MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan today: 5.6 ! More info here.

• Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.

• Terror Attack in Norway on Friday, 22 July, 2011 Official update Nr 5.(RSOEEDIS).Two apparently coordinated attacks hit Norway on Friday, with at least 80 people shot to death at a youth political conference outside Oslo after a massive explosion in the capital’s government district killed at least seven people, according to Norwegian police. The attacks, which added up to the largest in Norway since World War II, stunned a country better known for the Nobel Peace Prize than for violence and seemed sure to force a cultural shift in an open society in which government buildings are lightly protected. A 32-year-old Norwegian man was arrested in the shooting and “is suspected of having some right-wing sympathies,” said Police Directorate spokesman Runar Kvernen. “The police are now working with the theory that he is involved in both of the tragedies today. He was observed, the same person, the same outfit, at both scenes.” “Whether he had helpers, that we don’t know,” he said. “He is the main track for the police right now.” Norway’s national broadcaster NRK named the suspect in the attacks as Anders Behring Breivik. NRK and other news outlets in the country also posted pictures of the blond and blue-eyed Norwegian.

The blast struck around 3:30 p.m. local time near the 17-story building that holds the prime minister’s office — he was not there at the time — blowing out almost every window and setting off a billowing fire at the nearby oil ministry. Two hours later, a man dressed in a police uniform opened fire on Utoya Island, 25 miles northwest of the capital, where the ruling Labor Party was holding an annual conference for young people, police said. “Ambulances and helicopters are flying nonstop,” Kvernen said. “The losses are quite huge.” Police initially reported the death toll on the island at 10, but early Saturday they said they had discovered many more victims. Hundreds of youths were attending the conference, which had been organized by the youth wing of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s Labor Party. Stoltenberg was rushed to a secret location in the aftermath of the blast but spoke to reporters late Friday. “I have a message to whoever attacked us. It’s a message from all of Norway,” he said. “You will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy.” But many residents of Oslo said the attacks would probably have a deep impact. For years, the most fortified building in town has been the U.S. Embassy — the subject of eye-rolling from those who thought the security measures were unnecessary. “This is one of those events that will change everything,” Christopher Wright, 35, of Oslo said by telephone. He was at a bakery a thousand feet from the government buildings when the explosion happened. Several analysts said a coordinated attack of such a caliber would have required sophistication and preparation. Chatter on online jihadist forums praising the attacks started almost immediately afterward, terrorism analysts said, but claims of responsibility were soon retracted.Source.

• In Pictures: Norway "Neo Nazi' madman attacks Here.

• Was there a SECOND gunman? Survivors tell police of attacks in two different areas on Norwegian island.Anders Breivik is also a member of a Swedish Nazi forum which encourages attacks on government buildings.(DailyMail).Norway's Prime Minister said 'a youth paradise turned into hell' when a gunman dressed as a police officer killed at least 85 people at a summer camp on an island outside Oslo after blowing up a further seven in the capital.The death toll rose this afternoon after a further body was found on the island.It has emerged that the man at the centre of the attack is also a member of a Swedish Nazi forum which encourages attacks on government buildings.The revelations were revealed by Swedish newspaper Expo who claim Anders Breivik is part of 'Nordisk' which has 22,000 members and focuses on political terrorism.The 32-year-old who has been identified as the suspect by Norwegian media is also said to have anti-Muslim viewed. Police are searching the blond, blue-eyed man's flat in Oslo and are still searching the surrounding waters, where people fled the attack.It has also just been revealed that there is a new bomb alert in the capital and police have reportedly sealed off an area called Solli Plass, an area close to the royal palace.A spokesman for local police has said that police are continuing to search the area surrounding Utoeya island and said that many of the people who tried to escape by swimming to shore are unaccounted for.It took investigators several hours to realise the full horror of yesterday's massacre, which followed an explosion in nearby Oslo that killed seven, set off, police said, by the same suspect.According to witness accounts from Norwegian media, people have described shooting incidents in two different areas on the island, one with a handgun and the other with a ‘sniper rifle’.However there is uncertainty whether the guns belonged to one gunman or there was a second involved.Police said 'there are no concrete reports of a second gunman, although we're not excluding any possibilities'.The Norwegian Prime Minister met survivors and families of victims today. He said the he personally knew several of those killed.He added: 'To meet the victims and grieving relatives is deeply affecting me. It’s powerful, and my compassion is limitless. On behalf of our country, we wish to express our greatest sympathy with the victims. The entire nation is behind you.At a hotel in the village of Sundvollen, where survivors of the shooting were taken, 21-year-old Dana Berzingi, wearing trousers stained with blood, said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.Several victims 'had pretended as if they were dead to survive,' Mr Berzingi said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.'I lost several friends,' said Mr Berzingi, who used the mobile phone of one of those friends to call police.The Queen has written to the King of Norway to express her shock and sadness at the attacks in his country, Buckingham Palace said today.She said her and the Duke of Edinburgh's thoughts were with the Norwegian people.One official said the attack 'is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Centre'.Hmmmmm......Police official :'This seems like a madman's work,',a 'madman' who planned very carefully and choose his victims?Read the full story here.

