Russia's defense min has built a giant military base “Arctic trefoil” in the far northern Arctic.

Source 

Russia's defense min has built a giant military base “Arctic trefoil” in the far northern Arctic.(rferl).

Russia's defense ministry said it has built a giant military base in the far northern Arctic, establishing a sprawling presence where Russia hopes to retrieve oil and other mineral riches.

The ministry said October 20 that the building erected on the large island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, is 97 percent complete.

Named the "Arctic Trefoil," or three-lobed leaf, the massive three-pointed structure is colored red, white, and blue like the Russian flag. It is a permanent structure located on the 80th parallel north and has an area of over 14,000 square meters.

Russia is building up its Arctic military infrastructure as part of a recently updated Naval Doctrine, which proclaims the region as a top priority due to its mineral riches and strategic importance.

Russia has already built a similar military base called the "Northern Shamrock" on Kotelny island in the East Siberian Sea further south on the 75th parallel.

Russia has increasingly asserted itself as an Arctic nation. This year, it filed a United Nations claim for a vast swathe of the region including the North Pole, and it has been holding wargames in the area.

Parts of the same area are claimed by Canada, Norway, and the United States, among other Arctic nations.

The new Arctic Trefoil structure can house 150 soldiers and stock enough fuel and food to let them work and live there independently for a year and a half, the ministry said.





The soldiers can move around the base from one building to another without going outside to face winter temperatures which can reach minus 47 degrees Celsius (-57 degrees Fahrenheit). Roads have been built and fuel can be pumped in from tankers.

"No one has implemented similar projects at such a high latitude until now," said Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, adding that "the air defense units on combat duty in Russia's northernmost point are combat-ready and capable of performing their assigned missions." Hmmmm.....With Justine leading Canada now the Russians are safe. Read the full story here.

Russia Will Defend Its Right to Arctic Oil, Gas With Missiles.

Russia Will Defend Its Right to Arctic Oil, Gas With Missiles.(SP).

All necessary infrastructure for stationing air defense troops is currently being built on Sredny Island in the Kara Sea, Die Welt wrote.

“Around 1,500 workers have been hired to build such military facilities on six islands in the Arctic,” the newspaper added.

Putin Calls for Balance Between Arctic Resources' Extraction and Ecosystem As a major player in the global energy market, Russia is trying to gain access to sections on the Arctic Ocean shelf with a forecast hydrocarbon resource totaling 4.9 billion tons of oil equivalent.

The Arctic is believed to hold up to 25 percent of the planet's untapped oil and gas supplies, and Russia, the US, Canada, Denmark and Norway have all been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the territory.

The competition has intensified in recent years as shrinking polar ice is opening new opportunities for exploration. Hmmm......Canada will have......Justine? God have mercy. Read the full story here.

Battle for the 'Russian' Arctic heating up.

Battle for the 'Russian' Arctic heating up. (RBTH).

Russian scientists say their new model for the Arctic's tectonic evolution shows that the underwater Lomonosov and Mendeleev Ridges are part of the Eurasian mainland. 

This apparently substantiates Russia's claim to 1.2 million square kilometers of Arctic sea shelf. At stake is control over vast natural resources, and opposition from western nations is almost certain.

Scientists from the Shirshov Oceanology Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a new model for the Arctic's tectonic evolution that could help Russia — as well as several other countries — to support their territorial claims in the region.

The model proves that both the Mendeleev and the Lomonosov underwater ridges in the Arctic Ocean are in fact extensions of the Russian shelf, while the North Pole belongs to Denmark. 

Earlier this month Russia submitted its latest claims over the vast Arctic area to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. If these are deemed valid, then access to significant parts of the Arctic could be off-limits to other nations.

The Arctic explained

The scientists claim their model is the most accurate to date since it was the first one to describe the actual tectonic plate movements in the Arctic and explain the origin of the basic tectonic structures of its seabed. The scientists say their model represents a huge step forward, paving the way to a completely new field of research --- the study and reconstruction of the mechanism behind the movement of the Arctic crustal blocks.

The Russian scientific data could also support shelf extension claims made by other countries, with some of them potentially extending their borders all the way to the North Pole. “Our colleagues from Norway, Canada, the United States and Denmark are quite interested in the model and are studying it with enthusiasm,” Leopold Lobkovsky, deputy director of the Shirshov Institute, told RBTH.

“We know now that the Gakkel Ridge, which Russia had previously claimed as well, is not an extension of the country’s shelf, but merely a part of the seabed,'' said Yuri Sychev, head of the Zubkov State Institute of Oceanography. “The North Pole – according to the equi-distance principle – should belong to Denmark, but this issue is still a subject of discussion between Copenhagen, Ottawa and Moscow. As for the Lomonosov and the Mendeleev Ridges, these are undoubtedly part of the Russian shelf.” 

The researchers have gathered unique cartographical and geophysical data that they expect will satisfy the UN commission. Russian scientific data shows that the ridges started moving away from the Eurasian continent 120 million years ago, but have never broken off from it.

A decade of research

Russia submitted a similar territorial claim in 2001, but it was rejected because it failed to provide convincing evidence. Establishing the new model took over 10 years of geological and geophysical studies and large-scale marine expeditions involving ice-breakers and scientific research ships. During one such expedition, drilling rigs deployed near the Mendeleev Ridge reached rock formations that could date back to almost 300 million years ago.   

“At the moment, the Arctic Ocean beyond the exclusive economic zone is open to ships from all states”, said Lobkovsky. “If the Russian claim is approved by the UN Commission, then a large part of the Arctic will no longer be considered international waters.''

Professor Vladimir Pavlenko, head of Russia’s Arctic Research Institute, believes the UN will approve Russia’s claims this time. “The rejection of the 2001 claim made sense; we had almost no accurate data at that point,'' said Pavlenko. “It was hard to expect any other outcome, but now we have every reason to expect an approval.”

Despite the new evidence, however, Russia's claim will continue to meet strong opposition from other countries, such as the USA and Canada, because at stake is a very resource-rich area of the Arctic.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said the U.S. and its allies should stand up to Russia. “Russia has been aggressively pushing its claims to the Arctic, especially the resource-rich continental shelf. It now has an Arctic Command to strengthen its military presence in the region. The U.S. and others bordering the Arctic must maintain a united front against Moscow’s aggressive ambitions toward this vital region,” said Royce.  

Two brand new 'Armed' ice breaking rescue and salvage vessels for Russia are ready at Nordic Yards in Germany.

Two brand new 'Armed' ice breaking rescue and salvage vessels for Russia are ready at Nordic Yards in Germany. (BarendObserver).

The two identical vessels are icebreakers of the second highest ice class, suitable for rescue operations in harsh environments. They can be used both for icebreaking operations in harbors and waters with an ice thickness of 1m as well as for fire-fighting and combating oil spills from the sea.

