EU Integration Policy Leaves No Room for Democracy – German Politician.

EU Integration Policy Leaves No Room for Democracy – German Politician. (SP).

German politician and member of the Left Party, Sahra Wagenknecht, has doubts concerning the sustainability of the euro currency and further European integration. The Greek crisis showed that the euro is not working, she said.

According to the politician, the monetary union has narrowed the space for national governments and lead to their inability to act. Wagenknecht called it a “Europe-wide abolition of democracy through the back door. "The politician suggested initiating a debate of whether European countries should reconsider their financial and monetary system.

Wagenknecht criticized the EU policy and called for a return to broader national sovereignty. An increasing number of integration steps undermines the sovereignty of national states and leaves no room for democratic decisions, especially if the whole policy of the EU member states is controlled by “EU technocrats,” she argued.

“It is time that we pursue the EU policy taking into account the actually existing social struggles in different member states, rather than abstractly talk about a ‘social EU’,” the politician said.

"The Great Swiss Bank Robbery" - Switzerland Revises 1934 Banking Act To Allow Bail-In Deposit Confiscations.

"The Great Swiss Bank Robbery" - Switzerland Revises 1934 Banking Act To Allow Bail-In Deposit Confiscations.(SilverDoctors).

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has quietly joined the growing parade of western nations who have quietly re-written banking laws to allow depositor bail-ins upon the next banking crisis.
If Switzerland, the once ultimate safe haven for banking deposits across the world is preparing to confiscate depositors funds, there truly is no protection anywhere other than physical gold and silver in your own possession!

In the event that a bank is failing or where its capitalization is no longer adequate, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) may take measures to improve such bank’s financial viability rather than liquidating it. “Loss absorption” and “bail-in” are important instruments to support any such measures.

The Swiss document begins by advising that the FINMA now has legal authority to confiscate depositor funds, thanks to a revision of the Banking Act of 1934, completed in 2011, as well as the revision of the Bank Insolvency Ordinance completed Nov 1st 2012:

In the event that a bank is failing or where its capitalization is no longer adequate, the Swiss Financial Market
Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) may take measures to improve such bank’s financial viability rather than
liquidating it. “Loss absorption” and “bail-in” are important instruments to support any such measures. This
is now possible as a result of a revision of the Banking Act of 8 November 1934 (the “Banking Act”) in 2011 and
the taking effect of a revised Bank Insolvency Ordinance on 1 November 2012 (the “Bank Insolvency Ordinance”)
and of a revised Capital Adequacy Ordinance on 1 January 2013 (the “Capital Adequacy Ordinance”).

The document states that The Banking Act now grants discretion to FINMA regarding depositor bail-in measures:

RELEVANT PROCEEDINGS Under the Banking Act, if there are concerns that a bank is
over-indebted or if a bank does not meet liquidity or regulatory capital requirements, the FINMA may as appropriate: (i) take protective measures; (ii) initiate bank reorganization
proceedings; or (iii) order the liquidation of the bank (bankruptcy). The Banking Act grants significant discretion to FINMA in this context. This includes, inter alia, ordering
a bank moratorium, a maturity postponement or “bail-in” measures.

And in the scope of bail-in measures, states that bail-ins are to be a measure of last resort (translation: we’ll make this sound unlikely until the banks lose their first franc):

BAIL-IN MEASURES
4.1 Scope
The loss absorption measures described above relate to capital instruments issued by the bank. In addition, the revised procedural rules as specified in the secondary legislation to the Banking Act applicable in a bank reorganization context (i.e. if FINMA believes that the bank may be successfully reorganized or if at least part of the business of the failing bank may be continued), as enacted by FINMA, provide for the competence of FINMA to convert or write-off other
debt (even in the absence of any contractual provision to that effect in the arrangement governing such debt) if and to the extent necessary to allow the bank to meet its regulatorycapital requirements after completion of the reorganization(“bail-in”).

Such bail-in is designed to be available as a measure of “last resort” to be taken in the event that the loss absorption under the capital instruments issued by the bank is not sufficient to restore the required capitalization of the failing bank and if the creditors are likely to be better off than in an immediate insolvency of the bank.The bail-in must be specified in the reorganization plan, which must be approved by FINMA and – except for banks of systemic importance – also by a majority of non-privileged creditors (calculated on the basis of the claim
amounts). If such approval cannot be obtained, the bank would be liquidated in bankruptcy proceedings. In the event that FINMA only applies protective measures, but does not consider any reorganization measures as necessary or adequate, a bail-in could not occur as one of such
protective measures.

Hmmm....Who needs banks with robbers like these guys?Read the full story here.

"EuroGeddon" - New study by a German think tank: "Euro Exit by Southern Nations Could Cost 17 Trillion Euros."

"EuroGeddon" - New study by a German think tank: "Euro Exit by Southern Nations Could Cost 17 Trillion Euros."(Spiegel).A Greek euro exit on its own would have a relatively minor impact on the world economy, but if it causes a chain reaction leading to the departure of other southern European nations from the single currency, the economic impact on the world would be devastating, a German study warned on Wednesday. Economic research group Prognos, in a study commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, estimated that euro exits by Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy would wipe a total of €17.2 trillion ($22.3 trillion) off worldwide growth by 2020. The researchers arrived at a particularly bleak assessment because they didn't just calculate the losses of creditors who had lent money to the crisis-hit nations. They also analyzed the possible impact of a euro collapse on economic growth in the 42 most important industrial and emerging economies that make up more than 90 percent of the world economy. Using an econometric model, Prognos first calculated the effect of a Greek euro exit, and then simulated the step-by-step fallout from Portugal, Spain and Italy abandoning the currency as well.

A Greek exit on its own would lead to a loss of gross domestic product (GDP) totalling €164 billion, or €14,300 per capita, by 2020 through devaulation of the new currency, unemployment and a sharp fall in domestic demand, the researchers calculated.

It would cost Germany €64 billion in lost credit and €73 billion in lost economic growth between 2013 and 2020, the study said. But that only amounts to 2.9 percent of German GDP.
The impact of other countries leaving the currency union would be more dramatic:

• If Portugal went, Germany would lose €225 billion by 2020 and would have to write off credit amounting to €99 billion. Global losses in growth would add up to €2.4 trillion, with the US having to bear €365 billion and China €275 billion, respectively.
• If Spain were to go as well, Germany would lose €850 billion in GDP by 2020 and would have to waive €266 billion of credit. The US would lose €1.2 trillion in GDP, and the 42 countries under review would lose €7.9 trillion.
• If Italy, the euro zone's third largest economy, were to leave, "the situation would run totally out of control," the study said. It estimated that Germany would lose €1.7 trillion in GDP and would have to write off €455 billion in credit. German unemployment would increase by more than one million by 2015. There would be a "severe international recession and global economic crisis," the Bertelsmann Stiftung writes. The biggest losers would be France, followed by the US, China and Germany. 

Read the full story here.

Eleven EU Countries Agree on Transaction a.k.a. 'Tobin' Tax.

Eleven EU Countries Agree on Transaction a.k.a. 'Tobin' Tax.(Spiegel).Finance ministers from 11 European Union countries agreed at a meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday to support a tax on financial transactions, hoping to discourage risky trading while simultaneously raising revenue. Germany and France, the EU's two largest economies, have long supported the idea of the tax, while countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom remained staunchly opposed out of fears the tax could harm the competitiveness of their financial markets. Sweden imposed a similar tax in the 1980s, only to lose much of its trading activity to London. Stockholm later repealed the law. "We still think that the financial transaction tax is a very dangerous tax," Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said ahead of the meeting. "It will have a negative impact on growth."
There are still few details on how the tax -- referred to as the "Tobin tax" after the Nobel laureate American economist James Tobin who first proposed it in 1972 -- would work and how its revenue would be used. The European Comission, the EU's executive branch, has proposed taxing trades in bonds and shares at a rate of 0.1 percent per transaction and taxing trades in derivatives at 0.01 percent. The 11 countries supporting the financial transaction tax were Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain -- all part of the euro zone. The countries still have to put their plans in writing and submit it to Brussels, according to European Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta. Imposing the tax across the entire EU is impossible without the support of more countries, however the EU treaty allows for "enhanced cooperation" in policy matters when at least nine states come together in agreement.Read the full story here.

Video - Nigel Farage destroys Barroso's State of the Union.

Video: Eurogeddon - European Central Bank Pushes For Control Of 6000 Eurozone Banks.

The opposite of peace

MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Indonesia 6.8 and : 5.1 Vanuatu! More info here.

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

• Report: Israel sends 2 warships to Egyptian border,Iran set to send 15th fleet to area as well as 'to thwart pirate activity'.(Ynet).The Israeli Navy (INF) has decided to boost its presence and patrols near Israel's maritime border with Egypt due to a viable terror threat in the area, Ynet learned on Monday.Israeli security sources told the Associated Press that two additional warships have been dispatched to Israel's Red Sea border with Egypt.On Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz order to bolster the deployment across the entire southern sector, especially in the area near the Israel-Egypt border, following intelligence indicating am imminent threat.The area adjacent to the border has become the scene of military deployment once security source described as "unprecedented." The IDF has also deployed advanced technology in the area in order to thwart terror attacks. Still, No changes in security alignments were observed on the Egyptian side of the border. Military intelligence suggests that a terror cell has left the Gaza Strip and intends to infiltrate Israel through Sinai. According to a report in Egypt's al-Masri al-Youm newspaper, Minister for Home Front Defense Matan Vilnai said that the cell may number as many as 10 terrorists. The security situation in southern Israel has been particularly tense over the past few weeks, following a series of terror attacks that claimed the lives of eight Israelis in mid-August; as well as several days in which Israel's western Negev communities suffered heavy shelling by Gaza Strip-based terror groups. Following the terror attack, in which five Egyptian troops were also killed, Israel and Egypt agreed to increase the presence of Cairo troops in the Sinai Peninsula. As a result, some 1,500 Egyptian soldiers deployed across Sinai on Monday.Meanwhile, Iran's Press TV reported Monday that Tehran has decided to dispatch the 15th fleet to the Red Sea once more.Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the state-run agency that the Islamic Republic is planning to send its 15th fleet to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, adding that the fleet's main operation objective will be to patrol the high seas and thwart pirate raids. The Islamic Republic's 15th fleet is comprised of a submarine and a several warships. Sayyari noted that Iran's Navy plans to have "an active presence in the high seas in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei with the purpose of serving the country's interests.“The presence of Iran's army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries,” he said.Hmmmmm......As i said September will be a very 'hot' month.Read the full story here.

