Overnight music video - Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1 in E flat major (D major), Op. 6 (MS21)- No. 1, Allegro maestoso

Appeals court picks up the gauntlet after Obama's comments on health care case

Appeals court picks up the gauntlet after Obama's comments on health care case.(CBC). In the escalating battle between the administration and the judiciary, a federal appeals court apparently is calling the president's bluff -- ordering the Justice Department to answer by Thursday whether the Obama Administration believes that the courts have the right to strike down a federal law, according to a lawyer who was in the courtroom. The order, by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, appears to be in direct response to the president's comments yesterday about the Supreme Court's review of the health care law. Mr. Obama all but threw down the gauntlet with the justices, saying he was "confident" the Court would not "take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress." Overturning a law of course would not be unprecedented -- since the Supreme Court since 1803 has asserted the power to strike down laws it interprets as unconstitutional. The three-judge appellate court appears to be asking the administration to admit that basic premise -- despite the president's remarks that implied the contrary. 
The panel ordered the Justice Department to submit a three-page, single-spaced letter by noon Thursday addressing whether the Executive Branch believes courts have such power, the lawyer said. The panel is hearing a separate challenge to the health care law by physician-owned hospitals. The issue arose when a lawyer for the Justice Department began arguing before the judges.
Appeals Court Judge Jerry Smith immediately interrupted, asking if DOJ agreed that the judiciary could strike down an unconstitutional law. The DOJ lawyer, Dana Lydia Kaersvang, answered yes -- and mentioned Marbury v. Madison, the landmark case that firmly established the principle of judicial review more than 200 years ago, according to the lawyer in the courtroom. Smith then became "very stern," the source said, suggesting it wasn't clear whether the president believes such a right exists.
The other two judges on the panel, Emilio Garza and Leslie Southwick--both Republican appointees--remained silent, the source said. Smith, a Reagan appointee, went on to say that comments from the president and others in the Executive Branch indicate they believe judges don't have the power to review laws and strike those that are unconstitutional, specifically referencing Mr. Obama's comments yesterday about judges being an "unelected group of people."
I've reached out to the White House for comment, and will update when we have more information.Audio from the 5th Circuit hearing, with Judge Smith's order to DOJ, is available here.
In the hearing, Judge Smith says the president's comments suggesting courts lack power to set aside federal laws "have troubled a number of people" and that the suggestion "is not a small matter." The bottom line from Smith: A three-page letter with specifics.
He asked DOJ to discuss "judicial review, as it relates to the specific statements of the president, in regard to Obamacare and to the authority of the federal courts to review that legislation." "I would like to have from you by noon on Thursday -- that's about 48 hours from now -- a letter stating what is the position of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice, in regard to the recent statements by the president," Smith said. "What is the authority is of the federal courts in this regard in terms of judicial review?" Smith made his intentions clear minutes after the DOJ attorney began her argument, jumping in to ask: "Does the Department of Justice recognize that federal courts have the authority in appropriate circumstances to strike federal statutes because of one or more constitutional infirmities?" Kaersvang replies yes, and Smith continues: "I'm referring to statements by the president in past few days to the effect, and sure you've heard about them, that it is somehow inappropriate for what he termed 'unelected' judges to strike acts of Congress that have enjoyed -- he was referring to, of course, Obamacare -- to what he termed broad consensus in majorities in both houses of Congress." In asking for the letter, Smith said: "I want to be sure you're telling us that the attorney general and the Department of Justice do recognize the authority of the federal courts, through unelected judges, to strike acts of Congress or portions thereof in appropriate cases."Hmmmm.......It seems like the gauntlet has been picked up and slapped in his face.Read the full story here.

'Iran says it could strike US if it were attacked'

'Iran says it could strike US if it were attacked'.(JPost).DUBAI - The United States would not be safe from retaliation if Iran is attacked by Washington, the Iran newspaper quoted a senior Revolutionary Guards commander on Tuesday as saying. "In the face of any attack, we will have a crushing response. In that case, we will not only act in the boundaries of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, no place in America will be safe from our attacks," Massoud Jazayeri was quoted as saying by the daily. Iran would not strike any country first, he said. Tehran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear program. Israel and the United States have threatened military action against Iran unless it abandons activities which the West suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons. Further talks between Iran and world powers are expected to take place this month in an attempt to reach a compromise. "America, the Zionists and reactionary Arabs should pay attention that we will seriously confront them wherever the Islamic Republic's interests are threatened," Jazayeri said, according to Iran daily. Iranian officials have warned that the Islamic Republic's response to any military strike would be painful and has said it could close the oil shipping thoroughfare the Strait of Hormuz.Hmmmm..........Read the full story here.

