Where to watch Men's hockey - Gold-medal game: Sweden vs. Canada.

Where to watch Men's hockey - Gold-medal game: Sweden vs. Canada.HT: IBTimes.

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Where to Watch Live: Ice Hockey Final Canada vs Sweden Live Streaming Information.

Canada and Sweden are the two big teams that will fight it out for Olympic gold in the ice hockey final in Sochi on Sunday.


Where to watch live

The game is scheduled for a 4pm local time (5.30pm IST) start, with live coverage on Star Sports Sports 4 and Star Sports HD2 in India. 

In the US, the coverage will be on NBC, with live streaming options HERE, HERE and HERE. 

Catch the action in the UK HERE, HERE or HERE, while Australia viewers can live stream the game HERE. 

Viewers in Africa can live stream the Games HERE. and the match can be live streamed by viewers in Canada HERE. 

Video - Team Canada Beats USA 1-0 In Men's Hockey Semifinal.

Video - Members of the punk band Pussy Riot beaten with horsewhips for trying to perform in Sochi.

Video footage shows five members of the Russian group, dressed in their signature bright colours and head masks, attempting to perform a song under a sign advertising the Sochi games.

At least 10 Cossacks are seen quickly approaching and firing pepper spray at the band members.

When they continue to sing and dance, the Cossacks use horsewhips to strike several of the women and one male supporter.Some were violently unmasked and led away.

Cossacks, who are neither members of the police or the military, have been employed by Russia to maintain order and help patrol the streets in the Krasnodar province, where Sochi is located.The Cossack patrolmen have made no comment on Wednesday's incident.Hmmmm......New definition of 'Pussy whipped'Read and see the full story here.

Video - Trained polar bears amaze in special performances going on in Sochi during the Olympic Games.

Trained Bears Amaze in Sochi

12:23 16/02/2014 Trained polar bears walk on their hind legs and Russian circus acrobats perform amazing stunts in this video on special performances going on in Sochi during the Olympic Games.>>

Other news of the day

Hmmm...'Licence to Kill' - US warns of toothpaste bombs on Russia flights.

US warns of toothpaste bombs on Russia flights.(CNN).

The US government warned American and foreign airlines Wednesday -- just ahead of the Sochi Olympics -- that terrorists could try to hide explosives in toothpaste tubes on Russia-bound flights.

An official told AFP it has information "specifically targeting flights to Russia," where the Winter Games kick off on Friday.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that, "out of an abundance of caution," it regularly shares relevant information with partners both at home and abroad.

"While we are not aware of a specific threat to the homeland at this time, this routine communication is an important part of our commitment to making sure we meet that priority," it said. "As always, our security apparatus includes a number of measures, both seen and unseen, and DHS will continue to adjust security measures to fit an ever evolving threat environment." President Barack Obama's National Security Council said the disclosure had not affected existing guidelines about travel to the resort city of Sochi.

"If we should receive information in the coming days and weeks that changes our assessment of whether people should travel to Sochi, we will make that information public through the State Department's usual channels," spokeswoman Laura Magnuson said.Hmmm......Someone reading 'James Bond's Licence to kill'.....'Boycott Sochi?Read the full story here.

Obama to Skip Sochi Games in Apparent Snub Over Anti-Gay Law.

Obama to Skip Sochi Games in Apparent Snub Over Anti-Gay Law.(RN).

US President Barack Obama dealt a sharp reprimand to Russia over its anti-gay laws on Tuesday by including two openly homosexual athletes in the official delegation to the Winter Olympics in Sochi and declining to attend the Games himself.

The White House announced that Billie Jean King, a gay former tennis champion, and Caitlin Cahow, a gay Olympic medalist in ice hockey, would be included in the US delegations to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games in February.

For the first time since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, the US president, vice president and first lady are to be absent from both delegations.

White House officials said in a statement that Obama would be too busy to attend the Games, but that the delegation “represents the diversity that is the United States.”

“All our delegation members are distinguished by their accomplishments in government service, civic activism, and sports,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye said in the statement.

The US joins France and Germany in excluding senior government leaders from attending the Games.
Though Obama has not commented directly on the grounds for the snub, the inclusion of openly homosexual athletes suggests that Russia’s so-called gay propaganda ban is at least part of the reason.

Russia’s parliament passed a law in June forbidding the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations to minors, sparking an international backlash and fears for the safety of gay athletes and spectators at the Olympics in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

The International Olympic Committee has stated that it is confident the law will not affect the safety of attendees to the Games.

The full US delegation to the opening ceremony includes Janet Napolitano, the president of the University of California system and former US Secretary of Homeland Security, US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy Robert Nabors, tennis hall-of-famer Billie Jean King, and Olympic figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano.

The closing ceremony delegation includes US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Ambassador McFaul, Olympic speed-skating medalist Bonnie Blair, ice hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow and speed skating medalist Eric Heiden.

Russia in Talks on Moving Chemical Weapons from Syria - Deputy FM.

Russia in Talks on Moving Chemical Weapons from Syria - Deputy FM. (RN).

Russia is in talks about providing safe transport of chemical weapons out of Syria, a deputy foreign minister said Monday.

Mikhail Bogdanov said that Moscow was examining possible options with the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Asked whether Russia had offered help in transporting Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, he said: “We are discussing these issues with our American colleagues and via the OPCW in the Hague. I think an optimal solution will be found.”
He added that there was a “very high level of mutual understanding” between the parties in discussing which ships might be used to move the weapons as well as the question of military protection of vessels during transportation.
The OPCW finalized in November a roadmap for destroying Syria’s arsenal of more than 1,000 metric tons of weapons-grade chemicals by mid-2014. According to the roadmap, the most dangerous, or “priority”, weapons have to be removed from Syria by December 31 and destroyed by April 2014, while the rest is slated for detruction by mid-2014.
The disarmament process was launched after an August 21 chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians. The US and Western allies accused the Syrian government of responsibility for that attack, but Damascus blamed rebel groups fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The long-delayed Geneva-2 international peace conference, dedicated to ending the Syrian conflict, is expected to be held in Geneva on January 22.
Russia has supported the Syrian government during the civil war, while America has backed some Al-qaeda groups within the opposition.
More than 100,000 people have been killed and 9 million people displaced since fighting broke out in Syria in 2011, according to the United Nations.

Al Qaeda in Syria has sarin: Russia ready to deal with Syrian Al Qaeda plot against Sochi Olympics.

