MFS -The Other News - What the main papers don't say.

  Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Vanuatu 5.1!More info here.

• Are you kidding me?FBI open to US Muslim Brotherhood groups "establishing a committee to review materials used in FBI anti-terrorism training"(AS). And you thought it was bad that the FBI submited to demands to purge counter terrorism materials of jihadic doctrine documentation: Obama disarms FBI counter terror training programs, purges truth about jihadYou ain't seen nothing yet. The Muslim Brotherhood and their jihadist brothers are on the march, emboldened by a pro-jihadist Obama adminstration."FBI officials say they are willing to consider a proposal from a coalition of Muslim and interfaith groups to establish a committee of experts to review materials used in FBI anti-terrorism training."Maybe the Taliban and Al Qaeda can review it as well. Hamas-CAIR is already all over it. Is there any rational man who believes that this makes us safer? Our government is clearly no longer a government by the people and for the people. It is now a government against the people.The Washington Post is reporting:"FBI officials say they are willing to consider a proposal from a coalition of Muslim and interfaith groups to establish a committee of experts to review materials used in FBI anti-terrorism training."“We’re open to the idea, but they need to submit a proposal first,” said Christopher Allen, an FBI spokesman who was in the meeting.Read the full story here.

• Trouble in Obamaland: U.S. May Hit Debt Ceiling Before November Election.(BP).President Obama held out last August for a debt increase that would take him past the November 2012 election. Obama didn't want the voters thinking about his gargantuan deficit spending right before election day. However, President Obama's inability to curtail spending may put him in that very situation anyway. A new study has predicted the government will run out of money again in mid-October.The United States Department of Treasury will reach the the statutory limit it is allowed to borrow money before election day, according to a new study by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio., former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.“Following the contentious debt ceiling last August, President Obama promised that he would take action to address the country’s fiscal crisis. He has failed to do that," Portman said. "In fact, his new budget increases spending and projects that Washington will be hitting the debt ceiling again in mid-October – burning through a $2.1 trillion debt limit increase in just over 14 months."Read the full story here.

• Lawmaker Demands DHS Cease Monitoring of Blogs, Social Media.(Wired).Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) said Thursday she wants the Department of Homeland Security to cease its social-media and news-monitoring operation.Speaking at a Homeland Security subcommittee hearing, the California lawmaker said she was “outraged” that the agency has hired a contractor to review a variety of social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, and that General Dynamics is being tasked with reviewing news sources, blogs and their bylines for all types of articles, including those containing anti-American sentiment and reaction to policy proposals.“This should not be a political operation,” she said.Read the full story here.

• US gets Barak to backtrack and deny Iran has reached nuclear point of no-return.(Debka). By suddenly stating, contrary to all informed estimates, that Iran’s nuclear arms program has not yet reached the point of no return, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak implied that Israel was in no hurry to strike its nuclear facilities, a message for which Washington has been angling for months.In a Kol Israel interview from Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 16, the defense minister’s pronouncement contradicted every reliable evaluation, including those of Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi on Feb. 2 and his predecessor Amos Yadlin who wrote on Jan. 26 that Iran had passed the point of no return four or five years ago. But his words were a perfect fit for the recent assertions by US President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that Israel had not yet made up its mind to attack Iran.Kochavi’s information was detailed: He reported that Iran had amassed 10 kilos of 20-percent enriched uranium and four tons of uranium enriched to 3.5 percent. In his view, nothing remains to stop Iran building a bomb but a decision by its ruler. Once taken, Iran’s nuclear program could produce its first bomb or warhead by the end of this year or early 2013 and four or five by 2015.The defense minister backtracked on a second issue: While noting that Iran was scattering or burying its nuclear facilities to “impede a surgical strike,” he avoided his previous estimate that no more than three to six months were left before all those facilities had been hidden in what he himself called “zones of immunity.Before these changes in outlook, Barak was indirectly criticized by Obama administration officials for underlining the mortal threat to Israel of a nuclear Iran. One official complained, “Israelis are looking at the problem too narrowly.”Why the defense minister suddenly changed course is unclear. It is also hard to know if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu okayed his radical departure from Israel’s information strategy on the nuclear Iran issue.What is apparent, debkafile’s sources report, is that the change of tune coincides with the reports circulating in Washington and Jerusalem that the US and Iran have agreed to resume nuclear talks shortly. Those sources point to an article in the New York Times by Dennis Ross, President Obama’s former senior adviser on Iran, entitled “Iran is ready to talk.” Ross is too experienced to go out on a limb and make this sort of statement without being sure of his facts.Hmmmmm........"Trust me said the scorpion to the frog".Read the full story here.

• 'Homs hit with an average of 4 rockets a minute'.(JPost).Syrian President Bashar Assad continued his bloody crackdown on protesters on Friday, marking the 14 days of heavy shelling in Homs. According to activist Hadi Abdullah, Friday's violence is the "the like of which we have never seen before, with an average of four rockets every minute,” AFP reported.In a telephone conversation with the Al Arabiya paper, Abdullah explained that the city's shelters were over-crowded with residents fleeing the indiscriminate bombardment. On Thursday, the 193-nation UN General Assembly ratcheted up the pressure on Assad by overwhelmingly approving a resolution that endorses an Arab League plan calling for him to step aside.Russia and China were among those opposing the resolution, which was drafted by Saudi Arabia and submitted by Egypt on behalf of Arab UN delegations. Unlike in the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly, and its decisions lack the legal force of council resolutions.Read the full story here.

• Afghan government involved in U.S.-Taliban peace dialogue, says Karzai.(AlArabiya).The Afghan government is part of a three-way peace dialogue involving the U.S. and the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai reportedly said, despite the militia’s denunciation of his “puppet regime.”Kabul has expressed fear of being marginalized as United States officials explore a dialogue with the Islamist Taliban, who in turn have said they have no intention to talk to the president’s U.S.-backed government.But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Thursday, Karzai said the Afghan government was indeed involved in the dialogue and that most Taliban were “definitively” interested in a peace deal as foreign troops exit.“There have been contacts between the U.S. government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban,” Karzai was quoted as saying in the interview, conducted Wednesday.The president, who is due to hold summit talks in Islamabad with leaders of Pakistan and Iran on Thursday, did not give any further details about the contacts.Karzai did not mention any Pakistani involvement in the Taliban dialogue, but said the cooperation of Afghanistan’s fractious neighbor “would make the whole matter easier for us, for the Taliban, and for the U.S.”The Taliban said last month that they planned to set up a political office in Qatar ahead of possible formal talks with the United States. Afghan and U.S. officials have said that exploratory contacts are already underway.To build confidence, President Barack Obama’s administration has confirmed tentative talks with the Taliban on a possible transfer of five inmates from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar, and on potential local ceasefires with the militia.The nascent dialogue comes as the United States and its foreign allies prepare to draw down their combat troop presence and hand full control of Afghanistan’s security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.The Taliban have often decried Karzai’s government as a “puppet regime” propped up by foreign troops and cash, but the president dismissed such talk as rhetoric.In the interview, he said the Taliban might even accept a peace deal that allows for the long-term presence of U.S. troops.Afghanistan could give ground on the question of legal immunity for U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, he said, a stumbling block that prevented a similar strategic pact between the United States and Iraq last year.“That’s an issue that we can discuss,” the president told the Wall Street Journal. “We want a partnership with America. And we will do all we can to make that possible.” Read the full story here.