Russia sparks confusion over Iran nuclear talks.

Russia sparks confusion over Iran nuclear talks.(HD).Russia said April 2 that the date and place for talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear program had still not been set, despite a recent U.S. announcement on the first such meeting in more than a year. “The date and the place of the meeting have not been definitively set. The meeting could take place on April 13 or 14 or in the following days,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency, adding that the talks should take place as soon as possible. “The situation is very complicated and could get worse. We can’t wait any more. These negotiations are extremely important.” Ryabkov was reacting to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on March 31 that talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group (U.N. Security Council members plus Germany) would take place on April 13 and 14 in Istanbul. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, asked whether Clinton had made the announcement prematurely, said that the P5+1 group had agreed on the time and place and that the onus was on Iran to accept the plan. “It’s been interesting to us that we are getting different signals out of Iran as to whether all of this is locked down,” Nuland told reporters in Washington. “But we are ready if they are ready at that date and venue.” EU officials in Brussels said that, despite Clinton’s statement, Istanbul had not yet been fully confirmed as the venue. A senior Iranian political figure has also spoken out against Turkey hosting Iran’s next talks with world powers. Hmmm........Just playing for time, perhaps you'll get your answer when North Korea launches?Read the full story here.

Palestine lays cornerstone for embassy in Cairo

Palestine lays cornerstone for embassy in Cairo.(BM).CAIRO: Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, spoke on Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about a means to offer more support to the Palestinian cause. The meeting stressed the importance of dialogue between Palestinian factions to end the internal strife in preparation for parliamentary elections as well as current Palestinian-Israeli standoff. Following the meeting, Abbas laid the foundation stone for the Palestinian embassy in Cairo in the neighborhood of El-Tagamoa El-Khames, east of Cairo. The Palestinian president thanked Egypt and the foreign ministry for their strenuous efforts to allocate this piece of land to build the Palestinian embassy.Hmmmm......All they need now is a state and money.....oh wait there's still $770 Million that Obama has on the side for 'emerging Arab Spring'.Read the full story here.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is in America: Holding Meeting in Secret Location Tomorrow With US Islamic Organization!

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is in America: Holding Meeting in Secret Location Tomorrow With US Islamic Organization!(docstalk) HT:CriticalAnalist.Yes that’s right! The Muslim Brotherhood, whose goal is Islamic world domination, have actually been allowed into our great country! They are touring Washington DC, and will be holding a conference with the American organization, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). MPAC is similar to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). They both bully and brainwash America to suit Islam. CAIR does a lot of bullying of businesses, and fights anti-Sharia bills in US Courts. MPAC has also fought anti-Sharia bills, and has been known to manipulate our government and media. Both organizations are subversive to America. Now MPAC has taken advantage of our Islam loving government, and will be holding court with the Muslim Brotherhood at an “undisclosed location”.


MPAC to Host Dialogue with Political Wing of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood
RSVP for Tuesday Forum, Seating Limited.

(Washington, DC, – 03/30/12) — The Muslim Public Affairs Council announced today that it will be hosting a conversation on Tuesday, April 3, with a delegation from the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
The delegation from the Freedom and Justice Party is on a tour in Washington, DC, and will be visiting other institutions such as Georgetown University, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

SNIP
Religion, Power and Politics:
A Conversation with Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 3, at 7 p.m.
WHERE:Location information available upon RSVP
SPEAKERS:
Abdul Mawgoud Dardery
Member of Parliament, Freedom and Justice Party – Luxor
Member, Foreign Relations Committee, Freedom and Justice Party
Hussein El-Kazzaz
Businessman
Adviser, Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party
Sondos Asem
Senior Editor, Ikhwanweb.com
Member, Foreign Relations Committee, Freedom and Justice Party
Khaled Al-Qazzaz
Foreign Relations Coordinator, Freedom and Justice Party
RSVP:
Email Hoda Elshishtawy at hoda@mpac.org or 202-547-7701.
Seating is limited, based on RSVPs.

Hmmmm.........Obama “We will hold sacred the beliefs held sacred by others.”Read the full story here.