Al Qaeda in Syria has sarin: Russia ready to deal with Syrian Al Qaeda plot against Sochi Olympics.(Debka).

It was commonly assumed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin discussed the forthcoming Geneva nuclear accord with Iran when they met in Moscow on Nov. 20. But according to debkafile’s intelligence and counter-terror sources, they focused on two quite different topics.

One was possible Russian-Israeli military and intelligence cooperation against al Qaeda elements in Syria in which both are keenly interested. Israel is shoring up its defenses against potential cross-border terrorist attacks mounted from al Qaeda bases in Syria, while Putin has gone to great lengths to secure the high-prestige Winter Olympics taking place at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi Feb. 7-23.

The other topic of conversation was Moscow’s interest in a stake for Russian oil and gas companies in laying the pipelines for the export of Israeli offshore Mediterranean gas to European markets.

By mutual consent, the Iranian issue on which they are deeply divided was scarcely touched on.

Two weeks after their conversation, the ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced Monday, Dec. 4, the formation of a special unit to deal with “Syrian radicals”- both within the North Caucasus republic and abroad.

He added: “Members of the special unit will be ready to interfere in the Syrian conflict if such operation is authorized by the Russian president.”

debkafile’s counter-terrorism sources explain that President Putin is loath to drop a Russian intervention force into Syria and risk upsetting his sensitive understandings with the Obama administration on Syria. He is therefore planning to send out a Chechen force to deal with the Chechens and other North Caucasian jihadists who are fighting under the al Qaeda flag in Syria and now gearing up, according to Russian and Syrian intelligence,  for a spectacular attack on the Sochi Olympic Games.

According to some reports, Al Qaeda in Syria has got hold of sarin nerve gas and is ready to use it.

This was confirmed by the investigative journalist Seymor Hersh in an article he published in London on Dec. 8.

He quoted “a large number of American intelligence officials” who said that “the chemical attack on the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta on Aug. 21, in which more than 150 people died, may not have been carried out by Bashar Assad’s army but by Jabhat al Nusra [Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch].”

A senior intelligence consultant told the reporter: “Already by late May… the CIA had briefed the Obama administration on al-Nusra and its work with sarin, and had sent alarming reports that another Sunni fundamentalist group active in Syria, al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), also understood the science of producing sarin. At the time, al-Nusra was operating in areas close to Damascus, including Eastern Ghouta.”

debkafile reports that both these organizations have enlisted many Chechen and North Caucasian members to fight in Syria.

The sources quoted by Hersh charged President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry with “deliberate manipulation of intelligence.”

One high-level intelligence officer called the administration’s assurances of Assad’s responsibility a ruse. “When the attack occurred, al-Nusra should have been a suspect, but the administration cherry-picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad,” according to Seymor Hersh.

  Hmmmm.....I have warned several times that the lifting of visa requirements for Turks by Russia would generate the greatest terrorist treath to Sochi.

Related:  

Assassination Plots Against Vladimir Putin Foiled As Chechen HitMen Arrested'.

Nuclear-powered cruiser Petr Veliky will be on-call to protect Sochi Olympics.

Nuclear-powered cruiser Petr Veliky will be on-call to protect Sochi Olympics.(RBTH).

The nuclear-powered Russian cruiser ship Petr Veliky is likely to be stationed to respond if necessary to protect the safety of the Sochi Olympic Games this winter, Russian military sources say.

Although the Russian Navy has not officially confirmed the ship’s future task, a source close to the Russian Navy’s general headquarters has suggested the possibility that the ship would be stationed in the Mediterranean during the Games.
In addition, documents from Rosoboronpostavka, the Russian agency for the procurement of military equipment, support the suggestion. The paperwork indicates that the ship’s electronic equipment is in the process of being upgraded to “to support the events in Sochi in 2014.”
As part of the modernization, Projects 1124, 1124M, 1144 and 1155 ships will have their MG-7 submarine and saboteur sonar detection stations replaced with the improved MG-757 Anapa. Project 1144 is represented by only one ship in the Navy – the nuclear cruiser Petr Veliky.
The ship will likely be anchored in the Mediterranean because the presence of a ship with a nuclear power is not possible in the Black Sea (nor in the Baltic Sea), because of international maritime agreements, according to Viktor Kravchenko, the former head of the Navy’s general headquarters. Kravchenko said that underwater sabotage was highly unlikely – no country has boycotted the Games, and Russia does not have relations with any countries that would conduct such malicious acts.
However, we should not rule out the possibility of the Petr Veliky being used to ensure security of the Winter Olympic Games, said Rear Admiral Vladimir Zakharov.
“The ship may remain in the Mediterranean, and this will be sufficient. From this location, Petr Veliky can cover all distant approaches to the Sochi area. This is very possible, as these ships have been created for such tasks,” Zakharov said.

Moscow - Alleged Islamic Extremist Held on Suspicion of Recruiting ‘Shy Girls’.

Moscow - Alleged Islamic Extremist Held on Suspicion of Recruiting ‘Shy Girls’.(RN).

MOSCOW, (RAPSI) – Police have detained an alleged member of an extremist Islamist group suspected of recruiting “shy and introverted” girls in Moscow, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

Police said that the detained man was a member of the At-Takfir wal-Hidjra Islamist group, which was declared extremist in Russia in 2010. Investigators say the man managed to recruit four young women to the ranks of the organization.

“He approached them both on the streets of Moscow and on social networking sites. The man went after shy and introverted girls. Investigators believe he was especially good at establishing a rapport with such women,” the police said.

After the man gained the trust of the young women, he allegedly persuaded them to move in with him before introducing them to radical Islam. Three of the girls tracked down by the police refused to return to their families and continue to live in radicalized Islamic communities, the Interior Ministry said.

The suspect was detained while leaving his residence in the Moscow Region town of Balashikha. He allegedly had three grams of amphetamine with him, as well as a handgun in his car.
In his apartment, the police found banned books on radical Islam.

Russia, which is battling a simmering Islamist insurgency in its southern North Caucasus region, has been on high alert over terrorism concerns in the run-up to next year’s Winter Olympics in the Black Sea city of Sochi, and after a recent bus bombing in another southern city, Volgograd. That act is believed to have been perpetrated by a 30-year-old Muslim female suicide bomber from the North Caucasus.Hmmmm.....I personally believe cancelling the visa duty for Turkey is a much bigger threath to Sochi.

