MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• HT:Crossroads Arabia.Seeing the Domestics’ Scene.It seems that scandals these days don’t become ‘real’ until they’re on a ‘reel’. Turki Al-Dakheel, writing in the Arabic daily Al-Watan, discusses a film being shot in India about the plight of an Indian domestic servant who goes to work in Saudi Arabia. Not matter how Saudis see themselves, Al-Dakheel says, people don’t see themselves until they see their reflection in the eyes of others. Domestic servants see the inside of Saudi society. While they may keep their counsel during the period of their employment, there’s nothing to stop them from talking frankly once they’re back home. Talking frankly about the problems of domestics is something too many Saudis are still reluctant to do.While some consider defending housemaids as justification for their crimes, others look at them as underdogs and say the injustice done to them by their sponsors cannot be condoned at all.They say the mistakes committed by housemaids can be rectified through the law and the courts and police, not by beating and suppressing them.Today, the issue has been picked up by cinema world. The brutal aggression against housemaids has become the theme of an Indian movie called “Gaddama,” which tells the story of an Indian housemaid working in Saudi Arabia and who is tortured by her employers.Indian actress Kavya Madhavan, who played the role of the housemaid, said she was deeply affected by the role to the point of depression. She said it was difficult to obtain a license to shoot the film in Saudi Arabia, so many scenes were filmed in the United Arab Emirates.It is premature to give an opinion about the film but I can say that the housemaids who work in our country will go back to their homes knowing everything about us.Though our houses are closed with cement walls, the housemaids know all our secrets. They understand the Saudi and Arab Gulf societies in detail. Here lies the danger of this film and other similar films. They may draw a picture which we may not like, but it should be an eye-opener for us.Hmmmm.....Something tells me it will be a very long time before we see this particular movie.Read the full story here.

• South Korea to begin exercises near border with North.The South Korean military will begin live-firing exercises on an island close to the border with North Korea in the coming hours, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.The move comes despite repeated threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.The issue has threatened to divide permanent members of the Security Council - with China and Russia urging South Korea to put off the exercise, but the US saying its ally is entitled to make sure it is "properly prepared in the face of... ongoing provocations".South Korea had said the exercise would begin some time before Tuesday, with the exact date depending on weather conditions.But on Monday residents on the island of Yeonpyeong were told to move into air-raid shelters - part of regular procedure ahead of military exercises in the area.Pyongyang has said it will retaliate if the South goes ahead with the exercise on Yeonpyeong - which is close to the two countries' disputed sea border, the Northern Limit Line, and within view of the North Korean mainland.It says it will deal an "unpredictable self-defensive blow" at the South Koreans, "deadlier" than when the North shelled the island during similar live-fire exercises on 23 November.The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says the Obama administration in a tough spot, as the US has 28,000 troops stationed in the South and it would almost certainly be drawn in if hostilities erupt.Hmmmm....Loosing face or loosing lives?Read the full story here.

• Emergency U.N. meeting called over planned artillery drills in Korean waters.The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting today amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula.North Korea warned of a 'catastrophe' if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live shell artillery drill, planned to take place in the waters southwest of Yeonpyeong Island between December 18-21.Russia, which called for the meeting, wants the U.N.'s most powerful body to adopt a statement calling on North Korea and South Korea 'to exercise maximum restraint' and urging immediate diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.Russia borders North Korea and, after China, is considered the country with the closest ties to the reclusive communist government in Pyongyang. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said yesterday that the situation on the Korean Peninsula 'directly affects the national security interests of the Russian Federation.The military of South Korea plans to conduct one-day, live-fire drills by Tuesday on the same front-line island the North shelled last month. The North warned that the drills would lead it to strike back harder than it did last month, when two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed on Yeonpyeong Island.South Korea says the drills are routine, defensive in nature and should not be considered threatening. The U.S. supports Seoul, a staunch ally, and says any country has a right to train for self-defence. But Russia and China have expressed concern.Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged South Korea to cancel the drill to avoid escalating tensions.It asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to immediately send an envoy to both countries 'to consult on urgent measures to settle peacefully the current crisis situation in the Korean Peninsula.'The council began meeting behind closed doors this morning and heard a briefing from U.N. political chief B. Lynn Pascoe on the situation in the Koreas.Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said he is following events closely and is seriously concerned over the rising tensions.Several bloody naval skirmishes occurred along the western sea border between the two Koreas in recent years, but last month's assault was the first by the North to target a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Read the full story here.Russia's draft UN statement proposes sending envoy to Koreas here.