World's Largest Solar Plant, With Second Largest Ever Department of Energy Loan Guarantee, Files For Bankruptcy

World's Largest Solar Plant, With Second Largest Ever Department of Energy Loan Guarantee, Files For Bankruptcy.(ZH).Solyndra was just the appetizer. Earlier today, in what will come as a surprise only to members of the administration, the company which proudly held the rights to the world's largest solar power project, the hilariously named Solar Trust of America ("STA"), filed for bankruptcy. And while one could say that the company's epic collapse is more a function of alternative energy politics in Germany, where its 70% parent Solar Millennium AG filed for bankruptcy last December, what is relevant is that last April STA was the proud recipient of a $2.1 billion conditional loan from the Department of Energy, incidentally the second largest loan ever handed out by the DOE's Stephen Chu. That amount was supposed to fund the expansion of the company's 1000 MW Blythe Solar Power Project in Riverside, California. From the funding press release, "This project construction is expected to create over 1,000 direct jobs in Southern California, 7,500 indirect jobs in related industries throughout the United States, and more than 200 long-term operational jobs at the facility itself. It will play a key role in stimulating the American economy,” said Uwe T. Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Solar Trust of America and Executive Chairman of project development subsidiary Solar Millennium, LLC." Instead, what Solar Trust will do is create lots of billable hours for bankruptcy attorneys (at $1,000/hour), and a good old equity extraction for the $22 million DIP lender, which just happens to be NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, another "alternative energy" company which last year received a $935 million loan courtesy of the very same (and now $2.1 billion poorer) Department of Energy, which is also a subsidiary of public NextEra Energy (NEE), in the process ultimately resulting in yet another transfer of taxpayer cash to NEE's private shareholders.
As Bloomberg notes: "The company joins Energy Conversion Devices Inc., a U.S. solar manufacturer that suspended production last year; LSP Energy LP, the owner of a natural-gas-fired power plant in Mississippi; Ener1 Inc., maker of lithium-ion batteries for plug-in electric cars; solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC; and energy storage company Beacon Power Corp. (BCONQ) in bankruptcy."
And so central planning fails again, and again, and again, and again. But it sure will be better with the centrally planned monetary (and in the absence of a working Congress - also fiscal) policy. Because this time it really will be different.
From Reuters:

Solar Trust of America and several affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. It estimated to have as much as $10 million of assets, and between $50 million and $100 million of liabilities.

Blythe is about 220 miles (354 km) southeast of Los Angeles.

"We have been working with Solar Trust of America for a couple of years in getting this project going," David Lane, Blythe's city manager, said in an interview. "Although the project is not in the city limits, we are the only city within 100 miles. My sense is that with the large investment in what was to have been the world's largest solar power plant, someone somewhere will buy it and build it."

At least someone's reputation will be tarnished as a result of this latest epic failure of the Obama administration to misallocate capital :

Solar Millennium said it has been sued by former Chief Executive Utz Claassen over public statements by company representatives that he claims have damaged his reputation and left him unable to find a job. Solar Millennium said the lawsuit would not directly affect its insolvency proceedings.Epic embarrassment. And not even a full year ago.
But before that, of course, we had the funding of the plant with a $2.1 billion loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy, the second largest ever, smaller only than Georgia Power's $8.33 billion loan guarantee.Hmmmm........Obama: "All the Choices We've Made Have Been the Right Ones"Read the full story here.

Hunt for Legendary Amber Room to Begin Again in Germany.(RN).The governor of Germany’s Nobitz municipality Hendrik Labe announced plans to search for the legendary Amber Room, looted by Nazi Germany during the World War II, in a local forest, the Bild newspaper said on Tuesday. Labe said the search would be conducted on the border between the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony. Digging is due to begin this spring. He sited research by amateur historian Thomas Kuschel, who collected wintesses' statements about the last days of the war. He also conducted a geoelectric sounding of the area, which revealed cavities measuring 70 by 40 meters deep in the ground. “I’m sure we will eventually find something here,” Bild quoted Kuschel as saying.
Labe is not the first German official to announce a search for the legendary treasure, housed at the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg and looted during WWII by Nazi Germany. It was brought to Konigsberg (Kaliningrad) and its further whereabouts were lost in the chaos at the end of the war in 1945. The Amber Room is also being searched for by Heinz-Peter Haustein, the mayor of Deutschneudorf in Saxony. The search is being conducted in an abandoned copper mine in the Ore mountains, where a radar screening revealed a large amount of metal, believed to be too dense for copper.The Amber Room is the 18th century chamber of amber panels, which was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to Russia's Peter the Great as a gift in 1716. The six-ton treasure, dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world," is decorated with pure amber panels, mirrors and precious stones. Only two small elements of the room's decoration were eventually rediscovered and returned to Russia. A partial replica of the Amber Room has been recreated according to available blueprints at Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg.Read the full story here.More on the Amber room here.