• Egyptian preacher wants end to U.S. “humiliation” by replacing aid with local donations.(ALArabiya).Egyptian Salafist preacher Mohammed Hassan has called for the replacement of U.S. aid to Egypt with local donations, Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported on Wednesday.Egypt receives around $1.3 billion annually in military aid from the U.S. government but Washington has threatened to cut off the flow of money after Cairo charged 43 activists, including 19 Americans, with violating laws regulating the operation of NGOs.Accusations against the activists include working for organizations not properly registered in Egypt and receiving foreign funds illegally.Egypt, as one of the main recipients of U.S. aid worldwide receives military assistance in the form of arms and services including maintenance.Hassan explained that his idea comes in response to what he called American “humiliation” of Egypt.“If America wants to cut military aid, very well; Egypt isn’t less than Iran which is self-dependent when it comes to producing its own military equipment,” Hassan said. “The Egyptian people will not be broken anymore.”Hassan received support for his statement by two Islamist lawmakers, Mohamed Selim El-Awwa ad Abdel Moneim Aboul Foutuh.Aboul Foutuh was quoted as saying that the aid served U.S. interests rather than being granted for charity purposes.Meanwhile El-Awwa said Hassan’s initiative would prevent interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.On Tuesday the dispute further escalated when state-run Egyptian newspapers accused the U.S. of spreading anarchy.Based on remarks by Minster of International Cooperation Faiza Abul Naga, Al Gomhuria newspaper declared on its front page “American is behind the anarchy.”While the front page of Al Ahram newspaper read “American funding aims to spread anarchy in Egypt.”In her remarks made in October but revealed only this week, Abul Naga linked between what she saw as the surge in U.S. funding for civil society groups in 2011 and the attempt to steer the course of the post-Hosni Mubarak transition in “a direction that realized American and Israeli interests.”“All the indications show that there was a clear desire to abort any chance for Egypt to emerge as a modern democratic state with a strong economy,” she was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency, adding that that would be a threat to “American and Israeli interests.”Last week, Egypt’s ruling military council released a statement stressing that relations with the U.S. were government by common interest of both parties and “Egypt does not bow to the domination of anyone.”The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on Tuesday to urge Egypt to “immediately cease its intimidation and prosecution” of democracy activists. The chairman of the panel, Senator John Kerry, said lawmakers were “sending a signal that American patience is being tested” in Egypt.The row is one of the worst in over 30 years of close U.S.-Egyptian ties and has complicated Washington’s efforts to establish relations with the military council that took power from Mubarak after his overthrow in a popular revolt a year ago.Read the full story here.

• Israel's Netanyahu PM in Cyprus: sanctions on Iran not working.(JPost).NICOSIA - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tour of Iranian centrifuges halls Wednesday is an indication that the worlds sanctions against Iran are not working, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday.Netanyahu’s comments came during a press conference in Nicosia with Cypriot President Demetris Christofias.“If anybody needed a reminder that the sanctions have not stopped the nuclear program, it was the guided tour by the Iran’s president in the centrifuge hall yesterday," he said. “I hope they work, but so far they have not."Netanyahu characterized Iran as a regime that “breaks all the rules." A regime that was formed through the taking of the US embassy in Tehran, Iran -- Netanyahu said -- has ever since continued to show no respect for international rules. The most recent example, he said, was attacking foreign diplomats and their wives.“They send children into mine fields, they have suicide bombers, they send tens of thousands of rockets into our cites and towns," Netanyahu said. “Such a regime should obviously not have an atomic bomb, and I believe that the international community is becoming aware by the day of what it means for Iran” to have nuclear potential, he said.Asked about whether the US should fear an Israeli attack on Iran, Netanyahu said that Israel, the US and the rest of the world should be concerned about Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.Read the full story here.

• Online Jihadi Incites American Muslims To Lone Wolf Attacks, Recommends Following 'Inspire' Magazine and Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan; Says: 'Mujahid Can Carry Weapons, Enter Public Places Where There Are Christians, And Kill'.(Memri).On February 10, 2012, a member of the Shumoukh Al-Islam jihadi forum, "Abu Asma' Al-Cubi" ("the Cuban") posted an article detailing how Muslims living in the West, particularly in the U.S., can aid the global jihadi movement and can weaken the U.S. from within.Al-Cubi writes that it has become clear to all that the two main forces operating in the geopolitical and ideological arenas are Al-Qaeda and its supporters on the one hand, and the U.S. and its allies on the other. Referring to Al-Qaeda as a "hidden phenomenon," he says that the organization has proven itself to be the force that is the stronger and more united of the two, especially after it defeated the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan and Iraq.Read the full story here.

Saudi Arabia bans women from entering the Olympic Games.

                                                               Dalma Rushdi Malhas

Saudi Arabia bans women from entering the Olympic Games.(BM).CAIRO: Less than three months after Saudi Arabia said it would permit women to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Games, it has reportedly reneged on their agreement, barring women from entering the Games.
The move will also threaten the country’s overall participation in the Olympics, with the International Olympic Committee saying that all countries must field female athletes as part of their teams.
The decision has been roundly criticized by human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), which said in a press release that the move is counter to the Olympic Charter, which says, “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit.”. HRW said it shouldn’t be too surprising, however, as state-run schools offer no physical education for girls and only men belong to sports clubs in the country.“In fact, government restrictions on women essentially bar them from sports,” a new report says, HRW reported.
The IOC Women’s Chair Anita DeFrantz warned the country in 2010 that if female athletes are not allowed to participate, the country could face being banned from the global competition.Dalma Rushdi Malhas, an 18-year-old Saudi woman, was the likely choice for the competition. She won a bronze medal at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics and has the ability to compete at the highest level.The OIC required each country to field at least one woman in the Youth Olympics and Saudi Arabia included Malhas in its delegation.
In response to comments by the International Olympic Committee, last year Saudi Arabia said it would not oppose participation by a Saudi woman in the London Olympics – but that it would not invite her as part of its official team.“Human Rights Watch urges the International Olympic Committee to uphold the values of the Olympic Charter and condition Saudi Arabia’s participation in the London 2012 Olympics on the country taking steps to end discrimination against women in sports,” HRW said in their statement.Read the full story here.