• Algeria would hand over Qaddafi to ICC as Libya ‘final battle’ approaches.(AlArabiya).Algeria would hand over Muammar Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court if he entered the North African country, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday, a day after Algiers gave safe haven to members of his family, as the rebels' military chief said the final battle in Libya was imminent.Algeria announced on Monday that Qaddafi’s wife, two of his sons and his daughter had crossed into its territory, prompting Libya’s ruling interim council to demand that they be handed back to face trial.Quoting Algerian sources, the el-Shorouk newspaper said on its website that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had told government ministers during a cabinet meeting on Monday that Algeria would respect international law on all matters related to the Libyan conflict.“Should Qaddafi try to enter Algerian soil amid talk that the rebels are tightening their grip on the border with Tunisia, and Egyptian (border) restrictions, Algeria would arrest him and hand him over to the International Criminal Court in compliance with international agreements,” the newspaper said, according to Reuters.It said the decision was not a reaction to the toppling of the Qaddafi regime but was in accordance with the ICC’s arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief over accusations they committed crimes against humanity.No one was immediately available for comment from the government.In a separate report, Shorouk said Qaddafi’s family members, who had crossed into Algeria, were in the southeastern Illizi province, which borders Libya, and would not be allowed to go to the capital Algiers.Qaddafi’s location remains unknown a week after Tripoli fell to his foes.Hmmmm.....Who else was in the six armored Mercedes that crossed the Algerian border three days ago?Read the full story here.

• Qaddafi’s daughter gives birth in Algeria: authorities.(AlArabiya).Muammar Qaddafi daughter Aisha, who fled to Algeria with other family members, has given birth to a baby girl, Algerian authorities announced Tuesday. “Aisha gave birth very early this morning. She had a little girl. Mother and daughter are doing fine,” said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Libyan interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil on Tuesday said he believes Qaddafi’s family members will leave Algeria for another country, adding that Algeria would not keep “criminals” wanted by the international justice.But Algerian foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani said his country authorized the entry of Qaddafi’s wife and three children for “strictly humanitarian reasons.”Asked by AFP about a request issued by Libya’s ruling Transitional National Council (NTC) for the return of the children, Aisha, Mohammed and Hannibal, and Safiya, Qaddafi’s second wife, as well as details of where they are, Belani simply replied: “These people have been admitted to Libya for strictly humanitarian reasons.”“We have informed the Secretary General of the United Nations, the president of the (UN) Security Council and the president of the executive council of the executive council of the NTC,” he said in an e-mail sent to AFP.When the Libyan foreign ministry on Monday announced the arrival of the Qaddafi family, the rebels’ justice minister Mohammed al-Allagya told AFP that the Algerian authorities would be asked to send them back to Libya.The spokesman of the rebel government, Mahmud Shammam, said on Monday evening that the NTC had been told by Algeria of the family’s arrival.Read the full story here.

• Rebel officer says Qaddafi’s son Khamis killed in clash near Tripoli.(AlArabiya).Fallen Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi’s son Khamis has been killed in a clash near Tripoli, a senior rebel officer said on Monday.Colonel Al-Mahdi Al-Haragi, in charge of the Tripoli Brigade of the rebel army, said he had confirmation that Khamis was badly wounded in the clash near Ben Walid and Tarhoni.He was taken to a hospital but died of his wounds and was buried in the area, Haragi said, without confirming the date of his death. No independent confirmation of the death was available.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could not yet independently confirm Khamis’ death but said similar information was being received in Washington from “reliable sources.”Earlier on Monday, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told Reuters he had intended to apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis Qaddafi.Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.The Hague-based ICC has already approved warrants for the arrest of Muammar Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.Khamis Qaddafi had already been reported to be killed twice during this year’s uprising against his father.Read the full story here.

• White House Aide Says Obama Upset Black Leaders Aren’t Giving Him Any Credit: “The Whole Thing Is bull-sh-t”.(Politico).If there’s anything close to a political certainty in 2012, it’s that Barack Obama will get more than 90 percent of the African-American vote.But that doesn’t mean every black Obama supporter will vote for him happily – nor does it guarantee that turnout will approach the stratospheric levels of 2008, even though Obama needs a huge showing from his base to offset the expected loss of swing voters in states like North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.With that in mind, prominent black leaders — fearing Obama is not only taking them for granted but avoiding them in public — have turned up the heat on the nation’s first African-American president, transforming all-in-the-family concerns into open criticism of the president at a time when they had hoped the completion of a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. near the National Mall would bring a moment of unity.The leaders are tired, they say, of Obama dog-whistling his support for a broad black agenda rather than explicitly embracing the kind of war on racism, poverty and economic segregation embodied by King.“You can spend a lot of time trying to win over white independents, but if you don’t pay attention to your base, African Americans, if you have not locked up your base yet, you’ve got a serious problem,” said CNN contributor Roland Martin.In a striking turnabout for a president who has rewritten American racial history, Obama finds himself the target of criticism from the black cultural and political elite that has, for the most part, been leery of airing its disappointment.The president is reportedly angry that African-American leaders aren’t crediting him for his hard-bought achievements that will especially help communities of color, including health care reform, aid to cities, student aid and protecting Medicaid.“The whole thing is bull-sh-t… We have met with [black leaders] more than any other group and we are increasing our outreach,” said a person close to Obama.But Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), who represents several predominantly-black Los Angeles-area neighborhoods, brings up an issue that African-American leaders repeatedly raise when talking about Obama: They say he’s worried about being too closely identified with the community that gave him inspiration and bedrock support.“I understand that you’ve got to be president for all people, but this administration has gone just too far, they really don’t even say ‘African-American’ or talk about [our] specific issues,” Richardson told POLITICO.Read the full story here.

• Euro-Zone Rifts.Watchdog Worried About Europe's Banking Sector.(Spiegel).The head of Europe's banking watchdog has called for the euro rescue fund to provide direct aid to ailing banks to help calm markets. The head of the IMF made a similar demand, exposing an apparent rift with EU governments on how to handle the debt crisis. Berlin and the EU have rejected such changes.Read the full story here.

• Head of Euro-Zone Bailout Fund:'The Crisis Will Be Over in Two to Three Years'.(Spiegel).By Christian Reiermann.Klaus Regling, the German CEO of the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, is confident that the monetary union can overcome the current crisis. He considers the euro zone to be in a better position than the US when it comes to public debt, and accuses his fellow Germans of "hysteria." Regling also views all the manic fear in Germany of a so-called transfer union as "nonsense." In the "only case of insolvency in the euro zone," namely Greece, only private-sector creditors -- and no public ones -- have been asked to contribute so far. "Only if Greece was expelled from the currency union, as some economists have demanded, would there be a high probability of transfer payments," he says. At that point, the country would no longer be able to pay back the loans it had taken out from its partner countries, which would continue being denominated in euros.Indeed, Regling's long-term faith in the euro remains unshaken. "The currency union is not going to break apart, because strong and weak countries have a common interest in its survival." The economic price of its failure would be too high, he says. "The chances that the euro will be abandoned by anyone, no matter who, are practically zero."The fact that things have already almost reached that point in the past doesn't change Regling's mind. A year ago, he predicted that "the most likely scenario" was that he and his EFSF would not actually have to intervene. The facility's very existence would be enough to calm the markets down, he argued at the time. However, things turned out differently. Sometimes an optimist is nothing but a person who refuses to let themselves be discouraged by their own mistakes. Indeed, Regling believes that there is "good reason to hope that the crisis will be over in two to three years' time." The precondition for this, he adds, is that the euro-zone countries continue their austerity and reform plans and that the global economy doesn't collapse.Read the full story here.

• Obama Seeks to Control Education Through Waivers.(HumanEvents).A new tale of presidential waiver abuse is brewing, and this time it has nothing to do with ObamaCare. The President is preparing to grant waivers from the decade-old “No Child Left Behind” program, a huge transfer of educational authority from states to the federal government, with a hefty $25 billion annual price tag.  After chugging along for ten years, NCLB has not accumulated much of a fan base. Is the Obama waiver program a relatively well-intentioned attempt to legislate through executive fiat: unraveling a badly frayed law, returning control to the states, and encouraging innovation?Keep dreaming! Of course Obama would never do anything that reduced federal power. No, these waivers are an attempt to centralize control of education even more.  Among other things, NCLB sets difficult educational performance goals for states to meet, and our current public education system is not very good at meeting difficult goals. Obama is offering the states a way to escape from NCLB’s demands… but in exchange, they have to adopt the Administration’s agenda in a number of key areas. The power of the Department of Education would increase tremendously. As the House Committee on Education and the Workforce puts it in a press release:

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration seems determined to override Congressional efforts to reform the law and enact a backdoor education agenda. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan continues to push forward an ill-conceived plan to offer states and school districts waivers in exchange for reforms rooted not in the law but in the secretary’s own education agenda. Despite Chairman Kline’s efforts to gain more details about what these conditional waivers may entail, the Secretary refuses to provide any information about the administration’s controversial proposal.

