Satellite images show Damascus established four facilities to accompany reactor bombed in 2007

WASHINGTON – Syria established four additional nuclear facilities aside from the one bombed by Israel in 2007, the US Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) reported late Wednesday.
The report, which was published alongside a report by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, explains that Syria's nuclear program was far more advanced than previously believed and included, in addition to the reactor destroyed at al-Kibar, a uranium conversion facility and three storage sites.

The conversion facility at Marj as-Sultan, according to the report, was apparently intended for processing uranium yellowcake into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) for the al-Kibar reactor.

The facility's current use is unknown, but the ISIS suspects that after the latter was bombed Syria attempted to disguise its operations. The institute cites commercial satellite images as proof of this.  


During this time, Syria rejected demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the Marj as-Sultan site.

"With no substantial cooperation from Syria, the IAEA’s Director General should clearly conclude that Syria may have egregiously violated its safeguards agreement and call for a special inspection of these four sites," the report says.

The ISIS also published satellite photos it relied upon, showing three additional facilities apparently used for storage at Masyaf, Iskandariyah, and Marj as Sultan.

Satellite images from 2008 show operations at these sites which the ISIS has concluded to be the laying of new concrete foundations, in order to cover up any nuclear activity.

After the report was published, the Wall Street Journal speculated that its findings would lead to increasing pressure on Syria to allow IAEA inspectors to visit the suspected sites.

Inspectors visited the al-Kibar site in May of 2008, and found uranium traces indicating that the reactor had been near completion. But Syrian President Bashar Assad repeatedly denied the inspectors access to the other sites.

In an interview last month with the Wall Street Journal, Assad denied that his country had ever had a covert nuclear program.


Ynetnews
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'Kill Switch' Internet bill alarms privacy experts

SAN FRANCISCO — A raging debate over new legislation, and its impact on the Internet, has tongues wagging and fingers pointing from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C.

Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics.

Proponents of the bill, which is expected to be reintroduced in the current session of Congress, dismiss the detractors as ill-informed — even naive.

The ominously nicknamed Kill Switch bill is sure to be a flashpoint of discussion at the RSA Conference, the nation's largest gathering of computer-security experts that takes place here this week.

The bill — crafted by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.;Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Tom Carper, D-Del. — aims to defend the economic infrastructure from a cyberterrorist attack. But it has free-speech advocates and privacy experts howling over the prospect of a government agency quelling the communication of hundreds of millions of people.

"This is all about control, an attempt to control every aspect of our existence," says Christopher Feudo, a cybersecurity expert who is chairman of SecurityFusion Solutions. "I consider it an attack on our personal right of free speech. Look what recently occurred in Egypt."

Its critics immediately dubbed it Kill Switch, suffusing it with Big Brother-tinged foreboding. "Unfortunately, it got this label, which is analogous to death panels (during the health care debates)," says Mark Kagan, director of research at Keane Federal Systems, an information-technology contractor for the government.

The disruption to communications and economic activity "could be catastrophic," says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Computer-security expert Ira Winkler, a staunch advocate of the legislation, counters, "The fact that people are complaining about this fact is grossly ignorant of the real world. The fact critical infrastructure elements are even accessible to the Internet is the worst part to begin with."

The overheated debate takes place against the backdrop of revolution in the Middle East and a recent breach of Nasdaq's computer system. Both underline the power of the Internet, its vulnerability and the importance of cybersecurity.

It also underscores the delicate balance between protecting the Internet — the largest communications device — and unfettered free speech.

The autocratic government of former Egyptian presidentHosni Mubarak ordered the shutdown of four major Internet service providers, effectively shuttering the Internet in Egypt for several days. Could that happen in the U.S. if the bill becomes law?

In the U.S., there are 2,000 to 4,000 Internet providers, many of whom virulently oppose government interference that would put a clamp-down on their businesses.

"When it comes to practicalities, I would be surprised if anything comes to (a kill switch)," says Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik, a lawyer with expertise in constitutional law and Internet privacy law. "If (the bill and president) strays too far, it would be extremely unpopular."

