MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - June 16. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - June 16. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - June 16. Here. (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan  today 5.1 ,increased activity in Turkey! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 131.On 15.06.2011 at 19:17 GMT+2
  
  Two minke whales hunted off Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido were found to be contaminated with radioactive caesium. The whales were harpooned 650 km north-east of a nuclear plant damaged by the disastrous earthquake and tsunami that struck last March. Researchers examined six of the 17 whales in Hokkaido’s Kushiro city and found 31 Bq and 24.3 Bq of radioactive caesium per kg in the two whales, reports SAPA. The limit for radioactive substances is of 500 Bq per kg, such that the whales’ caesium content is far below Japan's maximum safe limit for marine products. "There is no data available to compare whether the readings for radioactive materials are higher than normal," a fisheries agency official said this week, reports Times LIVE. "We will continue to monitor the development, as we do for all seafood and marine life caught in the Pacific." Officials from the country's Fisheries Agency blamed the contamination on the ongoing radioactive crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which continues to leak radioactive substances into the surrounding environment, including the Pacific Ocean. The latest results on caesium come just days after strontium was found in groundwater near the plant's Number One and Number Two reactors. The compound can build up in bones and cause bone cancer and leukemia; it has been confirmed that strontium up to 240 times the legal limit was found in ocean waters adjacent to the plant, reports ABC News. This month, radioactive caesium was detected in leaves at a tea factory in the city of Shizuoka some 360 km from the stricken plant in Fukushima. Moreover, conservation group Greenpeace last month communicated findings of massive levels of radioactive contamination in seaweed and other marine life in the Pacific roughly 20 km off Fukushima. The high levels of radioactive caesium and iodine were 50 times higher than official limits. Source : Here .

                                                                                  

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

• Europe - Latest official Situation Update on E-Coli epidemic - 55 Source.

• Al-Zawahiri named new al-Qaeda chief.(Al-Jazeera).(Video) - Group's second-in-command appointed leader following killing of Osama bin Laden.Al-Qaeda has named Ayman al-Zawahiri as its new chief following the killing of Osama bin Laden, the group has said in a statement issued in the name of the group's general command."The general command of al-Qaeda announces, after consultations, the appointment of Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri as head of the group," the statement, posted online on Thursday, said.US special forces killed bin Laden in a raid on the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2.Al-Qaeda under the new leadership of al-Zawahiri will pursue its fight against the US and Israel, the group said in the statement."We seek with the aid of God to call for the religion of truth and incite our nation to fight ... by carrying out jihad against the apostate invaders ... with their head being crusader America and its servant Israel, and whoever supports them," it said.Al-Zawahiri has been al-Qaeda's number two for years.His whereabouts are unknown but he is widely believed to be hiding along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States is offering a $25m reward for any information leading to his capture or conviction."Only a few weeks ago when the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was here in Pakistan she reportedly gave Pakistan what's been described as a hitlist", Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Islamabad, said."It listed five names and Zawahiri's name was on the list. Whether that means the new al-Qaeda leader is here we don't know for sure, but it certainly raises some questions".Believed to be in his late 50s, al-Zawahiri met bin Laden in the mid-1980s when both were in Pakistan to support fighters battling the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.Al-Zawahiri, who was born in Egypt, vowed earlier this month to press ahead with al-Qaeda's campaign against the US and its allies, in what appeared to be his first public response to bin Laden's death."The Sheikh [bin Laden] has departed, may God have mercy on him, to his God as a martyr, and we must continue on his path of jihad to expel the invaders from the land of Muslims and to purify it from injustice," he said in a video message posted online."Today, and thanks be to God, America is not facing an individual or a group ... but a rebelling nation which has awoken from its sleep in a jihadist renaissance challenging it wherever it is."In Thursday's statement, al-Qaeda voiced its "support [to] the uprisings of our oppressed Muslim people against the corrupt and tyrant leaders who have made our nation suffer in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya Yemen, Syria and Morocco."The group urged those involved in the uprisings to continue their "struggle until the fall of all corrupt regimes that the West has forced onto our countries."Read and see the full story here.

• Rep. King Files Amendment to Block Pigford II Funds.(BigGovernment).Congressman Steve King (R-IA) released the following statement after filing an amendment today to H.R 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012, that prevents any funds appropriated under the act from being used to settle claims associated with the controversial and fraud-plagued Pigford II program.“In the 2008 Farm Bill, Congress limited taxpayers’ exposure to the Pigford II settlement program at $100 million, a figure that was deemed sufficient to resolve the racial discrimination claims leveled against the United States Department of Agriculture by black farmers,” said King. “Since that time, a lame-duck Democratic Congress agreed to President Obama’s request to pump an additional $1.15 billion into the Pigford II settlement program, doing so even though the program is rife with credible allegations of massive fraud that have not been fully investigated. This was an irresponsible act, and it violated Congress’s responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayers’ money.”“The new majority in the House of Representatives should not ratify the lame-duck Congress’s decision to increase American taxpayers’ exposure to Pigford II fraud. I believe that an investigation into the program will reveal that the majority of the claims that have been filed are fraudulent, and Congress should not turn a blind eye to the real possibility that the money is being used primarily to build political goodwill for the President instead of being used to properly redress the much smaller universe of people who have actually suffered harm. If passed, my amendment would put the brakes on Pigford II funding, and it would prevent the Secretary of Agriculture from paying fraudulent claims one $50,000 check at a time.”Hmmmm.......A whole lot a stench coming from this heap.Read the full story here.

• Weiner’s In-Laws and the Secret Muslim Brotherhood Connections Revealed.(floydreports).Was Huma Abedin, the wife of Anthony Weiner and the Deputy Chief of Staff to Hillary Clinton, unaware that her mother was reported as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood? Is it possible she does not know that her brother is tied to the Brotherhood’s radical leadership? Did Western media miss what has been revealed in several Arab newspapers, which has remained secret in American government circles?Neither Huma nor any major Western media outlet even mention what is common knowledge in the Arab world. Yet, Arab sources have confirmed that Huma Abedin has a brother named Hassan Abedin who works at Oxford University. Oxford University, which has long been infiltrated by Islamists who founded the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), lists Huma’s brother as a fellow and partners with a number of Muslim Brotherhood members on the Board, including al-Qaeda associate Omar Naseef and the notorious Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi; both have been listed as OCIS Trustees. Naseef continues to serve as Board Chairman.In 2009, Qaradawi’s role within Oxford and the Muslim Brotherhood was championed by the notorious Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi of Al-Nahda – a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate now active in Tunisia. OCIS has even presented an award for great scholarly achievement to Brotherhood member Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Gudda, whose personal history goes back to the Brotherhood’s founder, Hasan al-Banna.Even the Sunday Times acknowledges that the cradle of Islamic Jihad – Al-Azhar University – actively attempts to establish links with OCIS, where Huma’s brother serves.Was Huma unaware of all this as she accompanied Hillary Clinton to the Dar El-Hekma women’s college in Saudi Arabia? Huma’s mother is the co-founder and a Vice Dean at the college and an active missionary on issues regarding Muslim women. The “Women’s Division” can be found at the Muslim Brotherhood’s official website; an excerpt from its goal, translated from Arabic, states:The Womens Organization’s goal in accordance with the Muslim Brotherhood rules, is to gain and acquire a unified global perception in every nation in the world regarding the position of women, and the necessity of advocacy work at all levels in accordance with the message of the Brotherhood as written in Women in Muslim Society, and the rearing of women throughout the different stages of life.True to this cause, another member listed as belonging to the Sisterhood mentioned by Al Jazeera is Suheir Qureshi. She spoke alongside Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was brought in due to her connection with Huma. All three women spoke on issues of women in Muslim society. An Arabic news report of what happened during Hillary’s visit stated:Suheir Qureshi spoke of how elated she was of Hillary’s historic visit…Saleha Abedin spoke after Suheir Qureshi and beamed in the presence of Secretary Clinton. Saleha’s speech preceded the former First Lady’s. Then Hillary stood. She donned a broad smile as she approached the podium… Clinton started with a strong word and she spent a long time complimenting Dr. Saleha Abedin regarding her daughter. Hillary explained that Huma holds an important and sensitive position in her office. She ended her speech by speaking of Saleha Abedin’s daughter (Huma), that a person must be happy if mentioned in a positive light but there is no happiness that equals the compliment given to children in front of a parent.It is sacrilege in Islam for Huma’s mother to accept the reality that her daughter is married to a Jew. Yet, neither Saleha nor Huma’s brother Hassan have denounced her marriage to Weiner, although it is considered null and void by some of the highest authorities on Islamic Shari’a rulings.Huma’s brother has been key in furthering the Islamic agenda and has worked with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on a program of “spreading Islam to the West.” A detailed report from 2007 shows that Naseef was identified as the likely force behind the Abedin family’s departure from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia circa 1977 – the same year that the Muslim Sisterhood was established.Strangely, Hillary Clinton signed a document less than one month prior to her trip to Saudi Arabia with Huma that lifted the ban on Tariq Ramadan, allowing him entry into the United States. Ramadan is the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna and has ties to Islamic terrorist groups.Huma Abedin’s charm, family connections and access to highly sensitive state secrets (as Hillary has admitted), can have significant consequences. What absolutely must be known is if our distinguished public servants were made aware of all these ties to potential enemies of the State.Hmmmm......."The philosophy of our service is that we open a house somewhere and, with the patience of a spider, we lay our web to wait for people to get caught in the web; and we teach those who do."Read the full story here.

