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...second problem with Obama's agenda is that although he wants to cut deals with regimes like Iran's and movements like the Taliban, he's not in a particularly strong position to do so. Back in 2002 or 2003, when the U.S. looked almost invincible, the Iranians appeared willing to concede a lot simply to forestall a U.S. attack. Now, with the U.S. mired in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are less afraid and thus less willing to deal. Similarly, the Taliban have little incentive to break with al-Qaeda so long as they feel they're gaining momentum...
...European societies anti-Islam? That's a question more people are asking in the wake of Switzerland's referendum to ban the building of minarets in the Alpine country. Almost 6 out of 10 Swiss voters supported the ban - charges of racism be damned. France passed a law in 2004 that bans young women from wearing Islamic headscarves in public schools, and has now joined the Netherlands in debating a ban on full-body coverings like a burqa. And Muslims in multicultural Britain have also repeatedly accused officials there of talking down to them with urges to drop clothes that...
...Previous research indicates that almost a third of French companies are grappling with how to respond to requests from Muslim employees for prayer breaks, Islamic holidays, halal options on cafeteria menus and adapting work assignments to take into account the effects of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. In their study, which involved over 350 interviews with employees and managers from dozens of companies, the Bouzars found most bosses have tended to improvise reactions to such demands, producing two contrasting excesses. "Managers have tended to either adopt laxity, reasoning 'We've got to accept their differences and avoid perceptions...
...world's most lawless - has killed more than 19,000 people in the past three years alone.) Al-Shabab's membership is estimated to number in the thousands; its fighters are identifiable by their red-and-white scarves. The group began fighting Ethiopian troops and the weak interim government almost immediately after the invasion; today it controls large areas of the nation's central and southern regions. Al-Shabab carries out near daily attacks against the government as well as against aid groups and African Union peacekeepers operating in the country. Its members are mainly Somalis, though it has also...
Bolivian voters, at least, issued a resounding yes in Sunday's presidential election: the initial tally shows Morales, now 50, winning re-election with 63% of the vote, almost 10 points better than his 54% showing four years ago. He defeated his closest opposition candidate by 40 points. His party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), won two-thirds of the seats in Bolivia's Congress. As a result, said Morales, "I am obligated to accelerate the pace of change." The statement was sure to buoy the indigenous majority that makes up his base while vexing the more conservative white minority...