Air Force Staff Sergeant Refusing Orders Until Obama’s Eligibility Dealt With

MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

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

• Guildhall dinner in honour of Ronald Reagan's centenary who's Absent?Obama's reprsentative the US ambassador.(Thisislondon).It was one of the most glittering events of the year, attracting some of the greatest names in American and British politics.But as the British roasted lamb and the sunny Californian chardonnay were cleared away, one notable absence was the hottest topic among guests at the Guildhall dinner in honour of Ronald Reagan's centenary.Where was the American ambassador to London, Louis B Susman?He had, it soon transpired, been invited. But despite a guest list that boasted four British Cabinet ministers, ex-Prime Minister, nine US congressmen and a senator and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, there was no sign of President Obama's representative in London. And in a warm atmosphere evoking the closest days of the special Anglo-US relationship of the Eighties, the surprise at Mr Susman's absence turned to annoyance."Our ambassador should be here," said Lynn de Rothschild, the American entrepreneur who is married to Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and was one of Hillary Clinton's key fundraisers in 2008 as well as a supporter of several Republican presidential candidates. "This was an historic dinner to mark Reagan's centenary and to celebrate him as the man who ended the Cold War. What could not be more important?"Why is our ambassador not here on Independence Day? No excuse. How is it that America is not represented in this room by our ambassador? It is appalling that no representative of our government is in this room. This has the feel of petty partisanship."Where indeed? Mr Susman had been at the unveiling of a statue of Reagan in Grosvenor Square earlier in the day, and had hosted a generous breakfast for the entire VIP visiting party and the military band, so he had certainly not snubbed the grand centenary events. According to the US embassy spokesman: "Ambassador Susman was pleased to be invited to the dinner but was unable to attend."Hmmmmm.........Read the full story here.

• ExxonMobil pipeline bursts, spilling crude oil into Yellowstone River.(NWProgressive).An ExxonMobil pipeline running under the Yellowstone River in south central Montana ruptured late Friday, spilling crude oil into the river and forcing evacuations.As if we needed another reminder that the oil industry is a dirty industry…The pipeline burst about 10 miles west of Billings, coating parts of the Yellowstone River that run past Laurel — a town of about 6,500 people downstream from the rupture — with shiny patches of oil. Precisely how much oil leaked into the river was still unclear. But throughout the day Saturday, cleanup crews in Laurel worked to lessen the impact of the spill, laying down absorbent sheets along the banks of the river to mop up some of the escaped oil, and measuring fumes to determine the health threat.Of course, ExxonMobil is very, very, very sorry about all of this.EMPCo deeply regrets this release and is working hard with local emergency authorities to mitigate the impacts of this release on the surrounding communities and to the environment.The release originated from a 12″ crude pipeline operated by EMPCo that runs from Silver Tip to Billings. The pipeline has been shut down and the segment where the release occurred has been isolated. All appropriate state and federal authorities have been alerted.When a drilling rig blows up, when a pipeline bursts, or when a supertanker runs aground due to a careless crew, the ramifications are incredibly destructive. We know because we’ve seen this happen before. Some communities have tragically experienced the consequences firsthand.Each time a disaster happens, the company responsible apologizes and promises to clean up its mess and compensate those affected.Politicians vow to hold the company responsible accountable and press for tougher safety regulations. But inevitably, none of this talk leads to a safer or cleaner industry. Because preventable accidents keep happening.Since humans make mistakes, drilling (or mining) for fossil fuels is an inherently unsafe business… a business that needs to be made illegal.As long as the fossil fuel industry continues to operate in this country, we are going to be subjected to more environmental disasters. The time has come for us to recognize that our ways are not sustainable, and channel our resources into the development of clean, safe, distributed renewable energy. Only then will incidents like this begin to disappear from our headlines.Hmmmmmm........And everyone will drive an electric dinky toy ....ooooh look a unicorn.Read the full 'story' here.

• Documents just released by Social security Administration appear to indicate falsified SSN application for Stanley Ann Dunham!(ThePostAndMail).A report from early 2009 stated that Stanley Ann Dunham’s social security number has been used by a woman in Washington State “all her life.” The same social security number, 535-40-8522, appears on passport applications released through a FOIA request to Mr. Christopher Strunk last summer, although there was one occurrence in which the box was left blank.Read and see the full story here.

• FROM ORLY TAITZ: Letter from SSA shows an invalid application form for Ann Dunham.(BirtherReport).I received today a letter from the Social Security administration. It provided years when social security revised its forms. As you can see, there was no revision in 1955, however the form allegedly submitted by Stanley Ann Dunham to the Social Security administration, shows on the bottom non-existent revision date of 1955.As I provided judge Lamberth originally, Dunham’s application shows similar signs of forgery as Obama’s BC. If you look at the revision date, you can see that two numbers 5 are different, different type settings are used. Additionally, I provided judge Lamberth with examples of SS-5 forms, submitted in 1959, at the time this application was allegedly submitted. Those forms were different. All evidence points to the fact, that not only Obama, but also, his mother, Ann Dunham, used invalid or fraudulently obtained or forged documents. This is the biggest breach of the US National security, the biggest crime ever to be perpetrated upon this nation. If the judge does not grant my FOIA request, he will be complicit to the crimes perpetrated by Obama.Hmmmm.......Communist agent?Read and see the full story here.

• Another Obama landgrab?White House Takes Aim at Rural America by Executive Order.(EmergingCorruption).Where, exactly, does the U.S. Constitution authorize the federal government to create “sustainable communities” to: … expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands.Clearly, the Constitution provides no such authority, and the 10th Amendment prohibits the federal government from engaging in activity not explicitly enumerated and authorized in the Constitution. This fact meant nothing to Bill Clinton, who created the President’s Council on Sustainable Development by executive order. Nor does this fact have meaning to Barack Hussein Obama.On June 9, 2011, by Executive Order 13575, Obama created the White House Rural Council. This new council consists of 25 Cabinet secretaries – or their designee – and is chaired by the secretary of Agriculture. The mission of the council is to: … work across executive departments, agencies, and offices to coordinate development of policy recommendations to promote economic prosperity and quality of life in rural America, and shall coordinate my Administration’s engagement with rural communities.Anyone who has ever had cow manure on his boots knows full well that until the federal government decided to get “engaged” with rural communities to improve the quality of life for the poor souls who live in fly-over county, farming and ranching fed the nation. Rural America provided the resources that fueled unprecedented prosperity. Not until the government showed up to help did rural families begin to suffer.Obama’s new White House Rural Council has the potential to be much worse than anything Franklin Roosevelt ever dreamed about. In 1992, the U.N. produced a 40-chapter, non-binding policy document called Agenda 21. This document sets forth recommendations to transform capitalism and a free republic into an administrative unit of global governance. Bill Clinton’s PCSD began imposing these policies on American towns and cities in the mid-1990s. Obama’s new council is designed to continue and expand the implementation of these policies into the hinterland.Remember the National Animal Identification System, which USDA said was being abandoned. Ha! It’s back. This new council will have the effect of multi-jurisdictional enforcement. Simply put, if a rancher or farmer fights too hard against the new USDA electronic identification system, the rancher can and will be identified throughout every agency in the council and forced to submit to inspections and enforcement of every rule and regulation imaginable. This is multi-jurisdictional enforcement.Obama’s ultimate goal is to assure that government has ultimate control of every square inch of land, every business activity, the curriculum in every school and, ultimately, the information that may be conveyed on the public airways.This is the goal of Agenda 21. Its recommendations are designed to produce this outcome. The program is called “Sustainable Development,” which means in real terms “government-approved” development. Every recommendation in Agenda 21 requires government enforcement. Any activity that is preceded by the word “Sustainable,” should be recognized as a “government-controlled” activity.Sustainable Development brings the concept of “Amortization of Non-Conforming Uses.” This means that, over time, the right of private landowners to occupy their houses will automatically be extinguished, and owners will be forced to leave their property without just compensation. This is happening in both urban and rural areas of the country. One of the more blatant examples was revealed in an article published by the LA Weekly News, June 23: “L.A. County’s Private Property War.”Countless L.A. County property owners have been victimized by armed NATs (Nuisance Abatement Teams) issuing citations for “living on the land illegally” and other equally ridiculous code violations. This is on land the victim owns. The code violations arise from new codes that comply with Agenda 21. These codes did not exist when the homes in Antelope Valley were built 20 and 30 years ago. Owners have had the time since the new codes were adopted, until recently, to bring their structures up to code. Those who failed to do so have now effectively lost their property to the county – without compensation. The fact that the land owners had no idea these ridiculous codes had been adopted is no excuse. This is “Amortization of Non-Conforming Uses.”This is “Agenda 21′s Sustainable Development” operating in the rural areas of Los Angeles County. This is what the rest of rural America can expect from the White House Rural Council in the months and years ahead.Hmmmm.......Now compare to this 2008 map.Read and see the full story here.

• Obama tries to stop execution in Texas of Mexican killer, doesn't care about Hamas prisoner Gilad Shalit.(Guardian).US president warns Texan authorities that execution would put America in breach of international legal obligations.President Barack Obama is attempting to block the execution in Texas on Thursday of a Mexican man because it would breach an international convention and do "irreparable harm" to US interests.The White House has asked the US supreme court to put the execution of Humberto Leal Garcia on hold while Congress passes a law that would prevent the convicted rapist and murderer from being put to death along with dozens of other foreign nationals who were denied proper access to diplomatic representation before trials for capital crimes.The administration moved after the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, brushed aside appeals from diplomats, top judges, senior military officers, the United Nations and former president George W Bush to stay Leal's execution because it could jeopardise American citizens arrested abroad as well as US diplomatic interests.Leal, 38, was convicted in 1994 of the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in San Antonio. Few question that he was responsible for the killing but the Texas authorities failed to tell Leal, who was born in Mexico and has lived in the US since the age of two, that under the Vienna convention he was entitled to contact the Mexican consulate when he was arrested. The legal situation has been complicated by earlier court rulings.In 2004, the international court of justice (ICJ) ruled that the US authorities had failed to meet its legal obligations to 51 Mexicans awaiting execution in American prisons when they were not informed of their right to contact their consulates.The then president, George W Bush, a former Texas governor who backs the death penalty, said the US would adhere to the ICJ ruling which, in effect, meant the death sentences would be reviewed or commuted. But in 2008 the supreme court ruled that while the US government was obliged to comply with the ICJ ruling it did not have the power to force individual American states to do so. Only Congress could require adherence by passing a law.The Obama administration has told the supreme court that a bill has recently been introduced in to the Senate to do just that but it is unlikely to win the approval of both houses of Congress before next year. The White House wants Leal's execution put on hold until the law is passed but two courts have already ruled that pending legislation has no effect on the legal process.The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has appealed to Perry to commute Leal's sentence to life imprisonment.Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions said that if Leal was put to death it would be "tantamount to an arbitrary deprivation of life".Perry's office has said Texas laws had been abided by and that Leal would be executed for "the most heinous of crimes".Hmmmm..........Read the full story here.

