Justin Bieber's new birthday 'TOY' - A Fisker Karma Car Costs $112,000, but Costs Taxpayers $529,000,000.

Justin Bieber's new 'TOY' A Fisker Karma Car Costs $112,000, but Costs Taxpayers $529,000,000.(IH).(PJM).Pop singer Justin Bieber turns 18 today and to celebrate his birthday, he’ll be presented with the car of his dreams on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. So why are we so excited about this? Well because Bieber’s fantasy car isn’t a Ferrari or top of the line Mercedes-Benz – it’s the recently released Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan!
The car will be presented to Bieber by his manager, Scooter Braun who told him,”You work really really hard. I always yell at you, ‘Don’t get anything flashy!’ You know, we’re not about that. Be humble, be humble. And I kind of broke my own rule.”
Braun also stated, “We wanted to make sure, since you love cars, that when you’re on the road you are always environmentally friendly. And we decided to get you a car that would make you stand out.”
Somehow there are people who have a different view on how " Green Design Will Save the World".
(PJM).Recently, I attended an event where a new 2012 Fisker Karma sports car was on display. Up until this time I had never heard of a Fisker Karma and after looking at the price tag I know why. It was a shocking $112,000.
The Fisker Karma, manufactured by Fisker Automotive, looks like it should have a starring role in a Mission Impossible movie.
It is a sleek cutting edge masterpiece of Finnish manufacturing.Apparently sales have been brisk. Great news I say! After all, this is America where an awesome car made in Finland equals a new status toy for the one percent… or in this case more like the one half of one percent.
As I was ogling the car, my friend told me the Fisker company received a US government loan to help with the design of the car’s electric battery.
It turns out the Fisker Karma is a “green” electric car and part of Obama’s energy/manufacturing plan to lead our nation out of the “Great Recession.”
Fisker Automotive, a California based company with an Al Gore venture capital firm connection was given a $529 million loan from the Department of Energy to provide manufacturing jobs and produce these high-tech electric cars.
But there is only one problem — the cars are built in Finland.
Why Finland?
Here is the answer provided by Fisker Automotive company founder Henri Fisker. “There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” he told ABC News, “They don’t exist here.”
Given the dismal state of U.S. manufacturing, Fisker’s statement does not surprise me. But what does surprise and infuriate me is $529 million of our hard earned tax money went into building this lavish product that only one half of one percent of our population could ever dream of driving.
Tuesday night when President Obama gave his State of the Union message he conveniently forgot to include this tawdry tale of economic excellence in his “America is Back” themed speech.
Obama-nomics means the smallest fraction of the population — the same ones Obama says need to pay more taxes — now have the opportunity to pay $112,000 for sporty new set of electric wheels. Meanwhile, the rest of us already paid $529 million for a car we have never heard of, let alone can afford, while the Fins got the jobs.Hmmmm.......'Cheap' advertising ...."Leanardo Di Caprio and Justin Bieber".Read the full story here.

Obama Vows to “With or without this Congress, I’ll continue to do whatever I can....."

“With or without this Congress, I’ll continue to do whatever I can to develop every source of American energy, so that our future isn’t controlled by events on the other side of the world,”.(CNSNews). Despite some green energy failures, such as the bankrupt Solyndra solar panel company and weak-selling Chevy Volt, President Barack Obama said that he wanted to “double down” on green energy spending, and would do what he could even without Congress to subsidize these companies.
Obama’s assertions, at the University of Miami on Thursday, come after numerous reports of green energy firms that received large sums of federal loans and grants but which have either declared bankruptcy or hit financial problems.
In his remarks, Obama sought to draw a contrast between subsidies to green energy firms and $4 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
“A century of subsidies to the oil companies is long enough,” Obama said. “It’s time to end taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s never been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising.”
CBS News has reported that the administration directed $6.5 billion in taxpayer dollars to a dozen different green companies that now face financial hardship.
Obama acknowledged that not all companies backed by the federal government will succeed, but said he would not be deterred.
“The payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies will fail,” Obama said.
“But as long as I’m president, I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy,” he said. “I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because some politicians in Washington refused to make the same commitment here in America.”
“With or without this Congress, I’ll continue to do whatever I can to develop every source of American energy, so that our future isn’t controlled by events on the other side of the world,” said Obama.Read the full story here.

Summer time

Winter time  frozen solid

From the Solyndra script book: " Obama: Use Algae as substitute for oil ".

From the Solyndra script book: " Obama: Use Algae as substitute for oil ".HT: CriticalAnalist..(Examiner)President Obama admitted today that he does not have a "silver bullet" solution for skyrocketing gas prices, but he proposed alternative energy sources such as "a plant-like substance, algae" as a way of cutting dependence on oil by 17 percent.
"We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance, algae -- you've got a bunch of algae out here," Obama said at the University of Miami today."If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we'll be doing alright. Believe it or not, we could replace up to 17 percent of the oil we import for transportation with this fuel that we can grow right here in America."
The Department of Energy (DOE) currently spends about $85 million on 30 research projects "to develop algal biofuels," according to the White House, which announced that Obama is committing another $14 million to the idea.Obama did not say when he expected algae-based fuel to reach that level, but the federal government has a dodgy track record with respect to developing alternative vehicle fuels.
Biodiesel, for example, accounted for less than 1 percent of the diesel fuel market as of 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration. And of course there's ethanol -- after four decades, tens of billions of dollars in subsidies, and draconian mandates that force it on unwilling consumers, ethanol was five percent of vehicle consumption (by volume) as of 2008.
Although algae-to-gas is a very different idea, it is still in its early stages.Oil industry leaders reject Obama's claim to have given significant support to oil production. "These have been the most difficult three years from a policy standpoint that I've ever seen in my career," Bruce Vincent, president of Swift Energy, an oil and gas company in Houston, said yesterday. "They've done nothing but restrict access and delay permitting."
Obama affirmed the need to protect the planet by developing clean energy alternatives, but The Washington Examiner's Michael Barone argues that he hasn't been consistent even on that front. "We’ve prohibited a pipeline, the safest way to transport oil, from Canada, but we’re aiding Mexico in offshore drilling, which is riskier, and by a firm that lacks the experience of the U.S. firms we have been trying to prevent drilling in the same body of water," Barone wrote yesterday. "Does this make any sense at all?"Hmmmm...........We've got  got a whole bunch of Suckers out there.Read the full story here.

                                          Hmmm.....Perhaps we Chinese can sell it Obama ?
                                                     

MFS - The Other News

   Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity Indonesia 4.9  ! More info here.

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

• It's Official: Eric Holder Subpoenaed.(BarackNow).WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) today announced the issuance of a subpoena to Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. for Justice Department documents related to the "Operation Fast and Furious" gun walking scandal."Top Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Holder, know more about Operation Fast and Furious than they have publicly acknowledged," said Chairman Issa. "The documents this subpoena demands will provide answers to questions that Justice officials have tried to avoid since this investigation began eight months ago. It's time we know the whole truth."

The subpoena seeks the following:

In accordance with the attached schedule instructions, you, Eric H. Holder Jr., are required to produce all records in unredacted form described below:

All communications referring or relating to Operation Fast and Furious, the Jacob Chambers case, or any Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) firearms trafficking case based in Phoenix, Arizona, to or from the following individuals:

a. Eric Holder Jr., Attorney General;

 b. David Ogden, Former Deputy Attorney General;

c. Gary Grindler, Office of the Attorney General and former Acting Deputy Attorney General;

d. James Cole, Deputy Attorney General;

e. Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General;

f. Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General;

g. Kenneth Blanco, Deputy Assistant Attorney General;

h. Jason Weinstein, Deputy Assistant Attorney General;

i. John Keeney, Deputy Assistant Attorney General;

j. Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General;

k. Matt Axelrod, Associate Deputy Attorney General;

l. Ed Siskel, former Associate Deputy Attorney General;

m. Brad Smith, Office of the Deputy Attorney General;

n. Kevin Carwile, Section Chief, Capital Case Unit, Criminal Division;

o. Joseph Cooley, Criminal Fraud Section, Criminal Division; and,

p. James Trusty, Acting Chief, Organized Crime and Gang Section.

2. All communications between and among Department of Justice (DOJ) employees and Executive Office of the President employees, including but not limited to Associate Communications Director Eric Schultz, referring or relating to Operation Fast and Furious or any other firearms trafficking cases.

3. All communications between DOJ employees and Executive Office of the President employees referring or relating to the President's March 22, 2011 interview with Jorge Ramos of Univision.

4. All documents and communications referring or relating to any instances prior to February 4, 2011 where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) failed to interdict weapons that had been illegally purchased or transferred.