• Afghanistan Taliban hang 8-year-old boy.(Citypress).Suspected Taliban militants hanged an 8-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan after ordering his father, a local police commander, to surrender.The child was kidnapped by militants in Greshk district of the southern province of Helmand four days ago and was hanged on Friday, Daud Ahmadi, provincial governor spokesperson said.“The militants had warned his father, who is a local police commander, to surrender with his police vehicle and weapons, otherwise they would kill his son,” Ahmad said.The Taliban have not commented.After being driven from power in late 2001, Taliban militants have killed dozens of people accused of spying.Last year a 7-year-old boy was killed by the Taliban for being a spy for foreign soldiers in the same province.Elsewhere, an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Helmand left 16 militants dead overnight, officials said.They also confiscated a drug cache of 2 000 kilograms of poppy, six kilograms of heroin, 50 kilograms of hashish and 150 kilograms of morphine, as well as 20 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, which is used as an explosive component. Hmmmm......The 'people' the Obama administration talks with.Read the full story here.

• Developping story - Amy Winehouse Found Dead.(TMZ).Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment in London today. A press release from the Metropolitan Police, which doesn't specifically name Winehouse, says: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased.On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.Enquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained."Read the full story here.

• Iranian nuclear scientist killed in Tehran.(Xinhuanet).TEHRAN, July 23 -- An Iranian nuclear scientist was " assassinated by terrorists" in eastern Tehran on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency reported.Dariush Rezaei, PhD of nuclear Physics and a university professor, was killed by motorcyclists in front of his home on Saturday evening, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.According to local media, the assassinated scientist was an expert linked to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.Rezaei's wife, who was with him when the attack occurred, survived the deadly incident but sustained injuries and was immediately transferred to hospital, the local satellite Press TV reported.The victim was a nuclear physics professor at Mohaqeq Ardebili University in Iran's northwestern Ardebil city, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.Tehran's police have confirmed the assassination and said that investigations into the case have begun.Also, Tehran's Political Deputy Governor Safar-Ali Baratlou, confirming the news, told ISNA that no suspect has been arrested so far.Read the full story here.

• "When Lightning strikes".China high-speed train crash kills 16.(CBCNews).A Chinese bullet train lost power after being struck by lightning and was hit from behind by another train, knocking two of its carriages off a bridge, killing at least 16 people and injuring 89, state media reported.The official Xinhua News Agency said four cars on the second train also derailed, but it did not say how serious that was.The first train was travelling from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou when the accident occurred in Wenzhou city at about 8:30 p.m. local time, Xinhua said.It said one carriage from the first train fell about 20 to 30 metres. Pictures on the Internet showed one badly damaged car lying on its side by the bridge and the second car leaning against the bridge after landing on its end.Xinhua quoted an unidentified witness as saying "rescuers have dragged many passengers out of the coach that fell on the ground."The trains involved are "D" trains, the first generation bullet train with an average speed of about 150 kilometres per hour and not as fast as the new Beijing-Shanghai line.Xinhua said the train hit by lightning was "D3115." It said the Ministry of Railways confirmed that it was hit from behind by train "D301."China has spent billions of dollars and plans more massive spending to link the country with a high-speed rail network.Recently, power outages and other malfunctions have plagued the showcase high-speed line between Beijing and Shanghai since it opened on June 30.Read the full story here.