“Beringov Proliv” will be based in the Sakhalin region, while “Murman” will be based in Murmansk, the shipyard says in a press release.

The vessels can study the ocean floor and damaged objects at depths of up to 1,000m. Furthermore, they are equipped with a helipad on the bow.

The Russian Federal Marine and River Transport Agency and German shipbuilder Nordic Yards in December 2012 signed a contract for the construction of two icebreaking rescue and salvage vessels to operate in Russian Arctic waters. The total volume of the orders was €150 million. Hmmm.....Russia has already a large fleet of Ice breakers, now they're getting armed ones. I Hope that Canada takes notes.

HT And Source:

These might be the icebreakers 'with guns' Germany recently delivered to Russia. http://t.co/dFlmFYS5iQ #Mistral pic.twitter.com/RDzVxX50Du

— Ukraine@war (@DajeyPetros) August 10, 2015

@moscow_ghost Für Russland wurden zwei Eisbrecher mit militärischer Schutzausstattung genehmigt. http://t.co/rB87PQgGr6

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) August 10, 2015

Related:

US Coast Guard still wrangling with Only one 'retired' heavy ice breaker.

Russian nuclear build heavy ice breaker Yamal.

US Coast Guard still wrangling with Only one 'retired' heavy ice breaker. (Janes).

As human activity in the Arctic continues to expand, the chief of the US Coast Guard (USCG) remains concerned about the nation's limited ice-breaking capability and is continuing to advocate for recapitalising its obsolete fleet of heavy ice breakers.

"This is not a coastguard unique challenge. It's a global access challenge that requires a national solution," Admiral Paul Zukunft, commandant of the USCG, said on 24 February in his annual state of the coastguard address.

Polar-class USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), a 39-year-old cutter that has been reactivated, remains the United States' sole heavy ice breaker, with sister ship USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB 11) laid up in disrepair. The 16,000-tonne medium ice breaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) is also in service.

Demand for ice-breaking capability is only growing, as several recent cases have demonstrated, the commandant noted. Polar Star in mid-February steamed 900 miles and broke through 150 miles of ice to rescue a 207-ft fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftan , hailing from New Zealand with 26 crew members, that had become stranded in the southern polar region. "Ponder that for a minute, what a truly spectacular rescue and what would happen if we weren't there," Adm Zukunft said. "What concerns me even more is that the United States has no rescue capability whatsoever had it been Polar Star who suffered a catastrophic [mechanical] casualty and become beset in ice."

A study commissioned by the USCG to assess the United States' future ice breaker requirement concluded that a fleet of three heavy and three medium ice breakers would fulfill the needs for operating in the polar regions.

Enticing shipbuilders to help on a new ice breaker also has been difficult. "When you try to incentivise a shipyard to building an ice breaker, most shipyards will not make the front-end capital investments to build one ship of one type. So there's been an expressed need for more than one ice breaker," Adm Zukunft told reporters.

USCG officials have been arguing for a 'whole-of-government' approach to funding a new ice breaker for some time, but the idea has yet to gain traction with US agencies with a vested interest, such as the Department of Defense, which also is struggling with its own budgetary problems.

To keep up with the burgeoning activity in the Arctic, the USCG is weighing options for bolstering its ice-breaking capability in the near term, including leasing ice breakers, reactivating Polar Sea , and possibly pursuing new ship acquisition. Hmmmm......Meanwhile the Russians have 6 heavy nuclear powered icebreakers, 7th is being build, and the have 39 diesel powered ice breakers. Good luck defending the arctic from Russia's appetite.China has 2 heavy ice breakers and one more coming in to service next year.Read the full story here.

Canadian PM Harper at G20 tells Vladimir Putin to 'get out of Ukraine'.

Not exactly John Wayne...but 'True Grit'.

Canadian PM Harper at G20 tells Vladimir Putin to 'get out of Ukraine'. (CBC).

Stephen Harper had a showdown with Vladimir Putin on Saturday, telling the Russian leader to "get out of Ukraine" in a dustup at the Group of 20 summit in Australia.

Harper's spokesman, Jason MacDonald, said the prime minister was speaking to a group of G20 leaders at a private leaders' retreat on Saturday morning when Putin approached and extended his hand.

MacDonald said Harper told Putin: "I guess I'll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine."

According to MacDonald, Putin did not respond positively. He didn't provide further details.

But a spokesman for the Russian delegation said Putin's response was: "That's impossible because we are not there."

Harper and the leaders of the world's top economies began the annual summit in a tense atmosphere dominated by Western anger towards Putin and pressure to address climate change, fight Ebola and kickstart economic growth.

A senior government source had earlier stated that Harper had no intention of talking to Putin during the summit, noting the Russian leader was well aware of Canada's position on his aggression in Ukraine. That changed when Putin approached his Canadian counterpart.

Harper has been a vehement Putin critic for months, with Canada and Russia trading a number of retaliatory sanctions.

He recently condemned the "continued penetration of Russian presence in eastern Ukraine and obvious actions to extend and provoke additional violence. That's of great concern to us." Read the full story here.

Russia Starts rebuilding Military Bases in the Arctic.

Russia Starts rebuilding Military Bases in the Arctic.(MT).

Set on restoring the once formidable Soviet military presence in the highly contested and resource-rich Arctic, the Russian military has begun building new military bases in the region, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

"On Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt, block-modules have been unloaded for the construction of military camps. The complex is being erected in the form of a star," Colonel Alexander Gordeyev, a spokesperson for the Eastern Military District, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Russia has been talking about militarizing the Arctic for years as part of its greater strategy to explore and industrialize the pristine region, which is wealthy in oil and gas and offers a strategic trade route capable of rerouting the global trade flows.

The locations named by Gordeyev are deep into the Arctic circle in the Chukchi Sea, close to Alaska.

The construction of the new Arctic bases, which will be the first new facilities established in the area since the Soviets abandoned their Arctic positions in the waning years of the Cold War, marks a milestone in Russia's militarization of the region.

Wrangel Island is classified by the Russian government as a nature reserve and was never used by the Soviets as a military base. In late August, the Russian navy carried out an expedition to the island and planted a flag, which Pacific Fleet spokesperson Captain First Rank Roman Martov said "heralded the station of the first ever naval base on [Wrangel Island]."

Cape Schmidt, on the other hand, saw use during the Cold War as a base for long-range strategic bombers. The Soviet government established airbases throughout the Arctic for its bomber fleet, as this was the closest geographic point to the United States.

The two sets of 34 prefabricated modules being installed on Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt will contribute to Putin's aspirations by giving Russia's Arctic forces a comfortable home in an unforgiving environment. The base will consist of residential, commercial, administrative and recreational units, RIA Novosti reported.