• Coming to a ATM near you: "No God but Allah" Dollar bill?(GraniteGrok).This is going to put the Left into quite the quandary!It has been proven in a variety of polls that Lefties tend to trend much more secular than those on the Right. Problem in this case, Progressives are trying to remove God from the public square in their zest to keep us all free from religion (as opposed to the establishment of religion as in the First Amendment), which in my estimation is that they are continuing to establish secular humanism as a religion).Lately, however, but we've seen the Lefty useful idiots "protect" Islam (or is the proper word "use"?) as a victimized identity group (even as FBI stats show that Jews are most likely to be attacked).  So, how would the Left rationalize this? Islamists want no God but Allah - they also are not keen on the idea of "no God" either (the Left's seeming adherence to remove "In God We Trust" on our currency, the practice of religion in the public square (except when it benefits them not to), and we've seen President Obama, on several occasions, delete the use of "the Creator" when speaking / quoting the Declaration of Independence. And who is going to go track down who is doing this? After all, it is a purposeful and willful defacing of our currency (and against the law)? Hmmmm......Lets bring back the Gold Standard.Read the full story here.

• Germany's high court on Tuesday began hearing a Legal Challenge to Greece Aid.'The Greeks Would Be Well Advised to Exit the Euro Zone'.(Spiegel).Germany's high court on Tuesday began hearing a legal challenge to the 110-billion-euro aid package provided to debt-stricken Greece in 2010. Retired economics professor Joachim Starbatty is one of those behind the case -- and he expects the court to prove him right.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Starbatty, the Greek parliament last week passed a €78 billion package of austerity measures in return for billions more in aid from the European Union.

Starbatty: By approving the package, the parliament decided against the will of the people. But only because it was blackmailed by Greece's partners in the euro zone .

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is it not legitimate for governments in Europe's common currency zone to want to see a Greek contribution to solving the problem before releasing billions in aid money?

Starbatty: The financial assistance is only there to save the European banking industry. The EU is throwing massive amounts of good money after bad. But it is the Greek people who must endure the brutal belt-tightening measures. I don't consider that to be legitimate.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Should the German high court side with your view and no longer allow Germany to participate in providing financial assistance to debt-stricken euro-zone countries, Greece would likely become insolvent in a hurry. The monetary union as a whole would also be endangered.

Starbatty: Greece is already broke. The country needs to be given a chance to get back on its feet economically. I expect the court will establish parameters in order to limit the economic nonsense.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What exactly do you mean by that?

Starbatty: The aid will remain, but the German parliament will in the future have to approve every further credit tranche .

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Were Greece to exit the euro zone, wouldn't the financial markets take aim at other deeply indebted countries and trigger a collapse of the entire currency union?

Starbatty: This "domino theory" only exists to mislead people. Will Finland or the Netherlands fall too? Only those countries that are already deeply in debt are affected. Any further delay will merely drive up the costs.Read the full story here.

• UK - Islamic extremists want to establish independent states with sharia law in Dewsbury, Bradford and Tower Hamlets.(DailyMail).Islamic extremists have called on British Muslims to establish three independent states within the UK.The notorious Muslims Against the Crusades (MAC) group have named Yorkshire towns Bradford and Dewsbury and Tower Hamlets in East London as testbeds for blanket sharia rule.The medieval 'emirates' would operate entirely outside British law, according to a document on the MAC website.The MAC group, led by Abu Assadullah, was set up last year and has become notorious because of its violent protests, most provocatively burning poppies during the Remembrance Day silence.Under the heading 'Muslims should set up Islamic emirates in the UK', MAC says: 'We suggest it is time that areas with large Muslim populations declare an emirate delineating that Muslims trying to live within this area are trying to live by the sharia as much as possible with their own courts and community watch and schools and even self sufficient trade.'Likely areas for these projects might be Dewsbury or Bradford or Tower Hamlets to begin with. 'In time we can envisage that the whole of the sharia might one day be implemented starting with these enclaves.' The call is likely to cause anger among moderate Muslims and community leaders in the areas concerned.Ian Greenwood, leader of Bradford Council, said people would 'not allow extremists to provoke them into violence'.London 7/7 bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan lived in Dewsbury, which has battled to diffuse extremism in recent years. In 2007, it was alleged that a number of Muslims in Dewsbury were running an illegal Islamic court from a school and similar claims have been made in Tower Hamlets and Bradford. Tower Hamlets council was last year accused of falling under the control of extremist groups following a documentary by the Daily Telegraph journalist Andrew Gilligan.The plan is part of the MAC's response to the government's revised Prevent strategy to combat Islamic extremism.In its document, called Islamic Prevent, the fanatics also call for an end to CCTV cameras in and around mosques. It says: 'Muslims must get rid of all CCTV cameras from Muslim institutions. Sadly many mosques have today adopted CCTV cameras to spy on Muslims on behalf of the police and local authorities.' Other inflammatory instructions include demanding the release of all Muslim prisoners, a ban on Muslims joining the police or armed forces and a rejection of British democracy.The document ends: 'We can conclude that measures by the UK government are nothing more than an attempt by them to strip the Muslim community of their Islamic identity and to integrate them into the non-Islamic way of life.'Tower Hamlets and Kirklees Council, the local authority for Dewsbury, refused to comment. Hmmmmm......What happened to :"We don't want to take over your country"?Read the full story here.

• "Food Jihad"? Experts : German E Coli outbreak contamination originated in Egypt!(Seattlepi).LONDON (AP) — Contaminated Egyptian fenugreek seeds are likely the source of Europe's deadly E. coli outbreaks, health experts warned Thursday, predicting there could be more infections from seeds still in the food chain.The tainted seeds may be behind the massive food poisoning outbreak in Germany beginning in May that has killed 49 people and infected over 4,000 in 15 countries, as well as a much smaller outbreak in France in June. More than 800 people have also developed a life-threatening kidney complication after catching the bug.On Thursday, the national French laboratory said the E. coli strain that sickened 15 people in Bordeaux is genetically similar to the one in Germany. The World Health Organization said this increased the proof that the outbreaks were linked, but scientists still haven't found any contaminated seeds."There's no smoking gun," Ian Henderson, a professor of microbial biology at the University of Birmingham, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "But it would be unusual to have the same rare strain found in Germany and France without some link."Fenugreek leaves are commonly used as an herb and also in curry.If the fenugreek seeds were contaminated at the source — during production in Egypt — they could have been freeze-dried before being sold, allowing the E. coli bacteria to live for years. Once water is added to grow the fenugreek sprouts, the entire sprout would be infected and washing wouldn't help get rid of the potentially deadly bacteria.Osterholm said the seeds could also cross-contaminate other products or be sold in a seed mix.The European Food Safety Authority recommends that people stop growing their own sprouts and not eat any type of sprouts unless they're thoroughly cooked.European food safety and health officials have asked Germany and France to quickly find out where seeds from the suspected contaminated Egyptian batch may have been sold. French farmers apparently bought their seeds from Thompson and Morgan, a large British mail-order company.Thompson and Morgan said their supplier bought fenugreek sprouting seeds from Egypt, which were then exclusively sold into a French garden market. The company does not sell sprouting seeds to commercial farms.Germany's consumer protection and food safety agency refused to say Thursday whether the organic farm in northern Germany implicated in the deadly E. coli outbreak used seeds from Egypt or whether other German farms had received Egyptian seeds. However, the agency said it was investigating the report.Experts said it was crucial to trace exactly where the bad seeds ended up but that doing so would be very difficult."They might have shipped over a couple of tons of seeds from Egypt, but it could have just been a small amount of seeds that were contaminated," explained Stephen Smith, a microbiologist at Trinity College in Dublin. "And then some of that shipment goes to Germany, France, and maybe lots of other countries."Smith said it was likely only a small batch of the seeds were contaminated, which might explain why the new E. coli cases are appearing sporadically."We will probably see more cases, but hopefully not on the scale of the German outbreak," he said.Hmmmm..............Read the full story here.

• Related - EU withdraws Egyptian seeds from market and temporarily bans their import.(Al-Arabia).The European Union is withdrawing from the market, and temporarily banning the import of, certain types of seeds from Egypt after Egyptian fenugreek seeds were linked to the E. coli outbreaks (O104 strain) in northern Germany and Bordeaux, France. The decision follows a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report, published earlier Tuesday, establishing a link between the outbreaks and seeds from Egypt.Fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt may be the source of highly toxic E. coli outbreaks in Germany and France that have killed at least 48 people, according to investigations by European scientists.More than 4,000 people across Europe and in North America have been infected in the deadliest outbreak of E. coli so far recorded, which began in early May. Almost all of those sickened lived in Germany or had recently travelled there. The German outbreak and a smaller cluster of E. coli near the French city of Bordeaux have both been linked to the seeds. Experts from the Sweden-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Italy-based European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said initial investigations suggested that the consumption of sprouts is the suspected vehicle of infection in both the French cluster and the German outbreak. “The tracing back is progressing and has thus far shown that fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt either in 2009 and/or 2010 are implicated in both outbreaks,” the scientists said.Hmmmm.........Human error , Accidental or ......Food jihad?Read the full story here.

