Olli Rehn, previously overseeing enlargement, has taken the economic monetary affairs portfolio, a post vacated by Spain's Joaquin Almunia who steps on to the equally important anti-trust job. France's Michel Barnier scooped the internal market dossier, including financial services.

This is widely seen as a coup for Paris which had lobbied hard to get the post, annoyed at what it saw as the too market-liberal tendencies of the occupier of the post to date, Irishman Charlie McCreevy. Heading off potential UK nervousness about Mr Barnier putting a heavy regulatory hand on the City of London, the internal market unit, the administration behind Mr Barnier, will now be led by a Briton.

While the UK simply has a vice presidency post in the commission due to Catherine Ashton also being EU foreign policy chief, the other major EU player, Germany, has not got a major economic post with Guenter Oettinger taking on energy. However, EU officials say Berlin were keen to get the dossier because much of the job will later concern building innovative industry to meet climate change goals, an area Germany already feels it is ahead in.

What a joke... Oettinger was a dinosaur on renewables.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Potentially the draft rules, seen by EUobserver, could give the Belgian politician, known for his discretion and negotiating skills, real clout as president of the European Council.

They give him the power to call special summits of EU leaders, draw up the agenda of the meetings, decide on whether to hold a vote, and whether EU summits should be attended by countries beyond the EU or other personalities.

However, the more immediate test of his skills is likely to be how he gets along with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who will take on the day-to-day running of the bloc in all areas except foreign policy on the same day.

The draft rules show that the monthly general affairs council, which will be chaired by Spain, will be extremely powerful.

As part of the war on terror, American intelligence services have been monitoring European bank transactions since 2001. When the EU found out about it in 2006, they were outraged. But now it looks like the bloc will agree to a controversial deal that will allow the covert data transfer to continue.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Foch Rasmussen has reaffirmed his organisation's policy of open doors to new members during a visit to Montenegro, the Balkan state said in a statement.

Former German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung spent Thursday trying to hold on to his position as labor minister. But on Friday, after widespread calls that he throw in the towel, he gave in...

In a brief statement on Friday, Jung said he was taking "political responsibility" for having misinformed the German public due to, he claims, a lack of knowledge regarding civilian casualties stemming from a Sept. 4 airstrike Afghanistan. He repeated his Thursday claim that he had "correctly informed both the public and the parliament" to the best of his knowledge at the time.

So bye-bye Jung. With him, Hessen state PM and CDU heavyweight Roland Koch's man in the government is out. But he got compensation, see below...

The debacle has made things difficult for Germany's new Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. He is reported to have "exploded" when he first learned of the report -- when he was contacted by Bild on Wednesday for a comment. He immediately called in the General Inspector Schneidhan to see if he was aware of the report. Once it was clear that he had known about it, there was little choice but for him to resign. Peter Wichert, the deputy defense minister, was also fired.

Guttenberg was in effect left hanging by his staff. After coming into office, the young minister had quickly said he regretted any civilian casualties but stated that, having seen the NATO report into the incident, the air strike had been "appropriate militarily." He now says he may have to reassess that statement.

No way the media won't find their darling zu Guttenberg saved.

On Friday afternoon it was announced that current Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen is to take over at the Labor Ministry. She will be replaced by the relatively unknown Kristina Köhler at the Family Ministry.

Köhler, however, comes from Koch's Hessen state, and according to the German Wiki, made a name by misinterpreting a scientific study to claim a wave of "anti-German attacks" by foreigners living in Germany...

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin heads to France on Thursday for a two-day visit aimed at improving bilateral cooperation in the auto and energy industries. But his trip has set off alarm bells in some parts of Europe amid reports that Moscow also has plans to purchase a French-made warship that would significantly boost Russia's military capabilities...

French daily Le Figaro quotes Alex Rondell, president of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, as saying that the Mistral purchase is merely Moscow's latest attempt to regain its status as a superpower and reassert control over its former Soviet satellites. He, for one, has no doubts as to Russia's plans for the warship...

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told journalists on Tuesday that his country wanted to know if the potential sale would include "top military technology". Lithuanian foreign ministry spokesman Rolandas Kacinskas on Wednesday told AFP that Vilnius was also seeking clarification from France, on "exactly what kind of equipment it plans to sell and what it can be used for".

