US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich Hits Back at 'Open Marriage' Allegations
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich hit back at allegations of impropriety with a robust debate performance that, judging by a standing ovation it received a South Carolina audience, instantly improved his chances of winning the state’s primary on Saturday.

The former Speaker’s second wife Marianne had made headlines earlier with an ABC television interview accusing him of asking for an open marriage as he admitted a six-year affair with the congressional aide Callista, who soon became his third wife.

CNN’s moderator John King opened the 17th debate of the primary season with a direct invitation to Mr Gingrich respond to the allegation.

“I am appalled you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” he responded.

“Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.” » | Alex Spillius, Charleston | Friday, January 20, 2012

My comment:

Newt Gingrich has proven himself to be the bully of right-wing American politics. He has also proven himself to be without any moral or ethical anchors. Yet he has the audacity to lecture others on such matters.

What manner of man would leave his wife after being diagnosed with cancer? What manner of man would then proceed to leave his second wife after being diagnosed with MS? Then, to cap it all, he is the master of extra-marital affairs as well.

The crass way he attacked John King last evening 'for having the temerity' to ask him such a "despicable" question about his infidelities shows nothing but a man in desperation. He is desperate to get to the White House, as he obviously has been all of his adult life. He dumped on his first wife because she would clearly have been unable to accompany him on his journey there; he dumped on his second wife for a similar reason. This shows he had no real love of either. Once it became clear to him that they were not First Lady material, he was off.

Is this the kind of man the Americans need to lead them through the morass they now find themselves in?

After 9/11, I dare say that Newt Gingrich would have been a good choice for president. More than ten years on, I doubt that. I fear that if Gingrich is selected to represent the Republicans in the race to the White House, the Americans – and all of us, actually – will be in for a very rough ride. This candidate is gung-ho. He will lead America to more wars that it can ill afford. – © Mark

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US Election 2012: Mitt Romney Booed over Tax Returns during Republican Debate
Asked directly about how many years of tax returns he plans to make public, the Republican frontrunner is heckled and jeered by the crowd at a debate in South Carolina

Read the short article here | Friday, January 20, 2012

Cringe-making! US Election 2012: Barack Obama Serenades Supporters at New York Fundraiser
President Barack Obama burst into song to woo supporters at a fundraising event in New York before calling on them to boost his re-election bid.

Read short article here, and comment | Friday, January 20, 2012

Gingrich Ex: Newt Wanted 'Open Marriage'
Marianne Gingrich unloads but also defends Newt on ethics questions in Congress.

Fireworks at CNN Debate Over Gingrich 'Open Marriage' Charge
abc NEWS: Newt Gingrich earned a standing ovation from a South Carolina crowd Thursday night when he angrily rebuked moderator John King for opening CNN's Southern Republican Debate with a question about claims he'd asked his second wife for an "open marriage."


"Would you like to take some time to respond to that?" asked King.

"No, but I will," said a visibly angered Gingrich, earning sustained applause.

"The destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that," he said.

The crowd in Charleston, S.C., leapt to its feet and cheered. » | Mark Schone | Thursday, January 19, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gingrich Shoots the Messenger » | Jon Swaine, Charleston | Friday, January 20, 2012

China Begins to Turn Against Iran
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran slipped further into global isolation on Thursday as China, its traditional ally, warned Tehran against its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

After a visit to the Gulf in which he met the leaders of the states most threatened by Iran's aggressive foreign policy, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, issued Beijing's clearest condemnation yet.

"China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons," he said.

China appears to have sent a message to Iran that it could not rely on Beijing's unstinting support by reducing its imports of oil at a time when the US and Europe are promoting an embargo on the country.

The Washington Post reported that China trimmed its oil imports from Iran in January from a daily average of around 550,000 barrels to 285,000 barrels a day.

Chinese foreign policy experts said the statement demonstrated that Beijing would not allow its international position to end up beholden to Iran.

