MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:TheJawaReport.Stop the Presses!! YouTube Blog: Great Scott! Over 35 Hours of Video Uploaded Every Minute to YouTube (Updated-Huffington Post Connection-Bumped).Also asked do company's like Canadian "Home Hardware" realize their advertisements on this JihadTube channel helps support terrorist propaganda.....Read and see the full treason story here.

• Peter King Rips Obama on Ghailani Verdict.Peter King rips the Ghailani verdict as a "total miscarriage of justice today in Manhattan’s federal civilian court." He says it demonstrates the "absolute insanity of the Obama Administration’s decision to try al-Qaeda terrorists in civilian courts."“I am disgusted at the total miscarriage of justice today in Manhattan’s federal civilian court. In a case where Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was facing 285 criminal counts, including hundreds of murder charges, and where Attorney General Eric Holder assured us that ‘failure is not an option,’ the jury found him guilty on only one count and acquitted him of all other counts including every murder charge. “This tragic verdict demonstrates the absolute insanity of the Obama Administration’s decision to try al-Qaeda terrorists in civilian courts. “This case was doomed from the beginning when the judge excluded DOJ’s key witness who admitted selling the explosives to Ghailani. Where is the justice for the more than 200 people killed and 4,000 injured in the terrorist bombings of our U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania?“As the next Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, I intend to hold hearings and conduct the necessary oversight on this critical homeland security issue in the 112th Congress.” Read the full scandal story here.

• HT:NewsFlavor.White House Insider: Don’t Back Down Now.Insider: Ok then, let’s get to it – because I’m sick and I ain’t got a whole lot of time. You’re nervous? Worried about attacks from Obama supporters? That’s what you want to talk about?Ulsterman: Yeah – in part.Insider : You should be. Not sayin’ that to scare you - it’s just the way it is. I told you from the start, this could get big, and make you a target. But you’re an anonymous target. Keep your mouth shut and you’ll be ok. And get off the Facebook. Nothing good can come from posting this stuff on that place.Insider : Hey, it’s not just me. There’s a whole mess of us pissed over what this White House has done to the party. So many good Democrats have been destroyed. What is left in the party. Nancy -expletive- Pelosi? Charlie -expletive- Rangle? Barney -expletive- Frank? Harry -expletive- Reid? No-no-no-no…there’s gonna be some new blood come into our party. The Democrats will rise up from this mess and be stronger for it.Insider : Oh yeah…sure-sure! Real -expletive- sure! It’s coming together before our eyes! The White House loses its protection in 2011 with the new Congress. It’s already starting in DC just like I said, and then heading out to Chicago where things get real deep and murky, and the most dangerous for the White House.Hmmm...Chicago.....Rahm Emanuel....Obama.....Shorebank? Read the full story here.

• The Expulsion of the Jews from Muslim Countries, 1920-1970: A History of Ongoing Cruelty and Discrimination. •Between 1920 and 1970, 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab and other Muslim countries. The 1940s were a turning point in this tragedy; of those expelled, 600,000 settled in the new state of Israel, and 300,000 in France and the United States. Today, they and their descendents form the majority of the French Jewish community and a large part of Israel's population. •In the countries that expelled Jews, a combination of six legal, economic, and political measures aimed at isolating Jews in society was instituted: denationalization; legal discrimination; isolation and sequestration; economic despoilment; socioeconomic discrimination; and pogroms or similar acts. •It is the custom to say that Zionism was responsible for this development. However, the region's anti-Semitism would have developed even without the rise of the state of Israel because of Arab-Islamic nationalism, which resulted in xenophobia. •The fact that these events have been obscured has served in the campaign to delegitimize Israel, and therefore to a large extent, the same population that suffered this oppression. The fate of Palestinian refugees, their proclaimed innocence, and the injustice they endured form the main thrust of this delegitimization. The Jewish refugees have suffered more than the Palestinian refugees and undergone greater spoliations. However, they became citizens of the countries of refuge, especially Israel and France, while Palestinians were ostracized from the Arab nations.Read the full story here.HT:JIDaily.

