Obama Losing Luster with Independent Voters: Poll

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Independent voters, who helped propel President Barack Obama to victory in the 2008 election, could be an obstacle in his bid for a second term in the White House, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published on Wednesday.

A majority of independent voters have soured on Obama's presidency, disapprove of his handling of the economy and do not have a clear idea of what he hopes to accomplish if re-elected, the Times reported.

Only 31 percent of independent voters have a favorable opinion of the president and two-thirds say he has not made real progress in fixing the economy, the newspaper said. » | WASHINGTON | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Suddenly, Romney Faces Fight in South Carolina

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney struggled to regain his footing on Wednesday as his once formidable lead in the South Carolina presidential primary appeared to contract and he faced increased pressure to reveal more about his vast financial holdings.

A new CNN poll said Romney's lead over rival Newt Gingrich before Saturday's primary had shrunk to 10 percentage points, 33 percent to 23 percent, down from a 19-point lead two weeks ago.

The results, and a clear sense of urgency in the Romney campaign, suggested that Gingrich's calls for Romney to release his tax returns and efforts to brand the former Massachusetts governor as an out-of-touch elitist could be resonating in South Carolina, where the jobless rate is near 10 percent.

The head of Romney's campaign in South Carolina, Curtis Loftis, appealed to supporters to turn out on Saturday.

"We've got to work harder than you know. We've got to get everyone to the polls, or we will not be able to send Barack Obama home," he told a crowd in suburban Columbia. » | Alistair Bell | COLUMBIA | South Carolina | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Texas Governor Rick Perry Dropping Presidential Run

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out of the race for the 2012 Republican U.S. presidential nomination on Thursday after a series of gaffes and controversies undercut the campaign of the one-time frontrunner. He endorsed former rival Newt Gingrich.

"I've always believed the mission is greater than the man. As I have contemplated the future of this campaign, I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign," Perry, 61, told supporters in South Carolina, the conservative southern state where he had hoped to revive his campaign in Saturday's Republican presidential primary.

"Therefore today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States," Perry added. "I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country."

Perry entered the race in August and briefly was at the front of the pack of Republican candidates, but a series of gaffes, lackluster debate performances and controversial statements during the campaign undermined his standing in polls.

Speaking of Gingrich, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Perry said: "We've had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. And Newt is not perfect. But who among us is?"

"The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my Christian faith," Perry added. » | Will Dunham | WASHINGTON | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Rick Santorum Declared the Winner in Iowa Caucus Vote Previously Awarded to Mitt Romney

NATIONAL POST: DES MOINES — Former Senator Rick Santorum won the January 3 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses by a razor-thin margin of 34 votes, according to certified results released on Thursday by the Iowa Republican Party.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had been declared the winner on the night of the caucuses, but now falls to second place. Santorum received 29,839 votes, compared with 29,805 for Romney, according to the new figures.

Romney had previously been declared the winner by 8 votes. Santorum now ends up the winner after being almost an afterthought in the race just weeks before the Iowa contest. » | Reuters | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Poor and Prejudiced: Eastern Europe Swings Right

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Hungary is almost broke and has lurched to the right so sharply that the EU has launched legal action in defense of democracy. But the problem is far more widespread: Nationalists and populists are gaining ground across Eastern Europe.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only needed a few years. In that short time he managed to turn his country inside out. Civil liberties and press freedoms were reined in, the democratic separation of powers annulled, and a constitution passed in the spirit of the country's former authoritarian-nationalistic leader Miklós Horthy.

Hungary is politically isolated in the European Union, and on the verge of national insolvency. And now the European Commission has launched legal action against the country. Brussels sees Orbán's constitutional reform as a violation of EU law, and is threatening to deny economic aid to the heavily indebted country. It's a remarkable development for a country once seen as a model for reform to be emulated by other countries in the region.

Orbán himself, formerly a much-admired politician, now seems like a dubious mix of Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chávez. But the diminutive politician from the tiny northwestern Hungarian village of Alcsútdoboz is by no means a special case. Orbán and his Hungary represent a political movement that is sweeping across central and southern Europe.

A dangerous storm is brewing in the shadow of the euro crisis. The devastating consequences of the 2008 global financial crisis were never fully overcome in Eastern Europe, and more countries in the region are falling into financial and economic imbalance, battling sprawling debt, high budget deficits, recessions and unemployment.

But it's not just the fragile economies that are at risk. Many central and southern European societies also lack political and social stability. These regions have two decades of uninterrupted reforms and tough austerity policies behind them. Many people there are exhausted, and democracy fatigue, euroskepticism, and aversion towards the once deified West are on the rise.

"In many respects, it's a process similar to the disillusionment in Eastern Europe with socialism in the 1970s and 1980s," says Hungarian economic scholar and publicist László Lengyel. "The danger of this is that entire social classes or regions like those in eastern Poland, Slovakia and Hungary fall victim to hopelessness and extremism." » | Keno Verseck | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Verwandt »

Related »

Is Newt's Campaign about to Collapse? Gingrich's Ex-wife Promises Explosive Revelations in TV Interview ahead of Primary

MAIL ONLINE: Newt Gingrich's second wife says she could end his presidential campaign with an explosive television interview, it emerged today.