Video - Jihadists Reveal Plans to Attack Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Jihadists Reveal Plans to Attack Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Following are excerpts from an appeal by Emir Saladin, a Jihadist volunteering in Syria, to the Muslims in the "Caucasus Emirate." The video was posted on the Internet on July 31, 2013.

Emir Saladin: If you cannot wage Jihad in the mountains, wage it in the plains, but if, for some reason, you cannot do that either, then go to Moscow, to that hornet's nest of heresy, and wage Jihad there.

You can choose any city in Russia you see fit, not only Moscow. Ultimately, you should prepare for the [winter] Olympics in Sochi. There are concrete instructions from our Emir Dokka Abu Uthman to do so.Source: Memri.

Hmmmm.....As i warned a long time ago, cancellation of the Visa requirements between TURKEY and Russia is a terrorist Dream come true!

MFS - The Other News

                       Afternoon  Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - June 07. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - June 07. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - June 07 . Here. (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan  today 4.8 ! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 129.Source : Here .

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

• Europe - Latest official Situation Update on E-Coli epidemic 41-.Source.

• Emanuel’s First Test: Gang Mob Attacks Continue in Chicago After Memorial Beach Closing.(Biggovernment).Chicagoans flocked to North Avenue Beach last Monday for Memorial Day, only to have their holiday fun spoiled when Chicago police closed the beach. For the first time in Chicago’s history, North Avenue Beach, where residents go to cool off, was closed due to excessive heat according to Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. McCarthy was backed up by newly elected Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who claimed there was a surge in calls due to heat exhaustion, and the reason for the closing was to give ambulances and paramedics easier access to treat those in need.Fox Chicago News lightly covered reasons for the beach closing other than heat, which were missing from other local news outlets, CBS and ABC. Fox reported an unusually high presence of Chicago street gangs.One resident interviewed by Fox claimed:“They were hooting and hollering and looking for confrontations,” Daley said. “A kid got in my face and was looking for a confrontation….”Others reported cyclists were actually thrown off of their bikes. Many believe the real reason for the beach closing was exactly this unwarranted violence. Police blogs and readers of local news sites were also quick to respond to what actually happened, and the reports are quite shocking. As many 2000 young teenage “thugs” stormed the beach, in an apparent effort to cause mayhem on those enjoying the hot sunny weather.A comment on the Chicago Sun Times post reads:“Um folks believe me the heat had nothing to do with this. Its more like the 2000 or so punk teens that showed up around 3pm and started causing problems that led to the closure.”Local morning radio hosts Don Wade & Roma were quick to cover the story as well, and rightly question what actually happened. Listen as they point out the seriousness of this story, and what appears to be intentional omission by the Chicago mainstream media, leaving out critical information in their explanation for the beach closing.Wade comments, what may be even more alarming is the fact that the incident was not isolated to Chicago. Drudge Reportand other outlets reported Boston, Nashville, Charlotte, Long Island, Rochester, and Miami were among the many other cities that experienced a large up tick in holiday violence on beaches and popular holiday areas. This may have been the result of gang members spreading their message to cause disruptions via social media outlets such as Twitter. Wade goes on to bring attention to another major concern, that President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder have beganaggressively investigating big city police departments, and their systematic abuses of “civil rights,” such as false arrests and excessive force. Roma demands answers during the segment, and claims that Emanuel’s response to the incidents in Chicago may have been acceptable for a first time occurrence; however, he must come up with better answers and solutions if this problem continues.Unfortunately, the need for ongoing concern still exists as this type of gang activity continued over this past weekend once again in Chicago. Roving gangs have been appearing in trendy areas downtown, and were responsible for committing attacks against average everyday citizens just this past Sunday in the Gold Coast. CBS 2 reports “15-20 young men between 16-20 years old and black,” approached a man near Northwestern University, one of whom threw a baseball at his face, as the rest proceeded to beat him up.Wade and Roma picked up this story as well, and went on to mention other reports of gangs and mobs spilling into the streets of downtown Chicago from public city busses and trains. Once in the downtown area, they coordinate attacks against citizens as well as local shops and stores. As they approach a store, a large group will enter, leaving one or two outside to stand guard. Once inside the store, they proceed to steel items and grab what they can, before getting away untouched.How will Chicago’s new Mayor handle this alarming problem, as we approach the hot summer months? Will he continue the denial of these occurrences, as he did with the beach invasion on Memorial Day? What is the reason for not at least acknowledging the unusual gang presence at North Avenue Beach? Are his hands potentially bound by Obama and Holder, as they attempt to uncover a sinister plot by big city police forces attempting to ensure the safety of average citizens, by supposedly employing systematic racist tactics against real criminals? Hmmmm......Put them at work for the next ten years in a chaingang.Read the full story here.

• "We need to approve the law to know what's in it?"Obamacare waivers weren’t in original law, appearance of political favors persists.(DailyCaller).The Daily Caller has learned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) never had the authority to issue waivers from Obamacare’s annual limit requirements.Language granting HHS that power was never in the original law. Instead, through new rules and regulations, HHS gave itself the power last summer using a broad interpretation of certain parts of the law.The annual limit requirement waivers exempt recipients for one year from having to increase the amount of health care coverage they provide their workers. Each year between now and 2014, the minimum annual limit rises to a new, higher amount. Though the waivers are only for one year, recipients can reapply and be re-approved every year through 2014.Heritage Foundation health policy expert Edmund Haislmaier said HHS “exceeded its statutory authority” by issuing such waivers.“The first problem is that it appears HHS has exceeded its statutory authority in creating this waiver process,” Haislmaier said in testimony before the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on Health Care. “The statute does not explicitly grant HHS authority to waive the application of this provision. In contrast, I count twenty-one other sections of PPACA [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] in which Congress did grant HHS explicit, new waiver authority with respect to specific provisions. Thus, it is reasonable to presume that if Congress had intended the department to institute a waiver process as part of its implementation of this particular provision, Congress would have said so in the statute.”The Obama administration, which touts itself as the most transparent in American history, hasn’t answered many questions about who’s been getting waivers and why, who’s been denied and why or who’s still in line. Seeing as the administration hasn’t complied with many Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information surrounding Obamacare, former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS announced Monday it will seek summary judgment in federal court against HHS over “the agency’s failure to disclose materials concerning Obamacare waivers.” Crossroads GPS filed a FOIA request back in January for information regarding Obamacare waivers. After two months of inactivity on the request, Crossroads filed a lawsuit alleging HHS isn’t following FOIA standards.In what’s become a bit of a pattern for the Obama administration, there’s at least an appearance of political favoritism in favor of those who lobbied for HHS to grant itself waiver power. Many of the administration’s nearly 1,400 waivers, including the waivers that went to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district in April, went to companies and entities that lobbied their support behind HHS’s drive to grant itself that power.Hmmmmm........Observe thugocracy evolving in it's natural habitat?Read the full story here.

