MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Iran Live Blog : 25 Bahman / 14 February. "The Bloody Valentine's Day Massacre "? Here .
• Opposition: Iran police arrest dozens of protesters.(Video) Security forces fire teargas to disperse thousands of opposition supporters chanting 'Death to the dictator' while marching toward Tehran square; dozens arrested during clashes with police in central Iran. Clinton slams 'hypocrisy' of Iranian government.VIDEO - Dozens of Iranian opposition supporters were arrested on Monday while taking part in a banned rally in Tehran to support popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, an Iranian opposition website said. "Witnesses say in some parts of Tehran security forces arrested dozens of protesters," opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi's Kaleme website reported.Security forces fired teargas to scatter thousands of opposition supporters marching toward a Tehran square, a witness said. There were also clashes between police and demonstrators, resulting in dozens of arrests, in Isfahan in central Iran, the country's third largest city, another witness told Reuters.The rallies amounted to a test of strength for the reformist opposition, which had not taken to the streets since Dec. 2009, when eight people were killed.The demonstrators marched towards Azadi (Freedom) Square, a traditional rallying point for protests in central Tehran dominated by a huge white marble arch. Hundreds of marchers also gathered in Isfahan and Shiraz, witnesses said.Turkish President Abdullah Gul, on a visit to Tehran, called on Middle Eastern governments to listen to the demands of their people, although he did not refer to Iran."We see that sometimes when the leaders and heads of countries do not pay attention to the nations' demands, the people themselves take action to achieve their demands," Gul told a news conference alongside Ahmadinejad.Speaking to reporters after meeting House Speaker John Boehner on Monday, Clinton said she and others in Barack Obama's administration "very clearly and directly support the aspirations of the people who are in the streets" of Tehran.Hmmmm......Obama silent.....The Islamic extremists are already in charge in Iran no need for "Change"?Read the full story here.

• Man charged in killing of Pakistani politician gets Valentine's gifts | CNN.Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Supporters of an accused assassin of a Pakistani politician brought him Valentine's flowers and cards Monday, the same day a judge charged him with murder and terrorism acts, his lawyer said.Pakistani police have said Mumtaz Hussain Qadri confessed to gunning down Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province, outside an outdoor market in Islamabad last month.The suspect was serving as Taseer's security guard at the time of the shooting.Police said Qadri shot Taseer because of the liberal politician's campaign to amend Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws.The charges of murder and committing an act of terrorism each carry the possible death penalty in Pakistan.When the judge asked Qadri to enter a plea, he denied committing a crime, said Raja Shuja Ur Rehman, his lawyer."I acted against a blasphemer per the guidelines of the Quran and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad," Qadri told the judge, according to his lawyer. "I didn't kill an innocent person."Pakistani authorities held Monday's hearing inside the jail where Qadri is being kept for security reasons.Around 50 people stood outside the jail bearing flowers and Valentine's wishes for the accused assassin, his lawyer said.It wasn't clear whether jail officials delivered the flowers to Qadri.Since the shooting, Pakistan's hard-line religious groups have congratulated Qadri and held demonstrations calling him a hero, while condemning anyone who tries to change Pakistan's blasphemy laws.The next court date for Qadri is scheduled for February 26th when the prosecution is scheduled to present its evidence.Hmmmmm.......Come again?Isn't celebrating Valentine Haram for Islam?Read the full story here

• Muslim Brotherhood to form political party in Egypt. In a statement on Monday, Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said it would establish itself as a political party once the Constitution has been amended to allow it to do so.The group asserted its confidence that Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces would meet all its promises pledged in its fifth statement to the nation on Sunday.The group asked the armed forces to declare a timetable for amending the Constitution and holding new presidential elections. It also called for abolishing military tribunals and pardoning all political detainees.It also called for free and fair parliamentary elections under judicial supervision, for abolishing the Emergency Law and forming a new cabinet of ministers approved by the public.Hmmmm......What happened to last weeks "Muslim Brotherhood: 'We are not seeking power"?It's called Al-taqiyya Dhimmi !Read the full story here.

• Obama sends Congress $3.73 trillion budget.President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.73 trillion budget Monday that holds out the prospect of eventually bringing deficits under control through spending cuts and tax increases. But the fiscal blueprint largely ignores his own deficit commission's view that the nation is imperiled unless huge entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are slashed.Obama called his new budget one of "tough choices and sacrifices," but most of those cuts would be held off until after the end of his first term.Overall, Obama proposed trimming the deficits by $1.1 trillion over a decade. The administration is projecting that the deficit will hit an all-time high of $1.65 trillion this year and then drop sharply to $1.1 trillion in 2012, with an expected improvement in the economy and as reductions in Social Security withholding and business taxes expire."Presidents are elected to lead and address big challenges," said Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. "The big challenge facing our economy today and our country tomorrow is the debt crisis. He's making it worse, not better."Even some Democrats complained that Obama needed a more vigorous attack on future budget deficits."We need a much more robust package of deficit and debt reduction over the medium- and long-term. It is not enough to focus primarily on cutting the non-security discretionary part of the budget," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who called for a budget presentation matching the ambition of Obama's deficit commission.Hmmmm.....When will Congress stop this walking, talking and spending doomsday machine?Don't these politicians have any concience on what they're doing to their children ,grandchildren and the future Americans. Read the full story here.

• HT:TheDailyDish.Obama To The Next Generation: Screw You, Suckers.The logic behind president Obama's budget has one extremely sensible feature: it distinguishes between spending that simply adds to consumption, and spending that really does mean investment. His analogy over the weekend - that a family cutting a budget would rather not cut money for the kids' education - is a sound one. We do need more infrastructure, roads and broadband, non-carbon energy and basic science research, and some of that is something only government can do. In that sense, discretionary spending could be among the most important things government could do to help Americans create wealth themselves. And yet this is the only spending Obama wants to cut.To all those under 30 who worked so hard to get this man elected, know this: he just screwed you over. He thinks you're fools. Either the US will go into default because of Obama's cowardice, or you will be paying far far more for far far less because this president has no courage when it counts. He let you down. On the critical issue of America's fiscal crisis, he represents no hope and no change. Just the same old Washington politics he once promised to end.Hmmmm.....By now you could all start your own business in snake oil after the amount he sold to all of you.Read the full story here.

