Does "Moderate" Hanan #Ashrawi Really Believe Jews Use The #Blood of Christians On #Passover?

Does "Moderate" Hanan #Ashrawi Really Believe Jews Use The #Blood of Christians On #Passover?HT: ElderOfZion.(CriticalAnalyst).

We are still waiting for Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian spokesperson, to respond after the vicious Antisemitic article published by her organization, MIFTAH.
Elder of Ziyon writes about Passover blood libel in Hanan Ashrawi's "Miftah" website, noting first how MIFTAH describes itself:

MISSION
Established in Jerusalem in December 1998, with Hanan Ashrawi as its Secretary-General, MIFTAH seeks to promote the principles of democracy and good governance within various components of Palestinian society; it further seeks to engage local and international public opinion and official circles on the Palestinian cause. To that end, MIFTAH adopts the mechanisms of an active and in-depth dialogue, the free flow of information and ideas, as well as local and international networking.[emphasis added]

The key paragraph in the article is:

Much of the chatter and gossip about historical dances Jewish blood in Europe was based on rituals are real and not fake as they claim, the "Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover ..".

As Elder of Zion notes, the author of the article -- who assures us he is a "researcher specializing in Israeli affairs" quotes an Haaretz article by a Bar-Ilan University professor who claimed that a few blood libels could have had a basis in fact, without at the same time revealing that the professor recanted those claims later.
MIFTAH has already removed the offending page. Obviously that is not enough. MIFTAH must immediately acknowledge the vile racism that appeared on its website and publicly repudiate it.

(MORE)
Hey... didn't she date Peter Jennings the anchor of ABC NEWS? Well that explains that coverage.

Here is the Google translation of the original Arabic article:

'Passover' turns to 'tradition' in the White House!
Date Published: 03/27/2013
By: Nawaf al-Zaru

Not only did President Obama during his recent visit to Israel to deliver a speech Zionist political exchange and full-fat Zionist, but he adopted Zionist discourse old traditional, not only to declare allegiance and loyalty, and open support of the entity militarily, economically and in the media and psychology, not only to "beatification" Palestine them, as "Land without a people for a people without a land ", not only also grant Jerusalem them the capital of Israel forever, but went further and deeper than that even adopting the holidays and religious rituals of Judaism, has delivered a speech centrally in front of a crowd of Israeli students to send a message" from the heart to the citizens, "he said he was proud to "convert the Jewish Passover tradition in the White House."Adding: "learn from it daughters traditions" for freedom from slavery, story of migration for African Americans, he said, is to "express the most fundamental way out of slavery and slavery to freedom for the Jewish people, and the journey to the State of Israel promised found between generations is not, and punctuated decades of suffering and exile, massacres and even genocide, and in spite of all that, the Jewish people maintained its unique identity and traditions, as well as long yearning to return home ".. Thus, Obama spoke of the right of Israelis to the land of Palestine ..!!

"At the time when it has achieved stunning successes Jews in many parts of the world, the dream of freedom finally found full expression in the idea of Zionism - to be free at home."

Imagine this piece Zionist biblical heritage counterfeit announced by U.S. President front of students Israelis in an open letter to the world broadcasting live and direct ..? And who was speaking in this text is the Chief Rabbi of Israel and not President Obama, if we read the text alone can not springs to mind that the view is the U.S. President ..?!

Understand that the U.S. President to visit and courtesy, support and strengthen the strategic alliance between the two countries, either to adopt Jewish rituals ..? Why, Mr. President ..?

Imagine "Passover turn into a tradition in the White House!, Does the White House here became biblical school operated by senior Jewish rabbis ..?! Or is it that the White House has become occupied by the Zionist lobby says Uri Avnery ..?!

This is not the first time, it was President Obama himself dealt with the Jewish Passover on previous occasions, as celebrated "Passover" when "called close friends and a number of staff managed to a private dinner at the White House provided through a special meal on the occasion of the Jewish Passover holiday in 2009 , said White House officials "The dinner consists of food have been prepared according to Jewish cuisine, and called Jews and dinner this Seder Passover." and said, "They believe that this the first time that hosts the U.S. president in the White House dinner Jew", and met with a gesture Obama commended by the "National Jewish Democratic Council," which he said in a statement, "through hosted the first feast of Passover Jews in American history, President Obama appears deep personal relationship and that would be built with the Jewish community."

Could it be that President Obama in fact image relationship, for example, between "Easter" and "Christian blood" ..?!

Or "Easter" and "Jewish blood dances ..?!

Or is it just a matter of "courtesy" of the Jewish Council to please him or to atone in front of him for remarks on "two-state solution" and the media escalation studied ..?!

Much of the chatter and gossip about historical dances Jewish blood in Europe was based on rituals are real and not fake as they claim, the "Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover ..".

