From Yemen:

...Of particular concern is the Islamist Islah party, modelled on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which some fear is hijacking the protest movement. They say Islah supporters dominate the movement's organising committee which plans and runs demonstrations, often seeking to raise tension or provoke Mr Saleh's forces, something that leads to the use of deadly force. slah, the largest and best organised party in Yemen, includes an extremist faction whose members seek to enforce a strict interpretation of Sharia on the square, segregating the protesters on the basis of gender.

"We ask you to be so kind as to not allow men and women to work alongside each other unless it is absolutely necessary to do so," wrote one Jomaani Al Herasy in the guest book of the field hospital.

The Islah party also is known to be bankrolling most services provided inside the Change Square camp, squeezing out donors who offer support without any political strings attached.

Critics fear Islah, the main opposition party in one of the poorest country in the Middle East, wants to use the reform movement to topple Mr Saleh and replace his regime with an Islamist state, restricting the rights of women and minorities.


"Women must not participate in the protests. Her place is her home," said Mr Mohammed, an Islah supporter who claims that his business has fallen by some 70 per cent since the protest movement began. His pharmacy is on one of the streets were protesters' tents have sprung up... http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/i...

From Tunisia:

A moderate Islamist party claimed victory Monday in Tunisia’s landmark elections as preliminary results indicated it had won the biggest share of votes, assuring it will have a strong say in the future constitution of the country whose popular revolution led to the Arab Spring.

The Ennahda party’s success could boost other Islamist parties in the North Africa and the Middle East... http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa...

From Libya:

Libya’s National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil kneeled in prayer after taking the stand in a celebration of liberation on Sunday after 42 years of one-man rule by Muammar Gaddafi and promised to uphold Islamic law.

“We as a Muslim nation have taken Islamic sharia as the source of legislation, therefore any law that contradicts the principles of Islam is legally nullified,” he said... http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/1... /



From Egypt:

A statement issued from the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday condemned the Coptic protests on Sunday, saying that the time “was not right.”

The peaceful protest that turned bloody after military police shot at protesters and ran them over with armored vehicles, left at least 25 dead and hundreds injured.

The Islamic group said that “legitimate demands have their channels, way and time” and that “Egyptian people as a whole have demands and not just Copts, so that was the wrong time to call for these demands.”... http://bikyamasr.com/45293/egypts-muslim-b... /

...Imbaba may not be Cairo — it is more like a distilled version of the city — but it says a lot about where an anxious country may be headed as it approaches an election that will help decide the future character of an unfinished revolution.

From the caldron of frustration the revolt represented, Islamic activists here have built on their formidable charity across a landscape where liberal and secular forces have made almost no impression. Residents debate programs but often have only the agendas of religious parties to go on. Even the most secular voices — the few there are — wonder if it is not time to give the Islamists a chance.

“They’re the only ones organized, and they’re the only one who deliver to people in need,” Amal Salih, a 24-year-old resident of Imbaba, said with a measure of regret... http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111...

Syria:

...No future regime in Syria will be less hostile towards Israel, and therefore the reduction in animosity toward the United States is inconceivable. Bayanouni, a politician, is speaking to that widespread Syrian sentiment against Israel, and by extension, the United States.

It is particularly noteworthy that the grandmaster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political theology, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was also in attendance the other night and spoke in support of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi is a Brotherhood cleric who is banned from entering the United Kingdom and United States for several reasons, not least encouraging Palestinians and others to become suicide bombers. Hamas draws scriptural justification for terrorism from Qaradawi, who argues that all Israelis undertake military service and are therefore legitimate targets, including women and children.

With such figures openly touting themselves as a crucial element of Syria’s opposition movement, can the United States continue to wish for a post-Assad regime that will be any friendlier towards the United States or Israel? And if the opposition is broader than the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamists, can the rest of the Syrian opposition publicly commit to peace with Israel? I doubt it. Without such transparency, who is the U.S. Department of State supporting?... http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/20... /


This is just a smattering of the stories I have seen recently. Given the progressive impulses within the initial wave of rebellions, it is deeply disturbing that Islamist organizations are pulling-off what could be termed a counter-revolution by a 'silent majority' desperate to get things moving in their countries. I don't promote the paranoia of the US right and still hope for positive change. However, the reality on the ground is beginning to look profoundly regressive and Democrats need to be paying attention.