• Syria accused of crimes against humanity.(Al-Jazeera).  Amnesty International says it has gathered proof of such crimes by the government in the northern town of Tall Kalakh.The Syrian government's violent suppression of the revolt against its rule could amount to a systematic campaign of crimes against humanity, a human rights group has said.London-based Amnesty International says it has gathered proof of such crimes by the government in the northern town of Tall Kalakh.The organisation called for the UN Security Council to refer the Syrian government's massive repression, which has come in response to continuing protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in a report released on Wednesday morning."The willingness of the international community to take action on Libya in the name of human rights has highlighted its double standards on Syria," Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa deputy director, said.The testimony gathered from witnesses from Tall Kalakh suggests systematic and targeted abuses aimed at trampling dissent, Luther said."Most of the crimes described in this report would fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court," Luther said."But the UN Security Council must first refer the situation in Syria to the Court's Prosecutor."In a pattern followed in towns across the country since the wave of protests began, army and security forces entered Tall Kalakh on May 14 after a demonstration against the government, Amnesty said.Security forces fired indiscriminately on civilians, killing eight. Scores of men and boys were arrested, most of them tortured, according to evidence collected by Amnesty. Some of them remain in detention, weeks later.Rights groups say that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 10,000 people arrested by security forces since the revolt against Assad began in mid-March.The Amnesty report comes as the Syrian government turns its attentions to the central city of Hama.Tanks were still surrounding Hama, days after it witnessed some of the biggest protests against Assad's rule since the recent uprising started. The attacks focused on two districts north of the Orontes River, which splits the city of 650,000 people in half.Some residents of Hama, scene of a crackdown by Assad's father nearly 30 years ago, had sought to halt any military advance by blocking roads between neighbourhoods with garbage containers, and by burning tyres, wood and metal.In response to the amplified violence in Hama, world leaders have threatened to increase the pressure on Syria."Violent repression in Hama will only further undermine the regime's legitimacy and raise serious questions about whether it is committed to the reforms it has recently announced," William Hague, the British foreign minister, said in a statement on Tuesday."The UK has made clear that President Assad must reform or step aside. If the regime continues to choose the path of brutal repression, pressure from the international community will only increase."The US, meanwhile, called on Syria to withdraw its forces from Hama."We urge the government of Syria to immediately halt its intimidation and arrest campaign, to pull its security forces back from Hama and other cities, and to allow Syrians to express their opinions freely so that a genuine transition to democracy can take place," Victoria Nuland, a spokesperson for the US state department, said.Nuland said Washington was "very concerned about the ongoing attacks against peaceful demonstrators in Syria".France, which has taken a tougher stance on Syria than its Western allies, said on Tuesday there were signs Russia was beginning to question its Syrian stance after seeing Assad continue the bloody crackdown.Russia has opposed a French-led UN Security Council draft resolution, which condemns Assad's government and urges it to adopt rapid change, but stops short of imposing sanctions or allow military action.Moscow has accused Western countries of exploiting the Security Council resolution that authorised limited military intervention in Libya and says it fears that could happen again in Syria.Alain Juppe, France’s foreign affairs minister, attempted to sway his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow last week, but said on Tuesday that Russia was still threatening to use a veto against the resolution."I pointed out that there was nothing in it that resembles paragraph 4 [of the Libya resolution], but I still haven't convinced him [Lavrov]," Juppe told the French parliament's foreign affairs commission."I think the point of no return has been crossed and the ability for Assad to make reforms today is zero in view of what has happened," Juppe said."But to facilitate the emergence of a consensus at the UN Security Council we accepted to once again address Assad and to ask him to sign up to reforms."France has also failed to convince South Africa, India and Brazil to vote in favour, leaving the resolution short of the minimum 11 of 15 votes it feels it needs to submit the resolution.Hmmmmmm........Assad the "Reformer" as hillary and erdogan used to call him,Done lots of 'reforming' lately?Read the full story here, Video report by Israel Matzav here.

• Gaza flotilla - French flotilla boat slips trough the maze, sets sail for Gaza.(Al-Jazeera).A French boat has set sail for Gaza in the latest attempt by activists to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory, according to a journalist aboard the vessel.The Dignite al Karama, which slipped past Greek authorities overnight is, thus far, the only boat in a flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to successfully sail for Gaza, with most confined to ports in Greece.The vessel's passengers include Olivier Besancenot, head of the New Left Party in France, French politician and member of the European Parliament Nicole Kiil-Nilsen, and other well-known French personalities."We are about 20 minutes from international waters, and when we arrive there, the organisers on the boat will decide what their next move is," Quentin Girard, a journalist with the French newspaper Liberation, told Al Jazeera from aboard the boat.Girard said that the activists on the boat want to go to Gaza, but are waiting to decide if they will go once the boat arrives in international waters."I think they will go if the international committee for the flotilla encourages them to go," Girard said.Meanwhile, the captain of a US ship, who was arrested by Greek authorities, was released on Tuesday and all charges against him dropped, Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reported from Athens."He has not been fined for anything, and he is a free man. This after Greek authorities arrested him or detained him late on Friday as he tried to bring his ship out and take the passengers to Gaza," Elshayyal said.The Audacity of Hope, also part of the so-called 'Freedom Flotilla', set sail on Friday from the Greek port of Perama and was towed back to shore by the Greek coast guard."Many viewed that the case today would be indicative of how likely it would be that this flotilla would actually set sail altogether," Elshayyal said. "And it seems that there is reason for optimism on the part of the participants, since now their captain has been set free."Greece's coast guard said on Saturday that the captain of The Audacity of Hope faced charges of trying to leave port without permission and of endangering the lives of the boat's passengers.The US boat is one of nine vessels carrying several hundred activists attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. Some of the passengers on the US ship have remained on board in solidarity with the jailed captain.On June 24, an anonymous complaint was filed against the ship's "seaworthiness". The Israel Law Centre (Shurat HaDin), took responsibility for the complaint in the Israeli media.On Monday, a Canadian boat, the Tahrir, was forced to return to harbour in Crete after an attempt to reach international waters was thwarted by the coast guard, according to onboard activists.The Tahrir sailed 15 minutes out of harbour before it was intercepted, activists told Al Jazeera.The coast guard ship pursued the Tahrir, using water cannons and eventually boarding the ship.Ehab Lotayef, spokesperson and coordinator for the Canadian boat, told Al Jazeera from Montreal that the two kayakers and a Canadian-Jewish activist, Sandra Rush, whose name was on the boat papers, were being held.According to Lotayef, everyone else on the boat remained aboard through the night. On Tuesday, the Greek prosecutor was on board taking statements from the activists.The group of activists in Corfu seemed to have all but exhausted their attempts to comply with the necessary paperwork for getting official permission to leave port.In a meeting on Tuesday, the Corfu group discussed staging local demonstrations against the Greek blockade of their flotilla, but did not disclose the nature of the planned protest.Most activists in the group seemed to reject the idea of breaking out of port, while the captain of the ship said he did not want to copy other breakouts out of fear of jeopardising his sailing license.Hmmmmm.......Back, ye scurvy dogs!or we will be 'placin' the black spot'?Read the full story here.

• Turkey’s ambitious religious imam-hatip schooled Erdogan not a tolerant man.(Al-Arabia). Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apparent political ambitions to become president with increased powers are not in the country’s interests because of his “dangerous intolerance of criticism,” The Economist’s European editor told a London audience on Tuesday.The editor, John Peet, described Mr. Erdogan as possibly the most important Turk since the founder of the republic, Kemal Ataturk, but said his goal of creating a strong presidency, apparently with himself at the helm, are “somewhat worrying.”He said Mr. Erdogan appeared determined to stay in power for a long time, hinting during the recent national election campaign that he hoped to be president in 2023, the 100th anniversary of the republic.“His party and he have shown they are intolerant of criticism. They don’t like opposition,” Mr. Peet told a meeting of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He noted that Turkey ranks 138th in the world in the international press freedom index. The Turkish Journalists Association says 58 journalists are in jail, more than in China.The Economist has come under heavy criticism from Mr. Erdogan’s supporters because it endorsed the country’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, in the recent election. Mr. Peet said he was surprised anyone in Turkey even noticed.He noted that the Turkish economy has enjoyed “fantastic success” since the 2001 meltdown in which the government had to call in the International Monetary Fund. It now has the world’s 16th largest economy and could become one of the top 10, he said, moving from basket case to what he called the China of Europe.But he said Turkey has a worryingly large current account deficit, the economy is overheating, unemployment remains just under 10 per cent and the country has been reluctant to embrace reforms in such areas as labor markets and minimum wages.He acknowledged that the Constitution, a military-dictated document dating from 1982, needs updating but questioned Mr. Erdogan’s goal of a presidency based on the French model. “The problem I have with Turkey is autocracy and intolerance of criticism,” he said. He noted that, after the election, Mr. Erdogan promised to work with the opposition on writing a new Constitution but has since become involved in controversy with opposition parties that refuse to take their parliamentary seats because some of their members have been jailed. As for the Kurds, he suggested the government is better at conflict than conflict resolution. It has taken some helpful steps in appeasing the Kurds, he said, but Mr. Erdogan’s opposition to centralization is “worrying.”Turkey and Israel will never go back to their relationship of 10 years ago, he said, but it would be helpful if Turkey could play a mediating role between Israel and its Arab neighbors.He said Turks recognize that their future is with the European Union, but their country’s prospects of joining the EU look “pretty remote” because of opposition from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and some other EU leaders. He expressed hope that Mr. Sarkozy would be toppled in French elections next year.Turkey’s EU prospects might be improved by movement in resolving the Cyprus impasse, he said, but noted there is little sign of concessions by either Greek Cypriots or Turkish Cypriots. The United Nations may be tempted to give up trying to resolve the conflict, he said.Hmmmmm.........Mr. Erdogan appeared determined to stay in power for a long time.Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.A warning for Sushi and Cod lovers!Fishing industry quiet as a fish on worms in cod: report.(TheLocal).A growing seal population in the Baltic sea has brought with it an unwanted consequence - the cod worm (anisakis), which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and intense stomach aches if ingested, is steadily becoming more common in the Baltic area.But the Swedish fishing industry has kept a tight lid on information about the growing numbers, according to a report in newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN)."The worry is that it'll have very negative consequences, and that people will stop eating fish. So we want more information on the subject and so far this has not been a financial priority," Sven-Gunnar Lunneryd, an expert on seals, told the newspaper.Though the symptoms usually disappear within two weeks, severe cases can see the cod worm eating its way through the stomach and showing up in other places in the body.According to the DN report, one unlucky man in the United States suffered from a truly stubborn cod worm after eating sushi. The parasite crawled up his esophagus, and from there proceeded to eat its way through into the man's neck.Another incident reported by the paper was one sufferer who coughed up live worms after experiencing a ticklish and achy throat. But when a similar revelation was made in Germany in the 1980's it caused a significant drop in fish consumption and authorities are fearing the same will happen in Sweden, Lunneryd told the paper."There aren't any reports about this being common in the Baltic, so I got interested and looked through 2,000 fishes collected in the area. From these we can see that the parasite is quite common."Southern areas of Sweden, including the southern coast of Skåne and the waters outside Blekinge and Öland, seem to be hit especially hard. According to Lunneryd, this is well known among his co-workers at the Swedish Board of Fisheries (Fiskeriverket, now Havs- och vattenmyndigheten). But even so, he says no official investigations have been made, nor have any reports been written. In fact, Lunneryd's study was made in his own free time.One person who's seen the cod worm up close is Harry Löfgren, who was just about to eat his newly-caught cod on Friday when he received a nasty surprise."I noticed something moving in my sauce," the 9-year-old told DN.Despite his father cooking the fresh caught cod, the worms, which were "yellow and about a centimeter long", were very much alive, according to the newspaper."Next time we will freeze the fillets before we cook them," the boy told the paper.Hmmmm.....Who's the 'bait' here?Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Moscow airport bomb: suicide bombers were part of squad trained in Pakistan.The two suicide bombers who carried out the Moscow attack were thought to be part of a suicide squad trained in Pakistan's al-Qaeda strongholds sent to the capital to target the city's transport system.Intelligence sources said that one of the squads was likely to have established a base, at a house in Moscow, where the suicide belts to be used in attacks were assembled. Russian security sources said yesterday that a male and female suicide bomber from the Black Widow brigades had carried out the bombing together. The attack had been closely supervised by three accomplices, who had watched from a distance and are now being sought by the authorities. A Russian security official said the bomb that ripped through Moscow's Domodedovo airport was carried by a woman who mingled in the crowd at arrivals. She then either set the bomb off herself or someone else detonated it using a remote-control device. An eyewitness said the woman had been dressed in black and had worn a veil, suggesting she may have been a 'Black Widow' suicide bomber from the North Caucasus region out to revenge the killing of her husband by Russian security forces. Read the full story here.