This fact came to the San Jewish historian Professor "Ariel Toiv" of Bar-Ilan University, in issuing him entitled: "Passover blood" which was released in Italy, has raised this book / recognition / document additional backlash and harsh Israeli Jewish against the author, In his speech from Rome with the newspaper "Haaretz" Hebrew insisted of Toiv on his position on the use of blood by Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages, and said: "I will not give up on the stick to truth and academic freedom, even if Sbanna the world," despite the campaigns condemnation that guided against him, has insisted that the claims made in his book, including some accusations about "blood libel in Europe have a real basis", and the author reveals unveiled stressing: "it enables the dozens of pages, to prove that the issue of blood is central to the festival of Passover, and reach to the conclusion that the use of blood at Easter, especially among Ashkenazi Jews, who believed the existence of medical benefits for the blood of children, and it has used powders made of blood. "

Many questions put on the agenda of President Obama in this context, and in the forefront with regard to the relationship between the "Easter and blood", so why Easter turns into a tradition in the White House, I wonder ..? Is it a compliment or loyalty and meet or bill ..?!

* Palestinian writer and researcher specializing in Israeli affairs, residing in Jordan. - Nzaro22@hotmail.com

Update:  Since the time of its initial exposure by Elder, the offensive post has been taken down, but not before he took a screen capture of the original Arabic text, and the English translation. No apology has been forthcoming. Click here for the story at EOZ, and here and here for the scree captures of the blood libel texts.

Video - The Maccabeats - Les Misérables - Passover

Pres Obama will have to stick to strict Jewish Kosher diet on Israel visit.

Pres Obama will have to stick to strict Jewish Kosher diet on Israel visit.(AA).U.S. President Obama will observe a strict Kosher diet on his visit to Jerusalem this March.

The stringent dietary restrictions are due to the timing of his arrival which coincides with preparations for the Jewish Passover festival.The landmark King David Hotel as changed to a full religious menu in preparation for the start of the occasion, reported The Telegraph on Tuesday.

Passover commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Jews mark the occasion by eating unleavened bread, known as ‘matzah,’ while avoiding foods containing barley, wheat, rye, or oats.

Hotel staff say they will not be able to make an exception for the presidential party.

Obama and his aides can expect their dinner table to be laden with vegetables, while pasta dishes will remain very much off the menu, according to The Telegraph.However, the hotel will operate a 24-hour room service operation throughout the president’s stay.

“We’re used to hosting heads of state and also American presidents, but this situation is very special for us because it’s so close to Pesach (Passover). For us it will be double the preparations,” the hotel0s manager, Dror Danino, told Haaretz newspaper. The imposed diet may pose a trial for Obama, who has been known to enjoy rich foods during political meetings.Hmmm.....Somehow i can't imagine him eating Kosher, he might fly in his own personal chef.Read the full story here.

Guess who's coming for Dinner?

Guess who's coming for Dinner?HT: IsraelMatzav.(JPost).Both the White House and the Prime Minister's Office said Tuesday that President Obama had spoken with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in January about a presidential visit to Israel this spring, which would be the first since Obama assumed the White House in 2009.
“The start of the President’s second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern,” said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.
The trip, however, is widely seen as an effort by Obama to kick-start a moribund peace process between Israelis and Palestinians amidst other roiling regional concerns, such as the Arab Spring and Iran nuclear program.
Vietor said further details about the trip, including the dates, would be released at a later time.
Israeli media reports, however, have identified late March as the expected arrival time. Channel 10 reported that the visit will take place as part of a regional tour also expected to take Obama to Ankara, Riyadh, Cairo and Ramallah.
Obama came under a great deal of criticism for not visiting Israel during his first term, something which many believe would reassure a jittery Israeli public of his support, even though he did visit countries nearby such as Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He was last here as a presidential candidate in 2008.

Well, what a shock. Passover is March 25 - April 1, which means that all those religious Jews who would otherwise come out to demonstrate against Hussein Obama may have better things to do with their time. In fact, it might even be that he'll come the week before when we'll be really busy.

But if he comes during Passover, the traffic will be a nightmare in Jerusalem - worse than usual.
Since Obama will come here, it is less likely that Netanyahu will travel to Washington for the annual AIPAC policy conference in early March, an opportunity Israeli prime minister's usually use to meet with the US president.
That visit, however, was already in doubt because of the possibility that Netanyahu may not have a new government in place by the conference, which begins March 3.
I heard reports on Monday night or Tuesday morning that the Prime Minister would not be going to Washington in March.Meanwhile, new US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to make his first visit to Israel in his new role sometime next week.Hmmm.....Entry of the 'Messiah' in Jerusalem at Passover?All they need is an ass. Read the full story here.

Video - Passover Rhapsody - A Jewish Rock Opera

Passover Video - Breaking Free - The fountainheads.

Tawil and friends celebrate Passover and Jamil and Awad discover the path to victory

MFS - The Other News

                 Afternoon  Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 05. Here .(Al-Jazeera)And  here (BBC).

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

• Latest official Situation Update No. 75.Source .