In other words, the states would go from being pushed around by Congress to being micro-managed by the Administration. Education policy would become the latest area of American life that our elected congressional representatives no longer get to vote on. As Rachel Sheffield of the Heritage Foundation notes:

While Obama is pushing his education agenda on states, he is doing so under the guise of flexibility. Yet, temporary relief bound by the strings of greater federal regulation is anything but flexible.For nearly five decades, Washington has attempted to improve schools with top-down policies. Rather than helping students achieve, this has only extended federal overreach. Pulling states more tightly into the grip of central government will do nothing to loosen the red tape ensnaring the nation’s education system.States need education reform that offers true flexibility—allowing states to meet the needs of students rather than toe the line set by Washington.

There aren’t too many examples of ruinous central planning more vivid than the collapse of American public education. The growth of the Department of Education, and the rising power of teachers’ unions, came at the expense of educational quality. There’s nothing particularly complicated about this, because centralization destroys accountability. The “suggestion box” for public schools has been moving further and further from individual parents and communities. Bad teachers became almost impossible to get rid of, and the educational establishment responded to every criticism with angry demands for more money. The money and power amassed by the educational establishment is almost comically inverse to their performance.The last thing Americans need is for the current President to grab more power by selling “Get Out Of Legislation Free” cards that turn out to be anything but “free.”Hmmmmm......The 'Totalitarian presidency'?Read the full story here.

• JOHNSON: Obama at a loss.(Washingtontimes).Applying business sense to government can get U.S. back on track.When stock prices were plunging earlier this month, President Obama strode to the teleprompter and utterly failed to calm the markets or the American people. Sadly, they saw what I saw - and have come to exactly the same conclusion: Mr. Obama does not know what to do. He never did.Since taking office in admittedly tough economic conditions, the president has taken America 180 degrees in the wrong direction. His failed $825-billion stimulus, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and the explosion of his administration’s other job-killing regulations have combined to put a stranglehold on our economy. Until these policies are reversed, the lack of confidence that dampens consumption, business investment and job creation will be the order of the day. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama is blinded by ideology and refuses to acknowledge the harm his agenda has wreaked on America and our economic future.Fortunately, some in Congress understand the harm his agenda is causing and are working hard to reverse course.As a thought experiment, imagine how much uncertainty would be removed and the level of confidence that would return if the entire Obama agenda were repealed tomorrow. A pretty pleasant thought, isn’t it?We can’t repeal the additional $4 trillion that has been added to our nation’s debt during his tenure, but we can repeal his agenda - the sooner the better. I can’t think of a more effective first step in any “jobs program,” and I challenge anyone to come up with a better one. I’m confident the president’s umpteenth attempt at a jobs program will be nothing more than a slight variation on already-tried-and-failed themes. Why would we expect anything different or think he has any personal knowledge on how to create jobs?Few on Mr. Obama’s team have ever built a company, manufactured or marketed a product or balanced the company books. They have no clue how to get our economy reignited and no clue how to create an atmosphere in which the private sector can create the jobs we need. To them, the private sector is little more than a cash cow to fund bigger, more expensive government in Washington.As the former chief executive officer of a midsized manufacturing business, I do understand the value of the real job producers in America. I also understand how Mr. Obama’s policies affect their ability to expand their businesses and create new jobs. What we need to do to get our economy moving again is pretty obvious. Here’s a short outline of the necessary components of a solution.Read the full story here.

• Kyl Says Obama Said No Border Security for Political Reasons.(NewZeal).On June 18, 2010, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl told the audience at a North Phoenix Tea Party town hall meeting that during a private, one-on-one meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office, the President told him, regarding securing the southern border with Mexico, “The problem is, . . . if we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’” [Audible gasps were heard throughout the audience.] Sen. Kyl continued, “In other words, they’re holding it hostage. They don’t want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’”Read the full story here.

• Video - TSA officer admits to allowing drug dealers to bypass airport security.(RightScoop).Through the work of two buffalo women, a drug dealer was able to obtain a fake birth certificate and bypass security at a Buffalo airport:Today a drug dealer. Tomorrow a suicide bomber. This is going to be a problem.Hmmmm.....No todlers or Grannies passed unchecked?Read the full story here.

• Obama Snubs VFW: First Time In Group’s History White House Not Sending Senior Official To Veterans Convention.((Fox News) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week will not feature a top-tier official from the Obama administration, a breach in tradition that the group’s commander described as an “insult of the highest magnitude.”However, an administration official claimed Monday that the White House made “every effort” to provide a speaker for the event, offering up a range of top officials.“In all instances, the VFW declined those offers,” the official said.The veterans group is accustomed to playing host to the nation’s most powerful people at its national conference. Obama addressed the VFW in 2009, followed by Vice President Biden in 2010.But the 2-million strong VFW accused the administration of snubbing its members by not providing a “first-tier speaker” for the first time in VFW history.“The VFW has had a long-standing tradition of inviting the sitting president to address our convention,” Richard Eubank, national commander of the organization, said in a statement, adding that the White House typically chooses a “high-level administration official” to speak if the president cannot attend.“It is an insult of the highest magnitude that for the first time in the history of the VFW, the White House has apparently decided that this great and iconic organization of combat veterans and all of its members are not worthy of its notice by not at least offering a first-tier speaker from the administration.”Hmmmm......."Commander in Chief or Vacationer in chief?"By the way :Texas Governor Rick Perry to Attend VFW Convention .Read the full story here.

• The Uproar Over Voter-ID Laws.(Heritage).The left is in an uproar over new voter-ID laws passed by states including Texas, Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Their complaint? That requiring someone to authenticate his or her identity at the polling place amounts to racial discrimination.The Heritage Foundation’s Hans Von Spakovsky writes in this week’s National Review that, in truth, the vast majority of Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds support voter-ID laws. And he breaks apart liberals’ arguments against the requirements:

Once you get past the race-baiting, you will find that opponents of voter ID generally rely on two arguments, equally specious: 1) There is no need for photo ID, because there is no voter fraud in the United States; 2) This is a deliberate effort to suppress the turnout of minority voters, who often don’t have photo ID. Liberals keep repeating these false claims despite the fact that they have been disproved both in the courtroom and at the polling place.

The claim that there is no voter fraud in the U.S. is patently ridiculous, given our rich and unfortunate history of it. As the U.S. Supreme Court said when it upheld Indiana’s photo-ID law in 2008, “Flagrant examples of such fraud . . . have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists.” The liberal groups that fought Indiana’s law didn’t have much luck with liberal justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the 6–3 decision. Before being named to the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens practiced law in Chicago, a hotbed of electoral malfeasance . . .

Election data in Georgia demonstrate that concern about a negative effect on the Democratic or minority vote is baseless. Turnout there increased more dramatically in 2008 — the first presidential election held after the state’s photo-ID law went into effect — than it did in states without photo ID. Georgia had a record turnout in 2008, the largest in its history — nearly 4 million voters. And Democratic turnout was up an astonishing 6.1 percentage points from the 2004 election, the fourth-largest increase of any state. The black share of the statewide vote increased from 25 percent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2008, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. According to Census Bureau surveys, 65 percent of the black voting-age population voted in the 2008 election, compared with only 54.4 percent in 2004, an increase of more than ten percentage points.Read the full story here.

• Timebomb in Euroland: The Eurozone is Heading for a Crash.(BlacklistedNews).By Mike Whitney.Bank funding costs are rising, liquidity is being choked off, and interbank lending has started to stall. A full-blown crisis can still be averted, but leaders will have to knuckle down and resolve the political issues fast. Otherwise the 17-member monetary union will fracture and the euro will be kaput. Here's a clip from the Wall Street Journal:"Commercial banks boosted their reliance on the European Central Bank, borrowing €2.82 billion ($4.07 billion) from an emergency lending facility on Tuesday ... While the amount of borrowing is tiny ... the increase from €555 million a day earlier, nonetheless suggest that some lenders are struggling to borrow from traditional funding sources."("Europe Banks Lean More on Emergency Funding", Wall Street Journal)Sure, it's a pittance compared to the trillions floating around in the EU banking system, but the pattern is the same as it was in 2007 when the troubles began at French bank PNB Paribas. Back then, the problems seemed small, too, but things got out of hand quick. Over the following year, trillions in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) were downgraded forcing bigger and bigger losses on the bondholders, many of which were the nation's largest banks. The bloodletting dragged on until September 2008, when Lehman blew up and the whole financial system went into cardiac arrest. The Fed had to rush to Wall Street's rescue with $12 trillion in loans and other guarantees in hand just to keep the patient from croaking on the Emergency Room floor. Now it looks like history is repeating itself.As the collateral the banks hold (mainly foreign sovereign bonds) continues to lose value, the banks will come under greater pressure making funding more costly and harder to get. In fact, the mad-scramble for short-term funding has already begun. Banks are hoarding capital just as they did after the Crash of '08, depositing larger and larger amounts in overnight accounts with the ECB in order to avoid lending to the other banks. All of this is taking a toll on consumer and household lending which will inevitably push eurozone GDP further into the red. The negative feedback loop into the real economy will send unemployment higher while further crimping business investment. This is from Businessweek:

