"Global Warming" - Eskimo walrus harvest down 83% in Alaska village – Too much ice.

"Global Warming" - Eskimo walrus harvest down 83% in Alaska village – Too much ice.HT: IceAgeNow.

Residents scrambling to find alternate sources of food before winter sets in.
Gambell, Alaska – For as long as many here can remember, hunters in this tiny village on St. Lawrence Island have managed to kill enough walruses to last through the brutal Arctic winter. After harvesting only 108 walruses this year, residents are scrambling to find alternate sources of food before winter sets in.

Unusually thick ice in the Bering Sea.

“The ice was so bad we couldn’t get out,” said Brian Aningayou. The 38-year-old hunter bagged only four walruses compared with his normal take of 20.

See photos of Gambell:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303464504579109442504589158.html#slide/1

‘US anti-missile reshuffle, really, aimed at control over Arctic resources’.

‘US anti-missile reshuffle, really, aimed at control over Arctic resources’.(RT).The Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, said that development and funding problems have forced the US to give up a key part of its Eastern European missile defense plan.

The priority will now be given to efforts aimed at preventing a possible North Korean nuclear attack, which would require adding 14 new interceptors to the 26 already placed in Alaska.

Former intelligence officer for MI5, Annie Machon, believes that the North Korean threat is just as unrealistic for the US as the one from Iran, with control over natural resources once again being Washington’s true aim.

RT: The Pentagon will put 14 more missile interceptors in Alaska, which is a roughly a 50 per cent increase on the current number. It blames recent nuclear threats from North Korea. But is it really likely that Pyongyang would launch a strike?

Annie Machon: It would be suicidal if you were to do that.What we’re looking at – at this point – is North Korea being the‘useful idiot’, a pretext for America to defend a resource-rich part of the world. When I was in MI5, the one thing we were always taught in terms of assessing the threat from any sort of source or a country: one – do they have the capability; two – do they have the intention. Now, of course, North Korea has very loudly said that they have the intention to try and attack America, but certainly doesn’t have the capability at this point.

RT: Iran has been the main focus of US concern for years now, but has North Korea become enemy No.1 now?

AM: It has always been a puzzle as, of course, both countries featured on George W. Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’ list all those years ago. But North Korea has always been much more belligerent. I think Iran… and this is the assessment of the entire US intelligence community, which came out in the National Intelligence Estimate in 2007, which was – Iran stopped developing any sort of nuclear weapon capability in 2003. And this has been stood up time and time again since 2007.

So, we all know that Iran isn’t a real threat to America’s interests. We all know it’s not a threat to the West. And this fake shield they were trying to provide to Eastern Europe because they would be in range of any missiles Iran would be able to launch was just a fake ploy, I think. It was used as an excuse. So, it’s interesting now that the focus is moving to an overtly aggressive,but very small and incapable country away from Iran. I hope it’s not a feint to make people stop watching Iran, stop watching the US government’s lies trying to find as excuse to attack Iran.

RT: Washington's aborted plans to use Poland for its missile defense due to spending cuts and development issues. How do you see the future of the European missile defense shield?

AM: It’s true that America is effectively bankrupt as a country. And if they are beginning to cut military spending because they’ve militarily overreached – they’re in serious problems because that’s the one thing they’ve never cut before. And certainly in terms of what they’re doing in Europe, we have a situation where they are practically admitting that Iran isn’t at hreat to Eastern Europe. And that’s a problem. But the final point really on this one is looking at where the money goes when they’retrying to develop a ballistic missile defense system. It has yet to be proven to work. Nobody knows if it works, nobody can make it work yet. So, effectively, ever since Ronald Reagan announced ‘Star Wars’ way back in the 1990s, what we’ve seen that this is threat is used as a cash cow, which is milked by the defense industry.Particularly, Boeing, I believe, and Raytheon, who made billions out of making these fake defense shields.

RT: How do you think the Chinese new government will react to the US increasing its arms around the Pacific?

AM: Well, that’s going to be a very interesting question.It’s almost like North Korea is a patsy, used to put up this new missile defense in Alaska. And the key part is that there’s been this covert war to control the diminishing resources of the world,which is waged across continents – between, certainly, the US and China over the last decade. And what we’re looking at now is, I think, a very careful geopolitical strategy to control and put bases in Alaska because anyone, who has Alaska can control the Arctic area. And, as the arctic area melts more quickly, more countries are going to fight for the resource-rich area as the ice recedes. America, by having these defenses in Alaska, will be very well-placed to protect its economic interest in that area.Read the full story here.

Former Dem Alaska Senator Mike Gravel Asks US to Respect Ayatollah Khamenei as Shiite World's Influential Leader.

Former Dem Alaska Senator Mike Gravel Asks US to Respect Ayatollah Khamenei as Shiite World's Influential Leader. (Fars).A former US senator cautioned Washington and the West to change their attitude towards Iran and show respect for its leader, saying that Shiism with Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei as its influential global leader does not deserve such treatment.

The remarks were made by former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel in an interview with America's Foreign Policy magazine on February 22. "The sanctions are illegal. There's nothing that I see that Iran has done that warrants the sanctions against them. If you want to sanction somebody, do it to Saudi Arabia who has funded the madrasas with Wahhabism, hatred of the gentiles. That's not the approach of the Shiite. The Shiite is the more benign wing of the Islamic world, and the Ayatollah Khamenei, the imam, is the, literally the pope of all the Shiites in the world," Mike Gravel told the American Foreign Policy magazine.

He noted that the sanctions should not have been imposed on Iran in the first place, and said the US should take political lesson from Iran and the country's leader.

Meantime, Gravel who attended a conference in Tehran last month, which was organized by Iran and titled Hollywoodism, strongly criticized the Hollywood's anti-Iran movie Argo. He like many other participants of the conference argued that Argo promotes anti-Iran and anti-Islam sentiments. Hmmmm.....Indeed unlike good wine, democrats don't improve with age.Read the full story here.

Related:

Former American Senator Mike Gravel, Tina Foster, Dr. Fowzia and Altaf Shakor warmed welcome by Aafia movement supporter when they arrival on Islamabad airport. Mark Gravel said that he have never saw such a case in his career like Dr. Aafia Siddiqui who is innocent Pakistan citizen facing Physical and mental torture from the last 10 years in America.

Dome grows in Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano: scientists warn eruption might affect trans-Pacific flights

Cleveland Volcano - NASA image.

Dome grows in Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano: scientists warn eruption might affect trans-Pacific flights.(TEP). Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano is heating up and scientists are on alert in case it sends up an ash cloud that could threaten trans-Pacific flights. 
The Alaska Volcano Observatory detected elevated surface temperatures Jan. 24 at Cleveland’s summit. Satellite data obtained last week indicated that a growing lava dome on the floor of the summit crater had reached about 328 feet, or 100 meters, in diameter. The summit crater itself is nearly 10 times that size, said Chris Waythomas of the U.S. Geological Survey. “It does this from time to time and it’s a fairly small lava dome,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not gigantic.” Lava domes form a lid on a volcano chamber that holds magma. When they grow big enough, lava domes can become unstable and collapse. Decompression of the magma chamber can lead to an explosion, as the conduit inside the volcano suddenly becomes unsealed and gasses escape.
The new lava dome led the observatory to change the volcano’s alert level to “orange,” indicating heightened or escalating unrest. Development of a lava dome indicates sudden explosions of ash higher than 20,000 feet — a threshold for concern for international air carriers — could be produced with little warning. The volcano in the past has sent ash clouds much higher. Cleveland Volcano’s last major eruption was 12 years ago. It began in February 2001 and produced three explosive events that produced ash clouds as high as 39,000 feet. 
Cleveland has had burst of smaller plumes nearly every year since then. In December 2011, Cleveland sent up an ash cloud to 15,000 feet that did not disrupt international air carriers. Scientists last detected minor ash emissions in November.
Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano blew on Dec. 15, 1989, and sent ash 150 miles away into the path of a KLM jet carrying 231 passengers. Its four engines flamed out and the jet dropped more than 2 miles, from 27,900 feet to 13,300 feet, before the crew was able to restart all engines and land the plane safely at Anchorage.
Cleveland Mountain is a 5,675-foot peak on uninhabited Chuginadak Island about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage. The nearest village is tiny Nikolski on another island about 50 miles east. Previous eruptions of Cleveland were not considered a threat to Nikolski’s 16 permanent residents. The observatory is a joint program between the USGS, the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. The observatory has no real-time seismic equipment on Cleveland. Pressure sensors on Okmok Volcano —74 miles away— have in the past detected a pressure wave from an explosion, Waythomas said. –Alaska Journal.Read the full story here.

"Hottest year ever" - Cold Alaska summer hurting farmers and fresh produce lovers.

