MFS - The Other News

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation New zealand 5.2 - 5.1 ; Papua New guinea 5.1!More info here.

• Playing Politics with the Constitution and the Law.(Cato).By Roger Pilon.Today POLITICO Arena asks:  Did Obama have the authority to make the Cordray and the NLRB appointments, since the Senate is technically not in recess? And will the president’s shift from bipartisan conciliator to partisan agitator pay off?My response:
  All of Obama’s appointments yesterday are illegal under the Constitution. And, in addition, as too little noted by the media, his appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is legally futile. Under the plain language of the Dodd-Frank Act that created the CFPB, Cordray will have no authority whatsoever.Yesterday, Professors John Yoo and Richard Epstein, writing separately, made it crystal clear that the president, under Article II, section 2, may make temporary recess appointments, but only when the Senate is in recess. Add in Article I, section 5, and it’s plain that the Senate is presently not in recess, just as it wasn’t under Senate Democrats when George W. Bush wanted to make recess appointments. The difference here is that Bush respected those constitutional provisions while Obama — never a constitutional law professor but only a part-time instructor – ignores them as politically inconvenient. Attempts by Obama’s apologists to say the Senate is not in session are pure sophistry and, in the case of Harry Reid, rank hypocrisy, as this morning’s Wall Street Journal brings out.But clear beyond the slightest doubt is the language of the statute (itself unconstitutional on any number of grounds not relevant here). As my colleague Mark Calabria wrote yesterday, “authorities under the Act remain with the Treasury Secretary until the Director is ‘confirmed by the Senate.’” A recess appointment, even if it were constitutional, is not a Senate confirmation. There is simply no wiggle room in that language that gives Cordray any authority, as litigation will soon make plain.So what is this? It’s politics — Chicago politics, plain and simple. If any doubt remained, three years into his presidency, that Obama is a master demagogue, with class warfare as his central tool, this incident should dispel it.Hmmmm.......I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes. ~ Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776.Read the full story here.

• NLRB’s ‘Recess’ Appointees Didn’t Even Get a Committee Vote.(Heritage).President Obama has invoked alleged congressional gridlock as justification for his controversial “recess” appointments of a handful of federal officials on Wednesday, repeatedly invoking his “We Can’t Wait” slogan. But an examination of the appointments belies that excuse.Three of the officials, a Republican and two Democratic nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, never even received a committee hearing, let alone a cloture vote. In other words, the Senate never got a chance to obstruct; the president decided to preemptively circumvent the Senate’s advice and consent duties altogether.The three officials in question are Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin, each of whom will fill an empty spot on the NLRB.Nominations for Block and Griffin, both Democrats, were submitted to the Senate Health Education Labor and Pension Committee on December 15. The Senate entered pro forma session the next day, with most members returning to their home states after only a day to review the nominations.Neither Griffin nor Block had even submitted the required paperwork to the committee. That paperwork includes a background check, “which addresses whether taxes are paid and if the nominee is facing any pending civil or criminal investigations,” according to the committee. “This also ensures that there are no conflicts-of-interest before being confirmed for the position.”Committee spokesman Joe Brenckle told Scribe that members had not expressed their views on those nominations for the simple reason that they had not had a chance to undergo the normal vetting procedures. In other words, there is no evidence that the committee – let alone the full Senate – would have blocked those nominations even if they had come up for a vote.Terence Flynn, the Republican nominee, was tapped in January 2011, but the committee had not yet held a hearing, let alone a vote, on the nomination.So not only had Senators not obstructed the process, they had not even been given sufficient information to take positions on two of the nominees, and had yet to undergo the standard hearing process – a key vetting tool – for the other.Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who chairs the HELP committee, lauded the president’s move, saying he “acted responsibly” in appointing the three officials. The ranking Republican, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), was not so kind, insisting in a statement that Obama had “ignored the Senate’s confirmation and vetting process.”Hmmmm.......Definition of 'Dictator' - Government, Politics and Diplomacy)  a ruler who is not effectively restricted by a constitution, laws, recognized opposition, etc.Read the full story here.

• Senior Christian figure stabbed to death in Jaffa.(JPost).A senior Christian figure was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker during a march to mark the Orthodox Christmas in Jaffa on Friday night. Police identified the murder victim as Gabriel Cadis, Chairman of the Jaffa Orthodox Church Association.Police spokesman Moshe Katz told The Jerusalem Post that the stabbing occurred at the end of a march held by the Christian community along a Jaffa street. The attacker was dressed up as Santa Clause, according to a number of eye witnesses."People around him evacuated him from the scene," the spokesman added. The stab victim was rushed to the Wolfson Medical Center in nearby Holon. Doctors attempted to save his life but were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced death shortly after arrival. Police said no suspect has yet been arrested, and that it was too soon to know the motive behind the incident. Read the full story here.