• Take that! Royal Marines blow up Somali pirates' ammunition-packed boat in battle to keep Indian Ocean safe.A boat belonging to Somali pirates goes up in a ball of flame after being destroyed by British commandos in the Indian Ocean.The swoop by Royal Marines off the coast of Africa is part of the continuing battle to make safe shipping lanes off the coast of Africa.It comes less than a week after Britons Paul and Rachel Chandler were released by Somali pirates, who kidnapped them 13 months ago.Read the full story here.

• Man pulled off flight for having the words Atom Bomb tattooed across his knuckles.A man was shocked when he pulled off a Delta flight in Los Angeles for having the words Atom Bomb tattooed across his knuckles.Food stylist Adam C. Pearson was in his seat preparing to take off for Memphis when a fellow passenger reported him for suspicious behavior.Pearson felt a tap on his shoulder and, expecting an upgrade, was instead escorted off the plane for questioning.'I was just shocked,' Pearson told the LA Times. 'All eyes were on me, I felt everyone staring at me and I was like, "I didn't do anything".'By the time he arrived in Memphis several hours later his story had gone viral. He landed with 150 emails waiting for him.Pearson, a Delta frequent flyer Medallion member, is still upset at the treatment he received.'A public apology would be nice,' he said. 'I’m not out for blood, but why didn’t they offer to book that other person on another flight if they didn’t like my tattoos? Why was that other person more important than me?'Hmmm....next start checking all tattoos on flyers their bodies?Read the full story here.

• Sweden seeks to detain Assange in rape case.Swedish prosecutors are in court this morning seeking an order to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.Assange has denied the allegations, which stem from his encounters with two women during a visit to Sweden in August.The Stockholm District Court was to rule on the request later Thursday. The move could mean that prosecutors are preparing an international arrest warrant for the Australian, whose whereabouts was not immediately clear."The reason for my request is that we need to interrogate him," Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny said in a statement. "So far, we have not been able to meet with him to accomplish the interrogation."WikiLeaks has angered the Pentagon by releasing thousands of classified U.S. war reports from Afghanistan and Iraq.Assange has complained that he and his group are being targeted and persecuted by intelligence agencies from the United States and elsewhere who are angry over the leaks of secret military documents.Read the full story here.

• Secretary of Transportation LaHood: We’re looking into technology to disable cell phones in vehicles.Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said using a cell phone while driving is so dangerous that devices may soon be installed in cars to forcibly stop drivers — and potentially anyone else in the vehicle — from using them.“There’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones and we’re looking at that,” said LaHood on MSNBC. LaHood said the cellphone scramblers were one way, and also stressed the importance of “personal responsibility.”Hmmmm....we are the borg resistance is useless?Read the full story here.

• Obama Sets Aside Only Two Hours to Meet With European Leaders at NATO Meeting in Portugal.Nine months after disappointing European leaders with a decision not to attend a scheduled United States-European Union summit, President Obama will meet with E.U. leaders on the sidelines of the NATO gathering in Lisbon this weekend.Two hours reportedly have been set aside for the meeting on Saturday afternoon, with a crammed agenda topped by economic issues and including security – especially in the light of recent terrorism alerts in Europe – trade, development aid and climate change.Obama’s trip to Europe will be over in less than 48 hours during which, according to unconfirmed Russian media reports, time will be found for a separate meeting between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.Although some of the reaction in Europe to Obama’s decision was directed inward, several other incidents added to a sense of shifted priorities. Last November, a delegation of top E.U. leaders visiting Washington for two days of meetings had 90 minutes with Obama and an official lunch hosted not by the president but by Vice President Joe Biden.Hmmm...Who are the only people he doesn't snub? Exactly !Read the full story here.

• U.N. Torture Expert Says U.S. Should Probe Bush-Era Torture Claims With Intention to Prosecute.The U.N. Human Rights Council’s newly installed expert on torture says the Obama administration should investigate allegations of torture under President George W. Bush and prosecute those responsible – including those who gave the orders.Juan Ernesto Mendez said in an interview with Reuters this week he hoped to visit Iraq to investigate alleged detainee torture as well as the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – but only on the condition that he would be allowed to speak privately with terror suspects being held there.Almost 3,000 people were killed when 19 terrorists seized passenger planes and flew two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City and a third into the Pentagon. A fourth plane went down in rural Pennsylvania after passengers confronted the hijackers.Hmmm...what's next declaring Osama Bin Laden a saint?Read the full "story" here.