• Who Checked Out Leon Panetta?(Aim).In a new revelation in the Panettagate scandal, CIA Director Leon Panetta inserted a tribute in the April 11, 1984, Congressional Record to one of his constituents, Lucy Haessler, calling her a “woman of peace” for her work in the pro-Soviet Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). This is when Panetta was a California Congressman representing Santa Cruz.Panetta declared that Haessler participated in “peace conferences” sponsored by the Women’s International Democratic Federation “in France, the Soviet Union, Poland, and East Germany.” One has to wonder about the “peace conferences” being held in such places as the Soviet Union. But Panetta put the tribute in the record without displaying any indication of its Soviet sponsorship or casting doubt on the organization’s commitment to “peace.”Panetta’s praise for Haessler got the attention at the time of Human Events, the national conservative weekly, which noted that WILPF “appears to take the Soviet line on virtually every issue that comes up, ranging from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and yellow rain [communist chemical warfare] to the issue of new U.S. missiles in Europe.” The Women’s International Democratic Federation was an outright Soviet front organization.Panetta told Human Events that he was unaware of the extremist nature of the WILPF and other groups, but indicated it wouldn’t have mattered that much to him anyway. He said, “Let me tell you something. I don’t know if you know about Santa Cruz, but Santa Cruz is a center for people who’ve been real activists in all kinds of organizations. If I started doing those kinds of checks on people who help out…I’d never stop. It’s just that kind of place.”But his tribute to identified Communist Party member Hugh DeLacy, inserted into the Congressional Record in 1983, suggests that Panetta did have keen knowledge of these “real activists,” by virtue of his praise for DeLacy’s stand against “McCarthyism.” Hence, it appears that Panetta did indeed “check” on these people, completely understood they had been accused of membership in the Communist Party or having communist sympathies, and found them totally acceptable and praiseworthy.After visiting Nicaragua, Panetta declared (Congressional Record, October 3, 1984) that he and his fellow members of Congress saw “real accomplishments” under the communists and that “The goal of the U.S. Government should be to normalize U.S.-Nicaraguan relations…” Panetta denounced what he called the “counter-revolutionary groups,” the Marxist term for those Reagan had praised and supported as “freedom fighters.”After Reagan liberated Grenada from a band of communist thugs and rescued American students on the island, Panetta said in the Congressional Record (November 2, 1983) that support for the action from the American people should not be seen as a “blank check” and that it should remain “limited.” Panetta said that he was very concerned that the Reagan Administration had dispatched a U.S. naval task force to the vicinity of Cuba as a show of force. Hence, Panetta was clearly concerned that the U.S.-backed forces of liberation would undermine and threaten the Castro dictatorship.The lines were drawn and they were clear: Panetta was on the other side—the wrong side—of the historical struggle between freedom and communism. This tendency was reflected in his tribute to Lucy Haessler, who with her husband Carl Haessler were sponsors in 1966 of the Herbert Aptheker Testimonial Dinner. Aptheker was a leading theoretician of the Moscow-funded Communist Party USA.Had Panetta “checked out” the IPS? He most certainly did. But who “checked out” Panetta when he was nominated by Obama for CIA director? And who will check him out now that the full Senate is on the verge of voting on his nomination as Secretary of Defense?It is natural that The Washington Post and other liberal media would protect left-wing nominees like Panetta. But how does one explain the silence of the conservative media? Do they fear being charged with McCarthyism for telling the truth?Hmmmmm.......Dictatorship or democracy?Read the full story here.

• Oh my: Dem caucus meeting turns angry over Weiner.(HotAir).That’s the good news. The better news? They’re meeting again tomorrow and may call for a vote to strip him of his committee assignments, which will only further antagonize the left’s dumb “you’re only hating on Anthony because he stands up for our ideals” wing.Hopefully he’ll find comfort in the fact that some people are giving his ideological “package” due credit.Those tensions spilled out in a private Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday when New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell laid out his views on the right and wrong ways to handle allegations of wrongdoing by a member of the caucus. He said he understands the need for certain Democrats — party leaders and those whose reelections could be affected by the scandal — to call on Weiner to resign, but then, by implication, scolded Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Schwartz for jumping ahead of leadership last week when she told POLITICO that Weiner should step down and followed up with a round of national television interviews…It grew so heated that many lawmakers left the meeting voluntarily, and aides were kicked out to try to prevent leaks…Schwartz, the clear but unidentified target of Pascrell’s remarks, rose to defend herself during the meeting. She explained that she had been in a lawyer’s office in New York, dealing with her recently deceased father’s will, when she heard that Weiner had acknowledged “sexting” with six women over the course of three years. Schwartz, who is an advocate for women’s rights, was disgusted by Weiner’s behavior and felt he should resign. Without checking in with House leaders, she said, she decided to make her feelings public.That made Pascrell even more upset: He would have preferred coordination — at least an effort to make sure it was the message party leaders and Weiner’s rank-and-file colleagues wanted.National Journal looked at his financial disclosures tonight and concluded that the poor guy is sufficiently bad off that he can’t cruise into early retirement. He needs to work, assuming he can find a job in Hopenchange America. Which makes me wonder: Isn’t there a mutually satisfactory solution in the offing here? The Democrats want him out of Congress; Weiner wants a steady income. There’s one person who’s perfectly positioned to cut a check and make both sides happy. How about it, Nancy?Hmmmm.....Read the full story here.

• Levin: Obama only president not to comply with War Powers Act.(TheRightScoop).Levin acknowledges that no president since the veto of Richard Nixon has believed that the War Powers Act is constitutional, but they still complied with it. But Obama is fighting the War Powers Act saying that they are operating under the United Nations and he has the authority to continue it. He’s trying to sidestep Congress.Levin says he is the only President not to comply with it and is clearly undermining our constitutional system, all while the left stays quiet.Hmmmm......I'm the 'Messiah' laws don't apply to me?Read and see the full story here.

• O Canada!Former American radical Bill Ayers again denied access to Canada.(NationalPost).Mr. Ayers was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Worldview Conference on Media and Higher Education this Thursday in Toronto. Conference organizers say Mr. Ayer’s refused entry should “should raise red flags for citizens concerned with free and open debate.”“Bill Ayers is a respected academic, and in no way a threat to the peace and security of Canada. There is no reason why he should be kept out,” said Mark Langer, President of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), who is hosting the event.Mr. Ayers was barred from entering Canada in 2009 after touching down at Toronto City Centre Airport. At the time, he said he had entered Canada dozens of time before without incident.Mr. Ayers has hired Canadian and American lawyers in unsuccessful attempts to lobby the Canadian Border Services Agency for passage into the country. Advised by his lawyers that he would likely be held at the border, he did not attempt a crossing this time around.In the late 1960s, Mr. Ayers co-founded the Weather Underground, a radical group that collaborated on a series of bombings aimed at banks, monuments and government buildings, including the Pentagon and US capitol.Nobody was killed in Weather Underground attacks, although members did paralyze at least one man.Mr. Ayers was never convicted of any felony related to the group’s activities.During the 1990s, Mr. Ayers was involved in educational reform in Chicago.According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, foreign nationals are barred from entering Canada if they were involved “in criminal activity, in human rights violations or in organized crime.”During the 2008 presidential campaign, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was criticized for once serving on a Chicago charitable board with Ayers. Then-Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused Mr. Obama at the time of “palling around” with an “unrepentant domestic terrorist.””I don’t regret setting bombs,” said Bill Ayers in a New York Times interview, coincidentally published on September 11, 2001. He added that he would not “discount the possibility” of doing it again.In a later statement, Mr. Ayers maintained that he was not a terrorist. “We were not engaged in a campaign to kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for political ends,” he wrote.Read the full story here.

• Syria Pursues Scorched Earth Policy, Amid Rumors Of U.S. Military Intervention.(BigPeace).As thousands of families in northern Syria flee from their homes, many across the border into Turkey, army tanks widened the military campaign to crush protests against President Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters. More than 8,500 Syrians have now fled to refugee camps in Turkey.According to an analysis by Debka, an analyst group that has contacts within Israeli and American intelligence but sometimes gets things wrong, the deployment of the Monterey in the Black Sea is just one part of a major realignment of American forces in the region. The purpose of this redeployment is to be prepared in case a decision is made at some point in the future for U.S. military intervention in Syria.“debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report that Monday, June 13, the US deployed the USS Bataan amphibian air carrier strike vessel opposite Syria’s Mediterranean coast with 2,000 marines, 6 war planes, 15 attack helicopters, including new V-22 Ospreys, and 27 choppers for landing forces aboard.Also this week, US naval units went operational in the Aegean, Adriatic and Black Seas as part of the joint US-Ukrainian Sea Breeze 2011 exercise. …This huge concentration of naval missile interceptor units looks like preparations by Washington for the contingency of Iran, Syria and Hizballah letting loose with surface missiles against US and Israeli targets in the event of US military intervention to stop the anti-opposition slaughter underway in Syria.”According to the analysis, the threat of US military intervention in Syria is being taken seriously by Iran and by Hizbollah, Assad’s two major allies in the region. Furthermore, although Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyep Erdogan does not wish to be seen working closely with the U.S. military, it’s believed that Washington is coordinating its military movements with Turkey, and that Erdogan quietly agreed to place Turkish bases at US disposal for an operation in Syria.Soooooooooooooo, where is all this going? Barack Obama promised us that if he were elected President, then he would make sure that we would no longer be fighting in two foreign wars. As we appear to be approaching war number 4, it looks like that campaign promise is being kept.Read the full story here.

• Bedouin sheikh jailed for imprisoning, raping girl.(Ynet).Uncle who kidnapped girl to punish her for violating 'family honor' said to be a champion of women's rights, sent to jail for five years. The Beersheba District Court on Wednesday sentenced a Bedouin sheikh to 13 years in prison for imprisoning, raping, and beating a teenage girl because she violated "family honor". The girl's uncle, convicted of kidnapping her, was sent to prison for five years.The indictment against the two says that in 2008 the Bedouin girl, a twelfth-grader, began to date a man against her family's orders. The girl ran away from home, but was soon found by police and transferred to the care of social workers. The authorities then passed her on to a local sheikh, who eventually returned her to her family. She continued to meet with the young man she had been seeing, to her family's ire. Eventually she ran away again. According to the indictment, her uncle found her together with the aforementioned sheikh, and the two interrogated her on her relationship with the young man. One of them told her he would "burn her" if she didn't tell the truth. The two then passed the girl on to the convicted sheikh and his wife, who imprisoned her in a cave for two months. During this time her hands and feet remained tied with chains, and the sheikh periodically raped, abused, and performed indecent acts on her, the indictment says. It adds that the sheikh's wife beat her when the girl tried to report the abuse. Occasionally her uncle would also visit, and attempt to force her to marry someone else. During the sentencing hearing the prosecution demanded a harsh sentence for the men. "Violations carried out due to 'family honor' are serious crimes that harm women's rights in society and oppress them," the prosecution claimed, adding that a harsh sentence would serve as deterrence. However the uncle's attorneys claimed that he saved the girl's life by setting up her marriage to another man. They added that the defendant is a known women's rights activist in the Bedouin sector. The sheikh was sentenced to 13 years in prison because "instead of protecting the complainant he took advantage of his proximity to her in order to violate her," the judges wrote in their verdict. He was also ordered to compensate her with the amount of NIS 50,000 ($14,700).The sheikh's wife, a Palestinian woman, was sentenced to one year suspended prison sentence for attacking the girl and preventing her from escaping. The sheikh who helped the girl's uncle kidnap her was also sentenced to one year in prison. His attorney said he, too, is known in the Bedouin sector as a champion of liberalism and women's rights. "These acts were committed in a gray area," the defense stated.Hmmmmm........."champion of liberalism and women's rights"....yeah whatevah.Read the full story here.