5. All documents and communications referring or relating to any instances prior to February 4, 2011 where ATF broke off surveillance of weapons and subsequently became aware that those weapons entered Mexico.

6. All documents and communications referring or relating to the murder of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, including but not limited to documents and communications regarding Zapata's mission when he was murdered, Form for Reporting Information That May Become Testimony (FD-302), photographs of the crime scene, and investigative reports prepared by the FBI.

7. All communications to or from William Newell, former Special Agent-in-Charge for ATF's Phoenix Field Division, between:

a. December 14, 2010 to January 25, 2011; and,

b. March 16, 2009 to March 19, 2009.

8. All Reports of Investigation (ROIs) related to Operation Fast and Furious or ATF Case Number 785115-10-0004.

9. All communications between and among Matt Axelrod, Kenneth Melson, and William Hoover referring or relating to ROIs identified pursuant to Paragraph 7.

10. All documents and communications between and among former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., former Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein referring or relating to Operation Fast and Furious or any OCDETF case originating in Arizona.

11. All communications sent or received between:

a. December 16, 2009 and December 18, 2009, and;

b. March 9, 2011 and March 14, 2011, to or from the following individuals:

Emory Hurley, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona;

Michael Morrissey, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona;

Patrick Cunningham, Chief, Criminal Division, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona;

David Voth, Group Supervisor, ATF; and,Hope MacAllister, Special Agent, ATF.

12. All communications sent or received between December 15, 2010 and December 17, 2010 to or from the following individuals in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona:

a. Dennis Burke, former United States Attorney;

b. Emory Hurley, Assistant United States Attorney;

c. Michael Morrissey, Assistant United States Attorney; and,

d. Patrick Cunningham, Chief of the Criminal Division.

13. All communications sent or received between August 7, 2009 and March 19, 2011 between and among former Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual; Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer; and, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce Swartz.

14. All communications sent or received between August 7, 2009 and March 19, 2011 between and among former Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual and any Department of Justice employee based in Mexico City referring or relating to firearms trafficking initiatives, Operation Fast and Furious or any firearms trafficking case based in Arizona, or any visits by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer to Mexico.

15. Any FD-302 relating to targets, suspects, defendants, or their associates, bosses, or financiers in the Fast and Furious investigation, including but not limited to any FD-302s ATF Special Agent Hope MacAllister provided to ATF leadership during the calendar year 2011.

16. Any investigative reports prepared by the FBI or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) referring or relating to targets, suspects, or defendants in the Fast and Furious case.

17. Any investigative reports prepared by the FBI or DEA relating to the individuals described to Committee staff at the October 5, 2011 briefing at Justice Department headquarters as Target Number 1 and Target Number 2.

18. All documents and communications in the possession, custody or control of the DEA referring or relating to Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta.

19. All documents and communications between and among FBI employees in Arizona and the FBI Laboratory, including but not limited to employees in the Firearms/Toolmark Unit, referring or relating to the firearms recovered during the course of the investigation of Brian Terry's death.

20. All agendas, meeting notes, meeting minutes, and follow-up reports for the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys between March 1, 2009 and July 31, 2011, referring or relating to Operation Fast and Furious.

21. All weekly reports and memoranda for the Attorney General, either directly or through the Deputy Attorney General, from any employee in the Criminal Division, ATF, DEA, FBI, or the National Drug Intelligence Center created between November 1, 2009 and September 30, 2011.

22. All surveillance tapes recorded by pole cameras inside the Lone Wolf Trading Co. store between 12:00 a.m. on October 3, 2010 and 12:00 a.m. on October 7, 2010.

Hmmmm.......It looks like Holder's Justice Department has quite a bit of homework to do. Read the full story here.

• SunPower: Twice As Bad As Solyndra, Twice As Bad For Obama.(HumanEvents).How did a failing California solar company, buffeted by short sellers and shareholder lawsuits, receive a $1.2 billion federal loan guarantee for a photovoltaic electricity ranch project—three weeks after it announced it was building new manufacturing plant in Mexicali, Mexico, to build the panels for the project.The company, SunPower (SPWR-NASDAQ), now carries $820 million in debt, an amount $20 million greater than its market capitalization. If SunPower was a bank, the feds would shut it down. Instead, it received a lifeline twice the size of the money sent down the Solyndra drain.Two men with insight into the process are SunPower rooter Rep. George R. Miller III, (D.-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee and the co-chairman of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and his SunPower lobbyist son, George Miller IV.Miller the Elder is a strong advocate for SunPower, which converted an old Richmond, Calif., Ford plant in his district to a panel-manufacturing facility.The congressman hosted an Oct. 14, 2010, tour of the plant with company CEO Thomas H. Werner and Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar to promote the company’s fortunes.“The path to a clean energy economy starts here, in places like SunPower’s research and development facility,” said Salazar during the tour.“The work that comes from these facilities transforms renewable energy ideas into a reality. When renewable energy companies continue to invest in places like California, the realization of a new energy future is within our reach,” he said.Miller the Elder said he was grateful for Salazar's interest.In addition to all its other challenges, the company and its officers are defendants in a federal shareholder lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include, the Austin (Texas) Police Retirement System, the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System and a number of institutional investors for an alleged scheme to deceive the investing public by making false statements contrary to nonpublic information known to the insiders.The allegations cover the period between April 17, 2008, to Nov. 16, 2009, the day the company announced that it had discovered unsubstantiated accounting entries to its operations in the Philippines, which led to the significant restating of the company's financials.There are a number of lawsuits filed in California courts relating to the same period alleging gross mismanagement, breach of fiduciary responsibility, unjust enrichment and abuse of control.The first of the lawsuits was filed Nov. 18, 2009, and they have yet to be resolved.It is a fair question to ask how a company with such serious charges lodged against its management team could receive a $1.2 billion loan guarantee from the taxpayers, so it could built a new manufacturing plant in Mexico to build the solar panels it will install at a photovoltaic ranch that will create a total of 15 permanent jobs.Certainly, the time is right for Miller and Miller to clarify their roles in this mess.Read the full story here.

• VeriSign Demands Website Takedown Powers, No Court Order Necessary.(TheRegister).VeriSign, which manages the database of all .com internet addresses, wants powers to shut down "non-legitimate" domain names when asked to by law enforcement.The company said today it wants to be able to enforce the "denial, cancellation or transfer of any registration" in any of a laundry list of scenarios where a domain is deemed to be "abusive".VeriSign should be able to shut down a .com or .net domain, and therefore its associated website and email, "to comply with any applicable court orders, laws, government rules or requirements, requests of law enforcement or other governmental or quasi-governmental agency, or any dispute resolution process", according to a document it filed today with domain name industry overseer ICANN.The company has already helped law enforcement agencies in the US, such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, seize domains that were allegedly being used to sell counterfeit goods or facilitate online piracy, when the agency first obtained a court order.That seizure process has come under fire because, in at least one fringe case, a seized .com domain's website had already been ruled legal by a court in its native Spain.Senior ICE agents are on record saying that they believe all .com addresses fall under US jurisdiction.But the new powers would be international and, according to VeriSign's filing, could enable it to shut down a domain also when it receives "requests from law enforcement", without a court order.The company said it has already cooperated with US law enforcement, including the FBI, to craft the suspension policies, and that it intends to also work with police in Europe and elsewhere.It's not yet clear how VeriSign would handle a request to suspend a .com domain that was hosting content legal in the US and Europe but illegal in, for example, Saudi Arabia or Uganda.Read the full story here.

• More 'details' on Shalit deal that includes 1,027 security prisoners.(YNet).1,027 Palestinian prisoners will be released in the framework of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that would bring IDF soldier Gilad Shalit home.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen said that in the first phase of the swap, Israel will release 450 prisoners. Two months later, Israel will choose an additional 577 prisoners it wants to release.All Palestinian female prisoners held in Israeli prisons are included in the list of 450 including Amina Mona, a young woman who lured a lovestruck Israeli teenage boy by the name of Ophir Nahum to a Palestinian city over the Internet, only to have him killed by waiting terrorists.  Israel will release 110 prisoners to the West Bank (14 to east Jerusalem) while 131 will return to their homes in the Gaza Strip.Of the 450 prisoners to be released in the first phase, 280 are serving at least one life sentence. However, Israel scored a major victory as nearly all top Palestinian terrorists will not be freed in the exchange, including:

Marwan Barghouti who was sentenced to five life sentences for his role in the murders of Israelis during the al-Aksa intifada

Abdullah Barghouti who is serving out 67 consecutive life terms for building the bombs that murdered 66 people

Ahmed Saadat who headed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and was responsible for the assassination of Israeli minister Rehavam Ze'evi

Hassan Salama, a Hamas leader who was convicted of murdering 67 Israeli citizens

Abbas a-Sayed, mastermind of the Park Hotel suicide bombing in which 30 Israelis were killed on the eve of Passover 2002

Ibrahim Hamed, who was found guilty of involvement in terrorist attacks that led to the death of 82 Israelis

"450 is a large number but 300 are leaving the area to Gaza or overseas," Cohen said. According to Cohen, "It is a hard deal to digest for the families who lost their loved ones, but we cannot wait. If we do wait, we may not be able to bring Gilad home."Cohen said that over the years, Hamas presented a very tough stance during negotiations, preventing a deal from being reached. However, the Shin Bet chief added, Hamas began to change its tone in June "in two central parameters: first, it agreed for the first time that the arch terrorists would not be released and that the number of prisoners to be released to the West Bank would be reduced to a number that we could digest. We finalized the lists on Tuesday morning. Israeli groups representing terror victims' families have voiced their objections to a prisoner exchange, saying it would be too painful to allow their children's murderers to go free.Meanwhile, the Land of Israel lobby in the Knesset urged the cabinet to reject the proposed prisoner exchange deal. The National Union Party said the deal represents "Israel's capitulation of terror groups.Read the full story here.