Roman Filimonov, director of the Defense Ministry's department for state procurement of capital construction said in July that it intends to establish six such compounds in the Arctic "to further develop the stationing of ground forces in the Arctic ... They will be contemporary military communities. We will call them 'The North Star' since the shape of the community resembles a star."

Meanwhile, Russia's Northern Fleet, which is based out of Murmansk, in the western part of Russia's vast Arctic territory, is being reinforced with Russia's newest nuclear attack submarines — the Yasen-class. The first Yasen, called the Severodvinsk, joined the Northern Fleet in June. With three additional vessels slated to follow her, the Yasen-type submarines will phase out the older Soviet-era Akula and Alfa-class attack submarines. This will leave Russia with a formidable underwater force to complement the already hard-hitting capabilities of the Northern Fleet.

Such developments have alarmed the other members of the so-called Arctic Council, a group of nations that share borders in the region. In late August, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird raised the alarm on Russia's military buildup in the region, vowing that it would not hesitate to defend Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

By the end of 2014, Russia will have moved military units to Kotelny Island, located north of the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia, and a motorized rifle brigade to Alakurtii, a village in Murmansk oblast, to coincide with deployments to the Franz Josef Archipelago and Novaya Zemlya.

By 2015, Russia hopes to restore the entirety of its former-Soviet defense infrastructure in the region, RIA Novosti said.Read the full story here.


 Related: Canada Adds Drones to Its Fight With Russia for the North Pole

Canada Ready to Use Force Against Russia in the Arctic – Canadian Foreign Minister

I hope Canada has more then a Rubber boat to back up their claim.

Canada Ready to Use Force Against Russia in the Arctic – Canadian Foreign Minister. (RN).

Canada is concerned about Russia’s military expansion in the Arctic and is ready to defend its interests in the region using military force, John Baird, Canadian foreign affairs minister, told the Berlingske newspaper Monday.

“We are deeply worried and ready to promote and protect Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. It’s a strategic priority for us. When it comes to militarization, we would prefer to de-escalate the conflict, but it is clear that we may protect our sovereignty by force,” Baird told the newspaper.

All Arctic coastal states are currently limited to their exclusive economic zones of 200 nautical miles. However, portions of the Arctic Sea region are in dispute for their shipping and natural resource potential. The melting of the region’s sea ice has opened the possibility for further exploration of petroleum reserves in the area.

The Ukrainian crisis has affected cooperation in the Arctic, with Norway, the United States, Canada and Denmark all imposing sanctions on Russia, which reciprocated with a food import ban. In April, Canada announced it would skip Arctic Council meetings in Moscow due to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

‘Soviet Union’ to replace ‘Russia’ by the end of the year.

Nuclear Icebreaker Yamal.

‘Soviet Union’ to replace ‘Russia’ by the end of the year. (RBTH).

Before the end of the year, the Soviet Union will replace Russia. This is not an announcement of an impending coup or change of political line, although the move does involve giants, albeit not geopolitical but marine ones: Soviet-era nuclear-powered icebreakers of the Arktika-class. Arktika-class nuclear icebreakers are auxiliary vessels with two nuclear reactors onboard and a displacement of half an aircraft carrier. 

A unique ship with an ordinary story The icebreaker Sovetsky Soyuz came into service just two years before the country that gave it life and its name ceased to exist. It was the third ship in the series. 

Unlike its illustrious predecessors, which became the first ships to reach the North Pole, the Sovetsky Soyuz led a quiet life, carrying wealthy foreigners on their tourist voyages to the Arctic. 

Icehunters: Russian conquerors of the North Pole In the early 2000s, it was used as a floating power plant, with its reactors generating electricity for various coastal facilities in Murmansk. Then there were several more scientific expeditions, after which the giant ship spent five years laid up. 

Now the icebreaker is in demand again. It has been announced that for at least eight more years the Sovetsky Soyuz will be used to help ships navigate along the increasingly more popular Northern Sea Route, which – due to melting ice – has over the past three years seen a 15-fold rise in cargo traffic (from 100,000 tons in 2010 to 1.5 million tons in 2013). 

Furthermore, the Northern Sea Route is shorter than routes running through southern latitudes; is safer since there are no pirates; and is therefore economically more efficient. 

Almost a cruiser The refurbishment of the Sovetsky Soyuz is due to be completed by the end of this year. It will replace the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya, which needs to have its reactor fuel refilled. Part of Rossiya’s crew have already transferred to the Sovetsky Soyuz and are busy doing repairs there. The service life of its reactor has been extended to 150,000 hours. 

Thus, out of the six Arktika-class icebreakers, soon only three will remain in service: Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy, and Sovetsky Soyuz. These gigantic ships with a length of up to 150 meters and a crew of 138 people were the most powerful ships in the world when the first of them was built in 1972. 

 These icebreakers were built as dual-purpose ships: It was envisaged that they could be quickly converted into military auxiliary cruisers. They have fire-control radars and a dedicated section for installing artillery weapons. 

Part of the relevant equipment is mothballed onboard and part is kept in shore depots. Extending the service life of the Arktika-class icebreakers will give shipbuilders more time to create icebreakers of the new, LK-60, type. St. Petersburg’s Baltiysky Zavod shipyard will build three new ships for Atomflot, due to come into service after 2020. Hmmm.....Number of Heavy US Icebreakers........ZERO.

Also critical to missions in the Arctic is America’s icebreaking capability. Regrettably, this is one capability that is more lacking than even the High Endurance Cutter fleet. The U.S. Coast Guard has two heavy-duty icebreakers, neither of which is currently operational. One is set to be revitalized, but this will be costly and add only a few years to the vessel’s service life.
A new heavy-duty icebreaker would cost nearly a billion dollars and take a decade to build. Considering that the Coast Guard’s total recapitalization budget for fiscal year 2013 is $1.2 billion, it would be difficult to afford much else if the sea service wishes to buy a new icebreaker, even over 10 years.

Related:   First Chinese Icebreaker 'Xue Long' or "Snow Dragon" crosses Northern Ice sea.

               Breaking the Ice: Russian Nuclear-Powered Ice-Breakers.

               Russian nuclear icebreakers fleet

The Arctic Future: Confrontation or collaboration?

The Arctic: Confrontation or collaboration? – Russia Direct.

The Arctic conference in Moscow, “The Arctic: Region of Development and Cooperation”, which was organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) on Dec. 2-3, brought together politicians, diplomats, academics, businessmen and environmentalists from the U.S., Russia, Canada and Europe.

Since the conference presented a unique opportunity to address common challenges in the Arctic and foster cooperation between countries, the organizers of the conference as well as most of the participants were optimistic about the future of the Arctic.

