Saturday morning catch-up

The usual story too many tabs and not enough time

1) WND reports that: 'Attacks on Christians are surging in Kenya, and analysts say Islamic radicals are putting a bull’s-eye on the community.'

2) The Telegraph have an article that I confidently predict will never feature on the BBC, it's entitled 'The Obama administration’s top 10 foolish quotes of 2011'. Here's three:

'7. The US Ambassador to Belgium blames Israel for some forms of anti-Semitism

Not to be outdone by James Clapper's ridiculous testimony, US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman sparked outrage in December with his comments suggesting Israel should shoulder the blame for some forms of anti-Semitism, remarks that even the Obama administration itself tried to disown. According to a report by Haaretz, Gutman declared:

"A distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned, and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” Gutman reportedly told those gathered, going on to argue that “…an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty will significantly diminish Muslim anti-Semitism."

8. Hillary Clinton calls the Mubarak regime “stable”

It’s fair to say that the Obama administration’s approach to the Middle East has been one of incompetence matched only by naïveté. From extending the hand of friendship to the Iranian regime through to a complete misreading of the situation in both Egypt and Syria, the Obama team has been out of its depth, demonstrated by Hillary Clinton’s assessment of the situation in Egypt in the final days of the Mubarak regime, given here during remarks with Spanish foreign minister Trinidad Jimenez in Washington on January 25, two weeks before Mubarak fell on February 11:

But our assessment is that the Egyptian Government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.

9. Hillary Clinton refers to Syrian dictator Assad as a “reformer”

The Secretary of State was woefully caught out as well on Syria, hesitating to forcefully condemn the brutal repression meted out by the Syrian regime against democracy protestors. Asked in March on CBS's "Face the Nation" why the US administration was adopting a far softer approach towards Bashar al-Assad compared to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya she explained that Syria was led by a “reformer”, albeit one who subsequently went on to butcher more than 3,000 people:

There’s a different leader in Syria now. Many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he’s a reformer.'

3) Seattle pi reports on a rather strange TSA related story:

'A woman who just flew back home from Las Vegas says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing on it could be a security risk.'