But the network which filmed the revelations is debating when to show the interview amidst fears it could be seen as biassed if it contributes to wrecking Mr Gingrich's election prospects.

Conservative pundit Greta Van Susteren argued that to air the interview so close to the South Carolina primary was an 'ambush' on Mr Gingrich, while the candidate's daughters urged the network to treat their 'personal tragedy' with sensitivity.

Newt and Marianne Gingrich were married from 1981 to 2000, after his divorce from his first wife Jackie and before his marriage to Callista, who has been a fixture on the campaign trail.

His chequered personal life is seen as one of his biggest weaknesses, particularly among conservative and Evangelical voters.

Now Marianne has recorded an interview with ABC News which she says could end Mr Gingrich's career, according to the Drudge Report. » | Hugo Gye | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sopa Support Drops Off as Blackout Protest Rattles the Internet
THE GUARDIAN: Several Republican lawmakers dropped their support of the controversial bill on Wednesday as Wikipedia, Google and Reddit spearhead a massive online protest

Political support for controversial online anti-piracy legislation began crumbling on Wednesday as leading websites staged an unprecedented one-day protest against the measures.

Wikipedia, the sixth most-visited website on the planet, pulled its English site offline Wednesday in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa), which is currently pasing though the House of Representatives, and the Protect IP Act (Pipa), a similar bill under debate in the Senate.

Other tech giants, including popular news sharing site Reddit, also pulled the plug while Google censored its name.

The protest gained fresh momentum Wednesday when senator Marco Rubio of Florida withdrew his support for Pipa. Rubio is a rising Republican star who is seen as a possible vice president pick this year and a future presidential candidate. » | Dominic Rushe and Ryan Devereaux | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Related video »

Argentina Blasts David Cameron's 'Colonialism' Comments on the Falklands
Argentina lashes out at David Cameron after he accuses Buenos Aires of "colonialism" over the Falklands

Read article here | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Anti-Islamic Groups across Europe to Attend Far-Right Rally
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Far-right anti-Islamic groups from across Europe are planning to rally in Denmark, for what organisers have billed as the birth of a European movement.

More than 10 anti-Islamic groups, led by the English Defence League, are expected to send representatives.

"There will be speeches from every defence league in Europe," said Isak Nygren, the spokesman for the Swedish Defence League. "I hope we can show that there's resistance against Islamisation of Europe, that we can inspire each other."

The EDL has held one European rally before, sending members to Amsterdam in 2010 in support of Dutch anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders, who was in court accused of insulting religious and ethnic groups.

Mr Wilders, who has moved to distance himself from the EDL, is not expected to attend the event.

Stephen Lennon, the former football hooligan who formed the EDL three years ago, however said he was inspired by the Amsterdam gathering to link up with other far-Right groups in Europe, setting up the European Freedom Initiative.

He described the planned gathering, in Aarhus on March 31, as the "first proper European event".

"We're hoping this will be the launch of a wider European Defence League," he said. "We don't expect it to be big, but our first event wasn't that big, and they're just going to get bigger and bigger." » | Richard Orange, Malmö | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Iranian Actress Banned from Homeland after Naked Magazine Shoot

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Iranian actress has been told she is no longer welcome in her homeland after she posed naked in a French news magazine as a symbolic protest against strictures on women.

The nude photo of Golshifteh Farahani has been published by Madame Le Figaro magazine. The publication has attracted a wave of visitors to her Facebook page from Iran and the Middle East.

The Paris-based actress left Iran last year in protest against restrictive Islamic codes that the Iranian cinema industry has to follow under Ahmadinejad's conservative cultural policies.

Now she said the government has sent a communication telling her not to travel back to her homeland.

"I was told by a Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guide official that Iran does not need any actors or artists. You may offer your artistic services somewhere else", Farahani said. » | Damien McElroy, and Ahmad Vahdat | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Grandma's Tattoos
A family story that reveals the fate of the Armenian women driven out of Ottoman Turkey during the First World War.

Jerusalem SOS
In Jerusalem, Jewish and Arab paramedics cross psychological and geographical divisions between the city's residents.

US Voters Reconsidering Obama Support
As Republicans continue the process of selecting a challenger to Barack Obama in this year's presidential election, many people in the US remain undecided about their vote.

One such couple is Jamal Williams and Nadia Hassan. They say they are no longer satisfied with Obama's leadership and are now reconsidering their vote.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Los Angeles.

Websites 'Blackout' over Anti-piracy Bill
In a protest that will affect millions of people across the globe, Wikipedia, along with many other websites, is shutting down for 24 hours.

The websites are protesting against legislation pending in the US Congress intended to crack down on online sales of pirated US movies, music or other goods by forcing internet companies to block access to foreign sites.

Al Jazeera's Cath Turner reports from New York.

US Elections 2012: South Carolina Remains a State Riven by Racial Tension
THE GUARDIAN: On the eve of its GOP primary, South Carolina's deep racial divide has been brought into focus by Republican rhetoric that many feel is intent on dividing the poor by race

It was billed as a unity celebration.