For the first time in Romanian politics, PRM and UDMR campaign together for the same presidential candidate. PSD, PNL, UDMR, PRM, PAS, THE ROMA PARTY and the Revolutionaries' National Block united to campaign in the second presidential poll for the social-candidate Mircea Geoana. The president of PSD Sibiu (Central Romania) deputy Ioan Cindrea announced the agreement on Thursday, quoted by Romanian press agency Agerpres.

(You can't make this up! PRM is Romania's far-right party who focus their hate on ethnic Hungarians and Roma, UDMR is the Hungarian minority party.)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Two member states are opposed to SWIFT deal, but delay would mean involvement of MEPs.

Germany and Austria are coming under pressure ahead of a 1 December deadline to drop their opposition to an EU agreement to share bank transfer data with the US.

Supporters of an agreement argue that it is an essential weapon in the fight against terrorism because it allows the tracking of funds suspected of being transferred by terrorist organisations. But if the agreement is not in place by 1 December, when the Lisbon treaty enters into force, it will have to be renegotiated with the involvement of MEPs, which could take at least six months, according to EU diplomats.

Home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday (30 November) and the Swedish government, which holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, is pressing Germany and Austria to end their resistance there. The presidency says that if there is no agreement then the transfer of data would have to stop.

A trial in which Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, is accused of paying a $600,000 bribe to David Mills, his former British tax adviser, will resume next week.

Mills -- the estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister -- was given a four-and-a-half-year sentence this year for accepting the bribe to give misleading evidence on Mr Berlusconi's behalf in corruption trials in the 1990s. The first of two appeals against the verdict was turned down in October, and the Supreme Court has until next April to accept or reject Mills's second and final appeal.

The revival of the charge against Mr Berlusconi for allegedly giving the bribe follows a decision by the Constitutional Court in October to overturn a law that the Italian Prime Minister pushed through Parliament last year, giving himself immunity from prosecution.

Cases against him that were suspended while the law was in force can now resume. However, the case against Mr Berlusconi for the alleged bribe to Mr Mills is being started again from the beginning, and a preliminary hearing today in Milan was restricted to the selection of a new panel of judges.

After tensions triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union and post-9/11, the hour has come for rapprochement between Europe and Russia. Favoured by the United States' relative unconcern and the absence of major present-day flashpoints between the two powers, their reconciliation is being approached pragmatically - and in many areas on the Kremlin's initiative.

It would seem that EU-Russian relations are making significant headway, observes the Moldavian daily Timpul. Moscow's desire to join the Eastern Partnership, the prospective easing of visa restrictions on Russian nationals, and diverse deals between European and Russian companies go to show "the EU and Russia need each other more than ever". What is more, beefing up relations with the Union would give Moscow "an added edge in dealing with Washington". And relations between the EU and Russia should warm up even more on the latter's initiative, says the Chisinau daily, as Moscow's eagerness to welcome the newly nominated leaders under the Lisbon Treaty reveals its preference for interlocutors from Western Europe, who are likely to pay less heed to the ex-Communist countries.

Moscow's diplomatic offensive is coupled with a trade offensive aimed at acquiring technologies developed in Europe, explains Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. Having clinched some very lucrative deals with German companies, the Kremlin is off on a shopping spree in France, where it has its sights set on aerospace and nuclear know-how, though also on the defence sector. "Present-day Russia is a backwards country in need of fast-track modernisation. But instead of training scientists and developing technologies itself, it would rather simply purchase know-how and new solutions," comments the Polish daily, adding that "unlike Washington or London, Paris doesn't mind sharing its know-how with Moscow".

China is beginning to poke around Southeastern Europe for business deals, taking advantage of a capital drought in the region to gain a manufacturing toehold inside the 27-member European Union.

Chinese companies have already carved out niche stakes in Romania and Bulgaria, and China's government is offering a $1 billion credit line to Moldova -- enough to cover two years of current-account deficits in Europe's poorest country.