• Deal Reached for Kidnapped Israeli Soldier's Freedom.(TIP).Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that a deal has been reached with the Hamas terrorist organization to bring home kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. The two-stage arrangement would exchange a total of 1,027 Palestinian militants for the soldier that had been kidnapped in June 2006."There was great tension between bringing Schalit home...and maintaining the security of Israeli citizens," Netanyahu said on Israeli television. He was also quoted saying "the window has been opened for a historic deal," following a show of flexibility in negotiations by both sides.Schalit's freedom is a matter of days, Netanyahu said."We are waiting here like everyone else," Schalit's father Noam Schalit said Tuesday. "We are receiving updates, but we don't really know anything new other than what has been published."As part of the deal, Israel agreed to first release roughly 450 terrorists, with another 550 to follow at a later date. Netanyahu convened a cabinet meeting to approve of the plan, with various reports attributing the breakthrough to German or Egyptian intervention.Hamas reacted jubilantly to the plan, with a celebratory graphic posted on the home page of the Izz al-Deen Qassam Brigade, Hamas's military wing."This is a national achievement for the Palestinian people, we tried to include all Palestinian detainees in the Israeli jails, and we promise the rest of the Palestinian detainees to liberate them," said Khaled Meshaal, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau. "My Appreciations to Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian factions which managed to capture the Israeli soldier Shalit, My thanks to the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and the West Bank for their steadfastness against the Israeli siege, also my thanks to the Egyptian role in accomplishing this deal."Read the full story here.More here.

• PA Official: "Auschwitzes" Better Than Israeli Prisons.(Tip).A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official claims Jewish prisoners got better treatment from the Nazis than Palestinian prisoners currently receive in Israel.Israeli prisons are worse than "the Auschwitzes (sic) of the Nazis," PA Deputy Minister of Prison Affairs Ziad Abu Ein declared in an interview last week with Fatah Television, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported. Israel forgets "that we are now in the 21st century and that the conditions of our Palestinian prisoners are worse than the Auschwitzes of the Nazis, where Jewish detainees were held."Comparing Israelis to Nazis is a recurring theme in PA media under PA President Mahmoud Abbas, according to PMW.The PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ran a July 5 story on the treatment of Palestinian Shahids (martyrs)declaring that "even more serious are acts which even the Nazis and the fascists did not commit at the height of their arrogance and hatred for humanity, such as the imprisonment of pregnant women together with their children" and other actions "which are considered crimes against humanity."In June, the same newspaper reported that a PA official in Bethlehem told visiting British members of Parliament that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians was even more disturbing than Nazi persecution of Jews. "While the Jews experienced a holocaust over a limited period in history, the Palestinians have experienced a continuous and ongoing holocaust for 63 years, and yet this nation has not found a supporter who will halt this holocaust," he said.The assertion that Israelis are behaving in a Hitlerian fashion is belied by actual Palestinian inmate accounts of prison life. PMW reported last year that a growing number of prisoners were receiving doctorates and other degrees while behind bars in Israel. Many prisoners had registered for courses at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.Al-Hayat Al-Jadida even reported last October that since 2000, "more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners have attained matriculation certificates while still in the occupation prisons."Last June, Fatah TV interviewed a former prisoner on the day of his release. Despite the interviewer's best efforts to get him to say prisoners were brutalized by Israel, the man refused to depict Palestinian inmates as victims of the Zionists. "By Allah, the guys in the prison are fine. They lack nothing. They are doing fine," he said.Read the full story here.

• Iran complains to U.N., says U.S. allegations of Saudi diplomat killing ‘evil plot’.(AlArabiya).Iran called U.S. allegations of a plan to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington an “evil plot” by the United States, in a complaint sent late Tuesday to the United Nations, as Washington said it would use the case as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply harsh sanctions or penalties against Iran.Iran’s U.S. ambassador accused Israel of carrying out the murders of Iranian nuclear scientists with U.S. support, in a letter sent to U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Security Council.“Iran categorically and in the strongest terms condemns this shameful allegation by the United States authorities and deplores it as a well-thought evil plot in line with their anti-Iranian policy,” Mohammed Khazaee said in the letter, according to AFP.U.S. authorities said earlier they had uncovered a plot by the Iranian government to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir. The U.S. administration has vowed to hold Iran to account. Two men have been charged with conspiring with Iranian government factions to stage the attack and one is in U.S. custody.A criminal complaint, unsealed in federal court in New York City, identified two alleged plotters, Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri.Both were originally from Iran and Arbabsiar is a naturalized U.S. citizen, it said.Shakuri remains at large while Arbabsiar was arrested on Sept. 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was to make his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.U.S. President Barack Obama called Ambassador Jubeir late Tuesday to express the solidarity of the United States and Saudi Arabia in the face of the disrupted plot to assassinate him in the United States, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent in Washington. President Obama underscored that the United States believes this plot to be a flagrant violation of U.S. and international law, and reiterated the U.S. commitment to meet its responsibilities to ensure the security of diplomats. In an interview with The Associated Press, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?” Clinton was blunt in saying the United States would use the case as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply harsh sanctions or penalties against Iran. Clinton said she and President Obama called world leaders to tell them of the developments.“This really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for,” Clinton said. She said she and Obama want to “enlist more countries in working together against what is becoming a clearer and clearer threat” from Iran.The Saudi Embassy said in a statement that it appreciated the U.S. efforts to prevent the crime. “The attempted plot is a despicable violation of international norms, standards and conventions and is not in accord with the principles of humanity,” the statement read, according to AP.“There were always problems with Iran and Saudi Arabia, what is new now is that America is involved... The fact that the Saudi ambassador was the target in the United States, I believe this will mean the kingdom and the United States will take a joint decision together,” said Abdullah al-Shammari, a government official in Riyadh.“An ambassador of the level of Adel al-Jubeir, who was an adviser to the royal court, that is a great provocation for Saudi Arabia and therefore we expect that the kingdom will take steps in this matter,” Shammari said.Suzanne Maloney, a former State Department expert on Iran who is now an analyst with the Brookings Institution think tank, expected the administration to carefully calibrate its push for new sanctions.It will be inclined to “try to hit Iran as dramatically as possible with sanctions without fracturing the coalition and creating more opportunities for sanctions busting by countries like China or Russia,” Maloney told AFP.Hmmmmm........Barack Hussein Obama will go around Congress to bomb Libya in service to the Muslim Brotherhood but bows to Iran when they attempt to bomb America?Read the full story here.

