MFS - The Other News

                          Morning Posting.

• Ground Zero mosque backers say no one's contacted them about moving mosque to St. Vincent's.The backers of the Ground Zero mosque shot down a report Sunday that a Saudi royal would move their controversial development to the shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village."No one has contacted me or my husband about it," said Daisy Khan, who has been an adviser on the project.She and her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, are affiliated with the planned construction of a $100 million Park Place prayer space and community center two blocks north of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed on 9/11.The mosque isn't moving from its proposed Park Place location, a source close to mosque developer Sharif el-Gamal said Sunday.Hmmm...As i tweeted yesterday when the story was breaking "I don't think so",see the story in yesterday's posting as to why the King wouldn't consider the move.Altough i would be inclined to believe he might save the St Vincent Hospital.For one the Saudi papers don't mention a thing!Read the full story here.

• Breaking! Ukraine's Tymoshenko charged with abuse of power.Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was charged Monday with abuse of power, a crime that could put the charismatic Orange Revolution leader in jail for a decade and keep her out of politics.Tymoshenko told reporters on leaving the prosecutor's office that she has been ordered to stay in the capital Kiev during the investigation, which is linked to the alleged misuse of state funds.The former ally of ex-president Viktor Yushchenko said she had used money earmarked in the state budget for environmental spending to cover Ukraine's massive pension arrears in times of economic crisis."The money allotted for the Kyoto Protocol was not being spent," said Tymoshenko. "We used funds from a single line item of the budget, one that had no purpose or designation."Tymoshenko told the investigators that the money in question -- 320 million euros (425 million dollars) -- was not misappropriated and was intact."This is all completely absurd," said Tymoshenko. "This is how the president deals with his biggest political opponents."The French paper "Le Monde" is claiming she's arrested on house arrest since the 15 Th of December.Read and see the full story here and (Google Translate) here.

• Nicolas Sarkozy to target Muslim prayers.NICOLAS Sarkozy will take another lurch to the Right with a speech on New Year's Eve calling Muslim prayers in the street "unacceptable". After his expulsions of gypsies and a crackdown on immigrant crime, the French President will warn that the overflow of Muslim faithful on to the streets at prayer time when mosques are packed to capacity risks undermining the French secular tradition separating state and religion.He will doubtless be accused of pandering to the far Right: the issue of Muslim prayers in the street has been brought to the fore by Marine Le Pen, the charismatic new figurehead of the National Front, who compared it to the wartime occupation of France.Her words provoked uproar on the Left, whose commentators took them as evidence that far from being the gentler face of the far Right, Ms Le Pen, 42, is no different from Jean-Marie, 82, her father, who has been accused of racism and Holocaust denial.According to his aide, Mr Sarkozy agrees with the junior Le Pen that the street cannot be allowed to become "an extension of the mosque" as it does in some parts of Paris, which are closed to traffic because of the overflow of the faithful. Local authorities have declined to intervene, despite public complaints, because they are afraid of sparking riots."People overreacted to Marine Le Pen's comments," said the aide, referring to the furore in which she was accused of rabble-rousing racism. "She is right: this phenomenon is unacceptable."Mr Sarkozy's top lieutenants have been holding meetings to decide how to counter the threat. Some say the ruling centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) should reach out to Ms Le Pen as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has shared power with the anti-immigrant Northern League.Others have suggested relaunching a "national identity debate" that collapsed this year after degenerating into a forum for immigrant-bashing. Mr Sarkozy may also come under pressure to make more overtures to the Right with another law-and-order crackdown. Street prayers could be banned.Hmmmm...It is obvious to anyone with half a brain that streets can not be blocked and emergency services must be able to pass freely ,if a driver obstructs the passage of an emergency vehicle he will be fined,the same fines should be aplied in these obstruction cases.People are free to pray but not to block streets.Read the full story here.