"Hottest year ever" - Cold Alaska summer hurting farmers and fresh produce lovers.(AD). Cold weather in Southcentral Alaska isn't just affecting people's moods. It's seriously hurting vegetable crops in the Matanuska Susitna Valley, one of the state's major farming regions. Most crops are several weeks behind schedule, according to farmers, the result of a chilly spring and a summer that’s nearly breaking cold-temperature records. 
Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, a popular pick-it-yourself destination near Palmer, would normally see five times as many people as it has, says owner Ted Pyrah. There's just not much for customers to pick right now, he says, and most vegetables are small. While farmers can handle cloudy weather and a good amount of rain, there's not much they can do when temperatures dip. Plants simply aren't maturing fast enough, putting many farmers in a lurch. The yield's way down, the production numbers are not there,” says Arthur Keyes, owner of the South Anchorage Farmer's Market and Glacier Valley Farm in Palmer. “It's so cold, we need heat. We don't need rain, we need the sun.”
How many Mat-Su farmers are affected by the cold? How about everybody?” says Duane Clark, co-owner of the Central Market in Anchorage. Name a plant and it's probably behind schedule. Cabbage, potatoes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower. Greens are about the only plant that's consistent, farmers say, and they’ve been small. Even peas, normally a stable cold-weather crop, are lagging. Pyrah says his pea plants just started producing pods. Normally, he would have been harvesting them by July 20. If you haven't seen any giant zucchinis in the farmer's market, there's a reason. Keyes, whose farm mainly produces flowering crops like zucchini and strawberries, says he usually produces one pound of zucchini per plant, per day. But he didn't even begin harvesting the plants on time. Normally peak production is July 1, and Keyes didn't start harvesting until mid-July. Even then, with the ability to produce up to 2,000 pounds of zucchini a day, he only harvested 75. His problems aren't unique. Keyes says many vendors that signed up sell at the market in June didn't show up until July. They just didn't have enough crop to sustain a booth. Even the bees have had trouble with rainy, cold weather, Keyes says, another issue when dealing with flower crops.
While cold is slowing plants in Alaska, the opposite is happening in the Lower 48. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor about 53 percent of the nation is experiencing moderate to extreme drought. More than 1,000 counties in 29 states have been declared disasters areas. Record hot temperatures are being set all over.
Not in Alaska. Alaska’s biggest city of Anchorage just posted its fourth-coldest July on record.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics through July 29, Palmer has only had 325 “degree days” this year, 112 days below average. A degree day is not an actual 24-hour day, but instead a unit of measurement defining ideal growing periods -- periods that are neither too hot nor too cold.
Sue Benz, with the USDA Alaska Agricultural Statistics Service, tried to put that into perspective. In 2004, a great growing year by most accounts (Benz grew full-size apples in her apple trees), there were 640 degree days through the end of July. In 2010, when Anchorage set a record with 28 consecutive days of rain, the degree-day count was still higher, with 372.
The latest data from the USDA shows that 4.6 million pounds of vegetables were grown statewide in 2010. Alaska also saw 15 million pounds of potatoes, which is counted separately from vegetables.With the Midwest drought expected to increase food prices, Consenstein said Alaskans should be concerned. Alaska won't be immune to price hikes. And with less local food around, grocery bills could be painful. "This bad weather (may) be a bit of a wake-up call that we need to pay attention to Alaska's food system," he said.Read the full story here.

"FORWARD" - U.S. Army Vessel Grounds itself Near Kodiak to Avoid Sinking.

"FORWARD" - U.S. Army Vessel Grounds itself Near Kodiak to Avoid Sinking.(KTUU).By By Matthew Simon, Chris Klint and AP.KODIAK, Alaska—

A U.S. ArmyReserve vessel that struck an object and began taking on water late Friday night grounded on a small island near Kodiak to avoid sinking, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

According to Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst and radio station KMXT, the crew of the landing craft Monterrey, assigned to the 481st Transportation Company in Vallejo, Calif., placed a mayday call after the vessel hit Humpback Rock in Chiniak Bay at 10:16 p.m.

Maj. Annmarie Daneker, an Army Reserve media relations officer, said the Monterrey’s crew of 16 to 18 people subsequently grounded on Puffin Island at the request of the Coast Guard.

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched at 10:44 p.m. to assist the Monterrey, and the good Samaritan fishing vessels Resolution and Peggy Joe also responded to the scene. Two Monterrey crew members with minor injuries were transported to Kodiak aboard the Peggy Joe.

The Coast Guard says the Monterrey may be carrying up to 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Two tanks aboard the 174-foot landing craft were reportedly damaged and leaking 15,291 gallons of fuel, and the Coast Guard has contracted with Alaska Chadux Corp. to contain and clean up the leak.

DeVuyst said Alaska Chadux’s initial steps include setting up three containment booms around the Monterrey, in the area of the spill and around the mouth of the Buskin River. The firm has also contracted a skimming vessel to clean up oil between the Monterrey’s initial impact point and the site of its grounding.

A report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation suggested that the damaged tank had completely emptied. Four response vessels were on scene as of noon Saturday, with an estimated 3,000 total feet of containment boom deployed so far.

In a Saturday statement from the Coast Guard, Daneker thanked those who responded to the grounding.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:TheRubinReport.U.S.Intelligence at Work: Iranian Warships? Yeah, I Heard Something about That.By Barry Rubin. Following on the theme that the Muslim Brotherhood is a secular organization and that U.S. intelligence gets its breaking information from CNN, we have this remarkable statement in the State Department briefing by Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley:"I believe there are two Iranian warships or, I mean, I don't know what kind of ships they are. There are two ships in the Red Sea. What their intention is, what their destination is, I don’t – I can’t say. Look, there are reports that there are a couple of ships in the Red Sea. What they do, where they go, we’ll follow this with some curiosity."Curiosity indeed! I'm sure you readers understand the strategic significance of this move by Iran to file a claim as the region's leading power. Yet it was not the United States but Israel that told the Egyptian government (that is, the army) that letting these warships through the Suez Canal would be deemed to be an unfriendly act. The Egyptians refused passage. That's the military government. What would an elected Egyptian government do a year from now?So here we have a major move by Iran that the United States ignores, not even understanding the significance of this flotilla. On the wider stage, the U.S. government is largely ignoring the advances of the Iran-Syria-Hamas-Hizballah-Turkish government-Lebanese government-Iraqi insurgent alliance. Notice how the list of those on the other side keeps getting longer and the list of allies on the U.S. side in the Middle East keeps getting shorter. Perhaps the U.S. government will follow the loss of its whole position in the Middle East "with some curiosity."It is hard to believe the kinds of things being said by U.S. government officials nowadays. So much of it reads like satire. Of course, it is not only funny but scary. Very very scary. If the Obama Administration played the Ahmadinejad team in the international affairs Superbowl, I'd put my money on Iran by two touchdowns. Hmmmm......."I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."?Read the full story here.

• Egypt Agrees to Let Two Iranian Ships Through Suez Canal.CAIRO-- State media say Egypt has agreed to let two Iranian naval vessels transit the Suez Canal, a move that comes despite expressions of concern by Israeli officials.State-run news agency MENA said Friday that authorities approved a request from Iranian diplomats who offered assurances that the two ships won't have weapons or nuclear or chemical material.The move had been widely expected and Iranian officials have insisted the request is in line with international regulations. They say the two vessels are headed to Syria for training.Read the full story here.

• Jews in Turkey fear attacks.After Hezbollah's threats shut down missions, Jewish residents of Istanbul afraid to leave homes. Turkish Jews expressed fear Thursday of a retaliation scheme by Hezbollah, which has threatened to avenge the death of one of its commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, on the third anniversary of his death.Earlier this week Israel temporarily shut down a number of its diplomatic missions in the world due to fears of an attack, and a local Turkish paper revealed Thursday that these included the Israeli consulate in Istanbul and the embassy in Ankara. But local Jews still harbor anxiety, especially since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rise to power. "As we speak now, we are being heard because there is wire-tapping here," a Jewish merchant from Istanbul told Ynet over the phone, asking to remain anonymous."In Turkey there is no knowing what will happen tomorrow. So much goes on here. What guaranteed the separation between religion and state was the army, but unfortunately the generals who maintained this in the past are no longer around.""Turkey is a dictatorship. They attack newspapers and there are raids against anyone who dares speak out against the government. Those who talk too much find themselves under investigation," he said. "Friendships are being developed here with states hostile to Israel. This concerns us, because we don't know if we will be protected as before. Though police guard all Jewish institutions, we still don’t really feel safe." "It's better to keep a low profile. Anything I say can make me a target, so I prefer to stay silent. There has always been a threat here, but apparently it has gotten worse because of the lack of cooperation between Israel and Turkey," he said. Hmmmmm........Turkey....Erdogan.....Obama's friend.Read the full story here.

• London insurers' private fleet to fight Somali pirates.Insurers in the City of London are finalising plans to set up a private fleet of armed patrol boats in the Gulf of Aden, in a new drive to stamp out Somali piracy. The naval protection force was conceived by leading figures in the Lloyd's of London market. They have been working with ship owners, freight operators and governments for months, marshalling support for their plan.The goal of the Convoy Escort Programme is to provide protection for tankers trying to navigate the seas off war-torn Somalia while also reducing the soaring costs of insuring vessels, cargo and crews against increasingly vicious attacks by pirates.Key representatives of the shipping industry, including the Baltic and International Maritime Council (Bimco) have agreed to explore the idea further. Giles Noakes, the chief maritime security officer of Bimco, said that he would be briefing American politicians in Washington on the plan next week.It is understood that the industry-led project is being monitored by the Royal Navy and its counterparts. The Times understands that the Navy would regard the escorts as a trial which, if successful, would allow naval vessels to hunt pirates in other areas. If the fleet can secure funding and win the support of the shipping community, it could be up and running within six months. There are also plans to explore using former Nimrod maritime patrol air crews to provide aerial surveillance.Under the plan, which has been developed over two years, a non-profit association involving private and public sector members would be set up. It would control a fleet of 18 vessels, each with a fixed gun position and an armed crew authorised to engage the pirates in battle.Each vessel would carry eight armed security personnel and four additional crew as well as inflatable speedboats, known as "Ribs", which could be dispatched into combat if the tankers they were protecting came under attack.Although it would be managed separately, the fleet would be under the operational control of the relevant national navy and the crew would have to conform to international rules on combat and engagement.One of the key architects of the CEP is Sean Woollerson, a partner in the marine, oil and gas division at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, a leading Lloyd's broker for companies seeking insurance protection, particularly for war risks and kidnap and ransom. KLT is organising the fleet through BGN Risk, a global security consultancy.Mr Woollerson estimates that the programme would need about $US27.5 million to pay for 18 second-hand vessels, believed to be Swedish patrol boats. It is understood that the plan is to try to tap a $US200 million anti-piracy fund managed by the EU.Hmmmmm........Arrr!"Time t' blow them t' kin'dom come?"Read the full story here.