But there was not much evidence of that as Spartanburg's African American residents streamed in to the city's main auditorium as part of a week of "celebrating people of all cultures and ethnicity".

"Only a few white folks will come out to something like this," said Lisa Campbell, an African American student. "It's racism. Racism is still prevalent here. It's not real subtle."

That's why Campbell laughs at the question as to whether she'll be voting in South Carolina's Republican primary election on Saturday. So does another woman at the concert to mark Martin Luther King Day, Kathy Edwards.

"It's all about this with the Republicans," she says pinching her own black skin. "I'm 58 now. It's better than it was but with the Republicans it's all about race even if they don't say it."

South Carolina runs an "open" primary which means that any resident of the state who cares to can vote to choose the Republican presidential candidate.

More than one in four people in South Carolina are African American, as is half the population of Spartanburg in the deeply religious and conservative northwest of the state.

But very few vote in Republican primaries even though a significant black turnout could have a major impact on the outcome. Four years ago, less than 2% of those voting in the Republican primary were from racial minority groups whereas more than half of those who participated in the Democratic primary were black.

Ask why and the explanations spill out. For some it is the residual racism they see evident in issues such as the recent South Carolina law requiring voters to have photo identification, a measure widely seen in the black community as intended to disenfranchise poorer African Americans who don't have driver's licences. The federal government agrees and has blocked implementation of the law. » | Chris McGreal in Spartanburg | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Meet the New Arab Face of Lancôme
AHLAN!: We've got the skinny on model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, the brand's latest spokesperson in the region

She’s been making waves across catwalks in the fashion capitals of the world, and now model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem is part of a beauty legacy that channels her regional connection. Maison Lancôme has just announced that the Tunisian model is their new Arab brand spokesperson.

Hanaa, who made her modelling debut with Vivienne Westwood in 2010, has since walked for other top names including Jean Paul Gaultier, Giambattista Valli, Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta. Her fash[ion] credentials have only gotten stronger after appearing in French, Italian and German Vogue as well as the covers of Intermission and V. » | Nazia Khan | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

VOGUE.fr: Hanaa Ben Abdesslem pour Lancôme : A tout juste 22 ans, la top d’origine tunisienne Hanaa Ben Abdesslem est la nouvelle égérie Lancôme. Castée par Vogue Paris en mars 2011 pour un sujet beauté, depuis la belle a été de plus en plus remarquée sur les podiums ; De Givenchy à Jean Paul Gaultier en passant par le show Haute Couture Giambattista Valli. En exclusivité, voici le film de son premier shooting pour Lancôme. » | Par Christelle Paillard | sans date


MAIL ONLINE: ‘I Plan to Change Misconceptions’: Tunisian Model Is First Ever Muslim Face of Lancôme » | Maysa Rawi | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Iran Confirms Death Sentence for 'Porn Site' Web Programmer
THE GUARDIAN: Saeed Malekpour faces imminent execution on basis of confessions he retracted in letter, saying they had been beaten out of him

Iran's supreme court has upheld the death sentence for a web programmer who faces imminent execution after being found guilty of developing and promoting porn websites.

Saeed Malekpour was picked up by plainclothes officers in October 2008 and taken to Evin prison in Tehran, where he spent a year in solitary confinement without access to lawyers and without charge.

A year after his arrest, the 35-year-old appeared in a state television programme confessing to a series of crimes in connection with a porn website. On the basis of his TV confessions, he was convicted of designing and moderating adult materials online by a court in Tehran, which handed down [the] death penalty.

Malekpour later retracted his confessions in a letter sent from prison, in which he said they had been made under duress.

According to Malekpour's family, he is a permanent resident of Canada and is a programmer who wrote photo-uploading software that was used by a porn website without his knowledge.

His sister, Maryam Malekpour, said the supreme court had confirmed the death sentence despite many discrepancies in the case. "Saeed's lawyers were told that his death sentence will be issued this week," she said in an interview with the Iranian website Roozonline.

After an international campaign and new expert evidence, the supreme court suspended Malekpour's death sentence in June 2011 and ordered a judicial review.

Speaking to the Guardian, Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, a human rights activist based in Toronto who has followed Malekpour's case closely, said: "Saeed is in imminent danger of execution. He has never been provided with a fair trial at any point during this horrific and twisted ordeal. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Anders Behring Breivik Was a Male Chauvinist, Says Last Girlfriend
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Norwegian mass-killer Anders Behring Breivik was a male chauvinist who did not know how to treat women, his last known girlfriend has said in her first interview.

Natascha, a Belarussian who Breivik met on a dating site in 2005, told Norway's Dagbladet that her image of the "handsome, well-dressed Norwegian" had changed after she arrived to stay at Breivik's Olso flat in 2005.

"I did not notice that he was planning something so cruel, I knew only that he never respected me," she said. » | Richard Orange, Malmö | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

North Korea Officials Stand By Kim Jong-un
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A senior North Korean official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong-un's readiness to lead, saying he spent years working closely with his late father and helping him make key policy decisions on economic and military affairs.

In the first interview with foreign journalists by a high-level North Korean official since Kim Jong-il's Dec. 17 death, Politburo member and Kim family confidante Yang Hyong Sop told The Associated Press that North Koreans were in good hands with their young new leader.

