MFS - The Other News

                       Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 15. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Live Blog: Middle East protests April 15 Here. (Al-Jazeera)

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.7 and 4.9! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 86.Here .

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

• HT:SHTF.Collapse Countdown Clock: “We Have Until July” *Video*. Here.

• Breaking News -   @markknoller In written signing statement, Pres Obama says he'll ignore a provision to eliminate so-called 'czar' positions in his Admin.Hmmmm......Can we call him a dictator now and impeach him finally?See the full story here.

• Anti-Israel posters green-lighted for Zurich.Swiss court allows train station posting of ads saying: "61 years Israel, 61 years of injustice."BERLIN – A Bern court overruled a decision by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to ban the posting of anti- Israel posters in the main train station in Zurich, according to a report in Tuesday’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung.In 2009, members of the Palestine Solidarity Action group hung posters with the words “Israel established with violence on Palestinian land. The injustice demands resistance” in the main transportation hub. Additional posters contained the message: “61 years Israel, 61 years of injustice.”The posters remained on display for three days, however after SBB management became aware of their content, it had them removed.According to the Bern court decision, the SBB ban on the posters violates the free-speech rights of the pro-Palestinian group.The SBB argued that it maintains a policy prohibiting advertisements and messages addressing “explosive foreign policy themes.”While the posters could be construed to call for violence against the Jewish state – and a rejection of the existence of Israel – the Bern court stated there is no indication for a call to violence.The 27-member European Union has a quasi-legal definition of anti-Semitism, which defines the rejection of Israel as a state to be an expression of modern anti- Semitism. However, Switzerland is not a member of the EU.The SBB has 30 days to appeal the ruling, but it is unclear if the SBB will take further legal actions against the Bern court decision.Hmmmm.....Free speech Ok to Bash Jews and Christians but wrong to bash Muslims?Read the full story here.

• Mubarak may face death penalty.Former President Hosni Mubarak was rushed Friday to a military hospital in Sharm el Sheikh, even as it was reported that he could face the death penalty if a pending probe proves that he ordered the crackdown against demonstrators that left at least 385 dead, state media said Friday. Zakaria Shalash, head of Cairo’s appeals court, was quoted by the state-owned newspaper al-Ahram as saying that the former president may face the death penalty after a trial he expects will last at least one year.While official figures state that the 18-day revolution that began on January 25 left a total number of 385 dead and injured 5,000, AFP places the death toll at 800.Earlier this week, the 83-year-old Mr. Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were remanded in 15-day custody after prosecutors launched the probe.The former president was detained after his Interior Minister Habib al-Adly stated that Mr. Mubarak himself ordered the use of violence against protesters, said Mr. Shalash.Mr. al-Adly also faces charges of ordering the shootings and can be made an accomplice to Mr. Mubarak’s alleged crime. “If proven, Mr. Mubarak will receive the same punishment as the person who carried out the orders,” said Mr. Shalash.Al-Ahram reports a corruption panel will start questioning Mr. Mubarak and his sons next week on suspicion of graft. The former president could face between three to 15 years in prison if proven guilty. Protests in Egypt intensified over the demands that Mr. Mubarak be put on trial for his alleged crimes. Opposition groups suspended a planned demonstration on Friday after the detention of the former president and his sons. According to public radio reports on Friday afternoon, Mr. Mubarak was transferred to a military hospital where he will continue to be treated for a heart ailment, while his sons are being held in a Cairo prison.Hmmmmm.......Thank you "Hussein"!Read the full story here.

• HT:NorthEastIntelligence.Obama deception indicators “off the charts” during Stephanopoulos interview.By Douglas J. Hagmann.15 April 2011: If you watch and listen carefully to the 20 minute 14 April 2011 interview[i] of Barack Hussein Obama by George Stephanopoulos, you will notice something very telling that takes place during that interview when the discussion shifts to the issue of Donald Trump and ultimately, the “birther conspiracy.” Veteran investigators who are experienced in interviewing and interrogating suspects, witnesses, criminals and non-criminals have undoubtedly identified numerous big red flags of deception precisely when expected, and in textbook fashion. To observe this in action, begin watching the video at about the 13:25 minute mark, when Stephanopoulos lobs the following softball, leading question to Obama and receives his answer[ii]:

George Stephanopoulos: I wonder how you size up your potential opponents? I mean all of us have been struck by Donald Trump rising to the top of the Republican field by feeding fantasies about your background. What do you make of that?

First, note that Stephanopoulos sets an amicable tone for easy rebuttal by Obama to anyone believing that anything might be amiss with regard to Obama’s eligibility. He asks a leading question that automatically suggests that any reference to the “birther issue” as raised by Donald Trump is “fantasy.” Accordingly, Obama should be able to handle the question without any obvious stress or difficulty. But here’s exactly where the difficult-to-control verbal and non-verbal clues of deception take over. First, read his response:

President Obama: Well you know, I think that over the last two and a half years there’s been an effort to go at me in a way that is politically expedient in the short-term for Republicans. But creates, I think a problem for them when they want to actually run in a general election where most people feel pretty confident the President was born where he says he was, in Hawaii. (LAUGHS) He– he doesn’t have horns. We may disagree with him on some issues and we may wish that you know, the unemployment rate was coming down faster and we want him to know his plan on gas prices. But we’re not really worrying about conspiracy theories or– or birth certificates. And so– I– I think it presents a problem for them. But, look I right now have such a big day job that I am not yet focused on what’s happening on the other side. There’ll be a time where I’m– I’m very focused on it. [emphasis added]

Verbal deception indicator 1

In this answer alone, notice how Obama shifts from speaking in the first person to suddenly referring to himself in the third person, or as “the President.” Naysayers, apologists and supporters of all types will undoubtedly refute or even mock this investigator’s observations and premise that switching from talking in the first person (i.e. using “I”) to the third person is meaningless. Alone, it might very well be, but now watch the entire interview or consult the transcript, and note the number of times Obama answers a question by referring to himself in the first person. Now compare your findings with the above paragraph.

Recently, pundits at Fox News actually counted the number of times Barack Obama used the word “I” in a recent speech about Libya. It was excessive, they opined, and typical of Obama. The number of times Obama referred to himself in the first person in this interview appeared consistent with the subject matter and the questions asked, until the issue of his birth certificate was raised.

Verbal deception indicator 2

One of the best indicators of deception is one’s evasiveness of answers, or to simply not fully address the crux of the matter or answer the question posed. Obama knows very well that the issue in this instance, “bracketed” by this question, is his refusal to release his long form birth certificate for which Trump is known for demanding. Admittedly, Stephanopoulos did not directly ask Obama about his birth certificate and used the general term “background” instead.

Nonetheless, instead of addressing that issue head-on, even in this friendly environment, Obama reverts to the use of a non-sequitur by adding that “…he doesn’t have horns.” He then reverts back to addressing the entire issue as a “conspiracy theory,” specifically mentioning his birth certificate out of the context of the question. His evasiveness is smooth but obvious. Now note that Obama continues to refer to himself as “he” or in the third person for the remainder of the question.

What it means

As I’ve previously indicated in various CFP radio segments[iii] and on the nationally syndicated “The Roth Show,” I’ve interviewed a wide range of individuals, from prisoners in Attica State Penitentiary to the residents of some of the most expensive homes in the country during my 26 year career as a professional investigator. I also hold multiple law-enforcement related certifications including those involving interviewing and interrogation techniques, the identification of verbal and non-verbal deception, and certifications in numerous other related subjects related to behavioral analysis and the identification of micro-expressions in lie and stress detection.

As the title of this article indicates, it is my professional analysis that the verbal and non-verbal indicators of deception are not only present in this interview, but are “off the charts” and offer a classic textbook example of the same. Obviously, Obama did not take this opportunity to clear up this matter when provided the opportunity, even in this non-hostile venue. Clearly then, we should expect nothing different should he ever be compelled to prove his constitutional eligibility in a not-so-friendly venue.

Note to the reader: The basis of my conclusions arise from a complete review of the entire 19 minute, 25 second video, isolating the clips where the camera was pointed directly at Obama and not at the interviewer. Additionally, various clips from Obama’s campaign speeches and candid interviews about general matters were used as a baseline for this analysis.Hmmmm.....would there be a polygraph build strong enough to register Barry's answers?Read the full story here.