What if Iran already has the bomb? - Part 1 of 4

Former government experts provided a realistic assessment of Iran's nuclear weapons program and warned that the threat deserves urgent attention.
In this first part (of four parts) Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, president of EMPact America, starts the conference by reading a written statement from Congressman Trent Franks.
The first speaker is Mr. Reza Kahlili, who is in disguise and uses a voice distorter to protect his identity for security purposes, as he is a former spy, working for the CIA on the inside of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Watch Part 2 of this press conference to hear Dr. Peter Vincent Pry give his own statement, followed by statements from Lt. Col. (retired) Tony Shaffer and Mr. Ken Timmerman.
Part 3 of this conference includes statements from Mr. Chet Nagle and Mr. Peter Huessy.
Part 4 closes the conference with Dr. Peter Vincent Pry reading a statement from Mr. Frank Gaffney and then taking questions from those in attendance.
November 1, 2011, Press Conference and Q&A with Expert Panel
Location: Capitol Hill, Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2456.

Video: The Man who Would be King, starring Barack Hussein Obama

HT: Israel Matzav.

Obama EPA Fuel Efficiency Standard Will Eliminate Half of U.S. New Car Buyers.

Obama EPA Fuel Efficiency Standard Will Eliminate Half of U.S. New Car Buyers.(NR).By Jeffrey Klein.The Obama EPA is planning to enact their stunning 2025 EPA fleet fuel efficiency standard, raising it from the already high 35.5 miles per gallon mark by 2016, to a whopping 54.5 miles per gallon, according to Judson Berger’s FOXNews article yesterday.
The price from accomplishing this objective will add from $3,000 to $5,000 (today dollars) to the price of a new car–and that will cause about 6.8 million people to be unable to qualify for a loan to purchase a new car, according to Bailey Wood of the National Association of Auto Dealers (NADA).
The Obama administration “sold” the idea to the unwitting public, by saying the increase in price would pay for itself by fuel cost savings over four years. However, as Wood points out, if the customer can’t afford the new, fuel-efficient vehicle in the first place–the reduction in fuel consumption and lowered emissions is an academic non-starter.
Instead, they will go to the relatively “gas-guzzling” used car market to make their purchase, while seriously damaging Detroit by being priced out of the new car showrooms.And in a January statement from Mitch Bainwol, head of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, carmakers are in lock-step with dealers, saying … [the] “ultimate question” is whether consumers will buy these new cars.
Otherwise its’ “game over.”In following their instincts for self-preservation, autodealers are hoping to convince the administration to delay the process, until the impact on consumers can be further studied.
Just like Obama mandated additional time for review of the Keystone Pipeline deal.Wait.Do you really think President Obama will risk derailing his environmental extremist voter base, in an election year–just to save the country from mass destruction?Hmmmmm..........Obama: "All the Choices We've Made Have Been the Right Ones".Read the full story here.

The Muslim Brothers Get Paid to Threaten America

The Muslim Brothers Get Paid to Threaten America.(DT).By Bruce Thornton .Remember last year’s giddy bipartisan enthusiasm over the “Arab Spring”? President Obama claimed that Egyptians merely wanted “a government that is fair and just and responsive,” Senator John McCain asserted that Libyans were aiming for “lasting peace, dignity, and justice,” while Senator Joseph Lieberman wrote in Foreign Affairs that the Arab Spring was a struggle for “democracy, dignity, economic opportunity, and involvement in the modern world.” Every day that passes shows these assessments to be not just delusional, but dangerous to America’s interests and security.
The most recent repudiation of the “democracy delusion” is the arrogant threat made by a member of the Muslim Brothers, who control almost 50% of the new Egyptian parliament, to abrogate their treaty with Israel if the U.S. cuts off $1.5 billion in annual aid over the indictment of 16 American NGO workers, and the detention of 6 of them. In this the Brothers are in accord with the interim military government, whose prime minister Kamal el- Ganzouri told reporters last week that the Egyptians “won’t change course because of some aid.”
These are the same Muslim Brothers, remember, anointed as “moderates” and “largely secular” by Obama’s director of intelligence, foreign policy wonks, and New York Times columnists, an opinion based solely on propaganda and wishful thinking.
Ignored are the many mosque sermons that vow to “kill all the Jews,” or that assert, as Muslim Brothers spiritual leader Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb has, “In order to build Egypt, we must be one. Politics is insufficient. Faith in Allah is the basis for everything.” This advice is seconded by Brothers’ Supreme Guide Muhammad al-Badi’, who finds “a practical role model in Allah’s Messenger, [the Prophet Muhammad] . . . who clarified how to implement the values of the [Koran] and the Sunna at every time and in every place,” and who advises that the “improvement and change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life.”
If you want more specifics about what sort of Egypt the Muslim Brothers will build, consult the speeches of the Brothers’ Grand Mufti Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who commands a global audience of millions. Qaradawi has approved of suicide bombing, wife-beating, death for homosexuals, support for Hezbollah, and the righteousness of the Holocaust.
Obama entered office offering to talk with the mullahs in Iran “without preconditions,” sent a letter to Khamenei calling for “co-operation in regional and bilateral relations,” and assured the regime that it “remain committed to serious, meaningful engagement.” What it got in response was contempt, insults, genocidal threats against Israel, terrorist plots in our own country, more support for the terrorists killing our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an intensified effort to acquire nuclear weapons. At some point Obama should realize that the Islamists see flattery, appeasement, foreign aid, and offers to parley as signs of weakness and fear, the expected behavior of infidels whose spiritual poverty makes them vulnerable to the spiritual strength of the faithful. And this perception of weakness is increasingly being shared not just by our enemies, but by many of our friends.
Finally, the administration’s refusal to punish the new regime in Egypt for their arrogance in kidnapping our citizens and threatening us not to stop giving them money endangers our key ally Israel. The border to the south is already more open and dangerous, even with the peace treaty supposedly still in effect. Weapons like surface-to-air missiles–– looted from Gaddafi’s arsenals in Libya by other “peace, dignity, and justice” -loving democrats––have been pouring into Gaza. Barry Rubin has drawn the obvious conclusion from such fecklessness: “If an Egyptian government is willing to risk U.S. aid and have a confrontation on this small issue, what are they going to do regarding big issues? What happens when the Egyptian government moves toward Islamism or helps Hamas fight Israel on some level? We have been told that fear of losing U.S. aid will constrain Egypt. But we are now seeing that this simply isn’t true.” Indeed, we could very soon see another war against Israel, this time fought by an Egyptian army trained and armed by the United States, its ally a Palestinian Authority force likewise trained and funded by us. Such would be the wages of this administration’s penchant for indulging delusional wishful thinking rather than facing reality.Read the full story here.