"Despite the ECB’s best efforts, some of Europe’s banks may be inching toward insolvency. The cost of insuring the bonds of 25 European banks and insurers set a record high on Aug. 24 of 257 basis points, higher than the 149 basis-point spike when Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008, according to the Markit iTraxx Financial Index of credit default swaps.The banks aren’t required to mark down most of their holdings of government debt to market prices. If they did, some would be forced to default or seek a bailout." ("How Long Can the ECB Prop Up Europe’s Sick Banks?", Businessweek)Are you kidding me? The banks are sitting on a mountain of garbage paper and EU regulators haven't even forced them to write down the losses. Is it any wonder why public confidence is at all-time lows?U.S. money funds have been gradually reducing their exposure to EU banks due to worries about their collateral, much of which is bonds from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Greece (PIIGS). Eventually, these bonds will be pounded by downgrades and the banks will have to pony-up for the losses. That'll be the swan song for some of Europe's big name banks that are gravely undercapitalized. Of course, there could be a multi-trillion dollar bailout like in the US, but it's hard to imagine how that would work. After all, Germany has already rejected eurobonds; so why would they support the more offensive idea of bank bailouts? It just doesn't add up.And, in case there's any doubt about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's contempt for eurobonds; here's what she said on Tuesday: “At this time — we’re in a dramatic crisis — euro bonds are precisely the wrong answer...They lead us into a debt union, not a stability union. Each country has to take its own steps to reduce its debt.”Then she added this corker: “We are in no rush whatsoever to solve the crisis in Europe. We will not be swayed by market crashes or panics.”Hmmm. That doesn't sound like someone who appreciates the urgency of the moment. It sounds like someone who wants to teach the market "who's boss".But Merkel's bravado doesn't change the fact that the EU bank funding system is on the fritz; liquidity is drying up, stress gauges are blinking red, and the banks are too scared to lend to each other. It just demonstrates the obtuseness of grandstanding politicians.And, keep in mind that--while QE2 helped many of the European banks stockpile "rainy day" reserves in the US--those piles are beginning to dwindle as investors wise-up and head for the exits. They've seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well. Better to be safe than sorry.Here's an excerpt from a report by Nomura that shows how liquidity is gradually being drained from the system:"The USD cash buffer has been falling according to FED data from 889 billions USD on July 20 to 758 billions USD on August 3....In fact, according to the same report, there was a notable decline of 131 billions USD in two weeks, clearly a trend to watch.... ("Credit Terminal Velocity", Macronomics, Pragmatic Capitalism)Read the full story here.

• 'Gaza militants have Libyan arms'(Ynet).Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya during its six-month civil war, enlarging but not significantly improving their arsenal, Israeli officials said on Monday.While the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi has stirred concern abroad about the fate of Libya's ageing chemical weapons stockpiles, Israel has no indication Hamas or other Palestinian factions have sought these, the officials said.Instead, Israeli officials have detected an inflow of SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), said one official, describing an overland supply route that opened up between eastern Libya – after it fell to the rebels – and the Gaza Strip via Egypt. "We've been seeing more SA-7s and RPGs coming across," said the official. "It's not a major qualitative enhancement for them." The Soviet-designed SA-7 is a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile which Israel said Palestinians had previously smuggled into Gaza. Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), designed to penetrate armour, are plentiful in the territory. Another Israeli official said "thousands" of the weapons had reached Gaza in recent months, but did not provide figures on how many had originated in Libya. Egypt's Sinai peninsula, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has long seen traffic in arms bound for Palestinians. The weapons come up through Sudan or arrive by ship over the Mediterranean. State television reported in Cairo Monday that Egyptian border guards had discovered "a large quantity" of weapons at the border with Libya, giving no more details.Read the full story here.

• Gaza NGOs express 'horror' at new Hamas travel restrictions on Palestinians.(Haaretz).The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip recently imposed new travel restrictions on Palestinians active in non-governmental organizations in what the Palestinian NGO Network regards as another Hamas attempt to control and hamper them.The Hamas interior ministry announced on its website on August 10 that anyone leaving Gaza, in the framework of NGO activity, must provide details of the trip to the ministry’s NGO department. The details include: the purpose, duration and destination of the trip, a description of the project, and the names of the host and group involved, along with the names and personal details of other participants.The Palestinian Center for Human Rights issued a statement expressing “horror” at the new development. Gaza sources say the NGO representatives are trying to get Hamas officials to revoke the regulations, which are the latest in a series of government measures affecting the financial affairs and staffing of local and foreign NGOs. Tharut al Bic, head of the interior ministry’s NGO department, is cited in the government-owned al-Rai newspaper as saying that the new instructions are intended to make it easier for travellers to better organize their trip and to preserve order. He did not say how the numerous details the NGOs are required to provide would make the trip easier.These are not the Hamas government’s only restrictions on the freedom of movement of Gaza residents. Those leaving via the Erez border crossing must first pass through a Palestinian police inspection. Fatah members, among the few to whom Israel grants exit permits, are occasionally stopped at the Hamas inspection facility and required to go to the interior ministry’s national security department, where they are questioned about the purpose of their departure. Hamas sometimes denies Fatah or PLO members’ departure at the Rafah terminal in similar ways. In the past, Hamas has forbidden doctors, who wanted to travel to the West Bank for the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry exams in Ramallah, to leave Gaza. About 10 days ago Hamas prohibited high school students, who received a scholarship for a year’s study in the United States, from leaving the Gaza Strip. The government also prohibited children from leaving Gaza to attend a West Bank summer camp financed by a Western body, after Israel had issued them exit permits. Palestinians leaving Gaza via the Rafah terminal are required to register in advance at the interior ministry, to enable coordination with the Egyptian authorities and to ensure that sick people and other emergency cases receive priority. The number of people permitted to leave is restricted, if only for technical reasons.Since June, Hamas authorities have instructed foreign nationals who stay in Gaza for over a week to obtain a special visitor’s card. Every foreign national is required to register with the interior ministry a week after his arrival. At first Hamas charged 5 Jordanian dinars for a visitor’s card, but the Quartet on the Middle East prohibits nationals from Western states ‏(except for Switzerland and Norway‏) from maintaining official ties or engaging in financial transactions with Hamas authorities. As a result, Hamas agreed to exempt diplomats and UN officials from payment for the visitor’s card. Hmmmm.......Just cut all US aid to these terrorists.Read the full story here.

• Iran invites Libya rebel chief to Tehran.(Ynet).Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akabr Salehi has invited the head of the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) to visit Tehran, a foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday."In a phone conversation (Monday night) with the NTC head, Salehi congratulated the victory of the Muslim people of Libya and stressed (the desire) to deepen bilateral ties," said the statement, a copy of which was received by AFP.Following an invitation by the rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil, "Salehi invited the NTC head for a visit at an opportune time," it added.On Sunday, Salehi said Iran had "discreetly" provided humanitarian aid to Libyan rebels before the fall of Tripoli on August 21.Abdel Jalil, for his part, "thanked the Iranian government for its humanitarian aid and assistance during tough times," and called for the return of Iran's ambassador to Libya, according to the Tuesday statement.The phone conversation marked the first official contact between Iran and the NTC since Muammar Gaddafi's capital was overrun by rebels and he went into hiding.Iran has still not officially recognized the NTC.The statement said the Iranian ambassador, who "left Tripoli after the protest movement of the Libyan people," would soon return there.Since the Libyan uprising erupted in mid-February, Iran has adopted a dual approach -- criticizing the Gaddafi regime for its violent assaults on the rebels while at the same time condemning NATO's military intervention.Relations between Shiite majority Iran and Gaddafi's regime were soured by the disappearance in Libya in 1978 of the Iranian-born Imam Moussa Sadr, who is considered a spiritual leader of Lebanon's Shiites.Read the full story here.

• The Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Their Plans for Egypt and the World.(Vinienco).

Q: “If you rise to power in Egypt, will you launch a campaign of Islamic conquest?”

Shehato: “Of course we will launch a campaign of Islamic conquest, throughout the world. As soon as the Muslims and Islam control Egypt and implement the shari’a [there], we will turn to the neighboring regions, [such as] Libya [to the west] and Sudan to the south. All the Muslims in the world who wish to see the shari’a implemented worldwide will join the Egyptian army in order to form Islamic battalions, whose task will be to bring about the victory of [our] faith. We hope that, with Allah’s help, Egypt will be the spark [that sets off this process]…”

Q: “You said that you endorse the ideology of Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Does this mean that your way of implementing shari’a in Egypt will be through violence and war, like their [way]?”

Shehato: “No, we will implement the shari’a through da’wa [preaching], while violence will be directed only at the infidel Arab rulers. In their case, there is no choice but to use force, though the shari’a does not call it ‘violence’ but ‘jihad for the sake of Allah.’ There is no other way… because they have power and weapons…”

Q: “How will the foreign ministry [operate] in an Islamic state?”

Shehato: “There are Muslims and there are infidels. We will have ambassadors in every country. We want to call all other countries to join Islam, and that will be the task of the ambassadors. If [the countries] refuse, there will be war. We will not tolerate mutual trade and cultural ties with non-Muslims.”“In the [Islamic] State, There will Be Only Islamic Culture”

Q: “If you rise to power, what will be your approach to tourism?”

Shehato: “There will be tourism for purposes of [medical] treatment, but the tourism sites of the pyramids, the Sphinx, and Sharm Al-Sheikh will be shut down, because my task [as a ruler] is to get people to serve Allah rather than [other] people [i.e., tourists]. No proud Muslim will ever be willing to live off tourism profits, because the tourists come [to Egypt] to drink alcohol and fornicate. [If they] want to come, they must comply with the conditions and laws of Islam. We will explain to them that, according to the shari’a, the pyramids are [the remains of] a pagan and polytheistic age.”

Hmmmm........the 'people' the Obama administration is pledging 2.57 Billion and Abrams tanks to.Read the full story here.