• January Surprise: Is Obama preparing a trillion-dollar, mass refinancing of mortgages?(Ameican).By James Pethokoukis.This could be just the beginning. If President Barack Obama’s legally dodgy appointment of Richard Cordray to head the consumer finance agency should stick, it may open the door to more such actions. Here’s Jaret Seiberg of the Washington Research Group: To us, the most important takeaway from a recess appointment of Cordray is that the President could use this same maneuver to put a housing advocate in charge of FHFA.And why is that important? The Federal Housing Finance Agency is the regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the FHFA currently has an acting director, Edward DeMarco. If Obama replaces him with a “housing advocate” via the same recess appointment process, here’s what might happen next, according to Seiberg: That could lead to a mass refinancing program for agency-backed mortgages that would go well beyond the existing HARP program. That could hurt agency MBS pricing and result in higher financing costs going forward. Yet it also could be a big boost for the economy and housing going into the election.Indeed, my sources tell me the Obama administration has been eager to implement just such a plan, but needs to have its own man heading the FHFA to make it happen. The plan would be modeled after one originally devised by Columbia University economists Glenn Hubbard (a campaign adviser to Mitt Romney and AEI visiting scholar) and Christopher Mayer. In recent congressional testimony, Mayer described how the mass refinancing plan would work: Under our plan, every homeowner with a GSE mortgage can refinance his or her mortgage with a new mortgage at a current fixed of 4.20 percent or less. … To qualify, the homeowner must be current on his or her mortgage or become so for at least three months. … Other than being current, we would impose no other qualification or application, except for the intention to accept the new rate (that is, no appraisal, no income verification, no tax returns, etc.).Mayer estimates that some $3.7 trillion of mortgages would be refinanced. That’s right, this would be the Mother of All Mortgage Refinancing Plans. It would help roughly 30 million borrowers save $75 billion to $80 billion a year.Hmmmm.....Communism the state owns everything.Read the full story here.

• Obama to launch summer-jobs initiative will cost the U.s. Taxpayer a whopping $1.5 billion.(TheHill). President Obama on Thursday will unveil a summer-jobs initiative that the White House says is already on track to create 180,000 “work opportunities” in the private sector in 2012.That is the number of opportunities, which includes mentoring and unpaid internships, that companies have told the administration they are willing to create. Some 70,000 jobs are paid, the White House says.The initiative was hatched after Congress failed to approve a $1.5 billion summer-jobs fund that President Obama had been seeking as part of the American Jobs Act.“Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama administration is taking to strengthen the economy and move the country forward because we can’t wait for Congress to act,” a White House statement reads.In 60 days, the administration plans to create a jobs bank in order to facilitate more hiring of youth for summer jobs.Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the “opportunities” are all new and were not jobs that would have existed anyway.“The president has been clear that where there is gridlock with this Congress, he will act,” she said. She noted that the unemployment level among those aged 16 to 24 is 16 percent, far higher than the 10.7 percent in 2007 before the recession began. Hmmmm......How many will loose their job, so the boss can hire 'sponsored' youth?Read the full story here.

• Obama’s Disastrous Islamist Outreach.(DocsTalk).By Joseph Klein.For three years, Barack Obama​’s engagement policy with Islamists, most notably in Iran, has proven dangerous. The Iranian regime exploited Obama’s show of weakness by moving ahead aggressively with its nuclear weapon program. Now the Obama administration is doubling down on its disastrous engagement policy. It is serving as the midwife to the takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood and of Afghanistan by the Taliban. And there is a distressing link between the two.A front page article in the New York Times on January 5th reported what has been obvious since Obama took office. The administration has sought to “forge close ties” with the Muslim Brotherhood – “an organization once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests.” Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and recently joined with the ambassador to Egypt, Anne W. Patterson, for a meeting with top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, compared the Obama administration’s outreach to President Ronald Reagan​’s arms negotiations with the Soviet Union. “The United States needs to deal with the new reality,” Senator Kerry said. “And it needs to step up its game.”That is a ridiculous analogy. Reagan negotiated with the Soviet Union, but never waivered from his belief that the Soviet Union was an evil empire whose ideology must be defeated. The Obama administration’s outreach to the Muslim Brotherhood is based on its mistaken belief that it has reformed in a way that brings it much closer to the Western model of a pluralistic party committed to individual freedoms.To the contrary, when push comes to shove, the Muslim Brotherhood’s dominance of the civil government in Egypt, by virtue of its parliamentary election victories, will mean the imposition of sharia law and jihad against infidels. Nothing the Obama administration is trying to do through its aggressive overtures, including recent high-level meetings with Muslim Brotherhood officials, will change that fact. Jihad is embedded in its history, as evidenced by the violent Islamic jihadist organizations such as Hamas that it spawned. And let’s not forget that it was the Muslim Brotherhood that gave Osama bin Laden’s former deputy and current leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, his start.Jihad remains in the Muslim Brotherhood’s DNA. Its motto includes the words: “Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” The Brotherhood’s new offices are emblazoned with its emblem of crossed swords.Read the full story here.