• Hackers steal English Defence League membership list.A controversial anti-Islamist group has told its members to be "vigilant" after their details leaked online.Hundreds of names and addresses linked to the English Defence League have been circulated on the web after hackers broke in to one of the organisation's websites.In a warning to members, the group said it feared the potential for reprisals. Those affected should "remain extra vigilant where their home and personal safety is concerned," it said.The security breach began last weekend, when a clothing website linked to the organisation was accessed by hackers. The attackers, who claimed to be part of a group called the "Mujahideen Hacking Unit", obtained lists of those who had recently bought items from the site or donated money to the group."If, however, anyone does feel threatened or in any way unsafe we would urge you to contact the police immediately and explain the situation."Despite such assurances, some members remain concerned that the leak could expose them - or their families - to actions by those who dispute the group's claims.Read the full story here.

• Muslim and Jewish groups object to labelling of ritually slaughtered meat.Religious groups argue that slaughter of animals for halal and kosher meat which is unstunnned is humane.About 10 million turkeys are expected to be eaten in the UK over Christmas with most people unaware of how the bird on their plate was killed. All that could change under proposed EU legislation that would require the labelling of unstunned halal and kosher meat, to the chagrin of Muslim and Jewish groups.All meat and meat products "derived from animals that have not been stunned prior to slaughter ie have been ritually slaughtered," would have to be specified as such under amendment 205 to the EU food information regulations.The stated aim is to allow consumers to make an informed choice, consistent with their ethical concerns, but opponents argue it is discriminatory."If you are only labelling meat provided for Muslims and Jews you are discriminating against Muslims and Jews," said Shimon Cohen, campaign director for Shechita UK.Agriculture food minister James Paice said last month "the government would like all animals to be properly stunned before they are bled to slaughter" but that labelling should be addressed as part of next year's consultation of European animal welfare regulations rather than within tfood information regulations.Hmmmm....Time Now for Christians protesting the meat is not labelled?Read the full story here.

• HT:TundraTabloids.Palestinian Media Watch back online!This is a great way to start the week, the Tundra Tabloids has been notified by PMW that its excellent videos highlighting Palestinian extremism is back on YouTube.NOTE: PMW’s Itamar Marcus has this to say:Thanks to everyone!! This was a great case of public pressure and public opinion working. All of your blogs and the news, op eds, the thousands of emails to You Tube. And those who called people they knew at Google. This morning – the “palwatch” account is back up. Much thanks to everyone.Itamar.It seems someone, or some group of new media anti-Israel activists, are gaming the system. They are taking advantage of YouTube’s automated and semi-automated systems to push their agenda slowly through the system. First one complaint, then a second… until eventually the goal is achieved and the channel itself is shut down. Until YouTube can improve the system, and recognise when people are trying to “trick” the system into doing what they want, rather than what it is intended to do, we all have a serious problem. This isn’t helped when YouTube’s manual override is broken and leaves those who have been targeted in a worse position then they were to start with.For now, YouTube need to find the accounts that are causing these problems and deactivate them. This problem is far greater than Palestinian Media Watch, though the damage done to them must be fixed, and an apology wouldn’t hurt either.Read the full story here.

• HT:IslamInEurope.Netherlands: Shariah4Holland.A new group sprung up a few days ago on YouTube: Shariah4Holland. Abu Imran, the founder of Sharia4Belgium, posted a clip announcing the new group and asking Queen Beatrix to convert to Islam.The channel also has a message from Sharia4Bangladesh, supporting Shariah4Holland, Shariah4Poland and Shariah4Denmark. The last two groups don't yet exist online.Hmmm....."We don't want to take over your country"?Read the full story here.

• British Police Detain 12 on Suspicion of Terrorism.In the latest of several European terrorism alerts, the British police arrested 12 men before dawn on Monday in raids in three cities under counterterrorism laws — the biggest operation of its kind for months. The action, designed “to ensure public safety,” as the police put it, followed a suicide bombing in Sweden earlier this month and alarms in Germany over the reported threat of a terror attack modeled on the onslaught by gunmen in Mumbai.The BBC said the 12 men arrested on Monday were involved in a plot to bomb unspecified targets in Britain, inspired by Al Qaeda. Some of the suspects were said to have Bangladeshi origins. John Yates, Britain’s ranking counterterrorism police officer, said the detained men were from London, the Welsh city of Cardiff and Stoke-on-Trent in the English Midlands. “The operation is in its early stages so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the suspected offenses,” Mr. Yates said in a statement. “However, I believe it was necessary at this time to take action in order to ensure public safety.” He described the raids as a “large scale, pre-planned and intelligence-led operation” involving several police forces. The officers who made the arrests — apparently after weeks of surveillance — were not armed, the police said, suggesting that they had not moved to thwart an imminent terror attack.A British former counterterrorism official, who did not want to be identified by name while discussing current operations, said in an interview last month that Scotland Yard is currently working on almost a hundred terror cases. Thirty of those, he said, are pressing, with around 10 classified as urgent or imminent.Hmmmm......"Almost a hundred cases",gives a real safe feeling.Read the full story here.