• HT:TheHeritage.Lead Lawyer Challenging Obamacare Under Cyber Attack.While politicians are still talking about restoring civility, liberal thugs are waging an all out attack on the website of David Rivkin, lead counsel in the multi-state lawsuit against Obamacare, rather than engage in a civilized debate that they can’t win. And what do the ACLU and other left-leaning civil rights groups have to say about these attempts to silence a leading voice for freedom and liberty? Not a thing.Rivkin represents 26 States, the National Federation of Independent Business, and two individuals in the most prominent and successful challenge to Obamacare. He’s been a prominent critic of the law’s individual mandate from the beginning, and is used to engaging in intellectual battle—it comes with the territory. But this is something far different.One week after federal district judge Roger Vinson held that the mandate was unconstitutional and struck down the entire law, Rivkin’s website came under attack by a highly organized group of cyber-terrorists seeking to silence him and knock his views off the Internet.Just like the recent attacks by Wikileaks supporters on Amazon.com, MasterCard, and PayPal—attacks that have led to international investigations that remain ongoing and several arrests—unknown hacktivists from IP addresses located overseas took aim at Rivkin’s website, bombarding it with fake traffic and intrusion attempts. They managed to destroy entire sections of the site dedicated to his advocacy on behalf of the states in the health care law suit.The ongoing criminal attacks have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is charged with investigating denial of service cyber attacks.Perhaps the most amazing aspect of this episode is the complete disregard of this attack by the mainstream media and left-wing civil liberties groups. Imagine, for example, a similar attack on the website of the plaintiffs in the challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which struck down same-sex marriage in the state. Imagine the outrage, finger-pointing, and howls of indignation that would follow. The media, as well as the ACLU and others, would be quick to condemn conservatives, and many prominent conservatives, no doubt, would disassociate themselves from the cyber-attack. And rightly so—conservatives don’t need to cheat or break the law to win the war of ideas.Rivkin’s sober and scholarly advocacy in favor of Americans’ fundamental rights is clearly a threat to someone, and they have decided to attack him for it. Even on the Internet, thugs shouldn’t get a “heckler’s veto” over speech with which they disagree. One would think that’s a point on which conservatives and left-leaning civil libertarians could agree. But all we’ve heard so far from the left is silence.Hmmmm......Democracy or Dictatorship?Read the full story here.

• Alaska: Governor Refusing to Implement ObamaCare After Judge Ruled it Unconstitutional…Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday that he will not implement the federal health care overhaul passed by Congress last year after a judge in Florida struck down the law as unconstitutional.It’s not immediately clear what practical impact the unusual, rather bold move would have on Alaskans, an estimated 14 percent of whom are uninsured year-round.A major expansion of the federal law is still pending, and a legal expert and health care consumer advocate say any refusal by the states to participate in the law is an invitation to the federal government to step in and implement it for them — a point Parnell disputes.The Republican governor, who sought the advice of his attorney general amid concerns implementing the law would violate his oath of office, told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce the state would pursue lawful, market-based solutions to making insurance affordable and accessible to Alaskans.He said the Florida judge’s ruling is the law of the land, as it pertains to Alaska, barring implementation of the federal law here. He said the state will not pursue “unlawful activity” to implement a regime deemed unconstitutional.He said the state, instead, will pursue options of its own.Alaska was one of 26 states that were party to the Florida lawsuit; however, in other cases, two federal judges have upheld the law and one judge ruled a provision requiring citizens to buy health insurance or face penalties — a major point of contention in the Florida case — is unconstitutional but did not strike down the rest of the law.Hmmmm.....No Mama bear...but a Papa bear,Palin must be having a great day.Read the full story here.

• Military to secure Qaradawi’s access to Tahrir Square. Banned Qaradawi returns to lead Friday prayers in Egypt.For the first time since he was banned from leading weekly friday prayers in Egypt 30 years ago, prominent Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi will lead thousands in the weekly prayers from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday.Sources told Al Arabiya that a military force will accompany the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars from his home to Tahrir Square, provide security for the prayers and accompany him back to his residence.Al-Qaradawi last delivered a Friday prayer sermon in Egypt in 1981 after the assassination of former President Anwar el-Sadat.Sheikh Qaradawi confirmed in a telephone call with the German Press Agency that he would lead tomorrow's prayers in Tahrir, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend. Some of Qaradawi's sons and daughters took part the Tahrir demonstrations leading up to the overthrow of the Mubarak.Hmmmm........Thank you Mr president?Read the full story here.

• Pakistan judge orders arrest of US car's driver.A judge on Friday ordered the arrest of the driver of a U.S. vehicle that struck and killed a Pakistani while rushing to help an American detained in a pair of fatal shootings, a lawyer for the victim's family said.The arrest warrant could add to the tensions surrounding the case of the shooter, Raymond Allen Davis. The U.S. insists he was acting in self-defense against robbers and qualifies for diplomatic immunity because he worked for the embassy.The odds of Pakistani police detaining the people in the U.S. car are low. Authorities say they do not know who was in the vehicle, and the Americans have said little on the matter, other than admitting the car was driven by U.S. Embassy staff.The judge's order could be a means of pressuring the U.S. to produce the driver, who has not been identified. But it's highly unlikely that any Americans involved in the traffic accident are still in Pakistan. Employees of the U.S. mission who get into trouble are typically on the first plane out of the country.It's also possible the driver was a Pakistani. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Courtney Beale on Friday declined to comment on the order other than saying the vehicular incident "is under investigation."Lawyer Asad Manzoor Butt said the family of the struck bystander, Ibadur Rehman, filed a petition with the Lahore High Court seeking to bring attention to his death, which has received far less scrutiny than the deaths of the two men shot earlier Jan. 27 in Lahore.The court's chief justice, Ijaz Chaudhry issued the arrest order, Butt said. On Thursday, the same court gave Pakistan's government three more weeks to determine if Davis has diplomatic immunity as America claims.Hmmmm......Yup senator Kerry's visit solved everything.Read the full story here.

• HT:Rightspeak.Geithner Admits: Obligations in President's Budget "Unsustainable".Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today admitted under questioning from Sen. Jeff Sessions that the president's own budget, submitted Monday, calls for interest payments and obligations that are "excessively high" and "unsustainable." The president's plan accumulates $13 trillion in new gross debt, with interest payments on the debt rising to $844 billion a year by 2021. Additionally, the president's budget ignores the recommendations of his own fiscal commission, causing the Democrat Co-Chair of the Commission, Erskin Bowles, to remark that the budget "goes nowhere near where they will have to go to resolve our fiscal nightmare."Hmmmmm.......Next he'll say "It's a Zionist plan,because they don't trust me"?Read the full story here.

• ‘Maddie is in America’: Club security man says he has been tracking paedophile ring with links to the UK.Madeleine McCann was kidnapped by a paedophile ring with connections in Britain and could now be in America, a club security man has claimed.Marcelino Italiano believes Maddie may have been kidnapped by the gang and smuggled out of Portugal, where the three-year-old went missing during a family holiday in 2007.The bouncer who worked in the Algarve has reportedly spoken to police and named two suspects. He told the Sun: ‘I know these people were involved and I have been told that Madeleine may now be in America. ‘I can't say how, but I have known these people and believe they can get away with anything.'He also claims to have been attacked by members of the paedophile gang, after he threatened to reveal their identity. Mr Italiano, originally from Angola, is said to have named a London-based associate of the paedophile ring's leader and claimed the ring also targeted orphanages. ‘I think there have been over a dozen children kidnapped. They prey on the weak and vulnerable,’ he told the Sun.'They are ruthless. I have been attacked twice twice for trying to investigate it and even lost my front tooth in one attack.'Mr Italiano, a 6ft 4in bouncer, recently fled Portugal and handed his dossier of claims about Madeleine's disappearance to police in Huelva, Spain, on Monday. He has vowed to stop at nothing to expose the ring.Sightings of Maddie have been reported in North America, Tasmania and Dubai since her disappearance and now Portuguese police and private investigators are looking into his claims.Mr Italiano said the ring was based in the Algarve and his claims have similarities to the Casa Pia ring, six members were jailed for sexually abusing more than 30 children living in Portugese state-run orphanages.A Spanish police source told the Daily Mirror: 'He says he believes the believes Madeleine was taken to the U.S. some time ago that the gang has the capacity to do this.'He is positive they have taken many more children from the area and is convinced they are behind Madeleine's abduction.'The Spanish police has passed the evidence to officers in Portugal.Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.Read the full story here.

• Judge Rules Against Obama Administration on Off-Shore Oil Drilling...Again.While President Obama's focus of late has settled on clean energy, his past actions on off-shore oil drilling continue to be debated in both legal and political circles.The latest snag came when a federal judge ruled that the administration has to decide within thirty days whether or not it will grant five deepwater drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman of the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled "the government is under a duty to act by either granting or denying a permit application within a reasonable time. Not acting at all is not a lawful option," he said.After the infamous BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, the Obama administration took an on-again, off-again approach to drilling and has put new off-shore drilling permits on hold due to increased scrutiny over safety. The government's approval process typically takes weeks, but it has amounted to months of waiting for the five applicants in the Louisiana case.Administration lawyers have not yet decided what action to take. "Our attorneys are reviewing the ruling," Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle told Fox.The political blowback from Gulf Coast politicians was swift, "I applaud this ruling today. It confirms what [Democratic Louisiana Senator] Landrieu and I have been saying along with virtually every other Louisianian: President Obama's continuing de facto moratorium in the Gulf is inexcusable," said Republican Louisiana Senator David Vitter. "This ruling says it's not only inexcusable but that it violates the law."Earlier this month, the same federal judge held the Interior Department in contempt of court for instituting what many say has amounted to an off-shore drilling moratorium despite his previous ruling against such a moratorium.The delicate drilling issue continues to surface for Mr. Obama and it is now complicated by the fact that the clock is ticking.Hmmmm........Democracy versus Dictatorship?Read the full story here.