• GM Recalling Volts, White House Headed to Detroit to Celebrate?(Heritage).There’s more bad news in the continuing saga of the Chevy Volt. The Associated Press is reporting today that General Motors will recall 8,000 Volts in order to make modifications to keep them safe during crashes, all on the eve of the North American International Auto Show kicking off in the Motor City next week. (Bear in mind that only about 8,000 Volts were sold last year.)Guess who’s headed to the auto show, likely to bask in the glory of the industry they claim to have saved? The Obama Administration, of course, including Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. The trouble is, all that glitters is not gold when it comes to the Administration’s efforts on behalf of the auto industry, and their push for electric vehicles is a case in point.Take the Volt. (Well, OK, if you took one, you’d be in the minority.) Recall aside, GM’s highly touted electric vehicle has been a total flop with consumers despite a $7,500 taxpayer-funded tax credit intended to soften the blow of its $39,145+ sticker price. Last year, only 7,671 Volts were sold, falling well short of the paltry 10,000 that GM expected to sell.Keep in mind that the Volt was supposed to be one of the leaders in the greening of the auto industry. Secretary Chu explained, “Diversifying our transportation fleet with hybrids, electric vehicles and other alternative-fuel vehicles is a critical element in President Obama’s long-term plan to break our dependence on foreign oil and invest in America’s growing clean energy economy.” And President Obama predicted that electric cars would help create thousands of new jobs with surging demand for the vehicles. Unfortunately, they haven’t caught on like wildfire with American consumers (though the Volt literally has been catching on fire). And that’s going to wind up costing taxpayers real dough.The Washington Post reported in early December that the Obama Administration “poured roughly $5 billion in taxpayer funds into the electric-car industry, offering incentives to manufacturers, their suppliers and even car buyers who might want to go green.” And that investment didn’t pay off. According to the Post, several companies that received hundreds of millions in federal grants have gone bankrupt, largely because the President’s call for 1 million alternative energy vehicles by 2015 has fallen woefully short. Without demand, those companies can’t keep their doors open.“But wait a minute! The American auto industry is going strong,” you say. Yes, sales are up, and that’s great news, but not in electric vehicles as the President predicted. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) reports that it’s gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles that are leading the increased sales volume, not electric cars. From the NADA: “The SUV segment had the largest volume increase with an increase of 24.6% on volume 998,000 units (led by new Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee).”Will the President’s surrogates tout those politically incorrect purchases when they head to Detroit next week, or will their photo op on the floor of Cobo Hall convention center be in front of the President’s favored alternative energy vehicles? We’ll find out soon enough. But if they want to shake hands and mingle with the crowds, they’ll probably find more luck hanging out around the pickup trucks and the SUVs, not around the Chevy Volt.Read the full story here.