• Boehner Walks Out of Budget Talks with Obama.(BigGovernment).House Speaker John Boehner abruptly broke off talks with President Barack Obama Friday night on a deal to cut federal spending and avert a threatened government default, sending compromise efforts into an instant crisis.Within minutes, an obviously peeved Obama virtually ordered congressional leaders to the White House for a Saturday meeting on raising the nation’s debt limit. “We’ve got to get it done. It is not an option not to do it,” he declared.For the first time since negotiations began, he declined to offer assurances, when asked, that default would be avoided. Moments later, however, he said he was confident of that outcome.At a news conference of his own a short while later, Boehner said, “I want to be entirely clear. No one wants default.”In a letter circulated earlier to the House Republican rank and file, said he had withdrawn from the talks with Obama because “in the end, we couldn’t connect.”He said the president wanted to raise taxes, and was reluctant to agree to cuts in benefit programs.The disconnect in the talks with the White House was “not because of different personalities but because of different visions for our country,” he said, and he announced he would now seek agreement with leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate.Obama was having none of that, announcing instead a morning White House meeting where he said he expected to hear proposed solutions from the top leaders of both parties in both houses.Read the whole thing here. Unfortunately, this bears repeating; the Executive and Legislative Branches are separate, but equal branches of government. Obama cannot “order” them to do anything.Read the full story here.

• Obama Is Nearing His Goal.(CFif).As I have written and argued repeatedly for months, President Obama wants a crisis. He plans to use a crisis to seize even more power for himself and for the government. Now he is a significant step closer to his goal. Despite his finger-pointing con-job in his nasty press conference this afternoon, Obama is the one who deliberately torpedoed the budget talks. He is the one who has yet to put an actual plan on the table. He is the one who refused to even let GOP negotiators talk. He is the one who insisted through most of the year that no other provisions be attached to the hike in the debt limit — that the debt limit hike should be “clean” rather than include even a single cost saving. Now, as Speaker John Boehner just said, and as so many others have said in less vivid language, “dealing with the president is like negotiating with a bowl of Jello.” He just won’t stay still. And he’s doing it on purpose. He’s doing it because he doesn’t want a deal. He wants a crisis. This is a very dangerous game he’s playing, but he’s playing to win. And if he wins, we all lose — we lose financially, and we lose at least some of our freedom. Mark my words. This is what Obama’s game is. To try to win it, he has been fibbing, faking, and fulminating. Once he wins it, he will do far worse.Hmmmmm.......If he really wanted to destroy America , would he do anything different?Read the full story here.

• Sen. Ron Johnson on Obama: “His Performance Tonight Showed He Is Not the Adult in the Room” (Video).(GatewayPundit).Conservative Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Martha MacCallum tonight that Obama’s performance today showed “he is not the adult in the room.” “I never believed the president negotiated in good faith. If he was really serious about this, Martha, he would have been at the negotiating table six months ago. He would have presented a serious budget rather than the one he presented to us in February that would have added 12 trillion dollars to our debt and lost in the United States Senate 0 to 97.. His performance tonight showed that he certainly is not the adult in the room.”Read and see the full story here.

• Podhoretz blisters Obama: "Perhaps for the first time in American history, this president is [trying] to create a financial panic"(DougRoss).Writing at Commentary Magazine, John Podhoretz is shocked and appalled at the President's press conference this evening.The President Is Actually Trying to Talk the Markets Into a Panic.An enraged Barack Obama just took to the nation’s airwaves to announce his effort to strike a deal with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has fallen apart. Perhaps for the first time in American history, this president is literally using this press conference to create a financial panic over the weekend about the opening of the markets on Monday. He is warning of disaster on Monday. Clearly, he wants to use this as leverage to frighten the GOP into passing the plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which will push the debt ceiling problem into 2013, but it’s still an entirely new and astonishingly reckless gambit....He says Republicans said they would accept a dollar in higher taxes (or “revenue”) for every four dollars in cuts, which isn’t exactly saying “no’” to everything. For their part, Republicans in the House passed their cut, cap and balance bill on Wednesday, and it included an increase in the debt ceiling, so even by his own account his criticisms of the GOP are not accurate.In other words, he lied. As usual.Other reactions to Obama's careless, irresponsible demagoguery:

• A New York Times reporter, of all people, says Obama sounds "impotent and frustrated".