• IHH may not take part in flotilla.(Ynet). Turkish organization announces it will make final decision by end of the week, but other groups slated to take part in Gaza sail determined to go. The Turkish IHH organization is rethinking the Gaza-bound flotilla set to depart later this month while other participating groups remain determined to set sail as planned. On Wednesday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the IHH is considering canceling the flotilla following developments in the region, particularly in Syria. "We think we can achieve our goals regardless of whether we send the Marmara ship to Gaza or not. We shall make a final decision by the end of the week," the IHH spokesman said.IHH senior official Hussein Uruç confirmed the report saying the group is rethinking the departure date but that preparations are still underway. "Tomorrow we shall make a final decision on the matter, but right now there is still one date and there are no problems with the flotilla," he said.Israeli expat Dror Feiler, who heads the Gaza movement in Sweden, stressed that despite the IHH's statements the other organizations participating in the flotilla have no intention of postponing it. "The IHH have their own reasons, internal reasons. It won't stop us from going. We're going because we think it's important, not because of any organization," he told Ynet.He stressed that the members of the IHH, a Muslim organization which Israel considers a terrorist group, continues to support the flotilla and wish to make the journey to Gaza. "We shall be sorry if they can’t go, but it doesn’t pose a threat to the flotilla. "Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Thus far Israel has claimed that the Turks are terrorists. What will they say now – that the Swedes, Danes, Americans and all the world's nations are all terrorists?"Feiler, who took part in the previous flotilla, said that the IHH had shared its problems with the other groups meant to take part in the sail. "We knew there were question marks, we've been working together for more than a year and a half, we count on each other. We may come from countries with different cultures but we're all working toward the same goal. We won't give up."Others in the Free Gaza movement were however surprised to hear of the IHH's announcement. Adam Shapiro said: "This is news to me. I shall talk to Hussein and get an update," he told Ynet. "We still don't know what we'll do if they decide not to participate." Read the full story here.

• Women drivers to circle Washington Saudi embassy in protest.(Ynet).Unusual Washington rally remonstrates Saudi Arabia's opressive ban on female drivers.An unusual protest is planned for Washington as women plan to drive around the Saudi embassy to protest the kingdom's ban on female drivers. The Institute for Gulf Affairs, which is sponsoring Wednesday's rally, accuses Saudi Arabia of practicing a system of gender apartheid that oppresses women – most noticeably by refusing to allow women behind the wheel.The protest will run from noon to 4 pm outside the embassy in Washington. It is designed to support a protest planned for Friday inside the kingdom itself.Senior Saudi clerics have issued fatwas, or religious edicts, banning women from driving, claiming it protects against the spread of vice and temptation because women drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers.Read the full story here.

• French flotilla ship won't sail.(Ynet).Members of Jewish community in France band together, send 500 letters of protest against Gaza flotilla, effectively preventing ship bought by organizers for €530,000 from docking in Marseille. One of the ships slated to participate in the flotilla to Gaza later this month will not set sail, Ynet has learned, less than a day after the Turkish IHH organization announced it was reconsidering its participation in the flotilla as well. The ship was to set sail from the port of Marseille, but a lengthy battle by the French Jewish community has apparently succeeded in preventing it.Organizers of the flotilla issued a statement thanking participants Wednesday and urging them to seek other transportation, such as on ships departing from Greece and Turkey. The French ship – one of 15 participating in the flotilla – was intended to carry a few dozen activists. Organizers bought the vessel for €530,000. Ynet learned Wednesday that the ship was being prevented from docking in France thanks to pressure applied by parliament members and organizations on insurance local companies and authorities. The vessel is currently anchored in waters outside of Marseille, where it has been for the past four days. "It's fantastic. Even we didn't believe this battle would lead to victory," a member of the French Jewish community told Ynet. He said he and other Jewish representatives had decided to join together to try to prevent the flotilla, and subsequently wrote letters of protest to 500 MPs and organizations. On Tuesday the battle came to a hilt when Jewish MP Jacques-Alain Bénisti but a query to French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, asking to learn France's official position on the flotilla. The move was said to have put pressure on local insurance companies and helped to cancel the French ship's participation. "We feel great joy, but we know that this is just a small battle in a larger war. There are many battles left until September. We must not claim victory, only rejoice in the united front we have presented and move on," a source from the Jewish community said. "The next goal is to take control of the online field, appeal to youths, explain to them our position, and offer incentives to work with us."Hmmmm........How about the US position on "The Audacicity of Hope"?Read the full story here.

• Iranian female University Student Writes on Violence Against Women: “Invisible Wounds”.(Persian2English).You know, violence is not always about swollen eyes, broken teeth, and bloody noses. Violence can be the humiliation that comes from a dirty look; when a man looks down upon the fallen collar of a woman’s shirt while she is serving tea or the look of a brother when his sister is laughing out loud at a dinner party. These are looks that are invisible to us. We have no idea what [these looks] lead to once we leave the dinner party. Violence is the fear that has slowly crept into the psyche of women. It is a silent violence void of any physical contact. It is when the man opens the door and the woman becomes agitated at once and becomes sad. She doesn’t know why. It’s as if she is uneasy in the presence of her man. It’s as if she is not herself. She has the fear of not being able to live up to his expectations. She thinks less of herself; perhaps she needs to be skinnier or fatter or more beautiful or happier or more conservative or sexier or more of a homemaker…or wiser.

Violence is what a woman thinks she should be rather than what she actually is. Violence is a mask that the woman wears so that she can be something different than what she is; something that satisfies her man. A man can crush a woman without even touching her; without even intending to crush her. This is the heritage passed down to men from their fathers and grandfathers: violence, harassment, and humiliation are continuations of common profanities directed toward someone’s mother and sister; be it vocalized in a serious or joking tone. This is when we teach our children to not “cry like a woman”.

Violence, harassment, and humiliation begin when a man asks her not to wear something or not to socialize with certain people…just because! This is considered ‘love’; a ‘love’ that soon turns into a tool to control. The result is women who lack self-confidence and feel, powerless, sad, humiliated, fearful, dependent, and threatened to be left alone. These women may also get beaten up. The women believe that these wounds are wounds of love. They believe a loving man must create wounds and wounds will heal over time. A man’s violent behaviour is often legitimized by stating that he was drunk. When a man harasses, humiliates, and beats up a woman, being drunk is used a good excuse.

You know, physical abuse is not the worst type of violence against women. Swollen body parts, physical wounds, and broken bones heal with time. But the power, liveliness, and self belief that is taken away from women may never heal.Violence is the heavy hand of a father that is raised against his nine-year-old daughter but never comes down on her. Violence is the bullying by a brother who forever puts a stop to the innocent love of a neighbour’s boy; frustrating his sister of pure neighbourly love. Violence is when a man burps out loud instead of thanking his wife for imprisoning herself in a kitchen all day to cook a delicious meal. Laws which enable a grandfather to inherit all of a woman’s inheritance when her father passes away are violence. The mother’s rights are ignored. Violence is when a brother inherits twice the inheritance of his sister and she is expected to appreciate the fact that he is the bread winner of the home.Violence is about all of us women who accept all of the [above] without even protesting. And when one of us does protest, we ridicule her and call her names. We, ourselves are the embodiment of violence and we have no one to blame.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

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                       Morning  Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 20. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Syria Live Blog - April 20. Here (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.5 and 4.7! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 92.Source : Here .

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

• 'They lost in the Supreme Court, they lost in Congress, they lost at the FEC, so now the president is just going to do it by edict'(DougRoss).Is this, as tipster "D&S" calls it, "Obama's Rubicon"?An "impeccable source" alerts former Department of Justice Attorney Hans von Spakovsky to an imminent presidential executive order that would implement portions of the "DISCLOSE Act".You may recall the controversial bill that Democrats tried to ram through Congress last year. Its intent was to make it more difficult for private individuals to fund campaign commercials while simultaneously shielding unions from disclosure requirements. In other words, Democrats -- true to form -- intend to limit free speech unless it politically benefits them. Former FEC Chairman Brad Smith characterized the DISCLOSE Act as "Democrat Incumbents Seeking to Contain Losses by Outlawing Speech in Elections Now".Having failed to limit private speech in the Supreme Court (the Citizens United decision), having failed to pass the DISCLOSE Act itself, and having failed to railroad the Federal Election Commission, the president and his sycophants are using other means to achieve their extra-constitutional ends.An impeccable source has provided me with a copy of a draft Executive Order (PDF) that the White House is apparently circulating for comments from several government agencies. Titled “Disclosure of Political Spending By Government Contractors,” it appears to be an attempt by the Obama administration to implement — by executive fiat — portions of the DISCLOSE Act.When it comes to the radical leftists controlling the Democrat Party, there really appears to be no limit to their disregard for the law.The Democrats want 'transparency and accountability' requirements levied only upon their political enemies, presumably so that union thugs can harass private individuals. We saw them run this game-plan in Madison, where state officials were subjected to death threats and their homes picketed.We are seeing the disintegration of the civil society occur right before our eyes.Hmmmm.......Dictatorship or democracy?Read the full story here.