• Senate Unanimously Votes to Demand UN Retract Goldstone Report Accusing Israel of “War Crimes”.The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Thursday night that calls on the United Nations to retract allegations that the Israeli military committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip during “Operation Cast Lead” in late 2008 and early 2009.The bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and James Risch (R-Idaho), asks the UN Human Rights Council “to reflect the author’s repudiation of the Goldstone report’s central findings, rescind the report and reconsider further Council actions with respect to the report’s findings.”The resolution refers to a UN report authored by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, who stepped back from his allegations against Israel in a Washington Post op-ed earlier this month.“If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document,” Goldstone said in the op-ed.The Israeli government and its defense forces have disputed the findings of that report since it was released in September 2009. Many members of the government said they viewed Goldstone’s op-ed as a vindication of their actions in the Gaza War.“I think our soldiers and army behaved according to the highest standards during our ‘Operation Cast Lead,’” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to Goldstone’s op-ed. “We expect this farce to be rectified immediately.”Hmmmm......I know i should be very happy ,then why do i have this bitter taste in my mouth?Somehow i fear this will come at a very high price.Read the full story here.

• A Trump-West 2012 Ticket? The LTC-Congressman Says It’s Not Off the Table.Florida Congressman and Tea Party favorite Allen West isn’t opposed to the idea of joining possible presidential contender Donald Trump, West told The Daily Caller Thursday.When pressed repeatedly if he would rule out the possibility of running with Trump, the Republican House freshman did not say that the idea was off the table.“Who knows what’s going to happen,” West said when asked if he’d accept a veep invitation from Trump. “If the people think that I have an ability to continue my service of my country in a different capacity, first of all we gotta talk to God, we gotta talk to my family, we gotta talk to the constituents.”Trump and West will speak at the same Tea Party rally in Boca Raton, Florida this Saturday. . .West was careful to say that his statements were not an endorsement of Trump, or any of the other possible contenders.Hmmmm....My perfect moment to frame :There's a huge cheering crowd ,then the Donald says the magical words to Obama "You're Fired"!Read the full story here.

• US to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. House Speaker John Boehner to invite Israeli premier to speak at joint meeting of US Congress during upcoming Washington visit. US House Speaker John Boehner will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of the US Congress during a visit to Washington next month, Boehner's office announced on Thursday.Boehner will extend the formal invitation to Netanyahu once Congress approves the joint session, Boehner's office said.Soon after the announcement, Netanyahu confirmed to his Likud party in Tel Aviv that he had been invited to address both houses of Congress: "Next month I will have the opportunity to air the main parts of our diplomatic and defense policies during my visit in the United States," he said. Netanyahu's US trip will come as Washington plans a new push to promote comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. President Barack Obama will lay out US policy toward the Middle East and North Africa in the coming weeks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this week.Some Israeli reports have suggested Netanyahu could float new ideas in Washington on restarting peace talks, which broke down last September in a dispute over continued Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.In his Thursday remarks, he outlined the main parts of what he would talk about without going into any details. "I will, of course, speak about the (Iranian) threat," Netanyahu said. "I will speak about the big changes that are taking place in our region and I will speak also about the way which we believe that is the only one that will bring about secure peace between us and our neighbors. Not peace on paper, not peace in ceremonies on lawns, but a true, durable peace that will hold and will ensure our security and future." No specific date has yet been announced for Netanyahu's visit by the Obama administration. Boehner said it would be a great honor for Congress to have Netanyahu speak. "America and Israel are the closest of friends and allies, and we look forward to hearing the prime minister's views on how we can continue working together for peace, freedom and stability," he said. Hmmmm......If they want to support Israel then stop the Islamic lovestory President Obama is having.Read the full story here.

• HT:Aina.48 Hours in the Life of an Anti-Islamist.The information is in and I don't like it one bit. On the other hand, if one remains flexible, realistic, and calm and persists in telling the truth, one may also prevail.I am talking about the hoops one has to jump through in order to be heard on any subject having to do with Islam.I am not talking about the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy, the criminal trials of the heroically determined Dutchman, Geert Wilders, or the unexpectedly great Austrian, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. I am not even talking about Lars Hedegaard of the Danish Free Speech Society, who was put on trial for making "racist" statements about Muslims, Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, or Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist, who has required 24-hour protection. I am not even talking about the high-profile and world-class beauty, Aayan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-Dutch-American feminist anti-Islamist.Nor am I talking about Random House's 2008 decision to renege on its contract to publish "The Jewel of Medina," a novel about Mohammed's wife Aisha--and all because a single professor suggested via e-mail that the book "might lead to violence"--or about the Yale University Press 2009 decision to omit the Danish cartoons from a book they published about the Danish cartoon controversy; they did not even bother to tell the author.No, I am not talking about any of this. I am only talking about what happened to me personally in the course of one 24-48 hour period.A deservedly popular network radio program asked to interview me--but then begged me to "work with them" because they are being closely monitored in terms of their "Islamic" content. "Please be sure to say something like 'Many Muslims are moderate,' or 'All Muslims are not jihadists.'" I assured him that I usually say these kinds of things anyway because I believe them--but still, a cold wind blew across my grave.A distinguished American government publication had previously interviewed me at great length and very respectfully about honor killings. The editors ultimately asked me to participate in a debate about whether coverage of honor killings in the West "stigmatizes" Muslims. I said it did not--that if anyone was "stigmatized" it was Hindus, whose India-based honor killings are covered by the same American mainstream media which will not cover Muslim honor killings in America. Guess what? When they sent me the final version for my approval I saw that they had dropped the word "Muslim" before "honor killings" and had added a sentence that softened what I had to say about such Muslim-on-Muslim crimes. I immediately re-inserted the word "Muslim" and hope that the piece sees the light of day as I wrote it.I believe it will. I did not raise my voice or lose patience. Calmly but firmly, I re-inserted my own words and once more explained why they were logically necessary.But I did wonder: To what extent have the Saudis bought up our government media? Or are the same-old-same-old "politically correct" speech code censorship regulations operating behind the scenes without benefit of legislation?Finally, on the same day, a magazine commissioned me to write a piece about honor killings but the editor asked me to "try to be balanced so that his bosses will approve the piece more easily." I pointed out that it was an opinion piece, not a news item. I wrote the piece. It is slated to run--but alongside a piece which will oppose my point of view.The message is clear: Either steer clear of all Muslim subjects or write only positive things about Islam. At the very least, be prepared to have a companion piece which differs from your own, not in the next issue, but right alongside you, speaking over you, as you speak. Be prepared to have to "debate" as the price for being able to present your own arguments.Hmmmm......"We do not want to take over your country, but we control your media already"?Read the full story here.

• UK sends observer to Jerusalem zoning cmte. meeting.Committee members enraged to discover British representative attending meeting of panel that has power to okay construction beyond Green Line.The British Embassy sent an observer to a recent meeting held by Jerusalem's District Planning and Building committee, Ynet learned Thursday.The committee holds weekly meetings to discuss and advance various municipal plans, meant to promote the welfare of all Jerusalemites, but while other municipal committees of this nature are purely professional, the capital's zoning committee's activities are perceived as political. A recent decision by the committee, to approve 942 housing units in the city's southwest Gilo neighborhood, irked both the United States and Britain. British Foreign Secretary William Hague denounced the decision, saying it was impeding the peace talks. It was that decision, Ynet learned, that prompted the British Embassy to send a representative to the meeting, so she could report back to her superiors with a firsthand impression of the committee's work. Sources familiar with the subject said this was not the first time a British delegate was present at committee meetings, which are open to the public; adding that that is often the case when zoning plans protruding the Green Line are involved. Still, several committee members said they were unaware of a UK representative's presence at the meeting; and some were even enraged to find out they were being "surveilled." "Inviting someone who represents a county with political interests hostile to those of Israel must be perceived with all severity," Jerusalem City Councilman and committee member Yair Gabay told Ynet. "It is unprecedented and if anyone in City Hall had anything to do with it, they should resign immediately. The British Embassy confirmed sending a representative to the meeting, citing the meeting was open to the public, and adding that the embassy was "following everything to do with settlements closely."Hmmmm.......Jerusalem now a UK & US piece of Real Estate? Read the full story here.