• ObamaNomics: Federal Government Has Record $61.6 Trillion In Unfunded Obligations, Equates To $534,000 Per Household.(USAToday).The federal government’s financial condition deteriorated rapidly last year, far beyond the $1.5 trillion in new debt taken on to finance the budget deficit, a USA TODAY analysis shows.The government added $5.3 trillion in new financial obligations in 2010, largely for retirement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. That brings to a record $61.6 trillion the total of financial promises not paid for.This gap between spending commitments and revenue last year equals more than one-third of the nation’s gross domestic product.Medicare alone took on $1.8 trillion in new liabilities, more than the record deficit prompting heated debate between Congress and the White House over lifting the debt ceiling.Social Security added $1.4 trillion in obligations, partly reflecting longer life expectancies. Federal and military retirement programs added more to the financial hole, too.Corporations would be required to count these new liabilities when they are taken on — and report a big loss to shareholders. Unlike businesses, however, Congress postpones recording spending commitments until it writes a check.The $61.6 trillion in unfunded obligations amounts to $534,000 per household. That’s more than five times what Americans have borrowed for everything else — mortgages, car loans and other debt. It reflects the challenge as the number of retirees soars over the next 20 years and seniors try to collect on those spending promises.“The (federal) debt only tells us what the government owes to the public. It doesn’t take into account what’s owed to seniors, veterans and retired employees,” says accountant Sheila Weinberg, founder of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, a Chicago-based group that advocates better financial reporting. “Without accurate accounting, we can’t make good decisions.”Hmmmm......"It doesn’t take into account what’s owed to seniors, veterans and retired employees".Read the full story here.

• Pawlenty “The American people can handle the truth."Pawlenty speech criticizes Obama as 'champion of class warfare'(TheHill).President Obama is a “champion practitioner of class warfare,” GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday.In an address on his economic policy in Obama’s hometown of Chicago, the former Minnesota governor laid out the specifics of his plan to slash spending and simplify the nation's tax code by drastically cutting rates.Pawlenty said his policies offered a sharp contrast to the president’s, which he argued are discouraging businesses and stunting economic growth.“The president is satisfied with a second-rate American economy produced by his third-rate policies. I’m not,” Pawlenty said.If Obama’s economic policies are kept in place, Pawlenty said: “We are in deep doo-doo. We are in deep crap.”Instead of the “New Deal,” Pawlenty dubbed his economic plan a “Better Deal” that differs from former President Franklin Roosevelt’s plan to lift the country out of the Great Depression.Pawlenty also called for the elimination of existing loopholes, subsidies and tax credits for businesses, which he said would offset some of the revenue lost from cutting tax rates.“American businesses today pay the second-highest tax rates in the world. That’s a recipe for failure, not adding jobs and economic growth,” he said.Pawlenty said he wants to eliminate all federal regulations unless Congress votes to keep them in place, a move intended to target Obama’s healthcare law, the Wall Street reform bill and the Environmental Protection Agency’s push to regulate carbon emissions.“It is no longer enough for government to go on a diet. Government needs to hit the gym, and hit it hard,” he said.He also called for the streamlining of federal agencies including the CIA and the Pentagon, and said that the Federal Reserve should end its dual mandate.“No more quantitative easing. No more monetizing debt. No more printing money with reckless abandon,” he said.Pawlenty said his proposal matches his promise to tell the hard truths about what’s needed to fix the country’s problems."“It's going to be the Jack Nicholson election,” Pawlenty said, quoting the actor’s famous line from A Few Good Men: “You can’t handle the truth.”This time around, Pawlenty argues, “The American people can handle the truth."Read the full story here.

• Lib Talker Calls on Obama to Starve People in Red States to Stop the GOP From Not Raising Debt Ceiling While Explaining the History Behind Why GOP Maintaining Debt Ceiling Would Not Stop U.S. From Paying Obligations.Read and see the full story here.

• Royal Marines on standby off the coast of Yemen as violence escalates.(DailyMail).Royal Marines are poised for an emergency evacuation of British nationals in Yemen after a fresh bout of violent clashes in the Arab state.A force of around 80 marines was said to be on board a naval support ship, RFA Fort Victoria, on the coast close to the strife-torn Arab state, the BBC reported.The Ministry of Defence confirmed that there were British military assets in the region but refused to go into detail.'As part of routine deployment UK military assets are in the region, although we are not prepared to comment further on their exact operational tasking,' a spokesman said.The latest upsurge in violence comes two days after President Ali Abdullah Saleh fled Yemen for neighbouring Saudi Arabia after being injured by a rocket attack at his compound.The Foreign Office has been advising British nationals to leave the country while commercial flights are still available as Government intervention could not be counted on.Foreign Secretary William Hague warned at the weekend that it was 'extremely unlikely' Britain would be able to stage an evacuation operation, telling any remaining UK nationals not to 'plan for or expect' any Government assistance.But the presence of the Royal Marines off the Yemeni coast is likely to be seen as a contingency plan to help rescue people from the fresh outbursts of anger in the country.The Fort Victoria is part of the Navy's Response Force Task Group which has been conducting a series of exercises, mainly in the Mediterranean, over the past weeks.The helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, which has been used as a launch pad for Apache attack helicopters engaged in operations in Libya, is part of the the same group.The BBC reported that the auxiliary landing vessel RFA Cardigan Bay was heading for Yemen where it will replace another support vessel, RFA Argus, which has been operating in the region.The latest clashes saw 19 people killed, including three children, in two Yemeni provinces, military and medical officials said.The unrest is the latest of ugly rampages that has shaken the impoverished nation, which has been the scene of many protests calling for the end of President Saleh's authoritarian regime.Officials said dozens of suspected Muslim militants attacked an army position in the southern Abyan province late Monday night, despite the departure of the embattled leader of nearly 33 years.Hmmmm......"Arab spring".Read the full story here.