• Iranian lawmakers warn Ahmadinejad to accept intelligence chief as political feud deepens.(AP).TEHRAN, Iran — Political pressures mounted on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after more than 200 lawmakers warned Wednesday that he must obey an order from the country's supreme leader reinstating Iran's powerful intelligence minister.The showdown over Heidar Moslehi has brought fresh allegations that Ahmadinejad and his allies are trying to grab more power and challenge the all-encompassing authority of Iran's ruling clerics. It also pointed to a potential fissure in the heart of Ahmadinejad's government as its base of support shrinks among parliament members and others.Moslehi resigned Sunday following reported internal disputes with Ahmadinejad and the president publicly accepted it. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quickly ordered that Moslehi remain on the job, which has a key role in Iran's relentless crackdown on dissident.A statement signed by 216 parliament members — more than two-thirds of the 290-seat chamber — warned Ahmadinejad that he cannot ignore Khamenei, who has the last word in all state affairs."The parliament expects nothing but total obedience to ... the order without any question. (Khamenei) is above the three branches of power and the executive branch is defined under the supreme leader," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted lawmaker Hossein Naqavi as saying.Hardline media claim that Moslehi had been forced to resign after he fired one of his deputies, Hossein Abdollahi, without consulting Ahmadinejad.But the core dispute appears to be over Ahmadinejad's close confidant, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, whose views have outraged hard-liners, including a claim that Iran's ideology should take precedent over promoting Islam on the world stage. Mashaei also has close ties to the dismissed deputy Abdollahi.Khamenei's intervention to reinstate Moslehi has put Ahmadinejad in an awkward position: either openly snub Iran's top leader and risk more fallout from Khamenei or submit to the order and lose a high-profile political fight.The parliament declaration claimed Ahmadinejad is challenging one of the bedrock tenets of Iran's theocracy by openly defying the supreme leader, who is considered by hard-liners as above the law and answerable only to God.Ahmadinejad, who in 2009 said Khamenei was like a father to him, has enjoyed strong support from the Iranian supreme leader but has defied the country's most powerful figure at times.After his disputed re-election, Ahmadinejad bowed to pressure from the supreme leader who ordered Ahmadinejad to dismiss Mashaei as his choice for the key post of first vice-president. Mashaei's daughter is married to the president's son.Hossein Shariatmadari, chief editor of the hard-line daily Kayhan, accused Mashaei of leading a "deviant current" within the government that seeks to challenge the authority of Khamenei and undermine the ruling system from within.Hmmmm.......My guess Ahmadinejad is learning from Obama and wants 'Change'?Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Guess who's joining the 'Human Rights Council'.Fresh from leading the OIC effort to kill the UN's effort to enact a universal definition of terrorism, Syria is joining the UN 'Human Rights Council.' Syria is currently running for a seat on the U.N.’s flagship “human rights” body, the Human Rights Council. Seats are allocated to five regional groups, and just to make sure Syria’s ascendancy is unimpeded, the Asian group has only nominated the same number of states as they have seats. So barring any unexpected additions, Syria will join fellow U.N. human rights authorities like Saudi Arabia on the Council in May.And the Obama administration is helping the Syrian candidacy along. That might be another bad joke. Except that the Obama administration announced on March 30 that it was so “pleased to note the landmark achievements of the most recent session of the U.N. Human Rights Council” that it was going to seek a second term. That characterization of the Council’s main March session is somewhat dubious, at least if the administration cared at all about the concept of equality and the welfare of Israel. The last session was the worst on record for the demonization of the Jewish state, the Council adopting more anti-Israel resolutions in one sitting than ever before. The wildly premature announcement – the U.S. term will end in December 31, 2012 according to a new General Assembly deal – erases any possibility of using prospective U.S. membership or associated dollars as clout.Hmmmm.....Why not change the name in the Union of Islamic Nations?Read the full story here.

• Lying, Hitting Your Wife and Jihad: Just Another Day in a Moderate Mosque.(Aina).In the small city of Sammamish, WA is an Islamic worship center that most people wouldn’t even recognize as a mosque or anything other than a residential house in just another normal neighborhood. But what is being taught about Islam at the Sammamish Mosque should be brought to attention, not just in this small community, but on the national stage.When I decided to research this mosque I was ready to find the ordinary and mundane, although as a self-taught student of Islam, I was prepared to find some things of concern and perhaps the truly hair-curling. What I discovered was a bit of both: a very ordinary and normal life of faith surrounding the dusty core of a 7th century barbarism, dusted off and polished up for a new life in the Pacific Northwest. This strange mix was all captured on camera and helpfully uploaded to the internet by Imam Wassim Fayed, a Sammamish Mosque trustee who holds regular workshops at the center. He is also one of the founding members of the Sammamish Muslim Association. The two-hour video is a “Daawah Workshop” given by Imam Fayed on proselytizing to non-Muslims including instructions on the best ways to explain the “misconceptions in Islam.” In this video clip, which comes about 15 minutes into the workshop, we are instructed when giving da’wah to tell the truth to non-Muslims. That sounds good, right?Transcript:

Don’t say anything that in front of Allah on the (day of judgement) you’re gonna regret. If you can’t say the truth because it’s gonna incriminate you or put you in a bad spot, better not to say anything. But if you’re able to say it, then say it, inshallah.

So the Imam wants his followers to tell the truth, but he makes it absolutely clear to only tell the truth if it won’t “incriminate you or put you in a bad spot.” It is a little unnerving when this very unassuming and seemingly nice man starts talking about concealing “incriminating” aspects of his religion from non-believers. Maybe this imam needs a lesson on Islam himself since every time we hear about anything negative regarding Islam the media and intelligentsia come out to assure us that Islam has been “hijacked.”

Could it be that this imam knows something about his religion that the MSM doesn’t know or just isn’t willing to say?We are told in the video that Muslim women wear the hijab because they want to and not because they’re “oppressed.” What Imam Fayed doesn’t seem to find ironic is that five minutes later he gives us examples of when you should “punish” your wife, which includes if she “wants to take off her hijab.”Another thing to note in this video is when the imam speaks about the distinct good deeds that Muslim women and Muslim men can do for Allah. He quite clearly says that the best act a man can perform for Allah is to give up his life in jihad, and that women having children is an equally great deed for Allah. He isn’t advocating for suicide bombing, but he is confirming that in the Qur’an Allah considers it the best thing a person can do. If you missed it I would suggest watching the video again so you can get the full context to go with his remarks.This video completely belies the narrative that the politically correct elite have been pushing: that “jihad” just means a “personal struggle.” This imam is not someone that people would normally consider “militant” or “radical” but rather a “moderate.” Yet he confirms what the anti-Shariah, anti-Islamofascism crowd has been saying for years. The radicals and the supposed “moderates” are all following the same playbook; the majority of Muslims want the same ends, they just don’t take the same road to get there.I’m not going to give you the much overused line that “not every Muslim lies about their religion and not every Muslim man hits his wife” because I think it would be a little insulting to assume you don’t already know that or can’t think for yourself. What I will say, is that when Imam Fayed said to lie about Islam and that it is permitted to hit your wife, no one objected. Not one man in that room full of Western educated men, many of whom (we learn from the video) are employed at one of the biggest computer software companies in the world, ever protested or objected to this kind of behavior being condoned in the United States in the 21st century.Not. One.By Kim Edwards.Read the full story here.

• Turkey ignores Israel in '2023 manifest'.(Ynet)Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan neglects to address ties with Israel in new political platform ahead of June elections.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented an updated political platform Tuesday in preparation for June's parliamentary elections, however he ignored the country's shaky relationship with Israel.Erdogan has issued his "Manifest for 2023", a document discussing political strategies in connection to countries in the Mideast and around the world. However, the Turkish leader neglected to mention Israel in any way. The document does not mention any possibility of improving ties with Jerusalem, which were considered close before Operation Cast Lead and reached a new low following the Gaza flotilla in May 2010, when nine Turkish activists where killed during a Navy raid on the Mavi Marmara ship.Unsuccessful reconciliation attempts have been made in recent months, with Turkey demanding an official apology from Israel and compensation for the victims' families. Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), is expected to be reelected for a third term this summer. According to the manifest, the AK Party stresses the importance of ties with Middle Eastern countries and with the United States. Israel is not the only country receiving the cold shoulder from Turkey: In the document Erdogan claimed Armenia's unproductive approach prevents Turkey from normalizing the relationship between the two countries. On the other hand, it is possible that ignoring Israel is a sign of progress after the Turkish National Security Council defined Israel as a 'central threat' in October 2010.Hmmmmm......Perhaps Obama's buddy Erdogan knows something the Jews don't know........Yet?Read the full story here.

• Obama's faith adviser helped craft 'perfect Islamic state'.Shariah project scrubbed from Internet, sought to 'implement' Muslim caliphate.(WND).JERUSALEM – Dalia Mogahed, appointed to President Obama's faith advisory council, was a partner in an Islamic project whose stated goal was to "define, interpret and implement the concept of the Islamic State in modern times," WND has learned. The project was founded and directed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the controversial Muslim cleric behind the proposed 13-story, $100 million Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City. Besides her role on the White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Mogahed is also on the advisory council of the Department of Homeland Security. She testified before the Senate on engagement with the Muslim community.Together with Rauf, Mogahed was a leading voice in the Leadership Group on U.S.-Muslim Engagement, which issued a 153-page recommendation paper, obtained and reviewed by WND, that calls for dialogue with Hamas. The consensus focused on improving America's relationship with Muslims globally, with many of the recommendations later reportedly being adopted by the Obama administration. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Dennis Ross, Obama's Mideast envoy, also served on the Leadership Group that released the recommendation paper.The paper specifically called on the U.S. to engage opposition parties in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood. It set the boundaries for dialogue with Hamas if the Islamist terror group renounced violence. Also, the paper called on the U.S. to immediately engage Hamas using intermediaries in hopes of moderating the group. Mogahed, meanwhile, is a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, where she led what has been described an unprecedented survey of Muslims worldwide, including in the U.S. and Europe.WND has learned that Mogahed and the Gallup survey provided key data for Rauf's "Shariah Index Project ," which sought, according to its own mission, to "define, interpret and implement the concept of the Islamic State in modern times." The project at one time was featured on the website of Rauf's Cordoba Initiative, which is the group behind the so-called Ground Zero mosque. However, after the mosque issue was highlighted in the news media, the Shariah Index Project, a sister project of Cordoba, was scrubbed from Rauf's website.Further, Jasser Auda, a Qatari professor who is one of the personalities behind the Shariah Index Project with Rauf, described Mogahed's involvement in providing key data that helped formulate the Shariah Index plan to map out an Islamic state, even referring to Obama's faith adviser as "sister Mogahed." In an interview about the Shariah Index Project with OnIslam.com, an Islamic news portal associated with Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, Auda stated, "Our sister Dalia Mugahed – at that time she was the head of the Muslim societies branch, now she is in Abu Dhabi leading the same project on Muslim societies in a different project." Continued Auda, "At that time in Washington she was leading the Muslim societies index, and she gave us according to an agreement between Gallup, Cordoba and the Prime Minister of Malaysia office, gave us (Shariah Index Project) the data for three years, through which we came up with some conclusions based on asking people." In her role on Obama's faith council, Mogahed reportedly offers recommendations to the U.S. president on how faith-based organizations can best work with government to solve society's toughest challenges.Hmmmmm....."I will stand with my Muslim bothers"?Read the full story here.

