If women needing birth control to treat endometriosis makes you think about sex, there are medications for that.
There are still at it. They’re still implying Sandra Fluke is a slut. They’re still betraying they have no idea how birth control works. They still think getting a prescription to treat endometriosis is some luxury you’re being “given” at their expense.
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said, "Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to. It doesn‘t matter what country they’re in or what religion they claim. They all want to control women."
She seems to be wondering two things:
1. Why are they so dumb?
This is just a horrible strategy. All they are doing is reminding women both of what the Affordable Care Act offers and what will be taken away. And they’re doing it a way that makes it impossible for a self-respecting woman to vote Republican.
2. Do you they really hate women this much?
As a man I can promise you that boys are taught to take great shame in any femininity, which in patriarchal societies is identified with weakness. Since weakness is natural feeling, it has to be converted into shame which turns to rage at gay men and women.
I think Secretary Clinton knows this but it isn’t something that polite people say out loud. I’m not polite. For any sane man, the idea of any man who isn’t a doctor telling a woman what to do with her body is as repulsive as a Rush Limbaugh centerfold.
That conservatives are raging against women who use birth control, 98% of all women, and not obese people who get Lipitor betrays the conservative agenda.
This isn’t about responsibility or anything other than rejecting a woman’s ability to experience the sexual liberation as men. It’s a tactic we shun in the Middle East and decry in the inner city. And when women see it, they always know what it is. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
Ta much, dear Edosan!
Working in an industry built on child labour and exploitation, it's little wonder models have finally unionised
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The 2011 Playmate of the Year on Monday sought a restraining order against the 21-year-old son of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, after the son was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, the Pasadena Star-News reported.
Marston Hefner was released from jail Monday after posting $20,000 bail, according to police and jail records.
Officers were called Sunday night to the apartment Marston Hefner shares with his girlfriend, and he was arrested after she was found with minor injuries, Pasadena police said in a statement.
The woman wasn't identified in the police statement, but Lt. Jari Faulkner told the Star-News (http://bit.ly/z4dVpp) that Claire Sinclair, 20, sought an emergency restraining order against Marston Hefner from police on Monday. Sinclair is the 2011 Playmate of the Year.
It was unclear if the temporary restraining order was granted, and police reached by phone late Monday would give no information beyond the details of Marston Hefner's arrest.
Marston Hefner is one of two adult sons of the Playboy founder and his former wife, ex-Playmate Kimberly Conrad Hefner. ...
'Guess ol' hugh never taught his son about respecting females. Quel surprise, mes chers.
Marston Hefner was released from jail Monday after posting $20,000 bail, according to police and jail records.
Officers were called Sunday night to the apartment Marston Hefner shares with his girlfriend, and he was arrested after she was found with minor injuries, Pasadena police said in a statement.
The woman wasn't identified in the police statement, but Lt. Jari Faulkner told the Star-News (http://bit.ly/z4dVpp) that Claire Sinclair, 20, sought an emergency restraining order against Marston Hefner from police on Monday. Sinclair is the 2011 Playmate of the Year.
It was unclear if the temporary restraining order was granted, and police reached by phone late Monday would give no information beyond the details of Marston Hefner's arrest.
Marston Hefner is one of two adult sons of the Playboy founder and his former wife, ex-Playmate Kimberly Conrad Hefner. ...
'Guess ol' hugh never taught his son about respecting females. Quel surprise, mes chers.
Yesterday at CPAC, the conservative convention held this week in Washington D.C., Republic Report ran into retired police officer and anti-drug war activist Howard Wooldridge. We were interested in his take on the role of money in politics in the government’s crusade against marijuana. He explained that cynical lobbyists, who place their clients interests over America, have perpetuated the cycle of over-criminalization. In particular, pharmaceutical companies and the alcohol lobby have fought behind closed doors to keep marijuana illegal. Both industries, he said, fear competition. Also police officiers and prison guard unions, seeking “free federal money” from the government, have similarly supported draconian drug war policies:
WOOLDRIDGE: The beer wholesale industry donated five figure money to defeat Prop 19 because marijuana and alcohol compete right today as a product to take the edge off the day at six o’clock. Just because marijuana is illegal, doesn’t negate the fact that there’s still competition. The beer companies don’t want it, same thing with big PhRMA. My biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is law enforcement. ‘We love the money you give us to chase Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and all the rest’ — with helicopters, and especially free federal money. The second biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is big PhRMA because everyone knows God didn’t make no junk. Marijuana’s an excellent medicine for many things, taking the place of everything from Advil to Vicodin and other expensive pills [...] Private prisons fight me because they want more people in jail. Is it good policy? These lobbyists don’t care. ...