• Egypt Breaking News - Video : Police and protesters face-off near government TV offices in Cairo. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.Here.

• HT:HIDF.26 January 1950 when India became a Republic.Some Photographs of India .To all the Nut Cases who want to see India divided..it is not going to happen.We have been on this earth from last 10,000 Years and will be there when the mankind leaves the world…Hinduism is called Sanathan Dharma..The Dharma or the path which was there when the mankind came on earth and will go then only when mankind will be wiped out of the world.Hmmmm.....60 Years ....almost a lifetime!Read and see the full story here.

• Color-coded terror warnings to be gone by April 27.WASHINGTON – Government officials say the colors in the nation's terror alert system will be gone by April 27.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the pending announcement, say the Homeland Security Department will begin a 90-day phasing out of the system on Thursday.The Homeland Security Department plans to tell the public about a terror threat much like it has been doing for the past few years — through government announcements and the news media.The five-tiered color-coded terror warnings were created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and they quickly became the butt of late-night talk show jokes. The government hasn't made changes in the colored alert levels since 2006, but it has been reviewing its usefulness for more than a year.Hmmmm.....There's no longer a terror threat when you stop talking about it?Source .

• HT:IsraeliGirl.Joining together to combat hate and anti Semitism online.January 27th marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp. Since 2005 it is also the International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD), an annual day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era.The Nazis didn't have Internet access. There was no Facebook, no Twitter, no YouTube to help the Nazis deliver their hate message to the masses.The Nazis may be gone but their hate message remains alive and well. Anti Semitisim today hides behind anti Zionism. Those that spread this message of hate do a remarkable job spreading their wrath online. Social media sites such Facebook, Youtube and Twitter become vehicles in delivering messages of hate and incitement.This Holocaust remembrance day Giyus.org would like to launch a community initiative to combat hate online. Social media sites have pledged to remove online hate and terrorist groups but with anti Israel rhetoric and anti Semitism on the rise, their moderators have been unable to monitor the sheer number of messages.Read how you also can help to stop the spreading of this cancer!  Here.

• HT:Memri.In Advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iranian 'Adolf Hitler Research Society' Website Shows How Holocaust Photos Were 'Doctored' By the Jews, and Iranian Website Publishes Series by French Holocaust Denier.In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27, several Iranian websites published articles denying the Holocaust. The website of the Iranian "Adolf Hitler Research Society" recently posted an undated article titled "A Reassessment of the Holocaust," claiming that photos documenting the Holocaust were doctored and forged by the Jews. Also, on January 26, 2011, the Iranian semi-official news agency Mehr published the first in a series of articles by French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson, titled "Holocaust: The Historic Fraud."Hmmmm......Just like Erdogan claims that the Armenian Genocide never happened,Ahmadinejad claims the Holocaust never happened,talk about compagnions in faith?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video - British Holocaust Denier David Irving: The Zionists Have Overplayed the Holocaust, and This Has Tarnished the Zionist Cause.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video:Holocaust Denial Discussed on Iranian TV: There Were No Gas Chambers; You Cannot Squeeze 2,000 Jews into 100 Square Meters.Hmmmm....Somehow i think Ahmadinejad is eager to do better?Read and see the full "Story" here.

• Pakistani Lawyer Calls for Enforcing Pakistan's Existing Blasphemy Laws Over Islamic Clerics' Hate Campaign Against Ahmadi Muslims, Says: 'Ignorant and Hypocritical Mullahs Have Made a Mockery of the Constitution, Law and Process in Pakistan'.'[It] Seems That Pakistan is Not an Islamic State or a Shi'a State or a Sunni State... Held Hostage By Our... Mullahs, Who Are Hell-Bent on Destroying the Rest of Us – And… Pakistan Itself""No sir, in Pakistan, the law does not protect the weak, helpless and marginalized. It persecutes them. Ignorant and hypocritical mullahs have made a mockery of the constitution, law and process in Pakistan. Justice Sardar Muhammad Iqbal, in his famous judgment in Kaikaus v. President of Pakistan PLD 1976 Lah 1608… described the petitioners as Kharijites [i.e. those who left Islam]. Thirty-four years later, it seems that Pakistan is not an Islamic state or a Shi'a state or a Sunni state. It is now a Kharijite state held hostage by our Kharijite mullahs who are hell bent on destroying the rest of us and, in the process, Pakistan itself."What depths will we not fall to? Could the contrast be any greater to our founding principles? At the height of the Pakistan Movement, [Pakistan's Founder Mohammad Ali] Jinnah refused to endorse a cover for Time magazine on its editor's request because it was derogatory and insulting 'to the Hindu Community.' Our nation state was built on positive values, not hatred for others. "Yet we now seem to call into question its very existence by our actions. Incidentally, questioning the creation of Pakistan is also punishable under Section 123-A of the PPC, though it has never stopped the… [ruling Pakistan People's Party of President Asif Zardari] from sharing power with the JUI-F [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman], a party whose famous antecedent Maulana Mufti Mahmood, the posthumous godfather of the Taliban and bigoted forces, historically denounced the creation of Pakistan."Hmmmm....... Peter 2:1"there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord".Read the full story here.

• "Life Or Death in Iran's prisons".Report: Stop the Execution Machine !All prisoners sentenced to death in Iran are in serious danger of secretly being executed. Concerns are specifically raised after the secret executions of Jafar Kazemi and Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaie. Most authorities and human rights defenders in Iran like Shirin Ebadi who have condemned such large numbers of reckless executions have made comparisons to the extensive executions of the 1980′s [in Iran]. At the same time, distinguished lawyers are being chased away and are severely suppressed for accepting political and stoning case files and defending the rights of prisoners. The execution machine in Iran is determined to completely silence the families of prisoners and their supporters. The Iranian authorities even avoid properly announcing the executions.Roudabeh Akbari, Jafar Kazemi’s wife, in a phone call with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said that when she went to Evin prison on January 24th to visit her husband, she was told that he had already been hanged that morning. “They hanged my husband without notifying me or his lawyer. Yesterday morning in Evin, I was filling out the visitation form when they suddenly said, ‘He has been hanged already. Go home. We will call you if we decide to hand the body over to you. Go home and relax. It’s all over now.’ But it is unlikely that they will call us to pick up the body because in Mr. [Ali] Saremi’s case, they buried the body themselves. They will probably do the same to my husband’s body.”Ten days after the execution of a prisoner in Orumiyeh, the judicial security authorities still refuse to mention his name. Everyone spoke in a cloud of doubt about Hossein Khezri’s execution. Hossein’s lawyer, Ehsan Mojtavi, in an interview with Kurdish Perspective, stated that he could not say for certain that the person whose execution the Islamic Republic media announced on January 15th was his client Hossein Khezri. In the same interview, he added, “According to the rules and regulations and the situation of this specific case file, Hossein should still be living.” However, he also added that the existing evidence and the charges on his client show that Hossein Khezri has probably been executed. Ehsan Mojtavi pointed out that the lawyer should always be informed of his client’s exact date, time, and location of execution. “This is the first time in the last decade that a death sentence has been executed in such a manner,” he said.According to the statistics announced by the judicial and governmental organizations, in a period of 36 days, from December 20, 2010 to January 24, 2011, 103 prisoners were hanged in various parts of Iran. Moreover, there are reports of extensive executions in the prison in Birjand which have not been included in the above mentioned statistics because they have not yet been confirmed by official or reliable sources. In fact, there are most likely more unconfirmed executions around Iran, especially in the prisons Karoun and Sepidar in Ahvaz.Read the full story here.

• HT:TranslatingJihad.Fatwa: "Whoever Insults One of These Four Things, Whether in Jest or Sincerity, Has Become an Infidel and Must Be Killed".No, the four things are not the four Gospels, and the author of this fatwa is not a right-wing Evangelical minister. The four things, of course, are Allah, Muhammad, the Qur'an, and Islam, and this is yet another offering from the Religion of Peace and Tolerance (shocker!). The author of this fatwa, which comes from the Islamic Fatwa Council of Jerusalem, presided over by Shaykh Khalid Ghanayim, asserts that this is not only his opinion, but also the opinion of the Qur'an, the sunnah, and the consensus of Islamic scholars, and backs all of that up with references from each source. Stay tuned for more from me on this topic in the coming days, as I have quite a bit of material to translate in relation to this.Muhammad bin Sahnun said: "Scholars are in unanimous (agreement) that whoever insults and disparages the Prophet (peace be upon him) is an infidel. Continually upon him is the threat of the punishment of Allah. The ruling on him for the Muslim community is execution. Whoever doubts his infidelity and punishment is (himself) an infidel."Al-Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I don't know any Muslim who differs on the duty to kill him," Hmmmm......."The Religion of Peace"?Read the full story here.

• Keith Ellison’s alma mater, UMinn, to launch Islamic sharia law program.MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/24/2011) —The University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center will launch its Islamic Law and Human Rights Program (IHRP) on Friday, Feb. 4. Opening ceremonies will be held from 3 to 4:40 p.m. in Room 25 of Mondale Hall, 229 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis.The new program will focus on current issues and debates surrounding human rights and Islamic law and will encourage and facilitate new approaches to research and real-world application. It will engage students through teaching, publications, fellowships, internships, applied research, field work, conferences and other special events on current human rights and Islamic law issue.Hmmmmm.....The new Ground Zero Imam "Apostates must be jailed"- Human Rights Charter Art 18. "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief" Case closed!NO TO SHARIA IN AMERICA !Read the full story here.

• Google Comes Under Fire for 'Secret' Relationship with NSA.Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group largely focused in recent years on Google's privacy practices, has called on a congressional investigation into the Internet giant's "cozy" relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.In a letter sent Monday, Consumer Watchdog asked Representative Darrell Issa, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to investigate the relationship between Google and several government agencies.The group asked Issa to investigate contracts at several U.S. agencies for Google technology and services, the "secretive" relationship between Google and the U.S. National Security Agency, and the company's use of a U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration airfield in California.Federal agencies have also taken "insufficient" action in response to revelations last year that Google Street View cars were collecting data from open Wi-Fi connections they passed, Consumer Watchdog said in the letter."We believe Google has inappropriately benefited from close ties to the administration," the letter said. "Google is most consumers' gateway to the Internet. Nonetheless, it should not get special treatment and access because of a special relationship with the administration."The paper questions a decision by NASA allowing Google executives to use its Moffett Federal Airfield near Google headquarters. Although H211, a company controlled by Google top executives, pays NASA rent, they enjoy access to the airfield that other companies or groups don't have, Simpson said.The paper also questions Google contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies, suggesting that, in some cases, Google contracts were fast-tracked. The paper also questions Google's relationship with the U.S. National Security Agency and calls for the company to be more open about what consumer information it shares with the spy agency."I understand the NSA is a super-secret spook organization," he said. "But given Google's very special situation where it possesses so much personal data about people, I think that there ought to be a little more openness about what precisely goes on between the two.Hmmmm.....Goebbels Google close up?Read the full story here.

