Verizon to FCC: Free speech trumps Net neutrality rules.

Verizon to FCC: Free speech trumps Net neutrality rules.(CNet). By Marguerite Reardon. Bring out the constitutional scholars: Verizon says the Federal Communications Commission's Net neutrality rules violate the right to free speech. In a nutshell, Verizon argues that the FCC has overstepped its authority with its Net neutrality rules, going so far as to argue that the rules are unconstitutional -- Verizon sees the transmission of data across its network as "speech." As if that's not enough, the carrier argues that the rules are "arbitrary and capricious." In other words, Verizon doesn't believe the rules are necessary given that there hasn't been a big problem of companies slowing down traffic or blocking services on their networks. Verizon laid out its argument in a brief filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In December 2010, the FCC adopted a set of Net neutrality rules in an effort to protect broadband users from having a service provider slow down traffic or block certain content. The agency adopted those rules after it lost a court battle over having penalized cable and broadband provider Comcast for violating its Net neutrality principles. But a federal court said that the FCC had overstepped its bounds in that case. Once the rules were officially registered with the government in September of last year, Verizon said it planned to file a lawsuit against the FCC challenging the rules and asking the court to overturn them.Read the full story here.

Who can shut down cell phone service? FCC wants your 'input'.

Who can shut down cell phone service? FCC wants your 'input'.(AT).
The FCC is calling for public comment on the legality of the San Francisco transit agency's interruption of cellular service in August 2011. Bay Area Rapid Transit had shut off cell phone service in its tunnels, anticipating a cell-phone-coordinated protest of the fatal shooting of passengers by the transit system's police.
The FCC promised a probe in December, and late this week the Commission announced (PDF) that it would be taking public comment until April 30, and will issue a reply by May 30.
SF transit officials claimed they cut service to protect public safety by dispersing the protest, but critics of that justification said it violated free speech and put people who might need to make emergency calls at risk. The FCC claims that 70 percent of emergency calls now come from mobile phones.
But the FCC's public notice also states that law enforcement personnel have raised concerns that, "wireless service could be used to trigger the detonation of an explosive device or to organize the activities of a violent flash mob," suggesting local government authorities like BART should be allowed to retain some autonomy over service in its stations.
The FCC's decision will most likely set a clear precedent for other local government agencies. So far, two electronic public comments have been posted (the FCC lets you post comments online or send them in by mail), both in favor of more severe restrictions on who can turn off cell phone service and when.Read the full story here.

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.

MFS - The Other news

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Japan 6.5 - 5.3 ; Indonesia 5.2 !More info here.

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

• NASA Captures New Images of Large Asteroid Passing Earth.(NASA).Pasadena, Calif. -- NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, Calif. has captured new radar images of Asteroid 2005 YU55 passing close to Earth. The asteroid safely will safely fly past our planet slightly closer than the moon's orbit on Nov. 8. The last time a space rock this large came as close to Earth was in 1976, although astronomers did not know about the flyby at the time. The next known approach of an asteroid this size will be in 2028. The image was taken on Nov. 7 at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the asteroid was approximately 860,000 miles (1.38 million kilometers) away from Earth. Tracking of the aircraft carrier-sized asteroid began at Goldstone at 9:30 a.m. PDT on Nov. 4 with the 230-foot-wide (70-meter) antenna and lasted about two hours, with an additional four hours of tracking planned each day from Nov. 6 - 10. Radar observations from the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin Nov. 8, the same day the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 3:28 p.m. PST (6:28 p.m. EST/1128 UTC). The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers) as measured from the center of Earth, or about 0.85 times the distance from the moon to Earth. The gravitational influence of the asteroid will have no detectable effect on Earth, including tides and tectonic plates. Although the asteroid is in an orbit that regularly brings it to the vicinity of Earth, Venus and Mars, the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest it has come for at least the last 200 years. NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes some of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet. JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.Read and see the full story here.

• Rep. Darrell Issa Urges US Atty in New York to Investigate ACORN for OWS Involvement.(BarrackNow).News broke a couple of weeks ago that ACORN was involved in paying people to participate in the Occupy Wall Street protests. About a week later, another report alleged that the ACORN office in New York - which had been renamed 'New York Communities for Change (NYCC) - began shredding documents and firing people they thought were responsible for the leaks. These reports have prompted House Oversight committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to send a letter to the US Attorney in New York, Loretta Lynch, urging a probe into ACORN's activities.HERE is a copy of the letter.As if we needed it, this just serves as further evidence that ACORN simply changed its name, hoping to operate with greater obscurity. Changing the name on the front door is all they did.Via Fox News:

In an Oct. 26. report, FoxNews.com quoted sources within NYCC who said that the group -- run and staffed by nearly all former ACORN employees -- was asking for donations for specific charitable purposes, including for the teachers union and PCB toxin testing in New York City schools.However, those donations were being rerouted to pay for Occupy Wall Street protests, the sources said.Issa requests Lynch to "investigate these allegations to determine if they have merit and prosecute any wrongdoing accordingly."When asked to comment on Issa's letter, Lynch's spokesman Robert Nardoza would only say, "I have no comment as it is a matter of policy that we do not confirm/deny or discuss investigations."A spokesman for NYCC did not immediately return FoxNews.com's request for comment.Issa's letter quotes from the initial FoxNews.com report. In that report, sources described how staff members collected door-to-door for the PCB campaign but then pooled the money and sent it elsewhere.Issa can't be all that hopeful that Lynch is going to do much of anything. The 'no comment' line from her spokesman may seem standard but at some level, it just reinforces the notion that Obama is ACORN and ACORN is Obama. Once again, Eric Holder is at the head of the Department that oversees all US Attorneys.At some point, this administration exchanged corruption for wickedness.More on the ACORN / OWS mess HERE. Read the full story here.

• Commander in chief of Occupy Wall Street.(DocsTalk).By Richard Baehr.For three years after college, U.S. President Barack Obama was a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side. In September, his former green jobs czar, Van Jones, who left the White House after his radical background and views were exposed by Glenn Beck, promised that America would take to the streets in October, expanding Occupy Wall Street to a mass movement around the country. The president’s adviser, Elizabeth Warren, who helped form the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and is now a U.S. Senate candidate in Massachusetts, claimed she created the intellectual foundation for Occupy Wall Street, remarks she has since backed away from a bit as the movement has turned violent, and others have challenged her proclaimed role. Democratic members of the House and Senate, and the president himself, have shown some affection or sympathy for the growing movement, and certainly for its message of the 1 percent versus the 99%. Since the Republicans took back control of the U.S. House, the president has led the charge with the mantra of “us (the great majority of Americans, asked to make sacrifices due to reduced federal spending) versus them (the rich and the corporations, who need to contribute more through higher taxes).” The president’s message has been divisive and stark -- that the choice facing the country was whether to continue tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, corporate jet owners, oil companies and hedge funds, or to hire police, firefighters and teachers. Put simply, the president’s message was public need versus greed. The facts that the top 1% pays 38% of the income tax burden, and that its share of the tax burden has been rising faster than its share of national income, are not allowed to get in the way of the inequality demagoguery. The president’s proposals call for a top income tax rate of 45% on wages, interest and dividends, a top capital gains tax rate of 24%, a 2.5% Medicare tax, plus state and income taxes (as high as 10% in some states). The near 60% marginal tax rate would be almost double the top combined rate established 25 years ago by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s agreement with then New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley.With polls showing the Democratic base dispirited and upset with the president for concessions to the Republicans in the debt ceiling compromise on deficits and federal spending, it should have been no surprise that the Occupy Wall Street movement was created to energize the Left, and make sure that its message of rising inequality (and the need for higher taxes on the rich and more redistribution) drove the debt ceiling/ deficits/federal spending debate off the front pages and cable news shows. Not surprisingly, the national media reports on Occupy Wall Street have whitewashed the ugliness (the rapes, thefts, violence, bad hygiene and anti-Semitism), giving full throat to the cause that the rich are getting richer, and the masses are stuck in place, and it is all the fault of the evil Wall Street bankers and other corporate villains. The liberal op-ed columnists have been busy releasing studies that purportedly show that rising inequality is suppressing jobs growth (the issue on which the president’s clear lack of success for the past three years is his greatest campaign vulnerability), and bad for the nation’s collective psyche. Presumably, class warfare and taking it to the streets are an elixir for the national mood.When the Tea Party became a national phenomenon in 2009, largely in opposition to the healthcare reform effort and rapidly rising federal spending and deficits, the media focus was very different -- quick to spot any evidence of bigotry or threats of violence by the party, and to highlight the lack of racial diversity among its members. The Tea Party message was of course, viewed as unimportant, since it challenged the liberal/Keynesean consensus. It is also true that when older, white Americans rally to a cause, their group identity alone makes their cause less important than one with more colors among the membership.In recent weeks, it has become more difficult for the media to completely ignore some of what is going on at various Occupy Wall Street sites. The multiple attacks on women in Zuccotti Park has led to the creation of a women-only tent, with female security personnel, to stop the groping, harassment and rape that have been going on fairly routinely for weeks. The national media would probably prefer to blame Herman Cain for these attacks.The Occupy Boston group found time to occupy the Israeli Consulate to protest the latest failed flotilla effort. Occupy Oakland trashed a good part of downtown, as its protest turned violent. Occupy Atlanta may be in bed with the Nation of Islam. In Chicago and Washington, D.C., Occupy mobs interrupted conferences to spout their messages of class warfare.That a far-Left movement is hostile to Israel and prone to violence and disruption should not come as any great surprise. The Occupy Wall Street movement has become in a sense a tapestry of much of the Obama coalition: unions, college students and professors (the Marxist-spouting philosopher kings of the movement), racial minorities, the homeless, and other walking wounded on the street. This is Obama’s real army, a big part of the grand coalition that carried him to victory in 2008 and that he needs again next year. As the president prepares to withdraw from Iraq this year and possibly Afghanistan next year, one gets the sense that the former community organizer may be more comfortable serving as commander in chief of this “army” now occupying the streets of cities across America, an army broadcasting the same class warfare message he delivers in a suit and tie.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.