Arctic resources: Any competitors in sight for Russia?

“The Arctic region is a laboratory of new models for international collaboration that can be applied in other [less stable] regions,” said Andrey V. Kortunov, President of the New Eurasia Foundation and the General Director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
Artur Chilingarov, the Russian President’s Special Envoy for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, doesn’t see any reason for future confrontation in the Arctic.  A large number of conferences dedicated to the Arctic indicate that there is growing interest in bringing stability to the region and more cooperation, according to him. 
The Arctic conference in Moscow indicates that there are a lot of unresolved issues that “we need to negotiate,” Chilingarov told Russia Direct.
David Balton, Ambassador for Oceans and Fisheries at the U.S. Department of State, echoes his Russian counterparts.
“I see the United States and Russia as continuing to collaborate in the Arctic for the foreseeable future because the interests of both of our nations overlap very significantly: We both want a stable and peaceful Arctic that can develop and also where we can protect the environment. So, there are no major policy differences between the U.S. and Russia or the other Arctic states.”
The militarization of the Arctic: myth or reality?Read the full story here.

‘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.

MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

• Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.

• The Obama Doctrine can be summarized in nine damning words: Embolden our enemies. Undermine our friends. Diminish our country.(WashingtonTimes).The outlines of an Obama Doctrine have been apparent for some time. It can be summarized in nine damning words: Embolden our enemies. Undermine our friends. Diminish our country. These days, it is hard to avoid proof that these outcomes are not inadvertent or attributable to sheer and sustained incompetence. Rather, they are a product of deliberate decisions approved, we must assume, by the president himself.Consider last week’s announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States was going to “engage” the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. In one fell swoop, Team Obama hit its doctrinal trifecta: America arguably has no more mortal enemy than the Muslim Brotherhood (MB, or Ikhwan in Arabic). The MB’s own documents - including a number of those introduced into evidence by the Justice Department in the largest terrorism-financing trial in U.S. history, the Holy Land Foundation prosecution - make clear that this international Islamist organization seeks to impose its politico-military-legal doctrine of Shariah on our country.One such document describes a “phased plan” that calls for the Ikhwan assiduously and stealthily to pursue precisely this objective. Ultimately, the plan calls for the use of violence to take over our government, clearing the way for the triumph of Islam worldwide and the re-establishment of a global ruler, the caliph, who will govern in accordance with Shariah.Sounds crazy, right? Or at least unachievable? It does, at least until you realize that the message being sent by the Obama administration is that despite such ambitions, we are prepared to legitimate and deal with the Muslim Brothers who are animated by them.Well, perhaps you say that just because we are recognizing that the Muslim Brotherhood is likely to be a big player (read, the winner) in the elections scheduled for later this year in Egypt does not mean we are going to facilitate its aspirations in this country. Unfortunately, that is exactly what it means.By engaging the Ikhwan in its native land, the Obama administration is effectively eliminating any lingering impediment to the operations of its myriad front groups in this country. Even before Mrs. Clinton’s announcement, many of them already had been accorded unprecedented access to and influence in the U.S. government. In fact, it stands to reason that one of the factors prompting Team Obama to embrace the Muslim Brotherhood is the success of such influence operations within the United States.In addition to emboldening our enemies by reinforcing their conviction that we are in decline, the Obama administration’s MB initiative undermines our friends. That is most obviously the case with respect to Israel, a nation already reeling from the president’s serial, gratuitous acts of enmity toward the Jewish state. His embrace of the Ikhwan can only exacerbate the worsening strategic environment the Israelis have faced in the months since the United States pulled the plug on former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Lest we forget, this momentous dismantling of America’s place as the world’s pre-eminent space power fits the Obama Doctrine in one other way: It was just a year ago that the then-newly appointed NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recounted how Mr. Obama had apprized him of his priority mission: “Perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science … and math and engineering.”Kind of hard to miss the pattern here.Hmmmm......"I Will stand with my Muslim brothers", when was the last time he went to church again?Read the full story here.

• GunWalker - These boots are made for walking: ATF Director Secretly Testifies That DOJ Lied to Congress and Obstructed Its Investigation.(DougRoss).ATF Director Ken Melson secretly testified Monday before the House Oversight Committee concerning Project Gunwalker -- without the knowledge of either the Justice Department or the ATF. Most importantly, he directly refuted the official "party line" coming from Washington regarding "Operation Fast and Furious":

• Contrary to denials by the DOJ, Melson said agents had witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without following the guns further

• The team executing Operation Fast and Furious had been placed under the direction of the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s office

• The DOJ is reported to have intentionally withheld documents from Congress that Melson has now provided to the Committee

As a result of that meeting, the Committee issued a scathing open letter to Attorney General Eric Holder accusing him of stonewalling the investigation into "Operation Gunrunner", the disastrous effort to smuggle weapons to Mexican drug cartels for reasons not yet fully understood.

Dear Attorney General Holder:

Yesterday, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson participated in a transcribed interview regarding Operation Fast and Furious and related matters with both Republican and Democratic staff. He appeared with his personal counsel, Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods LLP. His interview had originally been scheduled through the Justice Department to occur on July 13 in the presence of DOJ and ATF counsel. As you know, however, under our agreement Department witnesses who choose to attend a voluntary interview with their own lawyer are free to exercise that right rather than participate with counsel representing the Department's interests.

After being made aware of that provision of our agreement, Acting Director Melson chose to exercise that right and appeared with his own lawyer. We are disappointed that no one had previously informed him of that provision of the agreement. Instead, Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress. This is yet another example of why direct communications with Congress are so important and are protected by law.

Acting Director Melson's cooperation was extremely helpful to our investigation. He was candid in admitting mistakes that his agency made and described various ways he says that he tried to remedy the problems. According to Mr. Melson, it was not until after the public controversy that he personally reviewed hundreds of documents relating to the case, including wiretap applications and Reports of Investigation (ROIs). By his account, he was sick to his stomach when he obtained those documents and learned the full story. Mr. Melson said that he told the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) at the end of March that the Department needed to reexamine how it was responding to the requests for information from Congress.

According to Mr. Melson, he and ATF's senior leadership team moved to reassign every manager involved in Fast and Furious, from the Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations down to the Group Supervisor, after learning the facts in those documents. Mr. Melson also said he was not allowed to communicate to Congress the reasons for the reassignments. He claimed that ATF's senior leadership would have preferred to be more cooperative with our inquiry much earlier in the process.