• New Year’s Resolution: Prevent the UN from Voting Itself Our Internet Overlord.(BigGovernment).The Barack Obama Administration has, since its inception, been moving the United States dramatically leftward, trying to (at the very least) make us a western European socialist entity. Ideologically, a full-on participant in – rather than a rational outlier of – the patently absurd United Nations (UN).Perhaps the greatest – and worst – example of President Obama’s UN-ing of America was his Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s December 2010 illegal Network Neutrality Internet power grab.The Administration going to these unlawful lengths to commandeer control of the ‘Net makes it a little more difficult to persuade international autocrats and dictators to leave alone their portions of the World Wide Web.Or ours.Which brings us to the United Nations. Behold the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – a wing of the UN. They will be in December convening to renegotiate the 24-year-old treaty that deals with international oversight of the Internet.And it doesn’t look good (shocking, I know.)A growing number of countries are pushing greater governmental control and management of the Web’s availability, financial model and infrastructure…China and Russia support the effort, but so do non-Western U.S. allies such as Brazil, South Africa and India.Fabulous.Lest we forget: Time and time and time again all over the world, when people’s Internet access is blocked, it is governments – China, Syria, Iran, North Korea, members of the United Nations – doing the blocking.These are governments that will now be voting to give themselves greater international Internet authority, including – especially – over us. Behold the (standard-issue) UN Anti-America card.They believe the current (Internet) model is “dominated” by the U.S., and want to “take that control and power away.”Here at home, this is a strange bedfellow issue. The pro-Net Neutrality likes of Google, Facebook and Netflix will be standing alongside the pro-freedom forces in opposition to this global power grab. Why?(FCC Republican Commissioner Robert) McDowell said the treaty could open the door to allowing revenue-hungry national governments to charge Internet giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon for their data traffic on a “per click” basis. The more website visitors those companies get, the more they pay.The whiplash-inducing hypocrisy of the pro-Net Neutrality folks is striking, but there is a sort of consistency here. In both instances, they are in favor of they themselves not paying any more to do business, which is perfectly understandable. If only they didn’t muddy the waters by lobbying government(s) to impose extra costs on others – like the incredibly expensive Net Neutrality on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – to avoid paying their “fair share.”The argument against increasing UN Internet control is nearly identical to the anti-Net Neutrality argument: If it ain’t broke, don’t let government(s) try to “fix” it. In 1988, when the treaty was signed, fewer than 100,000 people used the Internet, Mr. McDowell said. Shortly after it was privatized in 1995, that number jumped to 16 million users.As of this year, it is up to 2 billion users, with another 500,000 joining every day.“This phenomenal growth was the direct result of governments keeping their hands off the Internet sphere and relying instead on a private-sector, multi-stakeholder Internet governance model to keep it thriving,” he said.Mr. McDowell attributed the massive growth of the Internet to freedom.“So the whole point is, the more it migrated away from government control, the more it blossomed,” he said.It obviously ain’t broke – so what’s to fix?As the late, great Soviet Union sufferer and transcender Alexandr Solzhenitsyn rightly pointed out: It is not a United Nations Organization but a United Governments Organization where all governments stand equal; those which are freely elected, those imposed forcibly, and those which have seized power with weapons.So why should America’s free speech, free market Xanadu Internet be subjected to United Governments control — governments that time and again have shut down their own domestic Internets?It, of course, should not be, which is why this UN vote must come up short.We have about a year. Let us make it so.Hmmmm.....First thing Vote Obama out in November.Read the full story here.

• Feds Want Judge to Force Suspect to Give Up Laptop Password.(Cryptogon).While we hear about these criminal cases, where the government alleges to not have access to the system because of the encryption, we never hear about what happens to the laptops with full disk encryption that are seized from people at airports…Via: Wired: Federal prosecutors want a judge to order a Colorado woman to provide the password to decrypt her laptop, which the government seized with a search warrant.With backup from digital rights groups, the woman is fighting the feds, arguing that being forced to provide her password violates the Fifth Amendment’s protection against forced self-incrimination.Colorado U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn is expected to rule any day on whether to force defendant Ramona Fricosu to decrypt her Toshiba Satellite M305, which authorities seized from her in 2010 with a court warrant while investigating financial fraud.The case is being closely watched by digital rights groups, as the issue has never been squarely weighed in on by federal courts, and the Supreme Court has never addressed the issue.Read the full story here.

• 2012 National Defense Authorization Act Assaults Constitutional Freedom.(BigPeace).While many Americans have become enthralled over the current GOP race, very few realize that our very freedoms have recently been seriously diminished and marginalized. Hopefully, everyone celebrated this past New Year with sincere freedom of expression because as of December 31st, we must all watch what we say.President Obama just signed the controversial 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. This means, based on Title X, Subtitle D, sub-sections 1021 and 1022, which deal with detention of persons the government suspects of involvement in terrorism, the Government now has full authorization to indefinitely detain citizens who speak out against this or any other administration based on the new law.Considering the United States has about a half dozen definitions for the word terrorism, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist, which is why many fear the law will be used to aggressively encroach upon personal freedoms.What ever happened to Habeas Corpus? According to the U.S. Constitution, “The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.”Do the elected believe the United States is about to be invaded? Do they fear a rebellion is about to come?Obviously, very few of us will ever know the truth behind President Obama’s signing of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. What we do know is that our civil liberties have just become one step closer to extinction.Furthermore, in coming to a public understanding of global issues, we have now been placed under a greater national security threat.With the Middle East crumbling, a worldwide economic nightmare, Iran constantly threatening the world, and an insurgency taking place on the southern border, our national might has been dramatically deflated.Numerous current and former military officers are up in arms over this administration’s poor policies, weak leadership, and indoctrination of political correctness. Retired Army Lt. General Boykin, one of America’s most decorated Special Forces Commanders, constantly protests this administration due to fears of growing Marxism within. With the signing of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, General Boykin may actually know what he speaks of.What could happen when individuals like General Boykin get the ear of the American people? With the strain of constant deployments abroad, surely he will have increased followers who previously or currently served. Many veterans are fed up with the politics taking place in today’s wars. Rules of engagement hinder our combat success. Winning hearts and minds seems worthless. Nation building appears to be a waste.Simply put, veterans are tired of the Obama administration’s games. I do not have the answers to all of what’s taking place in America today. I do not necessarily agree nor do I necessarily disagree with true leaders like General Boykin and his counterparts.What I do completely disagree with is the fact that one of my most sacred civil liberties is now in jeopardy due to President Obama’s signing of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.I may actually be construed as a terrorist under this administration based on this writing, and due to my obligations protecting the livelihood of my loved ones, it’s best I refrain from additionally offering all of my true feelings about this unparalleled act against the basic premise for which our Founding Fathers so earnestly fought.Suffice it to say, they fought to create a free and noble United States and within it a place where its citizens knew they could have a clear understanding of charges against them, a voice and legal representation before impartial tribunals of law, not simply be locked away as the British had done to them, on the whims of a King.Kerry Patton, a combat service disabled veteran, is a senior analyst for WIKISTRAT. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security and interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies and the children’s book American Patriotism. Read the full story here.