• Obama's drilling moratorium causes major company to go bankrupt.Seahawk Drilling Inc. said it has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to sell its fleet of offshore drilling rigs to a competitor for $105 million.Seahawk, which announced the deal with Hercules Offshore Inc. Friday, has been hurt by a slowdown in Gulf of Mexico drilling after the BP oil spill last April. The government halted drilling in deep waters and imposed tough new rules that have curtained all energy exploration in U.S. waters.Seahawk owns a fleet of 20 jackup rigs for shallow water exploration, while Hercules owns 30 rigs, vessels and other equipment. It also provides drilling services. The deal creates a larger company with a more diverse fleet and greater operational flexibility, Seahawk said.Both companies are based in Houston.Hercules Offshore plans to buy Seahawk's assets using 22.3 million shares of its stock, $25 million in cash to retire Seahawk debt and additional cash for working capital. The Feb. 10 closing price of $3.62 per share for Hercules' stock brings the deal's value to $105 million.Hmmmm...."Change" you can see?Don't worry "together we thrive" over the cliff in to the abbys!Read the full story here.

• What did Davutoğlu mean?Evaluating recent developments in Egypt and the Middle East on CNN Türk on Saturday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said “a common awareness that is outside the nation-state” was emerging in the region. Davutoğlu also characterized this as the “start of a historic turnover” in the Middle East which cannot be rolled back.At first glance this appears an innocent enough remark given that he went on to stress the importance of democracy and the will of the people as this process unfolded. However, a deeper look at this remark may merit a different assessment of what he is saying.It is clear that “a common awareness” is spreading across the Middle East which has the notion of “people power” at its heart. It is also clear that the driving force of this awareness is a demand for justice, equality and higher standards of living. From a secular perspective these are commendable views.However, if one is to take Davutoğlu’s remarks from the perspective of political Islam, it is clear that the hope is that this “awareness” will channel “the democratic will of the people” toward more Islamic regimes, which ultimately have less to do with the notion of a nation-state and more to do with the idea of international Islamic unity.This, at any rate, is Iran’s open desire judging by the statements of the highest echelons of the mullah regime in that country concerning developments in Egypt.If Davutoğlu is referring to the emergence of a common awareness which, while being above the notion of being a nation-state, has at its heart a call for justice and democracy in the universal sense, then there is no problem. If, on the other hand, he is talking of a common awareness that is emerging which has Islamic identity at its core, then there are problems in what he is saying.The notion of “Dar al-Islam” (“the House of Islam”), like the notion of “Christendom” throughout much of European history, is a universal concept as far as orthodox Muslims are concerned. Therefore, it can be debated whether an Islamic outlook on life is in the final analysis compatible with the “nation-state,” which ultimately divides the “House of Islam.”Assessing Davutoğlu’s remarks in this light, one cannot help but wonder if this is what he suggests when referring to an “emerging awareness above the concept of nation-state.” Given the closeness the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, feels toward Islamic regimes and groups, as well as some of its practices at home that upset Turkish nationalists and secularists alike, one is forced to ask this question.We will, as mentioned, give Davutoğlu the benefit of the doubt and assume that what he meant is that a common secular democratic awareness is on the rise in the region, and this is what cannot be rolled back.But he must understand in return that given the AKP’s political outlook, which is based on an Islamic worldview, any remark emanating from the government, such as his words to CNN Türk cited above, cannot be taken at face value.Hmmmmm.......Someone is dreaming of an Islamic Caliphat.And these are Obama's friends.Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Al-'Awlaki to Muslim Journalists: 'A Journalist Is Responsible to Allah for What He Presents to the People'.Keep Exposing the Crimes of the U.S. and Its Agents.Hmmmm.......Now read the next post!Why would he do this?Read the full story here.

• HT:AmericanThinker.Obama administration official urges cable companies to carry Al-Jazeera.AL Jazeera is filled with anti-American propaganda. It is also awash in anti-Semitism. The material broadcast stokes terror and violence.Why would the person who Barack Obama appointed to be the Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Juliette Kayyem, advocate American cable companies carry the channel-a channel that cannot help but inflame tensions and anger and one that is not known for unbiased accuracy.From an op-ed by Kayyem in the Boston Globe: FOR THE past few weeks, a parallel plot line to the revolutions in the Arab world has been playing out in the media. With rare exceptions, the largest American cable and satellite providers simply do not provide viewers access to Al Jazeera English, the cousin to the powerful Qatar-based world news network.AJE has launched a full-fledged campaign - including advertisements quoting, of all people, major US news figures - to convince cable carriers to open their programming. But most have declined: Burlington, Vt., is the closest city to Boston where viewers can see the network on television.AJE's battle with the cable carriers is major news in the Middle East. Not carrying the network sends a message to the Arab world about America's willingness to accept information, unfiltered, from the very region we spend so much time talking about. These television wars began not in Tunisia or Egypt, but in Iraq.We have enough terror apologists in the media already without an entire station devoted to obscuring the truth being beamed in to America's homes.Hmmmm........"I will stand with my Muslim Brothers"?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.A Looming Superpower Clash Triggered by Pakistan.The U.S.-led war against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan has deteriorated into a growing open conflict with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and threatens to rapidly fall into a full-blown war with Pakistan. Signs of such an upcoming clash between Pakistan and the U.S. can already be seen.In anticipation of such a full-scale clash with America, Pakistan is seeking an enhanced role for China on its side, thereby triggering a possible superpower clash, involving the U.S., China, Russia, NATO powers, and other regional players.The ongoing deterioration between the U.S. on the one hand and the ISI-led Pakistani government on the other is on the verge of falling into an open clash.Indeed a clash has begun, both on the battlefields and in the intelligence arena, as witnessed by the following:

The Military Level: Pakistan is Directly Involved in Afghanistan.

The Intelligence Level: ISI is Sabotaging American Intelligence Efforts.