Expect a big boost in the polls with his...

-Coded birther talk...
-Out right to lifing Herman Cain
-and last but not least his 'love affair' with his gun



Hell, he may have just won the nomination

Source: AFP

Three young Saudis who posted online a video on poverty in the oil-rich kingdom have been detained after an opposition television aired part of their documentary, activists said on Wednesday.

Firas Baqna, Khalid al-Rasheed and Hussam al-Darwish were arrested on Sunday by police in Al-Sahaba district, north Riyadh, after London-based Al-Islah television aired part of their YouTube series entitled "Malub Aleina" ("We are being cheated"), activists said, requesting anonymity... "The aim of the series is to draw attention to social problems, nothing more," said the activist...

Read more: http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090001160592/...

---

Once again the Kingdom shows its true colors... what an evil, evil place

North Korean regime 'propped up' by Edinburgh Woolen Mill sweatshop deal

THE Edinburgh Woollen Mill have been exposed for using North Korean sweatshop labour to make their clothes.

The cashmere knitwear, labelled "Designed in Scotland", is made by Mongolian firm Eermel, who employ 80 North Korean women in work gangs.

Eermel have admitted paying part of these workers' wages to Kim Jong-il's government - helping to prop up the hardline regime...

The North Korean workers are based at a factory in Ulan Bator, where they are overseen by officials from their country.

The EWM deal was exposed by a BBC Newsnight investigation.

David Woods, a manager at the Eermel factory, told the programme: "We're very proud to be working with Edinburgh Woollen Mill. They joined us about five years ago."

Woods, who has now left the company, said the North Koreans were "well looked after".

He added: "They're hard workers. They don't complain and they get stuck in. They're quite skilled.

"They have a dormitory, they have food, they have showers, they have a television."... http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish... /


And their salary goes directly to the North Korean embassy.

Might be time to investigate what American companies are taking advantage of this setup.

There has been no outcry from the 'GOP Base' to get Gov. Christie in the race. Instead it is orchestrated media hype coming from:

Wall Street:

...Chris Christie seems to have two big constituent groups: The media (which seems to love him) and Wall Street, which is not too keen on Republican populism.

Earlier this week, Nick Confessore at NYT did a good roundup of the folks pushing for Christie to run.

Among the notable finance names:

David Tepper
Dan Loeb
Charles Schwab
Ken Langone
Stan Druckenmiller
Paul Singer...


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street...

Christie's wife Pat also works on Wall Street and 'shockingly' had a major rise in income last year.



Rupert Murdoch et al:

... The New York Times reports that “….Those pushing Mr. Christie to run include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Nancy Reagan and the conservative columnist William Kristol.

Mr. Christie has become particularly popular among those establishment Republicans and major party donors who are seeking a candidate who could be a more exciting alternative — and one with potentially broader appeal — than one of the perceived front-runners, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

The push to recruit him intensified after Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who had been seen as a promising alternative, received poor debate performance reviews two weeks ago…“... http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php...

that is all

I spent last night in the hospital.

Early yesterday afternoon while working, I started to get the feeling that I was going to pass-out towards the end of my second class ( I am a professor). My head was going numb and my arms. I immediately went to the clinic which fortunately was in the same building. The doctor there (these guys are imbeciles) thought it was just blood pressure and said we would have to monitor it for several weeks to see if it was high. I managed to get home somehow, and once I go there I sat on the couch for about an hr. feeling pretty bad. I had my wife bring me some soup to eat and as I was eating it, the taste completely went out and I found myself nearly blacking out. I had her drive me to an ER where I was getting close to unconscious and unresponsive.