• Hillary Clinton says U.S. ready to work with Islamists groups: “not all Islamists are alike.”(AlArabiya).Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday heralded the movements of Arab Spring and said the United States was prepared to work with rising Islamist groups in the region, such as those who enjoyed a recent election victory in Tunisia.The United States shares “their desire to see a Tunisian democracy emerge,” she told an audience National Democratic Institute in Washington, in an address that emphasized: “not all Islamists are alike.”What parties call themselves, she added, “is less important to us than what they actually do.”Tunisia’s main Islamist party Ennahda swept the polls in a landmark vote last month over their main challenger, the secular center-left PDP party.To govern, Clinton said, the party must “persuade secular parties to work with them... America will work with them, too,” and noted that the group’s leaders have “have promised to embrace freedom of religion and full rights for women.”The top U.S. diplomat listed key criteria any party must meet in a democracy, including the rejection of violence, adherence to the rule of law, and respect for the rights of women and minorities, and an acceptance of electoral defeats.“The suggestion that faithful Muslims cannot thrive in a democracy is insulting, dangerous, and wrong,” she said.Washington, embracing transitions of the Arab Spring where long-time strongmen fell across the region this year, rejects “the false choice between progress and stability,” she added.“Dictators told their people they had to accept the autocrats they knew to avoid the extremists they feared.“Too often,” Clinton admitted, “we accepted that narrative ourselves,” and said the United States pushed for reform “but often not hard enough, or publicly enough.”After the turbulent events in recent months, “we recognize that the real choice is between reform and unrest,” she said.Hmmm........Maybe this might explain a lot?Read the full story here.

• Name and Shame? Obama May Go Public with Lawmakers' Funding Requests.(NationalJournal).In a move that could escalate hostilities with Congress, President Obama may be planning to use his executive authority to publicize special funding requests that lawmakers make for pet projects.A memo that the White House has floated on Capitol Hill would require executive branch agencies to make public any letter from a member of Congress seeking special consideration for any project or organization vying for government funding. National Journal obtained a draft copy of the executive memo.A White House spokesman declined to comment, except to say he did not believe the document would be coming next week.The threat to name and shame would potentially cut off another avenue members of Congress have for influencing government spending in their own back yards. It comes at a time that Obama is ratcheting up his campaign rhetoric against Congress, which he blames for blocking his efforts to stimulate the economy, on the eve of his 2012 reelection effort.In the draft language, the administration couches the move as an extension of its efforts to eliminate congressional earmarks and promote government openness and accountability.Such a decision by the White House could cause embarrassment for members who say they do not request earmarks, but who have written to executive branch agencies seeking special consideration for funding in their districts.Other aides worried the new rules will represent a further consolidation of power within the executive branch. The ban on earmarks has already given executive branch departments more freedom to create their budgets; further limiting member influence on those budgets would only move power farther away from the Capitol.The proposed memo will build on an executive order that former President George W. Bush issued in January 2008, which banned federal agencies from accepting funding requests from members of Congress unless those requests were specifically included in legislative texts. That executive order drew fire from Capitol Hill and lobbying agencies, which said the White House was robbing Congress of its right to set spending priorities.Hmmm......The most 'transparant' administration evah, how about his records?Read the full story here.