• HT:Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.The Hot Particle Problem.If one accepts the official view of radiological safety, life would be far easier. Every time there is a release of radioactive particles into the environment, officials issue assurances of safety. In the current Fukushima Event authorities have acted and issued statements assuring people everything is as safe as possible for the general public within the primary fallout zone (which is what the primary zones are). I was disgusted to hear the poor quality descriptions of events on every media for the first week and a half, primarily that of “drifting radioactivity”. Well, radioactivity isn’t some mythical unknown. I wanted to know what the fine particulate matter was which was reported at the time as the “drifting radioactivity”. Was it nuclear fuel? Uranium, plutonium? Was it fission product? That could mean many of the 250 plus substances a nuclear reactor turns the fuel into during fission. Cesium? Iodine? Strontium? It could have been any number of primary or secondary fission products and their decay products. Why did I want to know? 1. If the substance is used by the body, upon internalisation, it will be incorporated into the body. If not a substance used by the body, it will be rapidly excreted. Inhalation hazards exist for all. But the most dangerous are those which are used by the body to build the body, are used to nourish the baby in the womb and the infant at the breast. None of this was covered in the news. A week and half in Dr Grimes had the names of two fission products, Cesium 137 and Iodine I 131 pulled from his lips by an Australiain ABC journalist. (Grimes had been talking about gamma emissions at the plant, the journo wanted the isotopes in the cloud over Tokyo.

Well, how dangerous are hot particles? I’ve covered the “single bullet” versus allowable dose views previously in this blog. Authorities are still talking as if the main threat is an externally contaminated environement – it is – and they are saying the enviironment in most places in the affected immediate fallout zone are safe. Is this correct if a small gram wieght of a radioactive particle embeds itself into one’s tissue? Seeing as you cant leave it behind, like you can a chest x ray machine, or shield from it by hiding behind 6 foot of concrete and lead, can a single track of alpha or several tracks of beta (20 times “weaker” than alpha (as is gamma) according to the experts) do devastating harm.If the contamination deposited by the Fukushima Event in the 200 mile radius admitted to have recieved direct fallout, with 30 miles recieving a lot (Japan) 80 miles a lot (USA) and areas closer in recieving enough to imprison people at one radius and to force evacuation at closer ranges, what does it mean? Its not like a chest x ray or cat scan. The main reason people are being evacuated or forced in doors is to minimise internalisation of the radioactive flecks which, like it or not are normally emitted by nuclear reactors everywhere. In Fukushima they are being emitted on a vastly massively greater scale. No reactor is totally hermetic all the time. When they have blown up, like the ones at Fukushima have, then they will vent radioactive poisons badly. And leak it. Read the full story here.

• Japan - High level of cesium detected in sand lances.Small fish caught in waters off the coast of Ibaraki have been found to contain radioactive cesium above the legal limit.Ibaraki is south of Fukushima prefecture, where the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is located.Ibaraki Prefecture says 526 becquerels of radioactive cesium was detected in one kilogram of sand lances. The acceptable limit is 500 becquerels. It is the first time that higher-than-permitted levels of radioactive cesium have been found in fish.All local fishery cooperatives in the prefecture have agreed to suspend sand lance fishing at the request of the prefectural government.Hmmm.....Exactly which radioactive elements are in the released radioactive water?Read the full story here.

• HT:NaturalNews.EPA to raise limits for radiation exposure while Canada turns off fallout detectors.The mass radioactive contamination of our planet is now under way thanks to the astonishing actions taking place at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. As of last night, TEPCO announced it is releasing 10,000 tons of radioactive water directly into the Pacific Ocean. That 2.4 million gallons of planetary poison being dumped directly into the ocean.

This water is being released because they have run out of places to keep it on land. It's too deadly to transport anywhere else, and all the storage pools around Fukushima are already overflowing. So they're dumping it into the ocean, then calling it "safe" because they claim the ocean will "disperse" all the radiation and make it harmless.But because there's more radioactive water being produced every day at Fukushima, this process of releasing radioactive water into the ocean could theoretically continue for years, easily making Fukushima the worst nuclear disaster in the history of our world.Fukushima, you see, is doing to the Pacific Ocean what BP and the Deepwater Horizon did to the Gulf of Mexico last summer. Except that in the case of Fukushima, that radiation doesn't just disappear with the help of millions of gallons of toxic chemicals. Nope, that radiation sticks around for decades.

So what to do? If you're the United States Environment Protection Agency, there's only one option: Declare radiation to be safe!

Yes indeed, friends, we have reached a moment of comedic insanity at the EPA, where those in charge of protecting the environment are hastily rewriting the definition of "radioactive contamination" in order to make sure that whatever fallout reaches the United States falls under the new limits of "safe" radiation.The EPA maintains a set of so-called "Protective Action Guides" (PAGs). These PAGs are being quickly revised to radically increase the allowable levels of iodine-131 (a radioactive isotope) to anywhere from 3,000 to 100,000 times the currently allowable levels.Canada tries to out-stupid the USA

Ah, the fascination of watching this tragic comedy of errors unfold in the U.S. government almost cannot be exceeded. But Canada is sure trying. Its own nuclear monitoring network has simply been shut off, and its website now reads "Please note that as of March 25, 2011, the frequency of data collection by NRCan using the mobile surveys has been decreased due to the low levels of radiation being detected."Yep, since they're detecting low levels of radiation, this is apparently justification for turning off the monitors altogether, which of course is the kind of brilliant early warning plan that could have only been dreamed up by a brain-dead bureaucrat. Hmmmm....Don't you love how they follow the Chernobyl script?Read the full story here.