However, he said that Justice Department officials directed them not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress. The result is that Congress only got the parts of the story that the Department wanted us to hear. If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DOJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand. That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation. The Department's inability or unwillingness to be more forthcoming served to conceal critical information that we are now learning about the involvement of other agencies, including the DEA and the FBI.This story keeps expanding -- it is far, far worse than Iran-Contra ever was. And even legacy media -- ABC, Bloomberg, NPR, Reuters, US News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, etc. -- are now reporting on the story.Of course, if you read The New York Times, you'd have no idea any of this had occurred.Obstructing a Congressional investigation is a crime. It's clear that Gunrunner goes to the very top of the DOJ and, perhaps, even beyond it.Hmmmm.....GunWalker:"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do.One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'.Read the full story here.

• TSA warns airlines of 'human bombs'.(Politico).Transportation security officials are warning airlines on Wednesday that “human bomb” terrorists may try to use surgically implanted explosives to blow up planes.Though there is no intelligence about a specific plot, the Transportation Security Administration is nonetheless urging domestic and international carriers to be aware of the potential threat.The warnings are part of an effort “to provide greater insights into recent intelligence indicating the continued interest of terrorists to target aviation,” TSA press secretary Nick Kimball said in a statement.“Due to the significant advances in global aviation security in recent years, terrorist groups have repeatedly and publicly indicated interest in pursuing ways to further conceal explosives,” he added.A U.S. security official told POLITICO that the threat is seen as more “likely to come from overseas rather than domestically but we are taking precautionary steps both internationally and here in the U.S.”As security measures become more sophisticated, terrorists have sought out new ways to conceal explosives, and surgically implanted bombs are one of the latest tactics that terrorists are believed to be trying to use.In a memo sent to Britain’s transportation department, the TSA said the U.S. government “has information indicating doctors have offered to help extremists surgically implant explosive devices in humans and animals for terrorist attacks,” the Daily Mirror reported Wednesday. The memo notes that airports don’t have one surefire way to screen for the bombs.Passengers flying into the United States from abroad “may notice additional security measures in place,” Kimball said. The measures “designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport,” but may include pat-downs and the use of other screening methods.Hmmmmmmm.........What exactly means "Other screening methods"?Read the full story here.

• Our Politicians Are Selling Off Pieces Of America To Foreign Investors – And Goldman Sachs Is Helping Them Do It.(AmericanDream).All over the United States, politicians are selling off key pieces of infrastructure to foreign investors and big Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs are helping them do it. State and local governments across the country that are drowning in debt and that are desperate for cash are increasingly turning to the "privatization" of public assets as the solution to their problems. Pieces of infrastructure that taxpayers have already paid for such as highways, water treatment plants, libraries, parking meters, airports and power plants are being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Most of the time what happens is that the state or local government receives a huge lump sum of cash up front for a long-term lease (usually 75 years or longer) and the foreign investors come in and soak as much revenue out of the piece of infrastructure that they possibly can. The losers in these deals are almost always the taxpayers. Pieces of America are literally being auctioned off just to help state and local governments minimize their debt problems for a year or two, but the consequences of these deals will be felt for decades.Sadly, this trend continues to accelerate. Just this week, a bill that will allow the state government of Ohio to proceed with plans to lease the Ohio Turnpike to investors was approved. The state government of Ohio will soon receive a one-time injection of cash and everyone in the area that uses the Ohio Turnpike will end up paying much higher tolls for decades to come.Highways have also been auctioned off (most of the time to foreign investors) in Indiana, the city of Chicago, Florida, Virginia and Texas.Amazingly, many politicians continue to insist that selling off pieces of infrastructure that have already been fully paid for by taxpayers is a wonderful thing. In fact, there are actually some politicians that have the gall to call it a "conservative" thing to do.For example, Rick Perry has been at the forefront of the effort to "privatize" the highways of Texas.You would think that the people of Texas would have gotten rid of him by now, but considering the fact that he may be running for the Republican nomination in 2012, he just might be our next president.What makes the selling off of our infrastructure even worse is that big Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs are helping our corrupt politicians do it.Hmmmmm........"Change".Read the full story here.

• 16 Reasons To Feel Really Depressed About The Direction That The Economy Is Headed.(AmericanDream).If you do not want to feel really depressed, you might not want to read this article. The U.S. economy is coming apart at the seams, and there are a whole lot of indications that things are about to get even worse. After a time of relative stability, the pace of job cuts is starting to pick up again, inflation is rising but paychecks are not, the U.S. housing crisis shows no signs of ending, millions of American families are drowning in debt and all of the recent polls show that the faith of the American people in our economy is eroding. As you read the statistics in this article, try to keep in mind that there are scores of families from coast to coast that are barely surviving from month to month. It can be a soul-crushing experience to work as hard as you can and yet just barely be able to pay the mortgage and put food into the mouths of your kids. The reason why so many Americans believe that we are in a "recession" or a "depression" is because that is what they feel like they are living through every single day.The number of Americans that are really depressed about the direction of the economy continues to grow. At first most Americans had expected the U.S. economy to bounce back after the recession "like it always does", but now hope is turning into desperation as people start realizing that this time things are different.Most Americans are very eager for things to go back to normal. Unfortunately, things look like they are about to get even worse.The following are 16 reasons to feel really depressed about the direction of the economy....Read the full story here.

• OIC changes name and emblem, it now shows an Islamic crescent surrounding the globe.(CrossroadsArabia).The Organization of the Islamic Conference is no more. Welcome, instead, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Saudi Gazette carries this story about the change of name and symbol resulting from decisions by the OIC’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Kazakhstan.The new logo, as seen in the photo accompanying the article, will not warm the hearts of Islamophobes, however. It shows an Islamic crescent surrounding the globe, exactly what they fear. The logo is in keeping, however, with the idea that the new organization seeks global reach.I’m not sure that re-branding is going to be of much use, though. So far in its 40+ year history, the group seems to have focused mainly on complaining about the plight of Muslims without actually doing anything useful. In other words, it’s been just another talk shop that provides places for governments to send people away for a while, at decent salaries, while causing no harm.Hmmmm.......Global Caliphat illustrated?Read the full story here.