• Evidence of Iranian plot to kill envoy is overwhelming, Saudi prince Turki al-Faisal says.(AlArabiya).Evidence that Iran was behind a plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington is ‘overwhelming’, a former chief of Saudi intelligence services said on Wednesday. ‘The burden of proof and the amount of evidence in the case is overwhelming and clearly shows official Iranian responsibility for it,’ Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal told an industry conference in London.‘This is unacceptable. Somebody in Iran will have to pay the price, and that price will have to be on the terms acceptable to the norms and practices in Iran and other countries,’ Prince Turki said.U.S. authorities said on Tuesday they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran's security agencies to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir. One was arrested last month while the other was believed to be in Iran.Iran has denied the charges and expressed outrage at the accusations.Prince Turki called for the Iranian authorities to help bring those responsible for the assassination plot to justice. ‘Whoever is responsible for this (in) the Iranian government will hopefully be brought to justice by the Iranian authorities, no matter how high the level of that person is.’‘Clearly this is an act ˗˗ how should I put it? ˗˗ so criminal in its intent, to devise a plot to assassinate a representative of one country in another country and to use drug barons and other such characters in order to achieve that. It is beyond description.’The motive for the alleged plot was not clear. Iran has in the past assassinated its own dissidents abroad, but an attempt to kill an ambassador would be a highly unusual departure.Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitter regional rivals, but they maintain diplomatic ties and even signed a security agreement in 2001. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Riyadh in 2007.Ali Larijani, Iran's parliament speaker, said the ‘fabricated allegations’ aimed to divert attention from Arab uprisings Iran says were inspired by its own Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed Shah.‘America wants to divert attention from problems it faces in the Middle East, but the Americans cannot stop the wave of Islamic awakening by using such excuses,’ Larijani said.U.S. President Barack Obama called the alleged conspiracy a ‘flagrant violation of U.S. and international law’.Meanwhile the European Union voiced “grave concern” over the alleged Iranian plot, warning it could have serious international implications.“Should the facts be confirmed, this would constitute a major breach of international law with serious international implications,” said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton.“We call on the government of Iran to fully cooperate with the U.S. justice system,” she told a news briefing.The EU is following developments “very closely” and officials are in touch with their U.S. counterparts, Kocijancic said.“We have taken note with grave concern the information that was provided by the U.S. Justice Department regarding this alleged participation of two Iranian individuals in a plot to murder the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., and alleged involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” she said.“We trust the U.S. justice system will rapidly bring full clarity to this alleged criminal act,” she added.The EU has slapped a raft of sanctions against Iranian officials over human rights violations and the Islamic republic's refusal to halt controversial nuclear activities.Read the full story here.

• European Union released progress report on Turkey,Further progress needed for Turkey to join EU.(Firat).The Progress Report on Turkey has just been released. The Commission concluded that the country has made progress in meeting EU membership criteria; however, further results are needed as regards fundamental rights, in particular to assure freedom of expression in practice. The report further stresses that the June elections presented the government with a window of opportunity to address reforms with fresh vigour. Turkey continued improving its ability to take on the obligations of membership. The pace of accession negotiations would gain new momentum if Turkey proceeded to the full implementation of its Customs Union obligations with the EU, and made progress towards normalisation of relations with Cyprus.

Political criteria

Turkey continues to sufficiently fulfil the political criteria, says Europe. Work on implementing the 2010 Constitutional reform package was launched by the government. Free and fair parliamentary elections took place on 12 June 2011, and opened the way for further constitutional reform. The creation of a specific Ministry for EU affairs is an encouraging signal for Turkey's reform efforts to meet the EU accession criteria.

However according to the Commission, "significant further efforts are required to guarantee fundamental rights in most areas. This relates, in particular, to freedom of expression, where the number of court cases against writers and journalists, and the restrictions on access to the Internet, raised serious concerns".

This is how the Commission assesses the Kurdish question: "As regards the East and Southeast, the 2009 democratic opening was not followed through. The detention of elected politicians and human rights defenders raised concerns. The truth about extra-judicial killings and torture carried out in the Southeast in the 1980s and 1990s has yet to be established following the due process of law. Landmines and the village guard system are still causes for concern. Terrorist attacks intensified. The PKK is on the EU list of terrorist organisations". While the Commission admits that no progress has followed the so called Turkish government "democratic opening" and expresses "worries for the arrests of elected politicians and human rights defenders" it continues with the three monkeys game. Concerning human rights and the protection of minorities, the Commission says that "limited progress has been made. Significant efforts are needed in most areas, in particular freedom of expression and freedom of religion.As regards the observance of international human rights law some progress was made, notably through the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). A number of reforms have been outstanding for several years. Legislation on human rights' institutions needs to be brought fully into line with UN principles.

The positive trend on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, as regards both the incidence and severity of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, continued. Disproportionate force has still been used by these officials, in particular outside official places of detention. Credible allegations of physical ill-treatment were received, which concerned mainly excessive use of force during arrest. There is no progress on tackling impunity, including the processing of cases of alleged ill-treatment brought to the judiciary.As regards prisons, the increase in the prison population is leading to serious overcrowding, which hampers attempts to improve the conditions of detention. An overhaul of the complaints system in prisons is overdue. Implementation of the OPCAT is expected to contribute to tackling some of these matters. Medical services for inmates, as well as the conditions for the detention of juveniles, are matters requiring special efforts.

With regard to freedom of expression, an open debate continued on topics perceived as sensitive, such as the Kurdish and Armenian issues, minority and cultural rights and the role of the military. However, the right to freedom of expression is undermined by the large number of legal cases and investigations against journalists, writers, academics and human rights defenders. This leads to self-censorship and, together with undue pressures on the media, raises serious concerns. Present legislation does not sufficiently guarantee freedom of expression in line with the ECHR and the case law of the ECtHR, and it permits restrictive interpretation by the judiciary. Frequent website bans are also a cause for serious concern. Overall, Turkey's legislation and judicial practice are obstacles to the free exchange of information and ideas".

As regards freedom of assembly, there has been progress on the ground: various demonstrations, including Newroz (the Kurdish New Year) and 1 May, took place peacefully. Demonstrations in the Southeast of the country and in other provinces related to the Kurdish issue, students' rights, the activities of the higher education supervisory board YÖK and trade union rights were marked by a disproportionate use of force.

Legislation on freedom of association is broadly in line with EU standards. Excessive controls and restrictive interpretation of the law still remain. There were no developments as regards the amendment of legal provisions on the closure of political parties. There has been limited progress on freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Freedom of worship is generally respected. The dialogue with the Alevis and with the non-Muslim religious communities continued. Members of minority religions continued to be subject to threats by extremists. A legal framework in line with the ECHR has yet to be established, so that all non-Muslim religious communities and the Alevi community can function without undue constraints.

Economic criteria

Turkey is a functioning market economy. It should be able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the medium term, provided that it accelerates the implementation of its comprehensive structural reform programme.In 2010, Turkish economy grew by 8.9% vis-à-vis 2009, driven mainly by strong domestic demand. The rapid economic expansion continued in the first half of 2011. The private sector, in particular the industrial sector, remains the main driving force behind Turkey's rapid expansion. Robust economic development allowed strong employment growth and a sizeable drop in unemployment. Budget performance was better than expected, and the consolidation of public finances is on track. Privatisation has gained momentum. Trade and economic integration with the EU remained high and Turkey strengthened its presence in new markets. The current account and trade deficits reached record levels in 2010, leading to significant external imbalances in the Turkish economy, which in turn pose a threat to macroeconomic stability.

 EU Legislation

Turkey continued improving its ability to take on the obligations of membership. Progress was made in most areas, in particular company law, statistics and trans-European networks. Efforts need to continue towards alignment in areas such as environment, public procurement, freedom to provide services, social policy and employment, and taxation. As regards the Customs Union, a number of longstanding trade irritants remain unresolved. For most areas it is crucial that Turkey improves its administrative capacity to implement and enforce the EU-related legislation.Turkey remains an important partner in the area of EU energy security. Preparations have continued on the Nabucco project. Negotiations have been finalised on an EU-Turkey readmission agreement, which now needs to be initialled and signed.

State of play on accession negotiations

EU accession negotiations with Turkey began on 3 October 2005. In total, 13 out of 33 negotiation chapters have been opened and one chapter has been provisionally closed. As a result of Turkey not having fully implemented the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement, the EU decided in December 2006 that eight negotiating chapters could not be opened and that no chapter could be provisionally closed until Turkey meets its obligations.Read the full story here.

• Palestinians Seek World Heritage Status For Church Of Nativity, Other Sites.(Memri).A Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Archeology official said that the Palestinians will work for the inclusion of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as soon as Palestine is accepted as a full member of the organization. The Palestinians currently have observer status in UNESCO; the vote is expected to take place in the coming weeks. Following acceptance as members, they will seek the inclusion of other sites, including Hebron, and the Dead Sea.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity Japan 5.0 and Vanuatu 5.2! More info here.

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

• American-born al-Qaeda cleric Awlaki killed: Yemeni defense ministry.(AlArabiya).Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Muslim cleric linked to al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing, was reportedly killed, along with several of his companions, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said on Friday.“The terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed along with some of his companions,” it said in a statement sent by text message to journalists.The ministry did not elaborate on the circumstances of Awlaki’s death in a statement released to the media.However, tribal sources told an Al Arabiya correspondent that two cars suspected of carrying Awlaki and his companions between the province of al-Jawaf Ma’rib were targeted.Awlaki had been implicated in a botched attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in 2009.U.S. authorities have branded him a “global terrorist” but Sana’a had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.Eloquent in English and Arabic, Awlaki encouraged attacks on the United States and was seen as a man who could draw in more al-Qaeda recruits from western countries.Washington had linked Awlaki to a shooting rampage in November 2009 at a U.S. army base and to the botched Christmas Day attack that year on a U.S. airliner.A Yemeni court, under mounting U.S. pressure to fight al-Qaeda after a foiled air cargo bomb plot in late October last year, had ordered his arrest by any means for his alleged al-Qaeda links.“Awlaki is a problem,” U.S. President Barack Obama’s counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said in January, 2010. “He’s clearly a part of al-Qaeda in (the) Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He’s not just a cleric.”Brennan directly accused Awlaki of having links with Major Nidal Hasan who is suspected of shooting dead 13 people at Fort Hood military base in Texas, and who is set to face trial in a military court on March 5, 2012.Awlaki may also have had contact with Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, accused of trying to blow up the Christmas Day plane, Brennan said.In July, 2010, Washington placed Awlaki on its list of terrorism supporters, freezing his financial assets and banning any transactions with him.In May last year, the United States said it was actively hunting Awlaki.“He has an agenda just like al-Qaeda to strike targets in Yemen, throughout the world including here in the United States,” the White House spokesman said.But an Awlaki relative has insisted the imam “is not a fighter of al-Qaeda.”“He is just a preacher,” he said.Awlaki comes from a well-off family. His father is a former minister of agriculture and was the president of the university of Sana’a.He was born in New Mexico in 1971, attended school in Yemen and graduated from Colorado State University in civil engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in education leadership from San Diego State University.He made a name for himself delivering sermons in English in mosques across the United States, where he also worked for a charity association founded by Yemeni cleric Abdul Majeed al-Zendani, whom the U.S. government has identified as a “global terrorist.”Awlaki was arrested in Yemen in 2006 for his role in kidnapping the son of a rich Yemeni family and demanding ransom money “to finance al-Qaeda,” Yemeni security sources said.Two years later he was set free on condition that he report to police daily, but he fled to the eastern Shabwa region. Awlaki went to ground after an air raid on December 24, 2009 struck a meeting of al-Qaeda leaders in Wadi Rafadh, in Shabwa province, killing 34.In May this year, a Yemeni tribal source said Awlaki narrowly escaped a U.S. drone attack three days after American commandos killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.The strike in Shabwa was the first reported U.S. targeting of other key figures in the terror network after a commando raid killed bin Laden inside Pakistan on May 2.Awlaki was married with five children.Read the full story here.More here.

• Pelosi: Total Coincidence My Brother-In-Law Secured $737 Million Federal Loan For His “Green” Energy Firm.(SFGate).SantaMonica — Department of Energy officials and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have slammed as absurd reports from conservative blogs that inflated the connection between Pelosi’s brother-in-law and a Nevada solar power project that received a $737 million federal government loan guarantee this week. . . .Ronald Pelosi joined Pacific Corporate Group in April, roughly three years after it had invested in SolarReserve, a company official confirmed Thursday. The official said Ronald Pelosi doesn’t stand to profit or lose from the firm’s stake in SolarReserve because he doesn’t have an interest in the fund that made that investment.The Pacific Corporate Group official said Thursday that no one from the firm had contacted the White House in connection with the application.“This is an absurd suggestion,” Department of Energy press secretary Damien LaVera said of any connection between Ronald Pelosi and the loan guarantee announcement. “Many months of rigorous technical, financial and legal due diligence was done by nonpolitical career employees to scrutinize every aspect of this transaction — over a period of years.Nancy Pelosi, at an event Thursday in San Francisco to drum up support for President Obama’s jobs plan, told The Chronicle that she was not familiar with the solar firm, its federal loan application or any association her brother-in-law had with the firm.Ronald Pelosi is “a great guy,” she said, adding that she was sorry he had been “dragged into this.”Hmmmmm.....Oooooh look another Unicorn, lead by a leprechaun.Read the full story here.

• Don’t tell anyone what Barack Hussein Obama is promising the Palestinians behind closed doors.(KleinOnline)By Aaron Klein The Obama administration told the Palestinian Authority it cannot significantly help advance a Palestinian state until after the 2012 presidential elections, a top PA official told KleinOnline.The official, however, said the U.S. will press for a Palestinian state quickly if President Obama is reelected.“The main message we received from the U.S. is that nothing will happen in a serious way (toward a Palestinian state) before the 2012 elections,” said the official.“Obama will not accept the Palestinian request of a state at the (United Nations) Security Council and cannot help on the ground for now,” said the official.“We were told to wait for Obama’s reelection, and that before then nothing serious will happen for a state,” the official continued. “But after the reelection, the U.S. said the schedule will be short to reach a Palestinian state.”Obama’s policies toward Israel have been highlighted in local and national campaigns, with many Democrats fearing voter turnoff due to the perception the president is anti-Israel.Obama’s treatment of Israel was a significant issue in the recent election of Republican Bob Turner to former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s seat in a district that had not elected a GOP candidate since 1923.Also, presidential contenders like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have been strongly criticizing Obama on Israel.Hmmmm......Why is he sure that he will be reelected?Read the full story here.

• And, So It Begins: Unions and Professional Left To Join #OccupyWallSt Protesters.(BigGovernment).On Saturday, September 17, Marxist protesters (NeoComs) planned to take over Wall Street. While they had wanted to have some 20,000 protesters come to New York, converge on and stay for months in order to ‘tear down the machine,’ their numbers were far fewer, and their goal of occupying Wall St. never materialized as police relegated them to Zuccotti Park a block away.In talking to several on the first day of their protest, their inspiration seemed to be a Marxist blend of Communism and Anarchism, sprinkled with a tinge of comic-book (or Hollywood) flare from the character ‘V’ from ‘V for Vendetta.’ By Day Three, however, they made their demands more clear, calling for the seizure of workplaces and schools, as well as the ‘de-privatization of everything.’Over the last two weeks, their numbers have dwindled to just a few hundred and there have been well over a hundred arrests. The protesters have been ordered to remove their Guy Fawkes masks and, for the most part, have set up a campground in downtown Manhattan, with take out food called in for them from around the nation.While they’ve had visits from such Left-wing luminaries as Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Roseanne Barr, and Dr. Cornell West, they have not had as much coverage from the mainstream media nor have they had the support of the real jackboots in the fight for a Marxist revolution—today’s union bosses.

That is, they haven’t had union support until now.

On Thursday morning, via GatewayPundit, the New York-based Transit Workers of America Local 100 reportedly voted to support the Wall St. protesters. Local 100 is the same union that represents many of New York’s train and bus lines and the union that disrupted New Yorkers’ holiday shopping season in 2005 by going out on strike for three days in late December.

According to the Village Voice:

We spoke to TWU Local 100’s spokesman Jim Gannon, who told us that the executive board voted unanimously last night at their regular monthly business meeting to support Occupy Wall Street. TWU Local 100 has 38,000 members, the vast majority of whom work in New York City transit. (TWU has 200,000 members in 22 states.) Gannon said, “A motion was brought up to endorse the protests’ goals; I don’t know why it took us so long to do it. Right now we’re going to be involved in a march and rally on the 5th of October. We’ll gather at City Hall at 4:30 and march to Zuccotti Park.”

In addition, a blog called Teamster Nation has been covering and supporting the Wall Street protesters since early on. [It is not believed, however, that Teamster Nation is the official blog for the Teamsters.]By late Thursday afternoon, New York magazine was reporting that several unions, as well as the more professional of the Left-wing extremist groups have joined in #Solidarity with the protesters:Next week, the site will welcome members of New York’s organized labor coalitions including the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, 1199 SEIU, Workers United, and Transport Workers Union Local 100, which voted unanimously last night to support the occupation. Other groups standing in solidarity include the Working Families party, the Coalition for the Homeless, and MoveOn.org.While it’s not known whether the unions will be sending over protesters to actually occupy Wall Street or, rather, just to march with the protesters and sing L’internationale for a few hours.

- Note: Hopefully, if the unions do march with protesters, the unions can finally teach the protesters the proper ending to “The workers, united, will never be…” [hint: It is not 'defeated' and it rhymes with 'united.']Regardless of the ultimate turn out, it does appear that the Masked Movement of Marxists is gathering some steam. Whether or not it becomes a Tahrir moment, as Al Gore would like to see, is debatable. However, as protesters are clearly upping the ante by enlisting the help of union bosses, it bears watching closelyHmmmm.......Obama's 'army on the march'?“.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.