Why We Need Words Like 'Islamist'

Why We Need Words Like 'Islamist'.(MEForum).By Raymond Ibrahim. PJ Media - February 13, 2012.
Is the problem Islam or Islamism? Muslims or Islamists?
These and related questions regularly foster debate (see the exchange between Robert Spencer and Andrew McCarthy for a recent example). The greatest obstacle on the road to consensus is what such words imply; namely, that Islamism and Islamists are "bad," and Islam and Muslims are good (or simply neutral).
Some observations in this regard:
Islamism is a distinct phenomenon and, to an extent, different from historic Islam. The staunch literalness of today's Islamists is so artificial and anachronistic that, if only in this way, it contradicts the practices of medieval Muslims, which often came natural and better fit their historical context.
More to the point, for all their talk that they are out to enact the literal example of the early Muslims, today's Islamists often permit and forbid things that their forbears did not, simply because, like it or not, they are influenced by Westernization. As Daniel Pipes observes:

Whereas traditional Islam's sacred law is a personal law, a law a Muslim must follow wherever he is, Islamism tries to apply a Western-style geographic law that depends on where one lives. Take the case of Sudan, where traditionally a Christian was perfectly entitled to drink alcohol, for he is a Christian, and Islamic law applies only to Muslims. But the current regime has banned alcohol for every Sudanese. It assumes Islamic law is territorial because that is the way a Western society is run.

That said, there is no denying that Islam's sacred law, Sharia—the backbone of mainstream Islam—is intrinsically problematic. One example: hostility for Muslim apostates—from ostracizing them to executing them—is simply a part of the religion of Islam, historically and doctrinally. The same can be said about the duty of offensive jihad and the subjugation of religious minorities and females.
Accordingly, while there is room for the word Islamism—in that it is a distinct phenomenon—that does not mean Islam proper is trouble-free. In fact, sometimes Islam's traditional teachings are more problematic than Islamist teachings. For instance, during the "Arab spring," many traditional Muslim sheikhs correctly pointed out that Sharia commands Muslims to obey their leader, even if he is unjust and tyrannical, as long as he is a Muslim, while Western-influenced Islamists were making the "humanitarian argument" against tyrants, one that had little grounding in Sharia.
At this point, one might argue that use of words like "Islamist," while valid, are ultimately academic and have the potential further to confuse the layman. However, what is often missed in this debate is the true significance of such words: they satisfy a linguistic need—the need to differentiate and be precise—without which meaningful talk becomes next to impossible.
Consider: even the severest critic of Islam will concede that not all who are labeled "Muslim"—well over a billion people—are "the enemy." Well, then, how shall we differentiate them in speech? What words shall we use?
One might insist that those whom we call "Islamists" should be called "Muslims," while the majority whom we call "Muslims"—and which often indicate "moderate Muslims"—should not even be factored in the equation: after all, if they are not upholders of Sharia, then they are not practicing "true Islam" and do not count as Muslims.
Whatever the merits of this definition, by contradicting the ingrained and widespread usage of the word "Muslim," it is impractical and counterproductive.
Say I am discussing Egypt, which has some 70 million Muslims, and I want to refer to those particular Muslims seeking to enforce full Sharia (the "bad guys"): with what noun shall I distinguish them from the rest of Egypt's Muslims? Or shall I simply call them "Muslims" and assume that everyone understands by "Muslim" I mean those Muslims?
Such an approach would imply that Egypt's 70 million Muslims are all out to enforce Sharia—which is not true—and push the many undecided, potential allies in the West, whose common sense rejects such an exaggerated assertion, over the wrong side of the fence into thinking that no Muslim is the enemy.
Likewise, insisting on always using "Muslim" instead of "Islamist" can actually backfire by concealing the threat. Consider this recent news headline: "Egypt's Islamists secure 75 percent of parliament." Most informed readers would gather from this that Egypt is taking a turn for the worst. But what a redundant headline it would be had it simply read "Egypt's Muslims secure 75 percent of parliament." Exactly who else is supposed to dominate the parliament of a Muslim-majority nation if not Muslims?
Same with these reports: "U.S. official meets with Egypt's Islamists" and "Islamist Named Speaker of Egypt House." Many readers will take from these titles that an American official is meeting with the "bad guys," and that one of them has become house-speaker. Think of how meaningless these headlines would be if they had simply read "U.S. official meets with Egypt's Muslims" and "Muslim Named Speaker of Egypt House." In a country that is 90% Muslim, who else are U.S. officials to meet with, and who else should be house-speaker, if not Muslims? The danger becomes altogether missed.
Is it not better, then, to utilize the accepted terms—"Islamist," "Muslim radical," "Islamic supremacist," "Islamic fundamentalist," anything other than the generic "Muslim"—simply to be understood, at least in certain contexts? The question is not how well the actions of such Muslims correspond with "true" Islam—as mentioned, that is an entirely different question, to be addressed on its own terms—but rather how we can intelligibly and practically talk about them.
Nor is a word like "Islamist"—which thrusts the name of the religion center-stage—necessarily "politically correct": consider how Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton could not even bring himself to agree that al-Qaeda is acting out "violent Islamist extremism," fearful that describing "our adversary as Islamic with any set of qualifiers" implies we are at "war with Islam."
Perhaps the greatest argument justifying use of words like "Islamist" is that Muslims themselves regularly use them to signify their more "adamant" coreligionists ("al-Islamiyin"). Indeed, even the Islamists use such words to distinguish themselves from the average Muslim, such as Egypt's "Salafis." They have no other choice—if they want to be understood.
In short, the need for words like "Islamist" is less to make a doctrinal distinction and more to make a practical, linguistic distinction. Perhaps in a more exacting world, the word "Muslim" will not be conflated with a "race," or refer to a billion people, many of whom identify with Islam only on a cultural or heritage level; perhaps "Muslim" will be reserved, literally, for those who truly submit to the dictates of Islam. But until that day comes, why insist on a language that is easily misunderstood and even has the potential to backfire?