German government subsidized directly and indirectly Chinese solar companies, now Bankruptcies Have German Solar on the Ropes.

German government subsidized directly and indirectly Chinese solar companies, now Bankruptcies Have German Solar on the Ropes.(Spiegel).It wasn't so long ago that people viewed Q-Cells as an energy company of the future. At one point, it was the world's largest manufacturer of solar cells and quarter after quarter, it topped analysts' expectations. The company proved to be a money-making machine even during the financial crisis, with some believing it might one day grow to become part of Germany's DAX index of benchmark companies on the stock exchange. At the end of 2007, the company was valued at close to €8 billion ($10.7 billion at today's rates). Q-Cells' production facilities were located in the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, in a former lignite mining area in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The area was even dubbed "Solar Valley," a play on California's Silicon Valley. For a some time now, though, the days have been growing darker in Solar Valley, and with this week's bankruptcy announcement by Q-Cells, things are looking to get even darker. On Tuesday, the company as expected submitted its official request to begin bankruptcy proceedings. The energy company of the future looks as though it may no longer have one. The company, it turns out, simply wasn't prepared for the fast changes that have buffeted the industry. In 2011, Q-Cells posted a loss of €846 million. As of last Tuesday, the firm had a marginal value of only €35 million and Q-Cells' share price had plunged to just 9 cents. In Bitterfeld-Wolfen, concerns are growing about massive job losses among the 2,200 Q-Cells workers in the city. But Q-Cells' insolvency also comes as a great shock to the Germany's solar industry. It is already the fourth major bankruptcy in a sector in crisis, and it underscores the degree to which German solar firms are being outpaced by competition from Asia -- despite billions in German government subsidies granted each year to the industry. And despite solar energy gradually becoming more competitive, the setbacks are rapidly mounting.Hmmmm.......But don't worry the Obama Administration foresees a bright future for solar!Read the full story here.

US President’s Plan Weakens at Least One Leg of Nuclear Triad

Russian US President’s Plan Weakens at Least One Leg of Nuclear Triad.(Heritage).By Brian Slattery.According to the U.S. Navy, America’s nuclear deterrent triad will be limping on one of its legs for over a decade because of the President’s fiscal year 2013 budget request.
The Navy will fall below its 12-boat nuclear-armed submarine requirement for 14 years because the Obama Administration’s plans to delay a replacement for the aging Ohio-class submarine by two years.
The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (known as SSBN) has fulfilled the Navy’s leg of the nuclear triad for the past 30 years. According to the Navy, the SSBN is America’s “only day-to-day assured nuclear response capability.” Furthermore, the SSBN fleet’s combination of mobility and stealth make it a particularly effective platform and an excellent nuclear deterrent. However, the first Ohio will retire in 2027. Delaying its replacement will create an unacceptable gap in the SSBN fleet that will last 14 years starting in the 2030s, according to Navy officials.
The obvious problem with this is that the Navy is not meeting its own fleet requirements. If 12 subs is the requirement, how will the fleet cover the same area with less? Navy officials and outside analysts alike should be seeking answers to this. Furthermore, with fewer vessels performing the same amount of work, what will be the effect on maintenance? Aging and overworked ships inevitably have more mechanical issues and require more repair work.
The Administration claims that the delay is necessary “to reduce risk in an acquisition effort that appeared to be moving too quickly from development into production.” This quote illustrates the fundamental disconnect the Obama Administration has between political goals and actual national security concerns. Defense officials should always strive to reduce risk in new programs. However, the notion that those efforts should come at the cost of increasing risk to national security is counterintuitive to the purpose of a defense force. The government must find a way to protect America’s security and interests, first and foremost. Other decisions should follow that basic requirement, not hinder it.
But the triad has two other legs it can lean on, right?
Wrong. The Air Force is currently flying a geriatric strategic bomber fleet. The U.S. plans to begin replacing other deterrent systems in 2030; by then, intercontinental ballistic missiles will be 60 years old. With the slide in nuclear-armed submarines, will these aging assets take on a bigger deterrent role? What are the implications of putting more miles on planes that are already past their initial service lives? How does the President plan to maintain a ballistic missile arsenal that is older than he is?
President Obama’s defense budget request is rife with similar shortsighted “savings” efforts. Meanwhile, entitlement spending continues to consume ever larger portions of the federal budget unaddressed. Rather than slashing defense to appear fiscally responsible, the President should request funding that adequately addresses threats to national security.Hmmm......Just wait till you give him more "Flexibility".Read the full story here.