• Bryan Preston live-blogs, "...he’s getting angrier and angrier. Are we about to see the President of the United States crack up before our eyes? All I can say is, thank goodness the markets are closed. This rant might rock them."

• Oh, and Preston adds this gem: "Funniest line of the presser: Obama said 'Sometimes if you wanna be a leader, you have to lead.' And then in typical Obama fashion, he walked out of the room... Some leader. We’re seeing what happens when someone with zero executive experience gets elected to the most difficult job in the world. Barack Obama is in over his head."Who could have predicted such a thing?Read the full story here.

• Stating that "We've run out of time" to avert a debt crisis, workaholic president summons peasants to White House... at 11am tomorrow.(DougRoss).Citing a growing concern that his direct line to the taxpayers' wallet may be shut off, a petulant and narcissistic President Obama demanded that Congressional leaders show up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to bang out a deal. Or at least sometime around 11am. Let me guess: he's got an early tee time Saturday.

President Obama unleashed a tirade of frustration, anger and disappointment toward Republicans Friday after House Speaker John Boehner announced he was withdrawing from negotiations with Obama.The president, in possibly his most emotional and stern appearance to date, said in no uncertain terms that he is summoning congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday morning.“I want them here at 11 o'clock tomorrow,” Obama said. “We have run out of time, and they are going to have to explain to me how it is we are going to default.”Obama’s fury toward Boehner was on full display as he several times accused the Speaker of walking away from the talks... “I think one of the questions the Republican Party is gonna have to ask itself is can they say yes to anything,” Obama said....The president repeatedly used words like “inexcusable” and “irresponsible” to blast House Republicans, saying Democrats had stepped up and been willing to sacrifice on entitlements....To that end, Obama asked Republicans “how serious are you” about wanting to address debts and deficits.

Uhm, Mr. President, the Republicans have passed a plan that avoids a downgrade by the rating agencies.

Mr. President, the Republicans have passed the 2012 Ryan budget that saves the dying entitlement programs.

Hell, by a 2-to-1 margin, adult Americans support a Balanced Budget Amendment!

Democrats have proposed nothing. Nothing at all. For an inexcusable 813 days, unprecedented in American history.Where's the budget, Democrats?Hold firm, Republicans. Any default, any economic catastrophe, any fiscal constipation -- beyond that which Obama has already levied upon us -- will be the Democrats' responsibility alone.Hmmmm........I feel your pain Mr President being unable to go and play Golf must be real hell on Earth.Read the full story here.

• Obama Gives Discriminated Hispanic, Women Farmers $1.3 Billion.(JudicialWatch).A year after giving black farmers $1.25 billion to settle discrimination allegations against the government, the Obama Administration is promoting another huge minority cash giveaway for Hispanic and women farmers.It’s part of the president’s continued efforts to write a new chapter for civil rights and resolve all allegations of past discrimination in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to an agency announcement issued this week. Women and Hispanics who feel the government discriminated against them when seeking USDA farm loans are encouraged to apply for cash to make up for Uncle Sam’s wrongdoing.In all, the agency is allocating $1.33 billion in “compensation” for women and Hispanics in addition to $160 million in “farm debt relief.” Hispanic or women farmers who provide additional proof and meet other requirements can receive a $50,000 reward, according to the USDA announcement. The goal is to ensure that any Hispanic or woman farmer or rancher who alleges discrimination is aware of the money pot, says the USDA official in charge of the program.To get the word out the feds have launched an impressive bilingual advertising and public relations campaign that includes national outreach tours by top USDA officials as well as Justice Department bigwigs because that agency is sort of overseeing it. The cash giveaway tour was in South Florida this week assuring that there is no filing fee or other costs to claimants who apply for money.  Those who can’t attend the USDA/DOJ outreach rallies can always register online or contact toll free a special Farmer and Rancher Call Center that will mail out a packet. The USDA has also created videos, in English and Spanish, to promote the program and it published a special flyer advertising the administration's latest civil rights reparation project.Hmmmm......Don't forget to vote democrat we spend your money like Nobody can!Read the full story here.