• Is Obama Really Bari Shabazz, Fugitive from Justice Following An Auto Accident in Honolulu.(BR).Is Putative President Barack Hussein Obama II Really Bari Shabazz, Fugitive from Justice For 21 Years Following An Auto Accident in Honolulu County, Hawaii on March 12, 1982?By Mario Apuzzo, Esq.On November 2, 2011, I published an article entitled and asking the question, “Is Barack Hussein Obama II Really Bâri′ M. Shabazz, Born October 28, 1959 in New York City? ”, accessed at here. The basis of the question that I asked came from a November 2, 2011 breaking story published by Martha Trowbridge entitled, “Bâri′, Barry, Barack, accessed at here. In her article, Ms. Trowbridge’s contends that putative President Barack Hussein Obama II’s real name is Bâri′ M. Shabazz and that his date of birth is October 28, 1959, and his social security number is 084-54-5926. She says he was born in New York City. She adds that he was born with the name Bâri′ M. Shabazz. She also says that to be able to enter the political world, Bâri′ M. Shabazz had to change his birth identity and take on a new one which became Barack Hussein Obama II.Ms. Trowbridge says: “We know this: Bâri′ M. Shabazz was assigned social security number 084-54-5926, issued in New York, in 1974.”Ms. Trowbridge has found that the Social Security Death Index shows: “SHABAZZ, B M 28 Oct 1959 Aug 1994 (V) 34 (PE) (none specified) New York 084-54-5926.” From this, one would think that Bâri′ died in August 1994. But no, Ms. Trowbridge informs that only his identity was made “dead.” The real person continued to live and that person became “Barack Hussein Obama II.” Note how she explains that the “death” of Bâri′ was only reported by someone (“V” or “Verified”) and that the person did not present any valid death certificate (“P” or “Proof).What’s more Ms. Trowbridge explains that “[o]nce in the federal system, the [death] record was flagged as ‘PE’, meaning that an inconsistency exists between what was reported and what was recorded in the government’s files.”Finally, and the most shocking part of her report is that Ms. Trowbridge contends that Bâri′ M. Shabazz is the biological son of Malcolm X. Hence, if Barack Hussein Obama II is the same person as Bâri′ M. Shabazz, that would make putative President Obama the biological son of Malcolm X.On November 4, 2011, an anonymous source emailed me something very interesting. To substantiate the content of the email, the writer directed me to go to a web site of the Judiciary for the State of Hawaii and to do a search of cases that have been disposed of by that State’s traffic courts. The anonymous source had done just that and so the person provided me with the information which that traffic court shows on its web site.I did go to the Hawaii traffic court’s web site which is called eCourt Kokua and I was eventually able to confirm the information that the anonymous source sent me.

1. On April 9, 2003, the prosecutor filed a motion to recall the bench warrant, to terminate prosecution, and close the case. Why would this case come to the attention of some local prosecutor 21 years following the initial violation of March 12, 1982? A local prosecutor does not just go looking for cases that are 21 years old and file motions to dismiss those cases. Someone must have asked that local prosecutor to dismiss the case so that the arrest warrant was cleared from the court’s and nation’s computer system.
2. Ms. Trowbridge shows that Bâri′ M. Shabazz, according to the Social Security Death Index, died in August 1994. If Bâri′ M. Shabazz is the same person as is listed in this Hawaii auto accident as Bari Shabazz, why would someone care to recall his arrest warrant on April 9, 2003 or almost 9 years after his death? Surely, it could not be Bâri′ M. Shabazz who was interested since he had been dead since 1994. On the other hand, if he was not dead he would be interested.
3. On October 30, 2005, or 23 years following the date of the accident of March 12, 1982, the court again re-visits the case of Bari Shabazz, noting that he did not owe the court any money but to “Pls. check.” Why would the court again concern itself with this case on that date, especially if Bari Shabazz was dead since 1994?
4. Finally, when there is an auto accident, the police do a detailed accident report. That report includes the name, addresses, date of birth, and social security number of the person involved in the accident who is charged for that accident. The driver’s license number is also included if that license is produced or otherwise verified. A physical description of the defendant is also included. The make of auto, including the year made and VIN number are also included, along with statements of witnesses. There could be a photograph of the defendant in the police record. A thorough investigation of this matter would surely include searching the police record in Honolulu County for this report so that this information may be examined and evaluated.Read and see the full story here.

