Afternoon Posting.
- Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan today: none ! More info here.
- Japan - Nuclear disaster - Situation Update No. 141 - .Source .
- Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)to unveil $9T deficit-reduction plan.(TheHill).He said Sunday the federal government can save $1 trillion though tax reform, a proposal that will put him at odds with some GOP colleagues.Coburn plans to unveil a $9 trillion deficit-reduction package Monday that would give lawmakers a menu of policy options to reduce the deficit.Coburn has suggested $1 trillion in savings could come from eliminating special tax breaks, such as the tax subsidy for ethanol, which he has fought to end.“We can increase revenues by adjusting the tax code and lowering it,” Coburn said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday morning. “We can save over $1 trillion doing that.”Coburn has also proposed cutting $1 trillion from the Defense Department budget over the next decade and more than $500 billion from other government agencies.“We can save $1 trillion at the Pentagon over the next 10 years — not hard. It’s difficult but it’s not super hard. It’s common sense,” he said.Coburn favors saving $1 trillion in federal interest payments over the next nine years by curbing the projected growth of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.He said Congress can still provide “what seniors need” and save trillions of dollars.Coburn will reveal other details of his plan at a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday in the Senate.Read the full story here.
- Who Is Losing Legitimacy Over Syria?(Elliott Abrams).American policy toward Syria is increasingly inconsistent and unintelligible.On Saturday, the Assad regime murdered another thirty-two peaceful protesters. What was the secretary of state’s reaction? She was in Istanbul, where some Syrian opposition leaders are located, but she did not meet with them—nor it seemed did she dispatch any of her aides to do so. Instead, she advised them to negotiate with the Assad government. The Washington Post tells the story: “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was meeting with Turkish officials a few miles away, a day after she offered formal U.S. recognition to the Libyan rebel Transitional National Council, also while in Istanbul.“But she made no effort to meet with the Syrian opposition there, despite hopes expressed before the conference by some opposition figures that she would. Instead, she offered only lukewarm support for the Syrian gathering and made it clear that the United States hopes the protest movement will engage in dialogue with the Syrian government, something most opposition groups reject.“‘We’re encouraged by what we see the Syrian people are doing for themselves. This is not anything the United States or any other country is doing,’ she said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. ‘It’s what the Syrian people are doing, trying to form an opposition that can provide a pathway, hopefully in peaceful cooperation with the government, to a better future.’”This statement came just days after she said the regime had “lost legitimacy,” a bizarre phrase to use regarding a government that never had any. But that phrase was regarded as a toughening of the U.S. position, so what explains her advice to people being shot dead in the street that they “cooperate” with the man shooting them?I shudder to think how a Syrian protester must view the United States when he is risking his life and the secretary of state is still dreaming of “peaceful cooperation” from the government shooting him and his fellow demonstrators dead in the streets day after day. Mrs. Clinton’s remark about Assad’s loss of legitimacy was, we are told, unscripted. “The administration’s policy toward the Syrian autocrat has lately been shaped more by diplomatic improvisation than methodical planning within the White House,” the Washington Post reported.This may explain why the secretary oscillates between tougher and weaker rhetoric and positions, but it is a terrible indictment of the Obama Administration foreign policy team that it cannot get its act together after thirty months in power. This Administration’s Syria policy has now moved from “improvisation” to incoherence.Read the full story here.
