PREVIEW-U.S. court term has free-speech, immigration cases - Reuters

* First term for Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee

* Nine-member court remains closely divided

* Conservative majority with four liberals

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court will consider important cases on anti-gay protests at military funerals, violent video games and immigration law during its new term that begins on Monday.

The nine-member high court will open its 2010-11 term with a new member on the bench, Justice Elena Kagan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.

Kagan succeeded Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in June. She probably will not change the court's balance of power, which is widely seen as remaining closely divided with a five-member conservative majority and four liberals.

The conservative Republican appointees are Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Besides Kagan, the Democratic appointees on the left are Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, the court's first Hispanic who was appointed by Obama last year.

"While the conservative credentials of the Roberts court have been well-established by now, this term may tell us something more about its particular brand of conservatism," said Steven Shapiro of the American Civil Liberties Union.

He said the term could show whether the current court is more concerned about corporate rights and less concerned about states' rights than the court under the previous chief justice, the late William Rehnquist.

One of the term's most closely watched cases will be argued on Wednesday when the justices consider whether free-speech rights protect anti-gay protests by members of a small Kansas church at funerals for U.S. military members killed in Iraq.

Fordham University law professor Benjamin Zipursky said a U.S. appeals court overextended free-speech rights and interfered with a father's right to hold a peaceful, dignified funeral for his son who died in Iraq.

MISTAKE OF JUDGMENT

"Let's hope the Supreme Court corrects this serious mistake of judgment and misapplication of law," he said.

Another major free-speech case will be argued in November, when the justices consider a California law banning the sale and rental of violent video games to minors.

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US issues travel alert for Europe amid threat of Al Qaeda attack - Los Angeles Times

Snipers of the German police stand guard on a roof during the celebration for the 20th anniversary of the German reunification in front of the town hall in Bremen. Germany's interior ministry said in a statement that the travel alert for Americans comes in light of recent threats and that Berlin was informed by the U.S. of the decision to issue the alert. (Ingo Wagner, AFP/Getty Images / October 3, 2010)

The State Department issued a travel alert Sunday for American citizens in Europe in light of increased U.S. and European intelligence that a large-scale Al Qaeda attack may be imminent.

Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have said an increase in activity in recent weeks suggests that a small cell of potential terrorists hiding in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal region, are preparing an attack that could be as spectacular as the 2008 raids in Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people.

Plotters could be planning to use "a variety of means and target both official and private interests," the State Department said, adding that Americans abroad should be careful riding on railways, subways and other transportation systems, and visiting hotels, restaurants and tourist spots.

"U.S. citizens should take every precaution," the travel alert said.

It is thought that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is behind the current plot, and if successful, it could become the largest terrorist action since the Sept. 11 attacks nine years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are traveling in Europe at any given time — as tourists, college students and business professionals. But the State Department did not upgrade its alert to a warning, which could lead to widespread cancellations of airline and hotel bookings.

Nevertheless, many now in Europe found themselves quickly aware of the situation. With the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves in London preparing for a preseason game, the National Basketball Assn. promised to take "appropriate" measures to ensure their safety.

"The NBA is staying in contact with the U.S. Embassy, the CIA and Scotland Yard," said Lakers spokesman John Black. "They are keeping us informed of the situation."

European governments began warning of a possible attack last week.

In Britain, the threat of terrorism has been listed as "severe," meaning an attack is highly likely. Britain's Foreign Office also warned its citizens to be careful traveling in France.

French Defense Minister Hervé Morin told Le Parisien newspaper that "the terrorist threat exists and could hit us at any moment." But Morin said law-enforcement officials were continuing to pursue would-be terrorists.

"Networks organizing themselves to prepare attacks are constantly being dismantled around the world," he said. "It is good for the French to know this."

The U.S. military in recent weeks has stepped up drone missile attacks on suspected hideouts in regions of Pakistan, and the United States is passing its intelligence to its European counterparts.

According to intelligence sources, the current threat apparently arose after the arrest and interrogation of a German man of Pakistani origin who was being held at the U.S. air base in Bagram, Afghanistan. He reportedly has provided information about the activities of half a dozen other men from Germany and England who were linked through Al Qaeda and allegedly talking to other operatives in several European cities about upcoming strikes.

richard.serrano@latimes.com

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Park51 drawings prove how far 'Ground Zero mosque' claims are from truth - The Guardian

Park51 in an artist's rendering – the building had been dubbed the 'Ground Zero mosque' by rightwingers and Christian extremists, but is intended for multifaith and secular use. Photograph: Soma Architects/AP

Judging by the criticism thrown at the Muslim centre planned for downtown Manhattan, you would think developers intended to build an Islamic citadel right on top of Ground Zero with "sponsored by al-Qaida" written on its front.

In fact, the proposed scheme for the much-slated "Ground Zero mosque" is neither a mosque nor at Ground Zero – it is a multifaith community centre with an Islamic prayer area, two blocks north of the site where the twin towers once stood. Now, conceptual drawings of the building have been released, revealing a planned structure that is strikingly modern and in keeping with the spirit of New York's most cutting-edge design.

