MFS - The Other News

                         Afternoon Posting.

• Lahore High Court issues stay order in Asia Bibi’s appeal against blasphemy sentence.A new order by the High Court makes it harder to discuss the controversial legislation and prevents the government from issuing a pardon for the convicted Christian woman. The appeal date against her death sentence has not yet been decided.In its order, the court ruled that no bill regarding the blasphemy law could be presented until it delivers a verdict on the case. It also issued notices to the federal government for 23 December. It postponed the hearing of the petition filed for Asia Bibi’s pardon in the blasphemy case, although it did not set a date to hear the case.In an earlier ruling, the court had stalled pardon moves for Asia Bibi, directing President Asif Ali Zardari and the Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseeri to restrain from making any move to pardon the convicted woman until 6 December. Today, it decided to extend the stay order until 23 December.Although the president was not made a direct party among the respondents, the chief justice categorically issued directions to the president saying, “No action shall be taken either by the president of Pakistan or anybody working under the authority of the functionaries performing duties under supervision of the governor of the Punjab.”In the meantime, more and more people are joining the petition campaign launched by AsiaNews at salviamoasiabibi@asianews.it. So far, about 7,000 people have signed the petition online or on paper.Hmmm.....Religion primes above the law,we had that also once upon a time in the dark ages,when we burned unbelievers.Read the full Medieval story here.

• HT:LogisticsMonster.Janet Napolitano Enlists Wal-Mart To Watch You.When the Secretary of DHS furthers the development of the tattle-tail program, (with our money, of course), in order to “report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to law enforcement authorities.””, one knows that the continued existence of ‘the state‘ is of the utmost importance and you frakkin’ moos can just go somewhere and die (preferably quickly and cheaply).BIG SIS INVADES WAL-MART: ‘IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING’. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the expansion of the Department’s national “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign to hundreds of Walmart stores across the country—launching a new partnership between DHS and Walmart to help the American public play an active role in ensuring the safety and security of our nation.“Homeland security starts with hometown security, and each of us plays a critical role in keeping our country and communities safe,” said Secretary Napolitano. “I applaud Walmart for joining the ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ campaign. This partnership will help millions of shoppers across the nation identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to law enforcement authorities.”The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign—originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS’ Transit Security Grant Program—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.More than 230 Walmart stores nationwide launched the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign today, with a total of 588 Walmart stores in 27 states joining in the coming weeks. A short video message, available here, will play at select checkout locations to remind shoppers to contact local law enforcement to report suspicious activity.Hmmm.....the American Stasi awakens?Between 1950 and 1989, the Stasi employed a total of 274,000 persons in an effort to root out the class enemy.How many will they employ in the USA?Read the full "story" here.

• WikiLeaks press release: Julian Assange Defense Fund frozen.The Swiss Bank Post Finance today issues a press release stating that it had frozen Julian Assange's defense fund and personal assets (31K EUR) after reviewing him as a "high profile" individual.The technicality used to seize the defense fund was that Mr. Assange, as a homeless refugee attempting to gain residency in Switzerland, had used his lawyers address in Geneva for the bank's correspondence.Late last week, the internet payment giant PayPal, froze 60Keur of donations to the German charity the Wau Holland Foundation, which were targeted to promote the sharing of knowledge via WikiLeaks.WikiLeaks and Julian have lost 100Keur in assets this week.One of the most fascinating aspects of the Cablegate exposure is how it is throwing into relief the power dynamics between supposedly independent states like Switzerland, Sweden and Australia.WikiLeaks also has public bank accounts in Iceland (preferred) and Germany.Hmmm...money makes the world go round?Read the full story here.

• South American countries recognize Palestinian state.After initial recognition by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay follow suit, recognize "free and independent" Palestine with 1967 borders; Israel: recognition contradicts road map. Israel Monday night expressed "regret and disappointment" at South American countries' decision to recognize an independent Palestinian state."Recognition of a Palestinian state is a violation of the interim agreement signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995, which established that the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will be discussed and solved through negotiations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.The statement said that recognition of a Palestinian state also contradicts the road map."All attempts to bypass negotiations and to unilaterally determine issues in dispute will only harm the trust of the sides and their commitment to agreed upon frameworks for negotiations," the statement read.The American Jewish Committee called the recognition of an independent Palestinian state by the South American countries both worrisome and counterproductive.Argentina said its recognition of a Palestinian state reflected a general consensus in Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, according to the Associated Press.Hmmmm.....Anything to ruin the peaceproces so we can impose a peaceplan?Read the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Clinton's role in Obama's failed Muslim outreach.Jennifer Rubin says that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deserves some of the blame for the miserable state of President Obama's Middle East policies.The Egyptian elections are yet another failure for Obama's "Muslim outreach." Our quiet diplomacy -- the Obama team likes to refer to its efforts as "smart" diplomacy -- has proven to be utterly ineffective. It's clear that Hosni Mubarak doesn't take the administration very seriously. And in fact that's increasingly true throughout the Middle East.Given that Mrs. Clinton says she has no interest in running for any elected office in the future, one has to wonder why she is not taking a position that is more independent of the Obama administration. Unless she has decided that she doesn't care about her place in history either.Read the full story here.