• HT:ElderOfZion.The Arab play for the Internet.ICANN works "in particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems." As part of this mission, ICANN approves Domain Name Registrars, which are organizations that register specific domain names, and assigns IP addresses, the numerical codes by which computers actually connect to each other via the Internet.From November 25, 1998 until September 30, 2009, ICANN was overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Commerce and ICANN was allowed to expire, to be replaced by international, multilateral control.There are three current and developing issues that are of particular concern relating to ICANN.Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video : Former Guantanamo Inmate: Guantanamo Jews Used Witchcraft on Prisoners, Made Me Feel a Cat Was Trying to Penetrate Me.Hmmmm....from the same batch as the Zionist sharks and Jellyfish?Read and see the full story here.

• HT:ElderOfZion.Maldives minister publicly insults Jews.Here is a report from a sermon given by Minister of State for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed on Friday:He said that the Jews, who have historically nurtured severe enmity towards Muslims continues to assault the Muslims.The State Minister warned the Muslims of the notoriety and the betrayal and treachery of the Jews. He said that that yesterday’s Jews are evil predecessors and today’s Jews are worse successors.History of Jews is full of deception, trickery, rebellion, oppression, evil and corruption. They always seek to cause mischief on the earth and Allah loves not the mischief-makers.“So it is not it is not acceptable that one who would stab the ummah in the heart could heal the eyes. This philosophy is not acceptable,” he said.He said that it is not acceptable that we as Muslims are agreeing with the Jews with peace of mind while our Muslim brothers are moaning, while our first Kiblah [Jerusalem] is lamenting because of the tyranny of the Jewish occupation.
  Hmmmm....Between the "organ harvesting and the shark training" it's a wonder they still have time left?Read the full story here.

• HT:NewZeal.Saudi Air Force Training Base to be Sited in Idaho.On Oct. 20, Stratfor reported that the U.S. Goverment was making a $60 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia,The package, which includes both combat aircraft and military helicopters, is considerable and will provide the Saudis with even more of some of the most modern fighter jets in the entire region. Militarily, however, Riyadh’s challenge is not a matter of hardware: Saudi Arabia already fields a broad spectrum of some of the highest-end and most modern military equipment in the region. Instead, its challenge is fielding that hardware. With deliveries years away, the new deal will do little to balance the resurgent Iranian regime in the near-term, and prolongs Saudi Arabia’s heavy dependence on U.S. defense support.Now an Idaho news source, Mountain Home News reports that the United States will be facilitating a training base for the Royal Saudi Air Force in Mountain Home, Idaho.The Idaho congressional delegation received notification Friday that Mountain Home Air Force Base has been chosen as the preferred site to host a training mission for the Royal Saudi Air Force. Placing a training base in the United States is part of a $60 billion arms package the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is purchasing from the U.S., which includes 84 new F-15SA fighter jets and upgrades to the Saudi's current inventory of F-15C fighters.Col. Pete Lee, vice commander of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base described the announcement as "a great opportunity," for the base, the local community and the region.The Saudi government will apparently bear all costs for basing the squadron.The arms sale will doubtless be welcomed by the arms industry in the United States.As however Saudi Arabia is a known sponsor of Wahabbist terrorism, is this arrangement really in the best long term interests of the U.S?Read the full story here.