• Meet the Radical Group Handling ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Finances.(Heritage).A story in a communist group's newspaper, obtained by Heritage at Zuccotti Park, implores protesters to "smash" Wall Street.Shortly after the Occupy Wall Street protests gained national attention, donations from supporters began pouring in. Lacking the infrastructure to manage the hundreds of thousands of dollars reportedly donated, the protest group enlisted the services of a non-profit organization called the Alliance for Global Justice.The group takes a 7 percent commission of all donations it manages. According to its secretary, the Alliance for Global Justice is processing hundreds of times as many donations as it did prior to partnering with the Occupy protestors.The AFGJ provides “grassroots” support for organizations that pursue “a socially, ecologically and economically just world,” according to its website. Among its initiatives are efforts to encourage American soldiers to desert and an anti-George Bush organization founded by members of the Revolutionary Communist Party.The organization’s president, Katherine Hoyt, leads the Alliance’s Nicaragua Network program, which supports the country’s Marxist Sandinista political party – and was founded for the explicit purpose of overthrowing the country’s government. Hoyt previously worked for the Sandinista government, and has written numerous scholarly works lauding the group. The Sandinistas ruled from 1979 to 1990. Their leader, Daniel Ortega, was elected again in 2006.The Nicaragua Network is one of the Alliance’s four “core” projects, but it also funds a variety of extreme leftist organizations and efforts. Courage to Resist, for instance, encourages American soldiers to “resist illegal war” through tactics that include “going AWOL” and “publicly refusing to fight.”Another Alliance-backed project, The World Can’t Wait, was founded by members of the Revolutionary Communist Party to oppose the Bush administration. With Bush’s successor in office, its mission statement has shifted to “stop[ping] the fascist direction initiated by the Bush Regime.”Given the radical nature of many of its projects, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Alliance receives money from a host of progressive individuals and organizations. Chief among them is George Soros’s Open Society Institute, which has given the group $100,000.The AFGJ has also received tens of thousands of dollars from the Foundation for Deep Ecology, which holds “the emphasis upon economic growth as a panacea” to be “fundamentally incompatible with ecological or biological sustainability.” It is explicitly anti-economic growth, in other words.Much hay has been made over organizations and individuals that have endorsed the Occupy protests. They include the American Nazi Party, the government of North Korea, the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Kohmeini. But the Occupy folks have no control over who endorses or voices support for them.But in their decision to enlist the Alliance for Global Justice, the Occupy Wall Street leadership affirmed its support for the group and its principles. Those principles are radical, well outside the mainstream of American public opinion, and certainly not representative of the 99% of Americans for whom the protestors claim to speak.Heritage’s Brian Darling, who spent the day at Zuccotti Park on Friday, said the affirmative support for such a radical group didn’t surprise him. “The Occupy Wall Street movement has embraced the far left like the Alliance for Global Justice,” he said. “I witnessed a sign supporting the movement from the Workers’ World Party and other far left wing groups.”Critics note that the presence of radicals at a protest does not denote a protest movement’s endorsement. But the affirmative relationship between Occupy Wall Street and the Alliance for Global Justice does – it speaks directly to the political vision of the movement’s leaders.Read the full story here.

• Senate Poised to Vote on Resolution Blocking FCC’s Net Neutrality Rule.(Heritage).Congress could move a step closer to rejecting the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to regulate the Internet this week when the Senate considers a resolution targeting the agency’s net neutrality rule.Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced the measure, S.J. Res. 6, to halt the FCC from implementing the regulation. The Congressional Review Act gives lawmakers the authority to overrule regulations from government agencies.Hutchison’s resolution simply states: “That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to the matter of preserving the open Internet and broadband industry practices (Report and Order FCC 10–201, adopted by the Commission on December 21, 2010), and such rule shall have no force or effect.”Republicans will need to win at least four Democratic votes in order for the resolution to pass the Senate; it needs a simple majority. The U.S. House approved the resolution, H.J. Res. 37, on April 8 by a vote of 240-179.Speaking last week at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing, Hutchison criticized federal bureaucrats for interfering with the Internet, an engine of economic growth. “There is no need for us to mess around with that kind of success,” she said. “It is a success, and it doesn’t need fixing.”Below is video of Hutchison’s appearance at The Bloggers Briefing on Nov. 1.Read and see the full story here.

• Shaykh al-Huwayni: The Penalty for Apostasy Is Death; Only "Boozers and Druggies" Say Otherwise.(TranslatingJihad).How many times have we heard Western so-called 'experts' on Islam as well as politicians cite the Qur'anic verse "there is no compulsion in religion" as an example of Islamic tolerance. According to Egyptian Shaykh Abu-Ishaq al-Huwayni, all of those people might be "boozers and druggies," because despite that verse, "Islam is a religion which has limitations and rulings." One of those, upon which all scholars are in agreement, is that any Muslim who leaves Islam must be killed.This is taken from a video clip posted on YouTube in May 2009. The subtitled video is above, and the English transcript is below (thanks to Nonie Darwish for her help on this one):"They say that freedom of conscience should be provided to every human being.... because Allah Almighty says, 'There is no compulsion in religion'." So it is like a druggie interpreting the Qur'an. "There is no compulsion in religion?" True. "Whoever will may believe, and whoever will may disbelieve?" True. However, this is on the condition that you do not enter the Islamic faith. You are free. No one is compelled to believe in, or convert to, Islam. You're Christian? Be a Christian. You're Jewish? Be a Jew. You're in any other religion? Be whatever you like. But you should know that Islam is a religion that has limitations and rulings. One of its established rulings, upon which all scholars unanimously agree, is that whoever enters Islam voluntarily, not forcibly--it is not permissible for him to apostatize from Islam. If he does that, the ruling upon him is death. You still want to enter the faith with this punishment? Fine. You don't want to enter? Fine? We don't need a curse. We don't want you either. This is the ruling in Islam. "There is no compulsion in religion"? Ah. If your Lord willed it, everyone on earth would believe. Then will you yet compel people to become believers? I don't know anyone who has been compelled to enter into Islam. The offer was left to the early Muslims. They were courageous peoples. They were distinguished by the strength of their hearts, of their will, and their firmness in making decisions. Islam was offered to them, and they believed. We don't know of anyone who has been killed simply for being an infidel. Nor is it permissible for anyone to kill someone simply because he is an infidel. Islam is a religion which was established on persuasion. No one is ever compelled to enter Islam. However, if he enters Islam, there are rulings. There are those who want to have freedom to reject Islam (kufr). If a Muslim disbelieves, there is a penalty. But some say "There is no compulsion in religion." He doesn't pray? "There is no compulsion in religion." He doesn't pay alms, or perform the hajj, or fast? "There is no compulsion in religion!" What Muslim scholar has ever approved this? No one ever has, and no one ever should speak this nonsense. The only ones who advocate this are druggies and boozers. At a time when people are reaffirming the Islamic doctrine in every corner on earth, such advocates want to get rid of Islam.Read the full story here.