• Poll: Record High 61% Oppose Birthright Citizenship For Children Born to Illegal Immigrants.(Rasmussen)Several Republican senators are seeking to amend the law that grants full U.S. citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants in this country, and voters strongly support such an effort.A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 61% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that a child born in the United States to a woman who is here illegally should not automatically become a U.S. citizen. That’s up slightly from last August but is the highest level of support for a change in the existing law found in five years of Rasmussen Reports surveying.Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree and feel that children born to illegal immigrants in this country should automatically become American citizens as is currently the practice. That’s down six points from August. Another 11% are undecided.Eighty-four percent (84%) of voters believe that before anyone receives local, state or federal government services, they should be required to prove they are legally allowed to be in the United States. Only nine percent (9%) oppose such a requirement.Read the full story here.

• Muslim Mobs Kill At Least 100 Christians, Burn Over 40 Churches in Northern Nigeria.(Aina).Washington -- International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Muslim rioters have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began yesterday in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria. The rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck.The Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner. Yet, impartial observers have called this election the fairest in decades. According to the Commonwealth observers' report, "The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people."According to ICC sources, it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria. The situation is beginning to calm since security forces were deployed and enforced a 24 hour curfew. Christian minorities living in northern Nigeria have faced repeated bouts of violence and discrimination at the hands of the Muslim majority. Since the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria in 2001, tens and thousands of Christians have been killed."Christians in northern Nigeria are being killed and their churches and property destroyed for voting for the candidate of their choice. Why should churches be burned when just it's an issue of politics? Why should Christians be killed just because someone won an election? Goodluck is not the president just for Christians; he is the president for every Nigerian. Why should Christians suffer because Jonathan won the election?" said a Christian leader in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna.Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "We are very saddened by the violence against Christians and their property in northern Nigeria. Disputes over elections shouldn't have been allowed to lead to religious violence against Christians. We have repeatedly seen Muslims attack and kill those of other faiths at the slightest provocation. We urge Nigeria to fully investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. As long as these attackers operate with impunity, the attacks will continue."Hmmmm....."The religion of peace".Read the full story here.

• A legal conspiracy against the Turkish Kurds?(HurryetDailyNews)The breaking news of Monday night was truly breaking: Turkey’s Supreme Election Board, or YSK, a board of judges whose job is to oversee the electoral process, had vetoed the candidacy of 12 “independents.” Seven of them were supported by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP. One of them was the famous Leyla Zana, a Kurdish activist who had spent a decade in prison after being convicted of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.This news created a great reaction and uproar, for the vetoing of these candidates is a clear interference in the upcoming elections on June 12. The “independents” already represent a political line that is disadvantaged because of the 10 percent national election threshold. Now the fact that a dozen of them are taken out of the game by a court decision adds much more to the feelings of discrimination. Not just the Kurds but also all democrats are very, very angry.The YSK decision will only help infuriate the base of the BDP, which is already agitated with a passionate Kurdish nationalism. What is worse is that this move might lead the BDP to boycott the upcoming elections. This would not only be a major flaw in the Turkish democracy, but also a sabotage for the already shy and fragile “peace process” between the state and the PKK forces that the BDP is assumed to represent. The words of Bengi Yıldız, a politician within the BDP ranks, are worrying enough: “This decision is clearly a decision of war on the Kurds. It is a decision to send the Kurds to the mountains [to become guerillas]. If the rulers of this country have decided for war, then that is just fine. Then the Kurds will fight the war.”This is a very dangerous psychology. And this is a dangerous moment for Turkish democracy. Politicians might not be responsible for the YSK decision, but they are certainly responsible for doing something about it. First, every legal way should be considered to force the YSK to revise its decision. Secondly, Parliament should consider ways to amend the Law for Deputy Elections, and make those changes applicable to the upcoming elections. Postponing the elections can also be an option.We just should not allow the draconian laws of “Old Turkey” to put a stain on the new one. If we go to elections under the shadow of this veto, that is what will exactly happen.Hmmmm.....Erdogan and Ahmadinejad.....the war against the Kurds,somehow i think they might end up like the Armanians in the past.Read the full story here.

• ‘Turkey should list number of jailed journalists’.(TodaysZaman).Representatives from a France-based reporters’ organization yesterday in İstanbul voiced their concerns that, while there are too many journalists in prison in Turkey, the government does not provide a comprehensive list regarding the number of jailed journalists. “Too many journalists have been arrested in Turkey and Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener are the most recent ones. It is hard to collect data. Local organizations say that 68 journalists have been arrested but only five show up in our data,” said Johann Bihr, head of the Europe and Central Asia desk of the Reporters Without Borders organization, at a press conference.Bihr pointed out that Turkey ranks 138th in the press freedom index this year, as there are about 2000 cases against journalists, including Büşra Erdal and İsmail Saymaz, who face a record number of cases, mostly due to their disclosure of information regarding ongoing cases.“There is violence against journalists, a lack of respect,” he said, noting, “Freedom of the press and respect for journalists are not priority for the Turkish government.” Recommendations from Reporters Without Borders included making amendments to anti-terror laws and the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK) that allow for the arrest of journalists, listing the number of journalists in prison and paying attention to what local and international organizations say on the issue. They will be in Turkey on May 3, World Press Freedom Day for solidarity with journalists, Bihr said and added that they will also try to visit Şık and Şener in prison.Hmmmm.....Turkey the worst human rights violator and Obama's best friend&Ally.Read the full story here.

• A Former Judge Takes on Erdogan's Heavy Hand.(DerSpiegel).Until recently, Emine Ülker Tarhan was a Supreme Court justice in Ankara. But now she has discarded her robes and is challenging Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Turkish leadership. The prime minister, she alleges, is establishing a surveillance state and is "becoming more dictatorial every day."There are days on which Emine Ülker Tarhan isn't constantly worried about bugs and wire taps. They are days when Tarhan, tall and blonde with metal-rimmed glasses, gets her 1964 VW Beetle out of the garage and puts on a CD by Zülfü Livaneli, the Turkish balladeer whose voice reminds her of "clear air."And then are days, she says, when she feels like a character in George Orwell's tale of a surveillance state, "1984." That's when she sees the thought police on patrol, and when she is afraid to say the wrong word in her own home.Today is one of those days. It's a Monday morning in the embassy district of the Turkish capital Ankara, and Tarhan, wearing a black blazer over a blue blouse, is sitting in a friend's law office, where the two are exchanging knowing glances. Could this office be bugged, too, they wonder? "Our country's government is becoming more and more dictatorial every day," says Tarhan. "This isn't paranoia."It seems odd to hear this 48-year-old woman speaking as if she were at the mercy of a despotic government. Five weeks ago Tarhan, a career jurist, was herself a member of the country's power elite. She was a judge on the Supreme Court in Ankara and, since 2006, the president of "Yarsav," a decidedly secular professional association of judges and prosecutors. But then, in early March, she stepped down from both posts and decided to go into politics.The reason for her decision, she say, is the increasingly open attempt by the Islamic conservative administration of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to destroy the independence of the Turkish judiciary. A closer look, says Tarhan, is enough to see that Erdogan is currently in the process of eliminating the separation of powers in Turkey. "If he gets his way, judges and public prosecutors will no longer serve as a check on the executive branch, but instead will become his agents. I refuse to play along with this."The election campaign began in Turkey last week. And after decades of decline, a party that was considered hopelessly outdated is suddenly in the ascendant: the Republican People's Party (CHP), founded by Atatürk himself, a melting pot of the old secular government elite that has been overrun by the dynamic Erdogan.The CHP has its headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara, in a postmodern building with something that resembles a space capsule on the roof, meant to convey the image of modernity. The mood is buoyant inside the building, now that the CHP has gained a prominent and media-friendly candidate in Emine Tarhan. Party Chairman Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, nicknamed "Kemal Gandhi" because of his mild character, has just greeted her with great enthusiasm.The now former Judge Tarhan, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, insists that she never wanted to become a politician. The many photographers embarrass her, and she is appalled by the posturing of many Turkish politicians.But in light of an impending "dictatorship of the Erdogan clique," says Tarhan, she wants to campaign for a different and more modern Turkey. "In this country, religious leaders are now declaring women who have been raped to be partially culpable, because they showed too much cleavage. They see women as nothing but baby-making machines. Do you really think that I can just sit there and do nothing?"Hmmmm.......Get Turkey out of NATO NOW!Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video - Saudi Cleric Mohsen Al-Awaji Strongly Criticizes Iran and Says: I Don't Want It to Stab Us in the Back with Its Irrational Behavior.Read and see the full story here.