• Iran executes 11 terrorists.Iran has executed 11 members of the Pakistan-based Jundallah terrorist group in the Iranian southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province."Eleven members of the Jundallah terrorist group who were involved in terrorist attacks in the province during recent months, fighting the police and martyring several innocent people, have been hanged in Zahedan jail," IRNA quoted Ebrahim Hamidi, head of the provincial Justice Department, as saying on Monday.The execution follows terrorist attacks in the city of Chabahar in southeastern Iran on 15 December, which claimed the lives of at least 38 people and wounded more than 90 others, including women and children.Anti-Iran terrorist group Jundallah has claimed responsibility for the deadly terrorist attacks."These corrupt and Mohareb (an enemy of God) elements have been identified and arrested by security and intelligence forces," Hamidi said.He added that the elements were brought to a fair and public trial after going through all the legal and religious procedures.Hamidi said that the terrorists had been and sentenced to death for "corruption on earth, fighting against God and Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and countering the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran".Jundallah leader Abdolmalek Rigi was arrested by Iranian intelligence forces in February 2010 and executed in June for 79 crimes, including armed robbery, bomb attacks and armed attacks on police and civilians.Rigi stated in his confessions that he had dealings with the US government and was promised unlimited funds and resources for "waging an insurgency" in Iran.Hmmm....I wonder who Rigi hated the Most Iran or the USA?Read the full story here. 

• Proposed Amendment Would Enable States to Repeal Federal Law.The same people driving the lawsuits that seek to dismantle the Obama administration’s health care overhaul have set their sights on an even bigger target: a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote of the states to overturn any act of Congress. Under the proposed “repeal amendment,” any federal law or regulation could be repealed if the legislatures of two-thirds of the states voted to do so. The idea has been propelled by the wave of Republican victories in the midterm elections. First promoted by Virginia lawmakers and Tea Party groups, it has the support of legislative leaders in 12 states. It also won the backing of the incoming House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, when it was introduced this month in Congress.“Considering we’ve had 12 states get on board in the last two or three months that we’ve been pushing this, I think we’re getting some speed,” she said. “No amendment has ever been ratified without a broad national consensus — it’s an uphill battle — but we’ve done it 27 times as a country, and I think we can get enough states to agree.” Proponents say their effort is not directed at any one law or set of laws. “Our desire is to have it in place so we can repeal as things come up,” Ms. Moran said. “What we’re trying to do is to draw a line in the sand saying the federal government has gone too far.” Hmmmm....Do not cross State line?Read the full story here.

• Gas Prices Soar in Iran as Subsidy Is Reduced.TEHRAN — Gasoline prices nearly quadrupled on Sunday and the riot police guarded filling stations around the capital as deep cuts in subsidies on fuel and other essential goods took effect.After midnight on Sunday, the price of subsidized gasoline jumped to about $1.44 a gallon from about 38 cents a gallon. Similar increases went into effect for compressed natural gas and diesel fuel, with subsidy reductions for other commodities expected to be phased in gradually. Security forces with riot shields took positions at gas stations in Tehran, bracing for a possible repeat of the unrest that followed the introduction of gasoline rationing in 2007, but there were no reports of violence.The government tried to cushion the blow by making a one-time payment to each household of about $77. Although the funds were deposited in October, Iranians were not allowed to withdraw the money until Sunday, the day the reductions took effect. Despite Mr. Ahmadinejad’s call for Iranians to refrain from spending the money immediately to help prevent a sharp jump in inflation, witnesses reported that many customers were withdrawing the full amount at once. “I want to spend it on living costs,” said one bank customer quoted by Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency. “I know that prices haven’t risen yet but I know for sure that they will.”The political opposition has been skeptical of the plan but seemed to be taking a wait-and-see attitude. “In the dark of night the subsidy targetization plan began, a plan which the government has begun to execute detached from the people, without wisdom or long-term planning,” read an article published on the Kaleme news Web site, which is associated with the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi. Read the full story here.