Mr Wen's trip to three of the world's biggest oil-and-gas producers was de[s]cribed by some commentators as an attempt to seek alternative energy sources, although he politely denied this was the case: "Some people said my visit was to secure oil, which is narrow-minded. I came here for friendship."

"Iran would not have wanted China to make this statement, but Iran must understand that if it comes down to a choice China will not alienate itself from the rest of the world for the sake of single country," said Yu Guoqing, a researcher on the Middle East at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. » | Malcolm Moore, Henry Samuel and Damien McElroy | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Gingrich Blasts 'Destructive' News Media as He Denies Asking Ex-Wife for an 'Open Marriage' at Start of Fiery GOP Debate

MAIL ONLINE: • Gingrich bracing for ex-wife's tell-all interview to air following debate • Marianne Gingrich claims former Speaker wanted an open marriage with her while he was having an affair with his current wife, Callista. • Opened debate saying he was 'appalled' moderator John King would bring up the topic • Romney defends his work at Bain Capital saying his firm's investments created thousands of jobs

Newt Gingrich is denying that he ever asked his ex-wife for an open marriage and is angrily denouncing the moderator of tonight's Republican debate for raising the issue.

Gingrich blasted what he called the 'destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media.'

The former House speaker slammed CNN moderator John King during the debate, saying that he was 'appalled' that King would begin a presidential debate on such a topic.

Gingrich called the question about his ex-wife's allegations, in his words, 'as close to despicable as anything as I can imagine.'

The former speaker's second wife, Marianne Gingrich, says in an interview with ABC News that when she discovered Gingrich was having an affair he asked her for an open marriage.

'I am tired of the media protecting Barack Obama by attacking republicans,' he said.

Asked whether Gingrich's past infidelity is relevant to the campaign, Republican rivals Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were not eager to criticise him on his marital woes. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, January 20, 2012

Iran Warns Neighbours Not to Join Isolation Attempts
THE GUARDIAN: Iranian foreign minister says Gulf states co-operating with western efforts to isolate Tehran would be in 'dangerous position'


Tehran has warned its Gulf neighbours that it would be "dangerous" for them to join a western-led effort to isolate Iran, with the warning coming as a meeting of European ambassadors in Brussels failed to agree on the details of an EU oil embargo.

The EU permanent representatives council had been due to agree a far-reaching sanctions package including a phased embargo on oil imports from Iran and a freezing of the assets of the country's central bank.

But Greece refused to agree to a Danish proposal to begin the oil embargo on 1 July, calling for more time to enable it to complete existing contracts with Iranian suppliers and find new ones.

The ambassadors will work through the weekend in an effort to complete a deal before foreign ministers meet on Monday.

The sanctions package includes a freeze on European assets belonging to the Central Bank of Iran, with loopholes to allow non-oil trade to continue. Britain is also pushing for a partial asset freeze on an Iranian private bank.

Iran – which already faces US sanctions on the global financing on its oil trade, effective in June – focused its attentions yesterday on trying to persuade Gulf Arab states not to co-operate with the western isolation campaign. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Wife Anne Sinclair: 'Leave Your Husband If You Want, That's Your Problem'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anne Sinclair, the wife of fallen International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has blasted feminists who criticised her for standing by her philandering spouse, saying: "Leave your husband if you want, that's your problem."

A poll published in September published by Elle magazine found that 54 per cent of women approved Miss Sinclair's decision to stand by Mr Strauss-Kahn during allegations of rape and despite revelations of his serial use of prostitutes.

But the same poll found that 74 per cent would have left him, if faced with the same situation.
"Well then, leave your husband if you want to want to leave him. That's your problem," she said in a long interview in Elle.

Once tipped to become the next French president, Mr Strauss-Kahn's career has been in tatters since his arrest last May over the alleged rape of a New York hotel maid. Criminal charges were dropped but a civil case is pending.

Mr Strauss-Kahn's name has also been linked to a prostitution ring operating out of a luxury hotel in Lille. He is expected to be questioned over the so-called "Hotel Carlton affair" in the coming weeks.

