From Detroit to Denmark, terrorist strikes are increasingly the preserve of lone attackers inspired by jihadist groups Raffaello Pantucci guardian.co.uk, The year has begun with a jihadist splash. Aside from massacres in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, just before New Year, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to bring down an airliner over Detroit. Now a young Somali resident of Copenhagen appears to have attempted to take vengeance on Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist behind 2006’s infamous Muhammad cartoons. While information on the two attacks is far from complete, the signs increasingly point to lone attackers with links to regional jihadist groups. This … Continue reading Extremism’s lone warriors

The once proud Washington Post gets into bed with a right-wing billionaire and fills its news pages with his agenda Dean Baker guardian.co.uk, The Washington Post is a newspaper with a proud legacy. It has done much important reporting over the years, most famously its coverage of the Watergate scandal that resulted in the resignation of Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, it seems to have abandoned its journalistic standards. In its last issue of the decade, it published as a news piece an article by the Peter Peterson Foundation-funded Fiscal Times. This compromised the Post’s journalistic integrity to the extent that readers … Continue reading Hard times at the Washington Post sells itself with no shame

Publishing Kurt Westergaard’s cartoons was an aggressive act born of Denmark’s reluctance to respect religious belief Nancy Graham Holm guardian.co.uk, On New Year’s Day, Kurt Westergaard and his granddaughter came close to losing their lives when an axe-wielding fanatic forced his way into their house. It was the latest in a string of attempted attacks that can be traced directly to the offence caused by Westergaard’s cartoons for Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. One of these cartoons depicted the prophet Muhammad in a turban with a stick of dynamite protruding from the top. Muslims failed to see Westergaard’s cartoon as … Continue reading Prejudiced Danes provoke fanaticism

While criticising Tony Blair, the former prime minister forgot his own dismal record on big money and the Bosnian war Denis MacShane guardian.co.uk, Suddenly it all came back. Listening to the unctuous Sir John Major on the Today programme last weekend, in surely the most unchallenging interview of a politician in the programme’s history, one heard the authentic voice of the Bourbon Conservativism that learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. Major opined on parliament as if his era as whip, minister and prime minister was a golden chapter in the history of the Commons. Yet the wretched allowances and expenses system … Continue reading Bosnian Muslims butcherers deputy – John Major rewrites history

Flights of fancy The absurdity of ill-conceived aviation security measures would have meant flying with our fingers and legs crossed Jennifer Abel guardian.co.uk, Oh baby – struggling through security checks at Los Angeles international airport. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters The day after Christmas 2009 marked an important milestone here in the US, land of the free, home of the brave and self-styled beacon of individual rights across the globe: for the first time federal authorities went so far as to tell law-abiding travellers: “Anyone who needs a bathroom has to hold it in at least an hour.” Throughout my relatively short … Continue reading Flights of fancy – do not fart on an US Airline or you will be shot!

Two men arrested after symbolic ceremony last month could face up to 14 years in jail David Smith, Africa correspondent guardian.co.uk, Steven Monjeza, left, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga sit in a pickup truck before appearing in court. Photograph: Eldson Chagara/Reuters A court in Malawi today denied bail to two men arrested after becoming the first gay couple to marry in the conservative African country. Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court that he could not grant the couple bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. “The public out there is angry with them,” Usiwausiwa said. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven … Continue reading Malawi gay wedding couple denied bail for ‘own protection’