• HT:RightSideNews.Obamanomics Has Failed And We’re Stuck With The Bill.Obama and the Democrats have shot themselves in the foot. All of their promises of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and paying down the debt are all a lie. They thought they could get away with uncontrolled spending and redistributing the wealth by raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. In the end their tax scheme failed and Bush tax cuts were extended for another two years.They have destroyed themselves politically and lost credibility and trust. Now they want to add nearly another trillion to the already unsustainable debt before they leave.We hear from the left that extending the current tax rate will cost us $857 billion that will have to be borrowed. How can continuing the current tax rate cost us money? There are no expenses required to extend the tax rate. The problem is the overspending by Congress and the White House. Their tax-the-rich strategy has backfired on them. The wealthy won’t be picking up the tab for the liberals’ spending addiction.Rather than budget the money they receive from the taxpayers, they insist on printing and borrowing more to fund their wasteful programs. Now they still want the money that reasonable Senators and the American people have refused them. It’s time to slam the door on the liberal spenders and say “no more!”To make matters worse, the three stooges, Obama, Reid, and Pelosi, tried to ram through another omnibus bill to lock in spending for the next year - just as they did last year. The Constitution requires that Congress pass a budget every year. That is their primary responsibility. For two years in a row since Obama has been in the White House, Congress has failed to live up to its constitutional responsibility to pass a budget.Hmmmm......."If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand." -- Milton Friedman.Read the full story here.

• Saudi warns public against New Year celebration.Saudi Arabia has warned the public against staging New Year celebrations and said shops which sell any items symbolizing the occasion would be punished, the Arabic language daily Okaz said on Sunday.The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the most feared Islamic law enforcement body in the Gulf Kingdom, said it would deploy its members across the country to prevent public celebrations on New Year.But the Commission said its members would not raid houses, adding that it is meant only by festivities that are staged in public.“We do not know what is going inside homes and we are not meant with monitoring homes,” the Commission said in a statement.“The responsibility of our men will be confined to controlling and preventing celebrations in public places or calls for such celebrations.”The statement warned all shops against selling adornment items that “symbolize or reflect” New Year festivities, adding that violators would be punished in accordance with the law and that their items would be impounded.According to Okaz, authorities in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Muslim nations, also banned the import of any New Year items through its ports.Hmmmm....Welcome to A.D. 620?Read the full story here.

• HT:Memri.Video:Hamas PM Ismail Haniya: The Occupation Has No Future on the Land of Palestine - from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.Read and see the full story here.

• Israeli raid victims honored by memorial in Madrid.A monument has been erected in Madrid in memory of nine civilian Turkish activists who were killed during a May 31 raid by Israeli naval forces on a Gaza-bound flotilla.An inauguration ceremony for the monument was held on Saturday and was attended by Turkey’s Ambassador to Spain Ender Arat, Palestinian Ambassador to Spain Musa Odeh, Leganes Mayor Rafael Gómez Montoya and Ahmet Emin Dağ of the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH), a charity organization that was among the groups organizing the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla in May. Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Dağ thanked Spain and the Spanish activists while stressing that embargoes imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people is not only an issue for Turkey but an international problem, Anatolia reported.Hmmmm....The people who attacked the Israeli troops were no children playing with a toyboat?Read the full story here.

• HT:AntiSemitisme.USA - Jewish cemetery vandalized in Brooklyn.Dozens of headstones vandalized in a Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn. The desecrated headstones were discovered at the Washington Cemetery in Midwood by workers Sunday morning.More than 50 gravestones were overturned and knocked to the ground.Read the full story here.

• Food-safety measure passes Senate in Sunday surprise.A bill that would overhaul the nation's food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake made three weeks ago and a filibuster threat that seemed likely to scuttle the legislation. After a weekend of negotiations, tense strategy sessions and several premature predictions about the bill's demise, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) reached a deal with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that the GOP would not filibuster. Without notice and in a matter of minutes Sunday evening, the Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent, sending it to the House, where passage is expected. President Obama has said he would sign the legislation, which would give the government far-reaching authority to set and enforce safety standards for farmers and food processors. It was a last-minute change for the legislation, which seemed all but dead Sunday afternoon.Unlike the current system, which relies on government inspectors catching contamination, the new measure would require manufacturers and farmers to come up with strategies to prevent contamination and then continually test to make sure they work. It also would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to recall food; now, it must rely on food companies to voluntarily pull products off the shelves. And, the bill would give the FDA access to internal records at farms and food-production facilities. The bill would require importers to verify that products grown and processed overseas meet U.S. safety standards. One in six Americans become ill from tainted food each year, and 3,000 die, according to government figures. Businesses spend billions of dollars as a result of lost sales, recalls and legal expenses triggered by the problem. The bill is expected to cost $1.4 billion over the next four years, including the expense of hiring 2,000 new FDA inspectors.Hmmmmm....Creating more government inspectors,lets see how much jobs it will cost?Read the full story here.