• Turkey: Future Gaza flotilla not up to us. Jerusalem files official request with Ankara to stop nearing activists' sail to Strip. Turkey says matter a civilian one, 'not Ankara's concern'.Turkey said on Thursday it had received a request from Israel to help stop activists sailing to Gaza on the first anniversary of an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship, but it said the flotilla plan was not Ankara's concern.Turkey, a secular Muslim nation, has been an important regional ally of Israel for more than a decade. Following the deadly raid on the Marmara, it has scaled back ties, demanding Israel apologize and pay damages for last year's raid.Israel's ambassador to Turkey, Gaby Levy, asked the Turkish government this week to help stop the activists, saying sending humanitarian aide to Gaza outside legal channels was a "provocation," an Israeli diplomatic official told Reuters.Asked about the request, a Turkish foreign ministry official told Reuters: "We listened to the message given by the Israeli side and told them this is an initiative by civil society." The official did not elaborate. The IHH, the Turkish Islamist charity that owned the Mavi Marmara ship which was raided by the Israeli commandos, has said it will join the "Freedom Flotilla II". It also plans to send its own convoy led by the Mavi Marmara after Turkey's general election on June 12. An IHH official told Reuters the group has not been approached by the Turkish government over its plans to send another flotilla and added: "In Turkey governments don't tell NGOs what to do and what not to do". Israel has also asked the United Nations to help stop the activists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the mission of ships "was being organized by Islamic extremist elements" intent on bringing about "a flare-up." Hmmmmm......"In Turkey governments don't tell NGOs what to do and what not to do"yeah whatevah.Read the full fairytale story here.

• HT:Memri.Coptic Liberal Magdi Khalil: Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Is Setting the Country Back to the Middle Ages.The Supreme Council Refuses to Recognize the Legitimacy of the Revolution."The basic problem is that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces does not recognize the legitimacy of this revolution, but rather that of the July 1952 [revolution] of and its 1971 constitution. That is why the referendum was on articles proposed by the former president, which were appended to the rest of the articles of the 1971 constitution, and together they made up the declaration of the new [temporary] constitution... Had the council recognized the legitimacy of the January 25 [revolution], we would not have needed these amendments, or a referendum on them. [We would only need] a brief announcement of a [temporary] constitution, which would include the most important articles to be applied during the transitional period, until a new constitution is drafted."Therefore, I personally declare my objection to these constitutional amendments, to the law banning protests, to the political party law, and to the... [temporary] constitution. All of them constitute a [direct] continuation of the era of the corrupt Mubarak, who made a pact with the religious movements in order to create schism and religious tension that would set Egypt back. The revolution was meant to rebuild Egypt as a modern country, moving toward the future. But what has happened so far indicates an attempt to drag Egypt back to the Middle Ages, back to being a failed religious country."Hmmmm......."Israel may benefit from the Arab Change.Yeah whatevah!Read the full story here.

• Thousands of protesters demand reform in Syria.Activists, witnesses say thousands demonstrating in cities across Syria chanting 'freedom'.Activists and witnesses says thousands of people are demonstrating in several Syrian cities.The witnesses say about 10,000 people were chanting "freedom, freedom" Friday in the southern city of Daraa, which has become the epicenter of the protest movement.Others witnesses say demonstrations have begun in the northeastern village of Bayda and in Douma near the capital, Damascus. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals. A large pro-democracy protest also took place in Deir al-Zor on the Euphrates river, activists and a tribal sheikh said. In the coastal city of Banias, around 1,500 people chanted "freedom" after Friday prayers, despite the deployment of the army in the city as part of a deal to contain protests, the Syria Observatory for Human Rights said. There were also protests in Kurdish areas in eastern Syria, a Kurdish source said.Earlier on Friday, the Human Rights Watch issued a report claiming Syrian security forces have arrested hundreds of people arbitrarily since pro-democracy protests erupted a month ago and subjected them to torture and ill-treatment. Hmmmmm......But,but Saddat is a 'reformer'?Read the full story here.

• World Bank: Food prices have entered the 'danger zone'.Food prices have entered the “danger zone”, threatening to condemn a generation to extreme poverty and malnutrition, the World Bank has warned.Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, said food prices are at “a tipping point”, having risen 36pc in the last year to levels close to their 2008 peak. The rising cost of food has been much more dramatic in low-income countries, pushing 44m people into poverty since June last year. Another 10pc rise in food prices would push 10m into extreme poverty, defined as an effective income of less than $1.25 a day. Already, the world’s poor number 1.2bn. Mr Zoellick said he saw no short term reversal in the damaging effect of food inflation, which is felt much more in the developing world as packaging and distribution accounts for a far larger proportion of the cost in the advanced economies. Asked if he thought prices would remain high for a year, Mr Zoellick said: “The general trend lines are ones where we are in a danger zone… because prices have already gone up and stocks are relatively low.”The problem has been exacerbated by “weather problems in Russia, Ukraine, North America, China”. Making matters worse has been rising fuel prices, which go into fertilisers and energy. However, he played down the impact of speculators on prices, saying only that “it can exacerbate some of the shifts”. He also raised concerns about the food investment policies of some of the world’s wealthier nations in poorer countries. China has been buying up huge tracts of Africa to grow enough food to feed its growing middle class. Using Saudi Arabia’s decision to scrap wheat production and invest overseas for food instead as an example, he said: “This raises sensitivities about the purchasing and investment and the land.Read the full story here.

• Jordanian Court to Try Danish Mohammed Cartoonist on “Blasphemy” Charges.A Jordanian court will begin this month the trial of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard over a controversial caricature of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, but it was unclear if he will attend.Zakarya Sheikh, spokesman for a group of local media outlets that sued Westergaard in 2008 for depicting Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, said on Thursday the artist and others have been summoned by a magistrates’ court in Amman to stand trial on April 25.”A copy of the subpoena obtained by AFP says Westergaard “is accused of the crime of blasphemy.”“These legal measures seek to prevent attempts to insult Islam and incite racial hatred against Muslims worldwide, particularly in Europe,” Sheikh told AFP.A Jordanian prosecutor summoned Westergaard for questioning in 2008 after 30 independent newspapers, websites and radio stations in Jordan sued him over his cartoon, which was republished in at least 17 Danish dailies, sparking violent protests in a number of Muslim countries, including the kingdom.Hmmmm......."Defamation of religions anyone"?See video in earlier posting yesterday.Read the full story here.

• Malaysia: Coalition of 20 Muslim Groups Declare Jihad Against “Extremist” Christians.An umbrella coalition of Muslim groups held a protest today and declared bloodshed against ‘extremist’ Christians that insult and ridicule the position of Islam in the country.The Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam (Pembela), comprising 20 groups, protested after Friday prayers at the National Mosque against Putrajaya’s release of Malay-language bibles and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s promise to never impound the Alkitab again.A group of 30 men dressed in white shirts and skullcaps gathered at the main entrance of the mosque after prayers with placards saying “Allah is great! We Ansarullah (helpers of Allah) are watching you!”Group spokesman Dr Yusri Mohamad said that the Christians are beginning to challenge and dismantle the status and sovereignty of Islam as the state religion.“Pembela found that statements and actions (by Christian groups) are made to further challenge the sovereignty of Islam. This is not acceptable to Pembela because it implies that there is a larger agenda to be achieved by this group apart from the bible issues alone.Hmmmm.......“Violence does not build up the kingdom of God, the kingdom of humanity. On the contrary, it is a favorite instrument of the Antichrist, however idealistic its religious motivation may be,” Pope Benedict XVI. Read the full story here.

• Obama: Under GOP “We’d Be A Nation of Potholes And Airports Worse Than Places We Used To Call The Third World”.Saving the most raucous for last, President Obama kicked off fund-raising for his re-election campaign Thursday with three sessions in Chicago, raising $2 million from 2,500 supporters.“This is the city where I fell in love and started a family,” Obama told 2,300 cheering fans at Navy Pier. He also spoke to a smaller crowd at MK restaurant, where he used to take his wife on dates.“This is where we’re going to be basing our headquarters for the 2012 campaign,” Obama told the Navy Pier crowd.…Obama defended his record and warned how far the country could fall if Republicans retake the White House and seniors could no longer afford health care:“Under their vision, we can’t invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail,” Obama said. “We would be a nation of potholes and our airports would be worse than places that we used to call the Third World but that are now investing in infrastructure.”Hmmmmm......I've got news for you:"Bankrupting a country will get you in the Third World countries league" "Genius"!Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Iranian Regime Prepares For Ahwazi Day Of Rage.On the eve of the Day Of Rage declared today by the Ahwazis, the Arab residents of Iran in Khuzestan province, the Iranian authorities have declared a state of emergency in the province, and also cut communication lines, shut down provincial government institutions, deployed forces on all roads leading to the capital city Ahwaz. It was reported that the regime has freed on bail several Ahwazis who were arrested recently, threatening them not to leave their homes during the Day of Rage. The Borna news agency reported that an Iranian security personnel member was killed and five were wounded in a clash between Ahwazis and security forces. Lebanese Shi'ite cleric Mohammad Ali Al-Hosseini, who opposes Iran, called on the Arab countries to aid the Ahwazis in their struggle. According to Alarabiya.net, Amjad Taha Yassin, the administrator of the Ahwazi Revolution news page on Facebook, said that developments of the situation will be posted minute-by-minute on the Facebook page.Hmmmm.....Not all are waiting for the 12Th Imam it seems?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Ayatollah Al-Sistani Refuses To meet With Saudi King On Bahrain Crisis.Ayatollah Shahrestani, the representative in Iran of Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani, who resides in Iraq, told Iranian Majlis members shortly after he returned from Iraq that Ayatollah Sistani had rejected a request by Saudi King Abdallah to meet with him to discuss the crisis in Bahrain, where Saudi troops are putting down Shi'ite protests. Ayatollah Al-Sistani is considered the greatest jurisprudent of the Shi'ite world. Ayatollah Shahrestani explained Ayatollah Al-Sistani's refusal by assessing that the meeting would not have served the Bahraini people. It appears that with this move Al-Sistani is expressing harsh criticism of Saudi intervention in Bahrain.Hmmmmm.......Read the full story here.