Raymond Ibrahim, author of The Al Qaeda Reader, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Be assured the U.S. Border is Protected - CBP Stops Thousands of Unsafe Hair Dryers.

Be assured the U.S. Border is Protected - CBP Stops Thousands of Unsafe Hair Dryers.(CBPGov).Washington — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized thousands of hair dryers recently that were determined to constitute a “substantial product hazard” under U.S. law, for failing to have adequate immersion protection. The potentially dangerous hair dryers were identified through a nationwide targeting operation by the CBP Import Safety Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC). As a result of the targeting operation, CBP officers in the port of Los Angeles seized an entire shipment of 9,768 hair dryers that lacked shock protection for consumers. Lack of proper shock protection could lead to an electrocution if contact is made with a water source. The port of Miami had a notable seizure of 3,614 hair dryers that also lacked proper shock protection for consumers. These two shipments, containing a total of 13,382 hair dryers, had an estimated domestic value of approximately $229,998 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $2,506,517. Read the full story here.

OIC chief: European politicians exploit fear of Muslims

OIC chief: European politicians exploit fear of Muslims.(TZ).European politicians aim to woo their voters and win their support by attacking or offending Muslims across the region, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) head Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu said on Thursday.“There are efforts by European politicians to use Islamophobia as a tool to win votes. Assailing and offending Muslims has become the ugliest tool to win the advantage in elections. The more one attacks Muslims and offends them, the more votes are gained, which can be turned into a seat in the Parliament,” İhsanoğlu said. He added that Muslims have become part of the European political agenda.
The OIC chief’s remarks came in an interview with Today’s Zaman during his visit to Australia at the official invitation from Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.
Attacks on Muslims first began in Belgium and the Netherlands and have now spread to France, he said, adding that hostility against Muslims is becoming a political tool.
According to İhsanoğlu, using Islamophobia for political gain is very disappointing because there is a risk of seeing religious hatred and discrimination as a natural expression of democracy. Therefore, he said, governments and coalitions formed in this way will justify themselves by saying, “We have done this because our citizens provided us with the authority to do so.”(Democracy).
“It is the same as the decision by the French Parliament criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide. This decision ignores other nations’ religion and beliefs, which is a huge and dangerous threat to stability,” İhsanoğlu noted.The French bill approved by French Parliament criminalizing denial of the “Armenian genocide” last month has not only outraged Turks, but also drew strong condemnation from both the Turkish government and the opposition.Hmmmmmm.........Salafi-jihadi sheikh Abu Basir Al-Tartusi "Democracy and Islam are incompatible".Read the full story here.

Turkish Diplomatic sources "Turkey supports internal reconciliation in Palestine, and “Turkey and Hamas are already close.”

Turkish Diplomatic sources "Turkey supports internal reconciliation in Palestine, and “Turkey and Hamas are already close.”(TZ).Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to Greek Cyprus on Thursday -- the first ever visit of an Israeli PM to the island -- seeking closer ties in regards to cooperation in the fields of energy and defense, which might present challenges for Turkey.
The one-day visit “was designed to strengthen the improving ties between the two nations,” according to officials from Netanyahu's office, and the two sides will discuss cooperation in energy matters, agriculture, health and maritime research and sign a disaster relief and a search and rescue agreement. Greek Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told The Associated Press the visit “illustrates the great dynamic driving forward the improvement in relations between the two countries,” and Cypriot-Israeli energy cooperation is a key aspect to budding relations, but there are others, including defense.Turkey opposes exploratory drilling being conducted by US company Noble Energy off Cyprus’ south coast, saying it ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots. Ankara sent warships last year to escort a research vessel looking for gas deposits in the area, raising the possibility of a naval confrontation.
Greek Cyprus on Wednesday accused neighboring Turkey of using “bullying behavior” in some of its harshest criticism yet of its old foe, locked in a decades-old standoff over the division of the island and recent natural gas finds.
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis told Israeli Army Radio in an interview on the eve of the visit by Netanyahu that Turkey had held numerous and “provocative” military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean over the past few months. The island of Cyprus is split between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), recognized by Turkey, and Greek Cyprus, which represents an internationally recognized government. There are reunification talks going on.
“There is no doubt that the loss of Turkey pushed Israel in the direction of Greece and Cyprus,” said Alon Liel, a former director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and one-time envoy to Turkey, as quoted by The Associated Press. “With Cyprus it has become more significant because of the gas.”“They [the Turks] see Israel aiding Cyprus and in return, they will want to aid Hamas,” he said. “The Turks feel that if Israel is moving toward Cyprus they will try to strengthen Hamas” by donating money to its government.
Diplomatic sources told Today’s Zaman in regards to Netanyahu’s visit to Greek Cyprus, “Anybody is free to go anywhere.” The same sources pointed out that Israel has also been trying to establish relations with the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans where Turkey has strong ties.
Asked about comments in relation to ties between Hamas and Turkey, the same sources said Turkey supports internal reconciliation in Palestine, and “Turkey and Hamas are already close.”
The rupture with Turkey and the toppling of Egypt’s longtime leader Hosni Mubarak made Israel more vulnerable in a region already hostile to the country. “Israel pretends to look for other alliances thinking that Turkey will be cornered, but this tactic will not work,” he also said. “However, Turkey should seriously evaluate the situation if Israel demands an air base from Greek Cyprus.”Hmmmm.........Obama.......Erdogan.......Hamas.......I wonder if they received their $ 300 Million from Turkey?Or will it come from the Obama Admin “special $700 million fund for 'Arab Spring'?Read the full story here.

Article in Qatari Daily tries to compare the Holocaust to Homs 'massacre' : 'The Holocaust of Homs' Is Worse than the Jewish Holocaust.

Qatari Daily tries to compare the Holocaust to Horms 'massacre' : 'The Holocaust of Homs' Is Worse than the Jewish Holocaust.(Memri).On February 13, 2012, the Qatari daily Al-Sharq published a column by Dr. Khaled Al-Hindawi titled "To Those Who Seek Ethics of War in the Holocaust of Homs and Syria!" In it, the columnist claims that "the Holocaust of the steadfast Homs surpasses what the Nazis did to the Jews" and that the Syrian regime violates the shari'a, international law, and all the ethics of war. Saying that the international community is responsible for the ongoing "atrocities" against unarmed Syrians by members of the regime, whom he calls "murderous bloodsuckers and violators of religion and international law," he also attacks Russia, China, Iran, Hizbullah, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki over their support for the Syrian regime.