• HT:TheAmericanDream.9 Reasons Why The START Treaty Must Be Stopped.As the U.S. military continues to waste an enormous amount of energy and resources patrolling the streets of Iraqi cities and digging goat herders out of the caves of Afghanistan, a very real threat to the national security of the United States is developing and very few people even seem concerned about it. It is called the START Treaty, and Barack Obama is desperately trying to ramrod it through the lame duck session of Congress. Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to the terms of the treaty back in April, and two-thirds of the U.S. Senate must vote for it in order for the treaty to become law. So what is so bad about the treaty? Well, for starters, it almost totally defangs the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal that has protected us for the past six decades, it puts serious restrictions on the ability of the United States to develop any kind of missile defense and it puts the U.S. military at a very significant strategic disadvantage.But Barack Obama doesn't care. Barack Obama believes that "the Cold War is over" and that we live in a post-nuclear world. Obama believes that we do not need nuclear weapons and that we don't really need any kind of missile defense either.So exactly what would this START treaty do?Previously, everyone knew that if they messed with America they could potentially face being nuked into oblivion. But if this treaty is passed, our nuclear arsenal would be slashed to the bone and our potential enemies would know precisely where to strike to take out most of our remaining nukes Well, the following are 9 reasons why the START treaty must be stopped....Read the full story here.

• Turks up in arms against planned US vote on Armenian bill.The imminent possibility of a US House of Representatives vote on a resolution declaring the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide has prompted frantic efforts from Turkey, both at governmental and nongovernmental level.According to diplomatic sources, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday evening and urged the US administration to get actively involved in blocking approval of the resolution, which he said would jeopardize bilateral ties. In response, Clinton said there is no change in the US administration’s stance concerning the issue, while noting that all efforts would be exerted to keep it from being passed, the sources, speaking under the customary condition of anonymity, said.Davutoğlu, speaking to reporters on Saturday in Konya, recalled his telephone conversation with Clinton, and pointed out that the resolution came up “suddenly,” at a time when the House was approaching a recess.Turkish diaspora organizations have also launched active campaigns against the resolution, calling on the American Turkish Society to get in direct contact with members of Congress in order to prevent its approval, as it became clear that a vote might be in the works shortly before Democrats hand over leadership of the House to Republicans next month.“We are very concerned that there is a backroom deal going on led by the Democratic leadership to sneak the Armenian resolution through in the final hours of the 111th Congress,” said G. Lincoln McCurdy, president of the Turkish Coalition of America.The vote would be a blow to President Barack Obama by his Democratic allies. The issue is awkward for Obama, who pledged as a presidential candidate to recognize the Armenian deaths as genocide. The administration reversed course, as Clinton acknowledged on Thursday.Hmmmm....Now you know why Obama is shouting from the rooftops that Turkey is an important strategic ally?Read the full story here.

• HT:WND.Reporters told: Don't say 'illegal immigrant'.Journalist group calls for purge of term – everyone innocent until proven guilty.A diversity plan from a group of journalists says reporters should not be using the term "illegal aliens" because it is not constitutional. "Frequent use of the phrases 'illegal immigrant' and 'illegal alien' by our mainstream media is being questioned in order to remain faithful to the principles of our U.S. Constitution," Leo Laurence wrote in the "Diversity Toolbox" column on the website for the Quill, which is produced by the Society of Professional Journalists.He said the organization's "Diversity Committee" met during its 2010 convention in Las Vegas and "decided to engage in a yearlong educational campaign designed to inform and sensitize journalists as to the best language to use when writing and reporting on undocumented immigrants." Laurence argued that "one of the most basic of our constitutional rights is that everyone (including non-citizen) is innocent of any crime until proven guilty in a court of law."His recommendation is that reporters avoid both "illegal immigrant" and "illegal alien." Laurence wrote, "Some believe the phrase 'illegal alien' originated with fiery, anti-immigrant groups along the U.S.-Mexico border, such as the Minutemen." That's fine, said Minuteman leader Jim Gilchrist. "Why don't we just call them a suspected illegal aliens," he told WND. Using some of the other terms just would muddy the waters, he said. "I prefer to be more specific, get right to the point. According to U.S. law, they are illegal aliens," he said. He said that fits with what is done in other cases, as in the "suspected bank robber," who has not yet been convicted.Hmmmmm....Why not call them "Potential Obama voters"?Read the full story here.

