WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is looking to break a taboo and train an elite Indonesian force linked to past abuses, as President Barack Obama courts the world's largest Muslim-majority nation with a visit. Typical Hussein logic.

An open letter to Geert Wilders: Though we have not met, I feel as if I know you well. I have followed your trials—and trial—closely and, like many who are engaged in the same fight against Islamic supremacism and the various forms of jihad that confront us, I endorse your campaign on behalf of the West and its traditional liberties in every way that I can.

THE world’s leading climate change group was mired in further controversy yesterday after one of its own scientists said another of its global-warming claims was “totally wrong”.

Things are really going south fast for US Israel relations with a Muslim in the White House. Last time this happened we had a US born, "Christianized" Jew hater in the White House. My Jewish friends are liberals first, Americans and Jews second and third. But I am wondering if they smell the ovens burning? I bet on the way to the concentration camp they would still be defending their choice for Obama.

Exclusive: New research report finds medical facilities served as command centers during Gaza op; 100 mosques used for military purposes; police incorporated into group’s military wing. (But in the bizarro world of European and liberal politics, that's all OK when the enemy is the evil JOOOOOOOO!!!)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A British couple is appealing a jail sentence after being accused of sharing a passionate kiss in a Dubai restaurant.

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Georgians have been panicked by a hoax television news program announcing the Russian army had invaded and killed President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Social networking web sites like Twitter and Facebook are very popular among Venezuela's opposition movements to organize protests against the government. Chavez has complained that people use such sites to spread unfounded rumors. Many opponents fear Chavez plans to emulate the government oversight of the Web used by allies Cuba, China and Iran, but the socialist leader has not given any sign that he is planning such a move.

Why doesn't anyone talk about MySpace anymore?

... Obongo needs to set up a bow-and-scrape meeting in Mexico immediately to talk all factions into making nice with one another. ... It isn't nice for our good neighbors to the south to kill off our consulate staff.

President Mugabe seeks another term as president in the once great nation of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

Switzerland has come under criticism in a key United States human rights report in a as an example of anti-Muslim discrimination in Europe. The US State Department’s annual report on Human Rights released in Washington on Thursday cites in its introduction last November’s popular vote in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets. It describes growing European discrimination against Muslims as “ an increasing concern”.

China has selected its first two women astronauts to serve on a team that will undertake future missions launched by the nation's burgeoning space programme, state media reported Wednesday.

Two government advertisements which use nursery rhymes to warn of the dangers of climate change have been banned for exaggerating the threat. Commissioned by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the adverts are based on children’s poems Jack and Jill and Rub-A-Dub-Dub and assert that climate change will cause flooding and drought.

Dwarfgate: 5ft 5in Sarkozy's fury as 6ft Cameron and 5ft 11in Osborne 'mock his size - David Cameron is caught up in an extraordinary 'dwarfgate' row with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. - The dispute centres on a claim that Mr Cameron made a remark about 'hidden dwarfs' while discussing a photograph showing himself with Mr Sarkozy - who is seven inches shorter than the Tory leader.

Euro zone finance ministers are likely to agree on Monday on a mechanism for aiding Greece financially, if it is required, but will leave out any sums until Athens asks for them, an EU source said on Saturday.

Back-to-back hunger strikes by Cuban dissidents have brought international condemnation to the island's communist government and stirred political turmoil for some leaders friendly to Cuba. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose government is becoming a major investor in Cuba, has faced an avalanche of criticism at home and abroad after defending Cuba's right to imprison political opponents and appearing to dismiss the plight of the protesters. On Thursday, the European Parliament voted to condemn Cuba for the "avoidable and cruel" death of Orlando Zapata, a 42-year-old laborer who died Feb. 23 after an 86-day strike for better jail conditions. The statement also decried the "alarming state" of Guillermo Fariñas, a dissident journalist who stopped eating after Mr. Zapata's death.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt reached out to Ankara saying his government opposed the parliamentary motion and did not want it to undermine Turkish-Armenian rapprochement efforts.

Although the financial picture and the timetable may look good for this Russian approach to modernizing its military it is a very controversial action for a great power to take. By engaging in arms trade with other great powers from the receiving end Russia puts itself in a submissive political position, especially when it really needs these imports. France and NATO in general are now in a position to force Russia to align with western policies. If Russian dependency on arms production in NATO countries rises Russia will continue to align more and more with western policies in order to maintain its opportunities to modernize its military within the timeframe it has allotted for this project. There is also a great risk of laziness, where Russia may find the import of certain equipment an easier and, on a short term, cheaper solution than rebuilding its own military industry. This may lead to Russia reaching a point where NATO supplies are no longer available without an indigenous industry to fall back on. This may result in a loss of certain military capabilities for a certain amount of time.

You sly French fucks, bravo! Force Russia to submit to NATO's will.

BEIJING – Eleven rare Siberian tigers kept in small cages and fed only chicken bones have died of malnutrition at a cash-strapped zoo in China's frigid northeast, state media said Friday.

A suspected Al Qaeda militant who was known as a "sweetheart" by classmates at his New Jersey high school is being investigated by the FBI after his arrest in the Middle East for allegedly trying to shoot his way out of a hospital in Yemen

A police investigation was under way today after a man with a brain tumour died of dehydration in hospital despite repeatedly begging nurses for water. Kane Gorny, 22, was so desperate for a drink that he rang police from his bed begging them to intervene. They arrived at St George's Hospital in Tooting, only to be told by doctors everything was under control. But when his mother Rita Cronin found him the following day, he was delirious and died hours later.

Kent Pankow lives in Edmonton, in a province and a country that is trying to either kill him or bankrupt him.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A union representing Dutch nurses will launch a national campaign Friday against demands for sexual services by patients who claim it should be part of their standard care.