• Shari’a and Violence in American Mosques.(MappingSharia).How’s this for a wake-up call: America’s most cherished civil liberties and the Constitution that enshrines them are actually enabling Muslim Brotherhood operatives and other Islamists who have the declared mission of destroying our freedoms and government “from within…by [our] hands.” Specifically, our enemies are using our tolerance of religion to create an infrastructure of mosques here that incubate the Islamic holy war called jihad.If this revelation is not exactly news to those who are serious students of the Brotherhood’s decades-long, stealthy “civilization jihad” in this country (for more, see the best-selling “Team B II Report” published late last year by the Center for Security Policy: Shariah: The Threat to America), it will almost certainly come as a shock to the average American. Yet, the phenomenon of our rights being used to pursue our destruction has become undeniable – particularly now, thanks to an assiduously researched, peer-reviewed study published on June 6th by the highly respected journal, Middle East Quarterly.Entitled “Shari’a and Violence in American Mosques,” this paper describes an ominous jihadist footprint being put into place across the nation. It is made up of ostensibly religious institutions, entities that, therefore, enjoy constitutional protection. But, according to the data examined by this study, most mosques in the United States are actually engaged in – or at least supportive of – a totalitarian, seditious agenda they call shariah. Its express purpose is undermining and ultimately forcibly replacing the U.S. government and its founding documents. In their place would be a “caliph,” governing in accordance with shariah’s political-military-legal code.To be sure, some American mosques are not part of the jihadist enterprise. And most Muslims in the United States, like most adherents of other faiths, are not regular attendees at their places of worship.Still, according to this study’s two formidable authors – my colleague (and fellow Big Peace contributor), David Yerushalmi, one of the nation’s foremost non-Muslim experts on the totalitarian Islamic doctrine known as shariah, and a highly respected Israeli academic and expert on Islam and Arabic culture, Dr. Mordechai Kedar – on-site investigations of a random but representative sample of American mosques in fourteen states and the District of Columbia produced chilling insights into the threat posed by many such institutions.For the purpose of their analysis, the authors examined data collected by surveyors who “were asked to observe and record selected behaviors deemed to be shariah-adherent. These behaviors were selected precisely because they constitute observable and measurable practices of an orthodox form of Islam, as opposed to internalized, non-observable articles of faith.” Such behaviors included, among other readily discernible indicators: “a) women wearing the hijab (head covering) or niqab (full-length shiftcovering the entire female form except for the eyes); b) gender segregation during mosque prayers; and c) enforcement of straight prayer lines.”For the purpose of their study, the authors evaluated support for jihad by considering the presence in mosque bookstores, libraries and among recommended materials “literature encouraging worshipers to engage in terrorist activity, to provide financial support to jihadists, and to promote the establishment of a caliphate in the United States. These materials also explicitly praised actsof terror against the West; praised symbols or role models of violent jihad; promoted the use of force, terror, war, and violence to implement the shariah; emphasized the inferiority of non-Muslim life; promoted hatred and intolerance toward non-Muslims or notional Muslims; and endorsed inflammatory materialswith anti-U.S. view.”

Employing this methodology, Mr. Yerushalmi and Dr. Kedar found that:

More than 80 percent of U.S. mosques advocate or otherwise promote violence. “Of the 100 mosques surveyed, 51% had texts on site rated as severely advocating violence; 30% had texts rated as moderately advocating violence; and 19% had no violent texts at all.”

Mosques that were identifiable using empirical measures “as shariah-adherent were more likely to feature violence-positive texts on site than were their non-shariah adherent counterparts.”

“In 84.5% of the mosques, the imam recommended studying violence-positive texts. The leadership at shariah-adherent mosques was morelikely to recommend that a worshipper study violence-positive texts than leadership at non-shariah-adherent mosques.”

“[O]f the 51 mosques that contained severe materials, 100 percent were led by imams who recommended that worshipers study texts that promote violence.”

“Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the mosques invited guest imams known to promote violent jihad. The leadership of mosques that featured violence-positive literature was more likely to invite guest imams who wereknown to promote violent jihad than was the leadership of mosques that did not feature violence-positive literature on mosque premises".In short, such findings strongly suggest that shariah-adherence is a useful predictor of sympathy for – and, in some cases at least, action on behalf of – jihad, to include both the Islamists’ violent or stealthy forms of warfare aimed at supplanting the U.S. Constitution and government. Indeed, the study confirms the anecdotal reports by Muslims themselves and earlier, less rigorous empirical studies of Saudi hate-filled literature permeating mosques in the United States.Read the full story here.

• Muslim cop lied about his U.S. citizenship in applications to be a jailer, a police officer and, most recently, an FBI agent,wanted to attend WMD training.(Mysanantonio).A Fair Oaks Ranch police officer who wanted to join the FBI has been charged with lying about his citizenship to get a job there.The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force opened a full-blown investigation last year of Pejman Amrollah Majdabadi, 30, for his “aggressiveness” in wanting to join the FBI and his e-mailed request to the agency seeking to attend weapons of mass destruction training being taught by the JTTF, according to a criminal complaint affidavit unsealed Monday.The Iranian-born officer, now a U.S. citizen, was taken to federal court in San Antonio late Friday on a charge of making false statements about his citizenship to get a job in law enforcement. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bond following a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomo. If convicted, Amrollah could face up to five years in prison.Amrollah has worked for the Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department since April 30, 2007, and has been “a good officer,” said Police Chief Scott Rubin.The affidavit said that since 2003, Texas law requires police officer applicants to be U.S. citizens, and Rubin said Amrollah was a citizen “as far as I knew” when he applied. Amrollah is now on unpaid administrative leave, Rubin said.The FBI claims Amrollah lied about his U.S. citizenship in applications to be a jailer, a police officer and, most recently, an FBI agent. In April 2010, the affidavit said, Amrollah e-mailed the FBI expressing interest in attending WMD training, and about joining the JTTF.In May 2010, he e-mailed again “stating he would be a good asset for the JTTF due to his language abilities and connections he had to the local Persian community,” the affidavit said.“Sensitive positions with the U.S. government are taken very seriously and any attempt at being deceptive to gain access to these positions is going to be pursued,” said special agent Erik Vasys, spokesman for the FBI in San Antonio.The affidavit said Amrollah was born in Iran in 1981 or 1982. In July 1998, when about 16, he was caught by the U.S. Border Patrol crossing illegally from Mexico with his parents and a juvenile sister. The family later applied for asylum, and their request was granted in September 1999, the affidavit said.He obtained legal permanent resident status on Oct. 5, 2004, and on Feb. 25, 2010, Amrollah became a naturalized U.S. citizen — more than a month after his most recent application to the FBI, according to the affidavit.The affidavit said the FBI found Amrollah applied multiple times to various positions within the FBI starting in 2000, and “a comparison of the applications indicated discrepancies and/or false statements.”Hmmmm......."The Djinies made me do it"?Read the full story here.