• The Russian bear is hungry and migrating, Russia to claim Arctic border expansion.(HurriyetDaily).Russia will submit a claim to the United Nations to expand its Arctic borders, a top official said Wednesday, as scientists embarked on a new expedition to prove its ownership of energy-rich territory."I expect that next year we will present a well-based scientific claim about expanding the borders of our Arctic shelf," Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in the Far Northern town of Naryan-Mar in the Arctic Circle.Ivanov was speaking as Russian scientists embarked on a new expedition aimed at proving its claims to territory on the Arctic shelf, in the latest exploration venture that risks sparking tensions with neighbors like Canada."The expedition is equipped with modern equipment and everything necessary for a proper and scientific claim," he said, quoted by the RIA-Novosti and ITAR-TASS news agencies.Russia had alarmed its Arctic neighbors including Canada and Norway when it planted a flag on the ocean floor under the North Pole in 2007 in a symbolic staking of its claim over the region.The latest expedition is aimed at proving that the underwater Lomonosov and Mendeleev ridges in the Arctic constitute a geological continuation of the Russian Arctic shelf.Both ridges are named after great Russian scientists but so far the U.N. Commission has neither accepted nor rejected Russia's claim to the area.But Russia is hoping its claim will win it an additional million square kilometers of territory and the rights to explore for more gas reserves in the energy-rich Arctic.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had said last month that Russia would "strongly and consistently" defend its interests in the Arctic although it remained in constant contact with its regional partners over the issue.He warned that Russia intended to "expand its presence" in the Arctic and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the armed forces intended to create two Arctic brigades for the defense of its interests.At the meeting in Naryan-Mar, the head of the Russian navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky warned that the Arctic was seeing a build-up of "challenges and threats that could have a negative effect on Russia's economic interests."He said that NATO had in particular defined the Arctic as part of its zone of interest while there had also been a surge in interest on the part of Asian countries.These included China, Japan and Korea as well as Malaysia and Thailand, Vysotsky added, sarcastically describing the latter two southeast Asian states as "well known Arctic nations".The five Arctic nations – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States – are locked in a tight race to gather evidence to support their claims amid reports that global warming could leave the region ice-free by 2030. Russia signed a 'treaty'(After holding military maneuvers near Norway's territorial waters) with Norway last September to end a 40-year dispute over a 176,000-square-kilometre maritime area straddling the two countries' economic zones in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.The deal regulates energy resources in the region, requiring the two countries to jointly develop oil and gas deposits that cross over the borderline.The Arctic seabed is believed to hold 90 billion barrels, or 13 percent of the worlds undiscovered oil reserves and 30 percent of the gas resources yet to be found, according to the US Geological Survey.The giant Russian tanker Baltica – escorted by the world's two most powerful nuclear ice breakers – last year made a historic voyage across the famed Northeast passage carrying gas condensate to China.Ivanov said he expected the Northern sea route along Russia's Arctic coast to see the transit of five million tones of goods in 2012, a dramatic rise from this year's estimated figure of three million tones.Hmmmm.....Meanwhile Canada is preparing it's own Arctic force.Read the full story here.

• Israel unlikely to condemn Turkey over Palmer report.(Ynet).Coming UN report on first Gaza flotilla contains harsh criticism against Ankara, but Jerusalem may choose not to capitalize on it.The coming Palmer report, investigating the tragic events of the 2010 Gaza flotilla, is expected to harshly criticize Turkey's handling of the sail and its ties to the IHH, but according to Ynet's source, Jerusalem does not intend to propel the report's conclusions into an international media campaign that would "vindicate" Israel. The report stands to include indirect criticism against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government's involvement in the sail, but it is believed Israel will hold back so as not to impede the efforts to stabilize relations with Turkey.Jerusalem and Ankara are still struggling with finalizing the report, but since Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Minister for Home Front Defense Matan Vilnai are pushing to normalize relations with Turkey, Israel will be in no hurry to capitalize on the report.Turkey's objections to the second flotilla is also one of the reasons Israel prefers not to launch and international media campaign against Ankara. While the Palmer report contains harsh criticism against both states, it insists Israel's maritime blockade on Gaza is legal.Hmmmmm.......Not using it against Turkey is a mistake, do they really believe Erdogan would spare them if it were the other way around?Read the full story here.

• Mahmoud the "ladies man", Ahmadinejad opposes sex segregation at universities.(Ynet). Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday ordered the immediate cancellation of plans to segregate sexes at some universities, blasting the move as "shallow and unwise," his website reported."In some universities, single-gender courses and classes are implemented without considering their consequences," the president said in a letter to the ministers of higher education and health published by his website. "It is necessary that these shallow and unwise actions are prevented immediately," Ahmadinejad said against the backdrop of a lively debate in media and among officials over reports of plans to divide female and male students. The order comes amid a campaign by the ultra-conservative and religious camps dominating the Iranian regime for the abolition of co-education in universities for the new academic year. On Tuesday, higher education minister Kamran Daneshjoo denied having any plans for gender segregation at universities. "Men and women must sit in separate rows in university," he said, while insisting his ministry was pressing ahead with plans for the "Islamisation" of the education system. "We do not want to create a wall (but) we are against the mingling of men and women based on Western styles," Daneshjoo said, adding students would not be prevented from "cooperation when it comes to acquisition of science." Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi also rejected gender segregation plans, saying it was unrealistic to separate male and female medical students who would have to face patients of both sexes as future doctors. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, the number of university students has swelled about 20 times to nearly 3.5 million, according to Iranian media. Over the past decade, the number of female students in higher education has been higher than their male classmates. Girls are expected to represent nearly 60% of freshmen in the 2011 academic year.Hmmmm........Read the full story here.

• Avigdor Lieberman won’t apologize to Turkey.(Ynet).Avigdor Lieberman says extending official apology to Ankara over tragic events of first Gaza flotilla humiliating to Jerusalem. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday he does not believe Israel should offer Turkey an official apology for the tragic outcome of the raid on the first Gaza flotilla. Lieberman, whose position is contrary to that of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said that "There are some things I'm willing to discuss and some things I'm not willing to discuss. I will not have an apology harm Israel's national dignity and I will not see IDF soldiers humiliated." Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon is currently on an official visit to the United States, where he is meeting with delegates from Ankara.The results of a UN-named commission of inquiry into the events of the first flotilla are scheduled to be released this week. Israel and Turkey are struggling to phrase the report, as Ankara insists that Jerusalem offer an official apology. "We are all for ending the friction with Turkey… We have no territorial dispute with Turkey and we are willing to reach a compromise on the matter today, but an apology is not a compromise," the foreign minister said. "It's humiliating and it will abandon IDF soldiers." Speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Lieberman stressed that Israel "regrets the death of activists from any country or organization. We know how far we are willing to go and we expect to see some willingness and flexibility on this compromise," he said. Turning his attention to the recent debacle pertaining to the transfer of terrorists' remains to the Palestinian Authority, which was cancelled, Lieberman said that in his opinion, the matter should never have become part of the public discourse. "This is not something that should be discussed by the public… I don't think Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) deserves any gestures by Israel." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he added, has "personally led some of the most offensive and despicable moves against the State of Israel, like trying to have IDF officers tried by the ICC. "The same goes for his unilateral bid in the Security Council, which he is personally pushing for. He does not deserve any gesture. On the contrary. But that too will be decided on by the proper forums." Elaborating on the Palestinian bid for statehood, the foreign minister said that Israel "is currently busy mapping out the nations that could help up achieve the 'moral majority' bloc. The Muslim nations bloc and the undecided nations make up about 130 nations and we don’t want to have any illusions. "The North America nations and the European Union are important to us. It's important to us to convey the message that a unilateral step can only harm the peace process and any chance of reaching an acceptable agreement in the Middle East."We're trying to convince them… and we have successes too, like with the flotilla and the fly-in." A unilateral Palestinian declaration will spell a unilateral response by Israel, he warned. "I wouldn’t want to find myself there. There are several unilateral responses Israel has prepared," he said.Read the full story here.