• Death toll in Norway 80 die in camp shooting, 7 in blast as media blames 'Right winger'.(Tundratabloids).By Nils Myklebost and Karl Ritter.OSLO, Norway (AP) — A Norwegian who dressed as a police officer to gun down summer campers killed at least 80 people at an island retreat, horrified police said early Saturday. It took investigators several hours to begin to realize the full scope of Friday’s massacre, which followed an explosion in nearby Oslo that killed seven and that police say was set off by the same suspect.The mass shootings are among the worst in history. With the blast outside the prime minister’s office, they formed the deadliest day of terror in Western Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings killed 191.Police initially said about 10 were killed at the forested camp on the island of Utoya, but some survivors said they thought the toll was much higher. Police director Oystein Maeland told reporters early Saturday they had discovered many more victims.“It’s taken time to search the area. What we know now is that we can say that there are at least 80 killed at Utoya,” Maeland said. “It goes without saying that this gives dimensions to this incident that are exceptional.”Maeland said the death toll could rise even more. He said others were severely wounded, but police didn’t know how many were hurt.A suspect in the shootings and the Oslo explosion was arrested. Though police did not release his name, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK identified him as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik and said police searched his Oslo apartment overnight. NRK and other Norwegian media posted pictures of the blond, blue-eyed Norwegian.National police chief Sveinung Sponheim told NRK that the suspected gunman’s Internet postings “suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but whether that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen.”A police official said the suspect appears to have acted alone in both attacks, and that “it seems like this is not linked to any international terrorist organizations at all.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway’s police.“It seems it’s not Islamic-terror related,” the official said. “This seems like a madman’s work.”Hmmmmm.......A madman at work ?Read the full story here.

• Norway's gunman's background puzzles police in Norway.(AP). STOCKHOLM (AP) -- The 32-year-old suspected of massacring at least 80 young people at a summer camp and setting off a bomb in downtown Oslo that killed at least seven is a mystery to investigators: a right-winger with anti-Muslim views but no known links to hardcore extremists."He just came out of nowhere," a police official told The Associated Press.Public broadcaster NRK and several other Norwegian media identified the suspected attacker as Anders Behring Breivik, a blond and blue-eyed Norwegian who expressed right-wing and anti-Muslim views on the Internet. Police have the suspect in custody.Norwegian news agency NTB said Breivik legally owned several firearms and belonged to a gun club. He ran an agricultural firm growing vegetables, an enterprise that could have helped him secure large amounts of fertilizer, a potential ingredient in bombs.But he didn't belong to any known factions in Norway's small and splintered extreme right movement, and had no criminal record except for some minor offenses, the police official told AP."He hasn't been on our radar, which he would have been if was active in the neo-Nazi groups in Norway," he said. "But he still could be inspired by their ideology."He spoke on condition of anonymity because those details had not been officially released by police. He declined to name the suspect.Neo-Nazi groups carried out a series of murders and robberies in Scandinavia in the 1990s but have since kept a low profile."They have a lack of leadership. We have pretty much control of those groups," the police official said.National police chief Sveinung Sponheim told public broadcaster NRK that the gunman's Internet postings "suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but whether that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen."A Facebook page under Breivik's name was taken down late Friday. A Twitter account under his name had only one Tweet, on July 17, loosely citing English philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests."Police were interrogating the man, first at the scene of the shooting, and later at a police station in Oslo."It's strange that he didn't kill himself, like the guys that have carried out school shootings," the police official told AP. "It's a good thing that he didn't because then we might get some answers pointing out his motivation."He said the attacks appeared to be the work of a lone madman, without links to any international terrorist networks. The attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center," he said referring to the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City by domestic terrorists.Read the full story here.More here.

