MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Target of FBI terror-support raid visited W.H.An Arab-American activist who attended an outreach session at the White House complex in April had his Chicago home raided by the FBI last week and appears to be a focus of an unfolding federal terrorism-support investigation.Hatem Abudayyeh, who serves as executive director of the Arab-American Action Network, took part in a meeting for Arab-American leaders held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 22, according to appointment data posted on the White House website.“He attended a briefing held by the Office of Public Engagement on April 22, 2010, to update members of the Arab-American community on issues of their concern,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye said.The guest list for the event was drafted by the Arab-American Institute. Inouye said President Barack Obama did not take part in the session, which appears to have involved more than 80 people.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• MHP protests against religious freedoms in Friday prayer.Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli yesterday organized a Friday prayer session in Ani, a site which hosts churches and a mosque that remain from an abandoned medieaval city from the same name, located in the border city of Kars.The Friday prayer was a response to recent improvements that allow non-Muslim groups to carry out religious services in historically significant places for worship.Bahçeli also said, “We will all becom Alparslans and fall in battle if need be, we will conquer Anatolia again if need be.” The prayers were seen as a gesture to stress the Turkish identity of the region after last month’s Armenian Orthodox service.More on the story here."You couldn't go to Akhtamar Island and take pictures there today," he told RFE/RL. "I would link that with the Ani 'namaz' (Muslim prayer). A fairly large group of nationalists is in Anatolia right now."Hmmm...so much for religious freedom detente?Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• HT:BacktoBasics.Democrats give Obama secrecy for intelligence.House Democrats on Thursday gave in to Obama administration secrecy demands and softened legislation that would have required broader notification of Congress about secret intelligence operations — part of the first intelligence bill likely to become law in six years.The deal means the president can continue to restrict briefings about these programs to just a handful of lawmakers, known as the “Gang of Eight” — chairman and ranking members of House and Senate oversight committees and senior leaders.The bill also includes provisions that would allow declassification of the total annual U.S. intelligence budget, and would require reports to Congress about cost overruns in major secret acquisition programs.The authorization bill would give the director of national intelligence powers to launch reviews into errors or misconduct by intelligence officials, and could open the door to a new role for intelligence oversight by congressional investigators in Government Accountability Office.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• The GOP's Secret Weapon.Don’t fall for Obama’s jokes about his tan. GOP House Leader John Boehner, who may be the next speaker, is ready for battle.John Boehner has outmaneuvered Pelosi at almost every step since the passage of the new health law.Instead of celebrating the health law as a major progressive victory, Democratic incumbents are skirting the issue, hoping it won’t cost them their jobs. And in the last weeks before the midterms, Boehner forced Democrats into a tax fight they can’t win. One gets the impression that he has been misunderestimated.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Turkish parents in Swedish jail over daughter's accusations.Two Turkish parents have been in a Swedish prison for one-and-a-half months after their 14-year-old daughter filed a criminal complaint against them, claiming that they beat her and were attempting to force her into a marriage, the Sabah daily reported on Friday.Fourteen-year-old Kardelen Durusoy filed the complaint on Aug. 15 and also asked for compensation of 195,000 Swedish krona (about TL 40,000) from her parents. The parents claimed that Kardelen was drinking alcohol and associating with people who were leading her astray. Statements made by Durusoy family's two other children contradicted Kardalen's allegations. Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• NASA Chief Who Called Muslim Outreach 'Foremost' Job Heads to Saudi Arabia.The NASA chief who caused an uproar over the summer when he said outreach to the Muslim world might be his "foremost" priority has embarked on a trip this weekend to Saudi Arabia.A NASA spokesman said the visit is part of a multicountry tour. Administrator Charles Bolden and a delegation of several other NASA officials arrive in Saudi Arabia on Friday following a trip to Prague.The Orlando Sentinel reported that "top" NASA officials had urged Bolden not to make the trip, but NASA had no comment when asked about the claim.Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the time that Bolden probably misspoke and that space exploration is still NASA's top job.Hmmm....the unemployed of NASA thank you?Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Stuxnet Malware Mystery Deepens: Another Hint Of Israeli Origins.It's like a 21st-century version of a John Le Carre novel, in which all the dashing spies have been replaced by computer geeks.The mystery continues to deepen over the origin of one of the world's most damaging computer viruses -- Stuxnet -- which some experts believe is targeted at Iran's nuclear power plants, slowing that country's quest for a nuclear weapon.On Tuesday, a German computer specialist offered a hint that Israel may be behind the sophisticated malware, by demonstrating that a file inside the code uses the word "Myrtus" -- which could be a reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament story about how the Jews prevented a nefarious plot by the Persians, according to the New York Times.The next day, a trio of security researchers offered another clue at a conference in Vancouver, describing how Stuxnet includes references to the 1979 execution of the leader of Iran's Jewish community at the time. Specifically, the researchers from Symantec -- Nicolas Falliere, Liam O Murchu and Eric Chen -- showed that the code includes a marker with the numbers "19790509" which, if prompted, stops the code from infecting a targeted.Read the full story here,full report from Symantec here.Click here for comments.