• US Armenians gear up 'genocide' campaign.(HurryetDailyNews).US Armenians gear up ‘genocide’ campaign.US Armenians are preparing to hold a protest against President Barack Obama in Los Angeles to accuse him of breaking his pre-election pledges to Armenians and rally their groups and congressional supporters, once again, to back a campaign to have the deaths of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 labeled a ‘genocide’ in the US.U.S. Armenians have sped up a campaign to convince the country’s president to declare the events of 1915 as “genocide” in the run-up to April 24, "Armenian Remembrance Day" in the United States.Members of the community are preparing to hold a protest against President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on Thursday for allegedly breaking pre-election pledges in 2008 to Armenians and Armenian groups to recognize their genocide claims. The group’s congressional supporters are hoping that the president finally recognizes the "Armenian genocide" this time around.Pro-Armenian legislators came close to winning a congressional endorsement of the genocide claims last December, shortly before the previous Congress expired, when they intensified their efforts for a floor vote in the House of Representatives on a "genocide" bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee last March.But under strong behind-the-scene pressure by the Obama administration, the bill did not come to a floor vote.Hmmmm.....Erdogan "Muslims don't commit geocide".Read the full story here.

• Russia: Borei submarine to test new missile this year.(TodaysZaman)A new Russian nuclear submarine will be ready to test the next generation of intercontinental missiles this year, a military shipbuilding spokesman said on Tuesday. The Yuri Dolgoruky, the first of Russia’s new Borei class of submarines, has yet to fire the Bulava missile it was made to carry because of numerous failures during testing.“By the beginning of the navigation season all ships will be ready to carry out tests of the Bulava,” said Alexander Kholodov, a representative of submarine-building shipyard Sevmash. “This refers above all to the submarines Dmitry Donskoy and Yuri Dolgoruky,” he said. The Dmitry Donskoy is an older Akula-class vessel used for previous Bulava tests while Borei-class submarines were undergoing testing. The Bulava was designed to be carried on submarines like the Yuri Dolgoruky, but repeated failures of the missile during tests have called the costly project into question.The submarine’s entry into service, carrying the Bulava, will be a major step forward for Russia’s military, which hopes to use rising oil revenues to increase its clout.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised to spend nearly 20 trillion roubles ($705.7 billion) to upgrade Russia’s crumbling defense forces over the next 10 years.The Bulava has failed half of its 14 tests. A 15th test was scheduled last year but harsh winter weather conditions forced Moscow to delay it until this year.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                        Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 08. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Middle East Live Blog here .(Al-Jazeera)

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan between 5.1 and 6.0 today. More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 76.

• HT:The Blaze.Live Blog: Will the government shut down tonight? Read and see everything here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.What Wisconsin's Judicial Election Means.The ballots in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race show a relatively small difference between Justice David Prosser, the "conservative" incumbent, and JoAnne Kloppenburg, the leftist challenger. Yesterday, previously uncounted votes in Waukesha County swung the victory to Prosser by over 7,000 votes (out of almost a million and a half cast), though Kloppenburg earlier claimed victory by a much smaller margin.In this case, of course, the term "conservative"means an impartial jurist who follows the rule of law without political bias. As for the "liberal" candidate, Ann Althouse, a University of Wisconsin law professor, noted Kloppenburg's lawn signs indicating that the latter had made up her mind about the state's new collective bargaining law.Regardless of the ultimate result, there are vital lessons we should take from the race. We grasp what is happening. We have stopped listening to the chatterbox phonies of the leftist establishment media. We see the inner workings of the left and its minions. We know now that a senator who votes for cloture on a bad bill but votes against the bill on the Senate floor (where it passes easily) is trying to trick us -- but we will no longer be tricked. We comprehend that the dreaded "government shutdown" means nothing when Congress and the White House before the election never even passed a budget. We see from our children's textbooks and the unruly behavior of their teachers that the regime of public school reeducation must be defeated and reformed.The left has been winning because we have not fought the battles which we must fight. Now, we are fighting back. That ultimately is the key. We were unwilling soldiers at first, preferring to live in a civil society in which we could live in friendly peace. The Wisconsin judicial election, which forces the highest notions of impartiality -- judges -- into the war of ideology, and our response to players like Kloppenburg show that we are now fighting the war that we must fight, and the fight which we shall win.Hmmm.....Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
  Martin Luther King, Jr.Read the full story here.

• Want to know the 2012 election result?Here's a sneak preview!High-profile lawyers retained for possible Supreme Court recount.Twenty-four hours ago challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg was looking at an all but certain recount of her razor-thin victory over incumbent Justice David Prosser in the Supreme Court race. Now that it's come to light that Prosser might take a thin but substantial lead due to a computer error in Waukesha County, Kloppenburg could be the one to trigger a recount. But one thing hasn't changed: both camps are lawyering up and have brought in the big guns.Kloppenburg's campaign is working with Marc Elias, an attorney with Perkins Coie, a Washington D.C.-based firm with an office in downtown Madison. Elias is the same attorney who represented Democratic challenger Al Franken in his eight-month epic recount battle with incumbent Republican Norm Coleman. Franken eventually prevailed, winning his U.S. Senate seat by 312 votes.Prosser has hired Ben Ginsberg, a Washington-D.C. attorney who played a prominent role in the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential recount effort in Florida. He was also part of the team that represented Coleman in his recount effort. Prosser has also retained Madison attorney Jim Troupis, and Dan Kelly, who is based in Milwaukee.Melissa Mulliken, Kloppenburg's campaign manager, said the campaign first hired Perkins Coie months ago to file an amicus brief in a suit lodged by Wisconsin Right to Life over the state's new judicial campaign public financing law, which Right to Life says stifles free speech. Mulliken said Thursday the campaign "plans to continue to work with him (Elias)."Hmmmm....A computer is only as smart as the one who 'programs' it!Read the full story here.

• HT:TheFoundry.Morning Bell: Commander-in-Chief Turns His Back on America’s Military.The American military is engaged in multiple conflicts and humanitarian missions around the world, yet President Obama promised to veto legislation funding the troops for the remainder of 2011. This is a reprehensible political stunt, and it comes at the expense of our servicemen and women and the families they support.Yesterday, as efforts to resolve the debate on 2011 government funding continued, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) introduced yet another temporary bill designed to keep the government operating for one more week during negotiations, and in this case, ensure the military portion of the budget is appropriated to eliminate the economic uncertainty facing our troops.Before a vote was even taken, President Obama issued a Statement of Administration Policy that offered no policy, and merely called Speaker Boehner’s efforts a “distraction”, with the promise to veto the legislation. In fact, Speaker Boehner’s goal was to aid our armed forces by removing the distraction of a looming government shutdown for our troops. The House went on to pass the bill 247-181 with 15 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans.The American public has clearly spoken that it is demanding budget cuts, but so far nothing has happened in the Senate—not one serious alternative to the budget with $61 billion in cuts the House passed nearly two months ago. That Harry Reid is even allowed at the negotiating table before completing the prerequisites is a mystery, and this latest episode of defense funding angst by he and Obama continues the drama.United States military personnel are actively supporting the Libyan rebellion. Navy sailors and Marines are providing humanitarian relief to our ally Japan. American soldiers are still working to rebuild Iraq often in hostile conditions. They are engaged in active combat in Afghanistan. Some are being wounded daily; some maimed; some even killed. Others are doing their jobs around the globe keeping sea lanes open, on patrol, standing a post, and training for whatever conflicts lie ahead. Yet incredibly, their Commander-in-Chief vows to veto their paychecks.The House-passed bill is essential to ensure military forces deployed around the world will get the equipment they need to succeed. Even it will fund defense at levels significantly below President Obama’s request, unfortunately, which is causing strain across the military right now.The drawn-out budget fight to fund the government for 2011 is reaching a crescendo with a potential government shutdown now hours away. President Obama chose to finally engage the negotiations this week, yet still deflected leadership saying: “I shouldn’t have to oversee a process in which Congress deals with last year’s budget…”Absent a deal today, President Obama should actively press Congress to fund the troops, and withdraw his threat to veto their funding. Let our soldiers get back to work without threats to their safety and their families’ finances. It’s time for President Obama and Senator Reid to show that kind of leadership.Hmmmm...Sadly dictators hardly ever show leadership qualities.Read the full story here.

• HT:WhitehouseDossier.Is Michelle Planning Some Pricey Shopping in Williamsburg?It appears the Obamas may be headed down to Colonial Williamsburg this weekend for more than a history lesson. Mrs. Obama, it seems, wants something much more up to date.According to the Daily Press, which covers southeastern Virginia, the first lady has shopping on the brain. And we’re not talking about the Williamsburg Walmart.Rather, Mrs. Obama has been quietly investigating from afar the wares at Binns of Williamsburg, an upscale shop for uptown gals who want to look fabulous.Indeed, Mrs. Obama has been looking into the lifestyle, ordering catalogues and dispatching envoys to the store itself to see what’s good for the gettin’. Perhaps the first lady can also pick up another $1,000 handbag when she’s there.According to Tom Smith, assistant CEO of Binns of Williamsburg, the First Lady has expressed interest in his store in the past.“We have been contacted by different assistants of the family,” he says.Representatives have visited the store in the past, and Smith knows that Michelle has brochures from his store. He also has sent some accessories to the White House for her consideration.“Our gown department is a big area that she would probably end up looking at,” he says.Well, now we know better what the White House means by a “long planned” vacation that the Obamas might be loathe to cancel.If there is a government shutdown, the president will almost certainly have to stay at the White House. But Michelle has shown in the past she doesn’t mind traveling without him.If the White House communications team allows her to be seen browsing he bins at Binns while government workers are getting furloughed, they need to be impeached on charges of PR malpractice.Thanks to Nelly, one of our readers, who alerted me to this and who also noted that Mrs. Obama probably is seeking some stunning new items for her trip to Europe next month!Hmmmm......"Let them eat K Rations"?Read the full story here.