• Issa questions whether White House pressured Ford to pull ‘bailout’ ad.(TheHill).Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a letter to the Ford Motor Company on Thursday that he was "deeply concerned about undue political pressure exerted by the White House."The House Oversight Committee chairman's letter comes on the heels of reports earlier this week that the company had pulled an ad critical of the auto bailout following a phone call with administration officials.Ford denied Tuesday that the ad was removed because of political pressure, saying instead that it had simply been taken out of their ad rotation as scheduled."For those asking, the ad ran as part of a planned rotation and continues to run online. It contains the unscripted comments of a Ford owner. We supported emergency government support for our competitors and continue to support the decisions we made," Ford said in a statement posted to their Facebook page.But Daniel Howes, a conservative columnist for The Detroit News, said that the advertisement was pulled "in response to White House questions." In the ad, a man is asked why "buying American" was important to him when choosing a Ford pickup.“I wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government. I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose or draw," he responds. "That’s what America is about, taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work. Ford is that company for me."The auto bailout, which primarily benefited Ford competitors Chrysler and GM, was a cornerstone of the president's stimulus plan and supported by Ford. But conservatives have been increasingly critical of the auto bailout and stimulus as a whole as unemployment continues to lag.In the letter to Ford, Issa asks for a full explanation of the company's decision to pull the advertisement and whether any current or former employee of the Obama administration, United Auto Workers, or Democratic Party contacted the company about the ad. Issa also asks whether the company temporarily pulled the ad from its YouTube page."Given the close relationship between American automobile manufacturers, workers unions and the U.S. Government in the wake of a series of loans, grants, and stimulus programs, accusations of White House interference in private business matters to support its own political and policy agendas are very serious issues and warrant a full airing of the facts," Issa wrote.The White House has denied that it asked Ford to remove the ad, with White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer calling Howes's column "false."Read the full story here.

• A 'Furious' revelation - Feds sold guns to drug gangs.(NYPost).By Michael A. Walsh. This just might be the smoking gun we’ve been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money, and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel.Let that sink in: After months of pretending that “Fast and Furious” was a botched surveillance operation of illegal gun-running spearheaded by the ATF and the US attorney’s office in Phoenix, it turns out that the government itself was selling guns to the bad guys.Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy four Draco pistols for cash and even got a letter from his supervisor, David Voth, authorizing a federally licensed gun dealer to sell him the guns without bothering about the necessary paperwork.“Please accept this letter in lieu of completing an ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of four (4) CAI, Model Draco, 7.62x39 mm pistols, by Special Agent John Dodson,” read the June 1, 2010, letter. “These aforementioned pistols will be used by Special Agent Dodson in furtherance of performance of his official duties.”On orders, Dodson then sold the guns to known criminals, who first stashed them away and then -- deliberately unhindered by the ATF or any other agency -- whisked them off to Mexico.People were killed with Fast and Furious weapons, including at least two American agents and hundreds of Mexicans. And the taxpayers picked up the bill. So where’s the outrage? There’s none from the feds. Attorney General Eric Holder has consistently stonewalled Rep. Darrell Issa, Sen. Chuck Grassley and other congressional investigators.In a constantly evolving set of lies, Holder has denied knowing anything about Fast and Furious while at the same time withholding documents from the House and Senate committees looking into the mess while muzzling some witnesses and transferring others.Justice calls the allegations about Dodson’s operation “false.” But Grassley says that’s “a lie,” as he told Greta van Susteren the other day. “The ATF ordered this ATF agent to purchase these guns and in turn sell them, and supposedly track them,” he said. “But he was a lone wolf in the operation -- they wouldn’t give him any help for 24-hour surveillance.”So now the wheels have come off the official explanation for Fast and Furious. Of course, that explanation never made much sense in the first place.For one thing, the ATF had no authority to track the guns once they were in Mexico; for another, nobody bothered to inform the Mexicans of this intrusion on their national sovereignty.Further, we now know that a host of federal agencies (including the ATF, the FBI and IRS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration and, very probably, top officials at the Department of Homeland Security) were all in the loop at various levels, as was the White House.So calling “Fast and Furious” a cockamamie operation gone wrong just isn’t going to cut it anymore.There are two possible explanations. The first is that the anti-gun Obama administration deliberately wanted American guns planted in Mexico in order to demonize American firearms dealers and gun owners. The operation was manufacturing “evidence” for the president’s false claim that we’re to blame for the appalling levels of Mexican drug-war violence. If this is true, then Holder and Co. have got to go -- and the trail needs to be followed no matter where it leads. For the federal government to seek to frame its own citizens is unconscionable.A second notion is that the CIA was behind the whole thing, which accounts for all the desperate wagon-circling. Under this theory, the Agency feared the los Zetas drug cartel was becoming too powerful and might even mount a coup against the Mexican government. So some 2,000 weapons costing more than $1.25 million were deliberately channeled to the rival Sinaloa cartel, which operates along the American border, to keep the Zetas in check.Of course, there’s a third explanation -- that both scenarios are true, and that those in charge of Fast and Furious saw an opportunity to shoot two birds with one Romanian-made AK Draco pistol.Time for a special prosecutor, who’s both fast and furious.Read the full story here.

• Crony Socialism: Obama Gives $737 Million to Solar Firm Linked to the Pelosi Clan.(GatewayPundit)By Jim Hoft.It’s as if Solyndra never happened. The Obama Administration is giving $737 million to a Tonopah Solar, a subsidiary of California-based SolarReserve. PCG is an investment partner with SolarReserve. Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law happens to be the number two man at PCG.Team Obama is spending $737 million to create 45 permanent jobs.The Hill reported, via Free Republic:

The Energy Department announced Wednesday that is has finalized a $737 million loan guarantee for a Nevada solar project.
The decision comes several weeks after a California-based solar manufacturer that received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration in 2009 filed for bankruptcy and laid off 1,100 workers, setting off a firestorm in Washington.
The $737 million loan guarantee will help finance construction of the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 110-megawatt solar-power-generating facility in Nye County, Nev. The project is sponsored by Tonopah Solar, a subsidiary of California-based SolarReserve.
Crescent Dunes is the latest solar project to receive a loan guarantee from the Energy Department in recent weeks. The department announced a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar for a solar generation project in California and a $150 million loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies for a Massachusetts solar manufacturing project earlier this month.
The Energy Department says the project will result in 600 construction jobs and 45 permanent jobs.It looks like Rep. Allen West was right.
Obama IS trying to destroy the economy.Hmmmm....."Thugocracy" in it's natural Habitat?Read the full story here.

• Shock: ABC News Blows EnergyGate Wide Open.(DougRoss).As one commenter noted after reading ABC News' reporting on EnergyGate and Solyndra:

There seems to be an inverse relationship between the president's popularity and the mainstream media's willingness to tell stories that need to be told. As Obama continues to slide in the polls, I'm sure we will find out all kinds of stuff that may have helped 2.5 years ago. While its too late now for everyone impacted by this administration's economic choices, there's hope that everyone will vote more responsibly next year... on both sides of the aisle.

Here's the reader's digest version:

• Kaiser's company, Solyndra, received a $535 million loan guarantee from DOE.

• Kaiser's company received the loan before DOE received final copies of outside reviews of the deal.

• Steven Spinner raised $500,000 for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

• Spinner then became one of Energy Secretary Steven Chu's key loan advisers.

• Spinner later wrote that he "helped oversee the more than $100 billion" in loans and guarantees.

• Spinner executed 29 stock trades in energy companeis while serving as a DOE adviser

• Spinner held shares in at least four companies that received DOE loans

• Spinner's wife's law firm collected around $2.5 million while representing Solyndra

• Spinner's wife's law firm also represented two other companies that received $34 million from DOE

• Steve Westly raised $500,000 for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

• Westly then became one of Energy Secretary Steven Chu's key advisers.

• Westly was an investor in five firms that received half a billion dollars in energy grants and loans from DOE.

• John V. Roos raised $500,000 for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

• Roos' law firm (the same firm Spinner's wife worked for) collected around millions from DOE-funded companies.

 Put simply, if the Climatards are willing to waste billions enriching themselves in the name of green energy, then they can't really take the global warming scam seriously.In other words, the green tech movement no more believes in the global warming grift than you or I.And, once again, where's the special prosecutor?Postscript: The Bush administration rejected Solyndra's requests for loans for two years citing incomplete documentation.Hmmmm.....The MOST CORRUPT Administration EVAH?Read the full story here.