• South Sudan to uphold ties with Israel, despite pressure.(JPost).MK Danon visits new African country to discuss helping Sudanese refugees return to their homeland.South Sudanese President Salva Kiir told Israeli MK Danny Danon on Monday that South Sudan will uphold its diplomatic relations with Israel, despite pressure from Abu Mazen and Ismail Haniyeh to break relations. Kiir said that Hamas leaders Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh told him that as an Arab state, his country should cut ties with Israel.“I told them that I see Israeli embassies in Jordan and Egypt, and South Sudan is not an Arab state,” Kiir explained to Danon, who flew to the world’s youngest country on a visit intended to strengthen diplomatic ties and discuss refugees.Kiir also agreed to Danon’s request that the future South Sudanese embassy in Israel be built in Jerusalem, and he said he would visit the country.The new African country’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Daniel Akot said that “Israel is like a big brother to South Sudan,” and recounted that Israeli flags were waved at the state’s declaration of independence, 59 days ago.In meetings with the Sudanese Industry and Trade Minister, Foreign Minister and Finance Minister on Monday, Danon also discussed ways the new African state can work with Israel, pointing out that South Sudan has oil, gold, silver, lead, copper and other resources.“Israel’s technological wealth and South Sudan’s wealth of natural resources are a sure recipe for prosperity in both states,” he said.Hmmmm.....North Sudan declaring war....Countdown just started running.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: 5.1 and Guam 5.1! More info here.

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

• Hurricane Irene : Latest Updates here , more here. Two forecast models give a more land inwards track.(First link).

Hurricane Irene : danger to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and the rest of the New England coast. Irene is capable of inundating portions of the coast under 10 - 15 feet of water, to the highest storm surge depths ever recorded.I strongly recommend that all residents of the mid-Atlantic and New England coast familiarize themselves with their storm surge risk‏.Read the full warning here.

• GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe Gives a left hook and a right uppercut: Obama “Destroying” America.(Tulsa World) — President Barack Obama alone is to blame for the nation’s budget deficit — and just about everything else, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe told the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.“We now have a president, and I don’t mean this disrespectfully, who is destroying these very institutions that made America great,” Inhofe, R-Okla., said.Inhofe went on to say the Obama administration has “disarmed America,” is solely responsible for the federal budget deficit, mostly responsible for the nation’s dependence on imported oil and suffocating business with regulations.He said military spending, as a share of gross domestic product, has declined during the Obama administration and criticized unflattering descriptions of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terror suspects are held, saying, “You know the biggest problem for prisoners when they get to Gitmo? Obesity.”Inhofe said the idea that prisoners have been tortured there was invented by Obama and others “to make you think something bad is happening in America — the same thing he does and others do when they go around talking about how bad America is.”Inhofe said the deficit is Obama’s fault because “it’s the president’s budget. Period. That’s the end of it.”He said the recent debtlimit agreement is a sham that does little or nothing to reduce overall spending. One solution, he continued, would be to repeal the health-care reform law, which he said is an example of “social engineering” designed to make Americans more dependent on the federal government.Hmmm.....Hear,hear!Read the full story here.

• Judicial Watch Sues US Air Force for Documents Detailing the Cost to Taxpayers for Michelle Obama’s Family Trip to Africa.(JW).Judicial Watch, the organization that investigates and fights government corruption, announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on August 19, 2011, against the United States Air Force to obtain records related to the June 21-27, 2011, trip taken by First Lady Michelle Obama, her family, and her staff to South Africa and Botswana (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Air Force (No. 11-1496)). Judicial Watch is seeking the documents to determine details about the trip and, in particular, a breakdown of the costs to taxpayers.

The Judicial Watch FOIA request filed on June 28, 2011, seeks:

Any and all records concerning mission taskings of First Lady Michelle Obama’s June 21-27,2011 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

Any and all records of concerning transportation costs for Mrs. Obama’s June 21-27 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

Any and all passenger manifests (DD-2131) for Mrs. Obama’s June 21-27, 2011 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

According the U.S. Postal Service records, Judicial Watch’s FOIA request was received by the Air Force on July 6, 2011. A response to the request was due within 20 working days, or by August 3, 2011. As of August 19, 2011, the date of the complaint, the Air Force has failed to produce the records requested or respond with a date they will be forthcoming.The professed purpose of Mrs. Obama’s trip was to encourage young people living in South Africa and Botswana to get involved in national affairs. The First Lady’s remarks focused on education, health, and wellness issues. However, accompanied by her daughters Malia and Sasha, her mother, Marian Robinson, and her niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, the trip also included such tourist events as visits to historical landmarks and museums as well as a visit with Nelson Mandela, described by Mrs. Obama as “surreal”. The trip ended with a private family safari at a South African game reserve before the group returned to Washington on June 27.Judicial Watch is investigating the total cost of the trip to the taxpayers in the face of a ballooning federal debt and a sinking economy. As stated in an analysis by White House Dossier (the blog of White House reporter Keith Koffer, who writes for CongressDaily, National Journal, Roll Call and Politico), the cost to taxpayers for the C-32 was $430,000 alone. This cost is based on an estimated charge of $12,723 an hour, which is what the Department of Defense charges other federal agencies for use of the aircraft. If a military cargo plane was included – which typically accompanies a First Lady – the cost of transportation could have escalated by another $200,000.Other costs, such as Secret Service protection, the care and feeding of staff, and pre-trip advance work done by administration officials in Africa, cannot be determined without examining records.“How much did the American people spend to send the First Lady on a family outing in Africa? That’s what we want to know,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “On the surface, the trip seems to have been totally unnecessary and was as much an excuse for the Obama family to go on a safari as it was a mission intended to advance the nation’s business in Africa.”Previously, Judicial Watch uncovered that the First Couple’s 2009 “date night” trip to New York for dinner and a Broadway show cost taxpayers over $11,000 in Secret Service costs alone.Judicial Watch continues to probe the abuse of Air Force Aircraft by Members of Congress. For example, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period – $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol. Judicial Watch also uncovered documents showing the widespread use of luxury military aircraft by Members of Congress on Speaker-authorized congressional delegation trips (CODELS).Hmmmm.....'WE' Feel your pain?Read the full story here.

• 1 Mil Safety Violations Won’t Keep Mexican Trucks Out Of U.S.(Judicial Watch).Weeks before the Obama Administration starts letting Mexican cargo trucks travel deep into the U.S., the Texas Department of Public Safety reveals that, in the last few years, trucks coming from Mexico had more than 1 million safety violations.This is hardly earth-shattering news since Mexican trucks have long failed to meet U.S. safety standards. That’s why they aren’t allowed to travel freely throughout the country, but rather in restricted zones within 25 miles of the southern border. Even within their limited boundary, they have created a huge risk to Americans’ safety, according to the Transportation Department Inspector General.Regardless, the Obama Administration carved out a deal to allow Mexican trucks to travel freely on U.S. highways as part of a 17-year-old international trade pact known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In a few weeks Mexican trucks will be allowed to travel into the interior of the United States, even though it could endanger American lives.In Texas alone, 1.2 million Mexican trucks had safety violations between 2007 and 2011, according to an El Paso newspaper report that quotes official statistics from state public safety officials. Among the safety violations in trucks coming from Mexico were bad brakes, flat tires, axle problems and defective lights. During that period inspectors placed more than 30,000 trucks and 625 drivers out of service.Federal transportation officials claim that, under the new cross-border trucking program, all Mexican vehicles will be thoroughly inspected and all must comply with rigid U.S. safety standards. The Mexican trucks, notorious for their dismal, third-world country safety standards, must also be equipped with electronic monitoring systems to keep track of drivers’ service hours.Don’t be surprised if U.S. taxpayers get stuck with the tab. After all, earlier this year the Obama Administration paid to upgrade outdated Mexican trucks that hemorrhage illegal amounts of exhaust when they deliver merchandise near the border. Generous Uncle Sam stepped in for the sake of improving air quality on both sides of the border by replacing old mufflers on dozens of Mexican trucks at a cost of $1,600 each. U.S. truck drivers are required to have the type of converters that Mexicans are getting from the government but they must pay for theirs.Hmmmm......If he really wanted to destroy the American economy would he do anything different? Read the full story here.

• Caroline Glick on Glenn Beck's revealing visit.(CarolineGlick).American media superstar Glenn Beck's visit to Israel this week was a revealing and remarkable event. It revealed what it takes to be a friend of Israel. And it revealed the causes of Israel's difficulty in telling its enemies from its friends.Beck said that his movement will be one of individuals who work together to defend Israel and the Jews from those who seek our destruction. He argued that regular people are far more capable of understanding what needs to be done than the well-heeled experts who lead us down the garden path of weakness and demoralization.And he is right.And in bringing this message to Israel, he demonstrated his friendship. We should return the favor by taking his advice. We should trust ourselves and our instincts and stop listening to the "experts" who preach weakness and surrender.Read the full story here.

• Israeli Ambassador: Turkey’s PM Erdogan “Hates Us Religiously”.(Washington Times) — An Israeli ambassador described Turkey’s prime minister as a “fundamentalist” who hates the Jewish state on religious grounds, according a U.S. diplomatic cable recently released.The confidential October 2009 cable cites the musings of Gabby Levy,Israel’s ambassador to Turkey, on why Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had turned on Turkey’s longtime ally.“Levy dismissed political calculation as a motivator for Erdogan’s hostility, arguing the prime minister’s party had not gained a single point in the polls from his bashing of Israel,” says the cable, which was sent by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and released by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.“Instead, Levy attributed Erdogan’s harshness to deep-seated emotion: ‘He’s a fundamentalist. He hates us religiously’ and his hatred is spreading,” according to the cable.Hmmmm......No......Really?Erdogan said:“God will punish” Israel and that its actions would lead to its destruction".Read the full story here.