I came back a bit and they began monitoring me carefully and started the tests. BP was elevated, but not horrible. CT scan of brain was negative. Heart monitoring was negative. The kept me overnight and kept track of heart and BP the whole time. That also was negative. They also gave steroids/hydrocortisone??? (don't know precisely as was too out of it) in case I was having a severe allergic reaction. Through process of elimination it seems like it might be too things:

1. A severe allergic reaction to claritin. I have taken this for years. However, it was the only medicine I was taking at the time. After a bit of online research today, it seems that people may have had some similar experiences.

2. I have had an ongoing herniated disc in my neck. In fact, the pain was rather intense in the neck this morning. They will do an MRI in the next day of so to see if this is okay.

Today, I have been fine except feeling horrible with the medicine from the shot (feels like bad hangover).

I am really perplexed at this point... it seriously seemed like I was dying at the time. Anyone had any experiences with severe drug reactions, or similar problems from issues in the cervical region?

You can't make this stuff up...

Jeans 'are named for jinns and can make you infertile', Iranians told

"Iranian men have been warned: jeans can make you infertile because they cause you to overheat. At least this is the opinion expressed by a young man in an interview aired on Iran's state television this month.

Ali Akbar Rafiepour was introduced as a "public speaker and strategist". His views, relayed by YouTube and Facebook, met with ridicule from Iranians at home and abroad.

What Iranians wear is a politically charged issue every sweltering summer, when the number of Islamic "morality police" on the streets is beefed up to ensure those wearing lighter clothing comply with the country's strict dress codes.

This year their ranks have swelled ominously, with 70,000 police officers deployed on fashion duty in Tehran, the state news agency, IRNA said... The populist president, now fighting for his political survival, has often voiced his opposition to any overzealous crackdown on the dress code, concerned it could damage his government's popularity.

His supposed laxity came under ferocious attack this week from Mr Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards. Mojtaba Zolnour declared the president's men were "squeezing the throat" of morality police to blunt their drive against "moral corruption".

Meanwhile, Mr Raefipour, the denim-averse analyst, claimed on state television - which Mr Khamenei controls through appointed representatives - that the word "jeans" comes from "jinn".

Jinn, according to Islamic texts, are spirits that can assume animal or human form and which can be good or evil. Mr Raefipour also opined that soaring high heels make a woman's feet look like the hoofs of jinn, and that some logos and numbers on T-shirts signify devil worship.

Jinn are headline news in Iran. Mr Ahmadinejad's hardline rivals claim that a power-hungry, "deviant" faction in his camp has summoned evil jinn to spellbind the president, leaving him under its sway..." http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/m...



On a serious note, looks like the 'liberal' Ahmadinejad may be on the way out.

Too funny!

I was shocked! Someone on a morning news show actually did their homework and nailed the 'not ready for prime-time' candidate (Huntsman) on the fact his family's company had massively outsourced overseas.

It was a *SNAP* moment when I am sure he was expecting fluffy bunnies and unicorns.

Olberman also reported on the questions surrounding whether Huntsman's company sold weapons grade materials to Iran: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcSh1qLiUMQ .

Once upon a time, there was the party of Lincoln. It was devoted to the idea of emancipation and 40 acres and a mule. Over the last 150 years, how times have changed. Today, in order to secure their electoral base, the Republican party has lowered itself to the lowest common denominator of its rabid base. It has become the Grand Old Party of racism.

Since the Southern strategy became the bread and butter of Republican electoral politics, a key shift happened in the party. As new (more Southern) elements gained power in the party, racism began rearing its ugly head from time to time. The most toxic of these outbreaks was the Louisiana politician, David Duke. A former Grand Wizard of the KKK, he ran semi-successful candidacies for the House (1989), the Senate (1990), governor of Louisiana (1991) and president (1992). While much of the national party repudiated Duke’s racism, his ability to collect votes in Louisiana pointed to a demographic and a fact just beneath the surface of the Republican Party. At the heart of the base (especially in Southern states) people with predominantly racist beliefs form the core of the party that Republicans rely on to get elected...


