Saturday Morning Reads

Good Morning!! On Tuesday I was complaining about our weather, but it has been sunny now for two days straight. Just a little sun does wonders for my mood. If only it didn’t get dark at 3:30PM. I might have to start setting my alarm for 5AM so I can get more sun exposure. Okay, enough about Boston weather. Let’s what’s in the news. We’ll start with the lightweight stuff.

It was rumored yesterday afternoon that Donald Trump was going to cancel his debate, which is sponsored by Newsmax.

With the wheels coming off the GOP debate he is supposed to host, Donald Trump admitted Friday that he’s looking into canceling the sparsely-attended forum.

But Trump, in a typical display of chutzpah, said there’s another reason why he might pull the plug – he still may run for President.

“If the Republican, in my opinion, is not the right candidate [to defeat President Obama\],” Trump declared, “I am unwilling to give up my right to run as an independent candidate.”

But as of late last night, “organizers” claimed the debate was “still on,” according to the LA Times.

There may only be two candidates, but plans for a debate moderated by Donald Trump are “moving full steam ahead,” the organizers said Friday.

Only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum accepted the invitation from conservative media group Newsmax to attend the Dec. 27 forum in Iowa, broadcast on Ion Television.

Ion Television normally shows reruns of Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, and other TV dramas, along with old movies on weekends. It seems appropriate that the Republican Candidates might appear in the Criminal Minds slot.

Steve Coz, Newsmax’s editorial director, said in an interview that the hosts were “absolutely not” considering dropping Trump from the event.

“We just had a full production meeting this morning. We’re moving full steam ahead,” he said.

Coz said he was “disappointed” that other candidates backed out.

“It’s because they’re afraid of Trump because he’s so tough and so smart,” he said, admitting he is not a “typical moderator.” “The fact that they’re so fearful of Donald Trump that they don’t come is ludicrous. How can you be running for president and afraid of Donald Trump?”

Donald Trump “smart?” Now I’ve heard everything. But I agree that if these candidates are afraid of an old windbag like Trump, they’re in the wrong business.

A video has been released of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agenct who disappeared five years ago at age 59.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance nearly five years ago of a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in Iran was rekindled Friday with the release of a hostage videotape showing him alive as of a year ago. In the video, the former agent, Robert A. Levinson, is shown in a makeshift cell looking gaunt and wearing a threadbare shirt.

Mr. Levinson, who worked as a private investigator after retiring from the F.B.I., disappeared in March 2007 while on Kish Island, a resort in the Persian Gulf. In the tape, which was received by Mr. Levinson’s family last November, he says that he has been held in captivity for three and a half years but does not identify his captors.

The tape was the first sign he was still alive. “I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me,” he said on the tape as faint music played on a soundtrack. “Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something.”

I don’t recall hearing about this before, does anyone else? Levinson’s family members have a web site where they have posted videos and appeals to his captors. The FBI is aware of the situation and there have been meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials. The Iranian government claims they had nothing to do with Levinson’s kidnapping, but are willing to help find him. According to the NYT article, Secretary of State Clinton indicated earlier this year that she believes Levinson is still alive.

The suspect in the Virgina Tech shooting has been identified as Ross Truett Ashley.

A 22-year-old Virginia man stole a Mercedes SUV at gunpoint the day before he shot dead a Virginia Tech police officer and then took his own life, police said Friday.

Virginia State Police on Friday identified Ross Truett Ashley, 22, as the man who killed Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek Crouse and then himself about 30 minutes later.

A part-time student at Radford University, 15 miles southwest of Blacksburg, Ashley had no connection to or contact with Crouse before Thursday’s shooting, according to a news release from state police.

“State police investigators are continuing their work to establish a motive in the killing and to re-create Ashley’s movements in the days and hours leading up to the murder-suicide,” police said.

A little more on Ashley from the NYT:

Little was known about Mr. Ashley. He lived on East Main Street in Radford. He did not appear on Facebook or MySpace and had no criminal history. The only photograph the police could find was from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

On Wednesday, however, Mr. Ashley walked into a real estate office in Radford, pulled a gun and demanded the keys to an employee’s car, a white 2011 Mercedes-Benz S.U.V., the police said. The car was found Thursday on the Virginia Tech campus.