• HT:AmnonandJonathan.Iranian general in Israel !Iranian General’s Wife Accuses Turkish Intelligence of Collaborating With Mossad in 2007 Kidnapping...." A week ago, I reported that an Israeli source revealed that the retired Iranian general and deputy defense minister was being held incommunicado in Ayalon Prison, which confirms 2009 claims by the Iranian government and the current protests of his wife that he is in an Israeli prison. I can now reveal that the story came to me from a political source close to the inner circle of Ehud Barak. Given that the latter is the defense minister, a figure who would be privy to the type of information exposed in this report, this adds credibility to the report. "Read the full story here.

• Calls for 'anti-Semitic' student leader to quit after Facebook message about Jews.A radical student leader who dismissed the violent tuition fees protests as ‘a few smashed windows’ has been accused of making anti-Semitic comments on a social networking site.Mature student Clare Solomon, 37, president of the University of London Union, helped co-ordinate the protests – during which a car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla was attacked – and declared herself proud of the students.Now there are calls for Ms Solomon, the daughter of a Royal Military policeman, to resign after she wrote on Facebook: ‘The view that Jews have been persecuted all throughout history is one that has been fabricated in the last 100 or so years to justify the persecution of Palestinians. 'To paint the picture that all Jews have always had to flee persecution is just plainly inaccurate.’Carly McKenzie, a campaigns officer for the Union of Jewish Students, said: ‘We have lost confidence in her ability to represent Jewish students. ‘To claim that Jewish suffering is a deliberate fabrication goes beyond ignorance into real malice.Adam Levine, President of Queen Mary Jewish Society, added: ‘She should find out before she makes such strong comments about what it means to be Jewish.’Hmmmm...With a name like that you would expect a wiser speech?Read the full story here.

• IRAN: Fired former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki lets loose on Ahmadinejad.Iran's former former minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was abruptly fired last week while on a diplomatic mission to Senegal, is mad as hell and isn't gonna take it any more.In an unusually harsh criticism of his former boss, Mottaki called his dismissal by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "insulting" and "anti-Islamic.""I was not informed about my replacement within 24 hours after I left for a trip and what is more ridiculous is the date set for the farewell and introduction ceremony," he said, according to numerous news agencies.Hmmmm....Don't you love it when they go for each others throats?Read the full story here.

• Obama: US- Turkish ties 'more important than ever'. US President Barack Obama said that "given the increasingly complex challenges the world faces, I believe that US-Turkish cooperation is more important now than ever," in a written response Sunday to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.In his written remarks Obama addressed among other issues, Ankara's ties with Israel, differences over Iran policy, and Turkey's bid for European Union membership; stressing above all that "our partnership is resilient."Obama said that while, "in some circles in the Middle East, Turkey's foreign policy has shifted from that of the Western axis," the US still viewed Turkey as a "close ally and strategic partner."He reiterated US support for Turkey's EU membership bid saying it would be beneficial to both sides considering the "centuries-long shared history, culture and trade, between Turkey and Europe."Hmmmm....Can anyone be more unaware of where Turkey is heading?Who's side is this President on?And what centuries long shared history is he talking about ?The Armenian Holocaust or Galipolli?Read the full story here.

• Simon Wiesenthal Center names Helen Thomas 2010 Anti-Semite of the Year. “Never before, in recent memory, has the Simon Wiesenthal Center seen such a proliferation of anti-Semitism going mainstream,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Center adding that “Our list of top ten anti-Semitic slurs runs the gamut of well-known personalities including journalists, government officials, celebrities, a prominent film director, and academics.”Many of the quotes are classic Jewish conspiracy theories updated to reflect current anxieties, blaming the control of the media and banking sectors on Jews. “Unfortunately, our list shows that anti-Semitic canards normally thought to belong to the lunatic fringe have, in fact, been bought into by major elements of Western society,” Rabbi Hier concluded.Hmmmmm...Anti Semitism 5.000 years old and still growing stronger.Read and see the full story here, and here. 