• Israel's new battlefield: Iranian submarines.(Ynet). What effect will Iran's growing presence in Red Sea, Mediterranean have on Israel's naval activity, and how will it improve arms smuggling into Gaza Strip.The recent wave of uprisings across the Arab world provided Iran with numerous strategic and tactical opportunities to expand its status as a regional hegemon.The announcement that Tehran has dispatched submarines to the Red Sea, in what is the first such deployment by Iran's Navy in distant waters, is the latest step in a series of actions the Islamic Republic has taken to secure its power in the region.The reports claim that the IDF and Navy employ constant operational and intelligence efforts to thwart smuggling attempts, including sinking Iranian ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, attacking convoys en-route from Sudan to Egypt and seizing cargo ships suspected of carrying weapons to Syria or to Hamas. Iranian naval presence in the Red Sea enables the Revolutionary Guard to track Israeli activity and secure arms shipments by warning the vessels carrying the weapons or the smugglers waiting on shore, and perhaps in the future – by directly confronting with Israeli naval forces.Foreign reports also stated that Israel has been deploying various vessels, including submarines, to patrol along the Iranian coastline in order to gather intelligence on the nuclear and ballistic missile programs and prepare for future altercations. These Israeli submarines, the reports claim, are equipped with the latest cruise missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. If these reports are true, Iranian presence in the Red Sea might also be geared toward tracking and thwarting such activity.But Iran is not stopping there. It wants to establish a naval military presence in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea by dispatching its fleet through the Suez Canal. Tehran regards this as an important step that will demonstrate to the Arab world and the Iranian people that it is a regional power, which is capable of military deployment in distant waters.Iran's military presence also aimed at hinting to its allies – Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas – that it can provide them with assistance if needed.The recent uprisings in Syria and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Bashar Assad's regime further highlights the urgency Iran is facing. If and when the Syrian president is overthrown, Iran is expected to lose several important assets in Syria, including intelligence bases from which it keeps track of Israeli intelligence activity, and roads connecting between Syria and Lebanon, by which Iran provides Hezbollah with logistic aid and transports Revolutionary Guard members.The Iranians are acting determinately, but with caution – step by step. Their naval presence in the Gulf of Aden began last year under the guise of helping international efforts against Somali Piracy.The big leap was taken in February, when Tehran asked the Egyptian authorities to allow two of its warships to cross the Suez Canal. The pretext was "a friendship and peace flotilla" to Syria.In the near future, we can expect to see more Iranian attempts to dispatch fleets through the Suez Canal and perhaps amassment of large Iranian naval forces in the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts. This trend can be slowed down if the Americans decide to assert their influence over Egypt's Higher Military Council.Hmmmmm......And one day crows may wear stiletto heels?Read the full story here.

• Letter to Syria!(BenjaminRosenbaum).I have been following the fascinating, inspiring, and beautiful writing of Syrian blogger and democracy activist Amina Arraf (who is an out lesbian and devout Muslim) ever since this post. She has been on the run for the last several weeks, and now the arrest that her fans have been dreading has come to pass. Now is the time for quick action by the international (and internet) community. According to Reporters Without Borders, in the case of 19-year-old imprisoned blogger Tal al-Mallouhi, "Netizens from around the world mobilised....international attention was probably also a contributing factor to her appearance before a court in November 2010, after she had been held in an unknown location for nearly eleven months."Here is the text of my email to the Syrian Embassy in Washington, DC, which I sent to consular@syrembassy.net and theambassador@syrembassy.net.Whether or not you agree with all of Amina's opinions, she is a voice of intelligence, sanity, peace, and freedom. Please do what you can.Read the full story here.

• Syrians Turn Against Hezbollah and Iran.(ElliotAbrams)What kind of Syria might follow the fall of the Assad regime? For many years, a significant percentage of American and Israeli military officers thought things would get worse. A new regime would be dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, many said—including some of the highest-ranking American generals.I have always thought this was a foolish position, given what Assad’s Syria was actually doing. How much worse could things get than a regime that was Iran’s only Arab ally, gave Iran a port on the Mediterranean and a border with Israel (through Hezbollah in Lebanon), helped Iran arm Hezbollah to the teeth, built a nuclear reactor with North Korean help, brought jihadis to Iraq to kill American soldiers, and viciously repressed the Syrian people. Moreover, the notion that the Muslim Brotherhood would rule after Assad was just that, a notion, never supported with hard evidence about their level of internal support.The strategic argument for getting Assad out is powerful: it would be a huge defeat for Iran and Hezbollah, and indeed the greatest defeat we could administer to Iran short of ending its nuclear program. As to the argument that the successor regime may follow worse policies, recent reports suggest that in fact Syrians hate the Assad/Hezbollah/Iran alliance and will end it once he is gone. France 24 reports as follows:“Syrian opposition protesters are not just calling for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad: they have recently begun directing their anger against his regional allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Our Observer says this is a new and unexpected turn of events.“Videos of recent protests in Syria show demonstrators chanting slogans against Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution, as well as the Hezbollah, an Islamist political party from Lebanon with a powerful armed wing. Even more surprising has been footage of protesters burning posters of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general and a widely respected figure throughout the Middle East.“Their anger is a result of Tehran’s and Hezbollah’s unwavering support for the Syrian government, even as it ruthlessly crushes its own people’s calls for more democracy.”The alliance with Iran and Hezbollah is seen by increasing numbers of Syrians, then, as one of the characteristics of the hated Assad regime. When Syrians get the chance, they will end both the regime and that alliance. The sooner Assad falls, the better—from every moral, political, and strategic point of view.Hmmmm.......MR President....oh yes don't want to be seen 'interfering'?Read the full story here.