He emphasised an unbroken continuity from father to son that suggests a continuation of Kim Jong-il's key policies.

"We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong-il," he said in the interview Monday at Mansudae Assembly Hall, seat of the North Korean legislative body.

"But still, we are not worried a bit," he added, "because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong-un, who is fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great Gen. Kim Jong-il." Read on and comment » | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Related »

David Cameron Accuses Argentina of 'Colonialism' over Falklands Islands
Prime Minister David Cameron accused Argentina on Wednesday of "colonialism" over its claim to the Falkland Islands.

Read article and comment | Barney Henderson, and agencies | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A Call for Gay Marriage Rights in South Carolina: 'We Love Each Other'
THE GUARDIAN: In bid for improved rights, six same sex couples will attempt to get married in South Carolina on the eve of the GOP primary

At 3:45pm EST this Tuesday, a young couple will make their way to Greenville county court in South Carolina to confirm their commitment to each other by getting married.

For this couple, however, the normal pre-marital concerns about lost rings, rowing families and too-revealing speeches will be overshadowed by the certain knowledge that their request for a marriage licence will be denied.

Alyssa Weaver and Michel McIver are one of six same-sex couples attempting to get married in South Carolina, where gay marriage is illegal. The couples will attempt to get marriage licences as part of the Campaign for Southern Equality's bid for improved LGBT rights in America.

"We want to get married for the same reasons as any other couple," Weaver, a nursing student, told the Guardian.

"We love each other, we're in a long-term committed relationship, we want to be with each other for the rest of our lives, and on a practical note we want the same legal protection that every other couple is entitled to by getting married."

Three couples, including Weaver and McIver, will request marriage licenses in Greenville on Tuesday afternoon. Three more will try on Wednesday.

The bid takes place as Republican candidates for president – most of whom are openly opposed to gay marriage – compete for votes in the state ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

Weaver said the fact she and McIver, who works in mental health, are prevented from marrying "reinforces the fact that legally we're second class citizens".

"It's also a civil rights issue," she said. "We're citizens of the US, we're grown adults, we work and go to school and are productive, yet the government and society as a whole is telling us we're not the same, we're not as good." » | Adam Gabbatt | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Al Kaida weitet Einfluss im Jemen aus

Nationalismus: Europas Osten rückt nach rechts

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ungarn droht der Staatsbankrott, gleichzeitig driftet das Land massiv nach rechts. Jetzt leitet die EU ein Verfahren gegen Budapest ein - weil sie um die Demokratie fürchtet. Doch das Problem ist viel größer: Auch im übrigen Osteuropa sind Populisten und Nationalisten auf dem Vormarsch.

Nur anderthalb Jahre hat Viktor Orbán gebraucht. In dieser kurzen Zeit ist es dem ungarischen Regierungschef gelungen, sein Land umzukrempeln. Bürgerrechte und Pressefreiheit wurden eingeschränkt, die demokratische Gewaltenteilung ausgehebelt, eine Verfassung im Geiste des autoritär-nationalistischen Horthy-Regimes der Zwischenkriegszeit verabschiedet. Ungarn ist in der EU derzeit politisch isoliert und steht am Rand des Staatsbankrotts. Nun hat auch noch die EU-Kommission Klage eingereicht. Brüssel hält die Verfassungsreform Orbáns für einen Verstoß gegen EU-Recht - und droht damit, dem finanziell schwer angeschlagenen Land keine Hilfsgelder zu bewilligen. Eine bemerkenswerte Entwicklung für das frühere Modell- und Musterreformland, an dem sich andere Staaten der Region viele Jahre orientiert hatten.

Orbán selbst, einst ein vielbewunderter Politiker, gilt inzwischen als obskure Mischung aus Wladimir Putin und Hugo Chávez. Doch der kleine Mann aus dem kleinen nordwestungarischen Dorf Alcsútdoboz ist keineswegs nur ein Kuriosum. Orbán und sein Ungarn stehen vielmehr für das, was sich in großen Teilen Mittel- und Südosteuropas abspielt.

Im Schatten der Euro-Krise braut sich dort Gefährliches zusammen. Die Folgen der für Osteuropa so verheerenden globalen Finanzkrisevon 2008 sind kaum richtig ausgestanden, da geraten erneut immer mehr Länder der Region in eine finanzielle und ökonomische Schieflage, kämpfen mit ausufernden Schulden und hohen Haushaltsdefiziten, mit Rezession und Arbeitslosigkeit.

Aber nicht nur die fragilen Ökonomien der Region sind noch immer oder schon wieder bedroht. Viele Länder Mittel- und Südosteuropas finden auch nicht zu politischer und sozialer Stabilität. Die osteuropäischen Gesellschaften haben zwei Jahrzehnte ununterbrochener Reformen und harter Austeritätspolitik hinter sich. Nun sind die allermeisten Menschen in der Region zutiefst erschöpft, Demokratiemüdigkeit, Euro-Skeptizimus und Abneigung gegen den einst vergötterten Westen wachsen erschreckend schnell.