Raymond Davis, an official of the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, was arrested for killing two Pakistani nationals. The Pakistani leaders have said that the two Pakistani nationals were innocent citizens. However, a report in a Pakistani daily has revealed that the two were members of Pakistani intelligence.Hmmmm.......Give them a few Billion Dollars more?Read the full story here.

• "If you want to live under sharia law, go back to the hellhole country you came from or go to another hellhole country that lives under sharia law," said Kanwar, who is a professor emeritus of sociology at Mount Royal University in Calgary.About one dozen families who recently immigrated to Canada are demanding that the Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg excuse their children from music and coed physical education programs for religious reasons.The families believe that music is un-Islamic - just like the Taliban believe and then imposed on the entire population of Afghanistan - and that physical education classes should be segregated by gender even in the elementary years.The school division is facing the music in a typically Canadian way - that is, bending itself into a trombone to try to accommodate these demands, even though in Manitoba, and indeed the rest of the country, music and phys. ed are compulsory parts of the curriculum.Officials say they may try to have the Muslim children do a writing project on music to satisfy the curriculum's requirements. The school officials have apparently consulted the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, and they have also spoken to a member of the Islamic community suggested by those very same Muslim parents.In any event, the school district is trying to find a way to adapt the curriculum to fit the wishes of these families, rather than these families adapting to fit into the school and Canadian culture.Mahfooz Kanwar, a member of the Muslim Canadian Congress, says he has some better ideas."I'd tell them, this is Canada, and in Canada, we teach music and physical education in our schools. If you don't like it, leave. If you want to live under sharia law, go back to the hellhole country you came from or go to another hellhole country that lives under sharia law," said Kanwar, who is a professor emeritus of sociology at Mount Royal University in Calgary.That might be putting things a little more forcefully than most of us would be comfortable with, but Kanwar says he is tired of hearing about such out-of-tune demands from newcomers to our country. "Immigrants to Canada should adjust to Canada, not the other way around," he argues.He makes it clear, that like most Canadians, he is pleased and enjoys that Canada has citizens literally from every country and corner in the world, as it has enriched this country immensely. But it's official multiculturalism - the state policy "that entrenches the lie" that all cultures and beliefs are of equal value and of equal validity in Canada that he objects to."The fact is, Canada has an enviable culture based on Judeo-Christian values - not Muslim values - with British and French rule of law and traditions and that's why it's better than all of the other places in the world. We are heading down a dangerous path if we allow the idea that sharia law has a place in Canada. It does not. It is completely incompatible with the idea and reality of Canada," says Kanwar, who in the 1970s was the founder and president of the Pakistan-Canada Association and a big fan of official multiculturalism. Kanwar says his views changed when he started listening to the people who joined his group. They badmouthed Canada, weren't interested in knowing Canadians or even in learning one of our official languages. They created cultural ghettos and the Canadian government even helped fund it."One day it dawned on me that the reason all of us wanted to move here was going to disappear if we didn't start defending Canada and its fundamental values." That's when Kanwar started speaking out against the dangers of official multiculturalism.Kanwar says for years, some "non-whites like me" have felt comfortable pointing out the failings of official multiculturalism. What's encouraging is that now "whites" or the majority culture and its leaders are starting to sound the alarm.Cameron ended his speech by saying: "This terrorism is completely indiscriminate and has been thrust upon us. . . . We need to confront it with confidence."At stake are not just lives, it's our way of life. That's why this is a challenge we cannot avoid - and one we must meet."Hmmmm......If i would say this would it make me a bigot?Probably yes.....so am i being discriminated?Read the full story here.

• Jordan - 36 Jordanian tribal leaders break silence with unprecedented letter criticizing King Abdullah's wife accuse her of 'serving own interests, stealing money from treasury', warn of uprising similar to Egypt.Will Jordanian Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and her husband be next in line to flee their homeland, as was the case with the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt? In a letter published this week by 36 Jordanian tribal leaders, who represent nearly 40% of the population and play an important role in the kingdom's politics, the Queen was criticized relentlessly.In the letter, Rania was accused of "corruption, stealing money from the Treasury and manipulating in order to promote her public image – against the Jordanian people's will."The tribal leaders compared the queen to the wife of former Tunisian president Leila Ben Ali, who stole from her country's treasury for years, giving her family members vast sums of money and land at the expense of the Tunisian citizens."We call upon the King to return lands and farms given to the Yassin family (Rania's family). The land belongs to the Jordanian people," they wrote. Such a letter criticizing the royal family can lead to a three year jail sentence in Jordan.The tribal leaders warned that if the royal family fails to act quickly and implement the new financial and social reforms and move towards a democratic regime, they will suffer the same fate of Tunisia and Egypt'd leaders. It was also mentioned that Jordan is suffering from "an authority crisis" and from a growing influence of "corrupt businessmen who surround the decision makers, affect political decisions and ignore national interests." The tribal leaders called to "put these corrupt people who stole from the country on trial, regardless of their status.""Sooner or later Jordan will be a destination for a similar uprising like the ones in Tunisia and Egypt because of oppression of freedom and robbing from public funds," said the letter.The tribal leaders accused Rania of "building centers intended to strengthen her status and serve her interests."A Jordanian citizen and a member of a large tribe in the country said that the Jordanian authorities "pressured a few tribes in the past days and told them to be carful what they say to the global media. We're still loyal to the Hashemite crown, but we believe that King Abdullah has to stop his wife and her family from taking advantage of their power, otherwise the crown might be in danger."Last September, Rania celebrated her 40th birthday, and many criticized her for spending an "enormous" amount of money and having a very "ostentatious" party "at the expense of the treasury and the poor."Hmmmm.....Sounds like another "Let them eat cake" story.Read the full story here.

• Bankrupting Terrorism - One Lawsuit at a Time.Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center is an Israeli based civil right organization and world leader in combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes that support them through lawsuits litigated in courtrooms around the world. Fighting for the rights of hundreds of terror victims, Shurat HaDin seeks to bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt - one lawsuit at a time.Hmmmm.....Injustice is relatively easy to bear; it is justice that hurts. ~H.L. Mencken.Read the full story here.