Russian warships launch drill from Tartus versus US-Israeli-Greek naval exercise.

Russian warships launch drill from Tartus versus US-Israeli-Greek naval exercise.(Debka).Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus from its Black Sea base for a naval exercise. The warship’s support group is on the way.
debkafile’s military sources report that the Russian flotilla carried a threefold message for Washington:
1. The Russian-Iranian strategy of propping up the Assad regime which has brought the Syrian ruler close to victory over his foes, will continue: Diplomacy will be propelled by military impetus.
2. Russia is providing the Assad regime with defense systems capable of repelling foreign military intervention.
3. Consigning the Smetliviy warship to Syria illustrates Moscow’s new rapid response policy: Russia is launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean to match the “Noble Dina” air and naval maneuver the US, Israel and Greece are conducting across a broad expanse of sea between Crete and the Israeli bases at Haifa and Ashdod.
Israeli warships and air force jets may therefore find themselves not just operating alongside US naval and aircraft but confronted suddenly by one of the largest destroyers in the Russian fleet (NATO-coded ASW-submarine warfare), whose decks are the launching base for anti-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles.
The Smetliviy’s support group, believed to be a supply vessel and a submarine, passed through the Bosporus Saturday, March 31 on their way to Tartus.Hmmmm.......Don't you love all the "Change" since Obama became President?Read the full story here.

Moses was a Muslim who led Muslims in Exodus from Egypt, says PA university lecturer on PA TV .

Moses was a Muslim who led Muslims in Exodus from Egypt, says PA university lecturer on PA TV.(PAW).By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik.A Palestinian university lecturer taught during a recent Palestinian Authority TV program on religion that Moses, a Muslim, brought "the Muslims of the Children of Israel out of Egypt." He refers to the subsequent Israeli conquest of the Land of Israel as the "first Palestinian liberation... of Palestine." This conquest, he taught, was led not by Joshua, as the Bible tells, but by Saul (Talut) who is also said to have slayed Goliath.

While some of this is retelling of Islamic tradition, some of it is a distortion of even the Quran for political purposes. The Quran refers to the "Children of Israel" in their land in many chapters (e.g., Sura 5), but it never refers to them or anyone else as "Palestinians." Likewise the Quran never refers to Israel's conquest as a "Palestinian" conquest. The lecturer on PA TV, however, deviates from Islamic tradition, and calls the nation of Israel's conquest of the Land of Israel "the first Palestinian liberation through armed struggle to liberate Palestine."

This is another example, among many documented by Palestinian Media Watch, of PA historical revision for political purposes, in this case, rewriting even their own Islamic traditions.The following is the interview with Dr. Omar Ja'ara, lecturer at Al-Najah University in Nablus and specialist in Israeli affairs, on PA TV religion program:

"We must make clear to the world that David in the Hebrew Bible is not connected to David in the Quran, Solomon in the Hebrew Bible is not connected to Solomon in the Quran, and neither is Saul or Joshua son of Nun [of the Bible].
We have a great leader, Saul, [in the Quran] who defeated the nation of giants and killed Goliath. This is a great Muslim victory. The Muslims of the Children of Israel went out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and unfortunately, many researchers deny the Exodus of those oppressed people who were liberated by a great leader, like Moses the Muslim, the believing leader, the great Muslim,
who was succeeded by Saul, the leader of these Muslims in liberating Palestine.
This was the first Palestinian liberation through armed struggle to liberate Palestine from the nation of giants led by Goliath. This is our logic and this is our culture."

[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 15, 2012.