• Ahmadinejad: Obama can't spell his own name.Ahead of pro-government rally, Iranian leader says US president 'can't control his emotions'. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked Barack Obama on Friday, saying the American president "doesn't even know how to spell his own name properly."During a visit to Bushehr ahead of a scheduled rally in support of his regime, the Iranian leader said, "Obama wants to rule the world, but he can't even control his own emotions."Thousands of Iranians are expected to take to the streets after Friday prayers to show their support for the regime in Tehran and protest against opposition leaders Mir Hussein Moussavi Mehdi Karroubi.A statement issued by the regime in Tehran said, "The public will unite and express hatred toward the barbaric crimes of the incitement leaders and their hypocritical allies." Iranian lawmakers called for opposition leaders to be tried and executed as punishment for the protests that took place in Tehran on Monday and after the disputed 2009 presidential elections.Read the full story here.

• HT:WindsofJihad.Turkish “Council of Europe” Tells Euro Dhimmies Not to Expel Mohammedan Invaders.Who the hell is Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to tell Europeans “there must be no mass expulsion….?” How come Turkey refuses to accept fellow Muslims from Africa?Europe’s top rights body said Italy must not expel thousands of illegal migrants who arrived in recent days, mainly from Tunisia, but should take responsibility for them.The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on Italy to involve UN and other aid agencies in dealing with the migrants, about 5,000 of whom have arrived on its small island of Lampedusa in the past week.“Notwithstanding the need for action, there must be no mass expulsion,” assembly president Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a statement, adding that “those in need of protection must receive it”.“It is necessary to understand why these persons are leaving and to tackle the causes, including the criminal networks which are exploiting the uncertainties in Tunisia,” he said.The migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia are seeking employment in Europe, with their own country unstable a month after the fall of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.Cavusoglu said it was also “absolutely necessary that Europe share the responsibility for these people”.Hmmmm......How about Muslim countries accepting them?Like for example Turkey's friend Iran?Get Turkey out of Europe and  NATO!Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.With Friends Like These…If you’ve been a longtime, stalwart ally of the United States, you’d better run for your life.Since Barack Obama has been president, he has managed to diss each one of our allies, in varying degrees of seriousness from merely insulting to full-on betrayal.Most recently, Obama threw our ally of three decades, now-former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, under the bus in record time. Crowds of indeterminate nature in the streets? See ya, Mubarak! Nice knowin’ ya. Now scram.When he first entered the White House, Obama dissed our greatest ally, the British, by returning a bust of Winston Churchill, the savior of Western civilization. The bust was a gift from the British, but the Bama needed to make room for all of those photos of Michelle with her buff arms, so something had to go. He also dissed the British by giving the Prime Minister DVDs that he was unable to watch on European players, and to the Queen, an iPod….loaded with his own speeches. Her Majesty was all, “WTF?”Not to mention handing over to Russia British nuclear secrets that the British begged Obama not to divulge. Yo, Vlad: the Brits have 6 nuclear subs fitted with 30 nuclear warheads each. Liz: don’t sweat it. it’s just your top secret national security stuff.He dissed the French by arriving in Paris only to turn down a dinner invitation from French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Seriously: no one does that. Not only is that a breach of presidential protocol, but it’s stupid. Have the Obamas ever tasted French food??And he has royally dissed our great Israeli allies, by publicly and relentlessly demanding an end to settlement construction—without demanding reciprocal concessions from the Palestinian side. Now we hear that Team Obama is taking the diss a step further and will support a U.N. Security Council statement rebuking Israel over the settlements issue. The Middle East is aflame, Israel’s enemies are on the march, there may not be an Israeli-Egyptian peace much longer, Iran is now on all sides of Israel in the form of Hamas and Hezbollah, and Iran itself is working feverishly on a nuclear weapon with which to destroy Israel, and Obama thinks now would be a good time to turn our back on her.This is how he treats our friends. But if you’re an enemy of the United States, no problem! Let’s talk, Iran! Let’s negotiate, Russia! Let’s deal, North Korea! Sit down for a splashy state dinner, China! What up, Hugo Chavez!You can’t treat allies like this and expect them to be allies for long. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the point is to poison our strongest and best relationships and reward our enemies. Maybe the point is to weaken the United States and our place in the world in order to create….a new world order….in which we have been taken down and the bad guys have been elevated. The actions of the American president have followed enough of a pattern for enough time that it’s clear he’s more comfortable in bed with the bad guys than with our friends.Obama has taken us into the years of living dangerously.Hmmmm.....If you wanted to destroy America would you do anything different?Read the full story here.

• House GOP Passes Budget Amendment Blocking Funding for Obama’s Army of “Czars”…The House GOP approved an amendment to a government-spending bill that would block funding for the Obama administration’s so-called policy “czars,” appointed advisers to the president that have been much-criticized by Republicans.The amendment, offered by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), specifically targets Obama’s “climate czar” by blocking funding for the assistant to the president for energy and climate change, the position’s official title. The amendment would block funding for the ‘czars’ through the end of the fiscal year, when the spending bill would run out. The underlying bill also includes a provision to block funding for the position.“I think this sends a strong signal to the president that we are tired of him running this shadow government, where they have got these czars that are literally circumventing the accountability and scrutiny that goes with Senate confirmation,” Scalise said after the vote.Carol Browner, who currently holds the position, announced last month that she will resign, leaving the future of the office is very much in doubt.Hmmmm......What would be the chances that he mobilises his Oprichniki now and sends us all to the Gulag?Read the full story here.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Teachers Union Thugs Comparing People to Hitler, Shutting Down Schools, Losing Their Argument.One cannot be a leftist without being a hypocrite. It really is just that simple. The last several days in Wisconsin has again born that truism out, too, as teachers union thugs in the Badger State have indulged every manner of behavior that they have constantly condemned the right for engaging in — even as no one on the right has actually done the things the left charges them with doing. With the protests that swept down upon the State Capitol in Madison we are seeing the sort of behavior that is the antithesis of democracy. These teacher thugs are flooding into the capitol disrupting the state senate chambers, these teacher thugs are sporting signs with Governor Walker depicted as Hitler, these teacher thugs are attempting to thwart the will of the voters that put a Republican Governor into office to do exactly what he is trying to do, these teacher thugs are even making a pig sty out of the capitol grounds with piles and piles of garbage.So what is all this about? Simply that the State of Wisconsin is out of money and can no longer afford to pay public employees more in wages, benefits, and pensions than anyone in the private sector can make. Newly elected Governor Scott Walker ran on a platform of reigning in the greedy, overpaid unions and he is now making good on that campaign issue.Worse, these teacher thugs have shut down the schools and taken the kids from the schools to the state capitol to whine for the union agenda. Imagine how up in arms the left would be if conservatives had taken kids out of school to take them to a political rally!In fact, Walker’s goal, he has said, is to avoid laying off public employees. He hopes that by asking union members to pay a tiny bit more into their own pensions and healthcare will take pressure off the bankrupt state’s coffers. He hopes that the hike in premiums will help keep the employees at work. If he cannot get these concessions, though, he’ll be forced to begin massive layoffs.Sadly, instead of seeing reality writing on the wall, unions are doubling down on their anti-democratic, greedy, unsustainable demands. They realize that they are fast losing the complete lock on power they once had and instead of making logical concessions they are making it war to the hilt.The American people are about sick of these union thugs. Prepare for the teachers to lose all sympathy from the voters.Read the full story here.More here from Michelle Malkin.

• HT:Familysecuritymatters.The Gypper And The Gipper.Identity Theft and the Obama Presidency.In one of the most bizarre political gambits in our history, President Obama and his dwindling band of cheerleaders—nervously eyeing the big game in 2012—have been trying to cast an over-inflated community organizer as the reincarnation of the Gipper.It ain’t working.No matter how often Obama drops President Reagan’s name or how shamelessly his flaks attempt to link this shrinking, spineless president to the bold, visionary giant who turned a broken nation around, nobody’s buying this preposterous propaganda.Comparing Barack Obama to Ronald Reagan is like comparing Bernie Madoff to Warren Buffett: Hustling your clients isn’t heroism, and fraud’s not a formula for enduring success.At a press conference last Tuesday, Obama couldn’t restrain himself from invoking Reagan’s name yet again, associating him with Tip O’Neill (another disgraceful linkage). But you only had to listen to that presser or read the transcript to grasp the immense distance between Obama/Hamlet, forever wringing his hands and wondering, “To be, or not to be?” and Reagan/Henry V embracing a battle the Washington court heralds insisted he could not win.Obama isn’t another Ronald Reagan. He’s Jimmy Carter Lite, a deer in the headlights of history, overwhelmed by international crises he doesn’t understand and that don’t make any sense in the politically correct world-view he brought to the Oval Office. This is a president who can’t even stand up to Pakistan, let alone lead the free world through the present Valley of the Shadow.And he still blames George W. Bush for everything from excessive spending to the Black Death.Reagan understood that our nation’s borders stood for something. Obama thinks we should be ashamed of them. Reagan fought illegal drugs. Obama enjoyed them. Reagan took a bullet and shrugged it off as part of the job. Obama can’t take hard questions from reporters.Nonetheless, get ready for Obama on horseback, wearing a ten-gallon hat and popping jelly beans.It’s “Mourning In America.”Hmmmmm........Amen.Read the full story here.

• HT:RedState.The Battle is in Front of You: What are YOU going to do about it?Get Connected. Get Engaged. Get Activated...Or Get Crushed.At this very moment, the battle for America’s future is happening in states all around the country as newly-elected governors try to wrest control from tax-eating unions. Today’s battle is just the beginning of what America will be facing through 2012 and beyond. It is a battle that, if lost, will likely have catastrophic consequences on the fiscal well being of many of the states and, as a result, the nation as a whole.Nowhere is the fight the loudest than in Wisconsin, where over 10,000 union supporters protested Madison’s Capitol Square on Tuesday and about 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside Governor Scott Walker’s private home Tuesday night. Hundreds of union protesters also packed Ohio’s statehouse on Tuesday to condemn Governor Kasich’s efforts to stem the union bosses’ power and reign in out of control spending. In Indiana, hundreds of Steelworkers descended on the Hoosier’ statehouse to protest unemployment reform as well. Even in New York, with a Democrat governor, unions are spending millions on fighting reform.Make no mistake, this is a battle for America’s economic future. It is one that will ultimately decide whether Americans will be enslaved by debt created by a government beholden to public-sector union bosses, or whether some sort of fiscal sanity can be restored before the system collapses due to the weight from years of cronyism.Read the full story here.