• Dick Morris: Obama May Not Run in 2012.(ObamaFailBlog).Another political pundit is joining the "Obama May Not Run in 2012" bandwagon. You'll remember that I wrote this on September 14, 2011:

Obama won't run so he can avoid becoming the new Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter has never been held up as a thought-leader on the left, despite being drummed out of office at the relatively young age of 56. He's had 30 years to be the left's go-to guy for policy ideas. Instead, he is irrelevant. His irrelevance is directly tied to his landslide defeat in the 1980 election. Obama's ego couldn't handle that sort of defeat.Source: Obama Fail Blog

And now, Dick Morris - who is more politically astute than most pundits, in my opinion - is starting to think it may happen:

In an interview with conservative radio icon Sean Hannity, former President Clinton adviser and campaign manager Dick Morris stated that, after speaking with a Democratic strategist, he thinks it is “very possible” that President Obama might acquiesce to requests from the Democratic leadership in Congress and bow out of the 2012 race, leaving the door open for him to return sometime in the future.“I asked a top Democratic strategist the other day and he thought that it was possible that, in January, Harry Reid comes to Obama and says, ‘Look you cost us control of the House last year, you’re going to cost us control of the Senate this year. For the good of the party you have to step aside’” said Morris.Source: CNS News

Morris also mentions that a decision not to run in 2012 doesn't mean Obama will retire from politics. Rather, it would be the beginning of a larger strategy:

Morris added that he thinks that this strategy could also set up Obama for a presidential run in a later election.“The twenty second amendment does not preclude non-consecutive terms, he is young, (he could) preserve himself as a possible candidate down the road” said Morris. “We’ve seen how Bill Clinton is much more popular now then he was when he was leaving office, same with Jimmy Carter.”Source: CNS News

Once again, I wrote basically the same thing in "Eight Reasons Why Obama Won't Run in 2012":

4.) Obama's legacy will benefit from stepping down. You can bet Obama will blame his decision not to run on everyone but himself. He will let his supporters cry "racism!" while he simply stands by, voting "present" by saying nothing. There will be endless discussions and debates about what went wrong, what could've been done differently. His supporters won't have to explain away a landslide defeat. Instead, they can focus on how things could've worked if Obama just had a little more time. We just weren't ready for a man of such greatness!

5.) Obama will cash in on his non-defeat. There will be books. Speaking tours. Television appearances. More books. Obama will become the ideological equivalent of William F. Buckley for the left. Meanwhile, he'll be raking in the dough from his unfortunate political demise and his increased gravitas. If you doubt this, look at Paul Krugman. That guy is a complete moron who likely has never had a real job in his life and yet he's held up as a sort of economic oracle. Obama could do that and then some. He will be the former President of the United States of America, after all.

8.) Obama will be back. He'll only be 51 years old when he leaves office. After eight years of Hillary, he can come back. Or he could spend a few more years rallying unions, causing riots, writing books and revealing his true hard left ideological views. Either way, he'll be back. And by then, we be so much closer to full-on European socialism and so many people will believe Obama was driven out by racism, America will buy in again.
Read and see the full story here.

• Obama administration 'awards' $5 million in “performance bonuses” for Food Stamp Sign Up .(JW).In its quest to promote taxpayer-funded entitlement programs, the Obama Administration has actually rewarded one state with a $5 million bonus for its efficiency in adding food-stamp recipients to already bulging rolls.It’s part of the administration’s campaign to eradicate “food insecure households” by improving access and increasing participation in the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Incidentally, the program was recently changed to SNAP to eliminate the stigma that comes with a name like food stamps. Just a few months ago the federal agency that administers the program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), launched a multi-million-dollar initiative to recruit more food-stamp participants even though the number of recipients has skyrocketed in the last few years.This week Oregon officials bragged that the USDA has given the state $5 million in “performance bonuses” for ensuring that people eligible for food benefits receive them and for its “swift processing of applications.” The money comes on the heels of a separate $1.5 million award from the feds for making “accurate payments of food stamp benefits to clients.” So welfare recipients are clients? .It marks the fifth consecutive year that Oregon has been “recognized” by the federal government for “exceptional administration” of the entitlement program, according to the announcement posted on the state’s Department of Human Services web site. The state official who runs SNAP assures that her staff will “continue working very hard to exceed expectations” so that Oregonians can “put healthy foods on their table quickly.”Could this be why the number of food-stamp beneficiaries in Oregon has increased dramatically in the last few years? Since 2008 the state has seen a 60% boost in the number of food-stamp recipients, which means that more than 780,000 people (one out of five Oregonians) get groceries compliments of Uncle Sam.As if this weren’t bad enough, the feds are also giving the state a two-year grant to test an “innovative approach” to the food-stamp “client eligibility review process.” This will make it even easier for people to get food stamps because it grants state officials a waiver that allows them to grant the benefit without interviewing the candidate.Hmmmm......."Creating Jobs is our priority"?Read the full story here.

• New Homeland Security Fence to Prevent Illegal Crossings… On Canadian Border.(SHTF).Amid the recent cancellation of a virtual fence on the southern Arizona-Mexico border that cost taxpayers an estimated $1 billion dollars and would have curbed the migration of some of the 400,000 to 1 million southern migrants yearly, the government is confident that, while they can’t stop the illegal inflows from Mexico, they are prepared to effectively tackle the Canadian dilemma head on.With all of the violence, drug smuggling, free health care, education vouchers, and black market jobs stemming from illegal crossings along the Canadian border, it only makes sense that the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is preparing to invest billions of dollars to secure the 4000 mile long demarcation point that separates Canada from the United States.The United States is looking at building fences along the border with Canada to help keep out terrorists and other criminals.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has proposed the use of “fencing and other barriers” on the 49th parallel to manage “trouble spots where passage of cross-border violators is difficult to control.”The border service is also pondering options including a beefed-up technological presence through increased use of radar, sensors, cameras, drones and vehicle scanners.U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano noted last month the challenges of monitoring the vast, sparsely populated northern border region. She stressed manpower, but also a greater reliance on technology.Relatively speaking, Washington has focused more energy and resources on tightening security along the border with Mexico than at the sprawling one with Canada.But that may be changing.A U.S. Government Accountability Office report recently warned that only a small portion of the border with Canada is properly secure. It said U.S. border officers control just 50 kilometres of the 6,400-kilometre boundary.…the agency would use fencing and other barriers such as trenches to control movement and sometimes delay people trying to sneak across the border, increasing the likelihood they could be caught, says the report.It doesn’t provide details about what the fences might look like, but suggests they would be designed to blend into the environment and “complement the natural landscape.”Predator drones, camouflage fencing, and Janet Napolitano. It’s on now.Sorry Canada, we’ve had enough, and we’re not going to take it any more.Read the full story here.

• Iranian-Afghan “Parents” Hide Child in a Suitcase,suspicion of'organ traffiking'.(KTG). That’s unbelievable! A pair of foreigners hid an eight-year-old boy in a suitcase and loaded it into the storage space of a coach bus! Operators of the bus and passengers were more than stunned when Igoumenitsa Port Authorities asked the bus personnel to open the suitcase: A child was curled inside the luggage. The bag belonged to an Iranian with German passport. The man was accompanied by an Afghan woman who had with her another child, two years old.There is suspicion that the horror transport has to do with human organs trafficking.The couple is being interrogated separately from each other, so authorities will find out why the child was in the suitcase and if the child belongs to them.Igoumenits Port Authorities. Western Greece, acted upon a tip-off, says Greek newspaper Proto Thema on its online edition. It was a miracle that the child survived his enclosure and did not die of suffocation.Read the full story here.

• Video - Liberals Try to Remove Anti-Obama Signs in New Orleans.(MRCTV).It's a story as old as time it seems. Liberal comes across speech they don't like. Liberal does everything it can to silence said speech.A New Orleans resident posted a couple signs on his own private property criticizing President Obama. Some liberals wondered by and didn't like that the signs made fun of President Obama. These liberals freaked out so much that the media, police, and a bunch of liberal politicians got involved.In fact, city councilwoman Susan Guidry hates this guy's expression of his opinion so much that she openly admits that she will use ANY technicality she could find to squash it. She literally goes through a list of backhanded attacks she might use against the homeowner while being interviewed by WWLTV saying "whatever we can use we will". Of course she is reportedly just "concerned about public safety".Now, I'm not positive what country, or planet for that matter, these liberals live on but I've always been under the impression that here in America freedom of speech was a protected right given to us by God and protected from infringement by the constitution. Heck, I'm not even the kind of person who would put up big provocative political signs on my property (and I don't agree with everything on those signs) but I am certainly the kind of person who will push back against those who try to drum up bogus technicalities in order to infringe on speech they don't like.If this attack on free speech goes unabated and succeeds it will be yet another dark day for the USA.Read and see the full story here.