• Turkish comics magazine apologizes for anti-religious joke.Popular weekly satirical Turkish comic magazine Penguen has apologized for a caricature featuring what many called irreverently anti-religious content after reactions from Muslims.In the graphic panel in question, a member of the crowd praying at a mosque calls God from his cell phone and asks if he can leave early because he has an errand to run, while the rest of the crowd looks at him in shock. A sign on the mosque’s wall reads, “There is no Allah – Religion is a Lie.”The caricature was scanned and shared on the Internet on Sunday night by thousands of people on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, raising a lot of criticism and anger. The magazine released an explanation Monday afternoon apologizing for the work. The explanation stated the work was not the cover caricature, the only caricature that reflects the consensus of the publication. The statement noted that artists are free to write or draw anything on their own pages: “We may or may not like a single caricature, but it is important to preserve this area of freedom in general. We are respectful toward the criticism, too. We are sorry about the reactions to this caricature. We apologize to those people who perceived [the caricature] as disrespectful.”Hmmmmm.......Not only the Danish cartoonists are in danger it seems.Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Egyptian Opposition Leader Ayman Nour Calls for Referendum on Camp David Accords.Ayman Nour: Much can be said about the Camp David accords. We believe that we should abide by our international commitments, but we should also make the others abide by our rights and by their own international commitments. With regard to the Camp David accords in particular, the situation is complicated. In practice, the Camp David accords have come to an end. More than 30 years have passed since this agreement was signed, and many things on the ground require amendments. These amendments must be conducted in keeping with the interests and decisions of the Egyptian people. We will not impose anything on the Egyptian people, but I personally believe that if it were up to me, I would ask to conduct a referendum among the people with regard to this agreement, and we would abide by the decision of the people. We want true participation of the people, and to gauge the people's position on all the significant issues, one of the most important of which is the Camp David accords. Some people believe that this agreement is a thing of the past, and that it must be developed in a correct manner. They believe that some of the terms are humiliating to the Egyptian side. I belong to this group of people. Other people believe that the Camp David accords give Egypt certain guarantees on the ground, and that these must not be jeopardized at present. I don't maintain this position, but at the end of the day, my opinion is not the only one that counts. We should hold a referendum.Hmmmm.......Wel done Mr President.Read the full story here.

• Saudi had 1,115 family violence cases in 2010.Saudi Arabia had nearly 1,115 family violence cases in 2010 and most of them were against females, according to official data.The capital Riyadh had the worst record, with nearly 425 officially registered cases, the ministry of social affairs said in a report.The report, published in local newspapers, showed 979 of the cases were against females and that bodily harm topped the list of family violence cases in the Gulf kingdom.“Other main cases involved psychological harm, sexual assault and verbal attacks,” the report said.Hmmmm.......these are the reported cases?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheAmericanThinker.A Tipping Point Is Nearing.We are facing a tipping point. There will soon be a crisis affecting US citizens beyond any experienced since the Great Depression. And it may happen within the year. This past week three awful developments put a dagger into the hope for a growth-led recovery, which held promise of possibly averting a debt and currency implosion crushing the American economy.The first was a little-noticed, but tragic, series of events in the newly elected House of Representatives. The speaker, Mr. Boehner, had given the task of fashioning the majority's spending cut agenda to Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), a rising conservative star representing the vocal wing of fiscal conservatives in the House. Promising to cut $100 billion of government spending, Mr. Boehner spoke before the elections of the urgency to produce immediately when Republicans took control.Unlike the Great Depression, however, we will enter such a shock in a weakened state, with few producers among us and record mountains of debt. More cataclysmic is the specter of inadequate food, as less than 4% of us farm, and those that do may cease to be as productive or may not accept devalued currency as payment, should the tipping point be crossed. Corn and wheat prices in the U.S. have nearly doubled in less than 12 months, using our rapidly evaporating currency as the medium of exchange.The time for action has passed, which may only become apparent as the "aid" of easy money becomes seen as the harm that it is. May we all be spared the worst, but I offer no such prayers for those responsible. The harm that comes will be swifter, and more severe, than most of them thought possible.Read the full the story here.

MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Egypt volatile situation - Al Jazeera English - Live Streams From Egypt ! Here .
• Egypt protests on Twitter!  here.
• Liveblog - Egypt's protests erupt. here.

• Al Qa'ida group calls for jihad in Egypt.AL-QA'IDA front group The Islamic State of Iraq has called on Egyptian protesters to wage jihad and push for the establishment of a government based on Islamic law. The statement, which appears to be the first reaction of any group affiliated with Al-Qa'ida to the ongoing protests in Egypt, was issued on jihadist forums on February 8, the US-based SITE monitoring service said.The message, addressed to the protesters, says that the "market of jihad" has opened in Egypt and "the doors of martyrdom have opened," and every able-bodied man must participate.The group urged Egyptians to ignore the "ignorant deceiving ways" of secularism, democracy, and "rotten pagan nationalism.""Your jihad," the message said, is in support of Islam, the weak and oppressed in Egypt, for "your people" in Gaza and Iraq, and "for every Muslim who was touched by the oppression of the tyrant of Egypt and his masters in Washington and Tel Aviv," read a translation of the text provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.Hmmmm....."Change".Read the full story here.

• World tallest man looking for other half. Sultan Kösen from Turkey’s Mardin province, who currently holds the Guinness World Record for tallest man in the world, said he would like to get married and start a family, speaking to journalists from his hospital bed on Wednesday. Kösen is being treated for acromegaly, a disorder caused by too much growth hormone in the body. Kösem said he wanted to get healthy first and then lead a normal life. He said he wanted to start a family but would need to find a job first to be able to provide for his family. “I need a job first and then I can get married and have children. Aren’t such things also my right?” he asked.“I have the biggest hands in the world. These hands have the capacity to do everything. My hands are 29 centimeters long. My feet are 40 centimeters long, my shoe size is 60.”He said he would like to marry someone preferably from the same culture, language and religion as himself.Kösen first contacted Medicana International Ankara Hospital on Dec. 16, and was admitted for long-term treatment three days later. The hospital has provided a special-sized bed for the 2.47-meter tall, 147 kilogram man and is covering his treatment expenses.Read the full story here.