• Norwegian massacre gunman was a right-wing extremist who hated Muslims.(DailyMail).The massacre in Norway was the work of a man with extreme right wing views who hated Muslims, police said this morning. Officers found a series of raving internet posts by 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, who was been charged with two accounts of terrorism after gunning down children on the island of Utoya and detonating a bomb in Oslo yesterday. Media reports in Norway described Breivik as a 'loner', who lived with his mother in a wealthy suburb of west Oslo, was well-educated and enjoyed hunting. Only a few days ago he set up a Twitter account and posted a single message: 'One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests'.It is attributed to the English philosopher John Stuart Mill, whose concept of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control.The account appears to have only been set up a few days ago. On his Facebook profile, Breivik describes himself as a Christian and a conservative. It also listed interests such as body-building and freemasonry.Breivik is believed to have grown up in Oslo, and studied at the Oslo School of Management.He later appears to have moved out of the city and established Breivik Geofarm, a company believed to be an organic farm.Along with the farm, he also appears to own a flat in Oslo. Breivik had no military background except for ordinary national service and no criminal record.It is thought that the 32-year-old is a former member of Labour's opposition youth party, Fremskrittspartiet.According the website Atlantic.com, Breivik expressed extremist Islamophobic views on forums and criticised immigration policies.He argued on a Swedish news website that the media were not critical enough about Islam and claimed that Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom in the Netherlands was the only 'true' party of conservatives.He argued that socialism was breaking down traditions, culture, national identity and other societal structures and that this in turn made society weak and confused.He claimed to admire the Norwegian Second World War hero Max Manus, a highly decorated sailor who was an expert in sinking Nazi ships.Breivik's Facebook profile listed his favourite books as The Trial by Franz Kafka and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.His favourite TV show was named as Dexter - a series about a Miami police forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer of criminals whom he believes have escaped justice.Police officer Roger Andresen said today: 'He is clear on the point that he wants to explain himself.'Andersen said the suspect posted on websites with Christian fundamentalist tendencies. He did not describe the websites in any more details.The Norwegian daily Verdens Gang quoted a friend as saying he became a rightwing extremist in his late 20s. It said he expressed strong nationalistic views in online debates and had been a strong opponent of the idea that people of different cultural backgrounds can live alongside each other.An official said the gunman used both automatic weapons and handguns, and that there was at least one unexploded device at the youth camp that a police bomb disposal team and military experts were working on disarming.Some 91 are believed to have been killed - seven in Oslo and 84 on Utoya Island, 50 miles north of the capital.Hmmmm......Unlike Geert Wilders who follows political means to convey his message , we are dealing here with a deranged individual reasoning at the same level as the Islamic terrorists,both can not be compared.Read the full story here.

• Allen West warns of Muslim Brotherhood ‘infiltration’,invites colleages to Capitol Hill briefing on the matter.(CreepingSharia).WASHINGTON — South Florida Congressman Allen West has invited his colleagues to a Capitol Hill briefing that promises to reveal the “infiltration” of the Muslim Brotherhood and thousands of its allies throughout the United States.The briefing set for Monday springs from a report by the Citizens for National Security, a Boca Raton-based group that claims extensive expertise on defense, intelligence and terrorism.“The report identifies the major religious organizations in the United States that have stemmed from the Muslim Brotherhood, including 501©(3) charities, religious groups, community centers, schools and similar offshoots from primary organizations that it controls,” West told fellow House members.The group plans to name names and raise the specter of a vast network dedicated to waging a Jihad, or holy war.“It details exactly how the Muslim Brotherhood’s deliberate, premeditated plan is now reaching maturity in this country in the form of homegrown Jihad,” said William Saxton, chairman of Citizens for National Security.West, accused by some critics of stoking public fears against Islam, has long warned against the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, a faction in the Middle East bent on removing foreign domination of Islamic nations, primarily Egypt.Hmmmm...........In good military tradition:"I have not yet begun to fight"! Read the full story here.