• EU Secretly Authorizes Emergency Order Allowing Large Increase Of Radiation In Food.Kopp Online, Xander News and other non-English news agencies are reporting that the EU implemented a secret “emergency” order without informing the public which increases the amount of radiation in food by up to 20 times previous food standards.According to EU bylaws radiation limits may be raised during a nuclear emergency to prevent food shortages.But there is anger across Europe because this emergency order was issued while officials say there is no threat to the food.Foodwatch is quoted “These rules now to bring into force is absurd, because in Europe there are no nuclear emergency, and certainly no shortage of food.”EU imports large increase allowable radioactivity in food from Japan.The European Union has authorized radioactive load in foods in Japan has increased substantially. Until now, a maximum of 600 becquerels of radioactivity (cesium 134 and cesium 137) per kilogram allowed, but since last weekend for example oil or herbal suddenly 12,500 becquerels per kilogram, more than 20 times as high. The increase was recorded in Emergency Ordinance 297/2011 on March 27 and was in force.

While politicians talk about “enhanced control measures” and “special protection standards” is universally silent on the huge increase in the allowable limits in food in Japan. Nevertheless we are reassured with the assurance that we have no worry about radioactive products from Japan.Explain why a 20 times as high value would make no difference for the consumer safety did not come.

According to the Food Watch advocacy does this policy provides greater confidence of European citizens in the EU measures. Food Watch wants an immediate ban on all goods coming from the affected region are Japanese. Incidentally, in Europe there is very little food imported from Japan.Read the full story here.

Hmmmm.......A couple of things bother me. The RFP called for a 10-day supply of meals - for 14 million people. That's 420 million meals. Typically, FEMA maintains a stockpile of about 6 million meals. Why the sudden need to increase the stockpile by 420 million more? Now there's a five day excercise in NY for a 'dirtybomb' .NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.This is only a drill. There is no specific threat.Then there was that letter a few days ago that a number (160) of dirty bombs are spreadout over the US and now this ,i don't like the full picture or we are not being told which elements are in that radioactive waste water and how much...or someone is preparing for a number of dirty bombs to explode very soon.

• HT:WND.GLOBAL JIHAD - CAIR chief's designs to 'run' U.S. revealed.

'Who better than Muslims,' Awad asks, to lead 'Christian-Judeo-Islamic' nation?The same national Muslim leader who's launched an "education campaign" to quell American fears over Shariah law once gave a full-throated speech to Muslims advocating an Islamic rise to power in America.

In a newly surfaced video of a 2000 speech to the Islamic Society of North America, Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Nihad Awad told his Muslim audience: "Muslims in America are in the best position to show Islam and to show action and to show vision – not only for a Muslim school, how it should be run, but for an entire society, how it should be run. Who better can lead America than Muslims?"In the same speech, "Participating in Public Affairs: Strategies for the Year 2000," Awad encouraged Muslim-Americans to be more assertive with U.S. politicians.

"They should be a servant to our issues," he said. "We should be respected." Specifically, Awad advised that Muslim-Americans demand politicians include in their national speeches and party platforms that America is also an "Islamic society."

"This is no longer a Christian-Judeo society," Awad maintained. "It is a Christian-Judeo-and-Islamic society." At the same time, Awad reminded Muslim-Americans that they are still, first and foremost, citizens of the global Islamic nation and should do everything in their power to help their Muslim brothers fighting in Kashmir against Indian Hindus and in the Palestinian territories against Israelis. He suggested they demand U.S. leaders in Washington cut aid to both Israel and India. "We belong to the ummah, and we are an extension of the Muslim world," he said. "We should talk about Kashmir, and we should talk about Palestine." CAIR's founding chairman, Omar Ahmad, moreover, has flatly argued Shariah law should replace the Constitution. "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," he told a Muslim audience in Fremont, Calif., in 1998. "The Quran should be the highest authority in America."Hmmmm.....Obama "Islam is a great religion",Not a single American patriot should vote for this 'Arnold Benedict figure'.Read the full story here.

• Narcist-in-Chief Tells Supporters: I’m The Most Successful President In Last 50 Years.President Barack Obama offered a sober assessment of his 2012 campaign to supporters Monday night, admitting that the “newness” was gone but urging his grassroots troops to organize with the same fervor that propelled him to victory in 2008.On a conference call with hundreds of organizers, volunteers and campaign operatives, Obama played up the threats posed by Republicans to his agenda while boasting of “hav[ing] had the most successful legislative initiative of any president over the last 50 years.”The call was the culmination of a day-long roll-out of his re-election campaign, which began with the 5 a.m. release of a video entitled “It Begins With Us.” That was followed by an email to supporters, the filing of re-election paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and a more exclusive rally-the-troops conference call with top donors conducted by campaign manager Jim Messina.“I’m fired up, I don’t know about everybody else,” Obama said after being patched through by the White House switchboard to a core group of campaign workers that pulled off an upset victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries nearly three years ago and went on to defeat Republican John McCain.Hmmmm.....Most successful in destroying 'the American dream'....Yes!Read the full story here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.Obama, The God That Failed.As someone who has studied, taught, and written about the Middle East for years, I'm the first to concede that President Obama has a tough task. What would I do about Libya if I were president? How about Egypt?

I'm not exactly sure. The situations are complex, with too many daunting unknowns. Chief among them, who, or what, precisely, is behind the opposition? Would a Gaddafi or Mubarak be replaced by Muslim democrats or theocrats, by an Ayatollah, by a Hamas, by a Hamid Karzai, by a Saddam or Sadat, or perhaps by the first Thomas Jefferson in the Arab world?