• HT:RawStory.Justice Department seeks to have all web surfing tracked.WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department wants Internet service providers and cell phone companies to be required to hold on to records for longer to help with criminal prosecutions."Data retention is fundamental to the department's work in investigating and prosecuting almost every type of crime," US deputy assistant attorney general Jason Weinstein told a congressional subcommittee on Tuesday."Some records are kept for weeks or months; others are stored very briefly before being purged," Weinstein said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.He said Internet records are often "the only available evidence that allows us to investigate who committed crimes on the Internet.Kate Dean, executive director of the Internet Service Provider Association, said broad mandatory data retention requirements would be "fraught with legal, technical and practical challenges."Dean said they would require "an entire industry to retain billions of discrete electronic records due to the possibility that a tiny percentage of them might contain evidence related to a crime.""We think that it is important to weigh that potential value against the impact on the millions of innocent Internet users' privacy," she said.Hmmmm.....This is already being done in most of Europe and the UK!Read the full story here.

• HT:DougRoss.Barack Obama's State of the Union speech in 90 seconds [Biff Spackle]. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and Professor Piven:I'd like to welcome the new Tea-Baggers and pray for the recovery of Gabby Giffords, wounded in a tragic attack by right-wing conservatives and/or Sarah Palin.Look, it's no secret that I'm a Marxist. Look it up. Textbook definition. But I realize now, having withstood a massive repudiation in the midterm elections, that I'm going to have to pretend to be a centrist again. Let's all relive the glory days of my 2008 campaign when a snappy logo, a compliant media and an amorphous slogan -- Change! -- catapulted me to my first real job.America! Hopes! Dreams! Civility! Al Sharpton's shiny blue suit! Taco Bell's new crispy burrito with extra cheese! All of these things, plus an enormous, doddering federal bureaucracy, determine whether new jobs and industries take root in our country.Look at all the progress we've made in saving the economy from the worst crisis since the Great Plague:We passed a historic health care bill that no one read and fewer understand. Over at the EPA, we're using a leaf-blower to dispense new regulations and set industrial policy. We've issued oil drilling moratoriums. passed a financial reform bill that didn't address Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Took over the student loan business and two failed auto companies. Blew out a trillion-dollar stimulus package that kept the public sector union bosses in clover.It's steps like these that have kept unemployment well below 20 percent!Hmmmm....."Never in the field of human intellect has more bull been said"?Go and read the full "Story" here.

• HT:Persecution.org.Ethiopian Muslims Warn Christians to Convert, Leave City or Face Death.Washington, D.C. (January 25, 2011)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Christians in the Ethiopian city of Besheno are being harassed and physically abused after Muslims posted notices on the doors of Christian homes warning them to convert, leave the city or face death.Three Christian leaders were forced to flee the city and two Christians have been forced to convert to Islam. In the Muslim majority city, the entire evangelical Christian community consists of about 30 believers. Evangelist Kassa Awano remains in critical condition after Muslims attacked him on November 29, 2010. A few days after the attack, nearly 100 Muslims surrounded a vehicle carrying Christian leaders on their way to negotiate for peace with Muslim leaders. Two men, Tesema Hirego and Niggusie Denano, were seriously wounded, and the other leaders suffered minor injuries. On January 2, Muslims assaulted Temesgen Peteros with a knife after he testified about the attacks on these Christians in court.Christians in Besheno have been targeted by Muslims for many years. On May 21, 2004, Muslims murdered the 7 year-old daughter of Evangelist Tesfaye Hobe. Muslims continuously attack Christians for listening to Christian songs and watching Christian videos.We ask for our constitutional right [to freedom of religion] to be respected. We want this inhumane act to stop. We are unable to live in our own city due to the inhumane acts,one of the Christian leaders who fled the city told ICC.Read the full story here.

• Israel - Bill: Ban contact with firms working in Iran.At least 30 MKs on board with Economics Committee chairman's bill proposing to prohibit Israeli companies, citizens from maintaining contact with companies which trade in weapons, energy fields with Islamic Republic.Chairman of the Knesset's Economics Committee MK Carmel Shama (Likud) submitted a bill Monday banning Israeli organizations and private citizens from engaging in business contact with Iran or companies that trade with it, directly or indirectly, in the fields of weapons and energy. The bill, which will be presented to the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs early next week, has already earned the support of 30 MKs from all Knesset factions.Shama explained the basis for the bill: "Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called his country to 'take its head out of the sand' this week and prepare for a conflict with Iran. Our own Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted last week that the world's main concern is Iran. The US and Europe prohibit any contact with companies working in Iran, but strangely Israel, which supports boosting financial pressure on the Islamic Republic, has yet to legislate such a law." Punishment: 1 year in prison.According to the bill, any Israeli citizen or company owner found to be engaging in business contact with Iranian bodies will be sentenced to one year in prison and a NIS 5 million ($1.39 million) fine or three times the expected profit from the deal.Read the full story here.

• Poll: Christian marginalisation on the rise, say UK church-goers.The majority of church-goers in the UK feel that Christians are being increasingly marginalised in public life, a new survey has revealed.According to the poll, conducted by ComRes on behalf of Premier Christian Media, 81 per cent of church-goers think the marginalisation of Christians is happening more and more in the media and press.While 77 per cent thought it was growing in the public realm, two thirds said they believed it was increasing in the workplace.And more than half said it was on the rise in Government.Figures also revealed that more women than men on average thought that the marginalisation of Christians was increasing in British society.Peter Kerridge, Chief Executive of Premier Christian Media, said: “The majority of Christians, young and old, feel marginalisation is on the increase.”Mrs Bull said: “I do feel that Christianity is being marginalised in Britain. The same laws used against us have been used to shut down faith-based adoption agencies. “Much is said about ‘equality and diversity’ but it seems some people are more equal than others.”Last year a similar poll conducted by ComRes for Premier Christian Radio, revealed that three quarters of churchgoers believed the risk of anti-Christian persecution in the UK was greater than six years ago and 80 per cent expected it to get worse.And two thirds thought there was more negative discrimination against Christians than any other faith group in the nation.Mr Kerridge said at the time that something had to be done.“When three out of four Christians have reported an increased risk of discrimination in the UK over the last five years, the message is clear. We, as a country, need to do more to support Christians living out their faith”, he said.Hmmmmm.......side effect of "Outreach to Muslims"?Soon in your all American neighbourhood?Read the full story here.

• HT:IslamInEurope.Oslo: Family charged for marrying off 13 year old daughter."Every year you are my beloved," the man wrote his cousin in what police thinks is a wedding album. She was just 13.Now, four years later, the girl lives in a secret location in Norway. Police fear she might be abducted and killed is anybody in her family gets to her.Police think that the cousin (24), aunt (47), uncle (51), the girl's mother (39) and her father (40) are responsible for the most serious forced-marriage case in Norway ever - and have charged all five in a trial which begins in Oslo today.Because of the constant danger to her life, two police agents will follow every movement around the girl when she testifies today."I was told to repeat what the imam said, and did not understand the significance of what happened," the girl told VG about the day she got made-up for a party, and was then married to her older cousin.The cousin is charged with sexual relations with children under 14, death threats and abuse. During the police interrogation, the girl said that her cousin held a knife to her throat the first time he raped her. He does not admit guilt."The girl fears coming to court to testify. This is about her family. It's her identity, and she has a live which is now gone. Now she must tell the court what happened, and it's her family on trial," Simon Stende, the girl's lawyer, told VG.Police think the girl will probably be in danger for the rest of her life. Today she risks standing face to face with her family members when she will testify what happened in the years since she forced to marry as a 13 year old - and until she turned to the Child Welfare services last year and was moved to a secret location.The girl's uncle, who is said to be the main man behind the forced marriage, is still on the run, and is being hunted internationally through Kripos (National Criminal Investigation police)."For them it's about honor. Everything is about that. Since it was decided that I should marry him, I couldn't say anything against it," the girl told the police.Hmmmm.....Still think Sharia and Human Rights go together?THINK AGAIN !Read the full story here.

• US: Turkel report fine, but UN flotilla panel better.WASHINGTON – The US on Monday welcomed the release of the Turkel Commission report on the Turkish flotilla incident, but said the “primary forum” for examining the event was the international committee operating under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that Israel was capable of carrying out an “impartial and transparent” investigation despite Turkey’s criticism of the findings.In New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said investigators there had received a copy of the Israeli report."As you know, to help complete their important mandate it is essential for the (UN) panel to review material provided by both sides, Israel and Turkey," he said.The UN panel of experts investigating the flotilla incident is led by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and includes both a Turkish and an Israeli representative. Israel's representative on the UN investigative panel is Joseph Ciechanover, who formerly served as bureau chief of the Foreign Ministry and as legal counsel for the Defense Ministry.Read the full story here.

• HT:WeaselZippers.Video - No Obama Birth Records In His State…Weasel Master (the man behind the scenes) makes a good point: “At this point, I’m wondering if this isn’t a well-orchestrated charade. Nothing adds up.”Hmmmmm......Transparency??Read the full story here.

• HT:IslamInEurope.Netherlands: Schools may impose headscarf code.The Equal Treatment Commission has ruled that schools have a say in the way in which students wear headscarves.The commission was responding to the case of the Gerrit Rietveld College in the city of Utrecht, where 50 students objected to a new dress code. This only allows Muslim girls to cover their heads as long as 90 percent of the face remains visible. Headgear which covers the chin or eyebrows, for example, is regarded as hindering communication between student and teacher.The commission has backed the college and says the question of communication is of sufficient importance. It also noted that the code applies to everyone. Hairstyles which cover the eyes are also banned.Read the full story here.