• Obama Escalates His War on America: Demands Higher Fuel Efficiency Standard From Automakers — 220,000 Jobs on the Block.(Fox).Automakers are pushing back against an Obama administration proposal that would almost double vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, launching a new ad campaign warning of hundreds of thousands of job losses across the country.The White House has long been negotiating with automakers and environmentalists over the enormous increase in fuel efficiency standards. But the automakers, who say the standards would stagger the auto industry, appear to be losing faith in the possibility of a compromise.President Obama was hoping to get automakers to sign off on a nearly 100 percent increase in mileage standards by 2025, aiming for another Rose Garden announcement like the one in May 2009 when he announced they would raise it to 29.5 miles-per-gallon for model year 2012, on their way to 34 miles-per-gallon for 2016.But now the White House has a much bigger goal in mind.“They’re floating ideas to increase this fuel efficiency standard to 56 miles per gallon fleet-wide by the year 2025, which would be a significant ramp-up, even from the fuel efficiency standards that we have set in place to 2016,” said Nick Loris of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.But supporters of the increase, like Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America, insist it’s doable.“Fifty six (miles-per-gallon) is a sweet spot that is both achievable, reasonable, highly beneficial in terms of as economic standpoint, and will meet the president’s goals of dramatically reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” Gillis told Fox News.But the automakers are balking, noting a federal agency called the Energy Information Administration predicted the increased standard would result in a 14 percent drop in sales.“When manufacturers bring an advanced vehicle technology to market, consumers must be willing to buy it. There is a high level of uncertainty about consumer willingness to pay significantly higher prices for more fuel-efficient vehicles. In recent history, consumers have tended to value upgrades in performance, vehicle size, and other attributes at the expense of fuel economy,” an agency report said.“By the government’s own study, (the new standards) will cost so much more that it will result in a loss of about 220,000 jobs,” said Ed Tonkin, former president of the Automobile Dealers Association.The automakers had been hoping for a compromise with the White House, but appear to be losing hope and have now launched a seven-state radio ad campaign.“A sales drop means job losses and not just with automakers but at hundreds of auto parts suppliers, dealerships and repair facilities across the country,” one of the ads says.“The glass industry, the steel industry, the rubber industry,” Tonkin said. “And it goes on and on and on. The financing industry, the delivery companies, the railroads that deliver these vehicles.”In fact, the auto industry argues it alone accounts for one of every five jobs in America.But consumers have shown little interest so far. The 30 hybrids now on the market only account for only 2.4 percent of sales. And last year, Ford sold almost twice as many F-150 pickups as all its hybrids put together.So if consumers want pickups, sport utility vehicles and vans to take the kids to soccer, the automakers would face fines because they have no control over what people buy.“So even though the government wants them to buy it, it doesn’t matter,” Tonkin said. “Consumer choice is what’s going to matter.”Fuel efficiency standards do make allowances for larger vehicles but not enough, automakers say, to make the proposed standards workable.One auto industry official put it this way: the new standards “are like dealing with the nation’s obesity problem by forcing clothing manufacturers to sell only small sizes.”Read the full story here.

• TLC orders ‘All-American Muslim’ reality series.(WashingtonPost).TLC -- the network of “Freaky Eaters,” “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” “Extreme Couponing” and “19 Kids and Counting” -- announced Thursday it is going to do a reality series it promises will be a compassionate look at what it’s like to be Muslim in America, called “All-American Muslim.” Says TLC:

What’s it like to be Muslim in America? TLC answers that question with “All-American Muslim,” a powerful new series premiering in November 2011 that delves deep inside the rarely seen world of Muslim Americans to uncover unique insight into this little known -- and often misunderstood -- community. “All-American Muslim” brings audiences inside Dearborn, Michigan, a mid-sized industrial city that is also home to the largest mosque in the United States. Following the daily lives of five Muslim American families, each episode offers an intimate look at their customs and celebrations, as well as the misconceptions, conflicts and differences they face outside — and within — their own community.“Through these families and their diverse experiences, we will explore how they blend their values and traditions with everyday life in America, providing insight into their culture with care and compassion,” says TLC’s GM Amy Winter.The new series is being produced by Shed Media, the indie production house known for such compassionate docu series as “”Freaky Eaters” -- about people addicted to tartar sauce, maple syrup, french fries and such -- cat-fight shows like “Basketball Wives,” “Real Housewives of New York City,” and “Football Wives” -- as well as, in fairness, “Who Do You Think You Are,” and “SuperNanny.”Hmmmm......No word if Sharia law classes, or guest appearance by Pastor Terry Jones are included?Read the full story here.