But his wife, a one-time star political TV journalist and millionaire heiress to an art fortune, dismissed as "unacceptable" claims that she was condoning violence towards women by offering her husband staunch moral and financial support.

"It's unacceptable because there was no violence. If there had been, the prosecutors would have pressed charges. They didn't. Violence horrifies me – verbal violence too To be a feminist is to fight that, not to meddle in the private life of other women to decide in their place what seems moral or not." "I am neither a saint, nor a victim," she added. "I am a free woman." » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Australia on Verge of Historic Decision to Recognise Aborigines as First People of Continent
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Australia is poised to make historic changes to its constitution recognising Aborigines as the first people of the continent and removing the last clauses permitting racial discrimination by the state.

Proposals presented on Thursday would ask Australians to approve a clause recognising that Aborigine and Pacific islanders were the first occupants of the land mass. A second clause prohibiting racial discrimination would override measures that allow the authorities to intervene on the grounds of races.

Only eight of 44 referendums have been approved in the 111 year history of the Australian Commonwealth. The last successful nationwide vote was held in 1967.

A report unanimously adopted by a panel of 19 experts was endorsed by Julia Gillard, the prime minister, who pledged to put the amendments to a vote before the next general election expected in 2013.

The prospects for change were bolstered by support from Tony Abbott, the Opposition leader, who said he would support any measure that did not amount to a Bill of Rights.
Ms Gillard said Australia was "big enough" to back changes.


"It is the right time to say yes to an understanding of our past, to say yes to constitutional change, and to say yes to a future more united and more reconciled than we have ever been before," she said. "It is going to require each and every one of us involved in politics to find it in ourselves to be our best selves, to advocate this case for change with the maximum degree of unity." » | Jonathan Pearlman, Perth and Damien McElroy | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Ungarn will Streit über EU-Recht beilegen

370,000 Migrants On the Dole
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 370,000 migrants who were admitted to Britain to work, study or go on holiday are now claiming out-of-work benefits, according to official figures compiled for the first time.

The migrants, who can claim unemployment, housing and incapacity benefit, are costing taxpayers billions of pounds a year.

In other countries, many would have had to return home after their visas expired or their employment ended.

The figures are likely to reopen the debate over the generosity of the welfare system amid growing concerns that the country has become a destination for “benefit tourists”.

In an article for today’s Daily Telegraph, Chris Grayling, the employment minister, and Damian Green, the immigration minister, say that the large number of migrants now claiming benefits has been increased by the “organisational chaos” of Britain’s immigration system.

“It should never have been allowed to happen and Labour should be embarrassed by what it left behind,” they add. Read on and comment » | Robert Winnett, Political Editor | Thursday, January 19, 2012

WEF: Mit den Mächtigen im Schnee - 40 Jahre Weltgeschichte *
Ein Schweizer Bergort schreibt seit 40 Jahren Weltgeschichte: Davos und sein World Economic Forum (WEF). Hier in Davos hat der damalige deutsche Aussenminister Hans-Dietrich Genscher das Ende des kalten Krieges verkündet, die Premier-Minister Griechenlands und der Türkei verhinderten per Handschlag einen Krieg und es gibt kaum einen Staatschef oder Wirtschaftskapitän, der nicht ein paar Tage im Schnee von Davos verbracht hat.
Das Video hier abspielen | Mittwoch 27. Januar 2010
* Zum Teil in Schweizerdeutsch (Schyzertüütsch) übertragen worden

Turkish PM Reiterates Ankara's Support for Iran's Peaceful N. Program

FARS NEWS AGENCY: TEHRAN - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi renewed his country's support for Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.

Erdogan said Turkey always supported Iran's peaceful nuclear activities and thought cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency will help settle the issue.

During the meeting Wednesday night, the two officials also reviewed bilateral ties and explored ways of promoting Tehran-Ankara relations.