- Syrian forces surround protesting eastern town.(Reuters).By Khaled Yacoub Oweis.AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian tanks surrounded a town near the border with Iraq’s Sunni heartland on Sunday after tens of thousands, emboldened by defections among security forces, took to the streets there denouncing President Bashar al-Assad, residents said.Assad, from the minority Alawite sect, has sent troops in to towns across the country to try to end four months of protests against his rule. But activists say discontent is growing within the mostly Sunni army rank and file.Killings, mostly carried out by ultra loyalist units, are leading to limited defections within the military, which is controlled by mostly Alawite officers who ultimately answer to Assad’s feared brother Maher, activists say.Syria’s fractured opposition is also taking steps to unite, forming a 25-member National Salvation Council composed of Islamists, liberals and independents at a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday and agreeing to work toward a democratic vision.More than 1,400 civilians have been killed since the protests began in March, human rights organizations say.Some 1,000 troops and security forces backed by tanks and helicopters surrounded Albu Kamal overnight, a poor eastern border crossing with Iraq, a day after Military Intelligence agents there killed five protesters, including a 14 year old boy, residents said.The killings drove thousands into the streets, overwhelming soldiers and secret police. Residents said around 100 Air Force Intelligence personnel and the crew of at least four armored vehicles joined the protesters.“The protesters returned several army personnel carriers today as a sign of good will. The regime knows it will meet tough resistance if it attacks Albu Kamal, and that Iraqi tribes on the other side of the border will rush to help their brethren,” said one activist in the region, who declined to be named for fear of arrest.Another activist said: “The whole of Albu Kamal went to the streets after the killings. Several armored personnel carriers moved into the center of the town to stop them, but ended joining sides with the human wave.”Read the full story here.
- The Life of a Jihadi Internet Post.(InvestigativeProject)."[M]ilitary training is an obligation in Islam upon every sane, male, mature Muslim, whether rich or poor, whether studying or working and whether living in a Muslim or non-Muslim country," stated a recent article on jihadist website Islam Policy. What's unusual about the post is that it first appeared as post on an al-Qaida media site in 2000."Therefore, those Muslims unable to participate in Jihad at this present time, whatever the reason, have no excuse before Allah for not training for Jihad."Much of the action-oriented jihadi media, including videos of suicide bombings, comes and goes. But key documents and clips often live beyond a single post. These staples of jihad capture the attention of would-be jihadis and are reposted with minor modifications for years on end.For example, "How to Prepare for Jihad" is one of the classics. It briefly and effectively describes the obligation for physical training and fitness. Part of its fame also derives from being authored by al-Qaida's original media organization, Azzam Publications."True Iman (faith) is manifested in actions, and if someone truly wishes to fight Jihad he will prepare himself in all possible ways," the article says. From individual exercises to advice on martial arts and survival training, the article provides a strong overview of which types of exercises are best for battlefield and operational fitness.Islam Policy's most recent version of "How to Prepare for Jihad" erased information about training abroad and reflected the current emphasis on lone-wolf jihadis. Islampolicy's predecessor site, Revolution Muslim, became notorious for posting the texts of Anwar al-Awlaki, a leading jihadi ideologue who emphasizes individual attacks. According to her police interview, one young female jihadi was almost entirely radicalized from the posts on this site, particularly those from Awlaki.Read the full story here.
- Lybia - “We will kill, we will die for oil. Rebels, NATO, we don’t care. (Al-Arabiya).“We will kill, we will die for oil. Rebels, NATO, we don’t care. We will defend our oil to the last drop of blood and we are going to use everything,” said Muammar Qaddafi’s representative, Moussa Ibrahim, at Istanbul’s Libya Contact Group meeting on Friday.Despite the announcement by the international consortium of leaders and representatives recognizing the Transitional National Council (TNC) as Libya’s “legitimate authority,” it is clearly not the final step away from Colonel Qaddafi.Fighting began in Libya following violent crackdowns and aerial raids on peaceful protests and residential areas, beginning on February 15th this year.Benghazi, a city on the northeastern coast of Libya, was established as the TNC’s capital. A UN Security Council Resolution froze the assets of Mr. Qaddafi and his close associates on February 28th, restricting travel as well. The resolution also called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).Meanwhile, Mr. Qaddafi vowed to “fight ‘til the last drop of blood” embarking on a full-scale offensive against his people, refusing to relinquish the powerful role he has held since 1969. The TNC had previously received several recognition nods from nations such as Italy, France and Spain. Europeans imported 85 percent of Libya’s 1.6 million barrels per day prior to the revolution. Libyan oil provided of 32 percent of Italian oil imports, 16 percent of French imports and 13 percent of Spanish imports.Europeans turned to Russia and Saudi Arabia to supplement lost volumes.Libyan assets frozen in Canada are estimated by the TNC to total $100 billion. The opposition party is now asking for access to 10 to 20 percent of that, just enough to arm, feed and care for their people during this time of war.While the recognition of the TNC by the Libyan Contact Group is a significant step for the opposition, their road ahead has not yet been fully cleared. With Colonel Qaddafi still fighting, the security of repaired oil fields, rigs and transport infrastructure cannot be guaranteed, and thus it is doubtful that the TNC will invest their limited funds in such a gamble. Rather, arms, armour and food will take precedence. NATO assistance and swift UN Security Council action are needed to assist the opposition groups climb out from under Mr. Qaddafi’s iron fist.Only once Qaddafi’s forces are permanently defeated will oil production resume in Libya.Read the full story here.