• HT:WindsOfJihad."The war on Christianity".Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: “We don’t need the Torah, or Gospels, or any other book. … their role has ended, and there is no longer any place for them. The Qur’an has become dominant over them, and a substitute for all of them…”.The mask comes off. The Islamic replacement theology reveals its ugly face:[see Qur’an 3:62; 11:49; and 12:1-3].

The philosopher Maimonides, a Jew who lived for a time in Muslim Spain and then fled that supposedly tolerant and pluralistic land, remarked, “You know, my brethren, that on account of our sins God has cast us into the midst of this people, the nation of Ishmael, who persecute us severely, and who devise ways to harm us and to debase us.…No nation has ever done more harm to Israel. None has matched it in debasing and humiliating us. None has been able to reduce us as they have.…We have borne their imposed degradation, their lies, and absurdities, which are beyond human power to bear.”

Notably, Maimonides directed that Jews could teach rabbinic law to Christians, but not to Muslims. For Muslims, he said, will interpret what they are taught “according to their erroneous principles and they will oppress us. [F]or this reason … they hate all [non-Muslims] who live among them.” But the Christians, he said, “admit that the text of the Torah, such as we have it, is intact”—as opposed to the Islamic view that the Jews and Christians have corrupted their scriptures. Christians, continued Maimonides, “do not find in their religious law any contradiction with ours.” Source.Read the full story here.

• House Passes Amendment to Block Funds for Net Neutrality Order.The House passed an amendment Thursday that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from using any funding to implement the network-neutrality order it approved in December.The amendment, approved on a 244-181 vote, was offered by Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., to legislation that would fund government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2011.Walden and other critics of the FCC's net-neutrality order argue it will stifle innovation and investment in broadband. The order aims to bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, services, or applications."If left unchallenged, this claim of authority would allow the FCC to regulate any matter it discussed in the national broadband plan," Walden said.If the defunding effort fails, Republicans are pursuing a second route to try to block the FCC's open-Internet order. Walden and other Republicans in both the House and the Senate introduced on Wednesday a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, which would give lawmakers a limited amount of time to try to block the FCC's net-neutrality rules.President Obama, who supports the FCC's net neutrality order, has threatened to veto the spending measure if it cuts government programs too deeply.Hmmmm......Of course we can't have democracy in my world.Read the full story here.

• Iran accuses opposition chiefs of treason.TEHRAN — Iran on Thursday accused opposition leaders of treason and vowed to block their ability to communicate with their supporters on the eve of a pro-regime "hatred" rally against them in Tehran.But in a defiant move, opposition websites posted calls for fresh nationwide rallies on Sunday to mourn the deaths of two people slain in Monday's anti-government protests, while opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi reportedly reiterated he was ready to face a public trial.Karroubi and fellow opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi are under de facto house arrest but have regularly issued messages to their supporters through their websites, including one which led to anti-government protests on Monday that left two people dead and several wounded.The protests angered regime-backers and prompted furious MPs to demand the execution of the pair, who were once pillars of the Islamic establishment."The treason committed by the movement of sedition leaders is not hidden from anyone," Iran's chief of judiciary Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA."This group which has rebelled against the religious government should know that while maintaining Islamic compassion we will not tolerate the establishment being compromised."Larijani said steps were being taken by the judiciary against the two and that the authorities were targeting their communication networks.Despite the angry outbursts from regime backers, Karroubi issued an Internet statement on Wednesday saying he was "ready to pay any price," while Mousavi in a similar way stated that Monday's protests were a "glorious achievement."And on Thursday, Mojtaba Vahidi, an aide to Karroubi, said that the cleric had reiterated to him that he was "ready for a public trial", according to Karroubi's website, Sahamnews.org.Prior to Karroubi's latest remark, an opposition group vowing allegiance to the two leaders, used the Internet again to issue a call for new nationwide rallies on Sunday to mourn the deaths of the two people at Monday's protests."We invite the noble Iranian nation to attend gatherings in Tehran and other cities on Sunday ... to commemorate the seventh day of martyrdom of the beloved," the Council for Coordination of the Green Movement Hope said in a statement on Kaleme.com, website of Mousavi and on Sahamnews.org.It said the Sunday rallies were also intended to show "decisive support" to the stance taken by Mousavi and Karroubi in "continuing on the difficult path of freedom and human dignity."It will "also show solidarity with our Kurdish countrymen in honouring the blood of these two dear Sunni and Shiite Iranians which was spilled while fighting religious tyranny."Sane'e Zhale, a Sunni Kurd, and Mohammad Mokhtari, a Shiite, were killed in Monday's protest.With regime-backers baying for blood, the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council, the body organising regime-backed programmes, has called for a rally against the opposition on Friday.Those joining the rally, the council said, will "scream out their hatred, wrath and disgust against the savage crimes and evil movements of sedition leaders, their Monafeghin (hypocrites) and their monarchist allies."Read the full story here.

• Iran 'hatred' rally demands opposition chiefs be hanged.Tens of thousands of regime loyalists poured into the streets of Tehran on Friday to demand that opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi be hanged for their “rebellion.”“Death to Mousavi! Death to Karroubi! Mousavi, Karroubi should be hanged!” worshippers chanted as they emerged from Friday prayers at Tehran University to join crowds of loyalists marching toward the prominent Enghelab (Revolution) Square.Many among the vast crowds were carrying posters of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chanting “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is great” as they railed against Mousavi and Karroubi, both former pillars of the Islamic regime.In his Friday prayer sermon, the hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, the head of the powerful Guardians Council, demanded the total isolation of Mousavi and Karroubi as worshippers chanted “American servants, shame on you!”Janati said the judiciary must “cut access [of Mousavi and Karroubi] with the people completely, the doors of their homes must be shut... so that they can’t receive and give messages, their phones... Internet must be cut and they [must] be imprisoned in their homes.The supporters of Mousavi and Karroubi remain defiant and have mobilized supporters through the Internet, calling for nationwide rallies Sunday to mourn the deaths of the two slain in Monday’s protests.The Sunday rallies are also intended to show “decisive support” to Mousavi and Karroubi for “continuing on the difficult path of freedom and human dignity,” the Council for Coordination of the Green Movement Hope said in a statement on Kaleme.com and Sahamnews.org, the websites of Mousavi and Karroubi.Hmmmm.......No word from Pres Obama probably too busy organising his Motown party?Read the full story here.

• Big Brother going NANO? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the army's latest $4million spy drone disguised as a hummingbird, measuring just 16 centimetres.A pocket-sized spy drone disguised as a hummingbird has been unveiled by a major Pentagon contractor measuring just 16 centimetres and weighing less than an AA battery.The mini spy plane can fly up to 11 miles an hour and took five years to develop at a cost of $4million.Army chiefs hope to use the drone’s tiny camera to spy on enemy positions in war zones without arousing detection and eventually deploy it into both rural and urban environments.Around 86 per cent of its orders come from the Government, meaning last year it was paid a whopping $215million from the Department of Defense.The company, based in California with 732 full-time employees, expects to sell even more drones to the Government once rules are relaxed to allow spying within America.The unveiling of the Hummingbird comes just weeks after the same company launched its $30million Global Observer with a wingspan similar to a Boeing 747 which can survey an area as large as Afghanistan.Chris Fisher, project manager at AeroVironment explained: ‘It gives the guy on the ground the opportunity to see what’s on the other side of the hill. There’s only so much you can see with binoculars. A small [drone] can get up and go over the hill. That gives the ground soldier a capability that is huge.He added: ‘One of the things we benefit from is the average young person in the military has hours and hours of video games experience. They are attuned to holding these things in their hands; moving the joysticks around with their thumbs and that’s how our planes are flown. To an 18-year-old it’s extremely simple.Hmmmm.....Hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, including the Caribbean. The majority of species occur in tropical and subtropical Central and South America."To spy on enemy positions in war zones"?Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• UN to help Lebanon with sea borders for gas finds.United Nations official says organization will help Lebanon demarcate maritime border with Israel in order to ensure its gas reserves remain protected.A United Nations official says the international body is willing to assist Lebanon demarcate its naval border with Israel to protect the country's gas reserves.Michael Williams says Lebanon has every right to benefit from its potential off shore oil and gas resources.His comments in Beirut Monday followed a request by Lebanon for the UN to protect the country's gas reserves along the maritime border with Israel, after a huge gas field was discovered off the coast.The appeal was part of a growing dispute between the two warring countries over natural resources beneath the eastern Mediterranean. Lebanon has accused Israel of drilling in fields that extend into its waters, an allegation Israel denies. There is no official naval border separating the two countries.Read the full story here.

• HT:DougRoss.Curious: Rep. Giffords' Official YouTube Channel Subscribes to Only Two People: Rep. Ike Skelton and... Jared Lee Loughner.Perhaps Sheriff Dupnik could take a few moments away from his busy television schedule to investigate the following odd connection between the Giffords campaign and her accused shooter?An anonymous tipster writes:Don't know if you saw this or not.Her [Giffords'] Youtube page has only two subscriptions, one links to the shooter's page (lower left corner, name classit10)Now, her own political page links back to this youtube site, so it must be hers.I don't know if someone has hacked this page or what. Strange to say the least.Indeed. But I'm sure Sheriff Dupnik is well ahead of us and is actively attempting to figure out the tie.Hmmmm....I'm still saying he shot her for being Jewish.Since when was he subsribed to her you tube channel?Read and see the full story here.