• Alleged Turkish use of chemical weapons to land at Swedish parliament.(Firat).A demonstration was staged in Sweden’s capital city Stockholm to protest the murder of 35 guerrillas allegedly by chemical weapons used by the Turkish army. Left Party MP Amineh Kakabaveh remarked that he would carry the alleged use of chemical weapons onto the Swedish Parliament. Gathering at Sergel Square, around 350 people protested against the military operations and alleged use of chemical weapons. Demonstrators carried the photos of 35 guerrillas who lost their life between October 22-24. A candle was lit in front of each photograph and a black cloth was hanged in the area with 35 red carnations. Making the first speech on behalf of CDK after one minute's silence for 35 guerrillas and revolution martyrs, Mahir Dicle stated that chemical weapons can’t prevent the fair fight of the Kurdish people. Swedish Kurdish Council President Ayşe Göktepe reminded the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army against Kurdish guerrillas in previous times and demanded an investigation of the attack by the United Nations and the Swedish Government. The Kurdish Council also made a press statement and reminded of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch’s report which stated that 437 guerrillas had lost their lives in 39 separate military operations between 1994 and 2011 as a result of the chemical weapons used by the Turkish state. The statement demanded that the European Union and the Swedish Government step in the process against the use of chemicals by the Turkish state which accedes to the agreement that acknowledges the prohibition of chemical weapons. Left Party MP Amineh Kakabaveh who carried the subject onto the agenda of the Swedish Parliament earlier stated that he would once again bring the issue to the agenda since the use of chemical weapons is a war crime. Read the full story here.

• Russian police forcefully break up Occupy 'Kremlin' Protest.(Stratrisk).Moscow – Kremlin critics put an Occupy Wall Street twist on a protest in the Russian capital over next month’s parliamentary election on Monday, but the result was the same as usual: dispersal and detention.Police forcefully broke up a small rally by government opponents who donned the kind of mustachioed Guy Fawkes masks popular with anti-greed protesters in London, New York and other cities.About a dozen protesters gathered outside the Central Election Commission headquarters and announced plans to “Occupy Old Square” — a square nearby that houses presidential administration offices.There have been few major Occupy Wall Street-style rallies in Russia, and despite the spin on Monday’s protest, the protesters made clear their message was about the Dec. 4 parliamentary election. They chanted “Cancel the illegal elections!” and held placards with similar slogans.In an echo of other recent protests over the election — without the masks — the demonstrators were quickly seized by camouflage-clad police and shoved roughly into a waiting bus. Police said they violated the law by holding a rally without official permission.Kremlin critics say that the parliamentary election will not be democratic, saying vociferous opposition groups have been barred from the vote illegally. They also charge that Vladimir Putin’s dominant United Russia party will use its levers of power to skew the results in its favour.The parliamentary vote will be followed by a March 2012 presidential election in which Putin is expected to return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister.The tiny protest outside the Central Election Commission headquarters was far smaller than a march and rally celebrating the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.Police said about 4,000 people took part in the state-sanctioned rally organized by the Communist Party, which polls indicate will come in a distant second to United Russia in the parliamentary vote, as in previous elections.Nov. 7 was a major holiday in the Soviet era, but it is no longer a day off and the Kremlin has replaced it with a Nov. 4 holiday that officially commemorates the 17th century expulsion of Polish invaders.Hmmmm......"Occupy Gulag ...Comrade?Read the full story here.