• Suspected bomb with running clock found in luggage on Air Berlin flight from Namibia to Germany.Namibian police intercepted a suspicious object with a detonator and a running clock in luggage on an Air Berlin plane from Windhoek to Munich, Germany's Federal Crime Office (BKA) said on Thursday.The BKA said it was not clear if the object found during loading of the Airbus jet was an ignitable explosive.German police investigations found the threat against the country was posed by the 'persistent efforts of Islamic groups to carry out attacks'.Read the full story here.

• Cabinet Secretaries Support Diverting Food Stamp Money to Expand School Nutrition Programs. They wouldn't say how government can restore the food stamp funding.U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday he supports using stimulus money originally intended for the food stamps program to pay for a bill expanding child nutrition programs in the nation’s schools.But Vilsack did not tell CNSNews.com how the government, which now has a record number of people on food stamps, could replace the missing funds without raising the deficit.Child nutrition and fighting childhood obesity are pet projects of First Lady Michelle Obama, and she has endorsed the bill.Due to a skyrocketing national debt and annual deficits of over $1 trillion, Congress is left with few options for offsetting new government spending. In fact, it already has cut into future SNAP funding once before.Merry Christmas from Michelle "Let them eat cake"?Read the full story here.

• HT:LogisticsMonster.Rockefeller Itches To Shut Down Fox And MSNBC.Aristocrat Jay Rockefeller is feeling the itch to have the FCC shut down Fox and MSNBC because they are hindering political discourse and trust in government. Ah, I see…this coming from the very same elitist snob that said, ‘would it have been better if we had never invented the internet?’ in regards to cyber attacks, and wishes to turn over the internet to the Executive Branch.There are no words for a ‘public servant’ that would utter such nonsense in front of God and man in a country based on freedom of speech.Given his thinking, we should probably only have the American version of Pravda for the corporate owned moos to consume. How very ‘Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’.Read and see the full story here.

• Schoolboy who received death threats from Muslim gang after supporting British troops 'will not return to school'.A mother has vowed to remove her son from his local school after he received death threats from a gang of Muslim teenagers.Darius Gill, 13, received online threats mentioning knives and knuckle dusters after he wrote a Facebook tribute to British troops on Armistice Day.The students involved - five Muslim boys and one non-Muslim girl - have been suspended and may now be expelled from the Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry after their chilling response to Darius' patriotic online message.And after the online revenge campaign - by a group calling themselves the 'Muslim Defence League' - Darius' mother has removed him permanently from the West Midlands school.Five Muslim boys and one white girl - all aged just 12 - now face expulsion from the Sidney Stringer Academy, which has a 65 per cent Muslim student population.The academy's principal Wendy Tomes said: 'We are very disappointed that Darius has chosen not to return to the school.Hmmm...how about that "may be expelled" Mr Principal,they should be charged to the full extend of the law.Read the full story here.

• HT:RightTruth.There's a reason for it....Yes, my friends, there are reasons that Americans are being forced to endure peep-show x-rays and fondling of their private parts by TSA screeners at airports, and here they are: money, cronies, control over Americans. But first some sanity from Washington. Muslims will not get a break from the screenings, they will have to endure the same indignity everyone else does, or not fly.... Barack Obama is the one that ordered nude body scanners : "" ... we can thank President Obama for this frontal assault on our Fourth Amendment rights. Mind you, this is the same man who insisted that 'we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans,'"...Hmmm....dictatorship can't  succeed without total control.Read the full monitored society story here.

• North Korea may conduct new nuke test explosion.North Korea is likely to prepare a new underground nuclear test explosion, the Russian Trud daily said on Thursday citing Japanese Kyodo news agency.In 2009, Pyongyang conducted its second underground nuclear test explosion and test-launched at least six short-range surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles in defiance of previous UN resolutions.The satellite images taken by DigitalGlobe Inc., a U.S. company majoring in geographical imagery, show some activity at the site in North Hamgyong Province where Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test, Trud said.Commenting on possible seismic consequences from an explosion, the deputy head of the Russian Academy of Sciences Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Evgeny Rogozhin, said that "on the one hand, there is no great threats for the Earth's seismic activity since the power of the explosion cannot cause a severe earthquake, but on the other hand, the explosion can trigger a quake if there is a swelling epicenter nearby."Read the full story here.

