President Barack Obama started his political career as a community organizer in Chicago. Apparently, the National Education Association intends to train more community organizers to grab political power by recommending on its official website for them to read ‘Rules for Radicals,’ by Saul Alinsky.

Mr. Obama appears to have closely followed Mr. Alinsky’s guidebook for seizing power. In the paperback ‘Rules for Radicals’ published by Vintage Press, Alinsky wrote on page 103, “the organizer’s job is to inseminate an invitation for himself, to agitate, introduce ideas, get people pregnant with hope and a desire for ‘change’ and to identify you as the person most qualified for this purpose. Here the tool of the organizer, in the agitation leading to the invitation as well as the actual organization and education of local leadership, is the use of the question, the Socratic method.”

The embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia pledged on Monday to retain a hefty tax on mining profits if she succeeds in establishing a government following deadlocked national polls.

According to AFP, “Gillard said she had brokered an agreement with the mining sector ahead of Saturday’s elections, which ended with neither her center-left Labor Party on the main opposition Liberal/National coalition holding enough seats to govern.”

President Barack Obama is fighting strong opposition from his own party, eight months after he demanded action on a string of stalled free trade deals. There are also concerns over an increasing trade deficit in a hurry to meet Obama’s self-imposed deadline for signing a major accord with South Korea.

The Washington Times reports that, “but the failure of the Obama administration to advance any major trade deals has many of his allies on the issue – including many top Republicans – questioning whether Mr. Obama can deliver on his promises.”

Recently, the influence of al Qaeda has grown more troublesome. Al Qaeda, in the past two years, has established a local franchise in Yemen. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has claimed responsibility for shocking terrorist attacks that include the attempt to assassinate the British ambassador to Sana’a, the capital city, earlier this year.

The Guardian Unlimited UK reports that, “in Yemen, the recruits can study ideology and take guidance from militant leaders, including the Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-awlaki, who has been described as ‘terrorist number one’ by the Democratic chairman of the House homeland security sub-committee, Jane Harman. Awlaki is believed to have given guidance to the so-called underwear bombing suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmulattab, and Major Nidal Hasan, accused of murdering colleagues in shootings at Fort Hood.”

Malaysian officials are facing an increasing problem of abandoned infants. Sixty-five babies have been discovered so far this year, and many were killed before the moment they were found.

According to the BBC News, “the government fears that number will surpass previous totals – an average of 100 babies are found each year. They were left in rubbish bins, on doorsteps, and on the streets, prompting the government to consider treating cases as murder or attempted murder.”

United States lawmakers pleaded for a United Nations’ probe into violence in a Vietnamese Catholic village after families announced that authorities utilized deadly force to crack down on a religious procession.

AFP reports that, “villagers’ relatives, testifying before a panel of the U.S. Congress, charged that Vietnamese authorities forcibly prevented Con Dau parish, near the central city of Danang, from burying a woman at the local cemetery in May.”

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins claims he’s “getting smart on crime,” but he’s not getting smart on paying his bills, which includes a monthly mortgage payment, his law license dues to the State Bar of Texas, advertising payments to the Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages, and income taxes.

According to the Dallas Morning News, “Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins defaulted on payment of his home loan two years ago, according to county records. The default on the loan by Watkins and his wife, Tanya, on their DeSoto home occurred in November 2008. County records show that a lien was placed on the property that same month.”

A significant majority of Americans see no good conclusion to the Afghanistan War, and almost six in 10 oppose the nine-year-old war as President Barack Obama deploys tens of thousands more troops to the war, as disclosed by an Associated Press GFK poll.

The Washington Times reports that, “with just over 10 weeks before nationwide elections that could define the remainder of Obama’s first term, only 38 percent say they support his expanded war effort in Afghanistan – a drop from 46 percent in March. Just 19 percent expect the situation to improve during the next year, while 29 percent think it will get worse. Some 49 percent think it will remain the same.”

Taiwan’s parliament has voted in favor of a wide-ranging trade pact with mainland China, despite vigorous boycott by the pro-independence opposition party.

The BBC News reports that, “China is seen to have made the greater economic concessions for a deal meant to seal a political rapprochement. Taiwan will continue to bar labor from China, its biggest trading partner.”

Neil McDonough, the Roman Catholic actor who lost a lead role for his adamant refusal to perform heated love scenes, will star and produce in a new series about a cop turned priest.

According to the Catholic News Agency, “McDonough, who has played roles on shows such as ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Boomtown’ and ‘Band of Brothers,’ lost his role on the new ABC series ‘Scoundrels’ three days after filming. While ABC described the action as a ‘casting change,’ news reports linked it to the actor’s refusal to do sex scenes.”