• North Korea gearing up for massive military exercise: sources.(Stratrisks).By Kang Hyun-kyung.The North Korean military is preparing for a massive military exercise involving its navy and air force, despite signs of renewed dialogue on its nuclear weapons program, according to sources here.A government official said Tuesday that the North was appearing to be readying for a military exercise from a naval base in Nampo and an airforce base in Onchon in South Pyeongan Province, northwest of the border.He said warships and fighters have been assembled there, prompting suspicion that North Korea may be setting up for a landing exercise.It is unusual for Pyongyang to launch such a large-scale exercise.The possible drill came amid growing expectations for the resumption of the stalled nuclear talks after the two Koreas held a series of talks in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the Asian Regional Forum.Military experts said it could be a hostile response to an annual joint Korea-U.S. military drill.The Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command recently announced the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will be held from Aug. 16 to 26.Gen. James D. Thurman, the Combined Forces Command commander, said the exercise will “present the Korea-U.S. alliance with tough and realistic training events focused on preparing, preventing and prevailing against the full range of current and future threats to South Korea and the region.”The annual joint exercise regularly annoys the North.On Sunday, North Korea’s Central News Agency called it “an intentional provocative act,” threatening to take countermeasures.Another state-controlled media outlet in the North described the exercise as “a plan for aggression toward the nation,” saying the country’s patience was wearing thin.North Korea has had stormy reactions to the South whenever it has announced plans to hold military exercises.Some analysts said South Korea’s setting up of the Northwest Islands Defense Command near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea in June has also played a role in the massive military drill.The South established the command in the wake of North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the maritime border. The attack took the lives of four South Koreans.Read the full story here.

• Suspected Islamic extremists with Somalia’s al Shabaab Attack Church Compound in Kenya Kills Two, Wounds Three.(CompassDirect).GARISSA, Kenya, — Suspected Islamic extremists with Somalia’s al Shabaab militia threw a grenade into the home of the church guard of an East Africa Pentecostal Church (EAPC) congregation outside Garissa, Kenya on Saturday night (Nov. 5), killing an 8-year-old girl and another member of the church, sources said.Three other people were seriously injured in the 8 p.m. grenade attack on the house, which is near the gate of the church compound. Killed instantly were 8-year-old Winnie Mwenda Mutinda and 25-year-old church member John Kikavu. The child was the youngest daughter of church elder Patrick Mutinda, who also serves as the guard or watchman of the church building, sources said. The other three people in the house at the time of the blast were seriously wounded. The watchman’s son, Samuel Mutinda, 12, suffered burns on his chest and leg, and his 10-year-old brother, Peter Mutinda, sustained burns on his hand and leg; the injuries of both boys required doctors to remove portions of skin. Burns on their grandmother, Rachael Kandu, also required the removal of skin from her leg, sources said. The three wounded family members were first taken to the house of the church pastor within the compound before they were rushed to Garissa Provincial Hospital.“The three injured Christians are in stable condition in the hospital undergoing treatment,” the pastor told Compass. “I hope they will be discharged soon.” Al Shabaab activity near the Somali-Kenya border, including Garissa in northeast Kenya, has increased since Kenya began air strikes on al Shabaab-held territory in southern Somalia last month in retaliation for the rebel group’s kidnapping and murder of foreigners in Kenya. Even before Kenya’s military action, however, the Islamic extremist militia battling Somalia’s transitional government had threatened and attacked Christians in northeastern Kenya. The church pastor, the Rev. Ibrahim Makunyi Kamwaro, told Compass he was witness to the explosion.“I saw big blast coming out of the house, and immediately I rushed to the scene of the incident, and I heard the attackers saying, ‘You will have to stop taking of wine,’ as they fled away,” he said. Islam forbids consumption of alcohol, but Makunyi Kamwaro said he was not sure what the comment meant. “I think the church participation in the Holy Communion might have been taken to mean the church members taking wine,” he said. “This statement is quite unclear to me.”Also on Saturday (Nov. 5), in the morning hours a bomb in Garissa near the Heller gas station and close to an electrical transformer was removed before it exploded. Police who received reports of white sparks at the site were able to remove and defuse the bomb. Pastor Makunyi Kamwaro told Compass that, in spite of the al Shabaab activity in the area, he was not sure who was responsible for the deadly blast. “At the moment we cannot say exactly who the attackers are, but what we know is that they are the enemies of the church,” he said. Another area pastor said a fellowship of church leaders met on Thursday (Nov. 3) and wrote a letter to authorities requesting police security for churches in Garissa, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. The pastor said that he received a threatening message yesterday on his cell phone, reading, “Message from al Shabaab – You must migrate [from] Garissa town within 48 hours or you see bomb blast taking your life and we know your house, Christians will see war. Don’t take it so lightly. We are for your neck.” In Garissa, police today also found three bombs before they could be detonated: one on a mini-bus, one near a gas station and one at a new house under construction.In the attack on Saturday, in which one grenade missed its target before a second one hit, the parents of the children were not home; Patrick Mutinda was still in Garissa, about 1 kilometer from the EAPC building. His wife, known as “Mama Grace,” was helping the church pastor’s wife. EAPC Pastor Makunyi Kamwaro told Compass that the church’s worship service will continue as usual this Sunday.“Many of the church members have been with us here in the church building since the incident took place 10 hours ago,” he said yesterday, before Compass arrived at the scene today. “As I talk to you now over the phone, there are many people around or within the church compound: the church members, the police and people from the press. Thank you for keeping in touch with us and comforting us at this trying moment.”Garissa is the provincial headquarters of Kenya’s North Eastern Province, which is predominantly Muslim.Muslims restrict churches in Garissa in various ways. Christians are not allowed conduct prayers, sing or use musical instruments in rented homes owned by Muslims. No teaching of Christian Religious Education in schools is allowed; only Islamic Religious Knowledge is taught. Garissa has more than 15 Christian denominations, the main ones being the EAPC, the Redeemed Gospel Church, the Anglican Church, the Deliverance Church, the Full Gospel Churches of Kenya, the Africa Inland Church and the African Christian Churches and schools.Read the full story here.