• Palestinians suspend peace talks.Spokesman for Palestinian president says following meeting of PLO executive committee that 'there will be no negotiations in the shadow of continued settlement', but sources say PA still open to US solutions. The sources said that any such solutions could be placed on the negotiating table until an Arab League summit scheduled for Friday.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Muslim world atwitter over Twitter.Queen Rania, Syria's Asma Assad gather Facebook fans as clerics vow to battle social networking.Rania, Syrian first lady Asma Assad, and other leaders of the Arab world have discovered social networks lately, sooner event than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who only recently joined.But Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming a chronic headache to many extollers of Islam, who value control over their public. Security issues arise, clerics worry over the corruption of youth, and extreme rightists fear foreign influence. Thus, a number of concerned parties have begun to campaign against social networks, among them Hamas and Hezbollah, who warn that foreign agents could use the sites to recruit spies from their ranks or learn valuable information from posts."Facebook has become an arena for espionage using questionable recruitment methods, and even the Jewish state has begun using it to gather intelligence on some of the Arab states and sensitive private information," says Sheikh Mohammed al-Munajjid, a Saudi cleric who decides religious issues on a question and answer website.But in addition to Facebook and Twitter, Arab regimes also have YouTube, blogs, Skype, various chats, and the Blackberry to contend with, all harbingers of adultery, fornication, and the end of the proper familial lifestyle, according to Muslim clerics.Hmmm....loosing "Control"has nothing to do with it?Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Muslims angry with India mosque verdict.Indian Muslim clerics and leaders rallied on Friday against a court ruling over a disputed religious site that largely favored Hindus, raising fears of further alienation of the minority community.In Delhi’s Jama Mosque, one of India’s largest, the chief cleric rejected the verdict. “If we do not get our rights we will never be able to walk in this country with our heads held high,” said Shahi Imam Bukhari to shouts of “Allahu Akhbar,” or “God is greatest” by thousands of Muslims after Friday prayers.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• 'Serious Insider' Tells CNBC's Kudlow NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Next Treasury Secretary. 'The Call' co-host says Rouse replacing Rahm a signal White House 'not reaching out to business,' 'nothing going to change.'With what appears to be a devastating election looming for his party, is President Obama attempting to follow in the footsteps of one of his predecessors and moderate toward the center? However, Kudlow, citing a “deep political insider,” had a different forecast.“The Commerce thing is a great idea and you're probably going to be right, but I know that you don't hear this,” Kudlow said. “But I had dinner last night with a deep political insider who told me that Michael Bloomberg is the next Treasury secretary. I heard that. All I'll say is this is a serious insider who said the deal has been done and that Bloomberg is the next Treasury secretary..If true, Bloomberg is an interesting choice, but he’s hardly a conservative. In fact, the New York mayor took a swipe at the Tea Party movement earlier in the day on WOR radio in New York, calling it “irrational” and declared it was “not a political movement.Hmmm....The Ground Zero Mosque comes to mind,reward for defending the faith First Amendment?Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial for hate speech.Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, set to become a shadow partner of the next coalition government, goes on trial in Amsterdam on Monday for inciting hatred against Muslims.The controversial politician with his signature shock of blonde-dyed hair risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro fine, according to prosecutors, for calling Islam "fascist"."This is about freedom of speech," Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz told AFP."My client believes that in the Netherlands, one must be able to say whatever one wants, barring incitement to violence."Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Iran arrests heads of banned group.Iranian security forces have arrested the head of the Freedom Movement of Iran and another senior member of the banned organization, an informed source says.Ebrahim Yazdi, the secretary general of the Freedom Movement of Iran was detained in the city of Isfahan late on Friday, along with the party's number two, Hashem Sabbaghian, IRNA reported.The detainees were arrested after they appeared in a Friday Prayers mass led by a well-known Wahhabi element in the central Iranian city.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Vatican asked by judge to serve Pope papers.A U.S. judge is asking the Vatican to co-operate in serving the Pope and two other top officials with court papers that stem from decades-old allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in Wisconsin.The request is an incremental — and long shot — step in a lawsuit that accuses the officials of conspiring to keep the allegations against a Milwaukee priest quiet. The Vatican is not obliged to comply with the request.Under similar circumstances, the Vatican has made service difficult, time consuming and expensive by insisting, for example, that documentation be translated into Latin, one of the Vatican's official languages.He said he hoped it would lead to the Pope testifying directly under oath about what he knew about Murphy's actions when, as then Cardinal Ratzinger, he headed a powerful office that oversees the discipline of priests.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• U.S. Missile Strikes Kill At Least Twelve In Northwest Pakistan.Two suspected U.S. missile strikes have reportedly killed at least 12-18 alleged militants in northwest Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border.Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials say the strikes, within hours of each other today, struck two separate houses in Datta Khel village in the North Waziristan tribal region.The area is considered a hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.Read the ful story here,more here.Click here for comments.