"In vielerlei Hinsicht läuft in Osteuropa ein ähnlicher Prozess der Desillusionierung ab wie im Sozialismus der siebziger und achtziger Jahre", sagt der ungarische Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Publizist László Lengyel. "Die Gefahr dabei ist, dass ganze Gesellschaftsschichten oder Regionen wie Ostpolen, die Ostslowakei und Ostungarn der Hoffnungslosigkeit und dem Extremismus zum Opfer fallen." » | Von Keno Verseck | Dienstag 17. Januar 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: EU Takes Legal Action Against Hungary: The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against Hungary, accusing it of breaching EU treaties with laws that undermine the independence of the justice system and central bank. The case could delay the payment of international aid needed to shore up Hungary's economy. » | cro -- wth wire reports | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Cost of Syria's Crackdown
Could the country's economic decline, spurred on by the protests, pose a graver challenge to al-Assad than the uprising?

Egypt's Islamists: Threat or Opportunity?
As Islamists emerge from elections as the country's leading political force, we ask if Egyptians should be concerned.

Interview: Abu Qatada Case
The European Court of Human Rights has blocked the extradition of Jordanian national Abu Qatada, who is alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's right-hand-man in Europe.

The court also said it would be willing to consider diplomatic assurances from Jordanian authorities that Abu Qatada would not be tortured.

But Amnesty International says that is a position it finds disappointing.

Alice Wyss, a researcher at the UK-based rights organisation, discussed the Abu Qatada case with Al Jazeera's Felicity Barr.


Related »

God Told Pat Robertson Who Next President Will Be
Apparently God told Pat Robertson who the next president of the United States will be. Pat reads his message from God. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur mock Robertson. Who do you think will win the GOP nomination, tell us in the comment section below.

Talk at Queen Mary Cancelled after Threats of Violence
BRITISH HUMANIST ASSOCIATION: A talk organised yesterday by the Queen Mary Atheism, Secularism and Humanism Society on ‘Sharia Law and Human Rights’ had to be cancelled after threats of violence.

The President of the Society, describes what happened:

‘Five minutes before the talk was due to start a man burst into the room holding a camera phone and for some seconds stood filming the faces of all those in the room. He shouted ‘listen up all of you, I am recording this, I have your faces on film now, and I know where some of you live’, at that moment he aggressively pushed the phone in someone’s face and then said ‘and if I hear that anything is said against the holy Prophet Mohammed, I will hunt you down.’ He then left the room.

‘The same man then began filming the faces of Society members in the foyer and threatening to hunt them down if anything was said about Mohammed, he added that he knew where they lived and would murder them and their families. On leaving the building, he joined a large group of men, seemingly there to support him. We were told by security to stay in the Lecture Theatre for our own safety. On arriving back in the room I became aware that the doors that opened to the outside were still open and that people were still coming in. Several eye witnesses reported that when I was in the foyer a group of men came through the open doors, causing a disruption and making it clear that the room could not be secured. Unfortunately, the lack of security in the lecture theatre meant we and the audience had to leave and a Union representative informed the security that as students’ lives had been threatened there was no way that the talk could go ahead.

» | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn’t Be President Because It’s Against God’s Will

THINK PROGRESS: In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives", singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

Rival presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s Iowa coalitions director, Jamie Johnson, sent out an email saying that children’s lives would be harmed if the nation had a female president. [...]

“The question then comes, ‘Is it God’s highest desire, that is, his biblically expressed will, … to have a woman rule the institutions of the family, the church, and the state?’" Johnson’s email said.

Johnson, who remains on Santorum’s staff, complained that the email was “blown out of proportion” and should not be held against him because it was sent from a personal email account. » | Marie Diamond | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sir Salman Rushdie's Name Dropped from Indian Literature Festival over Safety Fears
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir Salman Rushdie's name has been dropped from an Indian literature festival amid fears for his safety after threats of protests by the country's most influential Islamic seminary.

The author of Midnight's Children, voted the best Booker Prize winner of the last 40 years, was quietly deleted from the Jaipur Literature Festival programme after the government voiced security concerns and said the opinions of protesters could not be ignored.

Sir Salman has spoken at Jaipur in the past without controversy but his scheduled appearance at this year's festival, which opens on Thursday, was seized on by political parties after the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary – one of Islam's most powerful bodies – called on the government to revoke his visa or stop him entering the country.

The seminary's head Abul Qasim Nomani said the author could never be forgiven for the 'blasphemy' contained in his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which provoked outrage throughout the Islamic world.

He went into hiding after the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian Shia leader, issued a fatwa calling for his death over claims made by the novel's narrator that disputed verses in the Koran had been disclosed by the Archangel Gabriel.

The novel was banned throughout the Islamic world, including India, which has a Muslim population of just under 180 million. » | Dean Nelson, New Delhi | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

How surprising! This is the religion of peace and love and tolerance and forgiveness we are talking about, isn't it? This must surely be a very unusual decision for Muslims! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Related »

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'Do Not Mix Politics and Islam'
BBC – NEWSNIGHT: Dutch former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has received death threats for her defiance of Islam, said Muslims "needed to unite for freedom and change" in women's rights.