• A 'different kind' of Russian Matrioskas, Russian man kept 29 mummified bodies in his flat.(Boston).Moscow — The Russian historian had always been open about his interest in the dead and eagerly described how he loved to rummage through cemeteries, studying grave stones to uncover the life stories behind them. What he failed to mention, according to police, was that he had dug up 29 bodies and taken them back to his apartment, where he dressed them in women's clothes scavenged from graves and then put them on display.A police video of the man's apartment in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod released Monday shows his macabre collection of what look like dolls. Lifesize, they are dressed in bright dresses and headscarves, their hands and faces wrapped in what appears to be cloth. Police said they were mummified remains.Instructions for doll-making were found in the apartment, police said, and the video showed old-fashioned plastic dolls in frilly dresses lying about.Police refused to name the suspect arrested last week, but released photographs of him, gave his age as 45 and described him as a well-known specialist in the history of the city about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Moscow.Russian media reports identified the man as Anatoly Moskvin, a 45-year-old historian who was considered the ultimate expert on cemeteries in Nizhny Novgorod.Russian newspaper reports quoted police as saying that the man had only selected the remains of young women for his grisly collection.Police said he had photographs and nameplates from grave sites, which could help with the identification of the remains.The arrest followed a long-running investigation into the desecration of graves at several cemeteries in Nizhny Novgorod beginning in 2010, police spokeswoman Svetlana Kovylina said. She did not explain how they tracked him down.The national daily Moskovsky Komsomolets said Moskvin was detained at a cemetery while carrying a bag of bones. But Kriminalnaya Khronika, an online publication specializing in crime news from the Nizhny Novgorod region, said police investigators discovered the bodies when they visited Moskvin to consult with him about the desecration.Alexei Yesin, the editor of a local newspaper to which Moskvin contributed, told The Associated Press that he was shocked by the reports and couldn't understand how he could have squeezed all the bodies into his apartment, which he shared with his parents.He described Moskvin as a loner who had "certain quirks," but said he gave no indication that he was up to anything so strange. "I saw no signs of that while working with him," Yesin said in a telephone interview.Moskvin, who long had been known in the region for his interest in the dead, wrote several articles about cemeteries and historic sites in the region. A linguistic expert by training, he specialized in Celtic culture and studied 13 foreign languages.In a 2007 interview with the newspaper Nizhegorodsky Rabochy, or Nizhny Novgorod Worker, Moskvin said he had begun wandering through cemeteries when he was in the seventh grade. "I don't think anyone in the city knows them better than I do," he said.Moskvin claimed that from 2005 to 2007 he had inspected 752 cemeteries across the region, often traveling about 30 kilometers (20 miles) a day by foot.He said he drank from puddles, spent nights in haystacks or at abandoned farms and once even slept in a coffin readied for a funeral. He said he was repeatedly questioned by police, who then always let him go.Just last month, he wrote a piece for a publication on necrology to explain his interest in the dead. He said that when he was 12, he came across a funeral procession whose participants forced him to kiss the face of a dead 11-year-old girl."An adult pushed my face down to the waxy forehead of the girl in an embroidered cap, and there was nothing I could do but kiss her as ordered," Moskvin wrote in Nekrolog.He said he later grew interested in the occult.Hmmmm.......linguistic expert ...i wonder wich language he spoke to 'them'?Read and see the full story here.