• Shiites on the rise in Sunni Gaza, Sunnis on the rise in Shiite Iran.The number of Shiites is increasing in the Gaza Strip, which has a majority of Sunni population, an Iranian website reported last week. Iran, on the other hand, is irritated by a notable rise in the number of Sunnis in the Iranian southwestern province of Khuzestan, whose population has a majority of Arabs.The conservative Asr Iran (Iran Age) Website reported that a large number of Palestinians in Gaza have converted to the Shiite doctrine within the past few years, although the enclave is controlled by the Sunni Islamist Hamas rulers.A similar report by Agence-France Press said that a large number of Gazans have converted to the Shiite doctrine within the past few years, signaling a clear sign of an increase in the Iranian influence among the Palestinians.Arab states accuse Iran of inciting hatred and igniting sectarian tensions among their peoples.Hamas rulers, meanwhile, are obliged to deal with the converters carefully, in order not to jeopardize their relationship with their closest ally Tehran.Abdul Rahim Hamad, a converted Shiite who lives in Jabalia refugee camp, told AFP that he converted to the Shiite doctrine five years ago. He said that the increase in the number of Shiites in Gaza was “due to the influence of Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah in the region.”“We are now hundreds in Gaza. We will start our political activities soon. Palestinian Shiites will play an important role in controlling this region in the future,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.Ahmed Youssef, adviser of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, denied any increase in the number of Shiites in Gaza, but he added that the Palestinians “love Iran and Hezbollah.”However, security sources from the Gaza Strip said that police forces last Thursday shut down the premises of the Shiite “al-Baqeyat al-Salehat” society, which is located in northern Gaza.“We were surprised today by the shutdown of the society premises and all its affiliated utilities including its sports track, the Quran reciting class and the youth center,” Hisham Salem, the society chairman, told the Palestinian MAAN news agency.He said that “al-Baqeyat al-Salehat” was a charitable society that was given the municipal license four years ago. “The society receives funds from several foreign states, including Iran,” he said.Iran, on the other hand, is irritated by the spread of the Sunni doctrine in the Khuzestan province–also known as Arabstan or Ahvaz–which has a majority of Arab population.Iran, on the other hand, is irritated by the spread of the Sunni doctrine in the Khuzestan province–also known as Arabstan or Ahvaz–which has a majority of Arab population.Some Arab inhabitants of the province believe that conversion to the Sunni doctrine might end their only link to Iran. Others believe that the Ahvaz problem is a national problem that would never be solved through conversion from one sect to the other.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a visit to Khuzestan in 2010, hinted to the quick spread of the Sunni doctrine among the Arabs in the province. Iranian cleric Mohammed Jawad Adel also warned against the notable rise in the number of Sunnis in Iran, especially on the border areas, describing it as a “very serious issue” and urged the Iranian authorities to strongly confront what he called the “Sunni missionary.”Hmmmm......One minute it's a 'Sunni' day ,next thing you know you're covered in 'Shiite'?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad: We Aren't Connected To Kidnapping, Murder Of Italian Journalist.The jihadi Al-Shumukh forum has posted a communiqué from the Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad salafi-jihadi organization denying any connection to the kidnapping and murder of Italian journalist Vittorio Arrigoni, and warning that its policy of self-restraint vis-à-vis Hamas, in the face of the ongoing persecution of salafi jihadis, including the killing and arrest of many salafis, is about to end. The communiqué also warns that if imprisoned salafis are not immediately released from prison, first among them Sheikh Abu Al-Walid Al-Maqdisi, the emir of Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, Hamas will bear the consequences.Hmmmm.......What no "The Jooooos did it" now that says a lot. Source.

• HT:Investigativeproject.Top U.S. Admiral Warns of Lashkar's "Expanding Reach".A top U.S. commander has warned of the "expanding reach" of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). The group has declared "jihad" on America and its activities are no longer confined to South Asia and India, Adm. Robert Willard, head of the Pacific Command, told a Senate hearing April 12. LeT has been blamed by Indian authorities for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans.Willard claimed the United States had evidence of LeT's presence in Europe and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Willard also said the group was active in Canada and the United States.Willard also noted the relationship of the Pakistani government to the LeT was "very sensitive." The LeT is alleged to be a creation of Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI, as part of its efforts to use Kashmiri fighters to wage a low-intensity proxy war against rival India. The group has been banned in Pakistan but Indian authorities maintain the ISI continues to have ties to Lashar militants.Willard's remarks come at a time of heightened interest in Lashkar in the United States, particularly since the arrest of Chicago resident David Headley whose reconnaissance trips to India on behalf of Lashkar played a key role in the Mumbai attacks.Hmmmmm......A voice of reason in the desert?Read the full story here.

• HT:WomenAgainSharia.Picture of the Week: Indonesian Islamic Party MP Quits After Caught Watching Porn.He won’t shake hands with a woman, but we have a feeling that this conservative Indonesian MP enjoys shaking hands with shorty. Here he is downloading porn during a session of parliament.Hmmmm.....The 'Djinnies made me do it?Read and see the full story here.

• And now for something completely different!'World's first 3D porn film' opens in Hong Kong.Movie-goers flocked to see what is billed as the world's first 3D porn film as it opened to packed cinemas across Hong Kong on Thursday, with some screenings selling out completely.Loosely based on a piece of classical Chinese erotic literature, the $3.2-million Cantonese-language movie "3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy" features orgies, swinging and some very graphic sex scenes.Curious movie-goers from all walks of life -- office workers, retirees and students -- formed long queues outside cinemas in the southern Chinese city, eager to catch an eyeful of steamy 3D action.Many in the crowd were women and were not shy about watching the movie."I'm not normally much of a movie-goer, but this one is just too good to miss," 32-year-old Justin Lai told AFP as she waited at a cinema in Causeway Bay, one of the city's busiest entertainment districts."I'd like to see what 3D porn is like on the big screen." I hear, but not confirmed, airlines flying to Hong Kong have seen a dramatic rise in passengers.Read and see the full story here.More here.  HT:TheJawaReport.

MFS - The Other News

                   Morning Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 07. Here .(Al-Jazeera)And  here (BBC).

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

• Latest official Situation Update No. 76.

Breaking New Eartquakes in Japan !Tsunami alert issued! Source.

07.04.2011 16:57:42       7.4 Asia Japan Honshu Ishinomaki EMSC

07.04.2011 17:00:14       7.4 Asia Japan Miyagi-ken Niiyamahama USGS-RSOE  Source.

• Breaking News :HT:IsraelMatzav.Two wounded in anti-tank missile attack on school bus ,one critical!They won't say whether the injured are children, but there are two people wounded - one seriously and one moderately - as a result of an anti-tank missile hitting a school bus in the Gaza envelope (I'm typing this as I listen - it happened at 3:17 pm Israel time).

The bus was traveling from Kibbutz Saad to Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the Gaza envelope area. Israel Radio is now confirming that the seriously wounded person is a child and is being taken by helicopter to Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva.Israel Radio said it might have been a mortar and not an anti-tank missile. This may be the statistical anomaly that the terrorists scored a direct hit.There was also a kindergarten hit.Police now saying that bus was hit by shrapnel from an 82mm mortar.Local residents now told to take shelter.Read the full live updated story here.

Related : Teen critically injured in attack on Negev bus.Initial report suggests mortar bomb or anti-tank missile fired from Gaza Strip hit bus driving near Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured. A 16-year boy was critically injured after a bus driving near the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council was hit by either a mortar bomb or an anti-tank missile rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The bus was hit in its rear side causing its windows to shatter. Security forces are evacuating the victims.Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.General Dubik: Boots on the Ground in Libya Soon.“The way the United States and its allies have intervened in Libya has placed them on a dangerously slippery slope. Air power alone has not protected Libyan civilians, the declared objective in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorized the military intervention. Nor have the rebels proved capable of making significant advances against Muammar al-Qaddafi’s forces. To effectively enforce the Security Council resolution, the coalition would need to put combat air controllers, advisors, and trainers on the ground — steps it appears unwilling to take. Where does that leave the coalition when it comes to developing a coherent war strategy? Mostly empty-handed.”Hmmm....."No American troops on the ground"Watch my hands sign the documents?Read the full story here.

