2010 Elections, Political News

From my Florida GOP debate notebook … One-word review: Mitt rises; Newt crashes; Rick steady; Ron amusing • Call it Mitt’s Lunar Eclipse – blasting Gingrich Moonbase idea could be tonight’s winning moment • Newt shrinking? That giant sucking sound is the GOP conservative vacuum opening up again • Newt so flustered tonight he forgot to say, “Massachusetts moderate” • Been feeling kinda creepy ever since Santorum said “dilly-dally” • Thank heavens nobody can run Ron Paul out this race. Only one who doesn’t need a laugh track • Here we go, the Who-Can-Kill-Castro-First segment • Callista Gingrich must be a European socialist, she plays French horn • Rick, if the wife is back home, why can’t she print out your tax return? • Did Newt just praise all three of HIS wives, or his rivals’ wives? • Wow Ron, Your wife is “the mother of five of our children” — there are others? • Mitt: Some of my best lawn workers are Hispanic • Mitt says health care “not worth getting angry about.” So, you uninsured folks just get over it • Don’t look so confused Rick. Mitt is just speaking French again • Ever get the feeling Newt is just running to promote his web sites? Next up, his eHarmony profile • Weirdest line of the night: Wolf said, “I look forward to seeing your medical records.” • Now it’s medical records to be released. What about Cable TV bills? • GOP debaters agree: Lower Romney’s Taxes • Guess Mitt also keeps his TV ads in a blind trust • Are blind trustees covered by Romneycare? • Newt and Mitt tonight: Beavis or Butt-Head, take your pick • Sad state of affairs for GOP when Santorum becomes the adult in the room • If we can’t cut federal spending let’s at least slow the alarming rise of lame jokes about Ron Paul’s suit • Grandmother debate trumped Santorum playing Mom card. Third-placers just can’t catch a break • Still stuck on Mitt slamming coyotes. They have grandmothers too • Mitt would put coyotes on the Moon. But would they howl at Earth? • Did Newt just accuse Mitt of kicking grandmothers? It’s getting ugly • Mitt soft on our national grandmother crisis • Newt gets bitch slapped, then hands Mitt the other glove for another round • Newt opposes self-deportation, favors self-medication • Thanks Rick, now go home and finish your tax return • Least (if ever) mentioned word tonight: JOBS • Poor Newt didn’t even make it to one-week wonder. South Carolina just 5 days ago • Mitt can change chairs in Washington, he sells them at Staples • Newt never recovered from Mitt “firing” him for goofy moon colony plan

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Debate: Mitt Flattens Newt

A former marine reservist who waged a spree of overnight shootings targeting military monuments and facilities, including the Pentagon, in the fall of 2010 pleaded guilty Thursday to three felony charges. Yonathan Melaku was arrested in the middle of the

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Pentagon, Monuments Shooter Pleads Guilty

In a blow to anti-Israel activists, the chancellor of California State University (CSU) is disregarding a letter sent last month asking him not to reinstate an Israel Study Abroad Program. CSU Northridge Professor David Klein organized a campaign which

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CSU Reinstates Israel Study Abroad Program Despite Protests

A Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore. Antonio Martinez, a Muslim convert who also goes by Muhammad Hussain, was arrested on Dec. 8, 2010, in an FBI sting after he tried to detonate a car

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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty To Plotting Attack on Military Recruiting Center