The Turkish prime minister voiced Turkey's readiness to expand cooperation with Iran in all possible areas.

He also expressed the interest of his country in exchanging views with Iran on regional issues with an aim of consolidating security, peace and stability in the region. » | FNA | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Iran Blames 'Western' Influences Over Nude Actress Controversy
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Iranian state news agency has attacked Golshifteh Farahani, the actress who posed nude in a French magazine, for slipping from the modest respectability of Iranian cinema to the vulgarity of Western culture.

Fars News Agency said that result of her decision to seek fame outside Iran was that she fell into the corruption and decadence associated with the Hollywood film industry.

"The actress who once played the role of caring and decent mothers of Iran has now auctioned her modesty and honour in front of the Western cameras," it said.

A photograph of Miss Farahani standing naked in a studio was published in the latest edition of 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.

The agency revealed Iranian officials had been shocked by her decision. » | Damien McElroy, and Ahmad Vahdat | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mode aus Berlin

Russian Says Western Support for Arab Revolts Could Cause a ‘Big War’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned Wednesday that outside encouragement of antigovernment uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa could lead to “a very big war that will cause suffering not only to countries in the region, but also to states far beyond its boundaries.”

Mr. Lavrov’s annual news conference was largely devoted to a critique of Western policies in Iran and Syria, which he said could lead to a spiral of violence.

His remarks came on the heels of a report on state-controlled television that accused the American ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, who has been in Moscow for less than a week, of working to provoke a revolution here. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, at an impromptu meeting with prominent editors, also unleashed an attack on the liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, which he said was serving American interests.

Mr. Lavrov said Russia would use its position on the United Nations Security Council to veto any United Nations authorization of military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The United Nations has repeatedly called for Syria end a crackdown on opposition demonstrators, which Arab League monitors say resulted in hundreds of deaths over the past month.

“If someone conceives the idea of using force at any cost — and I’ve already heard calls for sending some Arab troops to Syria — we are unlikely to be able to prevent this,” Mr. Lavrov said. “But this should be done on their own initiative and should remain on their conscience. They won’t get any authorization from the Security Council.”

Mr. Lavrov said foreign governments were arming “militants and extremists” in Syria, and he gave a bristling response to Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, who on Tuesday expressed concern about possible Russian arms shipments to Syria.

“We don’t find it necessary to explain or justify anything,” Mr. Lavrov said. “We are only trading goods with Syria that are not prohibited by international law.” » | Ellen Barry and Michael Schwirtz | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Is Obama's Re-election Campaign to Dye for? Greying President Sports Remarkable Head of Brown Hair in New Ad Spot
MAIL ONLINE: Commercial appears to have reversed ageing process for Barack Obama

Barack Obama's hair is turning grey so rapidly that even the First Lady made a joke about it on his 50th birthday last year.

But that hasn't stopped the TV advertisement of the first Obama / Biden re-election campaign from featuring a remarkably youthful-looking president with luxuriant brown hair.

Like many world leaders, Mr Obama has aged during the three years he has been in office, a process that in his case has been most visible through his greying hair. » | Graham Smith | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Exclusive: Gingrich Lacks Moral Character to Be President, Ex-Wife Says
abc NEWS: Newt Gingrich lacks the moral character to serve as President, his second ex-wife Marianne told ABC News, saying his campaign positions on the sanctity of marriage and the importance of family values do not square with what she saw during their 18 years of marriage.

