to Take Over Egypt.'

Video - North Korean sites hacked by Anonymous.

Video - North Korean sites hacked by Anonymous. HT: SunNewsNetwork.The notorious hacker collective Anonymous has taken credit for a number of successful attacks against North Korean websites.

The state-controlled news site Uriminzokkiri was offline as of Thursday morning. Its Twitter account was taken over, posting links to other North Korean sites that were taken offline, including Air Koryo, the country's airline.

Uriminzokkiri's Flickr page was filled with unofficial pictures Thursday, including one depicting leader Kim Jong-un as a pig, one that said "We are Anonymous," and images of the iconic Guy Fawkes mask that serves as the hacker group's logo.

According to North Korea Tech, a Japanese site that monitors the state of technology in the censorship-heavy dictatorship, Anonymous has claimed responsibility for the attacks and has posted a list of 9,000 registered Uriminzokkiri users.

Very few people in North Korea have access to the Internet. The attacks comes as the reclusive nation ramps up its nuclear production and threatens the U.S. and South Korea.Read the full story here.