• U.S. 'Troubled' By Lack Of Religious Freedom Around The World.The U.S. State Department says it is "troubled" by the lack of religious freedom in many places throughout the world and has again named Iran and Uzbekistan as "countries of particular concern" that severely restrict citizens' right to practice their faith.The State Department's annual report on International Religious Freedom, which was released in Washington on November 17, identifies problems and progress in religious freedom in 128 countries during the period from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.At a press briefing, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that by issuing the report, the United States didn't "intend to act as a judge of other countries or hold [itself] out as a perfect example," but to show that Americans care deeply about religious freedom and consider it a basic human right. "Religious freedom is under threat from authoritarian regimes that abuse their own citizens. It is under threat from violent extremist groups that exploit and inflame sectarian tensions," Clinton stressed. "It is under threat from the quiet but persistent harm caused by intolerance and mistrust, which can leave minority religious groups vulnerable and marginalized.Hmmmm....now take a guess which religion is mentioned most for showing NO tolerance towards other religions?Read the full story here.

• HT:LogisticsMonster.Ron Paul Introduces Legislation Over TSA’s Gestapo Tactics.Ron Paul on 11.17.2010 on legislation that removes the immunity from government workers.Read and see the full story here.

• Ashkenazi: US losing foothold in region.For last time before he retires from IDF, Chief of Staff Ashkenazi meets with senior US defense officials; army chief warns that for first time in 60 years, America losing its foothold in Middle East as Iran, Turkey pursue new agenda.IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi was received Wednesday in a special Pentagon ceremony in his last US visit in uniform, highlighting his warm relationship with his American counterpart, Admiral Michael Mullen. During meetings at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, Ashkenazi warned that for the first time in 60 years, the US is losing its foothold in the Middle East, as Iran and Turkey are joining forces to create a new agenda in the region. He added that Syria is boosting is activity within the radical axis.Ashkenazi also reiterated warnings that implicating Hezbollah in the assassination of late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri may prompt a shakeup that could lead Hassan Nasrallah to take power in Beirut. Read the full story here.

• NATO has no future, poses no threat to Iran - President Ahmadinejad.The possible deployment of elements of a NATO missile defense system in Turkey poses no threat to Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday at a press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan."NATO poses no threat to Iran. NATO is not capable of playing any role in future global development," Azerbaijani news agency Trend quoted Ahmadinejad as saying."The time when military potential was used to resolve political issues has passed," he added.On Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said it was currently holding consultations with Turkey over the possible deployment of NATO missile defense system elements.Helloooo...anyone awake at NATO?Get Turkey out of NATO NOW!Read the full treason story here.

• When Gabriel Latner turned tables on the Israel-bashers.Canadian law student won Cambridge University student union debate for Israel... despite losing it. When Cambridge University’s prestigious student debating society hosted a debate last month on the motion “Israel is a rogue state,” Israel’s supporters bleakly anticipated another hostile, demonizing and divisive event, and braced, too, for acceptance of the motion in the final vote.But the motion was surprisingly and firmly defeated, with 74 percent of the votes opposing it.Latner, who said he comes from a Reconstructionist Jewish background and has been to Israel several times, including reportedly as an IDF volunteer, said he was galvanized by a strong desire to win – even though, as it turned out, “winning” on behalf of Israel meant his side losing the debate.I’m not an Islamophobe, even though some Islamophobes who read my speech think I am. I’m not a neo-conservative, even though critics of my speech think I am, as do some of my supporters. I’m all about freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and freedom in general. I’m a civil libertarian, and a fan of democracy,” he said.Incidentally, Latner said he’s now running for the presidency of the Union.Read the full story here.

