Post by Michael James Stone on Sept 13, 2012 9:11:13 GMT -8
13 Sep 12
Israeli Arab Official Warns Of ‘Armageddon’ Over Anti-Islam Film
The Times of Israel reports about 100 peaceful demonstrators marched outside the (U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv) embassy to protest the anti-Islam movie which mocks the prophet Muhammad. A top Israeli Arab Knesset official warned of “Armageddon” if the United Nations does not intervene.
Clinton slams anti-Islam video as 'disgusting'
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday condemned an amateur anti-Islam film which has sparked violent Middle East protests, stressing the US government had nothing to do with it. "To us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage," Clinton said. "The United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message."
Iran wants U.S. apology for hate film
The Iranian government expressed frustration that Washington hadn't come out with a public criticism of a film seen as insulting to Islam. Anti-American sentiment turned deadly this week in Libya after the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi was attacked, leaving several diplomats, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, dead. Protests were reported at U.S. diplomatic outposts in Yemen, Egypt and elsewhere.
China hopes for objective, balanced deal on Iran's nuclear issue
China hopes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will deal with the Iranian nuclear issue in an objective and balanced manner, a spokesman said Wednesday, Xinhua reported.Media reports said the six world powers, which comprise of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, Russia, U.S., France and Great Britain) plus Germany, have agreed on the text expressing continued support for diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.
Number of Tick-borne Diseases Increasing
The news last week was of a new tick-borne illness recently identified in Missouri, and of how it demonstrates the way that tick-borne infections are under-appreciated by medicine and public health, and even more by the general public. In addition to the new Heartland virus, I mentioned two other tick-borne diseases that had been identified in the past two years. It turns out, though, that was an under-count. The news Sunday from ICAAC is that tick-related illnesses are even more common than they appear.
Eleven years after 9/11, two-thirds of US travel warnings relate to the Muslim world
Of 32 standing US State Department travel warnings, 22, or 69 percent, are for Muslim-majority countries. While 10 non-Muslim countries are also on the list — the new breakaway republic of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Haiti, the Philippines, Burundi, Colombia, Mexico and North Korea — the reasons offered in the travel warnings there are varied and mostly disconnected, such as recent conflict, lack of democratic freedom, or extreme poverty. Muslim states, on the other hand, share the threats of terrorism, anti-American sentiment and political violence.
Abbas to Meet Clinton, Hollande in Paris
However, the prisoner issue remains only one of several preconditions Abbas has thrown in the path of renewed peace talks between Ramallah and Jerusalem. He has also demanded Israel agree to the indefensible pre-1967 lines as the borders for a future PA state and impose a second building freeze in Judea and Samaria before he agrees to come to the negotiating table.
Navy ships sent to waters off Libya coast
Two Navy guided missile destroyers are being deployed off the coast of Libya, after attacks Tuesday on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador, military officials told Fox News. The destroyers are for "contingency purposes," a military official said.
Abu-Ala: PA Ready to Discuss Bi-National State
Ahmed Qureia (Abu-Ala), a top member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority was prepared to discuss the possibility of a bi-national state with Israel.
Anti-US Violence Spreads Across Mideast Region
Throughout the Middle East, United States embassies have been warning American citizens to avoid crowded places, and to “remain alert at all times.” Even demonstrations that appear to be peaceful “can turn suddenly violent,” the embassy alert warned citizens living in Arab countries throughout the region.
Palestinians call for protests to end Oslo Accords
Palestinian activists have called for mass demonstrations in the West Bank on Friday to demand an end to the Oslo Accords and other agreements signed between the PLO/PA and Israel. The call came as public transportation workers and social activists announced that they have suspended their protests against the high cost of living until Sunday.
Egypt to take legal action in US against Prophet film makers
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi asked the Egyptian embassy in Washington to take legal action in the United States against makers of a film attacking the Muslim Prophet Mohammad, the official state news agency said on Wednesday. Morsi had requested the mission take "all legal measures", the MENA agency said, without giving further details on what that might involve.
State Department: Secretary Responsible for Security Failures
Clinton asked: “How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction?” That single line is the most damning indictment of Hillary Clinton’s State Department that could ever be penned. It demonstrates her complete lack of knowledge about the region, her failure to anticipate security threats, and worst of all, her willful ignorance about the Islamists that she and President Obama trusted to take over Libya and Egypt. “How could this happen?” Clinton, as Secretary of State, should know the answer to that question
Congress told: U.S. life 'unsustainable' after EMP
Congress today was told that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t identified an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, event as a serious national security threat to the nation’s grid system even though testimony revealed it could making living in the United States “unsustainable” for 70 to 90 percent of the population. And the few billion dollars it would cost to harden systems against such an occurrence is hardly the tens of billions or hundreds of billions it could cost to repair the damage.