Following are translated excerpts from the article:

"Anyone Who Looks Upon the Actions of These Murderous Bloodsuckers... Understands That They Are Not Part of the Human Race, But Rather Wild Animals"

"Every political regime in the world that refuses to coexist with its people by accepting the other's opinion and by truly welcoming oppositionists in a genuine and reasonable manner, [but rather] employs every means to root out and ultimately crush them – as happened with the Communist and Nazi political regimes – is a failed, oppressive regime. No matter how certain it is in its ability to survive, it will [eventually] cease to exist, as happened to those tyrannical regimes, since the peoples' power and struggle are stronger...
"In the violent Syrian arena, we are now seeing oppression and crime unmatched in any other country. [The members of Bashar] Al-Assad's gang think that they are stronger than the great empires, and that they will erase Europe from the map, as [Syrian Foreign Minister] Walid Al-Mu'allem boasted [in June 2011]... and that as long as the Russian Shabiha... is on their side, they will defeat and destroy those whom they call terrorists, while [the truth is that] they themselves are the real terrorists. The patient people will teach them a lesson and throw them into the pits of doom, despite all acts done to [the people] that contravene the law and the shari'a.
"Anyone who looks upon the actions of these murderous, bloodsucking, violators of religion and international law completely understands that they are not part of the human race, but rather wild animals from the forest, led by [Bashar Al-Assad], who succeeded his father [Hafez] Al-Assad in this role... "Can Assad remain a lion [assad in Arabic] when he turns his back on the Zionists, leaving the Golan to groan [under] their occupation, and advances stern-faced towards his unarmed people who demand freedom?..."

"The Holocaust of the Steadfast Homs Surpasses What the Nazis Did to the Jews"

"The tragedy experienced by Syria today – and especially by the proud Homs, city of Khaled bin Al-Walid – and the brutal acts of massacre carried out against [the Syrian citizens] are unmatched [even by Roman emperor] Nero [and Mongol ruler] Hulagu Khan, [let alone by the leaders of today], in an era in which human rights and international law are touted.
"The holocaust of the steadfast Homs surpasses what the Nazis did to the Jews. The random bombardment of the Bab 'Amru [neighborhood], and especially of the Al-Insha'at neighborhood; the killing and wounding of hundreds of children, women, and elderly; the destruction of property; the interruption electricity and running water; the tainting of food; the attacks on field hospitals; the shredding of body parts; the sectarian attack on Sunni families, like the slaughter of three families of Homs' finest, 19 people in all, and other atrocities by Assad; in addition to the murder and violations taking place in the steadfast Dara; the violations in the fighting [city of] Hama, which are manifest in the arrest of over 300 families and the bombardment of homes; and what is occurring in the fighting [cities of] Idlib and Jabel al-Zawiyya, as well as in the defiant [city of] Al-Qurayya and the rest of Syria's bastions – [all this,] and the continuing oppression and the ongoing flow of the rivers of blood... are decisive proof that the international community's shame has been exposed for all to see, for it is unable to stop this gang, and that the legal and shari'a responsibility is on everyone's shoulders, even if the [guiltiest] are Assad's wild beasts..."Hmmmmm......The few thousands killed in Homs can NEVER be compared to what 6 Miilion Jews suffered during 5 Years!Read the full story here.

Saudi Cleric Sheik Nasser bin Sleiman Al-Omar, in Tearful Address, Calls to Execute Saudi Blogger Hamza Kashgari for Alleged Heretic Tweets

Sheik Nasser bin Sleiman Al-Omar: May the peace, blessing, and mercy of Allah be upon you. "And when We intend to destroy a city We command its affluent, but they defiantly disobey therein..."
[breaks down weeping and sobbing]

"And when We intend to destroy a city We command its affluent, but they defiantly disobey therein. So the word comes into effect upon it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction."
Lord, do not punish us for the deeds of the foolish among us. Indeed, those who affront Allah and His Messenger – Allah has cursed them in this world and in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.

[sobs]
Forgive me, my brothers, but I cannot deliver today's lecture. How can I possibly teach at a time when Allah and His Messenger are being reviled in broad daylight?
[sobs]
I am afraid that Allah will inflict a just punishment upon us because of the leniency that we witness with regards to affronts against Allah and His Messenger.
My dear ones, the fools affronted Allah and His Messenger. We witness civil strife, catastrophes, killing, and destruction in so many countries, while we live in this safe country. While these people are being released without punishment, without discipline, and without chastisement – and perhaps those who would punish them are prevented from doing so – I am worried about imminent punishment. I have come here to advise, to warn, and to ask for forgiveness for what has happened and still happens, my dear ones. Perhaps you have seen what [Hamzi Kashgari] wrote on his blog. He has admitted this. Perhaps you have seen how he talks about Allah, and about the Messenger of Allah.

He wrote: "My friend screamed at me: Where is Allah, in light of all this injustice? I said to him, I really don't know." Look at the accusations he levels against Allah. Then he writes to the Lord: "I don't understand why You do all this, I cannot believe that You really did so, and I do not understand why You still hide in the heavens. If You are really there, You are not understood." This is blatant heresy, my brothers.
He said to the Prophet Muhammad: "I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more. On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake your hand as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more."

Dear brothers, there is much more. What is left for me to say?

Several stages preceded what happened, dear brothers. Things have been posted on liberal websites, by writers belonging to the liberal, or secular, or atheist stream, but they were left to their own devices. And then people ask why there is [Islamic] extremism.

You know that I am one of the staunchest critics of extremism. It is not in keeping with the path of the Prophet Muhammad. You know that mine is one of the loudest voices calling for moderation. But we will not allow Allah or His Messenger to be publicly reviled, while we remain silent and bear false witness, Allah forbid.
What is written on liberal websites in this country is astounding. [Islamists] languish in prison on charges or suspicions, and after a year or so, it turns out that they were innocent – after the suffering they underwent. Moreover, anybody who criticizes a few officials is placed on trial and imprisoned, while anybody who affronts Allah or reviles Him or His Messenger enjoys what they call "freedom of thought."

We want the law to be implemented, so that anybody who affronts Allah, His Messenger, or his companions will face a criminal trial. After all, these are more exalted [than the officials].This is a serious matter.