Most-wanted list terrorist Hafiz Saeed responds to $10 million bounty

Most-wanted list terrorist Hafiz Saeed responds to $10 million bounty.(AlYazeera).Hafiz Saeed, the leader of a Pakistan-based group blamed for the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, has demanded proof after the US announced a $10m bounty on his head. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Saeed said the US move was prompted by the fact that he had been organising rallies against the re-opening of supply lines through Pakistan to NATO forces in Afghanistan. "We are not hiding in caves for bounties to be set on finding us," Saeed said.
"I think the US is frustrated because we are taking out countrywide protests against the resumption of NATO supplies and drone strikes. "I believe either the US has very little knowledge and is basing its decisions on wrong information being provided by India, or they are just frustrated". US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, on a visit to India, said a $3m bounty had also been announced for Abdul Rahman Makki, Saeed's brother-in-law. Rewards for Justice, a programme sponsored by the US State Department, announced the cash reward for the 62-year-old Saeed on its website. "Saeed is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six American citizens,” the page said. Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunman involved in the three-day rampage in November 2008, has been sentenced to death by an Indian court. Kasab accused Saeed of organising the attack, which involved 10 gunmen, nine of whom were killed during the shootout. Lashkar-e-Taiba, designated as a terrorist organisation by the US in December 2001, is accused by India of carrying out several attacks, including the one on Mumbai. India welcomed the move as a reflection of the commitment by India and the US "to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks" to justice. "[The bounty] sends a strong signal to Lashkar-e-Taiba as also its members and patrons that the international community remains united in combating terrorism," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India's ministry of external affairs said on Twitter. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Lahore, where Saeed is believed to be based, said Pakistan was pressured to ban Saeed's organisations after the US invasion of Afghanistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba was the military wing of his larger organisation, Jamaat-ud-Dawah. “A man who is popular across the country - it's not going to go down very well. It is also symbolic that the annoucment came in India, by a high-ranking US diplomat. That will be an irritant.”The bounty on Saeed, equivalent to that on Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, is second only to the $25m bounty on Ayman al Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the al-Qaeda chief.Read the full story here.

ICC rejects Palestinian request to investigate crimes within its territories

ICC rejects Palestinian request to investigate crimes within its territories.(AlArabiya).The International Criminal Court’s General Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday said the court will not accept a Palestinian demand to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel since July 2002 until Palestine is recognize as a state by the U.N. General Assembly. “In order to proceed we need the General Assembly of the U.N. accepting Palestine as an observer state. As soon as this is done we can proceed,” Ocampo told Al Arabiya’s New York Bureau Chief Talal al-Haj in an inclusive interview. “There is a problem because In order to proceed I need Palestine recognized as a state because I am not the prosecutor of the world, I am the prosecutor of the countries who accept my jurisdiction. I need a country accepting me and then I investigate the crimes,” the prosecutor said.
In Jan. 22, 2009, the Palestinian Authority (PA) submitted declaration to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute which allows States not party to the Statute to accept the Court’s jurisdiction. The PA’s declaration stated: ‘The Government of Palestine hereby recognizes the jurisdiction of the Court for the purpose of identifying, prosecuting and judging the authors and accomplices of crimes committed on the territory of Palestine since 1 July 2002. As a consequence, the Government of Palestine will cooperate with the Court without delay or exceptions in conformity with Chapter 9.’
The debate since then has focused largely on whether ICC Prosecutor Ocampo first holds the jurisdiction to accept the Palestinian declaration; and second on whether he has the jurisdiction to conduct an investigation on the alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. The ICC’s jurisdiction is restricted to war crimes or crimes against humanity committed by a country or national of country on said territory. A state not party to the Rome Statute can be brought before the ICC only if it chooses to accept the court’s jurisdiction or if the United Nations Security Council refers a situation to it. Palestine declared its voluntary acceptance of ICC’s jurisdiction in 2009, but whether it should be regarded as a ‘State’ as required by Article 12(3) of Rome Statute has been a matter of debate. In this specific case, Israel rejects ICC jurisdiction in Gaza because the Jewish state is not a party to the Rome Statute. According to a document sent by the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor to the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights in January 2010, ‘Some argue that Palestinian statehood is irrelevant to this analysis. Instead, they argue that criminal jurisdiction within Palestine rests with the PNA which can therefore transfer such jurisdiction to the ICC through an ad hoc declaration under Article 12(3) of the Statute.’ Others argue that Palestinian Authority does not possess full criminal jurisdiction within Palestinian territories, as it does not exercise authority over Israeli nationals accused of criminal acts, and therefore it cannot transfer it to the court. In September 2010, the ICC dismissed nearly half of the 8,874 charges of alleged war crimes it received because it said they were outside the court’s jurisdiction. Read the full story here.