• Um, Where’s My Crowd Screener?President Obama got some tough questions today at THE LAST UNSCREENED TOWN HALL HE WILL EVER BE DOING. Well, who knows, but you sure ain’t gonna see many events like this once the campaign heats up.He got probing and detailed queries during an event at an technology company outside of Philadelphia. These people, unlike the generalists in the White House press corps, knew exactly what they were talking about and weren’t holding back.Obama tried to kind of chuckle his way through it but wasn’t quite clever enough in his responses to pull it off, so he just seemed kind of oafish. I think I caught him gazing around for his teleprompter where perhaps Austan Goolsbee would be feeding him the answers..If Bush pulled this, the media would have already turned it into a failed IQ test.POLITICO has done a good job of splicing Obama’s uncomfortable moments together. Take a look.Read and see the full debacle here.

• Federal workers’ union preps government shutdown lawsuit.The largest union representing federal government workers may sue the Obama administration if there’s a government shutdown at the end of this week.With a shutdown looking increasingly likely by the hour as congressional Republicans and the White House stay stuck at an impasse, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees says the union will file suit against the federal government if it’s not clear that essential employees will be guaranteed pay for their work during the shutdown.“We’ve asked the Obama administration how they would guarantee employees’ pay, what the conditions are for essential employees to be paid,” John Gage, president of the 265,000-member union, told POLITICO on Wednesday. “Should essential employees be required to work without a guarantee of pay, we will file a lawsuit.”The shutdown battle is “more political theater than anything else,” Gage said, and it’s “deeply disturbing when people don’t know whether they’re going to be able to make a mortgage or pay their bills.” Government workers, he said, need more clarity about whether they’ll be required to work and whether they’ll be paid for that work.His request for more information has gone to Attorney General Eric Holder and to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry. Late Tuesday night, OPM published a brief overview of how a shutdown would work. Federal agencies do not have the authority to pay employees during a shutdown. Workers “excepted” during the shutdown would be paid for their work once the president signs a new appropriations bill or a continuing resolution, OPM said, but it’s up to agencies to determine who is excepted and who isn’t. Workers who are “non-excepted,” or furloughed, “are not permitted to work as unpaid volunteers for the government.”AFGE has already filed one lawsuit against the federal government over a possible shutdown. Last week, after not hearing back on Freedom of Information Act requests made to the White House Office of Management and Budget for details of how government agencies will handle the shutdown, the union sued OMB Director Jack Lew. “It’s inside baseball with the Obama administration about the lack of information coming from the agencies,” Gage said.In a statement, OMB spokeswoman Meg Reilly said it has taken “unprecedented steps to improve government transparency” as it plans for a government shutdown.“Plans for shutdown operations, which are governed by the law, remain in development and are pre-decisional at this time,” she said. “When plans are finalized and reviewed for sensitive information, we will work with agencies to provide to the public.”Read the full story here.

• Government shutdown will delay millions of tax refunds as economy goes into meltdown.Millions of tax refunds could be delayed if eleventh hour crisis talks over the budget deadlock fail to prevent a shutdown of government services on Friday.The Obama administration warned about the dire financial repercussions today with time running out to broker an agreement.Small business loans and government-guaranteed mortgages could also grind to a halt, sabotaging the U.S. economy’s faltering recovery.As many as 800,000 government workers are likely to be temporarily laid off and left in limbo waiting for federal funding to resume.The nation’s parks will be closed and Washington’s traditional springtime Cherry Blossom parade, one of the capital’s largest public events of the year that draws 100,000 visitors from around the world, would also be wiped out.Tempers are flaring today on both sides of the aisle with demands from Republicans and Democrats that leaders must find a compromise deal to break the budget impasse by midnight on Friday.If the shutdown goes ahead, the Inland Revenue Service will suspend processing tax refunds for people who file paper returns - about 30 per cent - according to government officials.President Obama said on Tuesday that he would have congressional negotiators back to the White House if they didn’t make any progress.But after a terse three-minute phone conversation this morning with Republican House Speaker John Boehner, Mr Obama flew off for a series of scheduled appearances in Philadelphia and New York.He offered no comment on the crisis, just a friendly wave to supporters.Hmmm....So long suckers?Read the full story here.

• President Obama's New Anti-American Secretary of State. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made it clear that she will not serve another term under President Obama. Who can blame her? She has become the face of a fecklessly reckless administration, a pathetic press relations lackey for the worst foreign affairs president in the history of the country.To replace her, Obama is reportedly looking to tap another prominent female diplomat. Her name is Samantha Power, and she bills herself as a human rights activist. A Yale University graduate, Power became a leftist foreign policy journalist for various major news organizations. She then came back to the United States, where she attended Harvard Law School.Her book, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide," implicated the United States in virtually every major genocide of the last century. As a fellow radical Harvard Law School grad, she quickly penetrated Barack Obama's inner circle and became his senior foreign policy adviser during the 2008 campaign.Now she is a member of the National Security Council, and according to media reports, successor to Hillary's throne. There's only one problem: Power is an anti-Israel fanatic and a myopic internationalist who couldn't care less about doing what is right for America.Not only does this ignore the fact that the human rights abuses in the Israel-Palestinian conflict have been almost universally attributable to the Palestinian Arabs, it throws our liberal democratic ally under the bus. But then again, Power is used to throwing allies under the bus. She, along with her NSC colleague Ben Rhodes, reportedly told President Obama to undercut Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in order to please the Arab street.Pleasing the Arab street seems to be first priority for Power. It was Power, along with Hillary Clinton and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who pushed President Obama to go to non-war in Libya. Her fingerprints cover this abortive military operation. The problem in Libya isn't that we have no exit strategy -- it's that we had no entrance strategy, no definable goals or reasons for being there.That is, no reason except for prevention of "genocide" as broadly defined by Power. Each time Obama cites the prevention of genocide as a rationale for intervention -- even as Muslims slaughter Christians wholesale in Darfur, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, and kill non-radicals in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- Samantha Power's ventriloquism shines through.Power is yet another theory-first, know-nothing liberal who places her vaguely cotton candy ideals above realistic appraisal of American interests. Unfortunately, her asinine ideas have disastrous real-world consequences. Consequences about which President Obama does not care, apparently. When it comes to the White House, idiocy loves company.Hmmmm......May God protect Israel and those who side with her.Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.Obama’s Islamic Envoy Getting a Pass… Again.As the American media debates whether a small Florida pastor’s actions have enflamed the Muslim world, a member of the Obama administration may have done far more damage when he spoke in Kabul, Afghanistan recently. Yet, Obama’s envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Confernce (OIC), a devout Muslim who has memorized the Qur’an, Rashad Hussain continues to fly under the proverbial radar. Why?General David Petraeus has condemned the actions of pastor Terry Jones but has said nothing of Hussain’s speech, which only served to encourage Islamic fundamentalists who endorse the murdering of innocents in Afghanistan recently in response to the Qur’an burning. In his February speech, Hussain said:

“I am of the opinion that one of the strongest tools that you can use to counter radicalization and violent extremism is Islam itself, because Islam rejects violent extremism.”