- Russia refuses to recognize Libya rebels as legitimate government, clashing with West.(Al-Arabiya).Russia on Monday United States and other countries that have recognized the Libyan rebels’ National Transitional Council as a legitimate government, saying they were taking sides in the civil war.“We do not share this position for one simple reason −this again means that those who declare this recognition stand wholly on the side of one political power in a civil war,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.“This again means that those who support this decision support a policy of isolation -- in this case, isolation of the forces represented in Tripoli,” Mr. Lavrow said.“We traditionally reject isolation as a method for resolving political problems in any conflict.”US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the recognition of the rebels on Friday, when she was in Turkey for a meeting of an international contact group on Libya.The major diplomatic step could possibly unblock billions of dollars in frozen Libyan funds.Additional cash would be crucial to the rebels’ faltering campaign to end the 41-year rule of Muammar Qaddafi, who has so far resisted a nearly four-month NATO bombing campaign.Mr. Lavrov also dismissed Western media speculation that Russia is now ready to offer political asylum to Colonel Qaddafi and his closest family.“This question has been asked many time before, and the answer is no,” Mr. Lavrov said.Russia abstained from a vote on a UN Security Council resolution in March that opened the way for air strikes on Qaddafi regime targets in Libya and has since criticized the scale and intent of the NATO-led Western campaign.A Kremlin envoy has since met with top Libyan rebels in their stronghold city of Benghazi and conducted negotiations in Tripoli over the terms of Colonel Qaddafi’s potential exile.Hmmmmm........What's the role of Iran and Turkey in this?Read the full story here.
- PA slams plan for settlement construction.(Ynet).Palestinians say state's plan to build 6,900 housing units across country, including 336 in West Bank settlements, is another reason to appeal to UN. The Palestinian Authority slammed Israel's newest plan to build housing units beyond the Green Line, saying that the measure is yet another reason to appeal to the United Nations for recognition of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Ynet learned Monday that Defense Minister Ehud Barak attempted to reach an agreement with Binyamin Regional Council that would prevent the razing of three permanent structures in the West Bank outpost of Migron.Barak met with Council head Avi Roeh two weeks ago, and asked him if he had any other solutions that would prevent a forced eviction of the structures, in accordance with a High Court injunction, but the meeting ended without an agreement.PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said of the construction plans, "The actions and decision of (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's government are disgraceful and invalid. The Israeli government's entire policy of settling on Palestinian lands is unacceptable because it is illegal." Aiming to alleviate the national housing shortage, the Construction and Housing Ministry issued on Monday a tender for the construction of 6,900 housing units across the country – including 336 units in the West Bank settlements Beitar Illit and Karnei Shomron. "This decision is another reason for us to turn to the Security Council to ask for recognition of a Palestinian state, and to achieve full membership in the UN," Abu Rudeina told the Palestinian news agency WAFA in a statement. Abu Rudeina called on the international community to "take responsibility and to announce clear stances on Israel's settlement policy, which not only harms the Israeli-Arab peace process, but also peace in the entire world."Fatah also spoke out against the measure, saying that Netanyahu's government "insists on building settlements and destroying peace in the region, thus rejecting the calm and stability." "The Israeli decision to continue building in the occupied territories backs the Palestinian leadership's intention to turn to the UN," the movement said in a statement. According to Fatah, "Israel alone will bear the responsibility for blocking the peace process with its total violation of international law and its insistence to continue with… settlement, land confiscation and the Judaization of the holy city (Jerusalem)."Meanwhile a senior official from the Syrian foreign ministry announced Monday that his country "recognizes a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, based on legitimate Palestinian rights." The official told a local news agency that "Syria intends to treat the PLO offices in Damascus as an official embassy from now on." According to the report, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised the Syrian announcement.Hmmmmm.......Also sprach The 'Reformer' Assad.Read the full story here.