The authorities of the United Arab Emirates made an unusual decision. Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan al-Tamim said on March 1 that anyone who looks or sounds like a citizen of Israel will be blocked from entering the country, even if a suspected individual produces a passport of a different state.

Statistics Canada projected Tuesday that Muslims are on target to make up half of the country's expanding non-Christian religious population by 2031. That means roughly one out of 10 Canadians might be Muslim in two decades.

China's chief climate official called for the United States, as the world's most developed nation, to do more to tackle climate change. While the Obama administration has been more active on the issue than previous administrations, it needs to take more steps in taking the lead in cutting emissions, providing financial support and technology transfers, said Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, state-run Xinhua news agency reports.

According to Yahoo News, this might become a shit storm.

Steve Short [steve@ecoengineers.com] posted this interesting analysis of the effect of albedo during the period 1983 -2001. It interesting that the conclusion of this article is that the warming during that period can be attributed to reduced albedo resulting from reduced cloud cover. Surprise that isn't it ? Completely natural

Mexico's Carlos Slim, named the world's richest man on Wednesday, first showed a talent for business as a 10-year-old kid when he filled his pockets with pesos selling drinks and snacks to his family. As a youngster he also kept accounting ledgers of what he earned and spent and bought a government savings bond from which he learned valuable lessons about compound interest. Businessmen, he says, do more good by creating jobs and wealth through investment, "not by being Santa Claus."

Irrefutable proof. Girls should shave their beavers to avoid excessive yeasties and other microvermin that flourish in these more tropical climes and times. That blizzard is an actual picture of this mishap.

In a speech to a Christian Zionist group, Israeli PM Netanyahu offers a sincere thanks to support that Israel receives from Christian groups worldwide, along with a stern warning about the specter of a nuclear armed Iran. The Prime Minister reminds us that Iran not only threatens Israel, "the Little Satan", but also America, "the Great Satan". We would all do well to heed what are sounding like both Churchillian as well as prophetic warnings about the next gathering storm.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the Palestinians appreciated "the strong statement of condemnation" by the U.S. administration.

Fitch calls for 'credible' plan to tackle deficit as trade gap hits 17-month high of £8bn - Sterling suffered a triple whammy yesterday as poor trade figures, warnings from two credit agencies about the UK's AAA rating and the possibility of more bank failures badly damaged confidence.

The contrast between Texas and California is so stark as to question the very possibility of the Golden State ever returning to balanced budget prosperity. Liberal strongholds in San Francisco and Los Angeles have provided Democrats with the Legislative punch to gain a strangle hold on California’s governmental operations. The far Left nature of both of these cities has led to the State’s complete capitulation to its public employees unions. The incestuous relationship these unions have with Sacramento Democrats has produced a “taxpayer be damned” attitude that will make curbing the costs of governing California virtually impossible.

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- The death toll from weekend violence in central Nigeria climbed to more than 200 Monday after members of a machete-wielding Muslim group attacked a mostly Christian town south of the city of Jos, officials said. More than 200 were dead and 32 injured, according to Choji Gyang, a religious affairs adviser to the head of Plateau state, who said bodies were still being recovered. Sani Shehu, president of the nongovernmental agency Civil Rights Congress, put the number of dead at about 485 people. Twenty-six arrests had been made in connection with the violence, Gyang said. Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan put security on high alert Sunday and began operations to capture the "roving bands of killers" who attacked Dogo Nahauwa, a town just south of Jos. Are you there? Send your video, images to iReport

Amnesty International has used International Women's Day to criticise Sweden and its neighbouring Nordic countries for failing to combat sexual violence against women. "In spite of all the progress towards equality between women and men in many fields in the Nordic societies, when it comes to rape the legal measures are still not adequate," the human rights group said in its report "Case Closed."

Lately, however, the finances of Petrocaribe have been the subject of controversy, amid reports that members owe Venezuela very large amounts they have no means of paying with their current meager incomes. The Dominican Republic owes Venezuela more than $1.23 billion -- almost three times the amount it owed Caracas five years ago. Analysts said the Petrocaribe members' debt to Venezuela was mounting and total more than one-third of the Caribbean's total external debt. Some of the debts may never be repaid, analysts said. Venezuela tried to punish the Dominican Republic when it recognized Lobo's new government by pulling out of a deal to share ownership of a Dominican refinery. Other Caribbean countries dependent on Venezuela's discounted oil have also piled up debts to Venezuela, pleading poverty in the aftermath of the global economic downturn. As Venezuela itself grapples with severe energy and water shortages because of a continuing drought, its own financial strength is being tested by poor economic indicators, raising questions about the Petrocaribe-Venezuela partnership.

Only America creates poverty, everyone else get enlightenment.

... Key Global Warming "scientists" now admit it was all a corrupt scam to destroy world currencies and get control. ... The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] was specifically designed by Maurice Strong as a political vehicle to further his objective of crippling the industrial nations.

British taxpayers to fork out millions more in benefits for EU migrants - fucking EU sticking it's nose into our affairs again - Taxpayers face paying millions of pounds in extra benefits to Eastern European immigrants because of changes to EU regulations.

Could U.S.-style diet coaching offer a solution to the rising tide of obesity in Europe? Nestlé, the Swiss food goliath, hopes so. It is bringing Jenny Craig, its quintessentially American line of consultant-driven diet programs, to Europe, starting in France on March 9. The product will then move to Britain during the second quarter, followed by other major European markets. Eventually, Nestlé plans to take Jenny Craig to urban centers in emerging markets, including India and China. Nestlé is betting that Europeans are ready to embrace a concept that has proved very successful in North America.I blame jooish marketing prowess. they made europe fat and now they'll clean up on the dietary programs.