• CBO Says This Year's Budget Deficit to Hit a Record $1.5 Trillion. Washington (AP) - New budget estimates released Wednesday predict the government's deficit will hit almost $1.5 trillion this year, a new record.The daunting numbers mean that the government will have to borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends.The new Congressional Budget Office estimates will add fuel to a raging debate over cutting spending and looming legislation that's required to allow the government to borrow more money as the national debt nears the $14.3 trillion cap set by law. Republicans controlling the House say there's no way they'll raise the limit without significant cuts in spending, starting with a government funding bill that will advance next month.The CBO analysis predicts the economy will grow by 3.1 percent this year, but that joblessness will remain above 9 percent this year. Dauntingly for President Obama, the nonpartisan agency estimates a nationwide unemployment rate of 8.2 percent on Election Day in 2012.As a share of the economy, tax revenues in 2011 are projected to reach their lowest levels since 1950. The CBO projects that tax revenues will be 14.8 percent of GDP in 2011, which would be 0.1 percentage point lower than in 2009.Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.Sweden - Muslim received Ahcmed the Terrorist joke video clip from social secretary – denied financial compensation.The e-mail from the social worker with a link to a movie making fun of Islam. The man who received the e-mail is a Muslim and was very upset. But Borås city would not give him damages.The e-mail from the social worker provided a link to a YouTube clip of an American stand-up comedian and ventriloquist, inter alia, making jokes about Islam. The message was sent to eight different people with nothing but a link.The man also asked for a substantial damages from the city of Borås, citing that he felt humiliated at having received such an email from his social secretary.- It’s not about money, “says the man and explains that he wants the damages to have a deterrent effect.- If you drive through a red light is not enough to apologize, you may also fine as a deterrent so that you can not do it again.But Boras city has now rejected his request for damages.- The official who sent the e-mail has acted in a very inappropriate way, there’s no doubt about it. But I can not see that the violation is so serious that there is no basis for damages, “said Rosangela Hansen, town lawyer in the city of Borås.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Federal agency to spearhead new drug-development center.The Obama administration has become so concerned about the slowing pace of new drugs coming out of the pharmaceutical industry that officials have decided to start a billion-dollar government drug development center to help create medicines.The new effort comes as many large drugmakers, unable to find enough new drugs, are paring back research. Promising discoveries in such illnesses as depression and Parkinson's that once would have led to clinical trials are instead going unexplored because companies have neither the will nor the resources to undertake the effort. Drug companies have typically spent twice as much on marketing as on research, a business model that is increasingly suspect.The initial financing of the government's new drug center is small compared with the $45.8 billion that the industry estimates it invested in research in 2009. The cost of bringing a single drug to market can exceed $1 billion, according to some estimates.Hopes of new money may be optimistic. House Republicans have promised to cut the kind of discretionary domestic spending that supports the health institutes, and officials are already bracing for significant cuts this year.But Collins has hinted that he is willing to cannibalize other parts of the health institutes to bring more resources to the new center."There are some people that would say this is not the time to do something bold and ambitious because the budget is so tight," he said. "But we would be irresponsible not to take advantage of scientific opportunity, even if it means tightening in other places."For the plan to go into effect by October, the administration must by law get rid of one of the 27 centers and institutes already in existence at the NIH — something that has never been done before. So the administration plans to downgrade the National Center for Research Resources, in part by giving some of its functions to the new drug center.Researchers and staff members connected to the research resources center have inundated a complaint blog about the coming change. Mark Lively, a professor of biochemistry at Wake Forest University and a member of an advisory council to the research resources center, said he could not understand why the administration was moving so quickly with its plans."And the NIH is not likely to be very good at drug discovery, so why are they doing this?" Lively asked.Hmmmm.....Why?Read the full story here.

• Provisional results show South Sudan votes to secede.Provisional results from South Sudan's referendum show that almost 99 percent of voters have chosen independence, the referendum commission's website said on Sunday after 98.7 percent of the votes had been counted.The referendum was promised under a 2005 north-south peace deal which ended Africa's longest civil war. A vote for secession was widely expected because of persistent tension between the mainly Muslim north and southerners who mainly Christian or follow traditional religions."As of now, 100 percent of the North and (overseas) votes and 98.7 percent of the South votes have been processed," the commission's website (southernsudan2011.com/) said.The provisional and incomplete results showed that 98.81 percent of voters wanted secession, it said, confirming earlier returns.The votes need to be sent to the commission's headquarters in Khartoum for checking before the preliminary results are announced in a week. The south is likely to declare independence on July 9.Exactly how the two will disentangle their economies, share oil wealth and demarcate the border remain to be decided.The disputed central Abyei region remains the major sticking point as both sides claim the area, which saw deadly clashes between tribes during the week-long referendum this month.Most analysts believe neither north nor south wants or can afford a return to all-out war. The south's budget is 98 percent derived from oil, most of which is produced in the south, but which is refined, transported and administered by the north.Both sides have used proxy militias which could provoke wider clashes.The civil war between north and south, fueled by differences over oil, ideology, ethnicity and religion, claimed an estimated 2 million lives and destabilized much of east Africa.Hmmmm.....The countdown to war has started....again.Read the full story here.

• HT:CreepingSharia.NY: Teens Desperate to Help Stop Honor Killings.Buffalo, NY (WKBW)Young Iranian girls are forced into abusive, temporary marriages. Their heart wrenching personal stories were shared by muslim author Nadia Shahram at Buffalo Seminary all girls high school, and the stories struck a chord with the teens even though they live in a completely different world.“Reading about how girls younger than me are getting married off and how they’re abused by their husbands and beaten and really looked down on by all of society, that seemed really wrong,” said Eliza Hopkins, a sophomore at Buffalo Seminary.“It’s a horrible thing when you can’t really turn for people to help, and I just hope that those girls know that here in Buffalo Seminary they have support,” said Jourdan Green, also a sophomore at Buffalo Seminary.Hmmm......There is no "honor" in murder!Read the full story here.

• Obama to Press Centrist Agenda in His Address.WASHINGTON — President Obama will outline an agenda for “winning the future” in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, striking a theme of national unity and renewal as he stresses the need for government spending in key areas and an attack on the budget deficit. Mr. Obama previewed the themes in a video e-mailed Saturday evening to supporters who had helped in his election campaign. But the video made plain that his speech would be geared more broadly toward the political center, to independent voters and business owners and executives alienated by the expansion of government and the partisan legislative fights of the past two years. “My No. 1 focus,” he said, “is going to be making sure that we are competitive, and we are creating jobs not just now but well into the future.” As he indicated to supporters, Mr. Obama plans to cite reasons for optimism but acknowledge that more needs to be done. “An economy that was shrinking is now growing again. We’ve created more than a million jobs over the last year. The stock market is back up, and corporate profits are healthy again,” he said in the video. “So we’ve made progress, but as all of you know, from talking to friends and neighbors, seeing what’s happening in your communities, we’ve still got a lot more work to do.”Hmmmmmm....... We’ve created more than a million jobs over the last year.How many jobs did you destroy last year would be more interesting to know.Read the full fairytale story here.More here.

• Dr Kermit Gosnell: Woman 'forced to go through with abortion she wanted to halt' at 'House of Horrors' clinic.A woman treated in a ‘House of Horrors’ abortion clinic said she decided to keep the baby at the last minute - but medics hit her and continued with the termination.Davida Johnson, 30, developed veneral disease and suffered four miscarriages after being treated.Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell allegedly snapped the spinal cords of seven newborn babies. He has been charged over the deaths along with nine of his employees – including a 15-year-old high school student.Ms Johnson said the clinic was full of dazed women sitting in dirty, bloodstained recliners when she went to undergo the procedure in 2001 - but changed her mind.Davida Johnson explained: 'I said, “I don't want to do this,” and he smacked me. They tied my hands and arms down and gave me more medication,' she said.Ms Johnson, then 21, turned to Gosnell after being scared away from Planned Parenthood in downtown Philadelphia by protestors.Someone sent her to the West Philadelphia clinic, at the Women's Medical Society, saying anti-abortion protesters wouldn't be a problem there and she said she paid $400.Besides his abortion practice, authorities said, Gosnell ranked third in the state for the number of prescriptions he wrote for OxyContin, the highly addictive narcotic painkiller.Authorities allege that he left blank prescriptions for such drugs at his office and allowed staff to make them out to cash-paying patients who streamed in during the day, when he wasn't there.Hmmmm.....The death penalty is to easy for "People" like this.Life on the chaingang without parole!Read the full story here.

• The United States has a choice in Tunisia.The ongoing Tunisian Intifada cannot yet quite be termed a revolution; Tunisians are still revolting, aspiring for bread and freedom. This intifada will go down in history as a revolution if it gets either bread or freedom – and as a great revolution if it gets both. Internally, “the one constant in revolutions is the primordial role played by the army,” Jean Tulard, a French historian of revolutions, told Le Monde in an interview, and the Tunisian military seems to be forthcoming so far. Externally, the United States stands to be a critical contributor to either outcome in Tunisia, both because of its historical close relations with the Tunisian military and because of its regional hegemony and international standing as a world power, but the U.S. seems to be shortcoming so far.The Tunisian Intifada has proven that democracy and regime change can be homemade without any U.S. intervention. Ironically, any such U.S. intervention is now viewed in the region as a threat of a counterrevolution that would preempt turning the intifada into a revolution. A U.S. hands-off policy is the only way to democracy in Tunisia but a hands-off policy is absolutely not a trademark of U.S. regional foreign policy. The U.S. thus now has a choice now in Tunisia, but it is a choice that requires a U-turn both in its approach to Arab democracy and in its traditional foreign policy.The U.S. risks losing strategically in Tunisia unless it decides on such a historic U-turn, because the Tunisian Intifada politically targeted a U.S.-supported regime and economically targeted a failed U.S. model of development. On Nov. 13, 2007, the Georgetown University Human Rights Institute and Law Center hosted a conference to answer the question, “Tunisia: A Model of Middle East Stability or an Incubator of Extremism?” But Tunisia now has given the answer: Tunisia is neither; it is on an indigenous Arab way to democracy and moderation.Read the full story here.

• Iran announces launch of new cyber police units.TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's state TV says the country has launched its first cyber police unit in the latest attempt by authorities to gain an edge in the digital world. The Internet has been a key outlet for Iran's political opposition since the disputed presidential election in 2009. Iran also has been trying to boost its Web defenses after the Stuxnet computer worm made its way into computers involved with its nuclear program.The Sunday report quotes Iran's top police chief, Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, as saying the Net has provided opportunities to "others" for spying as well as misuse of both public and private information.The first cyber cops patrolling the Web are in Tehran. Gen. Moghaddam says they will be in all police stations in the country by early 2012.Read the full story here.

• Iran - Min of Health warns stuxnet worm has spread to medical equipment.According to Mehr News Agency, Deputy for Research and Technology within the Ministry of Health statement said medical imaging devices against stuxnet impaired function and why are the hospitals has warned.However, Reza Tqypvr, Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Persian month Mehr 89 of 28 identified perpetrators stuxnet spy worm release said. Tqypvr to Iranian state television said: "The path through the release stuxnet portable flash memory had been identified." He expressed that the people wanted or unwanted spyware worms have moved into the country, had added: "Some of these foreign experts who were traveling in industrial centers, and some people who through ignorance memory portable transmit the worm Says". According to him, "almost all areas have been identified stuxnet infected computers."Read full story here.(Google Translate).

• Can the economy block the second term chances of the Obama administration? Yes, it can!The United States is still struggling with the economic recession. The Bush administration wrecked the economy which played quite an important role in the election of a Democrat president. Nevertheless, the U.S. could not leave the crisis behind with its new administration. Actually, the numbers are slightly better but the recovery is taking place at a slow pace. The voters underlined its inadequacy in the midterm elections by giving control of the House to the Republican Party. They may do the same for the Oval Office in 2012 as well.The economy holds the top of the list as the most important problem of the country. According to a Gallup poll conducted on Jan. 7-9, 29 percent of Americans responded that the most important problem in the country is unemployment and 26 percent gave the answer of the economy in general. Thus, the main concerns pertain to the economy and this situation may continue for some time. Last week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the recovery for the job market may take four or five years. From past experiences we know that the U.S. electorate tends to punish the incumbent presidents for bad economic performance and reward for their successes. Hence, the continuance of the current economic situation may end with a disaster for the Obama administration in the 2012 presidential elections.Hmmmmmm........Yes it can and yes it will!Read the full story here.

