We have to wait until 6pm or thereabouts to find out if the Republic as we thought we knew it will be lost to medical-collectivization, which is not for nothing a riff on Soviet-style Kulak-collectivization. All eyes on the Congress.
That, of course, doesn't mean there is nothing else to see out there. And if Barack Obama is the engine driving the "health care reform" massacre Stateside, he is also the engine driving umma-wide eruption over the "Judaization" of ... Jerusalem. If the Obama administration had not come down like a hammer on Israel for -- I still can't get over this -- building housing in its own capital, these ugly demonstrations would not be happening. Meanwhile, it's worth noting that housing alone doesn't seem adequate to gin up the Muslim mobs. There is an added fake filip to the protests -- a supposed Israeli threat to Al Aqsa mosque. (This is reminiscent of the use of forged Danish Motoons to whip up anti-Danish Muslim mobs.) Enjoy the pictures.
From Ynet: "Turks protest Israeli housing"
Hundreds of Turkish protesters torched Israeli flags in protest against plans to build new housing in east Jerusalem.
After Friday prayers a large group in Istanbul began chanting anti-Israeli slogans in support of Palestinians. Some protesters were carrying a big balloon in the shape of the Al-Aqsa mosque. Dozens of others gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Ankara.
The protests have been fueled by the plans for more Jewish housing in east Jerusalem and unsubstantiated rumors that Jewish extremists are planning to seize the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third-holiest shrine. ...
From Almasryalyoum: "Anti Israel protests continue across Egypt"
Angry demonstrations against Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank erupted throughout Egypt after Friday prayers this weekend. The protests follow a week of similar demonstrations across universities and professional syndicates last week.
Cairo witnessed a demonstration at Al-Azhar mosque, in which protesters denounced Arab and Muslim passivity towards recent events, demanding that Arab rulers sanction jihad, take a firm stand against the Judaiziation of Jerusalem, and sever relations with the Jewish state. Security forces cordoned off the mosque, searched worshippers and prevented demonstrators from taking their protests to the streets....
In Beni Suef, hundreds of worshippers, including Hamdi Zahran, a member of the People’s Assembly from the Muslim Brotherhood, marched after prayer chanting anti-Israeli slogans. Surrounded by a heavy security presence, the demonstrators also decried Israeli attempts to make Jerusalem Jewish. ...
Press TV reports: "Indonesians hold anti-Israel
Indonesia witnesses thousands-strong demonstration against an Israeli project that poses danger to the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
The Saturday protests, attended by the supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), a member of the ruling coalition, exploded onto the streets of the capital, Jakarta, Jakarta Post reported.
The demonstrators condemned the destructive move, which sees Israel digging a tunnel that will damage the foundation of the mosque.
“We will prove Indonesian people are ready to support any movement to protect al-Aqsa, the third-holiest mosque in the world,” chairman of the party's Jakarta chapter Tri Wisaksana told the audience.
Defying torrential rain, the demonstrators raised up banners emblazoned with “Save al-Aqsa Mosque from Zionist Israel” and “One man one dollar to save Palestine.”...
From the AP: "Construction in Jerusalem illegal: Ban-Ki Moon"
...
On Saturday, Ban rejected Israel's distinction between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, noting that both are occupied lands. “The world has condemned Israel's settlement plans in East Jerusalem,” Ban told a news conference after his brief tour. “Let us be clear. All settlement activity is illegal anywhere in occupied territory and must be stopped.”
The UN chief reassured his Palestinian hosts that the international community supports the establishment of a Palestinian state, and also expressed concern about what he said was a worsening humanitarian situation in blockaded Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama’s Mideast envoy George Mitchell is returning to the region over the weekend and is planning to brief Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on US efforts to revive peace negotiations. Abbas has said he will not negotiate with Israel directly unless it freezes all settlement construction, including in East Jerusalem.
Violent protests have erupted several times in the past week in East Jerusalem, where residents are angry over both the new Jewish housing plans and rumors that Jewish extremists are plotting to take over an Old City religious site. ...
Barbarians at all the gates.