• HT:Matzav.Clinton Dismisses Outgoing Mossad Chief’s Assessment About Iran Nuclear Program.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed on Sunday Israeli assessments of delays in the Iranian nuclear program and called for more work on sanctions to bring Tehran to heel.Clinton, on a tour of Gulf Arab countries to shore up support for pressure on Iran, arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. She will also visit Dubai, Oman and Qatar on the five-day trip.Global powers are preparing for another round of talks with Iran this month over its nuclear program.Clinton said a recent assessment by the retiring chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service that Iran would not be able to build an atomic bomb until at least 2015 should not undercut international determination to keep the pressure on Iran through sanctions and other means to come clean about its atomic work.“The timeline is not so important as the international effort to try to ensure that whatever the timeline, Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons,” Clinton told reporters on her plane as it arrived in Abu Dhabi.“I don’t know that it gives much comfort to somebody who is in the Gulf, or who is in a country that Iran has vowed to destroy, that it’s a one-year or a three-year timeframe.”Hmmmm.....Sanctions?What sanctions?You have a so called "Ally" Turkey working closely together with all the ennemies of both the US and Israel.That three year timeline is only correct if sanctions work,as it is now it's a joke.Read the full story here.

• HT:BarracudaBrigade." Unabomber/Oklahoma City Bomber's Lawyer, requested by AZ. authorities; for Gabby's attacker--wtf !!!This morning I don't have the magic pill, I don't have the Scripture... I can't wrap my head around this," said the church's Rev. Mike Nowak, his strong preacher's voice wavering. Authorities weren't saying late Sunday where Loughner was being held, and officials were working to appoint an attorney for him. Heather Williams, the first assistant federal public defender in Arizona, said they're asking that San Diego attorney Judy Clarke be appointed. Clarke, a former federal public defender in San Diego and Spokane, Wash., served on teams that defended McVeigh, Kaczynski and Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who drowned her two sons in 1994. Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. More charges are expected.Hmmmmm......Why do i still have that bad gut feeling?Read the full story here.

• Flashback !Nov 05 2010:Mark Penn Says Obama Needs ‘Similar Event’ to Oklahoma City to Reconnect with Voters.Mark Penn, Democratic strategist and former chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, let out the kind of doozy, on last night’s Hardball, that must be seen to be believed. Comparing Obama’s current situation to the aftermath of the 1994 “Republican Revolution,” Penn noted that it took the Oklahoma City tragedy in order for President Clinton to “reconnect” with the American people.He then stepped off the cliff by saying that President Obama needed a “similar event” to achieve that reconnection following his party’s midterm losses.Hmmmm............"SAME LAWYER"both cases.Read the full story here.

• HT:RefugeeResettlementWatch.Is there a conspiracy by NGO’s to bring asylum seekers to US borders?Last March (March 16th to be precise) I attended the 30th Anniversary “celebration” of the passage of the Kennedy/Biden Refugee Resettlement Act (signed by Jimmy Carter) at Georgetown University with Human Rights First! in Washington, DC. This is just one post I wrote at the time.Note there are a few lines in that post that have been rattling around in my mind on and off ever since.Expressing gratitude for being granted asylum in the US an African young man from Sierra Leone described how he somehow (mysteriously) got a plane ticket to the US and ended up in NYC. He was placed in detention for 4 months, but also mysteriously was visited by a lawyer from Human Rights First who helped him through the asylum process.I was also struck at the conference by how much emphasis the pro-refugee, pro-open borders activists and speakers were placing on our asylum program. They wanted to educate more asylum lawyers and hire more asylum judges (apparently the refugee program itself wasn’t bringing immigrants in fast enough!). One speaker even said that the original idea behind the program was to rescue the odd ballet dancer seeking asylum from some repressive regime, but had now expanded to thousands every year.Last night as I began reading all of my backed-up articles on refugees, two jumped out at me, both are about Somalis arriving at our borders and being granted asylum. Both stories involve young Somalis, supposedly running from Al-shabaab and who mysteriously had the resources to trek across the world and just happened to end up on our borders where they then knew enough to immediately ask for asylum. Come on folks, we all know that some poor third worlder who knows only an obscure African language could not manage such a thing without enormous amounts of help.Where are they getting their help? I don’t know but maybe that’s where Mr. Foster, the RICO lawyer could help.Below are the stories I came across that set off my warning bells. Both, of course, are meant to be feel-good stories. The first article is from the Las Cruces Sun News and it highlights a Somali woman recently granted asylum:Asha Omar, a native of Somalia, spent almost a year looking for safety, away from the Islamic militants who murdered most of her family.Late last year, she found it in El Paso.In November, a federal immigration judge granted Omar’s application for asylum based on her fear of being persecuted in her home country.At least two other Somalis are in El Paso seeking asylum, said Louie Gilot, executive director of Las Americas.Nationwide, more than 300 Somalis requested asylum in 2009. Almost 200 were granted their requests.Now this is the sentence that jumped off the page:She managed to make her way to Cuba and then flew to Mexico. At the San Ysidro port of entry in California, she requested asylum, and she was taken to the El Paso Immigration Detention Center while her application was processed.She MANAGED! She MANAGED to make her way to Cuba and then flew to Mexico! Some 19-year-old shy third worlder MANAGED to get to Cuba! How many of you adults reading this could manage to get yourself to Cuba!But there's more !Now go and read the full story here.

• Video :Rep. Michele Bachmann: House Republicans Should ‘Fully Defund Obamacare’ Under Congress’ ‘Power of the Purse’. Given that House Republican efforts to “completely” repeal the health care law will face hurdles in the Democrat-controlled Senate or a presidential veto, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told CNSNews.com that Republicans should use Congress’ “power of the purse” to “fully defund Obamacare.”CNSNews.com asked Rep. Bachmann whether she agreed with Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) proposal to include specific language in appropriations bills passed by the GOP-led House to prohibit the funding of the health care law.Read and see the full story here.

• Fears of higher petrol prices as major BP pipeline in Alaska is shutdown after leak.Motorists could face even higher prices at the pumps after the shutdown of a major BP pipeline in Alaska that carries around 12 of America's oil output.The Trans-Alaska pipeline system, which transports oil from the Prudhoe Bay field, was closed on Saturday following the discovery of a leak.This morning shares in BP - the largest shareholder in the Alyeska Pipeline Service company which runs the pipeline - fell 2.5 per.Prudhoe Bay is America's largest oil reserve, producing around 630,000 barrels of oil a day – equivalent to around 40 per cent of the UK's daily consumption.The leak occurred at a pumping station at Alaska's North Slope, and forced oil production to be cut by 95 per cent. With the price of a barrel of US crude oil rising by almost one per cent to $89.92 in early trading, motorists could soon pay the price on garage forecourts.A BP spokesman based in America told the Guardian the leak was "a significant event" and it is not clear how long it will take to restart production.The shutdown is the latest setback for the 33-year-old pipeline , which is becoming more expensive to maintain as it ages. It currently handles less than a third of the oil it did at its peak in the 1980s..BP Pipelines owns nearly 47% of Alyeska, with ConocoPhillips Transportation owning 28%, ExxonMobil Pipeline owning 20%, and smaller shareholders controlling the remainder.There have not been any reports of environmental damage because of the leak. Alyeska said yesterday that around 10 barrels of oil had been recovered from the basement of a booster pump room, and that around one barrel of oil remained.Alyeska president Tom Barrett said: "Our goal is to engineer and implement a solution so that we can safely return the pipeline to service as quickly as possible."Hmmmm......Now just try to imagine if America was completely depending on foreign oil,something Barack Hussein Obama might just do one day.Read the full story here.

• Iceland summons US envoy over demand for MP's Twitter details.Reykjavik calls for explanation of Justice Department's move to access account of politician caught up in WikiLeaks inquiry.The American ambassador to Iceland has been summoned to explain why US officials are trying to access the Twitter account of an Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks collaborator.Birgitta Jónsdóttir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, revealed last week that the US justice department had asked Twitter to hand over her information. The US authorities are trying to build a criminal case against the website after its huge leaks of classified US information."[It is] very serious that a foreign state, the United States, demands such personal information of an Icelandic person, an elected official," the interior minister, Ogmundur Jonasson, told Icelandic broadcaster RUV. "This is even more serious when put [in] perspective and concerns freedom of speech and people's freedom in general," he added.Iceland's foreign ministry has demanded a meeting with Luis Arreaga, the US ambassador to Reykjavík. No one at the US embassy in Reykjavík was available for comment.She said she was talking to lawyers at the Electronic Freedom Foundation and would attempt to stop the justice department's move.Read the full story here.

• Related : US subpoenas Wikileaks tweets, and why this could affect you.Mark Stephens on the BBC News also makes clear that the court order will also cover the “600,000 odd followers that Wikileaks has on Twitter“.The order asks specifically for names of those attached to selected accounts, user and screen names, and any registered mailing or postal addresses. It also asks for email addresses, credit card details where possible, and even content relating to connected mobile phones.The server logs which could identify the computer and geographical location of where even private messages were sent from have also been ordered to be handed over.Twitter is in a difficult position. Considering their stance during the Iranian elections supporting the freedom of speech, it will appear as if the company is backtracking or giving into pressure by handing over details of its users to its government.Jónsdóttir retweeted a message purporting Twitter’s efforts, however, in bringing this subpoena into the public domain.This case should resonate with younger users especially, as prolific social network users, that US law can apply to users of social networking sites to users outside the United States, as seen in this case.Though datacenters are held worldwide in different locations to allow network load balancing, locale reliability and data backups, the organisations which provide these services are based mostly in the US. Both Twitter and Facebook are based in California, as are many startup and social media companies.For example, if one publishes a threatening tweet from the UK to a service based in the US, this can be used in a UK or US court of law if the company is subpoenaed.Hmmmmm....."Policestate or Big Brother in overdrive"?Read the full story here.