Regardless of one’s interpretation of Islam, fundamentalists in Afghanistan interpret such words coming from an envoy representing the White House as justification for outrage in response to Jones’s actions, especially when Islamic law calls for such violence when the Qur’an is defiled. Wasn’t our mission in Afghanistan supposed to be about freedom?The actions of an obscure pastor from a Florida church with a flock numbering in the double digits were met with scorn from our Commander in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a man with curious ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, who fed far more fuel to Islamic fundamentalists with words he spoke – in Afghanistan – on behalf of the President of the United States, got a pass.Last year, news broke that Rashad Hussain gave a speech at a Muslim Students Association (MSA) event in 2004, during which he expressed support for convicted Islamic terrorist fundraiser Sami al-Arian. Hussain blamed the publication and denied saying the words attributed to him. Then, POLITICO obtained a recording of the event and reported it.Hussain was caught in a lie and had to backtrack; he was not fired. One year later, he was in the Capital of Afghanistan preaching that his brand of Islam – which includes sympathy for a convicted terrorist – should be promoted in that country.The MSA is a group that resides under the Muslim Brotherhood umbrella. In light of the pass Hussain received last year, the pass he’s receiving this year, and the disturbing world view the Obama administration official holds, isn’t the derision being directed at Terry Jones’s actions by our commander in Afghanistan grossly disproportionate in light of what’s known about Hussain? A General in the United States Army is choosing to attack a small Florida pastor while having no words for someone with far more power doing far more damage on the ground in Afghanistan.Indeed, isn’t it interesting that in virtually every Islamic uprising that’s been taking place lately, the actions of this administration with respect to the likes of Egypt and Libya coupled with its inaction in places like Iran, United States policies have consistently come down on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood? Perhaps that also explains the words of condemnation Petraeus has for Jones’s actions and the lack of words he has for Hussain’s.Hmmmm....."To protect the constitution"?Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Confirmed: Israel behind Sudan airstrike; Saudis involved?Time Magazine Jerusalem bureau chief Karl Vick claims to have confirmed that the IDF was behind the air strike on Wednesday at Port Sudan in which Hamas' chief arms procurement agent was allegedly killed."This is absolutely an Israeli attack," Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti told reporters. He found in the air strike evidence of a plot to keep Sudan on the State Department's list of countries that support terror.Now wouldn't that be something if Israel had gotten permission to overfly Saudi Arabia on the way to the Sudan?On Thursday, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida reported that jailed Gazan engineer Dirar Abu Sisi gave Israeli intelligence 'valuable information' that led to the attack on the arms smugglers. According to the source, Abu Sisi passed along the sensitive information to Israel during his remand since he was abducted by a train in Ukraine last month.The source also told Al Jarida that Israel received valuable information on smuggling routes and cells operating from Sudan, through Egypt, and to Gaza, from a 'network' of southern Sudanese refugees who have migrated to Israel. Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• IDF arrests at least 100 women in West Bank village. News sources quote council head as saying soldiers entered Awarta after midnight, imposed curfew, rounded up dozens of women from homes. The IDF arrested more than 100 women from the Awarta village in the West Bank in connection to the ongoing investigation into the deaths if a couple and three of their children, including one baby, in the Itamar settlement last month, AFP reported Thursday. Awarta lies close to the Itamar settlement and Nablus. The local council head told AFP that the IDF had stormed Awarta shortly after midnight, imposing a curfew and beginning to round up women. Though the IDF has been conducting consistent raids in the last four weeks since the Itamar murders, this is the first time the IDF has arrested women, the local council head added.The IDF was yet to comment on the operation.Hmmmm....sounds like someone is doing a serious DNA investigation.Read the full story here.

• Turkish mission in Libya, NATO's missile defense program 'inter-linked'.While a European Union diplomat has linked Turkey’s involvement in Libya operation and the proposed missile defense shield for NATO, Turkish diplomats deny such a link, saying they are ‘two different concepts'.NATO’s deliberations over the Libya mission and Turkey’s involvement witnessed tough bargaining over recent weeks as a Western diplomatic source said the Turkish role and its contributions were loosely linked to the proposed missile defense system being debated by the trans-Atlantic alliance.“I think they are two inter-connected issues,” a European Union ambassador told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, requesting anonymity.He said Turkey was pressing hard for NATO, not the United States, to take command of the missile defense system set out in the alliance’s strategic concept adopted at last year’s Lisbon summit.About the Libya operation, Ankara, which was initially reluctant for NATO to be involved, changed its approach and provided one of the two NATO headquarters for monitoring the no-fly zone in the crisis-hit North African country. The Turkish base in İzmir was one of the two headquarters that NATO was planning to shut down last year.A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomat, however, denied such a link, saying that they were “two different concepts.”Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, was the subject of discussions over a potential NATO missile defense system originally proposed by the United States during the Bush administration. It is unclear whether Turkey will actively participate in the proposed system directed against Iran, which much of the international community considers a threat due to its controversial nuclear program.In previous statements, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had laid down Turkish principles saying that Turkey was at the center of NATO; NATO should take into account “indivisible security,” meaning that the alliance should preserve each and every member state’s security; and Turkey does not perceive any threat in its neighborhood and does not plan to be a frontier country as it was during the Cold War era.The United States has often portrayed the missile defense system as a safeguard against a possible ballistic strike from Iran. At the time of the discussions about the strategic concept, Ankara was concerned that such a perception could damage its growing relationship with its neighbor. To Turkey's favor, NATO’s new strategic concept eventually avoided identifying any specific neighboring country, whether it be Iran or Syria. But it is still unclear if Turkey will allow the deployment of such a system in its soil and who will be in the command of this system.Hmmmm....It's becoming very obvious that Turkey will never act against Iran or perhaps will act with Iran against the West and America!Perhaps weakening NATO as we speak!Get Turkey out of NATO!Read the full story here.

• Turkey - Absolute’s democracy.There is a demand from the people of this land who are aware what democracy is for Turkey moving on to an “absolute democracy” while the bitter reality biting souls clearly underline the existence of an “Absolute’s democracy” or some sort of a “democratic governance” which is shaped at the discretion of the sole executive, decision-maker, legislator and indeed family planner.The army of opponents of the secular democratic Turkish republic’s founding principles or the Kemalist ideology often claim that Turkey moved on to democratic governance with the 1950 elections and the period in between the creation of the republic in 1923 and Turkey moving on to pluralist parliamentary democracy in 1950 was an era of dictatorship.As regards hegemony of political party leaders on the choice of the electorate, however, definitely, Turkey has a serious problem. On June 12 millions of Turks will go to the booths to elect their representatives. But, will they be voting for the candidates of their choice or the candidates already chosen by the party leaders?“I will make use of the friends I will leave outside of [candidate] lists at duties at the party headquarters,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told parliamentary deputies of his Justice and Development Party, or AKP, this week. That short sentence is indeed the summary of the “fiasco democracy” that this country has. The ruling party claimed to have established its candidates through works of first six commissions. But, the prime minister says “he will make use” of those current deputies “he will” leave outside candidate lists. What he said was indeed a reaffirmation of the existence of a crooked democracy of absolute leaders – whatever it might be – in this country.Right, Erdoğan has publicly reaffirmed that he is the sole executive, decision-maker, legislator in short everything in the AKP. Are other party leaders, including the social democratic Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. much different than Erdoğan in view of their current performances? Yes, in less than a quarter of Turkish provinces Kılıçdaroğlu “allowed” his Republican People’s Party, or CHP to determine candidates through by-elections, but the CHP as well mostly prepared its candidate lists at the party headquarters. Not only there is a prime minister who believes he has absolute power but we have party chiefs who consider themselves “absolute leader.”The 10 percent threshold bans minority views from Parliament, leaders decide who should be the deputies to represent the nation, a court bans an unpublished book, over 60 journalists are behind bars (some allegedly of trying to stage a coup with their pens or typewriters). And, we still call this country a democracy? What an absolutes’ democracy!Hmmmm....Welcome to Turkey....Iranian style!Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.Obama’s New Energy Policy: A Lesson in Stealth Socialism.His speech and policies utilize the bait-and-switch.President Barack Obama, facing political heat and plummeting poll numbers inevitably generated by rapidly rising gasoline and energy prices, is calling for a one-third reduction in oil imports over the next decade. How will this potentially laudable — but likely farcical — goal be accomplished?By boosting domestic energy production, offering incentives to increase the use of biofuels and natural gas, and making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient.

According to the AP and Fox:

Obama long has said the U.S. needs to reduce its dependency on oil — particularly from overseas sources — for financial, security and environmental reasons. In his State of the Union address in January, he set a goal of having 80 percent of U.S. energy come from clean sources like wind, solar and nuclear by 2035.

But what about domestic oil production?

The administration says it still sees vast opportunities to expand on domestic oil and gas production. An Interior Department report released ahead of Obama’s speech Wednesday said more than two-thirds of offshore leases in the Gulf of Mexico are sitting idle, neither producing oil and gas nor being actively explored by the companies who hold the leases. The department said those leases could potentially hold more than 11 billion barrels of oil and 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

And what about nuclear energy?

Officials said Obama also would reaffirm his support for nuclear power, which has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan severely damaged a nuclear power plant there.One might initially be tempted to see this as an admission of past failings and the adoption of new, rational policies to lower energy prices for Americans, but it is no such thing. In Clintonian fashion, it depends on what the meaning of “boost” is, but this is primarily one of the oldest cons in the book: bait-and-switch.Mr. Obama, as I’ve previously argued in these pages, is provably a socialist, but a particularly American kind: a stealth socialist. Stealth socialism is a matter of tactics. Stealth socialists, recognizing that an open Marxist agenda will never fly with the American people, adopt a patient, long-term strategy whereby they attain the same goals but through misrepresentation, misdirection, lies, and bait-and-switch. These are, coincidentally, the tactics of the con man. Having been a community organizer, Mr. Obama is particularly adept at these tactics and with the use of the primary vehicle for their implementation: rhetoric.