She told Emily Maitlis there was a need to separate Islam and Sharia law from politics. Watch video » | Broadcast on Monday, March 28, 2011

Is Rapid Rise in UK Sharia Law Cases a Cause for Concern?
BBC: There has been a rapid rise in the use of Sharia law to settle legal disputes in the UK, with the number of cases being dealt with by informal courts trebling in recent years, according to the largest Sharia body.

The courts have no legal standing, but many Muslims and some non-Muslims see them as a quicker and more efficient way to resolve disagreements.

But there is also opposition from some groups who argue that the practice discriminates against women, as the BBC Asian Network's Divya Talwar reports. Watch video » | Monday, January 16, 2012

Sharia Law Compatible with Human Rights, Argues Leading Barrister
THE GUARDIAN: Sadakat Kadri says religious courts, such as the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, could benefit the community as a whole

A leading barrister has called for the UK to become more sharia-literate, while arguing that Islamic law can be compatible with the toughest human rights legislation.

Sadakat Kadri told the Guardian that so-called "sharia courts", such as the Muslim arbitration tribunal, were good for "the community as a whole" by putting Sharia on a transparent, public footing and should be more widely accessible to those who want to use them.

Kadri said they played a role in safeguarding human rights: "It's very important that they be acknowledged and allowed to exist. So long as they're voluntary, which is crucial, it's in everyone's interests these things be transparent and publicly accessible. If you don't have open tribunals, they're going to happen anyway, but behind closed doors."

In 2008, Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, sparked controversy when he appeared to suggest that sharia law should be more widely adopted.

In fact, under the Arbitration Act 1996, the rulings of religious bodies, including the Muslim arbitration tribunal, already have legal force in disputes involving matters such as inheritance and divorce.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, has long opposed the use of sharia in the UK, and argued the rule of law "must not be compromised by the introduction of a theocratic legal system operating in parallel".

He said: "There can be no convincing case made for it to have even a toe-hold in western societies that have developed a mature and far superior legal system. I regard any legal system based on a theocratic model as being dangerous and innately unjust. There is no escaping the fact – whatever interpretation you put on it — that sharia treats women differently from men[.]" » | David Shariatmadari | Sunday, January 15, 2012

Germany Teaches Islamic Theology
ON ISLAM: TUEBINGEN, Germany – One of Germany's oldest university [sic] has opened the country's first department of Islamic theology to educate a new generation of enlightened Muslim preachers, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported.

“Religion needs to be thought through,” Education Minister Annette Schavan, who is herself a graduate in Catholic theology, said.

Opening the theology department at Tuebingen University, Schavan said the department was a “milestone for integration” of Muslims who make up 5 percent of the population.

The course, to start at the University of Tu[e]bingen, will offer bachelor programs in Islamic studies.

Students will be offered advanced Western academic qualifications.

Though the teaching will be conducted in German, Arabic, the language of the Qur’an, will be a compulsory subject.

The three professors at the department had to satisfy an Islamic advisory council that they were devout Muslims.

Tu[e]bingen department is one of four new centers in Germany dedicated to the study of Islamic theology.

Tuebingen, a public university where tuition is free, is one of Europe’s leading centers of academic Christian theology. » | OnIslam & News Agencies | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

WIKI: Tübingen University »

Turkey Responds to Perry Remarks

CNN – BLOGS – SECURITY CLEARANCE: Turkey's foreign ministry condemned Texas Gov. Rick Perry Tuesday for saying that Turkey was a "country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists."

Perry made the statement during a spirited debated between Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina Monday night.

Most of Turkey was fast asleep during the live broadcast, and Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Perry declared that Turkey had moved "far away from the country I lived in back in the 1970s United States Air Force. That was our ally that worked with us, but today we don't see that."

The Texas governor also argued that it was time for Washington to cut foreign aid to Ankara.
A spokesman for Turkey's foreign ministry fired back Tuesday, accusing Perry of making "baseless and improper claims."

In a statement e-mailed to CNN, Selcuk Unal said presidential candidates should "be more informed about the world and be more careful their statements." Read on and comment » | Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Ex-soldier Fanatic in Fraud Bust
Arrest over charity cash
THE SUN: A BRITISH soldier turned Islamic extremist has been arrested on suspicion of fraud.

Radical convert Abu Jibreel — who says drinkers should be whipped — is alleged to have pocketed donations for foreign war victims he collected outside mosques.

Ex-Irish Guard Jibreel, 39, formerly called Paul Steven Mellor, was arrested in Leyton, East London, over allegations of fraud and false misrepresentation.

He was quizzed by detectives yesterday [December 22, 2011] over claims he used a fake ID to collect cash by saying it was for victims in civil war-torn Somalia and Libya.

Cheshire-born Jibreel — one of hate preacher Anjem Choudary's acolytes and a one-time member of the banned Muslims Against Crusades group — is then alleged to have stolen the money. » | Mike Sullivan | Friday, December 23, 2011

Related »

Related video »

Republican Hopefuls: Ron Paul

Norway: Islamists, Not Far-right, Main Threat
THE JERUSALEM POST: Despite Breivik attacks, police security chief says home-grown Islamic extremism poses higher threat than right-wing extremists.