• HT:ElderOfZion.Egyptian TV: "Roman Wars against Cleopatra Instigated by the Jews".Following are excerpts from an interview with Wael Ramadhan, creator of an Egyptian-Syrian TV series about Cleopatra, which aired on Egyptian TV on November 18, 2010:Wael Ramadhan: The [Roman] war against Cleopatra was Jewish in essence, and history repeats itself. The Romans had no territorial aspirations in Egypt in those days, and this is ignored by history and by many historians. The Romans were at war with the Parthians and the remnants of the Persian Empire, but they had no intention of waging war against Egypt.But the Jews harbored resentment and pain, because of their expulsion from Egypt – when they were still called "Hebrew" – and they wanted to return to Egypt by force, in order to establish their presence there, but they did not have an opportunity to do so until that moment. So they recruited the help of the Romans.This part of history is not mentioned in any Arab history book, but is the outcome of research I conducted myself, and this is my own perspective, which is unique and true. Interviewer: Especially since it is based on sources that are...Wael Ramadhan: On very important sources. [The Jews] financed the Romans, distracted them from their wars, and diverted them to Egypt. They failed in their attempt to get Julius Caesar to defeat Cleopatra. They failed to get Mark Antony to defeat Cleopatra. They had also financed the Mark Antony campaign. They failed in their efforts to completely control that region.To this moment, they continue to try. History repeats itself. That is what should have been called the history of Cleopatra, and this was my approach when I made the "Cleopatra" series.Hmmmmm....You got to be kidding?Next they're going to say Attila the Hun and the Black Plague was their doing also?Read the full story here.

• South Sudan: 20 Police Die in Attack by Arab Tribe.Arab tribesmen accompanied by a Khartoum-backed militia killed 20 policemen in Sudan's disputed region of Abyei, a southern military spokesman said Monday, raising concerns of violence as the south carries out a weeklong independence referendum.A tribal leader, though, said that police had killed 10 herders in the area. The reported attacks came Sunday, the first day of Southern Sudan's self-determination vote, which is widely predicted to break Africa's largest country in two. The referendum was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended two decades of civil war.Jubilant voters flooded polling stations for a second day on Monday. The seven days of balloting are likely to produce an overwhelming vote for independence, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said he will let the oil-rich south secede peacefully.But Abyei is still a major sticking point, and officials from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to Sudan activist and actor George Clooney have warned that Abyei holds the potential to send the north and south back to conflict.Abyei, which straddles the north-south divide and holds oil deposits, had been promised its own self-determination vote, but now its future will be decided by north-south negotiations that have so far made little progress.Col. Philip Aguer, the spokesman for Southern Sudan's army, said that the Misseriya -- an Arab tribe that moves its cattle herds through Abyei -- attacked the village of Maker-Adhar on Sunday with anti-tank weapons and artillery. Aguer said he believes the attack was planned."They were not with cattle, they were coming for (an) attack," Aguer said.Independence won't be finalized until July, and many issues are yet to be worked out. They include north-south oil rights, water rights to the White Nile, border demarcation and the status of the contested region of Abyei, a north-south border region where the biggest threat of a return to conflict exists.Most of Sudan's oil is in the south, while the pipelines to the sea run through the north, tying the two regions together economically.Read the full story here.

• UK: Sikhs, Hindus say girls are targeted by Muslims for sex,conversion.UK: Sikhs, Hindus say girls are targeted by Muslims for sex, conversion.Unlike previous discussions on this topic, they blame Islam.A day after UKs' former home secretary Jack Straw blamed some Pakistani Muslim men for targeting "vulnerable" White girls sexually, UK's Hindu and Sikh organizations also publicly accused Muslim groups of the same offence.Feeling emboldened by Straw's statement, UK's Hindu and Sikh organizations have also come in open and accused some Pakistani men of specifically targeting Hindu and Sikh girls. "This has been a serious concern for the last decade," said Hardeep Singh of Network of Sikh Organizations (NSO) while talking to TOI on Monday.Sikhs and Hindus are annoyed that Straw had shown concern for White girls and not the Hindu and the Sikh teenage girls who have been coaxed by some Pakistani men for sex and religious conversion."Straw does other communities a disservice by suggesting that only white girls were targets of this predatory behaviour. We raised the issue of our girls with the previous government and the police on several occasions over the last decade. This phenomenon has been there because a minority of Islamic extremists view all 'non believers' as legitimate targets," said director NSO Inderjit Singh.Targeted sexual offences and forced conversions of Hindu and Sikh girls was not a new phenomenon in the UK, said Ashish Joshio from Media Monitoring group."This has been going on for decades in the UK . Young Muslim men have been boasting about seducing the Kaffir (unbeliever) women. The Hindu and the Sikh communities must be commended for showing both restraint and maturity under such provocation," he added.Read the full story here.

• Azerbaijan - Higher fines for people who meet to pray or read religious texts.Azerbaijan has increased fines for religious believers who meet to pray without authorisation. Six Jehovah’s Witnesses are sentenced to prison for practicing their faith.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev on 29 December signed into law a bill adopted by parliament on 8 December without public debate. The new legislation increases fines for offences related to the right to exercise religious freedom as described in Articles 299 and 300 of the country’s Administrative Code. Under the new rules, anyone involved unauthorised religious activity is punished. This includes leading unregistered religious groups, meeting for prayers, and importing and distributing religious texts or documents not approved by the country’s rigid censorship board. Foreigners who visit the country to speak about their faith are also severely punished. Proselytising and teaching children catechism also require an authorisation.Although prison is excluded as a form of punishment, fines are increased between 16 and 20 times. This means that offenders could lose their property or be thrown into poverty.Eldar Zeynalov, head of the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, told Forum 18 that if a peasant family of five is found in possession of “illegal” religious literature, each member could be fined 2,000 manat, 10,000 for the whole family (US$ 12,500), representing “the entire value of the family's assets, including their home”.“These Articles punish what can be considered as normal religious activity," Zeynalov explained. “Any religious activity, however small-scale, such as meeting for worship in a private flat, talking about one's faith on the street, or handing out a book or even a leaflet, is subject to prosecution.”At the same time, the new rules are very vague about what constitutes illegal religious activity, which gives police and the authorities a great deal of discretionary power. Although the government appears be motivated by a fear of Islamic radicalism, the new rules apply to every religion. In fact, on 18 December, police burst into a private home in Gyanja and took into custody about 50 Jehovah’s Witnesses who were brought to a local police station.Hmmmmm.....Art 18 of the Charter of Human Rights "Freedom of religion" an empty statement.Bashing Israel is off course much more popular at the Islamic United Nations. Read the full story here.

• South Sudan: Emancipated Nation.Most people can think of a day that changed their lives. I can think of two. The first happened twenty four years ago, when at the age of seven I became a slave; the other is coming up in less than a month. It is a day when my people will be free.On May 15 of 1986, when I was seven years old, my mother sent me to a marketplace in the town of Nyamlell, South Sudan to sell peanuts and eggs. The market was filled with people, sounds, and smells, with half naked children running, smiling, pushing each other. I was happy; I wanted to make my mother proud by selling as many eggs as possible. Suddenly, something happened. We looked up to see cloud of smoke rising from the direction of Gourion, my village. I heard gun shots and stomping of horses’ feet coming fast from the distance. Everybody around me began running in all directions. A wall of dust preceding their arrival, an Arab militia stormed the market.What followed was a scene of panic, terror and confusion. The Arabs, some on horses, some on feet, were mercilessly killing all the men, shooting some and decapitating others with a single swipe of their swords. Children around me were screaming and crying in horror; the market place was filling with the bodies of the dead. I tried to run but one of the Arabs grabbed me and loaded me into a basket on his donkey. I was soon joined by other kids. A little girl, who looked no older than twelve, was executed by a point blank shot to her head in front of my eyes. Her crime? She could not stop crying. After the loading was over we began riding into darkness.That was the beginning of my journey into slavery where for the next ten years I was forced to serve a family of a wealthy Arab Muslim living in North Sudan. Giemma Abdullah, his wife and his children made my life hell during these ten years. They not only made me perform hard labor and sleep with animals, but they also tried to destroy my identity as a Dinka, my tribe. I was given an Arab name and under the threat of death was forbidden to speak the Dinka language. I was forced to perform Islamic prayers and was constantly taunted as “abeed,” Arabic for “black slave.” After two unsuccessful attempts, I managed to escape and made my way to America. A year later, I joined the modern-day abolitionist movement.On the day I escaped I did not become a free man. Images of other children still serving masters chained me to my captive nation.Read the full story here.

• The case for Israel.Op-ed: Our roots here traced back to 13th Century BC, 3,350 years before PLO’s creation.Since Oslo, 1993, the case of the Jewish State has highlighted Israel's pursuit of peace and security, while downplaying the right/deed of the Jewish People to its historical homeland. A resounding rebuke of David Ben Gurion, the Laborite Founding Father of the Jewish State and its first prime minister, who stated: "He who abandons his past forfeits his future.” The claim of national sovereignty and the level of steadfastness in face of adversity are derivatives of the attachment to the territorial cradle of history and national security requirements.Nations which highlight their non-conditional attachment to their territorial cradle of history (irrespective of diplomatic, security and economic considerations) enhance steadfastness and gain strategic respect. On the other hand, nations which consider their cradle of history a negotiable-real-estate may gain short-lived popularity, but undermine their attachment to the land, lose long-term strategic respect and erode their own posture of deterrence.A nation which negotiates away its cradle of history is giving away its future.Prof. (emeritus) Menasheh Har-El, a leading expert on the history and geography of the Land of Israel, a recipient of the Israel Prize and author of 13 books, documents national Jewish roots in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem as early as the 13th century BC: 2,000 years before the appearance of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, 3,200 years before Arabs from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon migrated to the Land of Israel and 3,350 years before the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization. According to Professor Har-El's 55 years of research, the Jews were the first to coalesce the various regions of Canaan into a unified country. They settled in the mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria rather than along the coastal plain, introducing agricultural innovations into barren, rugged mountains, developing irrigation systems, establishing stone and metal shops, ushering advanced architecture and construction, building roads from the Mediterranean to Jerusalem, which became the crown jewel of the Jewish people.Read the full story here.