• HT:PajamasMedia.Democracy or Jew-Hatred? More Evidence of Anti-Semitism at the Egypt Protests.There is massive evidence to be found in the Western media of anti-Semitism and “anti-Zionism” at the Egypt protests. But images in the flickr streams of amateur local photographers are even more shocking and unambiguous.In response to my PJM article documenting anti-Semitic imagery at the Egyptian protests, I’ve received several comments — both in public and in private — suggesting that, nevertheless, anti-Semitic and/or “anti-Zionist” sentiment among the protestors has played only a marginal role. The assurances to this effect are typically based on the first-hand accounts of Western observers or English-speaking participants with Western contacts. These accounts are supposed somehow to trump the clear pictorial evidence to the contrary.The appearance of anti-Semitic and/or “anti-Zionist” motifs in the photos and videos of the protests is, however, simply too widespread and systematic for such assurances to reassure. Such images are to be found in video and photographic material from virtually every major Western news organization present in Egypt. This fact is all the more significant when one considers that the reports published or broadcast by these very same news organizations have as a rule outright ignored any anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli sentiment among the protestors. Indeed, as will be seen below, even more outrageous images figure prominently in the flickr streams of amateur local photographers.Herewith further evidence.Read and see the full story here.

• Turkish PM warns Israel not to mess with a Muslim state.'Erdogan: Israel must not intervene in Egypt's matters'.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that "Israel must under no circumstance interfere" in what is happening in Egypt, Turkish daily Huriyyet reported.Speaking to a group of reporters at the opening of a "friendship bridge" between Turkey and Syria, Erdogan said he had made this point to US President Barack Obama and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, adding that they should intervene to stop Israel should it be "inclined to meddle in Egypt in a last-ditch effort to try and turn the tide against the anti-Mubarak demonstrators," Huriyyet reported.The Turkish paper analyzed Erdogan's statement, saying that it indicates that Israel and Greece "are likely to cozy up to each other in an effort to give the appearance that they are standing together against Turkey."Also on Tuesday, Egypt sent an official letter of protest to Turkey on Tuesday about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments on the protests in Egypt.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit wrote to his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu that Egypt reject's Erdogan's call for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign.The letter explained that Egypt sees these words as intervention in internal matters and incitement.Gheit also called on Turkey not to publish more statements that can harm the relations between the two countries.Read the full story here.

• WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices.US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40%.The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand.However, Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at the Saudi oil monopoly Aramco, met the US consul general in Riyadh in November 2007 and told the US diplomat that Aramco's 12.5m barrel-a-day capacity needed to keep a lid on prices could not be reached.According to the cables, which date between 2007-09, Husseini said Saudi Arabia might reach an output of 12m barrels a day in 10 years but before then – possibly as early as 2012 – global oil production would have hit its highest point. This crunch point is known as "peak oil".In the last two years, other senior energy analysts have backed Husseini. Fatih Birol, chief economist to the International Energy Agency, told the Guardian last year that conventional crude output could plateau in 2020, a development that was "not good news" for a world still heavily dependent on petroleum.Jeremy Leggett, convenor of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security, said: "We are asleep at the wheel here: choosing to ignore a threat to the global economy that is quite as bad as the credit crunch, quite possibly worse."Hmmmmm........We have heard about Peak oil before ,meanwhile it comes at a convenient time to push the electric car agenda?Read the full story here.More here and here .

• HT:Newsbusters.Chris Matthews Calls Palin 'A Cuckoo Clock' and Gingrich 'A Mortal Enemy to Our Civilization'.Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Monday that MSNBC's Chris Matthews "seems to be slipping out of touch with reality."On Tuesday, the "Hardball" host proved Armey's point by calling Sarah Palin "a cuckoo clock" and Newt Gingrich "a mortal enemy to our civilization" (video follows with transcript and commentary).Read and see the full story here.

• Marmara hits stage in anti-Israel play.'We are presenting Israel's inhuman actions against Palestinians,' says director of play on flotilla raid."Our goal is not to allow anyone to forget the Zionist raid on the Marmara and to remember the suffering of the Palestinian people, who are being tormented by Israeli actions," explained director Avşin Bedir.He added that in preparation for the play, he and the 22 actors watched footage from the Marmara raid as well as "torture videos from US and Israeli interrogations". Bedir added, "When the tape ended I was left alone in the classroom. No one could stand to watch the videos to the end."The director added that during the raid, he had rushed to the Israeli embassy in Istanbul. "I felt like my hands were tied while the army murdered innocent people. As part of the Muslim people, we are glad there were martyrs on board the Marmara, and we want to do our part," he said.Rafael Sadi, spokesman for the Organization of Turkish Immigrants in Israel, explained that the anti-Israeli trend in Turkey is proliferating."Not all Turks think this way, and many far from it, but unfortunately this is what the government displays out of political aims. Thus, a play which could have been marginal is receiving a lot of press. Many youths are exposed to this incitement and the de-legitimization of Israel gets worse," Sadi said.hmmmmm.......Indeed "The lights went out not only over Europe but over all civilised people"it's time for Israel to realise that Erdogan's hatred for Israel is only Matched by Ahmadinejad's hatred.Read the full story here.

• Oxford University students secretly served Muslim halal meat.Hundreds of students at Oxford University were fuming after learning they had been secretly served Muslim halal meat.Toff students were not warned their meals came from animals that were slaughtered by having their throats slit without being stunned.The killing method ordered by Islamic law has been condemned as ”barbarically cruel” by animal rights groups.But a Freedom of Information request revealed 17 colleges at Oxford University routinely served up meat from animals butchered using the halal method.Catering firm Field Fresh Farms, which supplies food to the colleges including posh St Catherine’s and Brasenose, confirmed the meat was halal prepared.Students expressed outrage their food had been halal prepared without their knowledge.A Brasenose undergraduate said: ”It’s absolutely outrageous. We eat our food on good faith the animal has not undergone undue suffering.”This is a huge deception, whatever your religious views people have a right to know where their food came from.”Muslims would expect to be informed if the food on offer was not halal, it is only right for non-Muslims to be treated with the same courtesy.”Another student told Cherwell: ”I don’t like the idea that we have been eating halal meat without knowing.”I don’t object to it on principle because it’s part of the Muslim religion and that’s fair enough, but we should have been told so that we could make an informed choice. ”Some people might not want to eat halal meat for ethical reasons, and they should be given the option not to.”Hmmm.......A not so "kosher" story?Read the full story here.