While you might dismiss Trump as a “barker” for the Tea Party sideshow as President Obama so eloquently described the situation, the Grand Old Party of racism just keeps rolling along. State by state, the Koch Brothers, ALEC and other groups have been systematically pushing their racist agenda. Across the nation (Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina and other states) Republican legislatures have all put forward curiously similar bills, all designed to make it harder to vote. For example, in Florida, those most likely to move by demographic are the poor and minorities. The bill would make it much more difficult for registration groups to work with these individuals, even leaving non-partisan groups like the League of Women Voters thinking they will have to suspend voter drives under the threat of fines. With more people voting provisional ballots (of which only 48% were counted across the country in last fall’s election), voter suppression is a certainty as voters forgo the long lines created by the shortening of early voting.

In Oklahoma, the mask has completely fallen off and Republican legislators seem to be empowered these days to say exactly how they feel. Upon the passing of legislation to put Affirmative Action up to a vote by the electorate, Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) decided to let it all hang out. In an interview with the Tulsa World she said, “Minorities earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative.” She went on to add that, “We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.” The GOP needs to ask itself if they still want to be the party of Lincoln. Right now, they are looking an awful lot like the party of David Duke and ‘Bull’ Connor.


http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/th... /

Every once in a while an event comes along that makes me proud to be an American, a republican. In case you haven’t heard, Friday will be one of those times. From the over-blown, over-pompous parade, to the treacly comments on the bride’s shy and down to earth nature, everything will be broadcast live and in living (more or less color). So, my fellow Americans here are the Top 10 reasons you should be tuning out. But , if somehow you can’t avoid it, I also offer you the Official Royal Wedding Drinking Game:

10. A Rogues Gallery of Tyrants and Dictators – The Queen invited the Crown Prince of Bahrain, who is most certainly responsible for the deaths of dozens through various acts of state terror. However, at least he declined to attend. Other dignitaries from the despotic families of the Gulf Region will attend, including Saudi Arabia where de facto slavery is still practiced. King Mswati III of Swaziland will also be attending despite human rights abuses reported by Human Rights Watch.

9. The Big Dis – Not only were the Obamas not invited, neither were any of the former Labour Prime Ministers of the UK.

8. Camilla – Anyone bring an apple? Here we can find the first part of the Official Royal Wedding Drinking Game. Any time an announcer says the word, “horse” you have to say Camilla. If you say it, you are the winner (errr loser) and everyone else has to drink...

For More- http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/to...

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said in an interview with the Tulsa World concerning taking a plan to ban Affirmative Action to voters.

“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”

Kern said women earn less than men because “they tend to spend more time at home with their families.”

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.asp...

Here is the face of hate:

Source: Tulsa World

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate Affirmative Action in state government.

The proposed amendment passed by a vote of 59-14 Wednesday evening, with 28 members absent or not voting. It had already passed the Senate and will go to a vote of the people next year...



Read more: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.asp...

---

The hits keep coming...

We seriously need to contact the White House about this one: President Obama will meet with the Crown Prince of the UAE this Tuesday. Call, or email the WH that the President needs to directly ask about the innocent dissidents currently being detained in the United Arab Emirates. Their only crime is daring to petition their government to consider an elected, parliamentary democracy. I wrote about this in my latest article for blogcritics http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/th... / .

Here is some more background:

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arrested a prominent human rights activist and four others on accusations that include opposing the government, the state-run WAM news agency reported Monday.

The five were "held in preventative custody" on accusations that they committed crimes that include undermining the public order, opposing the government system and insulting the president, vice president and crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the news agency said.

It identified one of the five as Ahmed Mansour Ali Abdullah Al Abd Al Shehi, more commonly known as Ahmed Mansour. He is a "leading human rights activist who had publicly called for political freedoms and an elected parliament," Human Rights Watch said. Mansour also is a member of Human Rights Watch's Middle East advisory committee... http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/04...


If anyone has any direct contacts, please call this to the Administration's attention. In the meantime, you can contact the WH through

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact