A journalist is arrested, convicted by a kangaroo court, and imprisoned because he reports stories embarrassing to the government under which he lives. After a great public outcry, the President of the country is preparing to pardon him when he receives a telephone call from the leader of a foreign country. That leader, also shamed by the journalist’s reporting, asks him to keep the man behind bars. The President complies; and an innocent man remains incarcerated for the crime of telling the truth.

According to a detailed article by Jeremy Scahill in the Nation, that is precisely what happened in Yemen on February 2, 2011. The innocent journalist is Abdulelah Haider Shaye; the President of Yemen at the time was Ali Abdullah Saleh; and the foreign leader who convinced Saleh not to pardon Shaye is none other than Barack Obama, President of the United States.

Shaye, 35, is a highly respected investigative journalist of the type that is always in short supply: one who takes the time to get the facts for himself and to report them, letting the chips fall where they may. He is not content simply to rehash government press releases; but though he has interviewed many al-Qaeda figures, he does not repeat what they say uncritically either. He abhors the criminal tactics of both terrorists and state functionaries and exposes them.

Shaye is “very open-minded and rejects extremism,” his best friend, dissident Yemeni political cartoonist Kamal Sharaf, told Scahill. “He was against violence and the killing of innocents in the name of Islam. He was also against killing innocent Muslims with pretext of fighting terrorism. In his opinion, the war on terror should have been fought culturally, not militarily. He believes using violence will create more violence and encourage the spread of more extremist currents in the region.”

The U.S. government says Shaye was “facilitating” the work of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), though it refuses to present any evidence to back up its assertion. Shaye is related by marriage to the radical Islamic cleric Abdul Majid al Zindani, the founder of Imam University whom the U.S. government has deemed a terrorist. Shaye has used this relationship and other connections to gain access to al-Qaeda leaders not because he sympathizes with them but simply to get a good story — and sometimes to expose them for the criminals that they are.

Read More at The New American By Michael Tennant, The New American

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer once again aired Obama campaign propaganda by playing a clip of Bill Clinton praising the President, from an Obama campaign film to be released soon. Last Thursday Blitzer had aired two whole minutes of footage from the film’s trailer, and he referred back to the film on Monday afternoon’s The Situation Room.

Blitzer asked if Clinton stumping for Obama in swing states wouldn’t “dramatically” aid the President. Of course, what also wouldn’t hurt the President is the free advertising he receives by CNN airing his re-election message.

The CNN host thought that former President Clinton would pick up support from certain swing states, some of which would fall under the blue-collar category. Clinton’s net worth, global travels, and lucrative speaking engagements might challenge the assumption of many that he is very much in touch with residents of states like Ohio and Michigan.

Blitzer hailed the campaign film as “very slick” and noted the “nice clip” of Clinton praising Obama.

“I think it’s fair, David – and I think you’ll agree – that if Bill Clinton is actively out there campaigning on a day-to-day basis, or several times a week, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan and Florida – a lot of these battleground states – that will dramatically help the President,” Blitzer mused to faux-conservative David Frum, who agreed with him.

 Read More at Media Research Center By Matt Hadro, Media Research Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is in the business to raise money. In order to do this, they must extend the definition of what it means to be a “hate group.” It’s similar to the phrase “One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.” It all depends on who’s defining the terms.

Each year the SPLC issues a report on hate groups in America. Each year the list gets longer. “Last week, the group released its latest intelligence report, titled ‘The Patriot Movement Explodes.’ The listing includes the Tenth Amendment Center, Oath Keepers and WND.”

The SPLC has gone from tracking the movements of violent racists, skinhead groups, and a brief resurgence of the KKK that number in the hundreds to creating hysteria over mainstream value voters. If you believe in the Tenth Amendment, you must be part of a hate group. If you say President Obama is wrong on this or that issue, then you must be responding out of racial hatred. Am I exaggerating? You be the judge from this report by Jack Minor at WND:
Mark Potek, senior fellow with the SPLC and editor of the report, said the growth of what is described as the radical right was fueled by “economic dislocation, a proliferation of demonizing conspiracy theories, the changing racial makeup of America, and the prospect of four more years under a black president who many on the far right view as an enemy to their country.”

With its new definition of what constitutes a hate group, the SPLC has become a fund-raising machine. It’s no wonder that the SPLC is flush with cash.[1] Ultimately, the tactic is to strike fear in middle-America so the checks keep rolling in. Most communities don’t see skinheads or even KKKers, so the SPLC needs new visible enemies.

According to the SPLC, hate has gone mainstream, so you better send a donation before these “haters” come and get you, too! The SPLC is a fund raising industry designed to silence conservatives who want their country back, to hold elected officials accountable to their Constitutional oath, and to uphold certain moral values. There’s not much money in fighting real hate groups now that only a few of the real haters are still around, so the SPLC needs a bigger, more menacing group of haters — your next door neighbors who attend the church down the street! Muslim extremists who kill soldiers in the name of Allah on an army base or plan to blow up the streets of New York City to kill and maim Americans are of little concern when there are bigger fish to land.

Read More at godfatherpolitics.com By Gary DeMar, Godfather Politics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is leaving open the possibility of giving Moscow certain secret data on U.S. interceptor missiles due to help protect Europe from any Iranian missile strike.

A deal is being sought by Washington that could include classified data exchange because it is in the U.S. interest to enlist Russia and its radar stations in the missile-defense effort, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Tuesday in written replies to Reuters.

No decision has been made yet on whether the United States would offer data about the interceptors’ “velocity at burnout,” or VBO, said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel April Cunningham, the spokeswoman, but it is not being ruled out.

VBO is at the heart of what Russia wants as the price for its cooperation, said Riki Ellison, head of the private Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, who has close ties to missile defense and military officials.

VBO tells how fast an interceptor is going when its rocket-booster motor fuel is spent and the motor burns out.

Read More at yahoo.com

Rick Santorum ensured that the Republican nominating battle will drag on, possibly into the spring and beyond, after pulling off a pair of victories in the Deep South on Tuesday — as the presidential primary race passes the midway mark.

The former Pennsylvania senator edged out his opponents in both Mississippi and Alabama, allowing him to build the case that he is the “conservative” alternative to Mitt Romney over Newt Gingrich.

But even with two surprise wins, Santorum didn’t walk away with a surge in delegates. As of Wednesday morning, Romney had 495 delegates to Santorum’s 252. That’s up from 454 and 217 before Tuesday’s votes. Gingrich now stands with 131 delegates and Ron Paul with 48.

Romney did not go home empty handed because the states divide their delegates proportionally and he clinched a victory in the Hawaii caucuses by a wide margin. He took home 45 percent of the vote 52 percent of that state’s delegates while Santorum trailed with 25 percent of the vote and 23 percent of the delegates.

Romney also won the small Republican caucus in American Samoa. He picked up all nine delegates in the contest in the U.S. territory located 2,300 miles south of Hawaii.

Read More at Fox News FoxNews.com