In Radical-In-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism, Stanley Kurtz carefully and convincingly documents stealth socialism and Mr. Obama’s full immersion in it. Stealth socialists are careful never to allow themselves to be known as socialists, which is certainly Mr. Obama’s practice. Mr. Kurtz does what the media would not do in 2008, and still scrupulously avoids: he investigates and reports on Mr. Obama’s associations, motivations, and the truth of his policies.Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.OBAMA: Get Used To High Gas Prices. “Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.”High gas prices aren’t a bug, they’re a feature.

UPDATE: Rapid Reaction: I got an email from Haley Barbour’s office with this reaction: “Instead of changing his policies, President Obama is trying to blame the American people for skyrocketing gas prices by saying they should trade-in their cars.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Michael Broderick writes:

“Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.”I was confused when I clicked the link on your page and couldn’t find this quote. So I googled the quote. It shows up in all the google hits but when I click on those articles, it’s nowhere to be found. Looks like AP scrubbed it from all copies of the article! Nothing like a compliant media, eh? Hope you got a screenshot.

In fact, I did. And a good thing, because the story’s been almost completely rewritten. But the “memory hole” doesn’t work very well any more. Here, for the sake of history, is the story as it used to be. And if anyone from the Associated Press would like to email me to explain this change, I’m all ears.Hmmm....Don't drill......higher oil prices ...sell electric car?Read the full story here.

• Obama's friend Robert 'Bobby' Titcomb arrested in Hawaii prostitution sting.One of President Obama's close friends has been arrested in an prostitution sting operation.Robert 'Bobby' Titcomb, 49 - a long time friend of the President - was arrested after he allegedly approached an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute in the downtown area of Honolulu.Titcomb was one of four arrested during the sting, according to the Honolulu police department.The news could not have come at a worse time for Mr Obama, who has just launched his 'billion dollar' 2012 re-election campaign.Police have been conducting undercover operations in the downtown Honolulu area after reports from general public that the area was a hotbed for prostitution.Titcomb, 49, of Waialua, was arrested on suspicion of solicitation Monday night. He allegedly offered money for sex near the intersection of South Street and Pohukaina Street at about 9:40 pm.According to Hawaii News Now, Mr Obama and Titcomb have been close friends since high school and the pair often get together to golf and dine when the President visits the state.Titcomb has spoken to the press about the President on several occasions.Titcomb's father was a well known judge on the island for over 30 years, before he died in 2000 of a heart attack.Hmmm....A man is known by the company he keeps?Read the full story here.

• HRW report says PA abuses journalists.Harsh report from Human Rights Watch exposes abuse, harassment of journalists at hands of Palestinian Authority, Hamas security forces. The Palestinian Authority is happy to boast that it operates according to the values of democracy but when it comes to freedom of the press they seem to have followed the example of the Arab dictatorships.A harsh report published Wednesday by Human Rights Watch exposes the harassment, abuse and arrests of journalists in the West bank and Gaza Strip by Palestinian Authority and Hamas security forces.The report documents the testimonies of journalists who were beaten and arrested for no apparent reason. Some noted that among other things, Palestinian Authority officials confiscated their equipment. The report also expresses harsh criticism towards the Palestinian leadership for not acting to prevent the beatings and harassment, or trying to punish those that carry out the acts. This is why the report determined that the actions taken against the journalists reflect Palestinian government policy. Moreover, the report reveals that reporters in the Palestinian territories have become part of the ongoing struggle between Fatah and Hamas. As attempts of reconciliation between the two factions increased in recent months – so have the number of attacks carried out by security forces against members of the press. In one of the cases described in the report 15 members of plain-clothes Hamas' security forces raided the Reuters news agency offices in the Gaza Strip, smashed computers, beat journalists, aimed a weapon at one journalist and threatened to throw another journalist out the window.Freelance journalists that are suspected of researching articles critical of the Palestinian Authority are arrested and interrogated. For example, the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) detained Muhannad Salahat, a freelance journalist and filmmaker, when he was returning to the West Bank from Jordan without telling him why he was being arrested; he was detained for two weeks without charge in Jericho. According to Human Rights Watch deputy director of Middle East and North Africa division Joe Stork, Palestinian security forces are becoming notorious for intimidating journalists who are just trying to do their jobs. He says both rival Palestinian governments need to end what he calls "blatant attacks on free expression" Hmmmm.....Obama friends 'the Palestinians'and the Turks guess what they both have in common?Read the full story here.

• HT:BNI.IVORY COAST: Barack Hussein Obama demands Christian President step down so Muslim challenger can take over.In the Ivory Coast it was reported that forces loyal to the Muslim led forces of Alassane Ouattara have just massacred between 800 and 1,000 Christians.The United Nations, the U.S., the African Union and the U.K. renewed calls for Gbagbo, 65, to hand power over to Ouattara, 69, whom they recognize as the winner of the nation’s first vote in a decade. Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo is contesting the results of the election.However, in the new democratic world order of President Obama, the European Union and United Nations, this will not infringe on them supporting Alassane Ouattara and the massacre of up to 1,000 Christians will bite the dust before the dust is even settled.In Abidjan the military forces who are loyal to the Christian leader, Laurent Gbagbo, were attacked by a joint operation of United Nation forces and the French army. This will lead to deadly silence in the so-called “Muslim street” because just like Bosnia, Cyprus, and Kosovo; the “Muslim victim card” does not wash and Christians are once more expendable while power games are being played in higher circles.Read the full story here.

• HT:ThePage.Trump’s Hawaii Investigation.Magnate tells “Today” he has people in the Aloha State conducting on-the-ground research into the president’s birthplace.

MEREDITH VIEIRA: So, is the time right now for you?

DONALD TRUMP: Well, the time certainly is right. We’re a laughing stock as a country throughout the world. We’re being taken advantage of by other countries

DONALD TRUMP: I am saying I want to see the birth certificate. It’s very simple. I want to see the birth certificate. How come his own family doesn’t know which hospital he was born in? How come-- forget about birth certificates. Let’s say there’s no birth certificate. How come in the hospital itself, okay? This is one of the…in the hospital itself, there’s no records of his birth. In other words, it doesn’t say how much they paid, where is the doctor, here’s your room bill. You know, all the

MEREDITH VIEIRA: You’ve been privy to all of this to know this?

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I have people that actually have been studying it and they cannot believe what they’re talking.

MEREDITH VIEIRA: You have people now out there searching-- I mean, in Hawaii?

DONALD TRUMP: Absolutely. And they cannot believe what they’re finding. And I’m serious--Read the full story here.More here .

• NBC’s Brokaw: Saudis ‘So Unhappy' With Obama They Sent Emissaries to China, Russia Seeking Enhanced Ties.(CNSNews.com) – Reporting from Baghdad, Iraq yesterday, NBC’s Tom Brokaw said the Saudi Arabian monarchy is “so unhappy with the Obama administration for the way it pushed out President Mubarak of Egypt” that it has sent senior officials to the Peoples' Republic of China and Russia to seek expanded business opportunities with those countries.After remarking on the difficulty of establishing democracy in the Middle East, Brokaw said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates “will face some tough questions in this region about the American intentions going on now with all this new turmoil, especially in an area where the United States has such big stakes politically and economically.”“And a lot of those questions presumably will come from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,” reported Brokaw on the Nightly News. “I was told on the way in here that the Saudis are so unhappy with the Obama administration for the way it pushed out President Mubarak of Egypt that it sent high level emissaries to China and Russia to tell those two countries that Saudi Arabia now is prepared to do more business with them.”Brokaw continued, “Back here in Iraq, the political and the economic situation remains fragile. So fragile that the U.N. secretary general is worried that this country could now see massive protests in the streets once again.”Earlier in his report, Brokaw noted that while U.S. military forces are supposed to leave Iraq at year’s end, the U.S. Embassy staff was being beefed-up from 8,000 to nearly 20,000 personnel.“So Iraq is a reminder of just how difficult it is to establish a democracy in this part of the world,” said Brokaw. “After all, we've been at war here for eight years now, hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent, and thousands and thousands of lives have been lost on both sides.”Hmmmm.....Don't you love how the world has become a better place with dear leader on the helm?read the full story here.