JUPITER SWALLOWS AN ASTEROID:
Around the world, amateur astronomers have been scanning the cloudtops of Jupiter for signs of debris from an explosion witnessed by Dan Peterson and George Hall on Sept. 10th. So far the cloud layer is blank. "Several observers have now obtained excellent images on the second and third rotations after the fireball, and there is nothing new nor distinctive at the impact site," reports John H. Rogers, director of the Jupiter Section of the British Astronomical Association.
Nicaragua Remains in Yellow Alert For Three Volcanoes
Nicaraguan authorities maintained a yellow alert today (evacuation) in a province and green (preventive) in two others, including Managua, for the activity in which three volcanoes located in the “line of fire” in the Pacific.
Ongoing clashes in Cairo as police blanket US embassy protesters in tear gas
Egyptian security forces are firing tear gas at a crowd of angry protesters near the US embassy in Cairo. Some 30 protesters were injured and 12 arrested, journalists on Twitter quoted the Egyptian Interior Ministry as saying. Hundreds of protesters are gathering outside the US embassy in Cairo and hurling stones at security personnel, who are retaliating by firing tear gas and warning shots at the crowd.
US embassy in Yemen stormed in film protest
Protesters angered by an anti-Islam film made in the US have stormed the grounds of the American embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Police shot in the air in an attempt to hold back the crowds, but failed to prevent them gaining access to the compound and setting fire to vehicles. Security forces have now regained control of the compound.
West Nile virus not backing down
"We still believe that this year's outbreak is the largest to date and certainly the most serious," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. Although the exact reasons behind the severity of this year's outbreak remain unclear, experts believe unusually high temperatures may have been a contributing factor.
Europe must become 'federation of states', Barroso says
The president of the European Commission called for the EU to be turned into a "federation of nation states" in a sweeping demand for countries to surrender more sovereignty and move towards full integration.
Germany approves bailout fund – now Barroso wants to create a federal future
Ambitious proposals for a federal Europe were spelt out yesterday by the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, in a controversial speech which argued that deeper political and fiscal union were the only ways of preventing future crises in the eurozone.
Hospitals 'on brink of collapse'
Hospitals in England could be on the brink of collapse because of rising demand and the increasing complexity of patients' conditions, doctors warn. The Royal College of Physicians' report said the number of beds had been cut by a third over the past 25 years. It said at the same time emergency admissions had started rising and hospitals were seeing older patients with a wider variety of conditions.
Gas prices hit $9 in New Jersey, Pennsylvania in Lukoil protest
More than 50 gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are jacking up prices to more than $9 a gallon to protest what they say are unfair pricing practices by Lukoil North America. Sal Risalvato of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association said Wednesday's protest is aimed at getting Lukoil to respond to dealers' grievances.
Insight: Afghans seek shelter in Dubai ahead of pullout
"Nobody knows what's going to happen after 2014," he told Reuters in Kabul. "If something happens with the security situation here, I can take my family. We feel safe in Dubai."
Libya attack: US to investigate Benghazi assault
The US is investigating whether the attack in Libya that killed the US ambassador and several other people was planned in advance, officials say. They said the US consulate attack was complex and professional, amid reports the perpetrators may have had links to jihadist groups.
Pro-Europe parties win Dutch vote
Voters in the Netherlands have backed two pro-European centrist parties, while the Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Freedom Party faces heavy losses. With most votes counted, PM Mark Rutte claimed victory for his centre-right VVD party. The centre-left Labour Party looks set to come a close second.
West Nile virus to hit U.S. hard, CDC says
Health officials said Wednesday that they are convinced this will be the worst year for West Nile virus deaths and severe illnesses since the disease hit America's shores in 1999. So far, 1,405 serious illnesses and 118 deaths from West Nile have been reported across the country. Most are in Texas, but Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Michigan have seen substantial numbers.
Sen. Jon Kyl: US Embassy Response Like Blaming Rape Victim
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., suggested today that President Obama's response to the embassy attacks in Egypt and Libya was akin to a court asking a rape victim for an apology.