We know that the state of the union is good no matter how many Americans are out of work, how many families are counting every penny, how many industries are falling off a cliff and how high the national debt gets. We know it's good so long as another politician takes a victory lap up to the podium and tells us that it's all good because he's here.

George Soros on the Coming U.S. Class War ... Has the great short seller gone soft? Well, yes. Sitting in his 33rd-floor corner office high above Seventh Avenue in New York, preparing for his trip to Davos, he is more concerned with surviving than staying rich. "At times like these, survival is the most important thing," he says, peering through his owlish glasses and brushing wisps of gray hair off his forehead. He doesn't just mean it's time to protect your assets. He means it's time to stave off disaster. As he sees it, the world faces one of the most dangerous periods of modern history—a period of "evil." Europe is confronting a descent into chaos and conflict. In America he predicts riots on the streets that will lead to a brutal clampdown that will dramatically curtail civil liberties. The global economic system could even collapse altogether. – Daily Beast

So far Mitt Romney has lost two out of three primaries, twice to candidates that the establishment didn't even feel were worthy of their attention. In his biggest victory in New Hampshire he barely managed to take 40 percent of the vote.  

Like it or not Republicans voters are not particularly thrilled about Romney. But how ecstatic can anyone be about a candidate whose main draw is electability. Electability is an excellent strategic calculation, but it garners about as much enthusiasm as any other form of expediency. Most people who vote the big 'R' recognize the importance of getting Obama out at any cost, but they are not going to get very fired up about a man whose only credential is that of being able to win.

When a news report as hideous as this one comes along, no one is really surprised to discover the culturally enriched aspects of the crime. Even if they are not allowed to discuss it, most citizens of major Western European cities surely expect that grotesquely violent crime and debased behavior are overwhelmingly the province of Third World immigrants, and especially adherents of the Religion of Peace.

The following article just appeared in VG.no, the website for Norway’s largest newspaper, and was translated by our Norwegian correspondent The Observer.

It concerns a culturally enriched young woman named Aisha Shezadi, who is touring Norwegian schools giving talks about her personal values as they inform her decision to wear the niqab. Among her other values — which she is not discussing in her school talks — are fundamentalist Islamic sentiments which mandate support for the Taliban in their fight against Western forces stationed in Afghanistan.

2011 saw the rise of political Islam across Northern Africa. Arab Spring revolutions which were typically led by secular modern youth, gave way to veteran religious Islamic leaders which gained political power.  

In Egypt, the Muslim parties won 2/3 of the seats in Parliament. Top parties in Egypt's incoming parliament have agreed to select an Islamist politician as house speaker for the first time in decades.