• "Life or Death in Iran's prisons".Imprisoned Protester Dies of Kidney Failure After Being Denied Treatment.After 1 year, 2 months and 26 days of imprisonment, another Green Movement supporter, Arash Arkan, has died of a kidney failure three days after he was hospitalized.According to Iran-Emrooz, Arash Arkan died at the Baghiyatollah hospital at around 2pm on January 29th after a deterioration of his health condition in prison. He was recently granted a prison leave after his kidney disease worsened in Evin, but was soon called back to prison depriving him from receiving the medical attention that he required. Soon after his return to prison, Arkan’s condition deteriorated and just three days prior to his death, he was taken to Baghiatallah hospital—associated with the Revolutionary Guards—where he passed away due to kidney failure.Arash Arkan was arrested on 4 November 2009 while helping a protester who was being chased by the police for having taken pictures from an opposition protests close to Vali-Asr Square in Tehran. According to Iran-Emrooz, Arkan, who had realised that a young protester was in danger of being arrested by Iranian security forces for the sole “crime” of filming the unrest using his mobile phone, quickly intervened and attempted to trip one of the security forces to allow for the protester to flee the scene. Although Arkan’s heroic act helped his fellow Iranian to run away, it wasn’t enough to to save himself from the batons of the police forces present at the scene.It is noteworthy that Arash Arkan’s lawyer was convinced that conducting interviews with foreign television stations and publicising the case would further complicate the situation and damage their case, which is why the plight of this particular prisoner was never reflected in both the Iranian as well as the international press.When Arash was freed from prison for a few days prior to the court’s decision, he was asked, “If you could go back in time, would you be prepared to help that youngster again?”“Without hesitation,” replied Arash Arkan.Hmmm....These are the real martirs PM Erdogan why don't you speak up now??Read the full story here.

• HT:Csmonitor.Are you smarter than a US diplomat? Take our Foreign Service Exam.Diplomats working for the US Foreign Service are responsible for carrying out the policy of the United States. In order to serve at one of the 265 US diplomatic missions around the world, applicants must pass a series of examinations. The tests consist of a job knowledge test, English language test, essays, oral exams, and a qualifications panel. Our 20 questions are modeled after the job knowledge portion of the Foreign Service Officer's test. The real examination consists of 60 questions and is administered over 40 minutes. Think you know enough to become a US diplomat? Take our quiz.Take the quiz here.

• Obama’s Claim That He Did Not Raise Taxes Is Rejected As ‘Blatantly False’ by Taxpayer Watchdog.President Obama’s assertion on Sunday that he “didn’t raise taxes once” is “blatantly false,” a taxpayer watchdog group says. Obama made the claim in his pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. According to Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), President Obama has signed into law at least two dozen tax increases. The first one – a federal tobacco tax hike – came just 16 days into his presidency. ATR says the $1 trillion health care overhaul alone added numerous taxes, including the individual mandate that requires most Americans to purchase health insurance or else pay a fine.The health care law also includes a tax on medical device manufacturers, as well as a higher tax on withdrawals from health savings accounts and a cap on flexible spending accounts. Other taxes in the health care law cited by ATR include a surtax on investment income, an excise tax on comprehensive health insurance plans, a hike the in the Medicare payroll tax and a tax on indoor tanning services. On Feb. 4, 2009, Obama signed a federal tobacco tax hike, raising the excise tax 62 cents per pack. Critics, including ATR, said that tax alone violated Obama’s campaign pledge not to raise taxes on couples earning less than $250,000 and on individuals earning less than $200,000. During Sunday’s interview, Bill O’Reilly asked Obama if he is “a man who wants to redistribute wealth,” as The Wall Street Journal has described him. The president denied it, again saying, “I didn't raise taxes once; I lowered taxes over the last two years.” “Over 90 percent of the dollar value of the tax cuts Obama signed into law are only temporary,” said ATR. “100 percent of the tax increases Obama signed into law are, however, permanent … Permanent changes to tax law signed by Obama amount to a net tax hike of $618.7 billion.”Hmmmmm.....What he says and what he does are two different things.....Anyone in need of snakeoil?Read the full story here.

• HT:JudicialWatch.Obamacare Defense Initiative Secretly Funded.A top Democratic adviser convicted in a major political scandal as a legislative aide will help lead a new initiative to defend President Obama’s highly unpopular healthcare overhaul. Despite her shady past, the consultant (Tanya Bjork) was hired by Obama to head his 2008 presidential campaign in Wisconsin. Now she’ll join forces with another one of the president’s top campaign strategists (Paul Tewes) to fend off Republican criticism of Obamacare through the 2012 elections. Although the president has filled many sound bites chastising special-interest money in politics, funding for the new group is being kept secret. It’s fair to assume however, that the payroll will be quite exorbitant considering the players involved in the new Obamacare defense initiative are high-profile Democratic “political consultants” who command big bucks for their work. Organizers assure they’ll operate independently of the White House and Democrats in Congress, though they acknowledge that they will “be in communication with them.” This may be difficult to swallow considering the cause and who’s running the momentous new enterprise, which is expected to be headquartered a stone’s throw from the Oval Office. The healthcare law defense initiative will be largely headed by Tewes, a key figure in Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and the man credited with his shocking Iowa Caucus victory. In fact, Tewes is touted by his Washington D.C. consulting firm (New Partners) as the guy who launched “Obama’s historic campaign” by building the “largest grassroots organization in caucus history.”After working on Obama’s presidential campaign Wisconsin’s former governor, Democrat Jim Doyle, awarded Bjork with a six-figure job to lead the state’s federal lobbying effort. The move ignited fury among government watchdog groups that claimed corruption was still prevalent in state politics.Hmmm.....A Man Is Known By The Company He Keeps?Read the full story here.