• Hamas arrests man for styling women's hair.(Ynet).The Hamas government in Gaza has arrested a man for violating a recent legislation that prohibits men from styling women's hair, the BBC reported Wednesday. The report said that following the arrest, many male hairstylists could be found loitering at the entrance to their salons, terrified of being detained as well.Last year Hamas officially announced a new law prohibiting men from styling women's hair, as it negates Sharia. Five hairstylists were arrested in February and forced to sign an affidavit renouncing the practice. The current arrest is the first known implementation of the law since then. Adnan Barakat, who has been a hairstylist for the past 27 years, was flabbergasted. "Without work I'm like a dead man. The salon can't function without me. I don't have any other work. What can I do?" he asked. Other stylists also complained about the law, as well as the secret police watching them to make sure they were not in violation.Hamas has previously attempted to pass the law but withdrew following complaints by human rights groups. The ban joins similarly befuddling laws such as the one prohibiting women from smoking hookah pipes and riding on motorbikes driven by men. Hmmmmm......Next play on the flotilla : "The Barber of Gaza".Read the full story here.

• NO you don't !Pakistan bars bin Laden family from leaving without their consent.(HurriyetDaily).A Pakistani commission investigating how Osama bin Laden lived undetected for years in the country has ordered the government not to repatriate his surviving family without its consent.Pakistan took custody of the Al-Qaeda leader's two Saudi and one Yemeni widows and around 10 of their children, after US Navy SEALs killed him and flew off with his body from the army town of Abbottabad on May 2.Pakistan has given CIA agents access to the wives but the commission's move is likely to delay their departure, after an official recently confirmed to AFP that the youngest widow, Amal Abdulfattah, could return to Yemen within days."The ministry of interior and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) have been directed to ensure that the family of Osama Bin Laden is not repatriated from Pakistan without the consent of the commission," the commission said.The four-member panel, chaired by a supreme court judge, has the authority to summon anyone and a security official told AFP that bin Laden's family would be no exception. There is no timeline for it to complete its investigation."They will go back eventually but perhaps until such time that investigations are complete, they would want to talk to them as well," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity."They can make demand and they will be given access," the official added.The move is likely to disappoint Abdulfattah's family, who told AFP last month in Yemen that they expected her and her children home shortly.The revelation that the world's most-wanted man lived in a garrison city just a stone's throw from a top military academy raised questions about complicity or incompetence within Pakistan's security services.The discovery that bin Laden lived in Abbottabad, seemingly for five years, and the unilateral American raid have been described by critics in Pakistan as the military's worst disaster since Bangladesh separated from Pakistan in 1971.The independent commission, which the government set up under pressure from a political opposition critical that an internal military inquiry would not be objective, has the power to summon military and civilian leaders.It also called on volunteers to submit evidence."Their identity will be kept confidential and they will also be legally protected," it said in a statement.Headed by judge Javed Iqbal, the other members of the commission are Abbas Khan, a former police commander, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, a former UN diplomat and retired general Nadeem Ahmed, who used to head the national disaster authority.Hmmmmm.......'Disaster' indeed.Read the full story here.

• Palestinian 'Financial crisis doesn't mean we’re not ready for state'.(JPost).Fayyad says only $331m. of $970m. promised to gov't was received; Abed Rabbo accuses Arab countries of not meeting their pledges.Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Wednesday that the severe financial crisis his government is facing does not mean the Palestinians are ill-prepared for statehood.His announcement came as the PA civil servants received only half of their salaries due to the financial crisis.Fayyad said he would continue his efforts to solve the crisis.“This decision was taken because of the growing financial crisis in the PA over the past year,” Fayyad said. He attributed the crisis to the failure of donor countries to meet their financial commitments to the PA.Fayyad said the PA had received only $331 million of the $970m. promised by donors, including some Arab countries.He said it was ironic that the current crisis had come at a time when the PA government had succeeded in reducing its reliance on foreign aid by almost half – from $1.8 billion in 2008 to $970m. this year.“The crisis does not undermine or cast doubt on our preparedness for the establishment of the state,” Fayyad stressed.“There are many countries that face difficulties and deficits that oblige them to take measures to overcome their financial crises. Palestine is not an exception. On the contrary, we are a people living under occupation and suffering from division and its repercussions.”Fayyad voiced hope that the Arab countries would help the Palestinians overcome the crisis.PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said the financial crisis in the PA was “unprecedented” and accused the Arab countries of failing to meet their pledges to help the Palestinians.Abed Rabbo told the PA’s Voice of Palestine radio station that the Palestinians were surprised by the Arab countries’ failure to assist them.“The situation has become very complicated for the Palestinian Authority because of the failure of the Arab countries to fulfill their financial promises,” he said. “This is regretful.”Abed Rabbo said the crisis would not prevent the PA from proceeding with its plan to ask the United Nations in September to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines.He said the PA was convinced it couldn’t rely on negotiations “to end the occupation because Israel does not want negotiations.”From 2 days ago on MFS: "Donors had pledged $971 million to the Palestinian Authority this year, but the year is half over and only $330 million has been delivered. It turns out that only the UAE, Algeria, and Oman have met the pledges they made years ago via the Arab League. The rest, including the vastly wealthy Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, are delinquent"Note in this overview of donated US Aid to Palestine that the more money they recieve the lower their GDP becomes!Now guess according to the numbers when Obama became president.Read the full story here.

• Taliban starting Automn fashion line: Bombs Beneath the Burqa.(FrontpageMagazine).There they all stand, guilty as sin, Afghan Taliban terrorists disguised in women’s burqas—but exposed when they were captured by the Afghan Border Police. Their photo (or rather photos) were taken by an Afghan photographer somewhere near Jalalabad and have just been seen worldwide.One of these charmers was wearing an explosive vest; six had AK-47s. Clearly they were up to no good. One wonders how long they will remain in jail and what they will do when they emerge.These photographs conclusively validate the concern that Dr. Daniel Pipes has had about the security risk that burqas represent. For the last six years, Dr. Pipes has been detailing the number of common criminals and Islamist terrorists who have robbed jewelry stories and peeped into women’s bathrooms while wearing burqas, or who have blown themselves and others up from under the protective cover of a mere woman’s shroud.Read the full story here.