• Ponzi Planet -The Danger Debt Poses to the Western World.(Spiegel).By Alexander Jung.Countries around the world, particularly in the West, are hopelessly in the red, with debt rising every day. Even worse, politicians seem paralyzed, unable -- or unwilling -- to do anything about it. It is a global disaster that threatens the immediate future. But there might be a way out.Must read in depth analysis of the crisis.Read the full story here.

• Turkey formally decides to buy US made F-35 fighter aircraft.(HurriyetDaily).Turkey’s top decision-making body yesterday paved the way Turkey’s formal participation in a U.S.-led program for the production of next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II fighter aircraft.“The defense industry executive committee has authorized the Undersecratariat for the Defense Industry [SSM, Turkey’s procurement agency] to conduct talks for the aircraft’s purchase order,” the committee said in a statement after its meeting. The committee’s members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Neçdet Özel and procurement chief Murad Bayar. SSM and Lockheed Martin, the plane’s main manufacturer, now are expected to sign a formal document for the sale of the first two aircraft. This decision enables Turkey to begin the reception of the aircraft in 2015. Turkey is a member of the F-35 consortium but earlier had not been committed officially to buy the aircraft. It plans to operate around 100 aircraft eventually. Other members of the consortium include the U.S., Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Norway and Denmark. But there are other countries that would buy the aircraft that are not members of the consortium, including Israel. A recent decision by Japan to buy the F-35 has been a major boost for this aircraft program. Japan and Israel are expected to receive deliveries in 2016. The committee also decided that SSM would buy 10 Anka unmanned aerial vehicles from TAI(Turkish Aerospace Industries ). After the first three tests of the vehicle ended with crash-landings, the final three flight tests held recently were successful. TAI already would have delivered three Ankas to the military this year, but the committee’s decision paves the way for the serial production of the 10 platforms.Read the full story here.

• President Ahmadinejad has been summoned to answer questions before Parliament next Tuesday.(EAWV).Ahmadinejad Watch. Big news from Jam-e Jam --- President Ahmadinejad has been summoned to answer questions before Parliament next Tuesday. The process could lead to impeachment, if the President's answers are deemed unsatisfactory.Critics of Ahmadinejad have attempted for months to bring in the President for interrogation, amassing the required minimum of 73 signatures (25%+ of the 290-member Majlis). However, they were blocked this summer by the Board of Parliament.If this news is true, it would indicate that key players in Parliament --- notably the Speaker, Ali Larijani --- and perhaps the Supreme Leader have lifted their objections to questioning.Read the full story here.

• Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Iran is world's most serious threat.(JPost).Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Iran poses the "world's most serious threat to international peace and security," and opined that a coordinated international response is requisite to confronting Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "In my judgment, [Iran] is the world's most serious threat to international peace and security," Harper said on Calgary radio station CHQR.Harper said he was sure Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons. "Thehran is a regime that wants to acquire nuclear weapons," he said.  The Canadian prime minister said his country was working with its allies to impose strict sanctions on the Islamic Republic in an attempt to counter their bid for nuclear armament.He insisted that Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, an important passage for global oil, underlined the success of Western sanctions. Iran's threats were a response to the crippling effect of sanctions, he continued. "That's why the regime is lashing out from time to time," he explained. Harper said sanctions were the right course of action for tackling the Iranian threat, but that a coordinated international response would prove more effective. He insisted that even Russia and China, two countries that are large consumers of Iranian oil and generally apprehensive about adopting international resolutions regarding the Islamic Republic, agreed that the Iranian nuclear issue is pertinent.Tensions simmered between the Islamic Republic and Canada this past week, as Tehran chastised the Canadian charge d'affaires in Tehran, Dennis Horak, over Canada's treatment of its aboriginal people.A Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson called the Iranian criticism absurd, saying it was "regrettable that the regime in Tehran is choosing not to address its own internal shortcomings before resorting to the ridiculous and engaging in this type of preposterous PR stunt."Canada, meanwhile, has joined Western nations including the United States in casting sanctions on Iran, including prohibiting financial transactions with the country.Read the full story here.

• EU governments consider delay on any Iran oil ban.(JPost).BRUSSELS - A European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil imports could take a few months to come into effect because of a push by some EU capitals for a delay that they say is necessary to shield their debt-stricken economies, EU diplomats said on Friday.EU capitals have agreed in principle to an embargo on Iranian oil, part of Western efforts to ratchet up pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. Details of how the ban would be imposed are under discussion in Brussels, with the goal of having a final decision by the end of the month.Diplomats said EU capitals have proposed what's being called a 'grace period' on existing contracts of one to 12 months. Greece, which depends heavily on Iranian crude, is pushing for the longest delay, they said.Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany want a maximum grace period of three months, the diplomats said."There is a range of ideas from one month to one year with countries who are more dependent on Iranian oil pushing for more time," one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.European measures against Iran's oil industry will complement US sanctions announced on New Year's Eve that aim to make it impossible for most countries' refineries to buy Iranian crude.Iran is the second largest producer of oil among the 12 countries in OPEC, producing around 3.5 million barrels per day.EU countries buy about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iran's 2.6 million bpd in exports, making the bloc collectively the largest market for Iranian crude rivaling China.Several EU states depend heavily on Iranian supplies, raising concerns over economic costs at a time when Europe is struggling with a debt crisis.Out of the biggest importers, Greece meets a quarter of its needs with Iranian oil, Italy imports about 13 percent and Spain nearly 10 percent. All three have serious debt problems.Prime Minister Mario Monti said this week Italy would push for a gradual introduction of the embargo and would ask that deliveries to repay Tehran's debts to Italian energy firm ENI were exempted from the sanctions.Diplomats said other aspects of the prospective embargo are also under discussion and a final decision was unlikely to be quick. Some EU capitals are suggesting the impact of sanctions is reviewed after a fixed period, with the possibility of suspending them if they prove ineffective.The US and EU sanctions have caused a steady rise in oil prices this week. International Brent futures were trading above $113 a barrel on Friday, more than $6 a barrel since Obama signed the new sanctions into law.Hmmm....If Turkey can get oil why wouldn't Europe?Read the full story here.

• Prosecutors want Egypt’s Mubarak hanged for killing protesters.(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: A prosecutor in the trial of Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak quoted the Qur’an on Thursday in demanding the former dictator be hanged for ordering the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 18 days of uprising that forced him from power last year.“There is life for you in the law of retribution, o men of understanding,” prosecutor Mostafa Khater told the court, quoting from Islam’s holy book.It marked the end of the prosecutions case against the 83-year-old former president, who prosecutors argue was responsible for the death of nearly 1,000 citizens during the protest movement that began last January 25.The defense is expected to deliver their final arguments next week before a panel of judges deliver a verdict ahead of the one-year anniversary of the uprising.Activists and families of the victims of the uprising have demanded justice, telling Bikyamasr.com from the court they “expect Mubarak to face the same fate as our loved ones for what he did to this country.”But there are worries that anything less than the death penalty could spark massive outrage ahead of January 25, when activists hope to galvanize thousands for anti-military protests.“I don’t know what would happen if he is not found guilty and sentenced to death,” said Mona Omar, a young 22-year-old law student who has been assisting families in delivering testimony to legal counsel.She told Bikyamasr.com that “if Mubarak is not put to death, I think the country will revolt and the military knows this so it will be interesting to watch. There is a lot of anger on the ground. I feel it.”Mubarak, his former minister of interior Habib al-Adly and 6 top aides are on trial for killing protesters during the 18 days of the popular uprising that ousted the president and brought the former regime down.They also face charges of financial corruption and importing Egyptian gas to Israel for prices lower than the international rate.The violence used by the police left some 1,000 people dead and hundreds more injured. Families of those who lost their lives in the clashes late in January and early February, gathered outside the courtroom holding signs demanding swift justice.Mubarak, who is reportedly suffering from severe depression, was flown in a private jet to the court from his private, highly secured medical wing at the International Medical Center, where he is being treated instead of the prison hospital, whose defense claim is not ready for his “condition.”The committee assigned by the attorney general to assess Mubarak’s condition recommended that he stay at the same place, “as he could be in danger of a stroke or a heart attack” if he is to be moved.The army and police are cooperating in securing the trial in unprecedented security measures to make sure Mubarak is safe.Hmmmm......Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to rage, for it is written: “If you will not execute judgment for yourself, I shall execute your judgment, says God.”~ Romans 12:19.Read the full story here.