OSLO - Radical Islam remains the most serious threat faced by Norway despite the attacks by an Islamophobe extremist who killed 77 people last summer, the chief of the security police said on Tuesday.

Janne Kristiansen, head of Norway's Police Security Service, said her agency would focus on broad-based dangers from home-grown Islamic extremism even though threats against public officials have risen since the July attacks, which targeted Norway's left wing.

"In recent years we have seen a development in which (Muslim) people raised in Norway become radicalized, and for whom Norway and Norwegian society are the enemy," she told a news conference.

"These people have a lot of contact with extreme Islamists abroad. They travel to training camps in conflict areas and they travel to participate in armed combat before returning to Norway."

Responding to critics who have said the police are neglecting the threat from right-wingmilitants like Anders Behring Breivik, who admitted carrying out the July 22 attacks, she said the threat they represent is far smaller. » | Reuters | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE JERUSALEM POST – EDITORIAL: Norway’s challenge: Europe’s fringe right-wing extremists present a real danger to society. But Oslo’s devastating tragedy should not be allowed to be manipulated by those who would cover up the abject failure of multiculturalism. » | JPOST EDITORIAL | Sunday, July 24, 2011

Britain Cannot Deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, European Judges Rule
THE GUARDIAN: Cleric cannot be sent back to Jordan as 'there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him'

The radical cleric Abu Qatada cannot be sent back to Jordan while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him", judges have ruled.

The European court of human rights [sic] (ECHR) ruled there would be a breach of his right to a fair trial "given the real risk of the admission of evidence obtained by torture at his retrial".

It is the first time that the Strasbourg-based court has found that an expulsion would be in violation of European convention on human rights article six, the right to a fair trial.

The cleric, also known as Omar Othman, featured in sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 9/11 bombers.

Law lords ruled almost three years ago that Qatada, described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe", could be sent back to Jordan, but he appealed to the court in Strasbourg, claiming he would be tortured if sent home.

But in a landmark judgment in February 2009, five law lords unanimously backed the government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments.

The ECHR has now said in this case such a move would breach Qatada's right to a fair trial. » | Press Association | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abu Qatada cannot be deported to Jordan, European judges rule: Abu Qatada, once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe”, cannot be extradited to Jordan, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. » | Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

North Korea's Leader Will Not Last Long, Says Kim Jong-un's Brother
THE GUARDIAN: Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, describes succession as 'a joke' and predicts the regime will collapse in new book

The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il has predicted the regime would soon fail, with or without reforms, according to a new book that the author says is based on emails and interviews with Kim Jong-nam.

The book says that Kim Jong-nam – who has never met the new leader, his half-brother Kim Jong-un – described the dynastic succession as "a joke to the outside world", and said even his father had originally opposed the hereditary transfer of power.

"The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long," Kim Jong-nam is said to have written, forecasting a power struggle. "Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse."

He added: "I think we will see valuable time lost as the regime sits idle fretting over whether it should pursue reforms or stick to the present political structure."

The claims emerge in a book by Yoji Gomi, a journalist with Tokyo Shimbun, who said he exchanged emails with Kim Jong-nam over seven years. The date of the remarks on the regime is unclear.

Gomi, who lived for years in Seoul and Beijing, said he met Kim three times in total, once in 2004 and twice in 2011.

"He gave me a very good impression. He's very gentle and friendly," Gomi said. » | Jonathan Watts and Tania Branigan in Beijing | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Kim Jong-un's brother says North Korea heading for collapse: The eldest brother of North Korea's new leader says reforms needed to avert the collapse of the country's economy will lead to the end of its Stalinist regime, according to a book to be published this week. » | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Israel Doing 'Immense Damage' to Peace Process Nick Clegg Says
Nick Clegg tilted Britain’s Middle East policy sharply towards the Palestinians on Monday with an attack on Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank.

Read short article here | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, January 16, 2012

The Chaste Are 'Freaks': The Archbishop of New York City Claims Sexual Promiscuity Has Become the Norm

MAIL ONLINE: Sex is so commonplace in today’s society that the chaste are now considered freaks, the Archbishop of New York has claimed.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan said that things had gone so wrong that people who waited until they were married before losing their virginity felt like deviants.

He blamed reality TV shows such as Jersey Shore - which reduce sex to 'animal rutting' - for flipping the Biblical teachings on their head.

Given the state of things, God’s word on sexual responsibility has now become 'counter cultural' as opposed to what it meant in the 1960s, he said.

Archbishop Dolan, 61, is one of the most powerful figures in the American Catholic church and is known for taking a tough moral line on a range of issues.

In his sermon at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, he said that practicing Catholics are branded holier than thou just for what they believe.

He claimed that the values of society had gone upside down and that the sexual promiscuity which was considered risque in the 1960s is now the norm.

The Catholic leader said: 'The one who, with God’s grace and mercy, tries his or her best to be pure and chaste is often thought of not as a hero, not a saint, but as a freak in our culture today.