People ask why there is such extremism. This is part of the reason. I am not justifying extremism, but explaining it. When young people see that someone who affronts Allah and His Messenger is safe and sound, extremism develops, security is compromised, and the country and its citizens are destroyed.

This is the result of the imported culture. When our young people lack defenses, and they read such things – that's when these terrible things happen. How can they not, when we throw them to the countries of the West without any defenses? Children and young people are sent to the West to study. Ask cultural attachés, not me, what goes on in those countries.

Their fathers and mothers throw them to the countries of the West. A father wrote to me a few days ago: "My son is studying abroad, and he has done all kinds of things. Is it permissible for me to kill him?" I said: No, don't kill him. You made two mistakes: Your first mistake was to throw him to a Western country, where he absorbed the things he absorbed. You agreed to send him there. He was a young man, and you didn't give him any defenses. And now, you want to add insult to injury by killing him? No, you can't. It is not your call to make. Bring him back to the country, and if he is not deterred, turn him in to the authorities, so that they can deal with him.

I turn to the king, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques: Your responsibility is clear. These people must be punished. I appeal to the king and to the crown prince. These people must be punished. They must be turned over to an Islamic court, which will try them in accordance with Islamic law. It is well known that cursing Allah constitutes apostasy.

The claim that he recanted – as I read before coming here – in ice-cold words – should not help him in court. In matters between a man and Allah, we do not intervene. The Islamic scholars have ruled that whoever curses Allah or His Messenger must be punished for apostasy, even if he recants.
Source: Memri.

Video - Abd Al-Jalil Said, Former Press Secretary for the Syrian Mufti: Russians and Russian Interests Will Become a Target for the Free Army in Syria

Abd Al-Jalil Said, former press secretary for the Syrian Mufti: It almost seemed as if Bashar Al-Assad was saying to [Russian FM] Lavarov: "Oh Savior, you have come to us."
Let me say to [my colleague], who is speaking from Moscow: Listen brother, the Syrian revolution will banish you from the Arab world, Allah willing. Today, you are protecting the Al-Assad family. Fine. We are not claiming that the entire Syrian people are against Bashar Al-Assad. There are people who benefit [from Al-Assad's rule], and there are traitors whom you have created – just like you created Al-Assad. Only 3, 4, or 10 percent [of the Syrians] support Bashar Al-Assad. This revolution will change Russian presence in the world, Allah willing.

You say that demonstrations are held in Russia as well. Tell me, Russia diplomat, how come you are holding 13,000 political detainees in detention centers, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International? If you really have freedom of expression and dialogue, why did you arrest those who took to the streets to oppose Putin? If you have a democracy that is tailored to fit Putin and that idiot Medvedev… That's right, Al-Assad and Medvedev are of the same height. The Syrians called [Bashar] "you idiot, you giraffe!" – this applies to them both.

Vycheslav Matuzov chairman of the Russian Friendship Society with Arab Countries: Let me tell you, Russia does not have any interests in the Arab world. Russian products are not sold in the streets and markets in the Arab world…

Abd Al-Jalil Said: The Arab streets are full of Russian prostitutes – not Russian products…
Vycheslav Matuzov: It is the interest of the Arabs to have Russia's support, not the other way around.

Abd Al-Jalil Said: This criminal regime in Syria, which provided services to the Zionists… Who says, Mr. Matuzov, that we are fixated on the US? The US wants Bashar Al-Assad, and so does Israel, but the US has exchanged roles with you, so that you will have the standing you once had in the world. The US is now asking the Russian Bear to say that it is against the toppling of the Al-Assad regime, but we know that your military base, your interests, your people, and all your experts will become a target for our Free Army in Syria. We will declare this in Syria…

TV host: Is that a threat?
Abd Al-Jalil Said: It's not an empty threat. It will be implemented, Allah willing. Russians will be targeted in Syria, wherever they are. Bashar Al-Assad wants support from Moscow?! By Allah, we will send him to you, so that you can embalm him at the Kremlin, alongside Stalin and…

Vycheslav Matuzov: Send who?

Abd Al-Jalil Said: We will send them Bashar Al-Assad after his execution, Allah willing. Let them him enjoy him, and let's see if they can enter Syria or the Middle East after that.

Vycheslav Matuzov: Five years ago, the US officially declared, through George W. Bush and Condoloeezza Rice, that America's number one enemy after the fall of the global Communist order is the Islamic world. This I know full well. What has been said about hatred of Islam in Russia…

Abd Al-Jalil Said: And you love Islam? You're saying, Matuzov, that the US is the enemy of Islam, while you love Islam? You've killed millions of Chechens and millions of Muslims, yet you love Islam? Who says that you love Islam more than the US or anyone else? Mr. Matuzov, you are a man in his twilight years. You should be ashamed of yourself. You claim to be diplomat, so speak rationally! You are talking bullshit, man! What you are saying is weird – as if you are speaking from another planet. You are talking about everything but Russia. Shame on you, you old geezer, for talking like this. Source: Memri.

Obama Admin Invested Billions in Companies Supported by Energy Dept Insiders

Obama Admin Invested Billions in Companies Supported by Energy Dept Insiders.(AllGov). By Noel Brinkerhoff. Following on the Solyndra controversy, the Department of Energy under President Barack Obama is now accused of funneling billions of dollars in funding to companies that have connections within the department.

An investigation by The Washington Post found that the Energy Department has approved nearly $4 billion in federal grants and financing to 21 companies supported by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.

Of this amount, $2.46 billion flowed to nine businesses that have ties to VantagePoint Venture Partners, a venture capital firm where Sanjay Wagle, an Energy Department adviser, worked before coming to Washington.

The other four officials identified by the Post include Assistant Secretary David Sandalow, who previously worked for Good Energies, a company that received $737 million from the Energy Department; and Steve Westly, a longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur and now a member of Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s advisory board. The Westly Group took in $600 million in federal financing.

The Obama administration says that the Energy Department employees and advisers took no part in grant-making decisions, which would mean that these business windfalls were just happy coincidences.Hmmmm.......Darrel Issa Says Obama Administration Is Most Corrupt In US History.Read the full story here.

After Decade of Military Dominance, the U.S. is surrendering to the Taliban.