USA TODAY

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Anti Christ will be introduced any time... John Hagee

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 9:47

John Hagee Ministries

For the past few days the world has been watching the Middle East implode! The streets of the nation of Egypt have been packed with riots and bloodshed. The Administration of Mubarak is apparently coming to an end. From my sources of information, I believe the Muslim Brotherhood is now in the driver's seat to determine the future of Egypt .

The American media, with the exception of FOX News, is presenting the Muslim Brotherhood as moderate and lovers of democracy. This is utter nonsense. This is the hysterical jabber of our State Department that once again has fumbled the ball in the Middle East .

Making a long story short; if the Egyptian drama works out like the Fall of the Shah in Iran in 1979 (and I think it will) there will be a person approved of the Muslim Brotherhood to become Egypt's new leader. He will appear initially as a moderate and within a few weeks embrace Sharia which is the Islamic law that now governs Iran .

Israel will be surrounded by hostile nations screaming for their blood! America 's economy is determined by the price of oil and Egypt will have the power to block the Suez Canal and Iran will have the power to block the Straight of Hormuz.

Result? America 's economic future will be determined by nations that hate us and call us the Great Satan.

What are you seeing happen in the Middle East prophetically? You are seeing the King of the South come together with lightning speed.

Egypt has an army of one million men armed with 1500 Abram Tanks which are America 's best. We sold them to Egypt along with hundreds of our latest and greatest fighter jets because Egypt was controlled by Mubarak who was America 's friend.

Can you imagine what Israel faces with Iran , Egypt , Syria , Turkey and Russia coming after them? The prophet Ezekiel clearly predicted this battle thousands of years ago and you are watching the players get into position with lightning speed.

Jesus said: "When you see these signs, lift up your head and rejoice. Your redemption draweth nigh." Simply stated: The King is coming! Get ready! Planet earth is about to become the playground for the Anti-Christ and his New World Order. The church will be raptured before the Anti-Christ appears; and I believe he could be introduced in Europe at any time. Pray up! Pack up! We're going up...and very soon. I'll chat with you next week!

Pastor John Hagee

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Soros fingerprints on Morocco riots

One of the main groups organizing protests against the pro-Western king of Morocco is funded by philanthropist George Soros and the U.S. State Department.

Soros' Open Society Institute also has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.

The Human Rights Education Associates opened its offices in Morocco in 2004 with funds provided by both the State Department and the Open Society Institute.

It was a key supporter of Sunday's protests in Morocco demanding that King Mohammed VI's powers be limited while pushing for constitutional reforms that would allow opposition parties to join the government.

The banned Islamist Justice and Charity is believed to be the country's biggest opposition force. It joined together this past Sunday with a coalition of leftistpartiesthat held mass protests in cities across Morocco that turned violent.

Five burned bodies reportedly were found in a bank set ablaze in a north Moroccan town where some of the violence was reported.

Morocco Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said yesterday 128 people, including 115 members of the security forces, were wounded in violence in several other Moroccan towns following this weekend's unrest.

The protests were organized under the umbrella of the "February 20 Movement for Change," which boasts 19,000 Facebook fans. It officially is calling for the 47-year-old king to dismiss the government and dissolve parliament.

The protests were unusual for a country in which King Mohammed is widely considered popular, although Islamic groups seek his removal from office.

Mohammed, who took the throne in 1999, is an ally in the U.S.-led fight against terrorism. He even repeatedly has stated he is willing to normalize relations with Israel once a peace agreement is signed with the Palestinians.

Mohammed is also Western oriented. He has dramatically improved Morocco's human rights record and has been a champion of women's rights and a more open economy.

The Soros-funded Human Rights Education Associates has been engaged in teacher training and national training for family judges in Morocco.

It marks the latest connection of thephilanthropistactivist to protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

Soros' Open Society Institute's Middle East and North Africa Initiative has provided numerous grants to a wide range of projects that promote so-called democratic issues across the region, including in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood stands to gain from any future election.