• One fifth of next generation of doctors vote on right to refuse treatment.(SMH).The next generation of doctors believe they should have the right to refuse to treat certain patients based on personal, moral and religious beliefs.An anonymous survey of more than 700 British medical students found nearly half felt they should be entitled to make conscientious objections to carrying out procedures, including abortions and treating drunk patients.Most of their objections were linked to non-religious reasons, but about one-fifth of students cited religion as the key factor.Out of the 10 different religious groups the students belonged to, Muslims were the most likely to believe they had a right to conscientiously object.While the findings were based on the attitudes of British students, the head of Australia's peak medical body believes similar ones exist here and medical schools might need to step up their teachings on ethical issues."[The survey] is a litmus test for the future in that they didn't survey doctors; they surveyed students," Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said."It may be that we need to focus some of those ethical issues in medical courses, given the increase in the number of female students and there being more of a mix of race and religion [among medical students]."For the survey, medical students from four British universities were presented with 11 procedures including abortions, prescribing a birth-control pill, treating patients high on drugs or alcohol and intimate examinations of patients of the opposite sex.Asked if they thought doctors should be entitled to object to any procedure with which they had a moral, cultural or religious disagreement, 45.2 per cent agreed, 40.6 per cent disagreed and 14.2 per cent were unsure.Of all the objections raised, 44.1 per cent were for non-religious reasons, 19.7 per cent were based on religion and 36.2 per cent were both.More than three-quarters of Muslim students and more than half of Jewish and Protestant students felt doctors had a right to make a conscientious objection.Overall, the students were least willing to treat patients requesting abortions whether they be for a congenitally malformed foetus or because an underage girl had been raped.About one in 10 objected to treating a patient who was drunk or high on drugs, while 5.4 per cent preferred not to carry out an intimate examination of a patient of the opposite sex.The AMA's code of ethics advises Australian doctors that, when a personal moral judgment or religious belief prevents them from recommending some form of therapy, they should inform their patient so they may seek care elsewhere.Publication of the survey in the Journal of Medical Ethics today follows several media reports in Britain about Muslim students refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related issues.Hmmmmm.......The "Hypocrites Oath"?Read the full story here.

• UN to intervene in Israel-Lebanon naval dispute?(Ynet).Lebanese paper reports, high-ranking UN official willing to intervening in demarcation of sea border to prevent escalation.The United Nations is ready to get involved in the dispute over Lebanon and Israel’s maritime borders, Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported Friday. A senior diplomatic source told the paper that high-ranking UN officials were “open” to the idea of intervening in the demarcation of a sea border between Lebanon and Israel, in order to allow each country to legitimately commence natural gas exploration.“The point of getting a border in place is to avoid sources of conflict. And this is the major source of conflict,” the source said.Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces are working to establish a naval security strip in coordination with Lebanon and Israel. “This will help maritime security and prevent hostile activities,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Daily Star.He nevertheless stressed that UNIFIL's involvement would only apply to matters of security and not that of natural resources. “UNIFIL has no mandate to demarcate the line. A boundary is for the states to decide,” he said. Last week, Israel decided to present its position on the matter before the United Nations. Israel claims that the border should be drawn further to the north leaving it with territory which some estimate contains natural gas reserves.Israel claimed that the coordinates provided to the UN by Lebanon do not match those stipulated in the border agreement Beirut signed with Cyprus in 2007. This prompted outrage in Lebanon, with statements on the matter coming from Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Hezbollah secretary general.Hmmmm.....As i said before how long before Obama slams Israel on this?Read the full story here.