Cambodian workers hold 'people's tribunal' to look at factory conditions | World news | The Guardian
Workers in Cambodia will hold a "people's tribunal" next week to investigate pay and conditions at factories working for fashion brands including H&M and Gap.
An international panel of judges will hear evidence from workers, factories and multinational brands including Puma and Adidas. H&M said it would not attend but would supply information about how it was addressing wages at its suppliers' factories in the country.
The two-day hearing aims to raise awareness of low pay and long working hours that workers say are partly responsible for a series of "mass faintings" involving hundreds of workers at factories supplying H&M, Gap and sports brands.
Up to 300 workers will give evidence about the fainting incidents and about living conditions resulting from low wages.
The minimum wage in Cambodia is the equivalent of just $66 (£42) a month, a level that human rights groups say is almost half that required to meet basic needs.
Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Coalition for Apparel Workers Democratic Unions, said: "Because the workers get low wages they try to work 10 to 13 hours a day to get the money they need for their family."
He said workers needed a basic wage equivalent to at least $100 (£63) a month to get by without putting their health in danger. "Workers are fainting because of long working hours and the environment in the factory," he said.
Fumes from chemicals, poor ventilation, malnutrition and even "mass hysteria" have all been blamed for making workers ill. ...
An international panel of judges will hear evidence from workers, factories and multinational brands including Puma and Adidas. H&M said it would not attend but would supply information about how it was addressing wages at its suppliers' factories in the country.
The two-day hearing aims to raise awareness of low pay and long working hours that workers say are partly responsible for a series of "mass faintings" involving hundreds of workers at factories supplying H&M, Gap and sports brands.
Up to 300 workers will give evidence about the fainting incidents and about living conditions resulting from low wages.
The minimum wage in Cambodia is the equivalent of just $66 (£42) a month, a level that human rights groups say is almost half that required to meet basic needs.
Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Coalition for Apparel Workers Democratic Unions, said: "Because the workers get low wages they try to work 10 to 13 hours a day to get the money they need for their family."
He said workers needed a basic wage equivalent to at least $100 (£63) a month to get by without putting their health in danger. "Workers are fainting because of long working hours and the environment in the factory," he said.
Fumes from chemicals, poor ventilation, malnutrition and even "mass hysteria" have all been blamed for making workers ill. ...
Syria launched a major military offensive to seize back parts of Damascus under de facto rebel control on Sunday, a day after the Arab League said it was abandoning its monitoring mission in the face of out-of-control violence.
Government forces killed at least 19 people, activists said, in some of the bloodiest fighting in the capital since Syria’s 10-month uprising began. Witnesses inside Damascus described scenes of mayhem, with troops shelling residential areas and fierce house-to-house fighting.
“It’s urban war. There are bodies in the street,” one activist, speaking from the suburb of Kfar Batna, told Reuters.
Around 2,000 troops, together with at least 50 tanks and armoured vehicles, began a major operation at dawn, when they headed towards the al-Ghouta area in eastern Damascus. The foray was part of a wider offensive against the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna, activists said.
Video footage showed tanks trundling forward, followed by government soldiers on foot. The army pushed deep into the centre of Kfar Batna. Witnesses reported four tanks in the main square.
Activists said 14 civilians and five insurgents from the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) were killed. Gruesome unconfirmed video showed the mangled bodies of what appeared to be civilians caught by mortar or shellfire. …
Government forces killed at least 19 people, activists said, in some of the bloodiest fighting in the capital since Syria’s 10-month uprising began. Witnesses inside Damascus described scenes of mayhem, with troops shelling residential areas and fierce house-to-house fighting.
“It’s urban war. There are bodies in the street,” one activist, speaking from the suburb of Kfar Batna, told Reuters.