• Senate Republicans to Oppose Obama’s Spending Plans.The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said on Sunday that his party will vigorously oppose the spending initiatives President Obama plans to include in his State of the Union address on Tuesday because “it’s not a time to be looking at pumping up government spending.”And the number two Republican in the House, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, said that his party would press ahead with its plans for immediate cuts in spending, including in the defense budget. “Every dollar should be on the table,” he said. In a video Mr. Obama sent to supporters on Saturday that gave a preview of the speech, the president indicated that he would seek to balance an attack on the deficit with increased spending in fields like education, research and technological innovation that he called crucial to long-term job growth.Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Mr. McConnell countered that “The American public, as one pundit put it, issued a massive restraining order,” against government spending and excessive debt in November’s Congressional elections. Mr. Cantor, the House majority leader, said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that a key confrontation between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of spending would come when Congress will be asked by the president to raise the ceiling on the national debt. Mr. Cantor has called that vote “a leverage moment,” when Republicans can extract concessions for their support. “Let me be clear,” Mr. Cantor said. “Republicans are not going to vote for this increase in the debt limit unless there are serious spending cuts and reforms.”Mr. McConnell did not outline where he would like to cut spending, but Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, said Washington needs “to take on some of the sacred cows.” “Agriculture subsidies are outrageous today,” he said, in an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”. “Ethanol is a joke.” Another target should be federal subsidies to the Post Office, which Mr. McCain called a “model of inefficiency.” “And then we have to go after entitlements,” Mr. McCain said. “And entitlements have to be on the table sooner rather than later. You and I could write the solution to Social Security problems on the back of an envelope.”Hmmmm........The only solution there is vote Obama out in 2012!Read the full story here.

• Secret docs: PA ceded much of Jerusalem.Al-Jazeera network publishes 1,600 confidential papers detailing concessions made during past 20 years of peace negotiations, including deal offered by Olmert to accept 1,000 Palestinian refugees a year for 'humanitarian' reasons.Secret documents published by Al-Jazeera reveal that the Palestinian negotiations team to talks with Israel agreed to cede almost all Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem during secret talks between the sides.The latest publication of thousands of classified Palestinian documents is considered the largest leak to date of protocols from the past 20 years of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.The documents reveal large gaps between the official Palestinian position and the personal stance of the negotiating team members.According to the leaked documents, the Palestinians agreed that Israel annex all Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, except for Har Homa.However, Israel was unwilling to make any concessions in return.  The documents, also published by UK-based newspaper the Guardian under the title "Slow death of Middle East Peace Process," indicate that the Palestinian leadership offered land transfers around Jerusalem.According to the leaked papers, which will be published in full in the upcoming days, reveal that the Israeli leadership covertly approached Israeli-Arab citizens and asked if they would be willing to move to a new Palestinian state, when such a state is established.According to the records, the Palestinians expressed willingness to cede territory in the West Bank and east Jerusalem – including developed settlement blocks – in return for undeveloped land at the north of the Jordan Valley, south Mount Hebron and east of the Gaza Strip.The Palestinian agreed to let Israel keep Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter, as well as East Talpiot, Gilo, the French Hill and and Pigat Ze'ev at the north of the capital.According to a January 2010 document, Saeb Erekat told US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell that the Palestinians have agreed to give Israel "greater Jerusalem" – the largest Jerusalem in the history of the Jewish people.In addition, Erekat claimed the Palestinians agreed to a demilitarized Palestinian state. "What more can we give?" Erekat was quoted as saying.Hmmmm......."The never ending Story"?Read the full story here.

• European carbon market suspended over fraud fears.The European carbon market has been thrown into turmoil after the scandal-hit scheme was suspended for a week over suspicions of fraud.More than €2bn (£1.7bn) of trade is likely to be disrupted after the European Commission said it would prevent transactions until January 26. The suspension follows allegations that 475,000 carbon credits worth €7m were stolen in a hacking attack on the Czech carbon register. It appears that the intangible allowances were bounced between eastern European countries before disappearing without a trace. France's Bluenext exchange was the first to close its platform, while Austria, Poland, Estonia and Greece also shut their registries for trade. This is not the first challenge to the credibility of the €90bn annual market in carbon allowances. But it has been plagued by fraud, with Europol estimating that carbon trading criminals trying to play the system may have accounted for up to 90pc of all market activity in some European countries during 2009. Fraudulent traders mainly from Britain, France, Spain, Denmark and Holland pocketed an estimated €5bn. Carbon allowances are particularly susceptible to fraud because they are high value, intangible and easily moved between different countries. The Commission said on Wednesday it "will work to ensure that this transitional measure can be lifted swiftly for all those registries with adequate security measures". Kjersti Ulset, manager for the European carbon market at Point Carbon, said: "Hacking attacks of this type have also occurred elsewhere within the European Union in the recent past. Hmmmm.....Makes you wonder why the Obama administration wants to make cap and trade the number one priority?1 Billion Dollar for re-election a lot of money needs to be found.Read the full story here.

• Women alone should work in lingerie shops.Hellooooooo...What's wrong with this idea?DAMMAM: Most young Saudi women are hesitant to work at women-only clothes shops at a time when many of their counterparts can be seen in security staff and supervisor uniforms at commercial complexes where men are also allowed to shop.Most lingerie shops are staffed by men, largely foreigners. Even after some women activists launched a campaign to boycott such shops a few months ago, only a small number of Saudi women came forward to work as sales staff at these outlets.There are young Saudi women working as security staff and supervisors at almost all the commercial complexes opened in the recent past. Wearing uniforms, they watch the shoppers coming in and going out of showrooms and sell not only women’s garments but also that of men and children.On the other hand, there are some women who have been working in the sales sections of some traditional shops across the Kingdom. The strange thing is that even Saudi men are reluctant to work at these shops. About 98 percent of Saudi employees hired at these shops left the outlets after spending only a few days there, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported.Mahran Hamad, manager of a famous international brand lingerie firm in Alkhobar, said that his company had employed Saudi sales staff in the beginning.“But all of them left the firm after a few days. They were not willing to work at sales counters, especially at lingerie shops. Therefore, we had no other option but to hire foreigners to work as sales staff,” he said.Hamad noted that salesmen face the same awkward situation as women customers at most lingerie shops.“They may not have knowledge of some new brands or types of lingerie that customers want. Women customers are also hesitant to ask about the actual sizes and types they need. Most often both salesmen and women customers are too shy to go into details, and hence they keep mum,” he said, adding that salesmen should be replaced with saleswomen at least at lingerie shops. Hamad noted that young Saudi women are working as security guards at one of the showrooms at the commercial market where he works.Muhammad Al-Sayyid, a sales official of another international brand that employed a number of Saudis, said that women shoppers prefer saleswomen to men. He said some women shoppers leave the shop when they see Saudi salesmen in the lingerie section.Fahd Nasir, a young Saudi man who quit his job as a salesman at a lingerie shop, said it was impossible for him to respond to the queries made by women shoppers. “The working environment was quite unsuitable for men like me, and therefore I quit the job after working only a single day,” he said.On his part, Fahd Al Nafeei, a specialist in human resources, said that the law should be applicable to all. “There should not be any difference from place to place and job to job. If women can work as sales staff at traditional shops, what prevents them from being employed at women-only garment shops at major commercial markets?Umm Abdullah, who has been working as a saleswoman at Dammam's traditional market since its opening 28 years ago, says that she obtained a license to run a sales outlet at the market. “I face no difficulties in selling products to both men and women customers,” she said, while favoring the call to restrict sales jobs at women’s clothes shops to women.Hmmmm.....a young Saudi man who quit his job as a salesman at a lingerie shop, said it was impossible for him to respond to the queries made by women shoppers?Hey man just imagine if there were 72 virgins around?Read the full story here.

• HT:CrossRoadsArabia.Looking at Saudi Marriage.As an institution, Saudi marriage is a bit of a mess. Large numbers of Saudi women are choosing (or being force to conclude) that marriage is not in their futures. This produces the so-called ‘spinster crisis’. There’s the government-created problem of trying to force Saudis to marry Saudis, making it difficult for them to marry non-Saudis. Then there’s polygamy, fully authorized religiously, but dangerous sociologically and psychologically, particularly when the additional wives are kept in secret. There’s the issue of misyar marriages, a contracted, usually short-term marriage undertaken (it seems) largely to relieve male sexual tensions, but with no protections for the wife. And finally, there’s the problem of child marriages, particularly when we see a 70-year-old marrying a 10-year-old girl.Saudis are aware of the problems and are looking to straighten out the mess, but it’s hard going. Arab News reports on two aspects, government barriers to marriage to non-Saudis.Read the full story here.

• HT:RFERL.Kyrgyz Mosques Under Greater Scrutiny As Ties Between Islam, Extremism Emerge. Several dozen men gathered for midday prayers on a recent Sunday afternoon at the Alai central mosque in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh.The mosque once had the reputation of attracting worshippers from Osh's Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in nearly equal proportions. On this day, however, there are only a handful of Uzbeks attending prayers. The drop could be blamed on the still-simmering tensions between the two groups following the outbreak of deadly ethnic clashes in the country's south last June. But one Uzbek, 50-year-old Bakhadyr Tajibaev, says it's jobs, not emotions, that are behind the dwindling number of Uzbeks at the Alai mosque. "Many of them left, they emigrated," says Tajibaev, a distinguished-looking man with a full white beard and a pressed blue shirt. "They went to Russia to look for work. Since the conflict, there hasn't been much work here. That's why a lot of them are leaving." Tajibaev expresses faith that many of his fellow Uzbeks will soon return to the scarred city as the local economy returns to normal. And when they do, he says, they'll return to this mosque for prayers with their Kyrgyz neighbors."Muslims have never had a conflict with each other," Tajibaev says, looking over to the Kyrgyz imam, who nods in agreement. "Even when we had the conflict here in Osh, we didn't do it. We were together, all of us Muslims who understand Islam."Read the full story here.

• WASHINGTON: US puts Taliban Pakistan leader on terror list.The United States on Thursday placed an alleged leader in the Pakistani Taliban movement, Qari Hussain, on a terrorism blacklist."This action will help stem the flow of finances to Hussain by blocking all property subject to US jurisdiction in which Hussain has an interest and prohibiting all transactions by US persons with Hussain," the State Department said in a statement.The US government said that the group helmed by Hussain, Tehrik-E Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is "notorious for recruiting and training men of all ages as suicide bombers.""Hussain has gained particular notoriety for his heavy recruitment of children," the State Department said.Placing him on the terror list blocks "all property subject to US jurisdiction in which Hussain has an interest," and prohibits "all transactions by US persons with Hussain," the statement added.Read the full story here.