• HT:FaithFreedom.Highly Deplorable Religious Discrimination in the UK.Religious Discrimination in Dealing with Criminals:Nearly a couple of weeks ago, on December 12, the Bedfordshire Police issued an instruction regarding how to deal with terrorists and dangerous criminals and the instructions were handed out to all officers at the CID courses and anti-terrorist courses in the Bedfordshire forces. These instructions have been deplored as racist and discriminatory on the basis of religion by the political observers throughout the world. The instruction says that: If they’re non-Muslims

1. Consider the most opportune time of day to be able to arrest suspects with minimum resistance.
2. Apply all necessary force to enter the premises and arrest suspects accordingly.
3. If they’re Muslims
4. Community leaders must be consulted before raids into Muslim houses.
5. Officers must not search occupied bedrooms and bathrooms before dawn.
6.  Use of police dogs will be considered serious desecration of the premises.
7.  Cameras and camcorders should not be used in case of capturing women in inappropriate dress.
8.  If people are praying at home officers should stand aside and not disrupt the prayer. They should be allowed the opportunity to finish.
9. Officers should take their shoes off before raiding a Muslim house.
10. The reasons for pre-dawn raids on Muslim houses needs to be clear and transparent.
11. Officers must not touch holy books or religious arte-facts without permission.
12. Muslim prisoners should be allowed to take additional clothing to the station. It really surprising that Great Britain, considered to one of the pioneers for establishing democracy based on individual equality and freedom, can indulge in such a biased and religiously discriminatory policy. This directly contradicts the very foundation Parliamentary Democracy.Hmmm.....Sharia law in practice?Read the full story here.

• HT:galliawatch."The War on Christianity"European Commission's new daily planner that does not mention Christian holidays, but notes just about every other religion:The European Commission produced more than three million copies of a planner for secondary schools that contains no reference to Christmas, but includes Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim holidays.The page for December 25 is empty and at the bottom is the following message:"A true friend is someone who shares your worries and your joy". It would be hard to find something more "religiously" correct!The calendar includes Muslim Hindu, Sikh, Jewish holidays. Among others... Not to mention Europe Day and other key dates of the EU. No Christian holiday is mentioned even though Christianity is the religion of most Europeans. Johanna Touzel, spokesperson for COMECE (Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union) found the planner "unbelievable". A spokesperson for the European Commission spoke of an "error". He pointed out that future editions of this planner would not mention any religious holiday.Hmmmm....Can it be more obvious?Read the full story here.

• Saudi king may want to move Ground Zero mosque to St. Vincent's site.A Manhattan lawyer with ties to the Saudi royal family is sounding out officials and community leaders about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to the West Village. Attorney Dudley Gaffin is claiming King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia might want to buy shuttered St. Vincent's Medical Center and transfer the mosque to a new Islamic cultural center he would build on a plot at the site, say sources who have heard Gaffin's pitch. The king, worth more than $20 billion, would also save the hospital, reopening most of the units that closed when St. Vincent's filed for bankruptcy on April 14, the sources said.They say that Gaffin, who heads his own firm in lower Manhattan, is floating the idea to gauge what the reaction might be -- and to ready a bid to rival the Rudin Organization, which is trying to snap up St. Vincent's in bankruptcy court with an eye on tearing down six hospital buildings for luxury housing. "He's asking what it would take to put in a bid," said one community leader who did not want to be identified. "He says the king wants to do this as a p.r. move -- to save the hospital and move the mosque away from the World Trade Center site," the source added. "He wants to show that Muslims can do good works."Reps for Abdullah, one of the world's wealthiest men, did not return calls seeking comment. The 87-year-old king is currently in town after recuperating from back surgery he had at New York-Presbyterian hospital on Dec. 3. Abdullah previously said he would not get involved with the Ground Zero mosque.Hmmm....It would suprise me that "The Defender of the Faith" would follow on the same  road the Ahmadiyya Muslims are advocating,to move the Mosque away from Ground Zero?Read the full story here.

• Stabbed by Arabs, the US tourist's body is found near Jerusalem.The body of a female American tourist, bound and with multiple stab wounds, was found Sunday near a road outside Jerusalem, police said.The woman's friend, a naturalized Israeli originally from the U.K., had reported her missing a day earlier after the two were attacked. She, too, had been bound and stabbed, but managed to escape her assailants, according to police.Israeli Police spokeswoman Micky Rosenfeld identified the slain woman as Christine Logan. He said she was American but had no further details on her age or hometown.Logan's friend, Kaye Susan Wilson, told police the two had been hiking in a nearby forest when they were assaulted by two Arab men. She, too, was bound and stabbed, but managed to escape her assailants, according to police.After Wilson reported the incident, police launched a large-scale hunt by police and the military in the wooded hills outside Jerusalem before locating Logan's body, which apparently had been moved, early Sunday.Police remained silent over a motive for the crime. The discovery of the stabbed and bound body, however, reinforced the possibility that militants may have been involved, police said.The U.S. Embassy had no information on the case, saying only that it was in touch with Israeli authorities.The killing occurred just ahead of Christmas — a peak tourist season for Israel and the Palestinians. Israel's Tourism Ministry declined comment.Police said there were no signs that Wilson had been sexually assaulted or robbed.Hmmmm......"Kill the christians where ever you can"comes to mind.Read the full story here.