• Congressmen Want FTC Probe of Facebook.(Politico).Lawmakers are asking the FTC to investigate Facebook following reports that the social network has been collecting data even from users logged out of their profiles.The concerns from Capitol Hill came Wednesday in a letter by Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), who have repeatedly questioned Facebook’s privacy practices.The duo expressed deep concern with the findings of one Australian security blogger, who discovered this week Facebook was gathering data even from logged out users whenever they visited Web pages that feature the social network’s signature “Like” button.Facebook has maintained it never tracked its users’ browsing habits and sought only to use information it collected for security and statistical purposes. And even though Facebook has since worked to address users’ concerns, Markey and Barton said in their latest letter they “remain concerned about the privacy implications for Facebook’s 800 million subscribers.”They further asked the FTC to detail anything the agency has already done to examine Facebook’s use of cookies.“As co-chairs of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, we believe that tracking user behavior without their consent or knowledge raises serious privacy concerns,” the lawmakers wrote.Read the full story here.

• Turkey to Iran ....let's help each other get the Kurds.(InfidelBloggers).By Epaminondas.If there ARE any natural allies for the USA (and Israel) it’s the Kurds, victims of Iran, Turkey, Iraq for HUNDREDS OF YEARS of oppression, repression, and pogroms.Israel, are you LISTENING? Erdogan and his islamist people are NOT untouchable or unreachable on their arrogant march. Iran IS AFRAID of internal, and genuine threats.Turkey woos Iran for joint strike on Kurdish insurgents.Read the full story here.

• Russian aircraft carrier to carry out exercises in Med Sea.(HurriyetDaily).Russia is sending its northern fleet led by the country's only aircraft carrier, the "Admiral Kuznetsov," to the Mediterranean Sea for exercises, daily Hürriyet reported on its website Thursday.The Kuznetsov will sail the waters in the Barents Sea for a week and carry out drills there first, the report said.The carrier will then start a three-month voyage to the Mediterranean Sea via the Northeast Atlantic. It will be joined by anti-submarine ship "Admiral Chabanenko" and other vessels.It was not yet decided which ports the ships would visit but it was possible that the fleet could take part in military exercises with fleets of other countries in the region while it is in the Mediterranean.The last time the Admiral Kuznetsov sailed in Mediterranean waters was in the winter of 2008-2009, when it visited ports in Turkey and Syria.Hmmmm......"May you live in interesting times?Read the full story here.

• Sultans and numbers.(HurriyetDaily).By Burak Bekdil.In an interview with CNN last weekend, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan argued that a) there have been just a few rockets targeting Israel, and b) a great number of Palestinians have been killed by Israel. Here is the original transcript from that interview:

Erdoğan: “Here’s what’s being said – and this is upsetting to hear. They say that Palestine is bombing and disturbing the people of Israel and many Israelis have been killed. I’m very clear in my remarks; I would like to see accurate statistics of how many Israelis have been killed by the bombs thrown by Palestinians or with the rockets that were launched by them. Ten, 20, 100, 200? How many? Please document it. Let us know. But on the other hand, we know that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were killed. Only as a result of the Gaza attack, thousands of people were killed. These are very clear remarks.”Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians? Sounds like coffeehouse chat in Konya. Mathematically – and simplistically – speaking, “hundreds of thousands” should mean any figure between 200,000 and 900,000, or an average of 550,000. Considering Palestinian demographics, one merely feels like pleading “Have mercy, Mr. Prime Minister!” It should be an elementary qualification of a statesman to have a fair notion of order of magnitude when making speeches supported by numbers.

First, the “peacemakers:” Here is a rich assortment of Palestinian/Arab charity and peace groups that have operated in the past four decades, with philanthropic missions explicitly revealed by their stage names:

Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Nidal Organization, the Black September Organization, the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Arab Liberation Front, As-Sa’iqa, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian Arab Front, Tanzim, Force 17, Fatah Special Operations Group, the Ahmed Abu Reish Brigade, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Army of Islam, Jund Ansar Allah, Fatah al-Islam, Jund al-Sham and Jaljalat.

Mr. Erdoğan is free to think that all of these groups have been formed to send flowers and candy to Israeli soldiers – yes, soldiers, since most of these militant groups claim there are no Israeli civilians. Women? They are soldiers who serve in the Israeli army. Elderly women? They once served in the Israeli army. Children and babies? They will serve in the Israeli army when they grow up.

Since Mr. Erdoğan seems to be in love with numbers, allow me to mention a few here:

- Over 7,000 rockets have been fired into the Israeli territory since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Perhaps Mr. Erdoğan believes these rockets came from the FARC in Colombia.

- Arab deaths in the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1950 total 46,000, including 11,000 during Israel’s War of Independence; or less than 50,000, including fatalities during and after Operation Cast Lead.

- Between the Oslo Accords in 1993 and July 2005, over 400 members of the Israeli security forces and 821 civilians were killed by Palestinians, mainly in suicide bombings, including not-yet-ranking soldiers aged 1-15.

- During the Second Intifada alone, 1,137 Israelis were killed by Palestinians.

- Between 2000 and 2010, 496 Israeli civilians (sorry again, I mean soldiers!) were killed in Israel along with another 242 in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. In the same period, 664 Palestinians were killed by Palestinians.

- Since the 1982 Lebanon War, 7,000-10,000 Palestinians have been killed in intra-fighting among various Palestinian charity groups.

No doubt “order of magnitude” should be taught at Turkish schools, including imam schools. I cannot decide whether Ottoman or Turkish sultans are better with numbers.Hmmmm.....Hear,Hear!Read the full story here.

• Israeli and Turkish air fighters play hard poker over Plot 12.(Hellasfrappe).Israel decided to play hard poker today and sent a fighter outside of Kastelorizo in response to sending Turkish intelligence aircraft that flew a few miles out of Israeli airspace! Immediately two Israeli fighter jets took off from the Israeli base to the region over the Rizokarpaso and informed the Office of Civil Aviation of Cyprus and not the FIR Ercan. The aircraft continued their flights to the Gulf of Mersin and flew parallel to the coast of southern Turkey just 15 miles up Phoenicia near Kastelorizo! The Israeli fighters followed the regulations stipulated by the FLIR Nicosia and certainly not those of Ercan which illegally considers the airspace over the occupied part of the island as its own, a report on defencenet said adding that when the situation was under control, the fighters headed south and returned to Israel. Shortly afterwards a Turkish F-16 tried to reach Israel but immediately 6 Israeli fighter jets chased it out of the area!Parallel to all of this, we also found out today that there is a large military presence in the region of "Venus" from the US, which consists of naval vessels of the 6th Fleet. Reports say they are now permanently stationed in the Mediterranean and apparently patrol the area where Nobel is doing the drilling, as well as monitor spy planes and electronic warfare. Also in the area are Israeli military forces.Even Russian ships, stationed in Syria, have incorporated patrol routes in their routine around plot 12 or "Venus" as have British naval forces and forces of UNIFIL as well. It is worth noting that the Cyprus Republic has committed a range of 5 miles radius around the plot 12. The "Piri Reis" actually sailed within 40-60 km south of Akrotiri in Limassol and the closest distance it reached from the Noble Ferrington platform was reported to be some 45 km, a separate report on onalert said. At the same time Turkish fighters and helicopters also made their appearance west of Paphos and in Akamas. In any case, and despite the violations recorded by FIR Nicosia, no harassment was reported.In other news, Amos Gilad, the Director of the Political and Military Office of Israel’s Ministry of Defence made a rush, and unscheduled visit to Athens today, in order to meet with Greek defence ministry officials, Athens press reports said. It is expected that the main subject of discussion cantered around the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.Under Creative Commons License: Attribution.Read the full story here. More here.

• Iranian Interior Minister: Pakistan's Enemy Is Iran's Enemy.(Memri).Amid the U.S.-Pakistani crisis, Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar has said that Pakistan would not be left alone in any eventuality, saying that Pakistan’s enemy is the enemy of Iran, according to an Urdu-language daily. The Iranian minister expressed the Iranian position at a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rahman Malik, according to a report in the Urdu-language daily Roznama Jang.The two ministers also discussed various bilateral issues, including security cooperation, combating drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime.Hmmmm.....well that didden't take long.Read the full story here.

• Muslim Attacks Belgian Policeman as his Wife is Booked for Wearing Burka.(IslamversusEurope).On Tuesday afternoon, in the Saint-Josse district of Brussels - a heavily immigrant-colonised neighbourhood - a 37-year-old Muslim was walking down the street with his burka-clad wife. Wearing the burka has been illegal in Belgium since the middle of July, so two policemen approached them and proceeded to carry out an identity check on the woman. The Muslim male objected vehemently to what they were doing. He struck one of the police officers and ordered his wife back to the house. Then he threatened to kill the police if they continued to pursue his wife. The male Muslim was arrested and charged with "insubordination" and "wilfully causing injuries". His wife is going to be fined for wearing the burka.Read the full story here.GoogleTranslated page here.