• HT:TheGhostFighters.Abercrombie Gets Bailed Out By Hawaiian Attorney General.Hawaii’s AG, Dave Louis Emerges From Obama’s Legal ‘Rabbit Hole’ To Rescue Hawaii’s Shrinking Governor From Pointless Birth Certificate Crusade.Honolulu, HI – Please excuse the laughter you hear from the gallery, but we told you so. Welcome to the party, Neil. It took you a while to come around, but we’re happy to have you on board.It appears that Hawaiian Governor Neil Abercrombie will be forced to conclude his chivalrous expedition to prove Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, after all. The new governor may not have been born yesterday, but he chose to take the obstinate route to this destination, and alas, merely finds himself among the other millions of American underlings who have already traveled the same “Obama Eligibility” road. All that outrage and “offendedness” only to realize it all ends at the office of the Hawaiian attorney general.It’s too bad, too. We thought he actually had a chance at redeeming Obama’s mum and dad…Not!Calling Abercrombie a “fool” is too harsh. However, let’s just say he’s politically selective in the application of his intelligence. If there were a way to capture Abercrombie’s futility in a 17 second video, his weak attempt to expose Obama’s epic lie, (…er..uh..truth), might be featured on YouTube’s “Fail” channel among the roster of hilarious, but painful, clips.Let this be a lesson to the rest of you governors and congressional simpletons. Obama’s grandeur shall remain divinely hidden, and there is nothing you can do about it. Who do you think you are, anyway? The government?Taylor, a veteran of the Obama eligibility saga since 2007 says the tragic consequences of Obama’s deception are reflected by Abercrombie’s example in futility.“America has slowly become the laughing stock of global politics because their president walks around ‘illegitimately naked’ while his delusional supporters applaud him as though he were wearing the ‘costume of eligibility’,” quipped Taylor, “…and the obtuse media, the lawyers, the judges and congress say nothing, know nothing and do nothing. It’s quite pathetic.”Hawaii A.G. David Louie told the governor he “…was not legally permitted to disclose information from vital records without the person’s consent,” Abercrombie spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said.Not surprisingly, Dela Cruz continued, “There’s nothing more that Governor Abercrombie can do within the law to produce Obama’s document. Unfortunately, there are conspirators who will continue to question the citizenship of our president.”Perhaps the Governor of Hawaii will fancy some questions of his own about Obama’s citizenship now, as well.To paraphrase words of a bizarre fairy tale’s heroine, “You are nothing but a pack of cards!”Hmmmmm.....A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.Djuna Barnes.Read the full story here. And more important read the comments!

• Saudi Arabia - Bridegroom turns out to be mentally ill.A Saudi bride who waited impatiently to see her bridegroom got the shock of her life when he walked in for the wedding clutching his father’s hand like a child. Only then she knew he was a mentally retarded person.The bride, in her 20s, burst into crying and quickly asked for a divorce as hundreds of guests stared in disbelief at the bridegroom who the bride met for the first time, the Arabic language Sharq newspaper reported from the eastern province of Ihsaa on Sunday.“Her father could not ask about the bridegroom before marriage as he was in jail… her mother was also unable to see him as she was ill,” the paper said.“When she saw the bridegroom holding his father’s hand like a child, she started to cry hysterically… when she came round, she asked for divorce,” the paper added, without saying whether she was divorced.Source.

• HT:AhmadiyyaTimes.Muslims in Italy tell those concerned over Christianophobia: Convert to Islam!"Islam is the true religion; convert to Islam!” was the demand issued by a Pakistani radical Islamic organization, led by Malik Shaib, to promoters of a demonstration to be held on January 26 in Rome. The demonstraters express concern over Christianophobia in Muslim-dominated countries and, in particular, the case of Aasi Bibi - a Pakistani Christian woman who was sentenced to death for blasphemy according to Islamic law.The demonstration, known as “Italy for Asia Bibi: freedom, justice, human rights” has been promoted by a group of parliamentarians and Italian civil associations, including the multi-partisan Association of Parliamentary Friends of Pakistan, Association of Italy-Pakistan International Cooperation (Isiamed), Association of Pakistani Christians in Italy, Amnesty International – Italian Section, Community of Sant'Egidio, TV2000, Religions for Peace, and Padana Onlus.The invitation, written in Urdu, Pakistan's radical organization and forwarded to the Organising Committee, which has now informed the agency Fides, shows how the international initiatives enjoy attention and are significant for the scenario of Pakistan.The demonstration aims to reaffirm the urgency of respect for religious freedom, dignity and inalienable rights of all Pakistani citizens, of any religion; to launch a message of peace, closeness and solidarity to Asia Bibi, seeking her immediate release. It also calls for the abolition of the blasphemy law and the death penalty in Pakistan. The initiative involves more than 35 associations from the academic world, the Catholic world, from other religious communities such as Sikhs, Jews and Muslims, giving a visible sign of the extensive involvement of civil society in Italy.The Association of Pakistani Christians in Italy wrote “We thank the promoters and supporters. We want to fight for the freedom of Asia Bibi and we intend to send a message to Pakistani President Ali Zardari. We trust in the Pakistani justice system that it will verify her innocence. We support the abolition of the blasphemy law (art 295b and 295c) because it is exploited for private vendettas and jealousies, which have nothing to do with insulting the Prophet or the Koran.”Hmmmm......"There can only be one"?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.video: Sheik of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb: "The Pope Is Not Bothered When Millions of Muslims Are Killed".Read and see the full see the story here.

• And now for something completely different.Logitech wants you to introduce a mouse in your living room.How does an idea of a mouse in your living room sound? Yes, that was our first reaction too but Logitech here is talking about a wireless mouse for your PC and TV, which can can be used on soft surfaces such as a sofa or tablecloth.The company today unveiled the Wireless Mouse M515, which "features a sealed bottom case that makes gliding on fabric easy and worry free, and a hand-detection sensor so the mouse is only active when you want it to be," it said in a media statement.“Millions of people are connecting their computer to the TV, and the M515 mouse was built to address the unique needs of this experience,” said said Yousef Atwan, General Manager, Logitech Middle East FZ-LCC. “As technology evolves and consumers’ habits change, Logitech continues to develop navigation devices that make it easier to control and access the things people love to do in the digital world.”The M515 is expected to be available in UAE beginning in June for a suggested retail price of Dh250, the statement added. With its hand-detection sensor, the Logitech Wireless Mouse M515 is active only when you’re gripping it — the mouse is only active when you want it to be, and it stays asleep when you don’t. A sealed bottom — so fabric fuzz won’t collect in the sensor opening — gives you cursor control no matter what surface you’re using your mouse on. And the easy-gliding base makes mousing around on couches (and blankets, cushions, clothing, carpets, even desks) easy.Logitech’s newest mouse also offers up to two years of battery life, helping you save time and money by eliminating the need to change batteries frequently. And, you’ll enjoy plug-and-forget wireless connectivity thanks to the tiny Logitech Unifying receiver.Read the full story here.

• HT:What'sUpWithThat.Cold Fusion Going Commercial!?Cold fusion isn’t usual fare for WUWT, at best it’s not a focus here, at worst it’s sorry science, and we talk about that enough already. However, it never has died, and this week there’s news about it going commercial. Well, it won’t be available for a couple years or so, but the excitement comes from a device that takes 400 watts of electrical power in and produces 12,000 watts of heat out.Most people regard cold fusion as a black eye on science. It’s credited with the advent of science by press release and its extraordinary claims were hard to reproduce. Yet, unlike the polywater fiasco of the 1970s, cold fusion has never been explained away and several experiments have been successfully reproduced. Neutrons, tritium, and other products kept some researchers working long after others had given up. Even muons (from Svensmark’s Chilling Stars) have been suggested as a catalyst. Everyone agrees that theoretical help would provide a lot of guidance, but for something that flies in the face of accepted theory, little help has come from that.Grandiose claims of changing the world have been lowered to “show me something that replaces my water heater.” Attempts at scaling up the experiments that could be reproduced all failed. Even had they worked, a lot of systems used palladium. There’s not enough of that to change the world.The bottom line is that Italian scientists Sergio Focardi and Andrea Rossi have a unit they claim takes in 400 watts of electricity and, with the assistance of nickel-hydrogen fusion, puts out 12 kilowatts of heat. Okay, that’s interesting and the power amplification doesn’t require some of the extremely careful calorimetry early experiments needed. The elements involved are affordable and if it works, things become interesting. (There are undisclosed “additives” to consider too.) The reactor is going commercial in the next few years, which may or may not mean it’s ready.Several details have not been disclosed, but there will be a paper out on Monday. Dr. Rossi reports:Yes, I confirm that Monday Jan 24 the Bologna University Report will be published on the Journal Of Nuclear Physics. I repeat that everybody will be allowed to use it in every kind of publication, online, paper, written, spoken, without need of any permission. It will be not put on it the copyright.The mechanism involved is claimed to be fusion between nickel and hydrogen. This is a bit unusual, as the typical claims are for reactions involving deuterium (proton + one neutron) and tritium (proton + two neutrons) with the gas filtering into a palladium lattice. In this case, it’s reacting with the substrate.Nickel has several isotopes that naturally occur, the belief is that all participate in the reactions. In http://www.journal-of-nuclear-physics.com/files/Rossi-Focardi_paper.pdf discusses finding copper, which has one more proton than nickel, and various isotopes that do not occur in natural nickel. It also observes that gamma radiation is not observed while the reactor was running. Comments in other articles make suggestions about why that is. Apparently they see a short burst of gamma waves when the apparatus is shutdown.Rossi leaves several hints in his comments, e.g. instability when the pressure of the hydrogen is increased, including explosions. (The commercial unit is designed to need enough electrical power so it can be shut down reliably.)What should we make of all this? In a skeptical group like this, some healthy skepticism is warranted. On the other hand, the energy release is impressive and very hard to explain chemically or as physical storage in a crystal lattice. It will be interesting to see how things develop.Hmmmm.......To be followed anxiously by every oil producing country?Read the full story here.HT:AstuteBloggers.

• And now for something completely different!New Japanese fashion: LED lights for your teeth.New York: Method Man might have helped make gold fronts famous, but it looks like Japanese schoolgirls could be the driving force behind a new era of fashionable accessories for your teeth. Instead of gold, however, these "fronts" contain bright multicolored glowing LED lights.The new fashion accessories were originally created as an experiment by two Japanese designers and are now being used in a commercial advertising a winter sale at a Japanese clothing store, Laforet Harajuku. They are quickly becoming a sought after accessory.The LED smiles can easily be affixed to your teeth and glow different colors while you smile. The colors can be changed wirelessly through a computer interface. Of course they work best in the dark.Motoi Ishibashi, one of the designers involved in the project, explained in a blog post that the original idea for the LED smiles came after he saw a video last year of LED Throwies, which are little lights that can be affixed to a magnet and thrown on metal surfaces. They are like lighted graffiti.Mr. Ishibashi and Daito Manabe, the other designer and technologist on the project, are offering workshops in Japan showing people how to build their own LED smiles.Hmmmmm.....Wow darling your smile looks like a powersurge today?Read the full story here.