Of course, my personal struggle with the complexities doesn't matter much. I'm not president. Obama is. And alas, it's here, with Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, that the left once again has failed itself and America in the process.There's a distinct intellectual vacuity among the American left. I'm reminded of a Reagan quote regarding the distant-left cousins of liberals: "Marxist-Leninist thought," Reagan informed, "is an empty cupboard."

So it is. And right now, we're seeing the left empty. After burning down the house of Bush -- torching a good man with every weapon in the smoldering arsenal -- and assuring a Promised Land under Barack Obama, the left appears naked, with no answers anywhere in the cupboard. No water-turned-into-wine, no manna from heaven, no Holy Grail. All that remains are false promises from a false messiah made in the Left's own image. From Iran to Egypt to Libya, there are no solutions. This wasn't supposed to be.Hmmmm....."" Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20). What are the "fruits" according to the Bible? The "fruits of righteousness", see Luke 12:18; 2 Corinthians 9:10; Philippians 1:11. And what is the Biblical definition of "righteousness?"...for all thy COMMANDMENTS ARE RIGHTEOUSNESS"(Psalm 119:172). " Read the full story here.

• US backs Goldstone: Israel didn't commit war crimes.State Dept. concerned with anti-Israel bias in UNHRC. US congressman says he'll personally ask Ban Ki-moon to retract Goldstone Report.Addressing Judge Richard Goldstone's recent Washington Post op-ed, US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said that the US long held that Israel did not engage in war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, in a press briefing Monday. Goldstone wrote last week that Israel did not have a policy of targeting civilians and accused the UNHRC of conducting itself with a bias towards Israel."We've made clear from when the Goldstone Report was initially presented and maintained ever since that we didn't see any evidence that the Israeli government had intentionally targeted civilians or otherwise engaged in any war crimes," he said.Toner also discussed the United Nations Human Rights Council, which Goldstone criticized for having a clear anti-Israel bias. The US remains concerned by "and will continue working to an end to the – what we believe is anti-Israeli – Israel bias in the Human Rights Council," he said.Also on Monday, US Congressman Eliot Engel (Dem.-NY) called on the United Nations to retract the Goldstone Report and said he will personally make a request to that end to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice later this week.Referring to Goldstone's Washington Post op-ed, Engel said, "Now that Mr. Goldstone has seen the error of his ways, it is time for the United Nations to retract the report.""The report was biased against Israel from the very start and I am glad to see Mr. Goldstone retract his earlier false findings," he added. "Perhaps this will stop the international community from rushing to judgment against Israel in the future - but I doubt it."Hmmmm......What will survive Truth or bias?Read the full story here.

• Merkel Stops German Involvement in Tehran Oil Transactions.Under pressure from Washington, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is moving to end German central bank involvement in oil payments between Indian and Iran. The deal had angered politicians in the US who believe Germany had been used to circumvent sanctions against Tehran.The German government reportedly plans to halt an oil deal worth billions of euros between India and Iran -- a deal which involved payments via Germany's central bank -- that had been sharply criticized by the United States government. On Tuesday, the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt cited high-ranking government sources close to Chancellor Angela Merkel stating that the Bundesbank would stop its involvement in the deals. The sources cited by Handelsblatt said the Bundesbank would process payments for oil deliveries that have already taken place, but would not permit further deals in the future. Both the Bundesbank and the controversial European-Iranian Trading Bank (EIHB) had been used by India previously to transfer payments to Iran in a move American officials believed had been designed to circumvent sanctions against Tehran. EIHB, described by some as the "house bank of the mullahs," has been the subject of considerable controversy since the European Union approved stricter sanctions against Tehran in July 2010 under pressure from the US. Officials in Washington believe that the small financial institution is being used to circumvent sanctions. Before Merkel intervened, a spokesperson for the US Treasury Department said Washington had been concerned about reports that the German government had authorized EIHB to process Indian oil payments to Iran. The Bundesbank had accepted money transfers from the Indian central bank, which it then passed along to the EIHB, the money's final conduit on its way to Tehran. Handelsblatt cited unnamed business sources expressing irritation over the government's move because, they claimed, not all of the wire transfers made by the Indians had been intended for Tehran. Business sources told Handelsblatt that part of the money had been intended to cover bills still owed to German companies by Iranian trading partners. An unnamed industry source told the newspaper that "German firms would now be sitting on receivables in the three-digit millions."Hmmmm......Obama’s State Dinner Invite to Merkel Explained.Or is it to get support against Israel?Read the full story here.