Boko Haram, the radical Islamist sect behind a recent surge of violence in Nigeria, launched a series of attacks Friday that left at least 185 people dead in Kano, the country’s second-largest city. The attacks struck multiple security buildings as well as the regional police headquarters, and were the deadliest yet by the militant organization. The group, which aims to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose Sharia law, has grown increasingly violent , with its August 2011 bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, the capital, as well as its attacks on churches raising alarm among international observers. “Boko Haram is constantly evolving, in the way they carry out their attacks and in their tactics,” Elizabeth Donnelly , who manages the Africa program at Chatham House, told Trend Lines. “They have certainly grown in confidence over the past two years. . . . Kano is a major city in Nigeria, and so it is quite a statement to go in and carry out such a heavy attack.” The militant group, Donnelly said, has expanded from smaller acts of violence, mainly focused on police, to more devastating attacks that increasingly target Christians. “It is possible that Boko Haram is working to intensify and play out any existing religious tensions and divisions in Nigeria, because any weakening of that societal fabric would play to their advantage,” she explained. “If there is further communal violence in different areas of Nigeria, it will stretch the security services even further, which will make it easier for Boko Haram to operate.” Divisions along ethnic, regional and religious lines often erupt into violence in this country, where despite billions in oil revenues, most live on less than $2 a day . President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the country’s south, first came to power in May 2010 after his northern Muslim predecessor, Umaru Yar’Adua, died unexpectedly. He has been criticized ever since for failing to contain the continuing violence. Founded in 2002, Boko Haram gained international attention in 2009, when Nigerian security forces seized the group’s headquarters and killed Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of the sect. Despite the setback, the militants regrouped under a new leader in 2010. “The police can’t really make any headway on this at the moment, and clearly they do feel very threatened,” Donnelly said. “The policy strategy in dealing with Boko Haram to date has been to attempt to crush the group. This has not worked, so quite possibly we will see a shift in strategy.” Alternative approaches could include starting a dialogue with Boko Haram or even offering the organization territory and limited autonomy. But Donnelly said that a lasting solution must include other reforms. While the recent attacks in Nigeria have distracted the government from addressing poverty and inequality, those are the very issues that fuel frustration and further violence. For example, in the poorer Muslim north, which lacks the oil wealth of Nigeria’s southern states, a growing population of unemployed, undereducated young people angry over government corruption may become ready recruits for groups like Boko Haram. Meanwhile, recent concerns over possible collaboration with al-Qaida affiliates , as well as concerns that Boko Haram may spread, led Nigeria to close its borders with Cameroon, Niger and Chad, and have focused international attention on putting an end to the violence. But Donnelly, responding to news that Nigeria may begin joint military operations with its regional partners, said any coordinated effort must be “carefully thought through.” “This is a complex group with complex politics,” she said. “This is not just a terrorist group here. It goes beyond that. And so any international engagement needs to be carefully nuanced.”

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An Evolving Boko Haram Requires Careful Response

At a time when the Obama administration has discussed speeding up U.S. aid to them, Egyptian authorities are blocking some Americans from leaving the country. Sam Lahood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was not allowed to leave Egypt

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Egypt Blocks American’s Departure

Although European Union sanctions on Iranian oil won’t kick in until July 1, their passage has already compounded Iran’s currency crisis, accelerated runaway inflation and heavily threatened the economy, Reuters reports. The resulting chaos puts

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Sanctions Hit Iran Hard

Liberal Obama critic Bill Maher tells Anderson Cooper he’s on the President’s side again. The HBO host said that watching Republicans “makes me run back into his arms screaming.” (CNN, 1/25) GOP Debate Tonight CNN 8:00 PM ET

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GOP Scares Maher Back to Barack

After raising suspicions of political expediency by suddenly talking about his father’s Mexican birthplace, Mitt Romney was put on the spot in a Spanish-language interview. And had to acknowledge it would be a stretch to claim Latino heritage. Still, he waited until the Florida primary to mention his father’s background. Q: “Your father was born in Mexico. Are you a Mexican-American? Could you be the first Hispanic president?” Romney: “I would love to be able to convince people of that, particularly in a Florida primary” (laughing). But I think that might be disingenuous on my part…..He [George Romney] was born of U.S. citizens who were living in Mexico at the time. He never spoke Spanish, nor did his parents. So I can’t claim that honor…. I don’t think people would think I was being honest with them if I said I was Mexican-American.” — Univision interview (1/25)

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No Mex-Mitt After All

Court records unsealed Monday accuse a former member of a North Carolina jihad cell of plotting to kill witnesses who testified against him at his federal trial. Hysen Sherifi was sentenced earlier this month to 45 years in prison for conspiring to

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Convicted NC Jihad Cell Member Allegedly Wanted Witnesses Killed