• Turkey Three waitress- employing alehouses stoned in Tunceli.People stoned three waitress-employing pubs in eastern province of Tunceli on Saturday for they say those alehouses cause families to collapse and people to die. The group of about 2,000 people brought together by the Democratic Rights Federation, a local NGO, including mostly women organized the violent protest during which they shouted slogans such as “Close the alehouses, no to degeneration.” Kışla Square in the city but later on some group members started to throw stones onto the windows of three alehouses nearby. “250 people were stabbed in similar places in the last ten years. These alehouses caused 88 families to disintegrate last year.“Hundreds of men beat their wives and treat their children without care simply because they spend their income at these places. Today, the most dishonored practice is the use of women’s body as a commodity for prostitution. Those who see women as assets to bring money employ 45 women in nine such places,”Hmmmmm.....Welcome to Islamic hardliners..let the stoning begin?Read the full story here.

• HT:Islam Today Oregon.Teaching Islam in Oregon, No. In Arizona, Yes.Here we have someone who is instructing people on Islamic doctrine, using the words of our enemies, and he is allowed to pass this on to those interested. By doing it through a Jewish group is even more astonishing, as most temples and Jews do not want to speak about Islam in any way other than glowing. I would hope people in Oregon would be open to the same kind of dialogue, yet it seems that the PC police here want nothing to do with free speech as guaranteed by the first amendment to the constitution.Despite concerns expressed last summer by community leaders including Temple Kol Ami's Rabbi B. Charles Herring and Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Bill Straus about Dr. Carl Goldberg's views on Islam, the Bureau of Jewish Education brought Goldberg back this fall to teach about the religion."I obviously don't make the decisions of how to manage the Bureau of Jewish Education, nor would I expect (BJE Director) Aaron (Scholar) to attempt to manage the affairs of the ADL," said Straus. "I am disappointed, though. It's been obvious to me for years that Carl made up his mind (about Islam) a long time ago and is unwilling to hear any side of this issue other than the one he insists on embracing.""...made up his mind (about Islam) a long time ago..." And that means, what exactly?. This is a clear demonization of Dr. Goldberg's research which is based in the Qur'an and the voices of those who define Islamic doctrine. Goldberg emphasized to both his students and to Jewish News that the theories he presents are not his, and that he gets his information "from the most esteemed Muslim scholars of the 20th century," such as Sayyid Qutb, Abul Maududi and Yusuf al-Qaradawi; he also frequently cites Robert Spencer. He said when he speaks of the dangers of Islam he is not talking about all Muslims, only those who follow Islamic doctrines. Islamic doctrines are the principal foundations of the religion.Qutb, Maududi and Qaradawi interpret Islamic doctrine, texts and tenets that show Muslims the requirements on how to behave towards other Muslims and non-Muslims(kuffir). There is no disagreement within the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence that anything said by the aforementioned scholars is wrong, or against the traditions of Muhammad. When asked about how to solve the issue, Goldberg said "I'm not in the business of providing solutions....I'm in the business of providing the truth about Islam so that people can become educated and learn about it. The solutions will be left up to the American people in an open discussion."All well and good, Dr. Goldberg, all well and good as long as they let you speak.Read the full story here.

• HT:StandwithUsNorthwest.StandWithUS Northwest asks you to act on Seattle bus signs.The First Amendment guarantees that the government cannot deny you the right to speak. It does not guarantee that any particular form of communication needs to carry your message. Metro is not required by the First Amendment to carry hateful, false messages that will make Jews in our community feel threatened and uncomfortable; messages that make the Metro system push away Jewish community members; messages that divide us. Isn't it enough that already the Jewish community needs to worry about security more than nearly any other group? Our day schools are surrounded by fences and video cameras. Our synagogues have video cameras, security committees, guards during the year, and barriers and bollards.As many of you may already have heard, a group calling itself Stop30Billion has purchased the following billboard and bus banner ads that demonize Israel. The bus ads will run on buses that serve downtown Seattle for at least the next four weeks starting on December 27. This is part of a growing campaign that has placed similar ads on buses and billboards in Houston, Albuquerque and San Francisco.These ads, as you can see here, for the first time try to spread broadly into our community a message of hate against Israel.In our culture of sound-bite news, what people will remember from this bus and billboard ad campaign will be the lead line, "Israeli War Crimes." This is a well-funded effort to have our community reject Israel, an effort to have our friends and neighbors, co-workers and children's schoolmates see Israel as a pariah state, a country acting outside of acceptable norms.The impression it leaves is false and wrong, destructive and divisive.Hmmmm....Who's behind the "BDS Movement"?Read the full story here.