• UF Hillel group upset after finding menorah vandalized.The menorah was pulled up, thrown down and its oil lamps were damaged.The University of Florida Hillel had its Hanukkah celebration marred over the weekend by the vandalism of a large outdoor menorah on its Gainesville property.Hillel members discovered Saturday that the menorah had apparently been pulled from its foundation, thrown down and its oil lamps were damaged, said Joshua Kahn, Israel program director for Hillel. He said the vandalism follows an incident Friday night in which about 10 people were witnessed saying "[Expletive] the Jews" before kicking over a fence on the property."I'm hoping that it wasn't anti-Semitism, and it's just a bunch of drunk kids," he said.The incidents follow a report released Friday by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum that found Alachua County ranked second in the state in hate crimes in 2009, with 20 reported over the course of the year.The cases included a swastika painted on a Jewish fraternity house on the UF campus.UF has the largest Jewish population of any public university in the nation, according to the national Hillel group.Hmmmm.......Outrage...Obama's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal speaks out against Anti Semitism sorry my mistake "Islamophobia"!Read the full story

• HT:TeaandPolitics.Islamic countries: Poll shows growing majority favor Sharia Law, more Islam in public life.A majority of Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries’ political life, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, but have mixed feelings toward militant religious groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.According to the survey, majorities in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria would favor changing the current laws to allow stoning as a punishment for adultery, hand amputation for theft and death for those who convert from Islam to another religion. About 85% of Pakistani Muslims said they would support a law segregating men and women in the workplace.Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria and Jordan were among the most enthusiastic, with more than three-quarters of Muslims polled in those countries reporting positive views of Islam’s influence in politics: either that Islam had a large role in politics, and that was a good thing, or that it played a small role, and that was bad.Turkish Muslims were the most conflicted, with just more than half reporting positive views of Islam’s influence in politics. Turkey has struggled in recent years to balance a secular political system with an increasingly fervent Muslim population.Hmmmm.....we don't want to take over your country?Read the full story here.

• Police: Usfiya teen admitted to dumping hookah coal.Shortly after Haifa District Court releases two teens suspected of negligent arson police announce new suspect – 14-year-old who admitted to smoking hookah in open territory, dumping burning coal.Police arrested a 14-year-old teenage resident of Usfiya Monday who is suspected of negligently causing the Carmel fire disaster. Earlier on Monday two teens arrested for similar suspicions were released after the Haifa District Court granted their appeal. Police claim the third suspect admitted to smoking a hookah in an open area near Usfiya, throwing out the burning coal and not reporting that a fire had erupted. In his interrogation he said that he returned to school after smoking the hookah and reenacted the incident to investigators.
  Hmmm....how many fires in Israel this year started by accident?JNF Director:- This year,there were 1620 forest fires. 70 percent of them due to arson !This is ecological intifada! Read the full story here. HT:AmnonandJonathan.

• HT:EmergingCorruption.Never Forget; But What Do We Remember? 25,000 sq. foot Mosque ok’d in So.California.From Ground Zero, one wonders how anyone could ever forget. I believe most Americans, being “Americans” and loving liberty, and common sense, do not declare all Muslims are here for Jihad. However, as one close to Law Enforcement, we also take for granted the price that Liberty asks at times. Its easy when we are not living, thank God, in a War Zone. How many of us have.That brings me to our topic, a suburban bedroom community in Southern California, Temecula. Wednesday December 1st, a City Council Planning Meeting, approved a 25,000 square foot Mosque to be built. The Iman, Mahmoud Harmoush, remains in question. MSNBC, (not really a Conservative source; so here you go) a YouTube video, features the Iman Harmoush. It causes one to pause: Why one wonders, he cannot say NO to Hamas and Hezbollah? That, with, a “Family Security Matters” article, which states about the ICTV (Islamic Center of Temecula Valley):“One of the churches opposing the mosque has cited both the size of the project, concerns about Islam itself, and anti-Israeli rallies, sponsored by the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley (ICTV) as reasons for its opposition to the project. In one of those rallies held in January 2009, the ICTV partnered with the Al-Awda – The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, an organization opposed to Israel’s right to exist and which supports resistance against Israel “by any means necessary.”Further, Iman Harmousch, is from Syria. From there we can track him to the Carribean in the 1980′s. What is most disconcerting is the possible link the Iman has with the “Global Muslim Brotherhood”. What’s the GMB?Hmmm....why is Homeland Security not checking these people in depth?Read the full story here.Related : Mano Bakh: A Member of the Shah’s Military Crusades against Temecula Mosque .Here.