• UAE strategic food stock is very low.Stockpile is enough only for 10 days compared to six-month international rate: FNC.The UAE’s strategic food stockpile is so low that it will last for only around ten days, far below the accepted international rate of six months to one year, the Federal National Council (FNC) has said.Concerns about the low food stockpile in the second largest Arab economy were the main topic of a debate by the FNC’s foreign affairs, planning and oil panel at its meeting on Tuesday, the Arabic language daily 'Emarat Al Youm' reported on Wednesday.“The country’s strategic food stockpile is sufficient for only 10 days…this poses a major threat in case of emergency or a crisis that could disrupt the UAE’s food imports,” the panel said.“The UAE currently does not have a food stockpile on par with accepted international norms, which stipulate that the stock should cover a period of six months to one year…the present supplies at all cooperative societies will last only for 10 days.”According to the panel, the UAE’s food consumption is growing by as fast as 12 per cent a year because of the high population growth. It noted that the country is still heavily reliant on farm imports despite efforts to achieve self sufficiency in some products, with such imports providing nearly 68 per cent of the country’s total food needs.The UAE is the largest food importer in the Arab region after Saudi Arabia, with its farm bill exceeding $eight billion in 2010.Read the full story here.

• HT:InvestigativeProject.CAIR's Self-Serving Third Jihad Complaint. The Council on American-Islamic Relations' protest that the documentary The Third Jihad smears Muslims reveals more about CAIR's desire to hide its record than any concern for the civil rights of Muslim Americans.Narrated by M. Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim who challenges groups such as CAIR, The Third Jihad details how CAIR was created shortly after a secret 1993 meeting in Philadelphia involving members of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee. Their goal was to lead opposition to the 1993 Oslo accords and generate support for Hamas, the terrorist organization that now runs the government in Gaza.Records of that October 1993 conference, which was tapped by federal law enforcement officials, detail how CAIR's founders Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad were present as the group discussed the need to create a pro-Hamas advocacy group that would not be tied publicly to Hamas. Shukri Abu-Baker, then the president of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Hamas financial support arm, explained the idea. "We will form an organization for you to show the Americans that you are … [unintelligible]," he said. "It will be made up of some of our people, our beloved ones, and let's not hoist a large Islamic flag and let's not be barbaric-talking. We will remain a front so that if the thing happens, we will benefit from the new happenings instead of having all of our organizations classified and exposed."In testimony, FBI case agent Lara Burns said CAIR was created after the Philadelphia meeting and pointed to an exhibit which shows CAIR listed on a Palestine Committee agenda within weeks of its 1994 creation.The FBI cited that evidence in explaining why it cut off formal communication with the group. "Until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS," FBI Assistant Director Richard C. Powers wrote in April 2009, "the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner."The Third Jihad also shows CAIR officials refusing to denounce Hamas or Hizballah as terrorist organizations and cites an internal Muslim Brotherhood document submitted in the federal trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development that shows how the Brotherhood wants to create a global Islamic state.CAIR officials, it seems, have never seen a documentary, article or planned congressional investigation of radical Islam they consider "unbiased." Nor, it seems, have they found any law enforcement investigation of radical Islam worthy of their support. All of which makes it quite troubling that the leaders of the police department in the city most victimized by radical Muslim terrorists would roll over so easily.Hmmmm......Congressman King has still loads of work ahead.Read the full story here.

• Gingrich "The Muslim Brotherhood is a mortal enemy of our civilization, they say so openly".Gingrich says Obama administration 'amateurish' on Egypt. Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he's "concerned" about the Obama administration's handling of the situation in Egypt and what he sees as a divide between the White House and diplomat Franks Wisner."I think the fact that they appointed a very able diplomat Frank Wisner and within two days were publicly contradicting him is you know so amateurish," Gingrich told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. "I was with John Bolton (former ambassador to the United Nations) last night. He said it's inconceivable that they would be this clumsy and this out of sync. I mean just with themselves, forget the Arab world. They can't even get the White House and their special envoy to be on the same page."Gingrich also said he's worried that the United States might reach out to the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition Islamist umbrella group in the country."I think this is absolute total misreading of history. The Muslim Brotherhood is a mortal enemy of our civilization, they say so openly," Gingrich said."Reagan did what he believed in when he thought it was right," Gingrich said. "I frankly try to study Reagan and (Margaret) Thatcher and (Abraham) Lincoln because I think they were the great truth tellers of modern politics, sometimes when telling the truth people in the establishment go nuts because it's not the truth they want to hear."Hmmm......There's nothing more dissturbing then the naked truth.Read the full story here.

• Main tribal groups say queen Rania spends while Jordanians suffer.Jordan tribes criticize queen's role in politics.Jordanian tribal figures have issued a petition urging King Abdullah to end his Palestinian wife's role in politics, in a new challenge to the monarch grappling with fallout from uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.Evoking comparisons with the wives of Tunisia's former strongman Zine al Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, the signatories attacked Queen Rania's Palestinian origin and accused her of using state funds to promote her image abroad without concern for the hardship of ordinary Jordanians.The 36 figures are drawn from conservative East Bank tribes who form the backbone of the Hashemite monarchy's support -- as opposed to Jordanians of Palestinian, or West Bank, origin who are the majority of the country's seven million population."She is building power centers for her interest that go against what Jordanians and Hashemites have agreed on in governing and is a danger to the nation and the structure of the state and the political structure and the institution of the throne," the petition said."Disregard for the content of the statement will throw us into what happened in Tunis and Egypt and what will happen in other Arab countries," it added.Publicly attacking royal figures is taboo in Jordan under tough sedition or lese majeste rules that limit discussion of Jordan's royal family.But the signatories, drawn from within the ruling hierarchy's chief tribal groups such as the Bani Sakhr, Abadi, Shobaki and Manaseer, said their concern for the country and throne had prompted them to speak out.The signatories said the legitimacy of Jordan's Hashemite monarchy, which claims descent from Islam's Prophet Mohammad, depended on the consent of the East Bank tribes.Mindful of the status of the monarch, Faris al-Fayez, who helped draft the petition, told Reuters the statement emphasized that aside from the monarch there should be no "legal immunity for any corrupt person regardless of his title."The petition is the most sweeping personal attack on the 40-year-old queen since East Bank fans at high profile soccer match chanted slogans denigrating her Palestinian background and even urging the monarch to divorce her.Political analyst Labib Qamhawi said Rania's Palestinian background meant she was an easy target for critics seeking to portray her as non-Jordanian, even though she is not the first queen to hail from outside the East Bank. King Hussein -- Abdullah's father -- had four wives, none of them East Bankers.Hmmmm......."It's" Spreading faster and more contagious then the flu.Read the full story here.

