Italy drops proposal for levy on high earners

Italy dropped Monday a proposal for a levy on high earners approved by the cabinet earlier this month as part of an austerity package aimed at calming the markets by balancing the budget before 2013.
The "solidarity tax" had proved highly controversial within Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition. The government said it would instead step up measures to fight tax evasion in order to raise revenues.

One in four Democrats wants to dump Obama

A group carries signs asking for immigration reform as they protest outside of the Fairmont Hotel before U.S. President Barack Obama arrives for a fundraiser May 25, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Hundreds of protestors from different political groups staged the demonstration at a campaign fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A new poll by CNN and ORC International finds that 27 percent of Democrats would like to see their party nominate a candidate other than Barack Obama for president in 2012.
In response to the question, "Do you think the Democratic party should renominate Barack Obama as the party's candidate for president in 2012, or do you think the Democratic party should nominate a different candidate for president in 2012?" -- 72 percent said they wanted to see Obama renominated.  But 27 percent, slightly more than one in every four, said they wanted to see Democrats nominate a different candidate.  One percent had no opinion.
The poll was taken August 24-25.  In a survey taken in early August, 28 percent of Democrats said they wanted a different candidate.  Polls taken in July and before showed Obama in a stronger position, with no more than 22 percent saying they preferred a different candidate.  The current poll is based on interviews with 463 Democrats and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
The new poll is another indication of Democratic unhappiness with the president, but it does not mean Obama will face a challenge in his party's primaries.  Despite the complaints of a few liberals like Sen. Bernard Sanders, the odds of a Democrat opposing the president appear to be something less than zero.  But the new poll is still a matter of concern to Democrats, because it is yet another indication that there is significant disillusionment with the president within his own party.  Whether those disaffected Democrats will come around to supporting Obama next year is an open question -- and perhaps the most worrying of the president's re-election bid.

Carney Grilled Over Potential Hillary Primary Challenge: "You'll Have To Ask Her"

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At today's White House press briefing WorldNetDaily White House correspondent Lester Kinsolving asked Jay Carney if President Obama is "certain" that Hillary Clinton won't primary him. This comes after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Obama has moved to the right because he has no primary opponent.

Carney said the White House is pretty certain Clinton won't challenge Obama, however he tells Kinsolving "you'll have to ask her." Transcript of the exchange:

Iran 'discreetly aided Libyan rebels'

TEHRAN — Iran "discreetly" provided humanitarian aid to Libyan rebels before the fall of Tripoli, Jam-e-Jam newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday as saying.
"We were in touch with many of the rebel groups in Libya before the fall of (Moamer) Kadhafi, and discreetly dispatched three or four food and medical consignments to Benghazi," Salehi told the daily.
"The head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel Jalil, sent a letter of thanks to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for having been on their side and helping," he added.
Since the Libyan uprising erupted in mid-February, Iran has adopted a dual approach -- criticising the Kadhafi regime for its violent assaults on the rebels while at the same time condemning NATO's military intervention.
On Tuesday, Iran "congratulated the Muslim people of Libya" after rebels overran the capital Tripoli, but it has so far distanced itself from officially recognising the NTC.

Robert Ford attacked in Syria (VID

A video has emerged of U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford being assaulted by a pro-regime demonstrator on the streets of Damascus last week.
The assault took place before Ford's unapproved trip to the city of Jassem on Aug 23. Ford was present at a gathering of demonstrators who support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outside the Cham Palace Hotel in Damascus when one demonstrator ran up to Ford and tried to wrap him in a poster that featured Assad's face.