• The moment when a passenger opens fire on a taxi driver, shoots him seven times and leaves him critically injured.This is the moment when a New York taxi driver is shot seven times, robbed and left to die by a gun-totting passenger.Jamaican immigrant Trevor Bell, 53, had reached the desired destination but this CCTV footage from inside the cab shows that there was some sort of altercation before he was riddled with bullets from the back-seat.The incident, which happened near Queens in New York on Friday night, has left Mr Bell, who was shot in the neck, arms and both legs, in a critical condition condition.Hmmmm....any idea of the suspect his origins?Read the full story here.

• Iran sits down with six powers at the UN to haggle over Tehran's nuclear programme.Iran and six world powers haggled over the terms of negotiations that the West hopes will limit Iranian nuclear activities that could be used to make atomic weapons.Officials from the six powers at the meeting - the US, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union - said the Iranian delegation had reacted calmly when told the group was still seeking a commitment from Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.Iran has insisted previously that the topic of enrichment was not up for negotiation.Tehran says it does not want atomic arms, but as it builds up its capacity to make such weapons, neither Israel nor the US have ruled out military action if Tehran fails to heed UN Security Council demands to freeze key nuclear programmes.Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki sounded a note of optimism as the talks began, telling reporters in Athens that 'the countries that are participating today in the talks on the nuclear programme have the room to follow a policy to resolve the issue'.On Sunday, Iran announced it had delivered its first domestically mined raw uranium to a processing facility, claiming it was now self-sufficient over the whole enrichment process.Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and the country's vice president, said Iran had for the first time delivered domestically mined raw uranium to a processing facility - allowing it to bypass U.N. sanctions prohibiting import of the material.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said it was up to Iran to restore trust about its nuclear intentions, urging it to come to Geneva prepared to 'firmly, conclusively reject the pursuit of nuclear weapons'.But for Iran, the main issues are peace, prosperity - and nuclear topics only in the context of global disarmament.'Iran has not and will not allow anybody in the talks to withdraw one iota of the rights of the Iranian nation,' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said before the talks.Read the full story here.

• Small man syndrome? Pint-sized Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. requests 'short' security men for India visit.At 5ft 5 his small stature leaves him looking up to most other world leaders.But Nicolas Sarkozy has had an ingenious idea to make himself appear loftier. The 55-year-old French President has asked for ‘short’ security men to protect him during his state visit to India.The demand from the pint-sized President comes after claims he banned workers over 5ft 6ins from attending a factory visit in June.Sarkozy is said to have sent aides to the Turbomeca aeronautics factory in Toulouse to 'whittle out the tall ones' from any workers who may want to meet him on during the visit.Local paper the Republique des Pyrenees said: ‘It seems people at the factory decided it was better to yield to the president's wishes than face exile to the land of the pygmies.’The 5ft 10in tall former supermodel said: 'I understand that the media prefers to talk about my pumps more than my global foundation or the fight against illiteracy.'At 5ft 5in tall in his bare feet, Mr Sarkozy is even shorter than his famous predecessor Napoleon, who was an inch taller.The president is also one of the world's shortest heads of state - only slightly taller than North Korea's Kim Jong-Il and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, both of whom are 5ft 3in tall.Hmmmm...."Seize matters really"Read the full lenght story here.

• Arab agencies: Fire proves Israel is weak.Has Israel's force of deterrence been compromised by Carmel fire? Israeli officials debate.Israeli officials attempted to refute claims that the state's force of deterrence had been compromised by the huge Carmel forest fire over the weekend, even as terror groups rejoiced in the apparent ease with which the state could be put out of commission.Brigadier-General Giora Eiland told Ynet that although the firefighting services were ultimately proven to be "the weakest link", that only meant that they would be fortified. "Theoretically, if there is a conflict with Hezbollah it will find itself facing a better-prepared firefighting system than before," Eiland said.One Israeli official agreed with this opinion, and warned that rockets or missiles exploding in northern Israel could simulate the Carmel disaster."As a citizen, and a person familiar with firefighting services in the north, I am concerned," Lieutenant-Colonel (Res) Shavit Zalmi, who commands firefighters in the north, told Ynet Monday."We may face much more difficult and complex situations – any missile could cause a big blaze – and if the firefighting services don't receive resources the damage and civilian suffering will be greater."Hmmm.....Still it's amazing to put out a mayor forestfire in 4 days.I bet the Arabs might need 4 weeks ? Read the full story here.