Investment flows are still a trickle, totaling just €71 million ($106.3 million) last year, according to Eurostat. But they are poised to rise quickly, if a flurry of recent deals is anything to go by.

(Is the WSJ preparing to attack the EU's newest members as China's fifth column?)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

FP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won another victory for his strategy of energy diplomacy in France on Friday, signing a deal bringing French investment to a pipeline project.

The accord hooks another Western power into Moscow's plan to build two huge undersea gas pipelines to European markets, bypassing former Soviet satellites in eastern Europe and increasing Western reliance on Russian fuel.

Global stock markets were left reeling yesterday after the city-state's spectacularly debt-ridden Dubai World holding company asked for an extra six months to pay the $4bn (£2.4bn) chunk due next month. In London, the stock market dropped by 3 per cent, its worst day since March. The French and German markets fared little better, and America's Dow Jones was only saved by being closed for Thanksgiving. Even sterling wavered, falling to its lowest rate against the euro for a month. But it was Britain's battered banks that were the worst affected. Fears over the extent of their exposure to Dubai's $80bn debt knocked nearly £14bn off their value by the end of the day.

Chancellor Alistair Darling will say in his pre-Budget report that the economy performed worse in 2009 than he first predicted, Treasury sources have said.

Mr Darling is expected to say that the UK economy shrank by 4.75% this year - more than the 3.5% originally forecast in the Budget in March.

The adjustment follows the economy's unexpectedly poor performance in the first three months of the year.

Should we use taxes to deter financial speculation? Yes, say top British officials, who oversee the City of London, one of the world's two great banking centers. Other European governments agree -- and they're right.

....

Why is this a good idea? The Turner-Brown proposal is a modern version of an idea originally floated in 1972 by the late James Tobin, the Nobel-winning Yale economist. Tobin argued that currency speculation -- money moving internationally to bet on fluctuations in exchange rates -- was having a disruptive effect on the world economy. To reduce these disruptions, he called for a small tax on every exchange of currencies.

Such a tax would be a trivial expense for people engaged in foreign trade or long-term investment; but it would be a major disincentive for people trying to make a fast buck (or euro, or yen) by outguessing the markets over the course of a few days or weeks. It would, as Tobin said, "throw some sand in the well-greased wheels" of speculation.

Tobin's idea went nowhere at the time. Later, much to his dismay, it became a favorite hobbyhorse of the anti-globalization left. But the Turner-Brown proposal, which would apply a "Tobin tax" to all financial transactions -- not just those involving foreign currency -- is very much in Tobin's spirit. It would be a trivial expense for long-term investors, but it would deter much of the churning that now takes place in our hyperactive financial markets.

This would be a bad thing if financial hyperactivity were productive. But after the debacle of the past two years, there's broad agreement -- I'm tempted to say, agreement on the part of almost everyone not on the financial industry's payroll -- with Mr. Turner's assertion that a lot of what Wall Street and the City do is "socially useless." And a transactions tax could generate substantial revenue, helping alleviate fears about government deficits. What's not to like?

What's not to like?

"I regard our participation in the military action in Iraq in March 2003 as legal but of questionable legitimacy in that it did not have the democratically observable backing of the great majority of member states, or even perhaps of the majority of people inside the UK," he said.

Sir Jeremy said he warned the Foreign Office that he was prepared to resign as ambassador to the UN in New York unless there was at least one new Security Council resolution justifying military action.

He said that he did not believe that Britain and the United States could simply say that Iraq was in breach of old resolutions dating back to the 1991 Gulf War requiring Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction.

"I regarded it as necessary politically and legally to have a new resolution - or at least one new resolution. There had to be a new declaration by the Security Council that Iraq was in material breach," he said.

"Because there were different views in Washington as to what they were trying to do with this draft resolution, I wanted to make it clear that if this was just a Potemkin (artificial) exercise in going to the United Nations, I didn't want to be a part of it.

"Therefore, I said I might not be able to continue as ambassador in New York if there was no further updated basis for Iraq as being in material breach."

REUTERS - U.N. nuclear watchdog governors voted overwhelmingly on Friday to censure Iran for building a uranium enrichment plant in secret.