• UN: Scores of bodies found in Cote d'Ivoire. UN reports that more than 100 bodies, some burned alive, have been found over the past 24 hours across the country. More than 100 bodies, some burned alive and others thrown down a well, have been found in the past 24 hours by United Nations staff in Cote d'Ivoire.Rupert Colville, the UN human rights spokesperson, told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday that about 60 bodies were found in Guiglo, 15 bodies in the western town of Duekoue and about 40 in Bloloquin.The announcement comes as Allasane Ouattara, the claimant president, said in a speech late on Thursday that he would seek to restore security and basic public services in the country following fierce fighting between his forces and those of Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president."I have asked that European Union sanctions on the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro and certain public entities, be lifted," Ouattara said in the speech broadcast on French television."I have also asked the central bank BCEAO to reopen its branches in Ivory Coast, to ensure a resumption of operations in all banks so as to enable the payment of salaries and arrears in the shortest possible time," he said on television channel LCI.In Brussels, the European Commission said it hoped to be able to begin easing sanctions soon.Diplomatic and military efforts to oust Gbagbo this week were met with fierce resistance and Ouattara said his rival's residence had been sealed off to protect the area.The Reuters news agency reported on Friday that as a direct response to Ouattara's request, the EU planned on lifting the sanctions on all Ivorian port authorities and exports by Tuesday next week.A commander for the French military force in Cote d'Ivoire, Licorne (Unicorn), also said on Friday its troops would carry out mixed patrols with police and gendarmes loyal to Ouattara to restore security and rebuild infrastructure.Gbagbo remained defiant on Thursday, even after air strikes hammered his military bases and the palace, where he is holed up with his wife inside a subterranean tunnel.Ouattara won the November presidential poll by eight percentage points, according to UN certified results, but Gbagbo rejected the outcome citing fraud, and accused the United Nations of meddling in Ivorian affairs.The poll was meant to draw a line under Ivory Coast's 2002-3 civil war, but the dispute over results rekindled it, turning Abidjan into a war zone.Via a spokesman in Europe, the ruler continued to insist he'd won last November's election and stressed he would never leave the country he has ruled for the past 10 years."I reached the head of state and his wife less than an hour ago and no - he will not surrender. President Gbagbo will not cede," said his adviser Toussaint Alain by telephone from Paris. "It's a question of principle. President Gbagbo is not a monarch. He is not a king. He is not an emperor. He is a president elected by his people."Gbagbo has refused to accept defeat even though he was declared the loser of the November election both by his country's electoral body and by international observers including the United Nations.Hmmmm.....Read the full story here.

• Missile From Gaza that Hit School Bus was deliberatly aimed at the bus!JERUSALEM — A 16-year-old Israeli boy was critically wounded on Thursday when an antitank missile fired out of Gaza struck a school bus in southern Israel, according to military officials, setting off a new round of hostilities along the Israel-Gaza border. This was the first time that an antitank missile had hit a civilian target in southern Israel, sharply raising the stakes for residents of the area. It also prompted one of the most intensive Israeli retaliatory bombardments of Gaza in the past two years, killing five. The military wing of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack on the bus, saying it had specifically aimed at the target as a response to Israel’s killing of three Hamas commanders last Saturday. Israel said the three had been planning to kidnap Israelis.“This is an initial response to the occupation’s crimes,” Hamas said in a statement on Thursday, referring to Israel, “the latest of which was the assassination of the three holy fighters.” In the hours after the strike on the bus, Gaza militants fired 45 rockets and mortars at southern Israel, hitting one house but causing no more injuries. Hmmmm....What kind of 'poor excuses for a human being' target a schoolbus?Read the full story here.

• Obama Admin Training Thousands of Arab “Activists” to Evade Security Forces.The United States is training thousands of cell phone and Internet pro-democracy campaigners worldwide to evade security forces in what it calls a “cat-and-mouse game” with authoritarian governments.The US government is sponsoring efforts to help activists in Arab and other countries gain access to technology that circumvents government firewalls, secures telephone text and voice messages, and prevents attacks on websites.“This is sort of a cat-and-mouse game and governments are constantly developing new techniques to go after critics, to go after dissenters,” said Michael Posner, the assistant US secretary of state for human rights and labor.“We are trying to stay ahead of the curve and trying to basically provide both technology, training, and diplomatic support to allow people to freely express their views.”Posner told a small group of reporters that the theme of Internet freedom will be “peppered” throughout the State Department’s annual report on human rights for 194 countries that is scheduled for release on Friday.Hmmm....Arab 'activists' is this the new term for Al-Qaida?Read the full story here.

• Holder Declares Obama’s Libyan Adventure is Completely Legal.President Obama had the constitutional power to lawfully launch military strikes in Libya without permission from Congress because he “could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest,” the Justice Department concluded in an internal memorandum released on Thursday.The 14-page document, addressed to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., was signed by Caroline D. Krass, the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the executive branch about whether proposed actions are lawful.The memorandum laid out in detail the thinking of the administration’s legal team about the scope of Mr. Obama’s power to initiate hostilities unilaterally under his authority as commander in chief – confirming, as The New York Times has reported, that the administration’s argument centers on the idea that hostilities of limited nature, scope and duration do not rise to the level of a “war” that would trigger Congress’s powers under the Constitution.Much of the memorandum recites the facts of the lead-up to the Libyan strikes and Mr. Obama’s statements about them, as well as precedents involving other unilateral military interventions by recent presidents of both parties – and quotations from previous Justice Department memorandums approving of such deployments.Hmmmmm...... Louis XIV "L'Etat c'est moi"?Read the full story here.

• Turkey 'world leader' in imprisoned journalists, IPI report says.Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country in the world, including China and Iran, according to a press release issued Monday by the International Press Institute.The group based its release on a report published by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, that said 57 journalists are currently in prison in Turkey. As of December, Iran and China each had 34 journalists behind bars.“While Iran and China topped lists in December by reportedly jailing some 34 journalists each, Turkey, a candidate for membership in the European Union, has nearly doubled that number five months later, raising questions about the country’s commitment to freedom of the press and the legitimacy of its democratic image,” IPI Press Freedom Adviser Steven M. Ellis wrote in an article featured on the institute’s website.“These journalists are in jail because of Turkey’s anti-terror Law. This law threatens the freedom of press, and investigative journalists live under its menace. We find this unacceptable. We made a request to the government to change this law, but unfortunately the government does not lend an ear to professional journalist associations,” said Ferai Tınç, the chair of IPI’s Turkey National Committee and an IPI board member.“Turkey, at the crossroads between East and West, is a major regional power with an ancient cultural heritage. The country is also often held up as an example of a healthy Muslim democracy,” said IPI director Alison Bethel McKenzie, who warned that moving away from this history and imprisoning more journalists than any other country is damaging.McKenzie also called on the Turkish government to respect press freedom and release all journalists who have been detained because of their work.Hmmmm....Get Turkey out of NATO NOW!Read the full story here.

• HT:JudicialWatch.Terrorists Slip By TSA Behavior Detection Officers on at least 23 occasions.Years after implementing a costly passenger screening program, the Homeland Security agency responsible for protecting the nation’s transportation system failed to detect terrorists at U.S. airports on nearly two dozen occasions. As a result the terrorists slipped right through “security” checkpoints and boarded commercial airplanes, according to a government report that's difficult to swallow nearly a decade after the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history. Unfortunately, it’s true and, not surprisingly, it involves the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which was created after 9/11 mainly to prevent terrorists from using planes as weapons of mass destruction.

The agency’s perpetual blunders have been well documented by Judicial Watch over the years, but this seems to be the icing on the cake for an agency with unlimited resources and unconditional support from Congress and the White House. A heavily-touted and quite expensive TSA program that targets terrorists by observing their behavior has failed miserably, according to a congressional probe conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Known as Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT), the innovative project was implemented with great fanfare to enhance aviation security after Islamic terrorist slammed commercial jets into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. In 2010 SPOT cost taxpayers nearly $212 million and the Obama Administration wants $232 million for it this year.

But on at least 23 occasions its highly specialized Behavior Detection Officers failed to stop terrorists from boarding planes, investigators found. At least 16 people who were later charged or pleaded guilty to terrorism charges slipped through eight different U.S. airports with SPOT programs, according to the GAO’s findings.It gets better. Most of the airports where terrorists boarded planes rank among the top 10 highest risk on the TSA’s Airport Threat Assessment list. For instance, an individual who subsequently pleaded guilty to providing material support to Somali terrorists boarded a plane at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport en route to Somalia an another who later admitted providing Al Qaeda with material support took a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport to participate in a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.Before pouring more taxpayer dollars into this dubious security program perhaps the Obama Administration should consider a point made by congressional investigators in their report; “the TSA deployed its behavior detection program nationwide before first determining whether there was a scientifically valid basis for the program.”Hmmmm.....It's all about control?Read the full story here.

• Netherlands to vote on law banning slaughter of meat by halal and kosher methods.One of Europe's first countries to allow Jews to practice their religion openly could pass a law banning centuries-old traditions on the ritual slaughter of animals.An unlikely alliance of an animal rights party and the Freedom Party is behind a ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods in the Netherlands.They claims the practices inflict unacceptable suffering on animals.The far right's support of the bill, which is expected to go to a parliamentary vote this month, is based on its strident hostility towards the Dutch Muslim population.The Party of Animals, the world's first such party to be elected to parliament, said humane treatment of animals overrode traditions of tolerance.But Jewish and Muslim groups have called the bill an affront to freedom of religion.Most Dutch are believed to favour a ban.If the bill is passed, the Netherlands will join New Zealand, Scandinavian countries and Switzerland which have had bans for decades.The Netherlands has a proud history of tolerance and was one of the first countries in Europe to allow Jews to live openly with their religion in the 17th century.The country has around one million Muslims out of a total population of around 16 million. There are estimated to be around 50,000 Jews after 70 per cent of their community died in Nazi concentration camps in World War Two.Read the full story here.