• 'Mossad may be behind Red Sea shark attacks'.Egyptian authorities leaving no stone unturned in bid to discover mysterious shark attacks which left German tourist dead. 'Mossad plot not out of the question,' says South Sinai governor. Shark attacks on tourists in the Red Sea have triggered a flurry of speculation as to what could have caused them, with suggestions ranging from overfishing to an Israeli plot to harm Egyptian tourism. Others suggested it could have been part of a secret plot by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. "What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark (in the sea) to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm," South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha was quoted as saying by state news site egynews.net.Egyptians often blame neighboring Israel for a variety of problems such as drug and weapon smuggling, or say it supports media that seek to portray Egypt in a bad light. Hmmm...i knew it,i knew it it's another Zionist plot.Next they're going to say they breed them in captivity to attack tourists?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheBlaze.Trumka Now Using Faith Groups to Organize ‘Progressive Activists’.AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka has announced that his union is starting a new campaign using “1,000 congregation-based unemployed worker support committees” to offer support to the unemployed and advocate for jobs.“The campaign will help combat the severe unemployment crisis that is devastating so many working people and families and help rebuild the foundations of our nation’s economy,” Trumka announced in a statement.“[F]aith groups, political leaders and progressive activists have come together in the Faith Advocates for Jobs Campaign, which was launched this week at a Capitol Hill meeting,” Trumka added. “The campaign will help combat the severe unemployment crisis that is devastating so many working people and families and help rebuild the foundations of our nation’s economy.”The campaign’s mission statement, however, reads like a progressive jobs manifesto. “As people of faith, we call for an economy that provides a job for everyone who wants and needs one,” Trumka quotes it as saying. “We affirm that all jobs should be good jobs, paying living wages and benefits, allowing workers dignity and a voice at the workplace, ensuring workers’ health and safety, and guaranteeing their right to organize unions.”The group Tumka says will oversee the initiative, Interfaith Worker Justice, also doesn’t shy away from progressive talk.In a video posted on its website, the group decries “wage theft,” which it describes as workers being underpaid, not paid for overtime, or being misclassified.Hmmm.....haven't we seen something similar in the 1910's Russia?Read the full story here.

• RSN Exclusive: A Conversation with Congressman Steve King: Taking Back Congress.For years we have heard the common refrain that “the people don’t get it,” or we’re “stupid,” or we “really don’t care.” Ignoring the Americans who serially vote Democrat because they have been bought off with welfare payments or some other benefit, I have always argued otherwise, and Reagan’s 1980 and 1984 landslide victories bore me out. Of course, as President, the senior Bush quickly smashed that resurgent national spirit with a “wicked political pivot ” back to insipid mediocrity.RSN: Congressman King, what can we do to take our country back?King: Well, the people have run up a new flag next to Old Glory and that is the Gadsden Flag, don’t tread on me . That is the spirit of this renewed America that we have. But what we’re doing in Congress now is basically fighting a rearguard action. We’re hanging on to the freedom we have. Now we may take some back with this new Congress, but we know we can’t sustain this unless we take the culture back.Hmmm..."And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."Read the full story here.

• What Obama Needs to Come Back: Luck.The coalition that got Barack Obama elected President just two years ago has been shattered. Gaming out the trajectory of the next two years can be done any number of ways, but Obama's efforts to rebuild a politically robust alliance will be the most telling. It may be the biggest challenge of his career — and he will need happenstance along with skill if he is going to get it done.Should Obama effectively confront these dynamics, he will still need some luck. Busy as he's been, he has not yet experienced a single major moment that has benefited him politically. The most dramatic events of his term — the BP oil spill, the passage of the health-care law, the arms-control agreement with Russia — have had either no impact or a negative influence on Obama's standing.No one wants the country to suffer another catastrophe. But when a struggling Bill Clinton was faced with the Oklahoma City bombing and a floundering George W. Bush was confronted by 9/11, they found their voices and a route to political revival. Perhaps Obama's crucible can be positive — the capture of Osama bin Laden, the fall of the Iranian regime, a dramatic technological innovation that revitalizes American manufacturing — something to reintroduce him to the American people and show the strengths he demonstrated as a presidential candidate. Hmmm....having another terrorist attack doesn't qualify under "Luck" in my book!Now they're hoping for a terrorist attack to save Obama's career? OMG!Read the full "Luck" story here.