• Iran plans new maneuvers in Hormuz Strait in February.(JPost).TEHRAN - Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) will hold new naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz in February, state-run Press TV quoted a military commander as saying on Friday.The Guards' Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said the drill would be "different compared to previous exercises held by the IRGC," Press TV reported but gave no further details. The last drill in the vital oil shipping lane ended on Monday.On Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi continued Tehran's heated rhetoric against the West, decrying the presence of foreign military forces near the Strait of Hormuz. "The presence of extra-regional powers in the Persian Gulf is unhelpful and damaging and their presence has no result other than turbulence in the region," he told reporters following a cabinet meeting, according to a Tehran Times report.Vahidi added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is planning on holding another military exercise in the near future, according to Iran's student newspaper ISNA. Iran test fired two long-range missiles recently-concluded ten-day naval drill. It said it was using the test to display its resolve in countering any attack by enemies such as Israel or the United States.The Iranian defense minister's comments followed an Iranian threat Tuesday that the country would "take action" if the US Navy were to move an aircraft carrier into the Gulf. The statement made by Iran's Army chief Ataollah Salehi was Tehran's most aggressive yet after weeks of saber-rattling following new US and EU financial sanctions took a toll on its economy.The prospect of sanctions targeting the oil sector in a serious way for the first time has hit Iran's rial currency, which fell by 40 percent against the dollar in the past month. It recovered 20% of its value Wednesday through intervention by Iran's Central Bank.Read the full story here.

• Turkish FM Davutoğlu to meet Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr during Iran visit.(TodaysZaman).Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, on a visit to Iran, is expected to have talks with Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr later today, a news report said.The request for the surprise meeting came from Sadr, according to a report by private news agency Cihan. Escalating tensions between Sunni and Shiite groups in Iraq and developments in Syria are expected to be on top of the agenda when Davutoğlu and Sadr meet. The talks came amid reports that Sadr has dispatched his militants to Damascus to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been facing widespread protests since March.Davutoğlu's visit to Tehran came amid worries over Sunni-Shiite tensions that could affect the entire Middle East. In remarks published hours before he flew to Tehran on Wednesday, Davutoğlu said rising Sunni-Shiite tensions in the Middle East would be “suicide” for the whole region.“Let me openly say that there are some willing to start a regional cold war,” Davutoğlu told the state-run Anatolia news agency. “We are determined to prevent a regional cold war. Sectarian regional tensions would be suicide for the whole region,” Davutoğlu said, adding the effects would last for decades. “Turkey is against all polarization, in the political sense of Iran-Arab tension or in the sense of forming an apparent axis. This will be one of the crucial messages that I will deliver to Tehran.”Davutoğlu reiterated his concerns in Tehran, during a meeting with Iranian intellectuals on Wednesday evening. He said during this meeting that such polarization would inflict greater harm on the Middle East than the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.Hmmmm.......Turkey eating both sides of the cake, can NATO trust them is the missile shield 'safe' in their hands?Read the full story here.