• Wannabe Egyptian 'Samson' plans to have cage fight with a lion - that symbolizes Israel.(ElderOfZion).Given the current state of the economy, it comes as no surprise that many Egyptians are doing all that they can to revive international interest in their country. What is surprising, though, is that one man has somehow managed to convince himself - and a few others - that he can single-handedly “boost tourism in Egypt” by fighting a full-grown African lion in direct hand-to-paw combat, in front of the Pyramids at Giza.Inexplicably, al-Sayed al-Essawy, a 25-year-old from Daqahlia, has come to believe that “the world will flock to see the Egyptian man who defeated a lion with his bare hands.”The fight, or “battle” as Essawy, prefers to call it, was announced two weeks ago, immediately igniting a firestorm of international protests and online petitions from individuals and animal rights organizations alike. The negative reaction surprised Essawy, prompting the self-proclaimed “strongest man in the world” to admit to being “confused and heart-broken.”Nonetheless, Essawy insists that the fight is still on, even if he has to stage the battle in a secret location.Essawy: When I defeat the lion - which I will - I will pull an Israeli flag out of my pocket, and drape it over the lion, and put my foot on it. Israel led me to this, through all their atrocities which, as a child, I grew up watching on television. The message is that even though Israel and America may be as strong as a lion - the strongest creature on the planet - they too can be defeated.

Al-Masry: How are you training for this specific event?

Essawy: By doing a series of mental exercises. Nothing physical, just brain-training. I visualize the fight for two hours at a time. I visualize the lion, and all the possible ways it could attack. Will it go for the head, or will it grab me by the feet? I ask myself these questions and visualize how I will dodge these attacks.Believe it or not, the interview gets even nuttier. Hmmmm.....Try bathing in olive oil and herbs before the fight,to improve the flavor for the lion.Read the full story here.

• Ahmadinejad Vows To “Seriously Confront” FIFA Over Hijab Ban.(Al-Arabia).Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to “seriously confront” world soccer body FIFA’s to ban the Islamic republic’s women's soccer team from wearing religious garb during professional matches.Mr. Ahmadinejad told a Tehran news conference that he had instructed vice president and sports czar Ali Saeidlu to head Iran’s effort to overturn FIFA’s decision. “I ordered to follow up the issue and we will seriously confront the decision by dictators who just wear the gown of democracy. Despite what happened, I am proud of our girls,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said.Iran’s Football Federation (FFI) chief Afi Kafashian appealed to FIFA president Sepp Blatter to reverse a decision and allow for a 2012 Olympics qualifying match that was cancelled by a Bahrain FIFA referee because of the Iranian team’s dress. The cancellation lead to Jordan being declared the victor and Iran losing its opportunity to qualify for next year’s Olympics in London.“Our girls have worked hard for the qualifying matches and should not be deprived in this manner,” the state-run Fars news agency quoted Mr. Kafashian as saying.Earlier, FIFA rejected an Iranian protest and said Iran had been advised in advance that the team would not be allowed to wear the Islamic dress or hijab for safety reasons.FIFA said the decision to cancel the game was in line with its laws and regulation.FIFA bans religious symbols on the soccer pitch but agreed with Iran several years ago that the Iranian women’s team would be allowed to wear a head dress that does not cover the neck and ears. The Iranian reversal to more Islamic dress violated that agreement.Mr. Ahmedinejad has effectively been a hands-on in the manager of the Iranian team. The US cable reported that he pressured the Iranian football federation to lift its 2008 suspension of star Ali Karimi so that he could play in 2010 World Cup qualifiers, engineered the 2009 firing of Ali Daei as coach, ensured that Daei’s successor Mohamed Mayeli-Kohan lasted all of two weeks in the job so that his candidate would be appointed.Mr. Ahmedinejad has justified his interference telling Iranian journalists that “unfortunately, this sport has been afflicted with some very bad issues. I must intervene personally to push aside these destructive issues.”Like in other Middle Eastern nations, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s efforts to politically manipulate the beautiful game turned the soccer pitch into a platform for dissent.The Iranian federation postponed league matches in Tehran in February in a bid to prevent celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution from turning into anti-government protests inspired by the toppling earlier this year of the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents by mass anti-government protests. The funeral last month of famous Iranian soccer player Nasser Hejazi, an internationally acclaimed defender and outspoken critic of the president in Tehran’s Azadi stadium turned into a mass protest against the government of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Mourners chanted “Hejazi, you spoke in the name of the people” in a reference to Mr. Hejazi’s criticism of the Iranian president’s economic policies. Mr. Hejazi took Mr. Ahmadinejad in April publicly to task for Iran’s gaping income difference and budgetary measure, which hit the poorest the hardest.The mourners also shouted “Goodbye Hejazi, today the brave are mourning” and “Mr Nasser, rise up, your people can't stand it anymore.”Mourners in the Behsht Zahra cemetery where Mr. Hejazi was buried shouted “Mubarak, Bin Ali, now it’s your turn Khamenei!” in reference to ousted Egyptian and Tunisian presidents Hosni Mubarak and Zine Abedine Ben Ali and Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Mr. Hejazi tried to run for president as an independent candidate in Iran’s 2005 elections, but was forced by authorities to withdraw.Hmmmm.......A red card for the president.Read the full story here.

• Identity Of Somali-American Suicide Bomber Who Died In Mogadishu Remains Unclear.(Memri).On June 2, 2011, news that a Somali-American suicide bomber was behind the attack against AMISOM soldiers in Mogadishu appeared on Somalimemo.net. The post named the perpetrator as Asadullahi Ahmed Al-Amriki ("Lion of God, Ahmed the American"), a 25-year-old Minnesotan who moved to Somalia sometime in 2009. The original post on Somalimemo.net did not provide Ahmed's full name, but circulated news appearing later in the media named the attacker as Abdullahi Farah Ahmed (written in Somali as Cabdulaahi Faarax).Read the full story here.

• Internet activist group warns Turkish government about censorship.(HurriyetDaily).Anonymous, an online activist group consisting of anonymous members from all over the world, has warned the Turkish government of action against it ahead of the implementation of a planned Internet filter.The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government plans to implement a filter on Internet browsing on Aug. 22 on the grounds of protecting the youth from "harmful elements on the web." Critics argue that the filter will pave the way for wide-spread censorship.Anonymous said Tuesday that the government was violating basic human rights and freedoms and that they would "take action against the institutions that apply censorship."The message from Anonymous reads as follows:

"Merhaba Türkiye,

“Over the last few years, we have seen how the Turkish government has tightened its grip on the Internet. It has blocked thousands of websites and blogs while abusive legal proceedings against online journalists persist. The government now wants to impose a new filtering system on the 22nd of August that will make it possible to keep records of everyone’s Internet activity.“Though it remains opaque why and how the system will be put in place. It is clear that the government is taking censorship to the next level.“These acts are inexcusable. Accessing and participating in the free flow of information is a basic human right. Anonymous will not stand by while the Turkish government violates this right. We will bring our supporters to circumvent censorship and retaliate against organizations imposing censorship.“Hundreds of thousands of people have protested against Internet censorship but AKP government ignored the voice of the people and violently oppressed the protesters.“We call on all Internet users worldwide to support freedom of speech by pushing the Turkish government to stop these foolish policies. The free flow of information won’t be stopped. Sharing of knowledge won’t be stopped. It is time to fight for our rights and stand up for what we believe in.