Park51, named after its location on the site of an old coat factory in Park Place, would be a sleek 15-storey tower sandwiched between older buildings.

The most vivid element of the renderings, drawn by a New York-based design studio, Soma Architects, is the building's white frontage, which is broken up into a lattice of interlocking geometric shapes. At night, it would be lit up like a glistening honeycomb.

The device is a clear allusion to the intricate arabesque motifs found in Islamic architecture, and is reminiscent of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, which shot the architect Jean Nouvel to fame in the 1980s. But it also pays homage to other religions, with the Jewish Star of David being clearly visible among its patterns.

Contrary to the mass of bad publicity that has been heaped on it in recent weeks, the building is designed to be multifaith and also secular.

Sharif el-Gamal, the developer of the $120m (£76m) project, told Associated Press that nearly a quarter of its space would be devoted to a sports and fitness centre, which, it is hoped, would attract New York residents of any faith and ethnicity for a fee of up to $2,700 a year per family. Another floor would be given over to a playground and childcare area.

In addition, there would be a restaurant and exhibition space, and on the 12th floor a memorial and sanctuary remembering the events of 11 September 2001 that would again be multidenominational.

"I don't think that once this thing gets built, anyone will be picketing," Gamal told AP.

The most controversial aspect of the scheme – its Muslim prayer space, which would occupy two floors in the basement – will not be a mosque at all as the construction of the building does not satisfy the stringent requirements for a sanctified mosque.

Seen from the inside, the renderings show the lattice work casting intricate shadows across the white floors, another allusion to arabesque design with its emphasis on naturally lit interiors.

The drawings are only a vision of how the building might go. An official architect for the project has yet to be appointed, and ground breaking on the construction will not begin for at least three years.

By then, the developer and the charity behind the project, the Cordoba Initiative, hope that the furore will have died down.

Gamal said that he regretted the way things had gone. "I would have done things a lot differently during this process if I understood what we were up against. People have been calling this the 'Ground Zero mosque'. It's not at Ground Zero and it's not a mosque. Our identity has been stolen from us. It has been stolen by extremists."

The attack has been led by Christian evangelical and rightwing political groups, who say Park51 is a "victory mosque", revelling in the glory of 9/11. In the most extreme case, this September, Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn 200 Qur'ans in protest at the centre.

First illustrations of the 15-storey Park51 development planned to house the Islamic centre reveal a decidedly upbeat and glamorous building, more festive than threatening. These preliminary renderings by Soma, however, should be thought of as what might be rather than what definitely will. An architect has yet to be officially appointed.

Even so, the interiors – a honeycomb structure awash with daylight – look as if they could be uplifting and special. But then, you would expect something glamorous and fresh from Soma, a New York firm founded by the Lebanese-born Michel Abboud, who has recently completed the enjoyably hip Tartinery Nolita brasserie in SoHo.

Equally, at least four floors of Park51 are to be given over to a gym and spa, and only two basement floors to a Muslim prayer hall. With a restaurant, artists' studios and a childcare centre, this $140m building clad in an abstract play of Islamic patterns could hardly be less militantly hardcore. As one young man attending the nearby Sufi al-Farah mosque in lower Manhattan told the New York Times: "Because this is a new country, it revolutionises everything. Food, industry, philosophy and even religion." He might have added: "Islamic architecture, too."

Jonathan Glancey

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It's Official: Emanuel for Chicago Mayor - ABC News

Rahm Emanuel officially announced his candidacy for mayor of Chicago in a YouTube video that was posted today on his new campaign website, ChicagoforRahm.com.

Emanuel's announcement has been expected since Friday, when he resigned from his position as White House chief of staff and then immediately left Washington for Chicago.

In today's video announcement, Emanuel praised current Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's leadership, but spoke of a need to address Chicago's challenges, from safety on the streets to improving schools and attracting jobs.

Emanuel said an early part of his campaign will involve a listening tour across Chicago's neighborhoods to find out what Chicago residents want from their next mayor.

"As I prepare to run for mayor, I'm going to spend the next few weeks visiting our neighborhoods," he said in the two-minute, 11-second video announcement.

"I'm calling this the 'Tell It Like It Is' tour, because I want to hear from you in blunt terms ... what you think about our city, and how the next mayor and you, can make it better," he said.

In the video announcement he highlighted his links to the city where he was born and raised by his parents, who emigrated from Israel.

Emanuel and his wife Amy also raised their three children in Chicago while he served three terms representing a North Side district in Congress.

His ChicagoforRahm.com website features a "Tell it Like It Is" blog that currently features a transcript of today's announcement and a post containing coverage of President Obama's remarks on Emanuel's departure from his cabinet.

Emanuel had to declare his intent to enter the race by Nov. 22, the filing deadline in Chicago. Candidates need to collect 12,500 signatures by that day to qualify for a Feb. 22, 2011 Democratic primary.

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Rousseff ahead in partial Brazil vote count - TSE - Reuters

BRASILIA | Sun Oct 3, 2010 5:27pm EDT

She needs 50 percent plus one of the valid votes to avoid a runoff on Oct. 31. TV Globo indicated the results were mainly from the country's wealthy southern states, where Serra has a strong following. (Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Terry Wade)

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