• George Soros Tells Progressive Donors Obama Might Not Be The Best Investment.At a private meeting on Tuesday afternoon, George Soros, a longtime supporter of progressive causes, voiced blunt criticism of the Obama administration, going so far as to suggest that Democratic donors direct their support somewhere other than the president.The Hungarian-American financier was speaking to a small side gathering of donors who had convened in Washington D.C. for the annual gathering of the Democracy Alliance -- a formal community of well-funded, progressive-minded individuals and activists. According to multiple sources with knowledge of his remarks, Soros told those in attendance that he is "used to fighting losing battles but doesn't like to lose without fighting." "We have just lost this election, we need to draw a line," he said, according to several Democratic sources. "And if this president can't do what we need, it is time to start looking somewhere else."Dissatisfaction with the Obama administration was not limited to Soros's private gathering with donors. On Wednesday morning, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina received several tough questions during his address to the Democracy Alliance.The election results split the partners in the Democracy Alliance, not down the middle, between those who say let's fight back and those who say we have to change the rules."Read the full story here.

• Commentary: An arctic Cold War with Russia?Some fear that melting Arctic sea ice could trigger a new "great game" between the United States and Russia as they and other Arctic coastal states race to extract newly accessible energy and minerals resources. These fears are exaggerated. There are few, if any, signs of military buildups or tensions, as states are pursuing diplomatic solutions to border delimitation issues. But new confidence-building measures could help avert future risks. Russia, the United States and Canada, among others, have vital interests in the Arctic region. Russia can benefit enormously if it safely develops northern energy and mineral reserves, much of which lie in shallow water on its continental shelf. Moscow's emerging Arctic strategy gives great weight to protecting this resource.Russia and Canada are asserting national claims over the Northeast and Northwest sea passages, respectively, and monitoring the growth of international shipping close to their territory. U.S. interests stem from Alaska's location and keeping those seaways as international bodies of water.Read the full story here.

• UN for 'social' approach against genital mutilation.The UN children's agency on Thursday proposed a new approach for ending female genital mutilation, saying campaigns should work with communities instead of fighting local traditions.But this can happen only "once social norms evolve and social expectations change," said the report by the Innocenti institute, which analysed community-based initiatives in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and Sudan.In Senegal, for instance, the report pointed out that there is now a law banning female genital mutilation but its implementation has been delayed by two years in order to allow times for community meetings on the issue.The report said one alternative to the initiation ritual could be "public declarations for the abandonment of the practice" since families will only end the practice if they know that other families will do the same.Read the full story here.

• BORN IN THE USA?Show birth certificate, or don't get on ballot.Eligibility storm clouds on horizon for Obama.A Texas state lawmaker has filed a bill that would require candidates for president or vice president to show their birth certificates to the secretary of state before being allowed on the ballot, and the measure could become effective as early as next year if adopted and signed into law. The move by Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, renews the threat to a second Oval Office term for Barack Obama that was posed last year when the state House in Arizona actually adopted the requirement, but the session ended before the Senate acted. Berman's legislation, House Bill 295, is brief and simple: It would add to the state election code the provision: "The secretary of state may not certify the name of a candidate for president or vice-president unless the candidate has presented the candidate's original birth certificate indicating that the person is a natural-born United States citizen." It includes an effective date of Sept. 1, 2011, in time for the expected presidential campaigning for 2012. Berman told WND he's seen neither evidence nor indication that Obama actually qualifies under the Constitution's requirement that a president be a "natural-born citizen," a requirement not imposed on most other federal officers. "If the federal government is not going to vet these people, like they vetted John McCain, we'll do it in our state," he said. He noted the Senate's investigation into McCain because of the Republican senator's birth in Panama to military parents.Berman also said there will be pressure on any lawmaker who opposes the information plan, since voters would wonder why they wouldn't want such basic data about a president revealed. And he said even if one state adopts the requirement, there will be national implications, because other states would be alerted to a possible problem.Berman said he's convinced there are problems with Obama's eligibility, or else his handlers would not be so persistent in keeping the information concealed.Hmmmm.....Remember the Alamo?Read the full story here.