"Judge me by where my heart lays" - Obama Blaming Israel for Rising Fuel Prices.

"Judge me by where my heart lays" - Obama Blaming Israel for Rising Fuel Prices.(INN).HT: CriticalAnalist.The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the recent rise in global crude oil prices, according to a Sunday report in The World Tribune. The rise in fuel prices is deemed as harming the U.S. economy and has also hurt Obama in the polls as he seeks re-election in November. The report cited a leading U.S. analyst, Robert Satloff, who returned from talks with Israeli officials. Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, according to The World Tribune, that the Israeli leadership saw Washington as attributing the higher gas prices to “Israel’s posturing” on Iran. “They think the Iranians should be held responsible for the higher gasoline prices,” Satloff was quoted as having said. He added that the officials told him the Obama administration was staging a campaign to undermine Israel. “I cannot underscore how deep and visceral the [Israeli] comments of the leaking that came out of Washington were,” Satloff said, noting Israel is alarmed by what officials determined were leaks by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama of purported Israeli preparations to attack Iran. The Israeli concerns come in the wake of a report in Foreign Policy magazine last week, according to which Israel has purchased an airfield in Azerbaijan on Iran's northern border, prompting the United States to watch very closely. Journalist Mark Perry wrote that the Obama administration is monitoring Israel's relations with Azerbaijan, particularly its military ties. The Americans believe Israel may use the site as a springboard for an attack on Iran's nuclear plants, or as a landing and refueling spot following one. The site could also be used for aircraft needed for search, rescue and recovery in the wake of an attack. “We're watching what Israel is doing in Azerbaijan. And we're not happy about it,” an official told the Foreign Policy writer. Azeri president Ilham Aliyev later dismissed the speculation and said, “Azerbaijan's territory will never be used to launch an attack against its neighbor, Iran.”Hmmmm......So if you want to know where my heart lies, look no further than what I have done – to stand up for Israel.Read the full story here.

Iranian suspicion grows over Turkey’s regional role.

Iranian suspicion grows over Turkey’s regional role.(AlArabiya).A senior Iranian political figure has spoken out against Turkey hosting Iran’s next talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear program, in the latest anti-Turkish broadside from politicians in Tehran, Fars news agency reported late on Monday. Last month Turkey offered Istanbul as the venue for talks expected to take place on April 13, a proposal which appeared to gather momentum last week when Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Istanbul would be “the best option.” Turkey has repeatedly backed Iran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. The United States and its allies suspect Tehran of covertly working on nuclear weapons and have imposed tough new sanctions on its financial and energy sectors. Tehran, which says its nuclear activities are purely peaceful, has agreed to renewed talks with the five permanent members of the Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- and Germany this month. Once-warm Iranian-Turkish ties have cooled over the past year due to the popular revolt in Syria, Iran’s closest Arab ally and a steadfast backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.“Given the fact that our friends in Turkey have failed to fulfill some of our agreements, the talks... had better be held in another friendly country,” said former presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaie, Fars News reported. Speaking to staff of the Economic Cooperation Organization, a regional trade body with offices in Tehran, Rezaie did not specify what Turkey's failures were, but said that Baghdad, Damascus or Beirut would be a more suitable venue. “Offering Istanbul as the venue for the upcoming talks ... might give this wrong impression to the opposite side that Iran has grown weak and is in weak conditions,” he added. Rezaie has been an influential figure in Iranian politics for more than three decades since he was appointed commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite force created to protect Iran’s system of theocratic rule. A critic and electoral rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, Rezaie is now secretary of the Expediency Council, an influential body that advises Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who directs nuclear policy. His comments are a rare public criticism of neighboring Turkey whose prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, stressed the value of relations with Iran during a visit to Tehran last week.Iranian MP Esmail Kowsari has accused Turkey of being a messenger of the United States and Israel, saying that “it would surely be hated by its own people and other nations in the region because it is hand in hand with the arrogant (Western) powers,” the Iranian Labor News Agency reported on Monday. Kowsari ridiculed Turkey’s hosting on Sunday of a “Friends of the Syrian People” meeting of mostly Western and Arab countries, which he described as only enemies of Syria. Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called the Istanbul event a “conference to bribe Israel” and said regional nations that described Syria as a dictatorship were no better themselves, Fars reported.Read the full story here.