• Iran tells Qatar region must solve issues on its own.(AlArabiya).Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the visiting Qatari emir the region must resolve issues on its own, saying Western “interference” would complicate the situation, the presidency website reported Friday.“Regional countries can resolve (their) issues... without the interference of the West,” Ahmadinejad said Thursday in a two-hour meeting with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.The Qatari emir arrived Thursday night for talks on regional issues with President Ahmadinejad, before wrapping up his hours-long visit after midnight.“The president emphasized that the interference of foreigners and domineering powers in the regional countries’ internal affairs would complicate the situation and make it more difficult,” the website quoted him as saying.Sheikh Hamad, for his part, said “those who cannot meet the demands of their people and resolve their issues through understanding... are pushing their country and nation as well as the region towards insecurity,” the website reported.Iran and the Gulf Arab monarchies do not see eye-to-eye on regional crises of recent months, including the uprisings in Bahrain and Syria, which were not explicitly mentioned by the website.Tehran supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while advocating reforms in its key regional ally. The Gulf countries have denounced Damascus’s deadly crackdown on protesters.But on Bahrain, Iran has repeatedly expressed its backing for the anti-regime protest movement led by the Shiite majority in the Sunni-ruled island. The Arab states, meanwhile, support the government, and have even provided military support.Sheikh Hamad’s visit to Tehran marked the first by one of the leaders of Gulf monarchies following the political crisis in Bahrain.Despite lingering tensions between the Islamic republic and the Gulf Cooperation Council − comprised of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman − Doha has kept close relations with Tehran.Qatar has also acted several times as mediator between Tehran and Riyadh.Read the full story here.

• 'Islamic Jihad vows to send rockets deeper into Israel'(Jpost).Hours after Palestinian sources reported that the IAF killed to Islamic Jihad operatives in the Gaza Strip, the terrorist group vowed to extend the range of their rocket capabilities, sending projectiles deeper into Israeli territory, Israel Radio reported Thursday.According to Islamic Jihad, a small terrorist group with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, it would triple the number of Israelis affected by rocket attacks.A ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza seemed distant Thursday evening as the violence in the south of the country continued with at least 15 rockets and mortar shells exploding in Israeli territory.The Code Red siren was heard throughout the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Councils and in Ashkelon as 15 rockets and mortar shells fell throughout those areas, the IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement.No injuries were reported in Thursday's attacks, but their was damage caused to a building in the Erez border crossing at the Gaza border.In response to the building damage at Erez, the IAF struck a rocket-launching pad in the northern Gaza Strip, the spokesman's statement said.Palestinians sources said the IAF killed two Palestinians when a missile struck their motorcycle while they were riding in the northern Gaza Strip. It was unclear whether this was the same missile strike as the IDF Spokesperson's Office announced.While the IDF issued no comment on the strike, a medical source in Gaza said that one of the victims was identified as Salim Khaled al-Arabid, Ma'an reported. Another Palestinian source said the riders were members of Islamic Jihad's militant wing.At least 20 rockets have exploded in Israel since Tuesday night. A nine-month-old baby was injured yesterday in the Ashkelon area when a rocket exploded on a car nearby, causing hand wounds.Hmmmm.......When will it be enough?Read the full story here.

• EU diplomat: Aid to Palestinians in question.(Ynet).Europe's financial crisis is causing some European Union lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians, an EU diplomat said Thursday.The EU is the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about €500 million ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state and pay salaries.Under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Palestinians embarked in 2009 on a two-year state-building plan to be ready for independence by September. But with peace talks deadlocked, the diplomat said that some EU lawmakers doubt a Palestinian state will ever emerge. The Palestinians are now turning to the United Nations for a largely symbolic statehood recognition. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter. The earliest the EU could cut back aid would be in 2014, when the next seven-year budget begins. Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib said Israel was to blame for their assistance needs: "We look forward to the day when the occupation will be over, so as to end our need for foreign assistance," Khatib said. Foreign donations make up about a quarter of the Palestinian Authority's $3.7 billion annual budget. In July, Fayyad halved the salaries of government employees and appealed to the international community to bridge a $640 million shortfall caused largely by Arab countries' unfulfilled pledges. Hmmmm....The more financial aid they receive the lower their GDP,perhaps it's time to turn things around?Read the full story here.

• German state minister of Turkish origin:"“The more Turks are in the country, the more unrest there will be in the country,”.(TodaysZaman). A recent statement by a German state minister of Turkish origin working on the integration issue, to the effect that Turks are a source of unrest within German society, has sparked harsh reactions from Turkish immigrants.Bilkay Öney, a member of the Green-Social Democratic Party (SPD), took over as the integration minister of Baden-Württemberg in May. In her remarks, published by German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Öney defended Germany's visa regime for Turkish citizens, a regime which has garnered complaints from both Turkish officials and Turkish immigrants. “The more Turks are in the country, the more unrest there will be in the country,” Öney was quoted as saying. In an apparent criticism of Turkish immigrants' intellectual level, Öney also suggested that Germany's Turks watch five times as much television per day as do other Germans.Bernhard Lasotta, a spokesperson from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), an opposition party in the state of Baden-Württemberg, said Öney's remarks were harmful to integration efforts, the Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Thursday. “Öney's comments saddened a lot of people, and the slang and rude language she used did not befit her post as a minister,” Lasotta said.The Berlin Turkish Society, in a written statement, called Öney's remarks “discriminatory, offensive and aggressive,” while Hilmi Kaya Turan of the Germany Turkish Society, also based in Berlin, said that his organization was shocked by Öney's remarks. Turan also said these remarks could strengthen existing prejudices against the Turkish immigrant community in the country.Hmmmmm..........Read the full story here.

• Turkey - Justice Ministry says journalists not jailed for journalistic activities.(TodaysZaman).The Turkish government has dismissed claims that dozens of outspoken journalists who have been jailed were arrested or convicted because of their journalistic activities and reiterated that the jailed suspects are accused of crimes not directly linked to their profession.The Turkish Justice Ministry said on Thursday in a statement released in order to “answer media allegations regarding jailed journalists” that nearly 70 journalists have been arrested or convicted because of their writings, saying 59 out of the 63 journalists currently in jail have been arrested or convicted because of criminal activities other than their writings. The statement also said most of the complaints in the media are voiced by the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) and that the Justice Ministry earlier demanded the union submit a list of jailed journalists. It said the union submitted a list on Aug. 2 on which 72 names were alleged to be those of journalists currently in jail.The Justice Ministry said it could not find three people on the list who were allegedly jailed and six of the names were those of people who have already been released. Noting that only 63 suspects that are included on the union's list are currently in jail, the statement said cases have been filed against 36 of the 63 names and 18 have already been convicted. Investigations continue regarding the rest of the 27 suspects. It added while 18 of the journalists have press cards, 45 of them don't have one.The Washington-based Freedom House labeled the Turkish press “partly free” in its report titled “Freedom of the Press 2011: A Global Survey of Media Independence.” According to the report, Turkey ranked 112th among 196 countries. Since Turkey was listed as a country in Western Europe, it ranked at the bottom of the list of these countries with regard to freedom of the press.Other international media watchdogs also previously harshly criticized Turkey for still retaining laws that restrict freedom of the press. Lawyers claim there are at least 20 provisions in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) that give prosecutors the leeway to launch a case against journalists.Read the full story here.

• Iranian Basij: Martyrdom Operations – The Palestinian Trump Card.(Memri).Preparations are underway in Iran for Qods Day, which is marked each year on the last Friday of Ramadan as an expression of Iran's desire to liberate Palestine. In a Quds Day communiqué, the Basij stated that martyrdom operations are the Palestinian trump card.Regime officials called on the public to participate in Al-Quds Day events, and Iranian cleric Hossein Ansarian said that such participation constitutes religious worship.Basij Commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi said that the 2020 Olympic games would be held in Egypt and Palestine, and would mark the liberation of Palestine. He called on the 'besieged' Zionists to leave Palestine, before it is too late.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV that his country would support the establishment of a Palestinian state, if it were the first step towards liberating all of Palestine.Read the full story here.

• Syrian Regime Supporter in Moscow: Iran Providing Massive Support to Syria.(Memri).Ali Salim Al-Assad, an official in the Syrian Committee for National Unity – an organization established in Moscow to support the Syrian regime – told Pravda.ru that Iran is assisting Syria with weapons, a daily supply of 250,000 barrels of oil, and money totaling $6 billion.It was also reported that Iran plans to build an air base near the Syrian city of Latakia, which would enable swift delivery of defense equipment to Syria.Furthermore, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was told, after he warned that Syria would be attacked if it continued suppressing protests, that Syria is not Libya, and that it has response capabilities that include surface-to-surface missiles that could destroy Tel-Aviv.Read the full story here.