• In “Europe’s last dictatorship,” “ex”-communist President Alexander Lukashenko beefs up size of Belarusian army under guise of Internal Troops, Interior Ministry inducts thousands of recruits to repel NATO; Belarusian air defense troops take delivery of Russian-made Tor-M2 anti-missile system.(OUTITW).In “Europe’s last dictatorship,” “ex”-communist President Alexander Lukashenko is making sure that Belarus is a reliable ally for Russia by taking delivery of air defense systems from Moscow and augmenting the number of Belarusians in uniform.According to the Belarusian Defense Mnistry, the 120th Air Defense Missile Brigade of the Western Operational Tactical Command has received a Tor-M2 air defense missile system. In a statement, the ministry explained that relevant personnel were trained in Russia to use the new weaponry, which will “greatly improve the combat capability” of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense troops. A battery of Tor-M2 air defense missile vehicles is capable of intercepting simultaneously 16 targets flying from any direction at speeds under 700 meters per second, within a 12-kilometer range, at an altitude of up to 10 kilometers, at any time of day, and in any weather condition.Russia and Belarus share an integrated air defense system and regularly hold joint military drills, with the stated object of repelling a NATO attack, especially via former Warsaw Pact state Poland. For its part, Poland, which is wary of its old Soviet overlord, has approved a contract with Norway’s Kongsberg Defense Systems for the purchase of additional Naval Strike Missiles (NSM). The NSM is an anti-ship and land attack weapon that uses composite materials for stealth characteristics. In 2009, the Russian and Belarusian armed forces simulated a nuclear attack against “post”-communist Poland, as well as an amphibious assault via the country’s Baltic shore.Pursuant to President Lukashenko’s recent declaration that his country will organize ”territorial defense troops” to augment the armed forces and head off a NATO invasion, the Belarusian Interior Ministry has inducted a new batch of “Internal Troops.” On December 24, the Belarusian media reported that Valery Gaidukevich, Deputy Interior Minister and Commander of Internal Troops of Belarus, attended the oath-taking ceremony of thousands of recruits into the Internal Troops, at which time they became “fully legitimate servicemen.” Active personnel in the Armed Forces of Belarus amount to roughly 80,000, while reserves total 289,500. Ally Russia maintains over one million men in uniform across six branches.Incidentally, Gaidukevich’s predecessor, Yauhen Poludzen, who took a leading role in the post-election crackdown on the opposition, beginning in December 2010, was arrested last month. Interior Ministry officials told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Poludzen was arrested by KGB officers. Alexander Antanovich, chief of the Belarusian KGB’s Information and Public Affairs Center, declined to comment on Poludzen’s arrest. A brief statement on the Prosecutor-General Office’s website says Poludzen is being investigated for possible abuse of office.Poludzen had been working as deputy interior minister since August 2009. He is on a list of some 200 Belarusian individuals barred from entry to the European Union.Hmmmm....At the fall of the Ex Sovjet union Russia removed their nuclear weapons from Belarusian soil after Lukashenko threatened to use them against the West!Read the full story here.

• Time for Obama to Share Missile Defense Secrets With Russia?“EX”-red PM surveys Communist gains in Duma, tells Zyuganov: “Let’s talk”.(OUATIW). “Dialogue should be held, but in which form I will think about,” the local press quoted the Russian PM as saying on December 28. Putin specifically indicated that he was willing to “talk” with the Communist Party, but he did not specify if he would take part in televised debates ahead of the March presidential race. “It has nothing to do with fear…The opposition is not overloaded with any particular work, it is always demanding the impossible and then, as a rule, does nothing to fulfill it,” Putin complained.United Russia’s failure to secure another supermajority in December’s poll is widely viewed as a representing a popular loss of support for Putin. The Communist Party staged its own rally in Moscow on December 18, following the nomination of their party chief, Gennady Zyuganov, as their perennial presidential candidate.With stormy rhetoric Zyuganov riled the crowd: “All those who stole votes, they didn’t just steal votes. They took power. And so this means they are government criminals with no immunity. Everything will be examined and the criminals will be punished. They will be punished.” Communist placards mocked the ruling tandem of Prime Minister Putin and President Dimitry Medvedev, both themselves “ex”-communists.The Communist Party joined other parties in another major Moscow rally on Christmas Eve.Theoretically, if Putin bowed out of the presidential race, it is very likely that Zyuganov would emerge as the top candidate and, thus, an open communist would be at the helm of the Russian state for the first time in 20 years. Many political analysts believe that, at the very least, Putin will face off with Zyuganov in a second round of balloting.Elsewhere in the Not-So-Former Soviet Union, in “Europe’s last dictatorship,” “ex”-communist President Alexander Lukashenko is heading off domestic opposition by restricting access to foreign websites and suspending broadcasts of television programming from the European Union.The conviction of Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov on terrorism charges is the latest apparent travesty of justice in Belarus. On November 30, the Supreme Court of Belarus sentenced the two 25-year-old men to death by firing squad following their conviction as the parties responsible for bombing a Minsk subway station on April 11, 2011, killing 15 people and injuring more than 300.As the judge’s four-hour reading of a verdict stretching over 100 pages drew to a close, some of the roughly 500 spectators shouted “Shame!” According to Ljubow Kovalyov, mother of Vladislav, this was simply a show trial. She believes the pair’s confessions were submitted under torture and duress.Human rights groups estimate that roughly 400 people have been sentenced to death in Belarus since the country seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. Typically, Belarusian authorities only inform relatives of death row inmates after the sentence has been carried out and the body has been buried at a secret location. Read the full story here.