In her first television interview since the 1999 divorce, to be broadcast tonight on Nightline, Marianne Gingrich, a self-described conservative Republican, said she is coming forward now so voters can know what she knows about Gingrich. » | Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Golshifteh Farahani in Paris

Golshifteh Farahani

Golshifteh Farahani Naked

MAIL ONLINE: Iranian Actress Banned from Returning to Her Home Country after Posing Nude in French Magazine: An actress who has starred with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe has been banished from her home country of Iran - because she posed nude in a French news magazine. ¶ Golshifteh Farahani says she has been contacted by the Iranian government, telling her that she is no longer welcome in the country and advising her not to return home. ¶ The offending photo - a black-and-white 'art shot' featuring the 28-year-old Farahani posing against a black backdrop with her hands strategically placed over her breasts - was first published in Madame Le Figaro. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Related »

France 2 interview: Golshifteh Farahani (06.11.2011)

Conan’s Nude Photoshop Celebrity Pics

Andrew Sullivan Defends His Newsweek Pro-Obama Piece To Anderson Cooper
MEDIAite: Andrew Sullivan‘s Newsweek story on President Obama angered plenty of conservatives, as the magazine retitled the piece “Why are Obama’s critics so dumb?” and Sullivan, a self-proclaimed conservative, stood up for the president. On tonight’s Anderson Cooper 360º, Sullivan defended his thesis that the President had governed well against Republican strategist Bay Buchanan. » | Frances Martel | Wednesday, January 18, 2012


THE DAILY BEAST: Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics – The right calls him a socialist, the left says he sucks up to Wall Street, and independents think he's a wimp. Andrew Sullivan on how the president may just end up outsmarting them all. » | Andrew Sullivan | Monday, January 16, 2012

Cameron Says Fred Goodwin May Lose Knighthood
THE TIMES: Sir Fred Goodwin could be stripped of his knighthood, David Cameron signalled today, as he vowed to take on an “out of control” City bonus culture. The Prime Minister said that the honour awarded the former RBS chief would be examined by a senior Whitehall committee with the power to revoke it. He also said that the cash element of bonuses paid this year to staff at RBS, which is 83 per cent owned by the taxpayer, would be restricted to £2,000, the same as last year. Mr Cameron’s comments followed a speech in which he sought to champion the moral power of markets, insisting that the Conservatives were best placed to re-shape the economy from “this crisis of capitalism”. Sir Fred’s knighthood, which was awarded by Gordon Brown, has attracted increasing ire from MPs of all parties since… » | Roland Watson, Jenny Booth and Patrick Hosking | Thursday, January 19, 2012 [£]

US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich's Ex-wife Marianne Gives 'Explosive' Interview
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich's ex-wife Marianne has given an interview to ABC News that she said could end the Republican presidential hopeful's career, according to reports.

The interview with Mr Gingrich's wife of 18 years is set to air on Thursday evening, two days before South Carolina holds its presidential primary.

"Her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail," The Drudge Report stated.

Mr Gingrich, 68, has been married three times. When he was 19, he married Jackie Battley, his former teacher who was 26 at the time. He then married Marianne Ginther in 1981 after having an affair with her.

In the mid 1990s he started an affair with his now third wife, Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior. » | Barney Henderson | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Preview:


MEDIAite: Nightline Preview: Marianne Gingrich Says Newt Gingrich Wanted An Open Marriage: ABC News has released a preview of it’s upcoming bombshell interview with Marianne Gingrich, second wife to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and it is, indeed, a doozy. In fact, when reached for comment, several prominent doozies even exclaimed “Whoah!” » | Tommy Christopher | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Related »

Iran Warns Arab States Against Alliance with West
THE GUARDIAN: As nuclear dispute intensifies, foreign minister tells neighbouring countries not to be dragged into dangerous position

Iran's foreign minister has warned Arab neighbours not to put themselves in a "dangerous position" by aligning themselves too closely with the US in the escalating dispute over Tehran's nuclear activity.

Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if pending western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its energy sector.

Tehran, which denies it is seeking nuclear weapons, was riled earlier this week when Saudi Arabia asserted it could quickly raise oil output for key customers if needed.

"We want peace and tranquility in the region. But some of the countries in our region, they want to direct other countries 12,000 miles away from this region," the foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said during a visit to Turkey.

The remark was an apparent reference to the alliance of Iran's Arab neighbours with Washington, which maintains a huge fleet in the Gulf and says it will keep the waterway open. » | Reuters in Ankara | Thursday, January 19, 2012

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

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