• Assad Knows What He's Doing.(MidEastForum).By Gary C. Gambill.For all of their disagreement over particulars, Western pundits share a nearly unanimous consensus that Syrian President Bashar Assad has bungled his response to the current uprising. The Syrian regime is "digging its own grave," the International Crisis Group concluded in a report last month. One prominent analyst went so far as to assert that the president "is losing his marbles." The Obama administration's recent call for Assad to resign, while long overdue, is largely premised on such boat-without-a-paddle views of the Syrian leader.In fact, Assad's strategy and tactics have proven astonishingly effective. By any objective measure of political vulnerability, Assad should have been among the first casualties of the Arab Spring. That he's held on this long is no small achievement.Unflattering portrayals of Assad's decision making are invariably premised on the assumption that some combination of reform and restraint on his part could have defused popular mobilization after the outbreak of protests in March. However, given his Alawite-dominated regime's unusually thin claim (even by Middle Eastern standards) to represent the will of the people and the infectious wave of popular revolt spreading across the surrounding Arab world, allowing his predominantly Sunni subjects to assemble and express themselves without consequence would have doomed the regime (or doomed Assad by precipitating a hard-liner coup).The Syrian president recognized very early on that brute force (tempered by largely cosmetic "reforms") would have to be the mainstay of his survival strategy, and he has employed it with great acumen. Contrary to formulaic Western media characterizations, government violence against protestors has hardly been "indiscriminate." Most of the deaths have been the result not of panicked security personnel firing blindly into crowds of people, but of what the UN recently called an "apparent shoot-to-kill" policy. Regime snipers carefully selected their targets on the basis of specific criteria (filming demonstrations with cell phones, using megaphones, carrying banners, etc) designed to incapacitate mid-level organizers. It took nearly three months for the death toll in Syria to surpass the number of people murdered by Egypt's government in just 18 days—an extraordinarily large bang for the bullet.To be sure, security forces have opened fire on crowds—particularly in predominantly Sunni areas close to Syria's porous borders with Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon—but these have mostly been targeted massacres. Lacking the ability to suppress all protests at all times, the regime has been selective as to when and where it strikes. In June, for example, Assad allowed the city of Hama to slip from his control, only to storm it with tanks last month. The fact the protests have not yet snowballed into a nationwide mass uprising (Syria's two largest cities, Aleppo and Damascus have experienced comparatively little unrest) testifies to the effectiveness of these tactics.This doesn't mean Assad can "win" in the sense implicit in most outside commentary. Bloodletting cannot restore the status quo ante in Syria. It only takes a small minority of highly committed people to ensure that protests and killings continue as Assad remains in power. This can only spell the end of his regime in the long-term, pariah status a few notches above North Korea in the medium term, and the looming threat of civil war in the short term.Assad likely recognizes this (the assumption that he is somehow ignorant of political realities apparent to outside observers is another glaring absurdity of conventional wisdom in the West), but that doesn't mean the game is over. At this stage, maintaining Alawite solidarity is his primary goal, not subduing the masses. So long as the security apparatus remains loyal, he can be overthrown only through a long and bloody civil war that may prove unpalatable to regional and international governments. Even if the regime collapses, it's quite possible that Assad and his security barons will regroup in the coastal mountain enclaves of their ancestors (offering physical protection and access to Iranian resupply by sea) and set up a de facto Alawite micro-state. Although the Syrian president's predicament is unquestionably dire, it's a good bet he knows what he's doing.Read the full story here.

• Canada - Toronto Imam accused of sexual assault travelled under aliases.(NationalPost).An imam who worked in a Toronto mosque who was arrested last week and is facing 13 charges in relation to sexual offenses allegedly committed globally has used several aliases, the Toronto Police are saying.Mohammad Masroor, 48, worked as a travelling imam and visited numerous countries teaching children and young people Koranic studies. In their investigation, police have found Mr. Masroor to be in possession of three passports than bear names other than his own.

A passport with the name Junaid Salman, with no birth date listed, was allegedly used in the early 1990s in Hungary, Austria and extensively in Italy, as well as other European nations.

A passport with the name Abdur Rahim, also with an unknown birth date, was used during the 1980s in India, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Police say Mr. Masroor has also been known as Abdul Karim Abdul Aziz, a Gulf Arabic name.The aliases were used on passports that have since been destroyed, which is why no birth dates are known.The imam may have been a member of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic movement aimed at proselytizing at the grassroots level. The movement is largely based in Bangladesh now.The 13 charges against Mr. Masroor stem from alleged abuses committed against five former students. Because the imam traveled so extensively, Det. Const. Karen Armstrong said she worried there are more victims are out there, if not in Canada.“Mohammad Masroor was a leader in the community, he was in a position of trust,” she told a press conference last week. “Because he was in a position of power, we believe there are other victims.”Det. Caroline Glen said Toronto Police are currently working with Interpol and that they are currently conducting investigations in America, searching for other victims of Mr. Masroor.Mr. Masroor arrived in Toronto in 2008; the investigation started shortly after.Det. Const. Armstrong said Mr. Masroor was known to his alleged victims, but did not elaborate on their ages or relations to him.Police are urging anyone with information to contact the sex crimes unit.Hmmmm.........Although Tabligh Jamaat has claimed a pacific stance since its inception, after the 9/11 attacks in the USA, concerns have risen about its role as a springboard to terrorist organizations.Read the full story here.

• Former Libyan General: Al-Qadhafi Killed Musa Al-Sadr.(Memri).Abdullah Zaidani, a former General in Libya's external security forces, and a current representative of the Libyan Interim Transitional National Council, told the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal that Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi had killed the Shi'ite Imam Musa Al-Sadr and his two companions.Zaidani said that Al-Sadr was killed because he objected to Al-Qadhafi's suggestion to erase words from the Koran during a live televised broadcast.Read the full story here.

• Deadly blast strikes UN building in Nigerian capital.(AlArabiya).A bomb rocked the UN building in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday, killing at least 18 people, leaving others trapped and causing heavy damage, officials and witnesses said.Some witnesses reported that the bomb exploded after a suspect rammed a car through the front gate. Parts of the first two floors of the building were blown out and rescue workers scrambled to rescue those left inside.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of bombings in recent months.“A number of dead people and injured have been moved in ambulances to the hospital,” police spokesman Yemi Ajayi said, adding that he was unable to provide a figure for the number of casualties.A member of the security personnel speaking on condition of anonymity spoke of “many dead.”“It looks like a suicide bombing,” the source said at the scene. “A guy drove a Honda car, forced his way through the gate and rammed into the building, and then the bomb exploded.”One UN staff member said people were still trapped in the building that sustained heavy damage.“I don’t know what is going on. Many people are still trapped upstairs and we need a crane to bring people down,” said the UN staffer who did not want to give her name.Two cranes were later brought to the scene and rescue workers were trying to free those trapped on the upper floors.Police said there was an explosion and UN officials said it was caused by a bomb.“We spoke to our colleagues in Lagos, who confirmed that the explosion was caused by a bomb. But we have no further information for now,” a UN spokeswoman in Geneva told AFP.A spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs meanwhile told AFP that a colleague on site had sent an SMS message to say that the explosion “appears to have come from the gate entrance to the building.”The UN building is located in Abuja’s diplomatic zone, not far from the US Embassy, and houses a number of United Nations agencies.Read the full story here.

• Shahbaz Taseer, son of late Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, was abducted from Lahore.(Tribune).The Express Tribune’s Asad Kharal reports Taseer had left his house from Cavalry Ground in his silver Mercedes Kompressor (LZT-1) for his office around 10:15am. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore said his car was intercepted by a black SUV and motorbike around 600 yards from the office and up to three men dragged Taseer out of the car and took him away. Family sources said they had been informed of the kidnapping when a company driver passing by the area saw Taseer’s car abandoned in the street. The kidnappers headed to Firdous Market via Cavalry Flyover, which leads straight to DHA Lahore and the cantonment areas. A traffic warden in the area reported a black SUV, white corolla and a motorbike sped through the area and made a sharp turn, which resulted in a black Kalashnikov dropping out of one of the cars. “Shabhaz was out with a friend when four unidentified people kidnapped him,” his brother Sheryar Taseer told Reuters. “Our family has been receiving threats from the Taliban and extremist groups,” he said, adding they could be behind the abduction. Official sources said Shahbaz Taseer had some property disputes and had also been receiving threats recently. No one has claimed responsibility. Taseer was travelling without any security today and is normally reported to have travelled in a silver Prado with Elite force and police guards. Police is also retrieving CCTV footage from the area to help with investigations. One of the guards posted with Shahbaz Taseer was taken into custody and had his weapon seized when police questioned him and he revealed another guard was on leave. He had not left the house with Taseer but had later been told to go to the office. Two police personnal, Liaquat and Sharafat, were posted with Taseer. Police officials said the Taseer family had a total of 12 police and five Rangers personnel posted with them. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and has issued directives to Inspector General of Police (IG) Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab to take immediate action. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team, on the directives of Director Punjab and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, has started investigations.Read the full story here.

• China says concerned about Europe debt.(Emirates24/7).China is concerned about the European debt crisis and hopes that Europe will take measures to protect China's investments there, Chinese President Hu Jintao told the visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday.Hu also told Sarkozy that China hopes the European economy can maintain stability, and that China has confidence in the European economy and the euro, Chinese television reported."China is concerned about the impact of the euro debt crisis, and hopes that the European economy can maintain stability, and hopes that the countries concerned can achieve success in their financial reforms," said Hu."China has confidence in the European economy and the euro, and we are sure that Europe has the wisdom and ability to surmount its current hardships and maintain economic stability and growth. China will continue making Europe one of its principle investment markets, and we hope that Europe will take measures to ensure the security of Chinese investments there."With about a quarter of China's record foreign currency reserves of more than $3 trillion held in euro assets, Beijing has been unsettled by the threat to the euro, even as Chinese leaders have said they believe Europe can surmount its woes.Along with Germany, France has resisted calls from other countries in the euro zone to expand the zone's 440 billion euro bailout fund and introduce joint issuance of bonds by countries in the bloc as ways to address the crisis.Read the full story here.