• 'Attack a Teacher Day': Six schoolgirls aged 12 and 13 arrested for encouraging friends to sign up to group on Facebook.Six schoolgirls have been arrested after students were invited to sign up on Facebook for ‘Attack a Teacher Day’.The twelve and thirteen-year-old girls all attended two middle schools in Carson City, Nevada.One was accused of sending out messages asking 100 classmates on the social networking site to target teachers.Police questioned the other five girls over specific online threats they made against particular teachers.The girls – all A-grade students – claimed it was all a joke, but they were arrested before the event that was planned for last Friday.‘School shootings really happen. That's why we took it seriously,’ said Dan Sadler, principal of Carson Middle School attended by five of the girls.‘It's not OK, and it's not funny in this day and age if you're going to make a threat against a teacher.’He pointed out that last Wednesday – on the day of the arrests – a suspended 17-year-old pupil in Omaha, Nebraska, shot dead an assistant principal and wounded his principal.Eighteen students accepted the invitation to participate in the attacks at the two schools, which had been set to take place from 7am to 9am last Friday.A parent brought the posting to the attention of authorities, Sadler said.Classes took place Friday without incident at both schools after students were earlier notified of the arrests and parents of the students who were arrested or accepted the invitations were contacted by authorities.
  Hmmmm.....Where will this mad world stop?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video : Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim, Self-Proclaimed California University Toxicologist: Multiple Sex Partners Make a Woman's Immune System Crash; Eating Pork Weakens One's Ability to Think.Hmmmm....Is there any insanity in your family?Read and see the full story here.

• Iran bans "tight jeans", tattoos at some universities.TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran has enforced a stricter Islamic dress code at a number of universities including a ban on female students wearing long nails, bright clothes and tattoos, a local news agency reported on Monday.The semi-official Fars news agency published a list of universities around Iran that were given a note outlining the code but did not say on what basis they were selected.The new rules ban women from "wearing caps or hats without scarves, tight and short jeans, and body piercing", except earrings, Fars said.It said tattoos, long nails, tooth gems, tight overcoats, and bright clothes were also banned.Iran has been waging a country-wide campaign against Western cultural influences. Under Islamic law imposed after the 1979 revolution, women have to cover their hair in public and wear long, loose-fitting clothes.The new code also bans male students from dying their hair, plucking eyebrows, wearing tight clothes, shirts with "very short sleeves" and jewellery, Fars said.The authorities usually intensify efforts ahead of hot summer months when women tend to wear lighter clothes and brightly coloured scarves, often pushed back to expose hair.The authorities usually intensify efforts ahead of hot summer months when women tend to wear lighter clothes and brightly coloured scarves, often pushed back to expose hair.In recent years crackdowns have extended into winter fashion as well including a push against women's trousers seen as too tight, as well as men with spiky "Western-style" hairstyles.Hardliners have pressed for tighter controls on "immoral behaviour" since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005 promising a return to the values of the revolution.Young women, particularly in wealthier urban areas, often challenge limitations by wearing tight clothes and colourful headscarves that barely cover their hair. The rules remain less challenged in poor suburbs and rural regions.Hmmmm........."Temporary Marriages "Yes -  fashion No?Read the full story here.

• 'Band of Brothers'Dick Winters dies. WWII hero commanded 'Band of Brothers'.Dick Winters, a decorated Army officer whose World War II service was recounted in the best-selling book and HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers," died Jan. 2. News reports listed his age at 92.Based on the 1992 book by historian Stephen E. Ambrose, the HBO mini-series came out in 2001 and was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.The story follows the tragedies and triumphs of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, E Company.To Mr. Winters, these citizen-soldiers came to be known as the men of Easy Company -- paratroopers who jumped into combat on June 6, 1944 above Normandy, France.According to Ambrose's account, Easy Company suffered 150 percent casualties throughout the war.One of the soldiers who served in Easy Company, David Webster, once wrote that among his colleagues the Purple Heart "was not a decoration but a badge of office."Mr. Winters, who separated from the Army at the rank of major, and his men fought together through D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge and later occupied Adolf Hitler's mountainside retreat, the Eagle's Nest, near Berchtesgaden.A charismatic officer who led by example, Mr. Winters received the Distinguished Service Cross, the country's second highest decoration for valor, while conducting combat operations on D-Day.A true American patriot and here passed away.Read and see the full story here.More here.

• HT:IslamInEurope.Netherlands: Situation of Turkish youth is alarming.The position of Dutch-Turkish youth in society is particularly worrying, according to a letter published in Dutch newspaper Volkskrant by ten Dutch-Turkish professionals, researchers, teachers and policy advisers. The sharp social climate and the lack of leadership in the Turkish community, lead the youth to apathy and to feel less connected to Dutch society. They are therefore more susceptible to crime and Muslim radicalization."All in all, there's starting to be a growing group of youth who are feeling out of place," according to the writers of the manifest. "they don't feel welcome in Dutch society. Some withdraw into their own (religious) community, others isolate themselves and are at threat of becoming lonely, developing seriously psychological problems or becoming susceptible to the seduction of radicalism or crime."The ten professionals call the government, industry, educational and Turkish organization to give higher priority to the youth problems. "they should get the feeling that their future is in the Netherlands," they say.The Alliance of Turkish immigrants in Holland (Inspraakorgaan Turken in Nederland) says it generally agrees with the manifest. "What they say is mainly right," says policy adviser Harm van Zuthem. "The analysis that many youth will turn their backs on society and will thereby lack opportunities, is right."According to the recently published annual report on integration by Statistics Netherlands, Turkish-Dutch youth are behind in many fields. In the 2009-2010 school-year, 80% of the Turkish youth in their 3rd year of secondary education were in the vocational track. 20% were in the academic track.In 2009, 18% of Turkish-Dutch aged 15-25 were unemployed. 40% of the Turkish youth aged 12 in 1999 were suspected of a crime between 1999 and 2007.Turks are the largest immigrant group in the Netherlands. In 2010 there were 384,000, 49% of which were 2nd generation.Hmmmm....." The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers".The schools are our downfall?Read the full story here.

• Asylum seeker who claimed to have been gang-raped and witnessed family's murder in Somalia exposed as £250k benefit fraudster.An asylum seeker who claimed she had been gang-raped in Somalia was jailed today for swindling more than £250,000 in a 'professionally planned' benefit scam.Amina Muse, 38, also conned Swedish authorities out of £50,000, spending the money on luxury living and holidays in Africa.While she claimed asylum in the UK based on 'appalling atrocities' committed against her in Somalia, investigators found she was living in Sweden at the time.Handing her a four-and-a-half-year prison term at Harrow Crown Court, in north London, Judge Stephen Holt told her: 'One of the most serious aspects of this case is your cynical, dishonest manipulation of the whole system of asylum.'Muse, a mother of six, who also went by the name of Ayan Abdulle, sought refuge in Britain after moving to Sweden in 1995 where she was granted citizenship and enjoyed a 'comfortable' life.On her UK asylum application, disclosed today, she claimed militiamen stormed and looted her family home in war-torn Somalia on December 1, 1998, because she was a member of a minority group.'They opened fire at us and then broke into our house by force,' she said. 'They shot dead my brothers Asad and Burhan. They died instantly in our presence.'But investigators, who suspect the Muse to be of Kenyan descent, found this to be the date on which she gave birth to a child in Sweden.Between June 2004 and May 2010, Muse, from Neasden, north-west London, claimed a total of £261,358.14 in income support, disability living allowance for one of her children and carer's allowance for herself. This included child benefit, child tax credits and housing benefit from various local authorities.She received a total of £112,985.51 from the borough of Camden where she lived in a four-bedroom property.Condemning her deceit, Judge Holt said: 'In my view it was fraud from the outset. It was professionally planned.'Read the full story here.

• Eight arrested in Hong Kong in connection with the smuggling of young Chinese man disguised as an old white man. Hong Kong authorities have arrested eight people suspected of helping to smuggle a young Chinese passenger onto a flight to Canada wearing a Hollywood-style disguise of an elderly white man.The man, believed to be in his 20s, sought asylum after arriving in Vancouver on October 29.He is suspected of traveling to Hong Kong with genuine Chinese travel documents, then swapping them for fake papers and donning the remarkably detailed silicone mask to change his appearance before boarding the Air Canada flight.Canadian authorities said the man removed the mask in a washroom mid-flight.Hong Kong officials arrested five men and three women in connection with the case, Elly Au Yeung, an information officer for the Hong Kong Immigration Department, told The Associated Press on Monday.She said a member of the Hong Kong International Airport ground staff and two former employees were among the arrested suspects.The eight are suspected smugglers who supplied the passenger with his new travel papers at the Hong Kong airport, Au Yeung said.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Indian bride discovers husband is a woman.Indian bride lived with her husband for a year before discovering the painful truth.Her beloved he was really a she.Minati Khatua, aged 26 old, of Orissa, India, and her family were completely fooled by the groom, Sitakant Routray, who received a substantial dowry as is traditional in India composed of an Indica car, gold ornaments and more than £350 (about US $575) in cash.“He had impressed everyone in my family and they willingly agreed to our marriage,” said Khatua.No matter how much she wanted to believe her new husband, she grew more and more suspicious after the wedding when he constantly avoided any physical contact with her using the pretext of a religious vow.“I would try hard to find out and confirm his gender but failed repeatedly… One day I managed to force open the bathroom door when he was having a bath and my worst fears became true. He was a woman,” she told the press.Local police are investigating the most bizarre case.The bogus groom is nowhere to be found at the present time, having absconded with a car and a jeep, which were bought with loans acquired from an account in Ms Khatua’s name.Hmmm....So they were sleeping separately for a year?Read the full story here.