• Muslim Student Attacks UN Rights Council for Anti-Israel Bias.Muslim student Amran Hussain, speaking on behalf of the European Union of Jewish Students, recently spoke out for Israel a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, where he castigated the Council for anti-Israel bias.“Why is Israel consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation on the grounds of human rights violations, yet the world turns a blind eye to the human rights situations in the Arab countries …or the Far East...or Africa?” he asked.Hussain told the Council he came to the session “to remind you of the moral obligation we all have here today to protect the only country in the world whose very existence is constantly under attack."The world was very quick to condemn Israel for defending itself from unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. I ask you, what about the human rights of Israeli Jews, Israeli Muslims [and] Israeli Christians living constantly in fear of attacks from Hamas."He added, ”There are members of the international community present today who do not even accept the existence of Israel…. Hussain says that he is “an active campaigner for human rights and justice all over the world [but] has always remained disheartened by the disproportionate and unfair focus of the Human Rights Council on Israel, the disregard to human dignity for Israelis and the ignorance shown to some of the worst human rights violators around the world.”Hmmmm.....Brave guy!Read and see the full story here.

• Goldstone to face libel suit.MK Danny Danon enlists help of Jewish-American lawyers to file libel lawsuit against South African judge following his retraction of his Gaza war report. MK Danon: Report is '2010 version of blood libel'.Judge Richard Goldstone is expected to stand trial for libel following his retraction of his Operation Cast Lead report, in which he accused Israel of war crimes.Knesset Member Danny Danon (Likud), currently in the United States, has enlisted the help of a number of Jewish-American attorneys who agreed to file a lawsuit against the South African judge at no charge. A petition will be filed with a New York District Court next week, in which the plaintiffs will demand a formal apology and a symbolic financial compensation for the State of Israel. A second lawsuit may be filed in an Israeli court if Goldstone arrives in Israel.The decision to file the lawsuit is a direct response to the judge's op-ed in the Washington Post in which he claimed his report caused significant damage to the State of Israel in the United Nations and internationally.Despite his retraction, Goldstone announced he does not intend to try and nix the report."The Goldstone Report is the 2010 version of a blood libel. The twisted image Goldstone painted of the State of Israel caused damage, is still causing damage and will continue to damage Israel and its citizens for years to come. A public apology published in every country might lessen the harm already done," Danon explained.Hmmmm....You can not undo the damage done.Read the full story here.

• Turkey Offers to Mediate Between Iran and Arab Gulf States Over Bahrain Crisis. (CNSNews.com) – Turkey’s foreign minister visited Bahrain on Tuesday but did not publicly voice support for the small Gulf nation’s decision last month to invite troops from Saudi Arabia and other neighbors to help restore stability.Instead, it was left to his Bahraini counterpart, Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, to defend the decision and fend off Iranian charges that the arrival of the Saudi forces was akin to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.“I hope they [the Iranians] realize that what is going on in Bahrain is different from what is going on in their minds and stop such statements that do not help in strengthening relations,” Khalifa said at a joint press conference with the Turk, Ahmet Davutoglu.On the eve of his visit, Davutoglu spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart. According to Iranian state media, the two stressed the importance of Bahrain resolving its current crisis – anti-government protests that erupted in mid-February – “without foreign interference.”Shi’ite Iran has accused Sunni Saudi Arabia and other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of helping Bahrain’s minority Sunni rulers crack down on the island’s restive Shi’ite majority. Iran also accused the U.S. of giving the go-ahead for the Saudi deployment.For their part, GCC members say it is Iran that is stoking the unrest in the strategically-significant Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and just 150 miles from the Iranian coast.Iran has historical links with and territorial claims to Bahrain (an advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2007 described Bahrain as a “province” of Iran and said Bahrainis wanted to be ruled by Tehran).The turmoil has raised some concerns about the prospect of the replacement of the Sunni monarchy that has ruled for more than two centuries with an Iran-friendly Shi’ite government.The role Turkey may play remains unclear.Seeking to exert its leadership in the region, Turkey – like Iran an Islamic but not Arab Middle East country – has established closer ties with Tehran in recent years, to the dismay of its allies in NATO.It has also offered itself on occasion as a mediator – between Israel and Syria, Syria and Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Israel and Hamas, Iran and the West, and, just this week, between the Libyan regime and anti-Gaddafi rebels.Davutoglu said Tuesday the crisis in Bahrain was an internal affair, but added that Turkey would be willing to mediate between Iran and the Arab states of the GCC if asked to do so by both parties.Hmmmm....Turkey the NATO 'ally' that never was an ally,but Iran's shadow?Read the full story here.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Does Government Own Your Remotely Backed Up Computer Files, Your Emails, or Your Cell Phone GPS Info?By Warner Todd Huston.Did you know that there are no laws to prevent government agencies from raiding your computer’s remotely hosted back up files, your third party emails, your cloud computing files, or your cell phone GPS location records? Well, there aren’t. As the law stands today government can go into your private computer files or trace your cell phone location without a warrant. As a result of this lapse in protection form unlawful search and seizure a new group of concerned parties intends to change the law with the Digital Fourth Amendment campaign.The problem is not necessarily that government is out to steal all our computing information, but that the laws have simply not caught up to today’s technology. The laws that cover how policing agencies and governments can access your emails, computer files, and cell phone GPS records are currently governed by rules that are decades out of date. These rules were written in the 1980s, long before the Internet came along, before cloud computing was invented, before email, and well before cell phones that could track your whereabouts became pervasive.

You see, today all your personal information that is stored in third party storage space is not considered to be the kind of personal property that would require a court-issued warrant for government to access. If you have email stored at Google, if you use a cloud computing service, or if you have a third party data back up service it is all open for government to view without a warrant because it is in the actual possession of a third party. Currently none of these computer records are considered your private records. This also holds true for cell phone GPS location records. As the law stands today government can access your cell phone location records and find out where you’ve been and all without a by your leave from the courts.The Digital Fourth Amendment campaign aims to change that and bring the laws against unlawful search and seizure into the digital world of the 21st century.Hmmmm.....Democracy or Dictatorship?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Tribesmen Should be Permitted to Take Revenge Against the U.S. for Drone Attacks; The Time has Come for Pakistan to Exit the War Against Terror.

On March 17, 2011, a day after CIA contractor Raymond Davis was released by a Pakistani court under a blood-money deal, U.S. drones fired four missiles in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, a Taliban and Al-Qaeda sanctuary. At least 38 people, including civilians and policemen, were killed in the attacks. Davis's release came as anti-U.S. protests were at their peak in Pakistan, threatening to further seriously damage Pakistan-U.S. relations. The drone attacks further ignited the anti-U.S. sentiments in Pakistan.

Following the drone attacks, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a key commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban), threatened to break a peace accord agreed to with the Pakistani military since 2008. The tribesmen belonging to the affected area held a press conference in Peshawar, allegedly at the behest of Pakistani officials, and vowed to wage jihad against the U.S. if the drone attacks did not stop. In an unprecedented step, Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani also formally criticized the U.S. drone attacks, while in protest Pakistan pulled out of the tripartite talks involving the U.S. and Afghanistan in Kabul.

A few days later, the Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat interviewed former Pakistani military officer Brigadier (retired) Mahmood Shah, who has served as secretary of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) of Pakistan. He has also served as chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In addition to serving in senior positions in the Pakistani military and government, Brigadier Shah is also a well-known columnist and commentator on political and security issues in Pakistan. In the interview, the former Pakistani officer urged the Pakistani establishment to give a clear message to the tribesmen to that they have a right to avenge the U.S. drone attacks.

''Instead of Making the Tribes Declare Jihad, the Situation would Turn in Favor of Pakistan If the Government Announces that These Tribesmen have Full Rights to Take Revenge''

Question: ''Has the government made the tribesmen declare jihad to stop these attacks?''

Brigadier (retired) Mahmood Shah: ''Instead of making the tribes declare jihad, the situation would turn in favor of Pakistan if the government announces that these tribesmen have full rights to take revenge. Now with the announcement of jihad by these tribesmen, some of the Taliban might join hands with them and the whole issue might go into the hands of these tribes, creating problem for the government. This is a very delicate situation.''The government should use this opportunity in its favor and should consider its options. It should break its tripartite treaty with the U.S. [and Afghanistan] and recall its ambassador from Afghanistan. At present the government has taken a step in this direction by not participating in the tripartite conference in Afghanistan but it should consider more such steps. It is an opportunity to get out of the U.S. net because America has done much oppression. Presently, Pakistan has a golden opportunity to do so.''The situation in the tribal areas could change; the course of movement there could be changed. If Pakistan gets out of this tripartite alliance, there would be peace in the tribal areas. If the U.S. viewpoint is that it can advance up to North Waziristan in its defense, then the [Pakistani] government should announce that these tribesmen have a right to defend themselves and take revenge from the U.S.'' Hmmmmm....Sounds like those tens of Billions of Dollars did not help Mr President.Read the full story here.