• Turkey Poised For Military Operation In Iraq against PKK.(Memri).The Iraqi government daily Al-Sabah reported that Turkish commando units have been moved forward toward the Iraqi border in preparation for a wide-scale land operation against PKK [Kurdish Workers Party] bases on the Iraqi-Turkish border after id il-fitr [a holiday that follows the fasting month of Ramadan] which falls early next week. The Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad to hand him a protest note concerning the Turkish shelling of Iraqi territory. [It has not taken a similar measure with regard to the Iranian ambassador].It was also reported that the head of the Sadrist Movement Muqtada al-Sadr sent separate delegations to Tehran and Ankara to urge them to stop shelling the Iraqi territory.Read the full story here.
• Egyptian Churches Reject Calls For Massive Anti-Israel Protest In Cairo.(WZ).Egyptian churches announced on Thursday their rejection of a protest scheduled for next Friday to demand the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Cairo.A number of activists who have been staging a sit-in in front of the Israeli Embassy called Tuesday for a million-strong demonstration to take place this Friday to demand the removal of the Israeli ambassador, a move that would likely further strain relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv.On 18 August, six Egyptian military and security personnel were killed by Israeli gunfire at the border between Egypt and Israel.The Coptic Church called for political groups and coalitions to leave the issue to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the government. It urged youths to cooperate with the military junta so that they do not become separated from their political leaders, as was the case under the former regime.The Catholic Church spokesman Rafiq Greish said that youth should not interfere in what should be done with the Israeli ambassador and should leave the SCAF to deal with the matter.The Salafi Front and 18 Sufi orders have announced their planned participation in Friday’s demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy to demand the expulsion of the ambassador.However, the Muslim Brotherhood, the revolutionary coalitions and the various political parties have not so far confirmed their participation in the event.“We will hold demonstrations in all governorates,” said Salafi Front spokesman Khaled Saeed. “And we call on the secular and liberal forces to take part.”Read the full story here.
• Arab League: Israel-Egypt peace treaty isn't sacred.(Ynet).Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said Friday that all peace treaties are subject to the Vienna Convention which stipulates that if one side violates the agreement, the other can reserve the option to amend or annul the agreement.   In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, Elaraby said that the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt can be amended, noting that the accords are "not sacred - they are not the Koran or the New Testament." In a jab addressed at ousted President Hosni Mubarak he noted that no one ever told Israel off under the old regime. "There were violations and they were ignored," he said. Meanwhile, Egypt gears for a mass anti-Israel demonstration scheduled to be held outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo later on Friday. It is estimated that only several thousands will show up for the protest rather than the one million declared on Facebook. The protesters will demand that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood announced it will take part in the rally. Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabe'a reported that several political movements are opposed to the demonstration.Read the full story here.

• Indonesia - Lesbian Lovers Released in Aceh, forcefully Separated.(JakartaGlobe).Authorities in Aceh released a married lesbian couple from detention after the lovers agreed not to see each other again.Nuraini, 21, and her ‘husband’ Rinto, 25, were arrested by the Public Order Officers (Satpol PP) in Southwest Aceh district after it was revealed that Rinto was actually a woman named Rohani. She faked her identity to be able to marry Nuraini.However, the authorities were clueless as to what charges they should lay against on the couple because lesbianism is not regulated under qanun (Islamic bylaws).After three days in detention, the couple were released on Wednesday.Speaking on the phone to the Jakarta Globe, Muddasir, the head of Satpol PP in the district, said that Nuraini and Rohani had been returned to their respective parents.“They were returned to their parents after they promised not to see each other again. If they violate the agreement, they will be given sanctions according to the customary law [adat],” Muddasir said. However, the agreement did not mention the form of punishment.“The punishment will be decided later by adat leaders,” he said.According to Muddasir, some village officials were angry at Rohani but they finally agreed to let her return home.“I told them not to beat her up because she had promised to repent for her sins,” he said.Both women signed the agreement witnessed by local officials and religious leaders.“[Officials and ‘adat’ leaders] had also agreed to keep the women from seeing each other again. They will monitor and guide them,” he said. “Of course they agreed because otherwise they should be beheaded because what they did was strongly forbidden in Islam.”Previously, Rohani told local media that her marriage to Nuraini had been “annulled” by the Religious Affairs Office in Darul Makmur district.They were married by an unofficial cleric provided by the district.“We were married so that we could still live under the same roof but then they found out my real identity,” she said.Muddasir played down Rohani’s statement about the marriage, claiming it had never been legal.“How could we divorce them if their marriage was illegal because there are no legal regulations that allow a woman to marry another woman.”Hmmmm......Obama "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

• Afghan Editor Condemns the Custom of Dancing Boys, Says: '[Boys] of Ages 15 to 20 are Normally Dressed in Women's Clothes, Dancing All the Night, Then Abused by Several Men'.(Memri).In a recent report, senior Afghan journalist Musa Khan Jalalzai drew attention to the custom of Afghan dancing boys and their sexual exploitation by powerful and wealthy warlords in the country. The report notes that the custom has become a status symbol in Afghanistan."A shameless business of teenage rape or Bacha-bazi has brought disgrace and shame to Afghan society. The tradition of teenage rape is an old tradition in northern and southern provinces. The tradition has roots in Afghan history. President Hamid Karzai, in his recent statement, warned that rapists should face 'the country's most severe punishment. "The interior ministry has failed to arrest powerful rapist warlords in northern Afghanistan, as the police administration has long been involved in many illegal businesses like drug trafficking, prostitution, and playboys. Corruption in the Afghan justice system is another problem. Courts are helpless before war criminals. Judges are the most corrupt people, who bail out or release criminals and receive millions in Afghan currency."Local residents now have demanded for a crackdown against these elements, but are skeptical because criminals are powerful and well-armed. War criminals have representation in Afghan parliament and in government institutions. Why did this illegal business take deep roots after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001? Afghan men of letters understand that both unemployment and poverty are the main motivators for the revival of the business of Bacha-bazi in Afghanistan. Recruitment of young and beardless beautiful boys is in progress."Powerful and wealthy warlords in northern Afghanistan, according to press reports, recruit young boys for sex and dance, while local authorities remain powerless in stopping the practice. Bacha-bereesh [boys] of ages 15-20 are normally dressed in women's clothes, dancing all the night, then abused by several men.""This is an established fact that a boy without beard and [is] smart normally becomes a status symbol for his master. Mohammad Zaher Zafari, head of the Northern Branch of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, hopelessly said: 'Sexual abuse and even the sale of boys has been going on for years; the boys involved are usually poor, underage or orphans, and they are forced into it by their economic circumstances."Another senior official, Hafizullah Khaliqyar, head of the prosecutor's office for Baghlan province, complains that teenage boys are forced to dance. 'They are sexually abused, and they are even bought and sold. Fights take place over these Bacha-bereesh. It's increasing day by day, and it's catastrophic,' he said.""A local Afghan reporter, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, recently interviewed some warlords saying that they play with dogs, boys, and love teenage girls. 'Some men enjoy playing with dogs, some with women. I enjoy playing with boys,' warlord Allah Daad told Ibrahimi. After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, Bacha-bazi increased tremendously and is still on the rise."In the past, Afghans were ashamed of it and trying to hide it, but nowadays, nobody feels shame and they openly enjoy this shameless business. Religious scholars condemn the custom, which they count as one of the most sinful acts possible. Afghan ulema [Islamic scholars] are of the opinion that making boys dance and sexually abusing them is not allowed in Islam. Maulana Ghulam Rabbani of Takhar province understands that those involved in it need to be punished."Local officials in northern provinces of Afghanistan admit the practice is prevalent but show no specific interest to intercept it. The authorities are in much dismay about the police officers' involvement in this business. Members of Afghan police in various provinces are deeply involved in male prostitution. The interior ministry in Kabul has received thousands of complaints from locals regarding the police sexual attacks on young boys.""Keeping in view their sexual needs, in December 2010, WikiLeaks cables reported [that] U.S. company DynCorp had spent money on pimps who purchased young boys for Afghan policemen. The boys were used in Bacha-bazi. This shameless practice has also prompted the Defense Department of the United States to hire a social scientist, Anna Maria, to investigate the problem, as several U.S. soldiers on patrol often passed older men walking hand-in-hand with pretty young boys."Reuters, in its November 19, 2007 report and Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan [RAWA], quoted a 42-year-old landowner, Inayatullah, of Baghlan province as saying, 'Having a boy has become a custom for us. Whoever wants to show off should have a boy.' In his short interview with Reuter's reporter, Mr. Inayatullah vowed: 'I was married to a woman 20 years ago; she left me because of my boy,' he said. 'I was playing with my boy every night and was away from home. Eventually my wife decided to leave me. I am happy with my decision, because I am used to sleeping and entertaining with my young boy,' He told Reuters."A recent U.S. State Department report assessed the situation bluntly, saying that it amounts to a 'widespread, culturally sanctioned form of male rape.' The majority of Afghans have no knowledge of their country's law about male prostitution. All kinds of prostitution are illegal under the Afghan law. In Afghan society, the victims of rape and assault – both male and female – are sometimes persecuted rather than the criminals who abuse them."There are thousands of young boys who have undergone ordeals. But the actual numbers of these vulnerable boys are not known. In Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan, Panjshir, and Herat bazaars, Bacha-bazi CDs and DVDs are widely circulated serving an audience who can't afford the real thing."Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different!Saudi Arabia has found traces of a civilisation that was domesticating horses about 9,000 years ago.(Emirates24/7).Saudi Arabia has found traces of a civilisation that was domesticating horses about 9,000 years ago, 4,000 years earlier than previously thought, the kingdom said."This discovery shows that horses were domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula for the first time more than 9,000 years ago, whereas previous studies estimated the domestication of horses in Central Asia dating back 5,000 years, Ali Al Ghabban, vice-chairman of the Department of Museums and Antiquities, said at a news conference late Wednesday.The remains of the civilisation were found close to Abha, in southwestern Asir province, an area known to antiquity as Arabia Felix.The civilisation, given the name Al Maqari, used "methods of embalming that are totally different to known processes," Ghabban said.Among the remains found at the site are statues of animals such as goats, dogs, hawks, and a metre-tall bust of a horse, Ghabban said."A statue of an animal of this dimension, dating back to that time, has never been found anywhere in the world," Ghabban said.He added that archaeologists also found arrowheads, stone tools, weaving tools and mortars for pounding grain, reflecting the development of that civilisation.The remains were found in a valley that was once a riverbed, at a time when the now-arid Arabian Peninsula was more humid and fertile, the official said.An international team of archaeologists published an article in January that suggested human beings could have been present on the Arabian Peninsula about 125,000 years ago.Read the full story here.