• Be Prepared: NYC Conducts “Dirty Bomb” Drill.A week-long series of terror drills involving dozens of agencies and first responders begins Tuesday in the Big Apple. The focus will be on one of the great concerns of the post-9/11 era: nuclear terrorism.The NYPD and 70 other law enforcement agencies across our region will test their ability to detect radiological materials and prevent an attack orchestrated by four fictional terror cells intent on targeting New York City with a “dirty bomb.”“We’ll be manning up to 400 checkpoints throughout the Metropolitan Area to test our ability to intercept radiological material. There actually will be samples of radiological materials,” NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.This is only a drill. There is no specific threat.Kelly said over the next five days, residents can expect to see a heightened presence near bridges, transit hubs, and on the waters around New York City.“The goal is to exercise our capacity to intersect radiological material coming into the city,” he said.The exercise will be supervised by an outside consultant and, with overtime pay inevitable, funded by a federal grant.“We’ve distributed, both in the New York City Police Department and other agencies throughout the Metropolitan Area 4,200 radiation-detection devices,” said Kelly.Particular areas that will be impacted include the Macombs Dam Bridge, the 225th Street Bridge, the 138th Street Bridge, the 155th Street Bridge and the Third Avenue Bridge.The exercise runs through Saturday.Hmmmm.......Perhaps related to the recent FEMA's $1 Billion order of dehydrated food in the event of attacks on domestic targets in the US?Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Why did Egypt's intelligence chief visit Syria?The US and Israel have both expressed concern about a recent visit to Damascus by new Egyptian intelligence chief Murad Muwafi. Mr. Muwafi and others "have a vision for what the relationship [with the U.S.] should look like after the revolution," said Mohammed Ali Bilal, a retired army general who worked closely with Mr. Muwafi. "This is a new era and they should consider the interests of Egypt."Mr. Muwafi's March 18 trip to Syria appears to be an indication of Egypt's changing priorities. Senior Egyptian officials, including Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby, have said in recent weeks they want to repair their country's relationship with Syria, and the timing of Mr. Muwafi's visit coincided with an Egyptian push to restart the Palestinian reconciliation process.Much of Hamas' senior leadership lives in Damascus. Meeting with them could have been the main goal of the visit, U.S. officials said. "I think if we knew more, we'd feel better about it," said the senior U.S. defense official."We are not sure what was the exact purpose" of the trip to Syria, said Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He called the trip "very unusual."Isn't it interesting that the supposed winners of a popular revolution in Egypt would be siding with the tyranny of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus? Hmmmm......What?Ah yes Hillary:"Assad is a reformer"?Assad.......Erdogan.......Obama....Follow the dots.Read the full story here.

• Libyan 'Al-Qaida' rebels set to export oil again 'within hours' in bid to raise $130m to buy arms as ragtag forces are pushed back by Gaddafi.Rebel fighters landed a crucial blow on Colonel Gaddafi's crumbling regime today as they cleared the way to export the country's first shipment of oil since the conflict began a month ago. Gaddafi's dictatorship had churned out some 1.6 million barrels of oil a day and hoarded the proceeds among a tight-inner circle before uprisings spread across the region.But production slipped to a trickle and exports were banned as the international community refused to prop up the north African regime with 'blood money' from oil sales.Now freedom fighters who have captured a string of key oil towns have began moves to restart oil production that could provide millions in revenue for their revolutionary effort.Seizing oil production could be the killer blow that starves Gaddafi of the revenue he has relied upon to maintain an iron grip the country for 41 years.The rebel-controlled Arabian Oil Company has continued to produce around 100,000 barrels a day throughout the fighting but there has not been an international market for it.The first tanker since the conflict began arrived at a port in eastern Libya today to collect a million barrels of oil to be delivered to countries supporting the rebel fight.If the ship was filled to capacity, it could hold a million barrels, each worth $128. That would make the revenue from the first export around $128,000,000, or £78,660,000.The income would be used to procure much-needed weapons and supplies such as food and medical supplies that have been withheld by regime chiefs Tripoli. The Liberia-flagged Equator tanker, capable of carrying around one million barrels of crude oil, is currently off Port Said in Egypt and was expected to arrive at the Libyan port of Marsa al-Hariga, near the eastern city of Tobruk, today.The owner of the tanker, Greek-based Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd, refused to say why their tanker was close to Libya, and traders said they did not know who had chartered the vessel, which can carry a million barrels of oil.At the current trading price of $108 a barrel, a million barrels of east Libyan oil could sell for about $125m, providing much needed income for the rebels' war chest.Hmmmm....Is it not against the Law to do business with Al-Qaida?Read the full story here.

