In the news:

IRAN:

Ahmadinejad Again Calls For Destruction Of Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the worldwide Muslim community as well as non-Muslim countries to stage massive participation in the International Quds Day rallies on Friday. President Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that nations can get rid of "the infected tumor of the Zionist regime” through mobilizing their beliefs and ideals.

He expressed hope this year’s Quds Day rallies lead to "the elimination of the Zionist regime and freedom of mankind from evils.”

Iran moves centrifuges underground

Iran has started moving the machines that enrich uranium for nuclear fuel from its main atomic complex in the central city of Natanz to an underground bunker near the holy city of Qom, its top nuclear official was quoted as saying on Monday.

Iran announced in June that it would shift its production of higher-grade uranium to the underground site at Fordow, in defiance of international calls on Tehran to halt uranium enrichment which some countries say is aimed at developing nuclear bombs

Iran shows off new cruise missile

Tehran has put on display a new Iranian-made cruise missile, which it says has a range of 124 miles and is capable of destroying a warship.

The cruise missile, designed for sea-based targets, is the latest addition to Iran's growing arsenal.

LIBYA:

Fighting Flares in Tense Tripoli

A nervous limbo, punctuated by gunfire, took hold of Libya's capital Monday, one day after opponents of Col. Moammar Gadhafi rolled triumphantly into the central square here—damping hopes by rebels and their international allies that the strongman's supporters would melt away.

Machine-gun and antiaircraft fire could be heard throughout the day in Tripoli, as residents said loyalist gunmen had taken up positions in several neighborhoods. Rebels who attempted to turn an old police academy into their military headquarters quickly came under heavy fire, sending a stream of casualties to a makeshift clinic.

The unease suggested instead that the regime's end, while broadly expected, may bring more bloodshed, this time in a densely populated urban theater.

Qaddafi's Son Taunts Rebels in Tripoli

The euphoria that followed the rebels’ triumphant march in Tripoli gave way to confusion and wariness on Monday, as Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi remained at large, his son Seif al-Islam made a surprise appearance at a hotel with foreign journalists, and pockets of loyalist forces stubbornly resisted rebel efforts to take control of the capital.

While rebel leaders professed to be making progress in securing Tripoli and planning for a post-Qaddafi government, and international leaders hailed the beginnings of a new era in Libya, the immediate aftermath of the lightning invasion was a vacuum of power, with no cohesive rebel government in place and remnants of the Qaddafi government still in evidence.

If the rebels do take over, this is what Libya has to look forward to:

Libyan Draft Constitution: Sharia is 'Principle Source of Legislation'

Just as predicted:

The dust has not yet settled over the Libyan capital of Tripoli since rebels took control over the weekend. But already, a draft constitutional charter for the transitional state has appeared online (embedded below). It is just a draft, mind you...

Part 1, Article 1: “Islam is the Religion of the State, and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia).” Under this constitution, in other words, Islam is law. That makes other phrases such as “there shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law” and “Judges shall be independent, subject to no other authority but law and conscience” a bit more ominous.

ISRAEL:

US intel investigating al-Qaida link to Eilat attacks

US intelligence agencies were investigating reports that terrorist groups connected to al-Qaida played a major role in carrying out last week's multi-staged terror attacks near Eilat which killed eight Israelis and wounded dozens more, the Washington Times reported on Monday.

According to the report, a US government assessment of the attacks came to the conclusion that the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) or the Gaza-based Army of Islam (Jaish al Islam), a Palestinian group sympathetic to al-Qaida, carried out the attacks which emanated from Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

Egyptian security officials have acknowledged that new groups affiliated with al-Qaida have begun to gain a foothold in the Sinai desert.

In the aftermath of the attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak complained that Egypt had lost control of the Sinai peninsula and terrorist organizations were operating there undeterred.

USA:

A crumbling empire:

U.S. a food stamp nation

Altogether, there are now almost 46 million people in the United States on food stamps, roughly 15% of the population. That’s an increase of 74% since 2007, just before the financial crisis and a deep recession led to mass job losses.

America Is Rotting While China Is Rising

The American people better wake up while there is still time. America is literally rotting right in front of our eyes.

Our forefathers built this nation into an industrial powerhouse, but now our formerly great manufacturing cities are rusting, rotting and falling to pieces as nations such as China wipe the floor with us on the global economic stage. It is absolutely depressing to see what is happening to many of our most famous cities.

Like many formerly great U.S. cities, there are many parts of Baltimore that closely resemble war zones. Drugs and crime are everywhere, and there is a very real feeling of hopelessness in the air. Like many blue collar American cities, Baltimore is down on its luck and is in an obvious state of decline.

We used to have the greatest economy on earth, but now we have entered a seemingly permanent decline.

There are hordes of people that can't find work and there are tens of millions that have become completely dependent on the government for survival.

Our economy does not create enough jobs to support our entire population any longer. The number of people forced to take government money continues to explode.

EUROPE:

European 'No-Go' Zones for Non-Muslims Proliferating "Occupation Without Tanks or Soldiers"

This is a long article that takes you through a tour of Europe, country by country, and how this idea is becoming a reality. It is quite shocking, but unfortunately a dose of reality. Below is just the introduction:

Islamic extremists are stepping up the creation of "no-go" areas in European cities that are off-limits to non-Muslims.

Many of the "no-go" zones function as microstates governed by Islamic Sharia law. Host-country authorities effectively have lost control in these areas and in many instances are unable to provide even basic public aid such as police, fire fighting and ambulance services.

The "no-go" areas are the by-product of decades of multicultural policies that have encouraged Muslim immigrants to create parallel societies and remain segregated rather than become integrated into their European host nations.