• "The War on Christianity"After Outcry, Feds Back Down; Banks Can Display Crosses.Second-In-Command Of Federal Reserve Calls Bank Late Thursday.The small-town bank in Oklahoma will be able to restore its Christian signs and symbols after all, thanks in part to public outcry against the Federal Reserve.The president of Payne County Bank, Lynn Kinder, said he spoke with the second in command at the Federal Reserve late Thursday evening. Both sides agreed to work out the issue."The federal reserve immediately took action, " Kinder said in a statement. "And allowed us to restore our Christian display of items and verses on our television and website until a final determination is made. It appears that the matter will be resolved."Specifically, the feds believed, these symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause,"... the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication ... express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion."The feds interpreted that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslim or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank.Kinder had contacted the Oklahoma Bankers Association and the office Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas. The state banking department sent a letter requesting a clearer interpretation.The Federal Reserve responded to Kinder Thursday. So for now, the Christian religious signs, Bible verse and symbols are back on display."I think that's good," said Cushing resident Bill Erwin.I don't think they should have had to take it down. I think everybody should be able to believe what they want to believe," said customer Carrie Kinsey. "I think they had every right to keep it up."Hmmmm....'until a final determination is made'Art 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ".Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Palestinian UN Observer: Arabs to Push for UNSC Resolution Condemning Settlements.Palestinian UN Observer Riyad Mansour said that the Arab countries were pushing for a Security Council resolution condemning the Israeli settlements in the territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem. He said the request is to be submitted in January, after the presidency rotates from the U.S. to Bosnia Herzegovina. PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas welcomed Bolivia's recognition of the Palestinian state, saying that the Palestinians would appeal to further countries in Latin America and Asia to recognize their state.Hmmm....Isn't setting up someone a great peace plan?Read the full story here.

• Ban Ki-moon names settlement freeze a top UN goal for 2011. In end of year press conference in New York, UN chief says he will work to improve the quality of life in Gaza.The United Nations named improving the living conditions in the Gaza Strip and ending Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as part of its goals for 2011, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday. Speaking at a press conference concluding the year 2010 at UN headquarters in New York, Ban stated that one of the goals for the upcoming year were to keep working to improve the quality of life in Gaza.Ban also stressed that Israel must fulfill its obligations and halt any settlement construction, including construction in East Jerusalem. Ban said that 2010 was a great year for the UN in which it made considerable achievements in areas such as biodiversity and involvement in the democratic elections in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Ban chastised the Israeli government for refusing to extend its ten-month moratorium on West Bank settlement construction that expired in September, calling it a snub to the international community.Hmmmm.....Who will be part of the "peace keeping force" in the Israeli - Palestinian accord? Read the full story here.

• HT:ElderofZion.UPDATE on Palestinian Media Watch suspension from YouTube.The irony that YouTube allows thousands of Jihadi videos but suspends a whistleblowing group from publicizing them is way to thick. And, as was pointed out, much of PMW's content.Hmmmm....Something sure doesn't smells right here.Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video :Egyptian Diving Instructor: Israel Responsible for Fatal Shark Attack and for Lethal Jellyfish in the Sinai.Hmmmm.....Soon to come the attack of the 30 foot giant seastars?Read and see the full "story" here.