The Open Society also funded the main opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima, which championed the riots there that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

WNDreported last weekan international "crisis management" group led by Soros long has petitioned for the Algerian government to cease "excessive" military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.

Like Morocco, Algeria last week was the site of violent anti-regime protests.

The organization, the International Crisis Group, also is tied strongly to the Egyptian opposition movement whose protests led to the ouster of Mubarak.

Following protests that led to the resignations of Mubarak and Ben Ali– both key U.S. allies – Algeria similarly has been engulfed in anti-regime riots.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country with a tough hand. And he has been an ally of the U.S. in fighting al-Qaida.

Read more:Soros fingerprints on Morocco riotshttp://www.wnd.com/?pageId=266401#ixzz1EjycC48U

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Jordan king calls for political reforms in response to months of unrest

Speaking to lawmakers, judges and Cabinet officials at his hilltop palace, Abdullah vowed to forge ahead with political reforms, saying "such changes are in the interest of our people."

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday called for quick and real political reforms to give the public a greater role in governing in a bid to eliminate corruption, favoritism and nepotism.

The king's comments are his first public remarks since anti-government protests - inspired by the unrest in Tunisia and Egypt - began in Jordan seven weeks ago. Activists are demanding a stronger role in politics and greater political freedoms.

Speaking to lawmakers, judges and Cabinet officials at his hilltop palace, Abdullah vowed to forge ahead with political reforms, saying "such changes are in the interest of our people."

He called for a comprehensive review of all bills, especially a heavily disputed election law that the opposition claims favors the king's Bedouin tribal loyalists at the expense of Islamists and other constituencies.

"The election law," Abdullah said, "must increase people's participation in making their future, so that competition in elections would be based on programs and to move into a new era in running the affairs of the state."

"When we reach that period, we will be able to form governments on the basis of political party affiliation and clear work plans," he added. He said he eventually wants to see effective political parties established and open competition for Cabinet posts.

The king did not say, however, whether he would relinquish the power to appoint prime ministers, a key demand of protesters who want the post to be popularly elected.

Currently, parliament is elected, but the king retains the power to appoint and dismiss both prime ministers and parliament and rule by decree.

Political analyst Oraib al-Rentawi called Abdullah's proposals a step in the right direction, but not enough.

"We've been talking about this issue for 20 years. We need practical steps with set timetables to enable us to have an elected Cabinet," he added. He said that above all a new election law must allow for adequate representation of all segments of Jordanian society.

"It's only then that strong and effective political parties would emerge and would be able to form Cabinets," he added.

There are 40 splintered political parties in Jordan, including Arab nationalists, communists, leftists and Muslim fundamentalists. The only organized party is the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in the country.

Elections are usually contested on the basis of family connections in this largely tribal society. Tribesmen form the bedrock of the king's support.

Following violent riots calling for wider public freedoms in 1989, King Abdullah's father, the late King Hussein, revived a multiparty system banned for 33 years and reinstated parliament after a 22-year gap.

Hussein also said he wanted to see political parties emerge into three main groups - right, center and left. Despite this, little has been done since.

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Pound Climbs as BOE's Dale Joins Sentance, Weale in Seeking Rate Increase

Pound Gains as BOE’s Dale Joins Camp Calling for Rate Increase

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The pound rallied to an almost three-week high against the dollar and gilts fell after minutes of the Bank of England’s meeting this month showed a third policy maker voted to raise interest rates to curb inflation.

Sterling extended its advance this year against a basket of nine developed-market peers to 3.1 percent as measured by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes, and traders increased bets that borrowing costs will climb. Central bank policy maker Spencer Dale joined Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting to boost rates, according to minutes from the Feb. 10 meeting published today in London.

“This growing momentum in the BOE in favor of higher rates is supporting” the pound versus the dollar, said Elizabeth Gregory, a Geneva-based market strategist at ACM Advanced Currency Markets, which handles about $150 billion of currency trades a month. “That trend could continue for the next six months to a year.”

The pound appreciated as much as 0.9 percent to $1.6274, the highest since Feb. 3, before trading 0.6 percent stronger at $1.6239 as of 11:36 a.m. in London. The U.K. currency was little changed at 84.60 pence per euro.