• The good old Sharia way 63,000 Saudis may face prison in two years for failing to pay their debts.(CrossroadsArabia).JEDDAH: Abdullah Bin Mahfoudh, Chairman of the Prisoner Care Committee in the Jeddah Region, has said that some 63,000 Saudis could face prison over the next two years for failing to pay back debts.Bin Mahfoudh told Al-Hayat Arabic daily that Saudi individuals have racked up some SR3 billion in owed monies.“None of them are able to pay the debts back, according to information from SIMAH,” he said, in reference to the Saudi Credit Bureau, a body providing consumer and commercial credit information services in the Kingdom and operating under the supervision of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).Bin Mahfoudh said that his committee has asked the Shoura Council to study the issue “in view of the threat it poses”.Hmmmm.......Read the full story here.

• ‘Blasphemy, Blasphemy Mucho’*—Islamintern Denounces Islamo-realistic Free Speech in Holland.(BigPeace).Bat Ye’or has appositely characterized Geert Wilder’s recent acquittal as a “Copernican revolution,” achieved by a solitary “unarmed man, constantly threatened by death and whose only defense was his courageous and unbending commitment to say the truth.”It is a bitter irony that on the same day Bat Ye’or’s essay was published a pathognomonic communiqué was released by foreign ministers of the Islamintern—the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)—whose member states were meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The communiqué claimed “a number of Dutch politicians” had insulted Islam and its prophet Muhammad, accusing them of the invented “crime” of “Islamophobia.”

Turkish OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu issued a separate statement condemning—and threatening Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders:

Wilders has taken a dangerous path, endangering the peace and harmony of civilizations by spreading hate against Islam and Muslims in his own country as well as in other European countries. Insult to Islam and to the honored Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), has reached a stage that can no longer be tolerated under any pretext, including freedom of speech.

Demonstrating once again that Wilders is a politician of rare courage, he has now challenged his own Dutch Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to respond appropriately to the statements of the OIC, and Ihsanoglu:

1. Have you seen the intimidating statement of the OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, about me and the OIC report “Fourth OIC observatory report on islamophobia” about statements made by various Dutch politicians?
2. Do you agree that the OIC has vastly overstepped the boundaries with these intimidating statements and do you agree with me that a Dutch politician should have the right to criticise Islam and multiculturalism in a public debate, as was confirmed during my political trial by the court decision of June 23rd?
3. Are you prepared to explain to the OIC member countries that criticism of Islam and freedom of speech are essential in a democratic society under the rule of law? If not, why not?
4. Do you share the opinion that criticism, such as that of an organization like the OIC, is hypocrite and despicable given that the OIC in article 24 of its own Cairo Declaration on Human Rights explicitly states that all rights and freedoms are subject to Islamic Shari’ah law? If not, why not?
5. Are you prepared in the short term to distance yourself publicly in strong wordings of this report and of the intimidating statement of the OIC secretary general? If not, why not?
6. Will you make it clear once and for all to the OIC that the Netherlands will not accept to be lectured by an institution such as the OIC which makes human rights subject to the barbaric Shari’ah, and that we will not allow our fundamental freedoms and our freedom of speech to be restricted? If not, why not?
7. Are you prepared to answer these questions this week

Writing in the early 1990s, the esteemed Pakistani scholar Muhammad Asrar, whose opinion was accepted by Pakistan’s Shari’a Court, defined “blasphemy,” focusing on the Muslim prophet, as:

Reviling or insulting the Prophet (pbuh) in writing or speech; speaking profanely or contemptuously about him or his family; attacking the Prophet’s dignity and honor in an abusive manner; vilifying him or making an ugly face when his named is mentioned; showing enmity or hatred towards him, his family, his companions, and the Muslims; accusing, or slandering the Prophet and his family, including spreading evil reports about him or his family; defaming the Prophet; refusing the Prophet’s jurisdiction or judgment in any manner; rejecting the Sunnah; showing disrespect, contempt for or rejection of the rights of Allah and His Prophet or rebelling against Allah and His Prophet.And in accord with classical Islamic jurisprudence, for example, The Risala of al-Qayrawani (d. 996)—a jurist in mythically “tolerant” Muslim Spain—Madani argues that anyone who defames Muhammad—Muslim or non-Muslim—must be put to death. Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo has documented how this orthodox Islamic doctrine –incorporated into the Pakistani legal code (Section 295-C, “defiling the name of Muhammad”)—has wreaked havoc, particularly among Pakistan’s small Christian minority community: …the blasphemy law is felt to be a sword of Damocles and has developed a huge symbolic significance which contributes substantially to the atmosphere of intimidation of Christians. The detrimental effect of the law…is most dramatically illustrated by the incident at Shanti Nagar in February 1997 in which tens of thousands of rioting Muslims destroyed hundreds of Christian homes, and other Christian property, following an accusation of blasphemy. Furthermore the blasphemy has engendered a wave of private violence. Equating blasphemy with apostasy and influenced by the tradition of direct violent action and self-help which goes back to the earliest times of Islam, some Muslims feel they are entitled to enforce the death penalty themselves.Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and his OIC foreign ministry colleagues—spearheaded by OIC stalwart, Pakistan—want to impose this same Sharia-based system, antithetical to the US Bill of Rights, on all of humanity, including the 4/5 of world’s population that is non-Muslim. This irredentist OIC mindset remains unchanged from what Beaumarchais described in the Marriage of Figaro freedom of speech monologue in Act V, Scene 3, at the close of the 18th century, more than two centuries ago:

I cobble together a verse comedy about the customs of the harem, assuming that, as a Spanish writer, I can say what I like about Mohammed without drawing hostile fire. Next thing, some envoy from God knows where turns up and complains that in my play I have offended the Ottoman empire, Persia, a large slice of the Indian peninsula, the whole of Egypt, and the kingdoms of Barca [Ethiopia], Tripoli, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. And so my play sinks without trace, all to placate a bunch of Muslim princes, not one of whom, as far as I know, can read but who beat the living daylights out of us and say we are “Christian dogs.” Since they can’t stop a man thinking, they take it out on his hide instead. Wilders’ Islamo-realistic free speech has provided a healthy dose of long overdue criticism of the direct nexus between Muhammad’s actions, and jihadism, which may prove therapeutic for the cowering West. Hope springs eternal.Read the full story here.

• Related - Dutch government dissociates itself from OIC demands to silence a politician.From ANP (Dutch press agency): The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uri Rosenthal, dissociates himself from a call by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to the Dutch government to stop the “campaign of hatred” of PVV leader Geert Wilders.“The Dutch government dissociates itself fully from the request to silence a politician. The Netherlands have a very high regard for freedom of speech,” Rosenthal said on Wednesday.Read the full story here.