• Hamas: Commander killed in Gaza.'Our aim is to get message across to Hamas,' says IDF official, adding retaliatory strikes in Gaza could increase. Meanwhile army kills two gunmen belonging to Hamas's military wing, who fired rockets at Ashkelon.The IDF continued Friday evening to bomb targets in the Gaza Strip in response to unceasing projectile fire by terror groups.Air Force craft attacked a rocket-launching cell that fired four rockets at Ashkelon, three of which were intercepted by Iron Dome. Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, announced that one of its commanders was killed in the strike along with an additional gunman. In addition, Palestinian sources reported two killed and 10 injured from IDF tank fire on Sajaiya neighborhood. The commander killed by the IDF was 27-year old Rayid Shehadeh, Hamas said. The IDF had announced after the strike that it had identified a direct hit. More than 24 hours after beginning to bomb Gaza heavily, IDF officials said the army has no plans of stopping, and that the intensity of the strikes may be intensified until terror organizations understand the message. "Our aim is to get a message across to Hamas, to clarify that we will not accept incidents the likes of which occurred yesterday," one official said, referring to an attack on a school bus that critically wounded a 16-year old boy. "They understand their situation and are thinking on it," one official said. "They are beginning to understand that the anti-tank fire (at the school bus) wasn't worth it. "They don't want to cause an increased Israeli response, but we are determined to continue operating against targets as well as rocket-launching cells. We will not hesitate to increase (military action). This operation will end when Hamas understands the price of its actions." Hmmmm....Sigh.....This isn't a 'game' to get a message through.The only way to dictate peace is through victory!Read the full story here.

• HT:TheJawaReport.Looming Budget Showdown: Feck the Troops but Dems Saved Google!It pays to be Google CEO Eric Schmidt, now serving on Obama’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).Update: Hey, who says the federal government isn’t efficient? The deal got announced a few minutes ago : The Justice Department said on Friday it has approved Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA, an online travel company specializing in airline ticketing software, with several conditions.Eric Schmidt must be proud!Whew! Never mind that military families will have to do without pay; at least they’ve taken care of Eric Schmidt. Our long national nightmare is over.Now, about Google's JihadTube, where does Obi One admin stand? Do they approve of terrorist propaganda and stuff? I mean, there are thousands and thousands of terrorist supporters videos.Inquiring minds wanna know..Hmmmm.....Is there anything the Obama regime doesn't control?Read the full story here.

• 'Massacre' at Camp Ashraf: Iranians call for international help as Iraqi soldiers run down refugees in armoured trucks, killing 25.Iranian refugees have called for international help to prevent a massacre at Camp Ashraf after Iraqi forces invaded the compound and killed at least 25 people. A full state of alert has been declared by the Iranian group after 65 Iraqi vehicles carrying soldiers entered Ashraf late yesterday, with reports that they are running down and shooting the refugees. Videos have emerged seemingly showing Iraqi troops firing on Iranian refugees and one instance appears to show an Iraqi vehicle ramming a resident and trapping him under its wheels.Muzzle flashes of gunshots are also visible as the vehicles chase residents around the compound at speed. Another six-minute video posted on YouTube that the exiles claim was taken of the offensive, shows Humvees flying the Iraqi flag chasing down around 100 stone-throwing masked people in an open area. At least one Iraqi soldier was seen firing from his AK-47 machine gun, but his target was not clear. The video also shows at least six people lying on a the ground, and a dozen of blood-soaked men being treated by doctors. Camp Ashraf resident Shahriar Kia said the dead include six women and said 325 had been wounded in the violence. Behzad Saffari, who has lived at Ashraf for nine years and acts as the camp's legal adviser, said: 'This is a massacre, a catastrophe. 'They came inside the camp and attacked people with grenades and tear gas, and then they started to shoot people.'When people saw the attack was about to begin, they lined up to defend their homes.'Neither his claims or the videos could be immediately be verified because access to the camp is restricted.A hospital in Baqouba has reported three dead and treated 13 wounded, and treated five injured Iraqi soldiers. However, a memo from the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran called on 'American forces in Iraq and the United Nation to immediately intervene to prevent the killings of Ashraf residents.'Iraqi Lt. General Ali Ghaidan confirmed a conflict took place overnight at Camp Ashraf but denied anyone was killed and said his men did not use live rounds. He acknowledged that there were people injured but said he did not know how many. Iraqi forces have reported their own casualties.Ghaidan said his troops were responding to two days of provocation by exiles who, armed with shovels, have been throwing stones at Iraqi guard positions.He also claimed the refugees had been throwing themselves in front of soldiers' trucks over the last few days.'One hundred members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran attacked our security and military forces,' said al-Dabbagh. 'Our forces did not use weapons. The situation is calm now. Our forces are trying to redeploy themselves inside and outside the camp. 'The Iraqi government is warning of violating the Iraqi laws in that area.'However, Ashraf residents and their supporters are calling the event a 'massacre'.The UN mission in Baghdad, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. military in Iraq all declined immediate comment.Hmmmmm......Iraq.....Turkey......Iran...Follow the dots.Read the full story here.

• Witnesses: 13 killed in Syria.Thousands protests Baath Party's rule in several Kurdish regions. Security forces said to be using live ammunition on masses.Syrian security forces opened fire Friday on thousands of protesters in the southern city of Daraa, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, witnesses said. Mass protests against autocratic Baath Party rule erupted on Friday in several Kurdish regions in eastern Syria, a Kurdish activist said, a day after President Bashar Assad offered Kurds Syrian nationality. Protest organizers called for demonstrations against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in several provinces in what they called a “Friday of Steadfastness.” "The citizenship gesture only helped fuel the street (protests). The Kurdish cause is one for democracy, freedom and cultural identity," Hassan Kamel, a high-level member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, said. SANA said a police officer and an ambulance driver were killed Friday in Daraa. The report blamed "armed men" for the violence. The government has blamed much of the unrest in recent weeks on armed thugs. It was not clear if the state-run agency and the eyewitness were counting the same people. One witness said he helped ferry the dead and wounded to the city's hospital, where he counted 13 corpses. "My clothes are soaked with blood," he said by telephone from Daraa, adding that he was among thousands of people at the protest and he witnessed security forces shooting live ammunition. Read the full story here.

• HT:JudicialWatch.Special Parole Pushed For Illegal Immigrants With Kids.The Illinois congressman charged with crafting President Obama’s amnesty bill has embarked on a national tour to promote a special program that allows illegal immigrants with children to remain in the United States.Launched by Democrat Luis Gutierrez, the "Campaign For American Children and Families” aims to grant a special parole to illegal aliens who have relatives in the U.S. so that families can remain together in the land of opportunity. The measure is essential to help those “whose lives are being turned upside down by deportation,” according to the veteran lawmaker who authored a bill to give the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants amnesty.Gutierrez estimates that around 4 million U.S. citizen children (“anchor babies”) have a deportable mother or father and all live in fear that they’ll lose a parent at any moment. His national tour will visit at least 20 cities and feature heartbreaking testimony from illegal immigrant families torn apart by deportation. Children and spouses of removed illegal aliens will take the microphone to tell their sob stories at the various rallies, Gutierrez promises.The goal is to pressure Obama into using his executive power to halt deportations while a broader amnesty bill is being considered by Congress. Immigration reform is necessary in the long run, Gutierrez says, but in the meantime the government must ensure that it doesn’t “needlessly deport” those who are working, raising families and “contributing to our nation and economic recovery.” Obama must “provide relief” from deportation, the congressman asserts.Hmmmm.......Read the full story here.

• Ban on Skype, Hotmail and Gmail proposed.Federal Security Service says their "uncontrolled use" could threaten security.The Federal Security Service (FSB) is "increasingly concerned" by the mass use of these services, which use foreign-made encryption technology, said head of the FSB's information and special communication centre Alexander Andreyechkin, RIA Novosti agency reported."Uncontrolled usage of these services may lead to massive threat to Russia's security," he said at a meeting of the government's communication and technology committee.Control of Internet traffic through these services is done from servers outside Russia, and so they are often used by extremist organizations, Andreyechkin was reported as saying before the meeting continued without the press.Deputy Minister of Communications Ilya Massukh later said that recommendations regarding regulation of mass usage of encryption technology will be given to the government by October 1.The FSB would like to ban these services in Russia because "security authorities cannot access them," Massukh was reported as saying.The secretive FSB, which is a successor to the Soviet KGB, has denounced the popular non-Russian services in the past.Read the full story here.

• HT:TheRightScoop.Video : Levin blasts Obama for not funding troops. Obama is pledging to veto a one week CR, offered by Boehner since they can’t agree on the current CR, that would fund defense for the rest of the year. Even Mike Pence, who is frustrated at another short-term CR, said that the troops must come first and therefore he will support this one week CR. Obama feels differently and Levin has a few words for him.Levin : “This Is What Saul Alinsky Marxists Do”.Hmmm....Exactly:"How does this 'man' looks at himself in the mirror?Napoleon said "an army marches on its stomach" he valued his troops!You can't have a dialog with an dictator!Read and see the full story here.

• HT:InfidelBloggers.FDR opposed repealing anti-Jewish Vichy laws in North Africa.I came upon a shocking article in the Jewish Journal (via Point of No Return and Emet m'Tsiyon) revealing some very telling details about FDR.Among the more remarkable documents of the Holocaust is a scroll, created in North Africa in 1943, called “Megillat Hitler.” Written in the style of Megillat Esther and the Purim story, it celebrates the Allies’ liberation of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which saved the local Jewish communities from the Nazis. What the scroll’s author did not realize, however, was that at the very moment he was setting quill to parchment, those same American authorities were actually trying to keep in place the anti-Jewish legislation imposed in North Africa by the Nazis.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different!'Huge Asteroid' to Pass Near Earth in November.Mark your calendars for an impressive and upcoming flyby of an asteroid that’s one of the larger potentially perilous space rocks in the heavens – in terms of smacking the Earth in the future.It’s the case of asteroid 2005 YU55, a round mini-world that is about 1,300 feet (400 meters) in diameter. In early November, this asteroid will approach Earth within a scant 0.85 lunar distances.Due the object’s size and whisking by so close to Earth, an extensive campaign of radar, visual and infrared observations are being planned.Asteroid 2005 YU55 was discovered by Spacewatch at the University of Arizona, Tucson’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory on Dec. 28, 2005.En route and headed our way, the cosmic wanderer is another reminder about life here on our sitting duck of a planet.“The close Earth approach of 2005 YU55 on Nov. 8, is unusual since it is close and big. On average, one wouldn’t expect an object this big to pass this close but every 30 years,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.Asteroid 2005 YU55 is a slow rotator. Because of its size and proximity to Earth, the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., has designated the space rock as a “potentially hazardous asteroid.”Hmmmm......Read the full story here.