“We are Anonymous.

“We are Legion.

“We do not Forgive.

“We do not Forget.

“Expect us.”Hmmmm......Someone will make you an encrypted offer you can't refuse?Read the full story here.

• Russia and NATO kick off anti-terror air force exercise.(MonstersandCritics).Moscow - Russia and NATO on Monday kicked off an unprecedented training exercise to give their air forces practice in handing hijacked passenger planes moving through either sides' airspace. Fighter pilots from the Russian, Polish, and Turkish air forces will be at the forefront of the five-day exercise, which will take place primarily over Poland and the Black Sea, according to a NATO statement. The Vigilant Skies 2011 manoeuvres mark the first time air forces from the former Cold War opponents Russia and NATO will participate in a joint training exercise on counterterrorism, Interfax reported. The first of the two simulated 'terrorist flight engagements' will take place on Tuesday July 7, with a pair of Polish F-16 fighter jets intercepting a plane playing the role of an airliner targeted by hijackers, whose flight path from Krakow takes it into airspace patrolled by the Russia. Two Russian Sukhoi fighter jets will then escort and assist the airliner in landing. The scenario assumes that the civilians aboard the airliner prevent the hijackers from gaining control the aircraft, but it suffers navigation equipment damage in the fight, NATO said. A second mission plans an intercept and escort of an already-hijacked airline not communicating with the ground and moving between Turkish and Russian airspace over the Black Sea. Relations between Russia and NATO sometimes are tense. The Kremlin has singled out a US plan to deploy anti-missile defences in East Europe, and NATO deployments of fighter squadrons to the former Soviet Baltic states as particular irritants. US officials have said anti-missile defences planned to be deployed in Poland are aimed at possible Iranian, not Russian, missiles, and NATO has said its deployment of combat aircraft to airfields in new NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are defensive in nature. A goal of the Vigilant Skies exercise is to build trust between the two sides, the NATO statement said.Hmmmm......Someone preparing for the Sochi 2014 olympics?Read the full story here.

• Shop opened in Kabul's only synagogue.(Ynet). Kebabs, carpets and flowers served and sold on ground floor of building transformed into businesses by Afghanistan's sole remaining Jew. A lattice of corrugated iron Star of Davids marks Afghanistan's only working synagogue, a white-washed, two-story building tucked into a side street in the center of Kabul. Kebabs, carpets and flowers are served and sold on the ground floor of the synagogue, which has been transformed into businesses over the last 18 months by the country's sole remaining Jew, who lives upstairs in a small pink room.Café manager Sayed Ahmad is unfazed by his small café's history, where Kabul's hundreds-strong Jewish community once gathered for prayers. Most fled to Israel and the United States amid the Soviet invasion of 1979."Some of my customers know this is the synagogue and know about the Jew upstairs, but they don't care and neither do I," Ahmad told Reuters in his cafe, where bearded men on purple cushions puff on water pipes and eat traditional Afghan food.The firebrand anti-Semitism found in some other Muslim countries, often fueled by anti-Israeli sentiment, seems noticeably absent among ordinary Afghans."I pray my way and he prays his way. I see him as a friend, someone to spend time with," Ahmad said of his landlord, sitting beside large black and silver wall-hangings depicting Mecca.Zebulon Simentov, who chose to stay behind when his wife and children emigrated to Israel, has been known to conduct services in the upstairs of the synagogue for visiting Jews even though he is not a rabbi.He achieved fame beyond Afghanistan's borders because of a raging feud with the country's second-last Jew that only ended when his rival died in 2005, and which inspired a US play.Now living alone in the synagogue, the 52 year-old says the building has become too hard to maintain."This place is big and I need money," he told Reuters as he adjusted his pajama-like shalwar kameez, traditional clothing for men in the region.Simentov traces his ancestors to the western Afghan city of Herat, the cradle of Afghanistan's Jewish civilization, which he still visits sometimes. But after 2,000 years, the community there has died out.Today, only raised Jewish graves with Hebrew lettering and ornate stone synagogues remain, one of which was renovated two years ago and turned into a school for Afghan children, a move celebrated by Herat's Jews who had left for the West.In Kabul, Simentov spends most of his time in his small room, where Hebrew calendars look down on a small red sofa bed and a mahogany table laden with silver bowls of almonds and Shabbat candles.Three businessmen now rent space from him, and may be joined by others, in a city where despite decades of war, property prices are booming and space is at a premium.He said a grey-painted room littered with concrete debris, adjoining his, would also be put on the market. "Soon that one will also be rented out."Wary of talking to reporters after years of media attention, he declined to comment further on his plans for the synagogue.But he is well-liked by his neighbors and tenants. Amongst the unpaved and dusty roads encircling his synagogue, he is known simply as "the Jew," or "Yehud" in his native Dari. His penchant for whisky - extremely expensive and hard to obtain in Muslim Afghanistan, but totally permissible in Judaism - has also earned him affection.Read the full story here.

• German police say foiled forced-marriage kidnap bid.(Expatia).German police said Tuesday they had foiled a bid by two Turks to kidnap a 17-year-old girl for a forced marriage in Turkey.The attempted abduction of the French teenager of Turkish origin, from Sarregumines, in eastern France, took place on Sunday, just across the German border, in Saarbruecken, police said.Two Turks, aged 35 and 37, blocked the car in which the alleged victim was being driven by a 20-year-old friend at a traffic light, forcing her into their own car."Thanks to eyewitness reports, a regional search was launched which allowed police in Rhineland-Palatinate to intercept the car" some 60 kilometers (40 miles) further east, police in Saarland said.A preliminary investigation found that the two arrested men wanted to take the French-born girl to Turkey where she was to be married against her will, police added.Hmmmm......Another reason to keep Turkey out of the European union.Read the full story here.