• House seen blocking healthcare funds.The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote to block funding for President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul when it takes up a budget plan next week, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said on Tuesday."I expect to see one way or other the product coming out of the House to speak to that and to preclude any funding to be used for that," Cantor said at a news conference, referring to an effort to block implementation of the health-care law.House Republicans aim to pass a spending measure next week that would immediately cut at least $32 billion from the government's $3.7 trillion budget in an effort to trim budget deficits that could hit an estimated $1.5 trillion this year.A move by Republicans to block healthcare law funds will help set the stage for partisan battle over spending that some lawmakers fear could lead to a government shutdown.Hmmmmm......Und Der Führer ("the Leader") will say i don't care for your petty laws?Read the full story here.

• Michelle Obama defends Super Bowl menu: Healthy eating about "moderation".WASHINGTON--First Lady Michelle Obama, discussing healthy eating the day before the first anniversary of her "Let's Move" anti-obesity campaign, defended the White House Super Bowl menu which included bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers
 and deep dish pizza.The point is balance, not deprivation, Mrs. Obama said at Tuesday lunch with reporters who cover her East Wing. "I like to talk about my obsession with French fries because I don't want people to think that "Let's Move" is about complete, utter deprivation. It is about moderation and real life changes and ideas that really work for families, today's families too.It is not necessary or "realistic" to eat healthy food every day and Super Bowl Sunday is a day made for an exception, Mrs. Obama said."I don't even know what you'd have other than some hot dogs and some burgers for a Super Bowl party. That's what Super Bowl is, so the message has always been about balance."Hmmmmm.......It's OK for me ,but bad for you paupers?Read the full story here.



• GM Said to Pay Union Workers Bonuses of More Than $3,000.Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. may pay its 53,000 unionized hourly U.S. staff record profit-sharing checks of more than $3,000 per worker, two people familiar with the plan said.The company hasn’t determined a specific amount and may change its plans after completing accounting for 2010, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans haven’t been publicly disclosed. GM’s previous highest payout was $1,775 in 1999, according to the Center for Automotive Research.Sharing the U.S. auto industry’s prosperity will be a focus of contract talks this year between the United Auto Workers and GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. UAW President Bob King has said he aims to recover some of the $7,000 to $30,000 in concessions each worker gave up since 2005 to help U.S. automakers survive the worst market in decades.“This is probably more than workers were eligible for so that they’ll feel good going into negotiations, which makes this a pre-signing bonus,” said Sean McAlinden, a former auto worker who’s now chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Lump-sum payments like this could make up 12 percent to 15 percent of compensation in the next contract.”Hmmmm......How about Sharing with those unemployed taxpayers who bailed your sorry ass out?Read the full scandal story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.UNESCO asked to declare terror attack site a World Heritage site. As part of its drive for 'statehood,' the 'Palestinian Authority' has asked UNESCO to declare Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity a World Heritage site. It would be the first World Heritage site in the 'Palestinian territories' (That's the Washington Post's and the AP's determination - I'm glad to see they admit that Rachel's tomb is not part of the 'Palestinian territories'. Yes I screen captured the page). The Palestinians say they asked UNESCO in January to place the Church of the Nativity on its list of the world's most important cultural sites.No sites under Palestinian control are on the list because Palestinians do not have a state recognized by the U.N.Palestinian officials say they hope the site's overwhelming cultural significance will sway member states to approve the request. A decision is expected in mid-2012.Tourism Minister Khouloud Daibes said Monday that the request is part of the Palestinian campaign to build their state.Explain why Christians accounted for upwards of 90 percent of Bethlehem for years until the Palestinian Authority took control of the city in 1995. Immediately Christians started fleeing the city. Now the population is about 20 to 25 percent Christian. Just what caused the vast majority of Bethlehem's Christians to flee right after the Palestinians took control?Hmmmm.....Yes please by all means elaborate?Is it perhaps something similar to Egypt's Christians their problems?read the full story here.

• IDF says enlisting hackers.Spokesman tells panel on internet 'as strategic weapon' army wants 120 'new media fighters'.IDF Spokesman Avi Benayahu said Tuesday that the army is currently in the process of enlisting "new media fighters".Benayahu told a panel on the subject of "the digital medium as strategic weapon" that the army was searching for "little hackers who were born and raised online". "We screen them with special care and train them to serve the state," the spokesman told the panel, which was part of the Herzliya Conference.He added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally supporting the venture and that he had supplied a budget of NIS 6 million ($1.63 million) for the enlistment of 120 soldiers."This is about the democratization of information, and about the fact that you cannot stuff information down people's throats but you can make it more palatable."Read the full story here.

• Digging on Temple Mount 'to Erase Traces of Jewish Altar'.Muslim religious authorities are concluding a clandestine eight-month dig on the Temple Mount that is intended to erase traces of the Jewish Temple's Altar, Temple activists charge.The digs have been taking place under the Dome of the Chain, believed to have been built over 1300 years ago. For eight months, the dome - which has a diameter of 14 meters - has been surrounded by a metal fence and black cloth, which hide whatever activity has been going on there from outside inspection. The Muslim Waqf religious authority has claimed the activity is simply a refurbishing of the structure, but refuses adamantly to let Jews or tourists near.Jewish activists made various attempts to enter the Dome, but met with no success. In the end, the Our Temple Mount news outlet found an Arab who was willing to take photos inside the compound in return for a handsome fee (see below). The man said that it appears the Waqf has already completed its digs and is now covering the dig with dirt.Our Temple Mount notes that according to Jewish tradition, the place where the Dome of the Chain is located is the spot upon which the sacrificial Altar stood in Temple times. Temple activists said that the Muslim digs are intended to erase the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount.Read and see the full story here.