• HT:HotAirPundit.Rachel Maddow: Obama 'Kicked His Base in the Teeth' For Settling on Military Tribunals For Guantanamo Prisoners (Video).MADDOW: “That sort of tells you everything you need to know about how the beltway sees the relationship between the Democratic party and the Democratic party’s base …But a Democratic president kicks his base in the teeth on something as fundamental as civil liberties, he puts the nail in coffin of a civil liberties promise he made of his first full day in office and does it on the first day of his reelection effort? The beltway reaction to that is,-good move…That’s the difference between Republicans.Hmmmm....The Obama doctrine "Don't notice what i say ,watch what i do"!Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.Libyan Rebel Commander: We Want to “Cut Gaddafi’s Throat, Then Establish an Islamic State”.“The Jihadists Go to the Front.” This is the title of French journalist Julien Fouchet’s report from eastern Libya that appears in the latest edition of the French Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD). Whereas American officials have been straining to make out “flickers” of intelligence suggesting a jihadist influence in the eastern Libyan rebellion against the rule of Muammar al-Gaddafi, Fouchet encountered a flagrant jihadist presence and met with participants who talked openly about their dedication to jihad and/or their desire to establish an Islamic state.On the front near the oil-producing town of Brega, for instance, Fouchet spotted a bearded commander on a sand dune giving orders by satellite phone. The man wore the traditional robe favored by the Salafist current of Islamic fundamentalism and had a Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder. “You can’t speak to him,” rebel fighters told Fouchet. “He is not fighting for Libya. If he is fighting today, it’s for Allah.” Fouchet describes seeing imams driving among the ranks of the rebel fighters in a pick-up truck and reciting prayers over a loudspeaker.Further to the east in Darnah, one of the strongholds of the rebellion, Fouchet met a certain Sheikh Choukri Al-Hasy, the director of the town’s principal mosque: the al-Sahaba mosque. As previously reported on PJM, according to captured al-Qaeda personnel records, Darnah furnished more foreign fighters to al-Qaeda in Iraq than any other foreign city or town — this despite the fact that the town’s total population is only 80,000. According to Fouchet’s account, the mosque contains a mausoleum where some 70 companions of the prophet Mohammed are reputedly buried. Seventeen rebel fighters are now buried nearby. “Those who followed the prophet Mohammed were the first jihadists,” Al-Hasy explained. “So, it’s normal that we are burying our martyrs next to them. . . .”Photos taken by Fouchet for the French photo agency Abaca Press show a wall of the mosque covered with portraits of the town’s “martyrs.” The captions to the Abaca Press images reveal a detail that is not mentioned in Fouchet’s JDD report. The “martyrs” commemorated at Darnah’s Al-Sahaba mosque also include locals who died fighting in Iraq.Hmmmm.....Special thanks to "Caliph Obama" for his support?Read the full story here.

• HT:SultanKnish.A Special Message from Barack Obama.Hello American Voter,

They say time flies when you're having fun, and those four years sure went by real fast. Between the golfing and the legislating, the bailing out and the spending, suddenly you stop and wonder where the time went. I was just dancing the night away in sunny Rio, after committing American forces to a war that one of my advisers thought was a good idea, when suddenly it hit me and I stopped the samba and said. "Hey Michelle, isn't it time for another one of those elections."

I like elections myself. And if you're anything like me, you like them too. The campaigns are like this huge party that goes on for a whole year. And then when it's over, they throw you an even bigger party. There's lots of free food, you fly around on a jet plane to all the important states and everyone wants to have their picture taken with you. Some of my advisers are telling me that I might lose this one, but I don't believe that for a second. I mean how in the world could I lose?

Sure some of you are sore about the economy. I don't know why. All my top economic advisers, including that GE guy, say that we're in full recovery. Hell, I've been spending money like crazy. If there was anything wrong with the economy, wouldn't the money just run out? The problem is some of you just ain't educated enough. Now I go on campaign stops to some podunk little town in some state you couldn't normally pay me to visit and see all these dumb idiots standing around and asking where the jobs are. "Where are the jobs at, my man?" The jobs are in government. The canneries ain't coming back. The factories aren't returning from China. If you want to work, you work for the government. Like me.The future is the hustler. Forget jobs and hard work. Anything you can do, a bunch of Asian dudes can do for less. And they'll work longer hours with no benefits to do it. It's not about your technical skills, but your people skills. Everyone's hustling and you gotta hustle the hustlers. Get yourself a brand name. Build up an image. Work the crowds. Get out there and convince people that you got what they need. Make em give you money to do it. I got this one crazy ass Nazi billionaire to fund my grass roots campaign by promising to destroy America. That's how you do it. Play the game. Work your way up to the top. And when you get there, you're me. King of the hustlers.

That's what a campaign is all about. And that's why I love it. The feel of millions of hungry people looking for you to give them hope. And I look right in their faces and promise them that if they just give me another four years, everything will be alright. Sure it will.

Is this the warm sincere smile of a man who would lie to you? Again? No way. Stick with me and you won't even notice when it's all gone.So get organized. Call your friends. Like me on Facebook. Retweet me. Send me money. Shoot videos of yourself supporting me while holding a Nintendo 3DS or an iPad 2 or some other trendy rich kid's toy. Something to show you're a cutting edge guy or girl. And go out there and support me. Get out there and hustle for me. And if you do it real well, someday you might even be me. If there's even an America still around by then.Hmmm....The Obamination?Read the full story here.

• Turkey - EU to take action on Turkish press freedom.The European Commission will convene a special conference in Brussels next month to discuss freedom of expression after a series of events in Turkey and the Balkans that it has termed violations of press freedom.The upcoming conference not only highlights increasing concern among certain political circles in Brussels over the state of the press freedom in the region, but also coincides with a period in Turkey in which press freedom has been a matter of extensive public debate.EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, who is expected to attend the conference, has raised his level of criticism of Turkish press freedom considerably, especially after the recent arrests of journalists in the country.Meanwhile, an Austrian member of the European Council, Evelyn Regner, proposed a parliamentary question in reference to the case of Mustafa Balbay, a prominent Turkish journalist who was arrested in March 2009.The European Council responded to Regner’s parliamentary question by stating that human rights issues, basic rights and freedoms, including the concerns in Balbay’s case, would continue to be monitored in accordance with the due processes involved in Turkey’s accession negotiations.“Turkey’s progress in accession negotiations for EU membership is measured within the framework of these requests,” the Presidency of the European Council said.Hmmmm....Turkey the worst violator of human rights.Keep Turkey out of the European Union!Read the full story here.