- "Come to the 'Dark' Side?Morality police hit Tehran streets.(Ynet).(Video) Iran's special police unit commences annual campaign to uphold Islamic dress code in country, leading to arrests, fines for not wearing hijab headscarf, nail polish, sandals. Iran's morality police unit commenced its annual campaign last month to uphold the Islamic dress code and raise "moral security" in the streets of Tehran, leading to many arrests and fines. Local media published pictures of police men and women belonging to the "chastity squads" who detained for questioning women who were not wearing their traditional hijab headscarf properly.Some women were arrested and taken to police stations across the city until they could post bail. The authorities went as far as to fine some of the 'sinners' for their behavior. Iranian citizens, and especially Iranian women, are not always willing to obey police orders to "improve appearance," causing great conflicts between both sides. The morality police unit, consisting of some 70,000 officers, searches through major Iranian cities issuing warnings and reports to citizens."The police will operate legally when it comes to public figures such as models," said the unit's chief.Ever since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came into power in 2005, police have intensified enforcement against men, women, clothing shops and barber shops which go against the regime's Islamic code. Every year thousands of citizens, and especially woman and adolescents, are arrested during similar campaigns. Hmmmm........Perhaps give Iran another seat on Women rights?Read the full story here.
- Indian woman turns bomb-making husband to police.(Yahoo).An Indian state government plans to reward a woman after she turned in her bomb-making husband to the police, the local chief minister said on Monday.Officers in the western state of Gujarat, the scene of serial blasts in 2008, arrested Sahazad Rangrez on Sunday and recovered eight live bombs from his possession, state chief minister Narendra Modi said.The woman turned in her husband after India's financial hub Mumbai was hit by serial blasts in which 19 people died and more than 130 were injured.No group has claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks but suspicion has fallen on the domestic Islamist group the Indian Mujahideen.Rangrez's wife Reshma reported him to the police after suffering domestic violence, she told reporters in Ahmedabad city, where she lives in the working class district of Danilimda.She said she was fed up with her husband's habit of smuggling explosives and home-made weapons."Even if my life is destroyed I don't care (but) I am happy that I could save other lives... I do not mind my husband going to jail," she added."How can I sit and see him do such an illegal act?" Reshma said.Chief minister Modi tweeted that his administration would "felicitate brave Reshma with a prize of 25,000 rupees ($556) for exposing her husband in the national interest".Fifty-seven people were killed and more than 200 others were injured in a string of bombings on July 26, 2008 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city.Read the full story here.
- Taliban Video Shows Execution of 16 Pakistanis.(NYTimes).ISLAMABAD — Taliban insurgents have released a video showing them killing 16 Pakistani men who were captured in a raid in a restive northwestern province last month, a spokesman for the Pakistani military said on Monday. The graphic video shows the 16 men, most of whom appear to be Pakistani policemen, standing in a line with their hands tied behind their backs. Four insurgents stand in front, holding assault rifles, with their faces covered by scarves. One insurgent makes a brief speech in Pashto, the language spoken in the country’s northwest, accusing the men of killing six children in the Swat district. “These are the enemies of Islam who originated from Pakistan,” he says, according to a translation of the statement posted by The Long War Journal, a Web site that specializes in reports on militancy. The speaker in the video describes the 16 men as “murtards,” or those who have abandoned Islam. “They are the Pakistani police, soldiers, and their supporters who recently lined up six kids in Swat and shot them execution-style,” the insurgent says. “These Pakistanis are now our captives, and we will avenge the death of the children by doing the same to them.” A quick burst of gunfire follows. The men fall to the ground, and some can be heard moaning. Then an insurgent approaches them one by one and fires rounds into each man who appears to still be alive. Another person, holding a video camera, films the execution and walks up and down capturing images of the victims. The video runs 5 minutes 36 seconds in all. No Taliban group has yet publicly claimed responsibility for the video, which was first shown on the LiveLeak video-sharing Web site. Pakistani officials said last month that hundreds of Taliban insurgents had crossed into the country over the border from Afghanistan and on June 1 attacked a police post in Barawal, a village surrounded by rugged mountains and forests in the Shaltalo area of Upper Dir, a district in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Shaltalo is near the border with Kunar Province, Afghanistan. At least 28 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed in two days of fighting there, while at least 45 Taliban fighters were killed.Pakistan lodged a protest with the Afghan government after the attack in Upper Dir. As Pakistan battles a bloody Taliban insurgency, videos of summary killings have surfaced from both sides of the conflict. Last year, an Internet video emerged that showed men in Pakistani military uniforms killing six young men, apparently in Swat, where the military had begun an operation to drive out the Taliban. The Pakistani military denied that the video was authentic. Hmmmmmm..........Islam the religion of peace.Read the full story here.