• 14-year-old Armenian girl beaten in Iran.A 14-year-old Armenian girl was severely beaten in the Esfahan city of Iran. According to the website of National Council of Resistance of Iran, she was beaten by the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Bassij Forces.The source says she was stopped by a group of Bassij suppressive agents who insisted that she was not adequately veiled. They wanted to detain her but the girl offered resistance. Other youths rushed to help her trying to urge the agents not to arrest her.According to eyewitnesses, a State Security Forces (SSF) unit arrived on the scene to provide back up to the Bassij agents, who violently dispersed the population and detained the girl as they beat her, the website reads.Source.

• Unusual methods helped ICE break deportation record, e-mails and interviews show.For much of this year, the Obama administration touted its tougher-than-ever approach to immigration enforcement, culminating in a record number of deportations.But in reaching 392,862 deportations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement included more than 19,000 immigrants who had exited the previous fiscal year, according to agency statistics. ICE also ran a Mexican repatriation program five weeks longer than ever before, allowing the agency to count at least 6,500 exits that, without the program, would normally have been tallied by the U.S. Border Patrol. When ICE officials realized in the final weeks of the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, that the agency still was in jeopardy of falling short of last year's mark, it scrambled to reach the goal. Officials quietly directed immigration officers to bypass backlogged immigration courts and time-consuming deportation hearings whenever possible, internal e-mails and interviews show.Instead, officials told immigration officers to encourage eligible foreign nationals to accept a quick pass to their countries without a negative mark on their immigration record, ICE employees said. The option, known as voluntary return, may have allowed hundreds of immigrants - who typically would have gone before an immigration judge to contest deportation for offenses such as drunken driving, domestic violence and misdemeanor assault - to leave the country. A voluntary return doesn't bar a foreigner from applying for legal residence or traveling to the United States in the future.Hmmm....so it's more like a paid holiday back home?Read the full story here.

• HT:BigGoverment.Pigford: Obama’s Down Payment on the 2012 Rural South Vote.This past Tuesday, Nov 30th, the Democratically-controlled lame-duck House passed the $1.2 billion Black Farmer’s Settlement funding known as Pigford II. The previous week the bill had passed the Senate with assurances of strict measures to protect the taxpayers against the rampant fraud that has been widely documented from multiple sources in both the media and government.The bill passed the House 256-152, and is now headed to President Obama to sign: the man who single-handedly introduced the Pigford II legislation in 2007 to curry favor with rural black Southern voters, to which he was trailing significantly to then front-runner Hillary Clinton.As of today, the American taxpayer is now on the hook for an additional $1.2 billion of payments to black “farmers,” whom did not have to provide proof of:

          -Having ever farmed or having attempted to farm

          -Having ever had a loan at the USDA

          -Having ever filled out paperwork for a farm loan

          -Having ever attempted to get a loan.

          The only burden of proof requirement was filling out a form stating that they had "attempted"
         to and have a family member vouch for that assertion.The U.S. government would then send
         a $50,000 check to these “farmers.”Read the full story here.

• Photo Op-inion: Where Should Obama Visit Next?Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, these images say it with pictures instead of words: President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Friday, December 3. Show us other locations around the world the president ought to visit.
  Hmmmm....how about a visit to Auschwitz,might be educational for him and the family?Read the full story here.

• HT:Macleans.Jihad in the Caucasus?Recent terrorist attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus have attracted the attention of analysts. An increasing number of recent terrorist attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus have attracted the attention of analysts who point to a growing role of Arab fighters and even preachers in the region. “North Caucasus jihadis’ linkage to the global jihad is now at a level in which clerics have become influential and are sought out for fatwas and advice,” writes Murad Batal al-Shishani, a political analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based political think tank, noting what appears to be the spreading influence of Arab Salafist ideologues.Among the recent examples of an Arab presence is the highly publicized but not unique death of 24-year-old Jordanian Anas Khalil Khadir, who was killed in Chechnya in June after joining jihadist groups there. And in August, Jordanian Salafist ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Syrian cleric Abu Basir al-Tartusi condemned the fracturing of jihadist groups in Chechnya and the North Caucasus, advocating they unite under the militant Chechen Islamic leader Doku Umarov.Crego acknowledges that “there has been some radicalization of the Islamic movement in the North Caucasus, and outside influence from Islamic militants.” Hmmmm....Then there are the Chechen terrorists arrested the last weeks in Europe,talk about spreading the Jihad message?Read the full story here.