• ROOT: Obama might be a socialist.For some reason, most Americans think he is.I ought to know. I was Mr. Obama’s college classmate at Columbia University Class of ‘83. Our college was dominated by socialists and Marxists who hated capitalism and America. Let’s look at the facts up close and personal - Jeff Foxworthy style. Mr. Foxworthy leaves no doubt as to “who might be a redneck.” Let me leave no doubt that “Obama might be a socialist.”

If you believe it’s greedy for American taxpayers to want to keep more of their own money, but not greedy to demand that government confiscate other people’s money and redistribute it to those who didn’t earn it, you might be a socialist.

If you don’t understand (or care) that babies scream and cry the moment they are born because they are already heavily in debt and facing a bleak future and lower quality of life, you might be a socialist.

If the only thing you, your Cabinet members and czars know about business is from books read at Harvard Law School, written by Karl Marx, you might be a socialist.

If you think it’s OK to meet with dictators, bullies, tyrants and terrorist sympathizers without preconditions, but have no interest in meeting with conservatives in Congress, you might be a socialist.

If you think it’s OK to give constitutional rights to terrorists, but not to the bondholders, shareholders and secured creditors of GM and Chrysler when you stole the company from them and awarded it to the unions that bankrupted them, you might be a socialist.Read the full  story here.

• Rabbi calls for sacrifice on Temple Mount.Jews evading Passover mitzvah are risking supernatural punishment, warns Safed's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. The annual attempts to resume the Passover sacrifice received a first significant rabbinical backing recently. Safed's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, a prominent religious Zionism leader, has called on the public to perform the sacrifice mitzvah on the eve of the Jewish holiday, in about two weeks.Speaking during a Halacha lesson in Jerusalem last week, the rabbi warned that Jews evading the mitzvah were risking "Kareth" - a supernatural punishment for transgressing Jewish Law.

According to Rabbi Eliyahu, there is a halachic, legal and public possibility to offer a Passover sacrifice these days. During the lesson, he quoted senior rabbinical authorities, adding that Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher – one of the founders of modern and religious Zionism – had asked the Turkish sultan to allot an area on the Temple Mount for the erection of an altar for a Passover sacrifice. The Safed rabbi went on to say that the Passover sacrifice could be slaughtered in front of the Dome of the Rock plaza, although the Temple no longer exists and the people of Israel are defined as "tameh met" (in a status of impurity which comes from contact with a dead body).

In order to overcome the greatest obstacle, beyond the political problem, an altar must be erected, the rabbi said. He also called for the preparation of "priesthood clothes", which are the only ones in which Kohanim (priests) can perform their work at the Temple.Addressing the legal aspect, Rabbi Eliyahu claimed that every person has the right to perform the commandment of his religion according to his own understanding. He added that petitions filed with the High Court of Justice against the sacrifice were accepted only because the police were unprepared to secure the ceremony. "It's perfectly clear that if the public pressures its representatives in the government or in the Knesset, everything will change. If the judges have ruled that the police must secure simpler protests, why not the Passover sacrifice?" Eliyahu rejected the claim that it was impossible to resume the mitzvah publicly. Addressing the international diplomatic ramifications, he said, "We are being threatened that any movement on our part on the Temple Mount will launch the third world war… (But) we can free our souls of the horror of the gentiles, just like we freed ourselves before the Exodus." He rejected the internal opposition too. "Some fear the public echo of the Passover sacrifice – how will the seculars view it? What will the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say? The truth is that this should not even be discussed…He said his remarks were not lip service, but laws being learned "as a real demand and real preparation for the Passover sacrifice. Although we are not used to it, and have gotten used to living without a temple, we must change our ways." Read the full story here.

• HT:TranslatingJihad.Fatwa: "Allah Restricts Through the State What He Doesn't Restrict Through the Qur'an".Translated from a fatwa by the late Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh 'Abd-al-'Aziz bin Baz, reprinted in almoslim.net, 2 April 2011:

Question: If this is a hadith, explain it to us: "Allah restricts through the State what he doesn't restrict through the Qur'an."

Answer: Praise be to Allah alone, and peace be upon he who has no prophet after him.

This is a well-known saying of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and confirmed by 'Uthman bin 'Afan, the third rightly-guided caliph (may Allah be pleased with him). It is also narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "Allah restricts through the State what he doesn't restrict through the Qur'an." This means that he prohibits the people from committing that which is forbidden, more through the power of the State than through the Qur'an. For some people have weak faith, and are not affected by the restraints of the Qur'an. Instead they deny the Qur'an, and approach that which is forbidden with indifference. But when they know that there is a punishment from the State, they step back, afraid of the State's punishment. For Allah restricts through the State, meaning the punishments of the State--through them he restricts the actions of some criminals more than he does through the Qur'an due to their weak faith, and lack of fear of Almighty Allah. But they fear that the State will persecute them, or strike them, or take their money, or exile them from the country. They fear all of this, so they restrain themselves according to what is prohibited in the Qur'an, due to their weak faith and lack of discernment. There is no strength except in Allah. May Allah reward you well. By Allah comes success, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our prophet Muhammad, as well as his family and companions.Read the full story here.