More Islamophobia

An Iraqi immigrant accused of helping plot an attack against a newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad said in an interview published Friday that he was an innocent man arrested while providing three other suspects with an apartment.

Abdullah Muhammed Salman was released a day after his arrest Wednesday due to an apparent lack of evidence. Three men taken into custody with him remain in jail on charges attempting to carry out an act of terrorism and possession of illegal weapons. Police said they found a submachine gun, a handgun and ammunition in raids and believe the men were plotting to open fire inside the Copenhagen offices of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which angered many Muslims by publishing 12 cartoons of Muhammad in 2005.

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/12/31/1490579/iraqi-suspect-says-unaware-of.html

Remember, according to the U.S. media, the root of the problem is American Islamophobia.

Of course, I don't remember any Christians ever blowing up newspapers for insulting Christ.

Attacks upon migrants in Mexico

Mexico and Honduras have agreed to create a high-level group to combat all-too-common attacks on undocumented Honduran migrants.

Honduran Assistant Foreign Minister Alden Rivera says an estimated 10,000 of the 75,000 Hondurans who cross Mexico each year to reach the United States are kidnapped or held for extortion, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Rivera said Wednesday the group will include officials of both countries, and will focus on informing migrants about the risks they face and how to report such crimes.

http://www.mexicotoday.com.mx/en/headlines-footer-links-34/2088-mexico-and-honduras-agree-to-combat-migrant-attacks.html

The Mexican government protests when an American cop asks an illegal immigrant at a traffic stop for his driver's license.

But, in response to the kidnappings, physical attacks, rapes and murders of illegal immigrants in Mexico, that same Mexican government "will focus on informing migrants about the risks they face and how to report such crimes".

Why do we listen to the Mexican government?

Obama extends Hawaiian vacation another day

President Barack Obama has extended his Hawaiian vacation by another day.

The White House says Obama will now depart Hawaii late in the evening on Jan. 3, arriving in Washington the following day. The Obamas have already pushed back their departure once, changing their return from Jan. 1 to Jan. 2 after the president delayed his arrival in Hawaii to stay in Washington while Congress wrapped up the legislative year.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton says the president is trying to squeeze in more time with his family before returning to the nation's capital.

http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=21913

I'm sure all the unemployed Americans (16%? 17%? 18%?) are very happy for him. After all, it's not as if he ever gets to spend any time with his family in their Washington, D.C. taxpayer supplied mansion.

Obama extends Hawaiian vacation another day

President Barack Obama has extended his Hawaiian vacation by another day.

The White House says Obama will now depart Hawaii late in the evening on Jan. 3, arriving in Washington the following day. The Obamas have already pushed back their departure once, changing their return from Jan. 1 to Jan. 2 after the president delayed his arrival in Hawaii to stay in Washington while Congress wrapped up the legislative year.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton says the president is trying to squeeze in more time with his family before returning to the nation's capital.

http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=21913

It's early but . . .

2012 looks like it could be another bad year for congressional Democrats.

According to the highly partisan, pro Democratic Daily Kos / PPP polls, the seven incumbent Senators facing reelection in 2012 with the lowest approval ratings are:

Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
John Ensign (R-NV)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Six of these 7 endangered Senators caucus with the Democrats.

"On the other end of the spectrum are the four most popular Senators up for re-election in 2012. Among those polled by PPP, the four top dogs split evenly between the Democrats (Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar and New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman) and the GOP (Maine's Olympia Snowe and Massachusetts' Scott Brown)."

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/12/29/932203/-PPPs-look-at-the-Senate-tips-off-2012-target-list

Only half of the most popular Senators up for reelection in 2012 are Democrats. Almost all of the most unpopular Senators up for reelection in 2012 are Democrats.

That's not good news for the Democrats.

Guantánamo camps not closing soon

Candidate Obama promised to close the Guantánamo prison camps within one year of his swearing in. President Obama promised to do it within two years. Both of them lied.

The Obama administration acknowledged Sunday that it has no new timetable for closure of the prison camps at Guantánamo, while reiterating a White House talking point that the controversial detention center is an al Qaeda "recruiting tool."

One of President Barack Obama's earliest executive orders was to order the prison camps emptied by Jan. 22, 2010. But spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNN's State of the Union program that there's no end in sight

"It's certainly not going to close in the next month," around the first anniversary of the administration's failed closure timetable.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/27/1989532/guantanamo-not-closing-soon.html

Democracy in Miami

The Miami mayor and county commission passed a controversial county budget that raised the property tax rate while giving raises to most county employees. This followed their vote to build a private baseball stadium with public money in the middle of a recession.

As a result, there was a recall drive against the mayor and certain commissioners, which garnered 95,499 valid signatures, far more than the 51,992 needed to call an election.

All that remains to be done is the setting of the recall election. But . . .

A special meeting of the Miami-Dade County Commission to set a recall election for Mayor Carlos Alvarez was canceled Wednesday for lack of a quorum. . . . six of 13 commissioners appeared on the dais, one short of the minimum required.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/29/1993429/meeting-to-set-recall-election.html

Democracy in Miami . . . if you don't like what they people want, just ignore them.