- Putin's model army: The beautiful women pledging to strip to ensure victory in the Presidential race.(DailyMail).Girls launch racy online video asking other fans to disrobe for strong man Vlad (and win an iPad2).He's already known as the hard man of the homeland.But Vladimir Putin's virility is set to be blown even further sky high with the launch of a new online campaign.A bevy of Russian beauties, calling themselves Putin's Army, are getting ready to strip off as they bid to get their hero back into the Kremlin as President.The provocative platoon's first mission has been to launch a competition called 'I'll tear [my clothes off] for Putin'.The trio of girls who appear in the slick video invite others to shoot their own - for the chance of winning an iPad2.The sample, uploaded to the blog of parliamentarian Kirill Shchitov, from Putin's ruling United Russia party, shows blonde student Diana strutting along Moscow's streets in high heels and a black suit.'I'm just crazy about a man who changed our country,' she purrs, as the camera frequently hovers over her bust. She adds: 'He's a great politician, and an amazing man. He's Vladimir Putin.''He is adored by millions, but there are some people who throw mud at him - maybe because they are afraid, maybe because they are weak and because they will never take his place.Later in the video, she meets two equally attractive friends sunbathing by the riverbank.Pouting, they daub 'I'll tear for Putin' onto skimpy T-shirts in red lipstick, with the video ending as one rips her top off.They then ask other 'young, smart and beautiful' girls to 'tear off something for Putin' and post a video of it online.The Putin Army's homepage on a Russian social networking site is dominated by a photograph of Mr Putin in a bright-red lounge suit and wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses.Putin, who has not yet declared whether he will run for the post next year, stepped aside in 2008 because of the two-term constitutional limit.But he is still seen as more powerful than President Dmitry Medvedev.Hmmmmm........The Russian version of the 'Obama girl'?Read the full story here.
- And now for something completely different.Sunken 19th Century Schooner Found Intact In Lake Ontario(Video).(Irishweatheronline).Underwater explorers have released images of a Canadian schooner which sank during a storm on Lake Ontario more than a century ago.Queen of the Lakes, which was built in 1853, was carrying 480 tons of coal when it set off from Rochester, New York, for the Canadian port town of Kingston in November 1906. The vessel’s sinking in one of North America’s Great Lakes occurred when it sprung a leak during a storm.Explorers who discovered the wreck this week said that the ship’s wood is still preserved thanks to the frigid waters of Lake Ontario. They added that the anchor and steering wheel, as well as cables that held the mast in place have survived the 105 years beneath the water.The exploration team was lead by Jim Kennard has helped locate more than 20 shipwrecks in and around the Great Lakes since the early seventies. He has also contributed to the discovery of 180 other wrecks in the Great Lakes, New York’s Finger Lakes, the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.Jim Kennard has been diving and exploring the lakes in the northeast since 1970. He has found over 200 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, NY Finger Lakes and in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers over the past 35 years. Using his background as an electrical engineer, he built the side scan sonar system that located many of these shipwrecks in the past.Read and see the full story here.