• HT:AhmadiyyaTimes.Pakistan: Banned JuD and LeT leader Hafiz Saeed who is also said to be among the masterminds of bloody 26/11 Mumbai attacks to be part of anti-government religious alliance.Pakistan seems heading towards the Islamic religious organisations' alliance in a bid to destablize Pakistan Peoples' Party led relatively-liberal coalition government.United Nations banned religious organisation Jamatud Dawa, whose militant wing Lashkar-e-Toiba is among notorious groups involved in cross border terrorism in Indian part of Kashmir and becoming an emerging threat to United States of America, is also bracing for a major role in this alliance, which aims to covert plans to change the country's controversial blasphemy laws.Hafiz Saeed, the key figure of JuD and LeT, who is also said to be among the masterminds of bloody 26/11 Mumbai attacks taking dozens innocent lives, has recently attended an open meeting in the country's capital Islamabad in a bid to join the pre-emptive movement to warn the government if there are any changes in the blasphemy laws.It is generally believed whether this movement of religious groups is able to destablise the government or not, at least it will play an effective negative role as a tool to provoke the public against the sitting government till the time of next general elections.
  Hmmmmm...It seems Pakistan is just waiting to erupt as a new Iran,you'll need more then a number of drones to stop this movement.Read the full story here.

• Turkey to try again for spot on UN Security Council.Turkey is again set to become a candidate for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, the country's foreign minister announced Saturday.Turkey was elected a non-permanent member to the U.N. Security Council in a vote held in October 2008 and its membership started on Jan. 1, 2009. Its two-year mission will end Dec. 31, 2010.Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said at a Justice and Development Party, or AKP, meeting in Konya that Turkey would be a candidate again not long after its membership ends, Anatolia news agency reported.But Davutoğlu's plan may run into stumbling blocks when faced with the chapter of the U.N. charter that sets the ground rules for participation in the council. Chapter V, Article 23 of the "Charter of the United Nations" states, "A retiring member shall not be eligible for immediate re-election."Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• Obama's fury as Senators kill DREAM legislation giving illegal immigrants the right to stay in America.Senate Republicans doomed an effort to provide hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status by enrolling in college or joining the military today.Sponsors of what they call the DREAM Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely Republican opposition and win its enactment.That effectively kills the DREAM as Republicans take over the House of Representatives and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.President Barack Obama called the vote 'incredibly disappointing'.'A minority of senators prevented the Senate from doing what most Americans understand is best for the country,' Mr Obama said. 'There was simply no reason not to pass this important legislation.'
  Hmmmm....Perhaps just the little matter of preventing them to vote for you Mr President?Read the full story here.

• Schwarzenegger could see himself in Washington.Then, asked if he would consider a post in the Obama administration, he said yes and began to riff on his credentials. "I’m a very big believer in environmental issues," said the governor, who considers legislation to combat global warming one of his major achievements in office. "I’ve traveled the world.... I’m very familiar with the world."The governor went on to say that he would like to work on public policy issues in which he could have an impact "with my celebrity power, and also my knowledge and experience."Schwarzenegger said he has credibility on that issue, and "people are very receptive when I talk about these things because I’m a Hummer driver … not a tree hugger."Anyone need an energy czar?Read the full story here.

• And, So It Begins: The Public-Sector Ponzi Scheme is Collapsing.You’ve been hearing for quite a while now that public-sector unions are a threat to the economic survival of the United States. With an estimated unfunded liability of up to $3 trillion (and perhaps much more), public-sector pensions are a noose around the neck of America’s taxpayers and it is threatening to strangle the nation.More specifically, you’ve been hearing that the expensive wage and benefits packages that union-bought Democrats have given to their union benefactors could collapse our economy. The question is, can we stop it before it it too late, or at a minimum, contain the damage?Well, little by little, signs are showing that, in some cases, the public-sector house of cards is already starting to fall.Chicago’s Mayor Daley Discusses Bankruptcy For City Pensions.Mayor Daley is begging Governor Quinn for pension reform.Quinn now has on his desk a bill that would allow state to withhold sales tax and income tax revenue from cities that won’t do more to fund their pension plans.If investors discover that the market has instead become a way to paper over irresponsible promises, they will flee it. And no state, county, or local government will be spared the damage that follows.
  The problem is, it has already begun. Now, the question is, do the politicians have the fortitude to deal with this problem before it collapses our entire economy, or will the public-pension Ponzi scheme take the entire nation down?Hmmm...Welcome to the Mega - Depression,fastest growing are the tent cities?Read the full story here.