After Decade of Military Dominance, the U.S. is surrendering to the Taliban.(BP).On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacked us. The terrorist group planned the attacks from its bases in Afghanistan; the Taliban, one of the most evil, bigoted, fascistic groups on the planet, provided Al Qaeda aid and support. When America launched its assault on Afghanistan, then, deposing the Taliban was a chief aim. “More than two weeks ago, I gave Taliban leaders a series of clear and specific demands,” President Bush said. “Close terrorist training camps; hand over leaders of the al Qaeda network; and return all foreign nationals, including American citizens, unjustly detained in your country. None of these demands were met. And now the Taliban will pay a price.” The war against the Taliban continued for the next decade.And now, the U.S. is surrendering.
Today, the U.S. government opened negotiations with Hamid Karzai’s Afghan government and the Taliban. The Obama Administration said that an “Afghan peace process” was vital to winding down the war in Afghanistan. While the Obama Administration is putting conditions on the talks – they say that the Taliban must disengage from Al Qaeda, “abandon violence,” and abide by the new Afghan constitution – there is no evidence whatsoever that the Taliban has done any of these things. And yet negotiations begin.(On the contrary ! Obama submits to all of Taliban’s pre-conditions for talks. )
There is little doubt that the Obama negotiations with the Taliban are deeply connected to Obama’s re-election campaign. He’s already pledging to pull troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. But it is a sell-out of what our troops have accomplished over the last ten years. That’s why back in 2009, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan was denying that the U.S. would engage in talks with the Taliban. That position has gone by the wayside. Obama and his cronies at the State Department have turned Afghanistan into a second Vietnam – and the Afghan people, particularly women, will pay the price.Hmmmm................Obama: If We Work Hard, Afghanistan Could Be a Success...Like Iraq!Read the full story here.

Surprised....or not?: Obama wants to fund UNESCO despite admission of 'Palestine'

Surprised....or not?: Obama wants to fund UNESCO despite admission of
'Palestine' (IsraelMatzav).You will recall that the Obama administration originally said that they would not fund UNESCO after it admitted the imaginary state of 'Palestine' to membership. Now, Barack Hussein Obama would like to change that. He wants Congress to give him a waiver so that he can fund UNESCO despite its inclusion of 'Palestine.'  In a deviation from the charm offensive he has been aiming at American Jews in the last several months, President Obama has asked Congress to grant him a waiver that will allow the administration to continue funding the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) despite its recognition of Palestinian statehood. U.S. law forbids the funding of any international organization that grants admission to the Palestinians as a separate, independent state prior to its signing a peace treaty with Israel. However, JTA reports that Obama, who is a dedicated admirer of the UN and its member agencies, hopes he can persuade Congress to let him keep sending taxpayer dollars to the group in spite of the law.Republican opposition to the waiver is assured, meaning the chances of Obama’s wish being granted are virtually nonexistent. But given how anxious the president has been to show Jewish voters and donors that he is, as he claims, Israel’s best friend ever in the White House, the decision to try to flout the law in order to bolster a controversial UN agency gives us some real insight into the administration’s thinking and its plans in a possible second term for Obama.What the pro-Israel community needs to remember is it was largely the threat of a U.S. aid cutoff that ensured the UN and its other agencies would not follow UNESCO’s lead on the Palestinians. If UNESCO goes unpunished it will be an incentive for other such groups to grant the Palestinians their wish. Doing so, especially now that the PA is about to become a joint venture between Fatah and Hamas, would be a defeat for U.S. policy and further diminish the already dim chances of peace.Though Democrats will spend the rest of 2012 attempting to sell Jewish voters the idea that Obama is Israel’s best friend, the UNESCO waiver request is evidence not only of the falseness of this claim but of what may come in a second term for the president. It's also a reminder of something else: Obama is a liar. No promise that he makes regarding Israel can be trusted.Hmmmm......“A good man brings forth good from the good treasure that is in his heart and the evil man brings out evil from the evil treasure that is in his heart. For the lips speak from the fullness of the heart.” ~ Luke 6:45.Read the full story here.

Judicial Watch Sues Obama Administration for Records Detailing Bailout Loan to California Solar Manufacturer Heavily in Debt.

                                              Illustration by Oliver Munday for Newsweek.

Judicial Watch Sues Obama Administration for Records Detailing Bailout Loan to California Solar Manufacturer Heavily in Debt.(BG).Another day another taxpayer funded bailout to a politically connected energy company up to its eyeballs in debt. This time, it’s a California solar company called SunPower. And Judicial Watch is once again battling the Obama administration for details as to how the deal went down.
On February 1, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of the Treasury for records regarding the controversial $1.2 billion government loan guarantee from the Obama Department of Energy to SunPower, a California solar company reportedly $820 million in debt. (A similar lawsuit was filed on the same date by Judicial Watch against the U.S. Department of Navy for related documents.)
Here’s what Judicial Watch is after pursuant to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed with the Departments of Interior and Treasury on October 21, 2011:

Any and all records regarding, concerning or related to the issuance of a Department of Energy loan guarantee to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy, Inc. on or about September 30, 2011.

Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Departments of the Interior and/or Treasury and any official, officer or employee of any other government agency, department of office regarding, concerning or related to any loan guarantees applied for, by, and/or awarded to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy.

Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Department of the Interior and/or Treasury and any officer, employee or representative of Lang, Hansen, O’Malley & Miller, a government relations firm headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Judicial Watch also asked for records regarding a visit to SunPower’s Richmond, California, production facility on October 14, 2010, by Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar, U.S. Congressman George Miller III (D-CA), and others. (Miller’s involvement in SunPower has been the subject of several investigative pieces in Human Events.) The FOIA request submitted to the Department of the Navy sought access as well to “any and all records regarding, concerning or related to the $100,268,000 firm-fixed-price task order awarded to SunPower, Inc. on September 30, 2011.”
All three agencies have acknowledged receipt of Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests but have failed to respond within the statutorily allotted time frame. So, as per usual, we have no records and no explanation as to when they are to be released from the Obama administration.
In light of the lawless Obama administration loan to the now bankrupt energy company Solyndra, the SunPower loan has come under intense scrutiny. Remember, this loan is double the size of Solyndra! And SunPower is not only drowning in $820 million of debt and besieged by shareholder lawsuits, but the company also plans to manufacture its solar panels at a new facility of some 320,000 square feet located in Mexicali, Mexico. (Nothing like using more than $1 billion in American tax dollars to subsidize jobs in Mexico, right?)
In the end, SunPower may make the Solyndra scandal seem like small potatoes. And just like Solyndra, the SunPower loan is tainted by corruption and terrible judgment. In the wake of the public outrage over Solyndra, the Obama administration clearly intends to cover up the details of yet another risky and corrupt government bailout. Judicial Watch expects its lawsuits will break through the Obama administration stone wall.Hmmmm.........Thugocracy in it's natural habitat.Read the full story here.