• HT:RightTruth.Hebron fund "Flotilla" dinner sails to success in New York.Over 600 people boarded a luxury multi-level vessel called "The Cornucopia Majesty" at Pier 59 at Chelsea Piers on Tuesday evening, November 16th, as they set sail around the island of Manhattan in a unique celebration of Jewish life in Hebron. The "flotilla supporting peace and life" was the venue of choice for the 22nd annual gala Hebron Fund Dinner in New York. In a twist of irony, the organizers of the dinner selected this setting as a direct response to the international condemnation of Israel following the Mavi Marmara episode on May 31st, in which Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish flagged ship that was headed to Gaza with the intent of breaking the naval blockade that Israel had imposed in order to prevent the smuggling of lethal weaponry to Hamas terrorists in the region. The purported "peace activists" on board the "Gaza Aid Flotilla" brandished knives and guns and violently attacked Israeli soldiers.The Jewish ownership of Hebron is stated in the Torah and it is through our connection to our ancestors that we will survive as a nation." Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Surprise! The 'settlement freeze' extension includes Jerusalem.Prime Minister Netanyahu insisted om Wednesday night that Jerusalem is not part of the package he agreed on with Secretary of State Clinton regarding the 'settlement freeze' extension. "Jerusalem is not part of the discussions on this topics. The Israeli stance on this issue was clear from the beginning that building in Jerusalem will continue," a PMO statement read.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declined to comment on Israel's request for written guarantees from Washington regarding the agreement.She said she could not go into details, but that the US is working closely with the two sides towards creating conditions that would enable renewed talks.But Army Radio reports that Jerusalem is part of the 'settlement freeze' extension, albeit 'only' indirectly. Army Radio reports that Israel would have to coordinate construction in "eastern" Jerusalem with the U.S. during the freeze according to the draft of the U.S. document.Read the full story here.

• Hassan wants sheriff fired; claims he was beaten in jail.Muzzammil S. "Mo" Hassan today asked a judge to "fire" Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard because he said he has been beaten and tortured by sheriff's deputies in the Erie County Holding Center and he believes they are planning to kill him.A spokesman for the sheriff's department called the claim "preposterous."Hassan, 45, who is awaiting trial on charges he murdered his wife in Orchard Park last year, told Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk he was attacked and beaten by 16 jail guards -- whom he referred to as "white Nazis" -- Nov. 10 and Nov. 11. He also claimed he had been "waterboarded" in the jail."I don't feel safe," Hassan told the judge.Hmmmm....isn't this what his dead wife said while filing for divorce before she got beheaded?Read the full story here.

• Massachusetts governor's second term will push tuition for illegal immigrants.Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday vowed to adopt the rest of an advisory panel’s immigration reform recommendations, including pushing for in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students at state colleges, during his second term.The Democratic governor made the announcement to cheers at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition’s annual Thanksgiving luncheon. The group’s executive director served as co-chair of the advisory panel that made the recommendations.“Now, as we stand on the threshold of another four years, I want to commit to you that we will implement this report in its entirety, working with you, over the next several years,” said Patrick, who received a standing ovation from a hundred or so immigrant advocates on Tuesday.Hmmm.....This money should be put towards more financial aid for the state's legal citizens. Massachusetts' public universities need these funds.Read the full story here.

• Guess Who Showed Up to a Closed-Door Dem Funding Mtg in D.C.Question: Who shows up to a closed-door meeting of power house Democratic supporters and donors?Answer: Among others, Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, Van Jones, and George Soros representative Michael Vachon.According to Politico, some of the most infamous Democratic backers held a private meeting on Tuesday to discuss strategy in light of runaway GOP victories this fall. The meeting, held at the posh Mandarin Oriental hotel, was organized by the Democracy Alliance, a wealthy liberal group with the goal of building a “progressive infrastructure that could help counter the well-funded and sophisticated conservative apparatus in the areas of civic engagement, leadership, media, and ideas.”Another question: Who is the treasurer of the Democracy Alliance?Answer: Former Tides Foundation CEO Drummond Pike.Organizers worked hard to keep the meeting’s discussions secret. Off-duty police officers and other security personnel patrolled the halls looking for reporters and other uninvited guests, and promptly escorted them away. But that didn’t keep “sources” from talking to Politico.With that in mind, who else showed up?Read the full story here.