• HT:BeforeItIsNews.DHS Implementing No Work List: Citizens Must Get Government Approval to Work in Private Sector Jobs.You’ve heard of no fly and no buy lists – get ready for no work lists. Millions of workers now must apply to the DHS and prove they are not terrorists in order to be granted permission by the government to work.On the Alex Jones Show today, a caller pointed to information posted on a union website for ironworkers spelling out details on the Department of Homeland Security’s TWIC and SWAC programs.TWIC is short for Transportation Worker Identification Credential and SWAC stands for Secure Worker Access Consortium.TWIC “is a biometric credential that ensures only vetted workers are eligible to enter a secure construction site, unescorted,” Ironworkers Local 361 in Ozone Park, New York, explains. “Before issuing a TWIC, TSA must conduct a security threat assessment on the TWIC applicant. An applicant who, as a result of the assessment, is determined to not pose a security threat, will be issued a TWIC card.”In other words, construction workers in New York will need permission from the TSA and DHS in order to practice their profession and earn a living. It was much the same in the former Soviet Union and authoritarian states such as China where the government determines all aspects of an individual’s life and where even the mildly rebellious are severely punished.SWAC is even more draconian. It is “a large-scale collaborative effort among public and private authorities, facility owners, contractors, and labor organizations who are partnering to prevent terrorist activity by creating a trusted contractor community. Over 500 organizations, including the Port Authority of NY and NJ, which manages and maintains the bridges, tunnels, bus terminals, airports, PATH, and seaports that are essential to the bi-state region’s trade and transportation capabilities, have joined this effort,” according to the union website.SWAC also requires a background investigation by the government, so if construction, port workers, longshoremen, and truck drivers are involved in political activity frowned upon by the feds – for instance, 9/11 truth, considered dangerous and subversive by the State Department – it is likely they will have to find another line of work.Hmmmm....Mother Russia and Father Stalin American style?Read the full story here.

• Belarus Dictator strongman Lukashenko set to extend 16-year rule.Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to sail to victory in Sunday’s presidential election, extending his grip on power in what some critics have described as "Europe’s last dictatorship".Voting got under way on Sunday in the former Soviet republic of Belarus in an election certain to extend strongman Alexander Lukashenko's 16-year stay in power for five more years.Lukashenko won backing at the 11th hour from Moscow after being vilified on Russian television for weeks and he seemed set to continue a policy of playing off Russia against the West.The conduct of the vote, the margin of Lukashenko's victory, and his handling of opposition protests could decide how far the European Union decides to engage the country of 10 million people on its eastern flank.Reconciliation last week, however, in the form of an oil and gas pricing deal, has extinguished any glimmer of opposition hope that Russia might withhold its endorsement.The EU, now using more carrot than stick to try to loosen up Lukashenko's authoritarian rule, is dangling the prospect of financial aid if the vote at least has a veneer of fairness.Brussels will take its cue from 400 monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, fanning out across the snow-bound country and due to report back on Monday.The opposition says it will call supporters into the freezing October Square after polls close. But political fervour was in short supply on the broad, snow-laden avenues of the capital Minsk, its grey towerblocks shrouded in mist.Hmmmmm....From Kolchose boss to Dictator for life? Боже Мой !Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.Will Tuesday Be the Darkest Day in 456 Years?Break out the flashlights. When a full lunar eclipse takes place on the shortest day of the year, the planet may just get awfully dark. The upcoming Dec. 21 full moon -- besides distinguishing itself from the others in 2010 by undergoing a total eclipse -- will also take place on the same date as the solstice (the winter solstice if you live north of the equator, and the summer solstice if you live to the south).Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. The sun is at its lowest in our sky because the North Pole of our tilted planet is pointing away from it.So, how often does the December full moon coincide with the solstice? To answer this question, let's use Universal Time (UT), also sometimes referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We do this because in answering this question, it's important to define a specific time zone.For example, if you live in Honolulu, this December's full moon does not fall on the date of the solstice. Hawaii Time runs 10 hours behind GMT and the full moon occurs on Dec. 20 at 10:13 p.m. local time, while the solstice comes the following day at 1:38 p.m. Alaska, too, will have the full moon and the solstice occur on these respective dates, but in a time zone one hour later than Hawaii.But both the full moon and solstice do occur on the same date (Dec. 21) in Greenwich, as well across the contiguous United States and Canada.Prior to this year, there were solstice full moons in 1999 (Dec. 22) and 1980 (Dec. 21).Interestingly, after this year, we'll have a long time to wait until we have a December full moon occur on the same date as the solstice: Dec. 21, 2094! And even more interesting -- just like this year -- that same full moon will fall into Earth's shadow in a total lunar eclipse. However, unlike this year, the 2094 eclipse will not be visible from the Western Hemisphere, but will be able to be seen from Europe, Africa and much of Asia.Read the full story here.