Mr. Ashley appeared to have considered his moves carefully. He had a change of clothes and a backpack, the police said. He drove to the campus in the stolen vehicle. But the police said they were still trying to establish why he walked up to Officer Crouse during a routine traffic stop and shot him dead….

After shooting Officer Crouse, Mr. Ashley fled to an area near the campus greenhouses. There he changed some of his clothes, leaving a wool hat and a pullover in his backpack, as well as an ID card, Ms. Geller said.

I guess we’ll have to wait for more answers. Apparently Ashley’s family hasn’t been interviewed by the media yet.

There was another mysterious random shooter in LA yesterday.

Los Angeles police detectives spread out to several parts of Southern California on Friday investigating addresses connect to a gunman who randomly opened fire on drivers and pedestrians in Hollywood before being fatally shot by Los Angeles Police Department officers.

Police have so far found no motive in the shooting and don’t believe the gunman knew his targets.

Law enforcement sources said detectives have checked on several addresses — including at least one in the San Gabriel Valley — to seek more information about the gunman, who has not been identified.

There is video of the shootings. A student, William Wiles heard shots outside his apartment and filmed the scene on his iPhone.

A brief video, which he provided to The Times, shows a man in the intersection firing a shot at a pickup truck.

The gunman was “being crazy and spastic,” Wiles said, adding that he heard the man yelling.

The gunman started shooting with no apparent motive. He was killed on Vine Street by Los Angeles police officers Friday morning.

A man in a silver Mercedes Benz who was shot in the jaw is in critical condition, police said. The 40-year-old victim was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Other witnesses said the man was standing in the middle of the intersection, apparently “shooting randomly at cars and in the air,” said witness Gregory Bojorquez, who was on the way to the Bank of America.

“At first it seemed like a movie but then you could hear the shots hitting metal,” Bojorquez said.

I didn’t watch the video, because I’d rather not have that image in my mind right now.

Are we going to see a “Russian Spring?” From the Guardian UK:

Vladimir Putin is set to face the biggest show of opposition yet to his strongman rule with tens of thousands of Russians promising to take to the streets on Saturday in a popular wave of discontent unseen since he came to power 12 years ago.

The opposition coalesced around a set of concrete demands, including the annulment of a parliamentary vote marred by fraud and the holding of new elections.

“We expect the biggest political demonstration of the last 10 years,” said Ilya Ponomaryov, a Duma deputy with the Just Russia party and a protest organiser. “What will happen tomorrow is an important step in the development of our democracy.”

More than 35,000 people indicated via Facebook that they planned to join the protest in Moscow. After a day of intense negotiations, protest organisers agreed to demands by the city government to move from Revolution Square to Bolotnaya (Swamp) Square, away from the Kremlin. Some protesters expressed concern that the site, on an island accessible by bridges, could be cut off by police.

It really is looking like 2012 could resemble 1968.

Occupy Boston planned to hold a general assembly last night, one day after Mayor Menino had ordered them to leave Dewey Park. From the conservative Boston Herald

The refuse-to-die Boston Occupy movement is holding its general assembly tonight where they are bracing for police to sweep them out sometime after midnight, according to an alert the group sent out.

The warning comes as occupiers hold a general assembly at the Dewey Square encampment — defying Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s call for them to leave.

A new sign is also being showed off: “You Can’t Evict An Idea.” The rally has turned bitter as members take turns lashing out at the mayor’s eviction order.

According to The Boston Globe: Some Occupy Boston protesters said they plan to stay until they are forced to go.

With determination in his voice and a hammer in hand, Occupy Boston protester Harry said today he is willing to risk arrest in order to continue living at the Dewey Square encampment.

One day after Mayor Menino ordered an end to the tent village, the Dorchester man hammered a wooden stake into the ground to support the tent he intends to live in – until he is forcibly removed by Boston police.

“There is a good amount of hope and possibility left at this camp,’’ he said.

Asked what he will do if Boston police change tactics and arrest him as part of the effort to permanently close the encampment, Harry was resigned to being taken into custody.

“Oh, well,’’ he said. “What’s the worse thing they could do? Arrest us for a peaceful protest? Oh, well.’’

I just hope they’re discussing their next moves, because the occupation of parks seems to be played out, especially up here where the weather will be getting colder and messier soon.

Those are my Saturday offerings. What are you reading and blogging about today?