• Erekat: 10 EU states will upgrade their PLO missions.Chief PA negotiator says Palestinian missions abroad are a step closer toward becoming embassies of an "occupied state with defined borders."A PA official told The Jerusalem Post that the decision to seek international recognition of a Palestinian state was designed to shift the conflict from one over “occupied Palestinian territories” to one over an “occupied state with defined borders.”The official said that while the Palestinians did not expect the recognition to end Israeli “occupation,” it would increase international support for the Palestinians and their cause.Erekat said that the Palestinian position has earned the support of a majority in the international community.Hmmmmm......The mini Europe contains 10 countries?Read the full story here.

• Colombian army show their festive spirit infiltrating rebel territory - with gift of a Christmas tree and 2,000 lights.The Colombian army says it has installed a giant Christmas tree in Farc rebel territory, to encourage guerrilla fighters to demobilize.Special forces infiltrated the remote Macarena mountain range to dress a 25m (82ft) high tree with 2,000 lights.Movement sensors will make the tree light up when guerrillas approach.The army says it will put up trees in nine other rebel-held zones to spread the message that Christmas is a good time to abandon armed struggle.The Colombian government says more than 2,000 guerrillas demobilized this year under a scheme that gives them amnesty and help to return to civilian life.'Operation Christmas,' as it was code named, was carried out by elite troops using Blackhawk helicopters.Hmmm...Meanwhile in "the land of the free" they're trying to remove Christmas,strange world we live in.Read and see the full story here.

• HT:IsraelMatzav.Urge the Europeans to vote against the Durban III conference.The United Nations is scheduled to vote this week on holding a 'Durban III' conference in September 2011, and the Europeans need a little bit of a push to vote no. Urge European Union states to oppose the U.N.’s plan for a “Durban 3” summit of world leaders, to be held on September 21, 2011 in New York. The event would celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2001 Durban conference on racism—a gathering that was hijacked by dictators and their allies, and which ended up promoting anti-Semitism and scapegoating America, the West, and Israel as racists. The U.S., Canada and Australia will oppose the resolution. But the E.U.’s vote, which is crucial, is still undecided. Urge France, Germany, the U.K., and other countries not to bestow the appearance of moral authority on an event that will give a dangerous platform to racist murders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi.You can send an email to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton by going here.Speak up against Anti - Semitic hatred!

• HT:Instapundit.What could go wrong?U.N. Plans Internet Regulation. Apparently, a lot of people who were embarrassed by WikiLeaks want to make sure nothing like that can happen again. But don’t worry: “The Brazilian delegate stressed, however, that this should not be seen as a call for a ‘takeover’ of the internet.” Well, with free-speech stalwarts like China and Saudi Arabia involved in the push, who’d worry about that?Hmmm....A while back i read a story about D-Link (Middle East & Africa) getting a new patent aproved, this patent would allow servers to close down the wireless routers of customers.Related or not?Read the full story here.HT:IsraelMatzav.

• And now for something completely different.Video - Local beaches littered with cold weather victims. Sanibel Island's Lighthouse Beach is covered with thousands of dead sea creatures that washed ashore because of the cold weather.Sea urchins, sea sponge, sea worms and stone crabs litter the beach for several miles.Marine life experts say the temperatures have been dropping 10 to 15 degrees, which sends the sea creatures into shock. They can't hold onto the gulf floor and the waves wash them ashore.They are alive when they wash ashore, but they die in the cold air. The gulf temperature is approximately 50-degrees, which is cold for December.Read and see the full story here.