Calls to lift borrowing costs for the first time since July 2007 are intensifying as inflation has remained above the central bank’s 2 percent target for more than a year. Consumer- price growth accelerated to 4 percent last month, a Feb. 15 report showed. Dale and Weale voted for a 25 basis-point increase in the main rate, from a record low 0.5 percent, while Sentance voted for 50 basis points, the minutes today showed.

Hawkishness Increasing

“People weren’t really expecting Sentance be so aggressive,” Gregory said.

Of the five members of the Monetary Policy Committee that voted for no increase in the benchmark rate “some thought that the case for an increase had nevertheless grown in strength,” according to the minutes. Governor Mervyn King said at a press conference last week that market expectations of higher borrowing costs were overdone.

Two-year notes fell for a second day, lifting yields by three basis points to 1.53 percent. They rose to 1.56 percent, the highest in more than a week. The 4.5 percent security due March 2013 fell 0.08, or 80 pence per 1,000-pound ($1,625) face amount, to 105.91. Ten-year yields, typically less sensitive to short-term rate market expectations, gained two basis points to 3.70 percent.

Gilts have declined this year amid mounting speculation that rates will increase. U.K. debt lost investors 1.6 percent, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bonds fell 1.2 percent, with U.S. Treasuries down 0.4 percent.

Short Sterling

Money markets signal policy makers will probably raise the key rate by about 75 basis points by year-end, according to the Sterling overnight interbank average, Tullett Prebon Plc data show. The so-called Sonia rate indicates an increase of about 25 basis points in May, with another quarter point by September.

The implied yield on the December short-sterling futures contract jumped five basis points to 1.78 percent. It rose to 1.82 percent, the highest this year, as traders added to bets that U.K. borrowing costs will rise. The yield was 1.25 percent at the end of last year.

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Israel and EU clash over handling of Arab-Israeli conflict

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has said there is "no link" between the Arab uprisings and the Arab-Israeli conflict, even as the EU presidency called on him to re-engage in peace talks as a matter of urgency.

"I don't see any linkage between our dispute with the Palestinians and the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya. The main reason is poverty, misery and inefficient governments," Mr Lieberman told journalists after an EU-Israeli meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (22 February).

He went on to say that his country is "a strong democracy ready to share" its "knowledge" and "techonology" with any government that may come to power in neighbouring countries, so long as they respect peace treaties signed by their predecessors.

Speaking moments later at the same press conference, Hungarian foreign minister Janos Martonyi, representing the rotating EU presidency, said the "dramatic changes and regional instability" make progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks "more imperative and more urgent than ever before."

"Time is pressing, for both parties. The EU wants to help as much as it can with direct or indirect talks, and the parties can't avoid discussing the core issues," he added.

A defiant Mr Lieberman threw the ball back in the EU court, however: "We hope to see more activity from the EU, we need your assistance to bring the Palestinians to the table," he said.

When pressed by Brussels-based journalists on Israeli settlement-building on occupied Palestinian land, seen by the EU and the Palestinians as a major obstacle to talks, Mr Lieberman said this is a "prejudiced view".

Whenever Israel withdrew from occupied territories, as in southern Lebanon or the Gaza strip, Islamist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas took over and started firing rockets at Israel, he argued.

"I think Israel is the only country contributing to stability in the region," he added.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed just weeks after they restarted last September when Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction.

The EU in 2009 froze a proposed upgrade of its relations with Israel, in part due to its bloody attack on the densely-populated Gaza strip and in part due to settlements. Last week, all four EU members of the UN Security Council - France, Britain, Portugal and Germany - backed a Palestinian resolution denouncing the settlements as illegal. Washington vetoed the measure.

Speaking to EUobserver in an interview last week, Syria's ambassador to the EU, Mohamad Ayman Soussan, took the opposite point of view to the Israeli minister.

"The sources of danger of a regional conflict [in the Middle East] do not reside in the stability of this or that Arab country, they reside in Israeli politics," he said.

EURO OBSERVER

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