The resolution, passed by a 25-3 margin with six abstentions, was the first by the 35-nation governing board in almost four years, and a sign of growing alarm over Tehran's failure to dispel fears it seeks to build a nuclear bomb.

With rare Russian and Chinese backing, the vote sent a message of increasing international resolve to challenge Iran over its disputed nuclear ambitions.

But it was unclear whether the measure, sponsored by six world powers, would translate to crucial Russian-Chinese support for painful sanctions that Western leaders will push for early next year if Iran does not embark on steps to defuse mistrust.

FRANCE 24's correspondent in Jerusalem, Annette Young, says that US pressure is responsible for Israel's proposal, recalling that Netanyahu had earlier tried to get some concessions from other Arab countries before committing to any partial freeze on settlement activity.

"This unconditional offer is a reflection of the sort of pressure Netanyahu is being under from Washington", said Young.

...While Netanyahu has presented the offer as proof of Israel's genuine commitment to move peace efforts forward, however, Palestinians see it as a ploy by the Israelis for turning Washington's attention back on them for their position.

AFP - Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch asked Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court Friday to acquit and release him, in a surprise development on the final day of arguments in his nine-month trial.

The 67-year-old had previously said that he admitted responsibility for overseeing the murders of around 15,000 men, women and children at the notorious S-21 or Tuol Sleng prison and begged for forgiveness.

...Following a query by judges, Duch's Cambodian lawyer, Kar Savuth, then confirmed that Duch was asking to be acquitted on the grounds that he was not a senior member of the Khmer Rouge hierarchy.

AFP - A Philippine politician was charged with mass murder on Friday after authorities accused him of ordering soldiers, police and other gunmen to kill at least 57 defenceless people in an organised slaughter.

Andal Ampatuan Jnr, a mayor in the lawless southern Philippines who until this week was an ally of President Gloria Arroyo, was charged with seven counts of multiple murder, the government said.

"He was the one who gave the instructions. He was among those... who killed the victims," Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera told reporters as she outlined the case against Ampatuan Jnr.

The Supreme Court of Honduras ruled on Wednesday that ousted President Manuel Zelaya cannot be returned to office, the latest in a series of rulings upholding his overthrow.

The court did not release the full text of its ruling, which is not binding, as Congress is set to vote Dec. 2 on whether Zelaya can be reinstated.

A Tunisian court has handed down a six-month jail term to dissident reporter Taoufik Ben Brik for assaulting a woman, prompting outrage among human rights and press freedom groups who say the charges were fabricated.

There are few things that unite Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, but one of them is Rwanda. All three are passionate advocates for Paul Kagame, who forced out the genocidal regime 15 years ago and has ruled the country ever since.

Blair is an adviser to the government, praising its leadership on a visit this month. Cameron invited Kagame to speak at his party conference. And Brown is leading calls for Rwanda to join the Commonwealth, which is likely to be confirmed this weekend.

...But should we be rushing to canonise Kagame and his cronies in Kigali? For there is another side to his nation's success that casts a darker shadow, one emerging in a series of blood-stained books, investigations and reports. These paint a picture of a repressive regime that has played on the conscience of the world to silence dissent, crush critics and devastate its neighbour in a conflict that has left more people dead than any war since the Second World War.

"We have to check if crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide have been committed in Afghanistan," Mr. Ocampo told me. "There are serious allegations against the Taliban and al Qaeda and serious allegations about warlords, even against some who are connected with members of the government." Taking up his inquiry of Allied soldiers, he added, "there are different reports about problems with bombings and there are also allegations about torture."

[...]

Mr. Ocampo is famous in his home country for prosecuting military juntas as well as starring in a reality program where he adjudicated private disputes. And in his first six years at the ICC, he pursued real evildoers. He indicted Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony, militia leaders from the Congo and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, responsible for the genocide in Darfur. Yet collecting information about possible war crimes by American soldiers smacks of just the sort of politicized prosecution critics of the ICC had always warned about.

While on the face of it, China, a rapidly developing but still relatively poor country, appears to trump by a considerable margin the offer of the US, a fully industrialised nation, details in the Chinese target give pause for thought.