'The biblical teaching on sexual responsibility is counter cultural.
'Anyone who tries his or her best to live it can expect a lot of temptation and even ridicule and criticism.' » | Daniel Bates | Monday, January 16, 2012

Laura Robson's Gay Rights Stance Reignites Equality Controversy
THE GUARDIAN: British tennis player wears rainbow-coloured hairband in Australian Open match in Margaret Court arena

The British tennis player Laura Robson walked unwittingly into a political row in Melbourne on Monday when she wore a rainbow-coloured hairband in support of gay and lesbian rights during her match at the Australian Open. It was a gesture of solidarity that turned an otherwise disappointing day for British tennis into a wildly controversial one.

The London teenager was playing a first-round match on the court named after Australia's most decorated female player, Margaret Court, an evangelical Christian who has created widespread controversy, especially over the past month, with her provocative views on homosexuality.

Robson, 18 next Saturday, was one of five British players who lost on the first day of the tournament but her trickiest assignment was fielding questions afterwards about her hairband. She claimed not to be making a political statement, and said she was unaware of a call by gay rights activists to take rainbow-coloured flags into the Margaret Court Arena.

"It was just a rainbow-coloured hairband," Robson said. "I didn't see anything about a protest today. I wore it because I believe in equal rights for everyone. That's it."

She did, however, know of the recent comments Court had made, which were reported here and internationally because of her standing in the game. Her stand will be seen in a favourable light by those critics of Court astounded by her insensitivity on a subject that is regularly an issue in women's tennis. » | Kevin Mitchell in Melbourne | Monday, January 16, 2012

New Dark Age Alert! Derby Muslim Denies Gay Hate Crime Charge
THE GUARDIAN: Kabir Ahmed denies threatening gay people with 'Death Penalty?' leaflets in first UK prosecution of its kind

A 28-year-old man has told a court he felt he was doing his duty as a Muslim by handing out leaflets alleged to have been threatening to gay people.

Kabir Ahmed said he handed a leaflet called "Death Penalty?" to a passing policeman and put them through letterboxes around the Madeley Street area of Derby in July 2010 because he was spreading the word of God as taught through Islam.

He said: "My intention was to do my duty as a Muslim, to inform people of God's word and to give the message on what God says about homosexuality."

Ahmed, who is married with a nine-month-old daughter, is on trial at Derby crown court charged with stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, in the first prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010.

At the opening of the trial last week the jury of seven men and five women were shown the Death Penalty? leaflet, which shows an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and saying homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty under Islam.

The leaflet states: "The death sentence is the only way this immoral crime can be erased from corrupting society and act as a deterrent for any other ill person who is remotely inclined in this bent way."

It continues: "The only dispute amongst the classical authorities was the method employed in carrying out the penal code," and then goes on to offer burning, being flung from a high point such as a mountain or building, or being stoned to death as suitable methods. » | Press Association | Monday, January 16, 2012

Adolf for Everyone: 'Mein Kampf' Extracts To Be Sold in Germany

SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL ONLINE: A British publisher plans to sell excerpts from Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Germany, claiming he wants to demystify the infamous book. But the controversial move could provoke a legal dispute with the Bavarian government, which owns the copyright and refuses reprint permission.

Is it permissible to sit in a cafe and read Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf?" British publisher Peter McGee, 51, has no doubt. "Of course it is. It's long overdue that a broad public should get the opportunity to deal with the original text."

And because McGee is so sure he's right, he plans to serialize extracts of the book in three small 15-page brochures with an initial print run of 100,000 copies each. The front cover features a photo of Hitler with a black bar obscuring his eyes and a headline that translates to "The unreadable book."

The plans could trigger opposition from Bavarian civil servants, though. Contrary to common belief, "Mein Kampf" is not banned in Germany. But the state of Bavaria, which seized Hitler's assets after his death, owns the copyright to his infamous treatise and has so far consistently prohibited efforts to reprint it.

McGee likes a fight and is no stranger to scandal. In 2009, he published reprints of vintage Nazi newspapers like Der Angriff and Völkischer Beobachter with print runs of up to 300,000, delivered alongside comments from historians. » | Martin U. Müller and Florian Zerfaß | Monday, January 06, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Parts of Mein Kampf to be published in Germany: A British company plans to break one of the great taboos of Germany by publishing excerpts of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. ¶ Starting in two weeks Albertas Press, a London based publishing house, will print sections of the book in German with critical commentaries printed alongside. The company plans to print three 15-page editions, each with a print run of 100,000. ¶ Witten by Hitler as he served a jail sentence for his role in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, Mein Kampf has not been published in Germany since the end of the Second World War. In the book Hitler mixes autobiographical elements and expositions of his political thesis, outlining his hatred of communism and Jews, and his conviction that Germany was destined to fight the "Judeo-Bolshevik regime" of the Soviet Union. » | Matthew Day | Monday, January 16, 2012

Jon Huntsman Quits Republican Race and Endorses Mitt Romney
Former governor of Utah withdraws from the race for his party's presidential nomination. At a press conference flanked by his family, he gave his support to Mitt Romney, who now goes into the South Carolina primary as a clear favourite to win the contest. Huntsman closed his comments by suggesting that the US had a deficit of trust to overcome as well as an economic crisis.