• Iran nabs several 'nuclear spies'.Iran's intelligence minister has announced the arrest of a number of "nuclear spies," insisting that the nation's intelligence apparatus is actively engaged in countering massive enemy schemes.Heidar Moslehi also said the enemy has designed and sent electronic worms through the Internet to undermine Iran's nuclear activities.Moslehi emphasized that his ministry is capable of rapidly detecting and taking appropriate measures to counter all destructive moves by "hegemonic powers" in cyberspace.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• HT:JudicialWatch.DOJ Drops Charges Against Indicted Islamic Terrorist.In a stunning reversal, the Obama Justice Department has asked a judge to drop charges against a suspected Middle Eastern terrorist considered so dangerous by the government that prosecutors fought to deny him bail after his indictment last year.Suddenly, this week, the feds want the case dismissed against the Afghan-born man (Ahmadullah Sais Niazi) who authorities say planned to blow up buildings and refers to Osama fin Laden as “an angel.” Niazi, who lives in southern California, is also the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden’s body guard.Charges against Niazi include perjury, naturalization fraud, misuse of a passport obtained by fraud and making a false statement to a federal agency. He faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in federal prison and a $1.25-million fine. His trial, which has been postponed several times, is scheduled for November if the judge doesn’t grant the government’s request.Prosecutors have refused to further explain the mysterious about face, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national organization that serves as the U.S. front for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, has taken much of the credit. In a statement praising the government’s motion, CAIR points out that its request to investigate the “FBI’s coercive and unlawful tactics” in Niazi’s case ultimately led the Justice Department to drop all charges.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• HT:TheLastCrusades.Muslims responsible for over 5,000 murders on American soil.A study from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill maintains that the terrorist threat posed by radical Islam has been greatly exaggerated.The study has captured front page headlines in Arab News and newspapers throughout the Muslim world.Charles Kurzman, one of the co-authors of the study, maintains that fewer than three dozen murders have been committed by American Muslims on American soil.What Kurzman fails to take into acount are the number of murders committed by non-American Muslims on American soil and the homicides perpetuated by members of the Nation of Islam.The actual figures show that Islamophobia is a justifiable stance since Muslims have been responsible for the murders of 5,000 Americans in the past fifty years.This number includes the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 and the hundreds of victims of the so-called Zebra killings that took place in the 1970s.Kurzman and his crew also neglect to point out that the number of Muslims in America, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, is almost statistically insignificant. Of roughly 4.6 million Muslims in the Americas, more than half live in the United States and make up less than 0.8 percent of the population.Yet Muslims have wrecked more death and destruction on American soil than the combined toll of all political, social, and religious hate groups, including the Ku Klux Khan.The following is a very short list of incidents of Islamic violence that have taken place within America since 9/11.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Tiger in action… mistress sells sex tape.Tiger Woods' porn star mistress Devon James has sold the alleged sex tape of her and the disgraced golfer to a DVD production company, it has emerged."We made a deal with a DVD production company," RadarOnline.com quoted her husband, Nick James, as saying."We're going to sell the video online and we get half the profits of all sales."He said a website featuring a teaser of the sex tape will be launched in a couple of weeks."If you pre-book buying the tape you get it on November 15th, otherwise you it comes out for sale on the 20th," added James.Read the full story here.Click here for comments.

• Killer to be crucified after execution.A Saudi court has ordered the crucifixion of a local man after being executed for murdering an old man, Sharq newspaper reported Saturday.The convict, in his 30s, stalked the old Saudi as he walked into a mosque in the northwestern town of Hail after depositing money in a local bank, it said.After leaving the mosque, the stalker attacked the old man and seized his cash card, money and some bank documents before murdering him, it said.“The murder has moved the local community as the old man was liked and respected by every one and was known for his piety and benevolence,” it said.“The Hail court sentenced him to death and ordered his crucifixion after the execution is carried out.”Read the full story here.Click here for comments.