Washington has proposed its reduction based on its absolute level of emissions, while Beijing's target is a reduction of 40-45 percent "per unit of GDP."

The reduction therefore depends on by how much the Chinese economy grows. Assuming an eight percent growth rate, China's average economic expansion in recent years, this will mean an increase in absolute emissions and not a reduction.

Representatives from eight nations straddling the Amazon basin, plus French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on behalf of French Guiana, have met in Brazil ahead of world climate talks in Copenhagen in December to urge leaders to preserve the rainforests.

Last autumn, the Norwegian coast guard documented in a video the dumping of over-quota fish catches, one of the biggest and most controversial challenges of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

While discarding fish has been illegal in Iceland, Norway and the Faeroe Islands since the 1990s, boats in the European Union are obliged to discard their fish if they catch the wrong fish or if the fish do not measure up size.

European Union quotas strictly limit the amount of fish that ships can bring back to port, but there is no restriction on the amount of fish they can catch. Last year, the EU estimated that between 40 and 60 percent of all fish caught by trawlers in the North Sea was discarded.

AFP - Swine flu virus mutations are spreading in Europe, French health officials said Friday as the World Health Organisation reported a leap in deaths from the disease by more than 1,000 in a week.

Two patients who were infected by a mutation that was also recently detected in Norway have died in France, the government's Health Surveillance Institute (InVS) said in a statement.

"This mutation could increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracts and, in particular, the lung tissue," said a statement from InVS.  "For one of these patients, this mutation was accompanied by another mutation known to confer resistance to oseltamivir," it added, referring to the main drug being used to treat swine flu, under the brand name Tamiflu.

Half of the fish eaten in Europe are dished up in restaurants, leading the food-loving nation's chefs to take a stand.

Olivier Roellinger, celebrated for his fish and seaweed fare in western Brittany, took bluefin tuna - aka red tuna - off the menu five years ago. "We have a responsibility towards all those who are in charge of feeding others, cooks but also mothers and even fathers, and must show them the way," he said.

"They must be made aware that the sea, this natural larder, is in danger," said Roellinger, who a year ago threw in the coveted three-star rating awarded him by the Michelin Guide, the French food bible, on grounds of fatigue.

Environmentalists say that bluefin tuna faces the threat of extinction because of overfishing and want its trade banned by CITES, the UN body that rules on wildlife trade.

Suspected concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk goes on trial in Munich on Monday. A total of 35 relatives of murdered Jews are co-plaintiffs in the case -- more than in any other Holocaust-related trial to date. Taking part in the proceedings is the only thing they can still do for their lost loved ones, they say.

Crimes involving the Medellin drug cartel and its late chief, Pablo Escobar, could be reclassified as "crimes against humanity" to enable prosecutors to avoid a 20-year time limit, officials in Bogota have announced.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused the West of breaking promises made after the fall of the Iron Curtain, saying that NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe violated commitments made during the negotiations over German reunification. Newly discovered documents from Western archives support the Russian position.

Contemporary artist Sükran Moral has long been an outspoken critic of women's place in Turkish society. And she has often feared for her safety as a result. Her work is now on display in Berlin and she insists her themes are universal. "This is about violence against women," she says.

The reality TV singing contest "Afghan Star", inspired by the popular "Pop Idol" format, has taken Afghanistan by storm. But a documentary about the show reveals the power of the resurgent Taliban, who forced the exile of the programme's host.

Conservative Party officials made two basic errors in their attack on two schools said to be run by a radical Islamic group, it emerged yesterday.

During Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday and in briefings afterwards the Conservatives claimed there was no evidence that the schools had been registered or inspected by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog; they also said the schools had received money from an anti-terrorism fund. But yesterday the claims were beginning to unravel. The most obvious mistake was the allegation that they appeared not to have been registered or inspected.

Attracted by the siren call of permanent employment in a high profile institution, young graduates from all over Europe flock to Brussels with their sights set on jobs in the European Commission. But making the move to the Belgian capital is not always an easy transition. Café Babel reports on the trials and tribulations of those who seek entry to the corridors of power.

