Beheading suspect sane enough for trial

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Manitoba, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A man charged with attacking and beheading a fellow passenger on a Canadian Greyhound bus has been deemed mentally fit to stand trial in Manitoba.

Vincent Li, 40, didn't appear in court in Portage la Prairie on Monday but his court-appointed defense team said doctors at the psychiatric center where he is being held said Li understands the second-degree murder charge and the consequences.

A trial date is to be set Nov. 6, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

Defense lawyer Alan Libman said after the hearing that the "sole issue" in the case is Li's state of mind during the July incident.

"If someone commits an offense while suffering a disease of the mind and they don't know their actions are wrong, they can't be held criminally responsible," Libman said.

In the attack, a sleeping 22-year-old man was stabbed with a machete near the back of the bus. After passengers evacuated the bus, the victim was beheaded and the suspect was allegedly seen eating part of the victim before he was arrested.

Poll: Americans' satisfaction all-time low

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Only one in 10 Americans is satisfied with the way things are going into the United States, which Gallup said Tuesday was the lowest reading ever.

The 9-percent satisfaction rate eclipses the previous low of 12 percent, recorded in 1979 during Jimmy Carter's presidency amid rising prices and gasoline shortages, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

The reason for Americans' low level of satisfaction? The economy. Asked in the latest Gallup Poll to name the most important problem facing the country today, nearly 70 percent of respondents listed an aspect of the economy over any other problem mentioned, pollsters said.

The low level of satisfaction with the situation in the country provides a backdrop for Tuesday night's debate in Nashville. Democratic candidate Barack Obama has led Republican nominee John McCain by a significant margin in Gallup's tracking of presidential preferences for 10 days.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews Friday through Sunday with 1,011 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.

Anti-Obama author detained in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The author of a best-selling book critical of Barack Obama was detained Tuesday by immigration officials in Kenya while on a publicity tour for his book.

Jerome Corsi, who wrote "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," was detained before a visit to one of Nairobi's slums to donate money to Obama's half-brother, George Obama, found several months ago living in poverty, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"He has not been arrested. He is just answering some questions about what he is doing here in Kenya," one of Corsi's assistants said.

Corsi, who was involved in the Swift Boat Veterans campaign against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry of Massachusetts, said he had a $1,000 check for Obama, which observers said was a stunt to suggest the Democratic presidential candidate wasn't taking care of his Kenyan relative, the British newspaper said.

A source at Nyayo House, where Corsi was being held, told The Times the author was held for allegations about Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his supporters who engaged in violent acts after December's elections. Corsi said he could link Obama, whose father was a Kenyan economist, to Kenyan political leaders.

Arab League envoy visits Iraq

BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Arab League says it has sent to Iraq an ambassador who is seeking reconciliation between Arab nations and Shiite-led Iraqi government.

Arab League envoy Hani Khalaf arrived in Baghdad Tuesday, only one day after the Egyptian foreign minister made his first visit to post-U.S. invasion Iraq, The Washington Post reported. The newspaper said the two diplomatic visits indicate Sunni-led Arab nations may slowly be dropping their hesitancy to recognizing the country.

Analysts told the Post that even though the United States has urged regional Arab governments to reestablish ties with Iraq, most have balked because of continuing violence in the country and because of fears it would appear they were endorsing the 2003 U.S. invasion.

"We need a more active Arab role in Iraq," Khalaf said in Cairo before his trip to Baghdad, the newspaper reported.

Racial factor may emerge if election close

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Racial backlash against Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama could make a difference if the election is close in November, analysts say.

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois and the first black man to be nominated by a major party for president, could find latent racism emerging in the privacy of the voting booth should Election Day find he and Republican opponent Sen. John McCain of Arizona locked in a dead heat, the Washington publication Politico reported Tuesday.

Voters sometimes lie to pollsters about their racial animosities. They call it the "Bradley Effect," named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a black candidate who lost the 1989 California gubernatorial election even though polls indicated that he was leading.

"I have a concern that going into Election Day, in a dead heat, there could be some drop-off in support of Obama, of 1 or 2 points, because some voters are conflicted about race in this election," Democratic strategist Joe Trippi told Politco.

But with many polls indicating Obama pulling ahead of McCain on the strength of the financial crisis, analysts told Politico the election might not be close enough for race to matter.

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