They have different nationalities and come from different backgrounds, but scan through the CVs that flood into in-trays at the European Commission and you will find that certain qualifications come up time and again: primary degrees in Communications, masters in International Relations, additional masters in European Business Studies--and these diplomas are almost always supplemented by stays abroad in Erasmus type student exchange programmes. For young Estonian lawyer Ana Vork, completing a second masters in European Law in Brussels was crucially important: "It was extremely useful for my internship in the European Commission, and it will give me a much needed edge in the exams for the European civil service."

For Paolo Sergio, an Italian-Czech graduate of the Free University of Brussels' Institute of European Studies, students should be wary of investing in private courses that do not always result in a much coveted first job: "the College of Europe in Bruges is a lot like the Ivy League universities in the US: you pay for future contacts, and the opportunity to build a personal network. But it is important to bear in mind that networks are virtually useless when you are a young graduate with no experience. They only become useful when you are accepted by the civil service, but you still have to get through the entrance exam."

Google has apologised after a racially offensive image of US First Lady Michelle Obama became the top image in a search on her name. But how do such images get so high on the list?

Campaigners who have fought for almost eight years to prevent the 43-year-old computer hacker, who suffers from a form of autism, from being tried in the United States, were dealt a blow today when Home Secretary Alan Johnson refused to block his extradition on medical grounds.

Mr McKinnon faces up to 70 years in jail if found guilty of hacking into Pentagon computers soon after the 9/11 terror attacks. While he insists he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs the American authorities have likened him to a terrorist.

...his lawyer Karen Todner ... said that they had not given up hope and planned to apply for a judicial review within seven days. If the application is successful, the case should be heard within the next few weeks.

However, if it fails Ms Todner said they would apply to go before the European Court of Human Rights once again with the new evidence that Mr McKinnon had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

Golfer Tiger Woods is in a serious condition after being involved in a car accident in Florida, according to US unconfirmed media reports.

The golfer's car reportedly struck a fire hydrant and tree as he pulled out of the driveway of his home.

Associated Press news agency, quoting the Florida Highway Patrol, says an inquiry into the crash is under way.

Woods, 33, was taken to Health Central Hospital, local reports said, but the hospital has not confirmed this.

Reporting from Sacramento -  The Internal Revenue Service has filed a federal tax lien against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for nearly $80,000, public records show. The lien was filed May 11 at the Los Angeles County recorder's office for $79,064, according to a record in an electronic database that includes lien filings. The record lists the debtor as Arnold Schwarzenegger and the address as the governor's home address in Brentwood.

The matter apparently is related to "a minor paperwork tracking discrepancy," Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said in a statement released Friday afternoon. He said Schwarzenegger is resubmitting information to the IRS and expects the lien to be expunged without penalty.

The lien was first reported Friday by TMZ.com, which posted a copy of a lien document that says it is from the county recorder's office. That document shows that Schwarzenegger owes $39,047.20 from 2004 and $40,016.80 from 2005. The document also lists a section of the IRS code that suggests the debt may be penalties for a failure to report certain business transactions.

"Pulp Fiction" co-screenwriter Roger Avary is behind bars at the Ventura County Jail today -- several days after what is believed to be the writer/director's tweeting revealed that he was serving his sentence for a fatal car crash in a furlough program rather than in jail. In September, Avary was sentenced to a year in jail for causing a car crash in Ojai that killed a passenger and injured Avary's wife.

Earlier this week, Times technology blogger Mark Milian discovered some tweets coming from @avary and speculated over whether Avary was tweeting from jail. But Avary wasn't in jail. Rather, he was serving his time in a Ventura County work furlough program, which allows him to go to his job during the day. He reports back to the furlough facility -- a modified former Air Force barracks at Camarillo Airport -- at night and on weekends.

It's unclear when officials decided to allow Avary to enter the furlough program, or how that decision was reached. It is also unknown where the screenwriter spent his days, but inmates in the program are not allowed to work at home. Today, however, officials said Avary is in full-time custody. He reported to the Ventura County Jail for incarceration on Thanksgiving Day for "security issues," said Sheriff spokesman Ross Bonfiglio.

Would those "security issues" involve the security of the re-election prospects of the Ventura County Sherrif?  

If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.