Around 2,000 troops, together with at least 50 tanks and armoured vehicles, began a major operation at dawn, when they headed towards the al-Ghouta area in eastern Damascus. The foray was part of a wider offensive against the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna, activists said.
Video footage showed tanks trundling forward, followed by government soldiers on foot. The army pushed deep into the centre of Kfar Batna. Witnesses reported four tanks in the main square.
Activists said 14 civilians and five insurgents from the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) were killed. Gruesome unconfirmed video showed the mangled bodies of what appeared to be civilians caught by mortar or shellfire. …
The arrest of four Sun journalists threatens to open a fresh phase of the scandal surrounding News International
On Saturday morning, the police arrested four journalists who have worked for Rupert Murdoch. For a while, it looked as though these were yet more arrests of people related to the News of the World but then it became clear that this was something much more significant.
This may be the moment when the scandal that closed the NoW finally started to pose a potential threat to at least one of Murdoch’s three other UK newspaper titles: the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times.
The four men arrested on Saturday are not linked to the NoW. They come from the Sun, from the top of the tree – the current head of news and his crime editor, the former managing editor and deputy editor.
Nothing is certain. No one has been convicted of anything. The four who were arrested on Saturday – like the 25 others before them – have not even been charged with any offence. But behind the scenes, something very significant has changed at News International.
Under enormous legal and political pressure, Murdoch has ordered that the police be given everything they need. Whereas Scotland Yard began their inquiry a year ago with nothing much more than the heap of scruffy paperwork seized from the NoW’s private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, Murdoch’s Management and Standards Committee has now handed them what may be the largest cache of evidence ever gathered by a police operation in this country, including the material that led to Saturday’s arrests. …
On Saturday morning, the police arrested four journalists who have worked for Rupert Murdoch. For a while, it looked as though these were yet more arrests of people related to the News of the World but then it became clear that this was something much more significant.
This may be the moment when the scandal that closed the NoW finally started to pose a potential threat to at least one of Murdoch’s three other UK newspaper titles: the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times.
The four men arrested on Saturday are not linked to the NoW. They come from the Sun, from the top of the tree – the current head of news and his crime editor, the former managing editor and deputy editor.
Nothing is certain. No one has been convicted of anything. The four who were arrested on Saturday – like the 25 others before them – have not even been charged with any offence. But behind the scenes, something very significant has changed at News International.
Under enormous legal and political pressure, Murdoch has ordered that the police be given everything they need. Whereas Scotland Yard began their inquiry a year ago with nothing much more than the heap of scruffy paperwork seized from the NoW’s private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, Murdoch’s Management and Standards Committee has now handed them what may be the largest cache of evidence ever gathered by a police operation in this country, including the material that led to Saturday’s arrests. …
Megaupload goes down
The role of the former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks is expected to come under fresh scrutiny after four of the paper's current and former journalists were arrested on Saturday in connection with an investigation into corrupt payments to police.
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Google is under fire for plans to collect data on individual users across all of its websites and merge the information into a single profile that can be used to alter the person's search results and target them with advertising and services.
Users will have no way to opt out of being tracked across the board when the search company unifies its privacy policy and terms of service for all its online offerings, including search, Gmail and Google+. The move is being criticised by privacy advocates and could attract greater scrutiny from anti-trust regulators.
"If you're signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services," Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, Alma Whitten, wrote in a blogpost.
After the new policy comes into effect, user information from most Google products – such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google+ and Android mobile – will be treated as a single trove of data, which the company could use for targeted advertising or other revenue-raising purposes.
An article in the Washington Post raised concerns about details of people's private meetings, health, politics and finances becoming part of their digital dossier kept by Google. Confidential discussions via Gmail of a meeting location might be transferred to Google Maps without the user's consent, for example. ...
Users will have no way to opt out of being tracked across the board when the search company unifies its privacy policy and terms of service for all its online offerings, including search, Gmail and Google+. The move is being criticised by privacy advocates and could attract greater scrutiny from anti-trust regulators.
"If you're signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services," Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, Alma Whitten, wrote in a blogpost.
After the new policy comes into effect, user information from most Google products – such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google+ and Android mobile – will be treated as a single trove of data, which the company could use for targeted advertising or other revenue-raising purposes.
An article in the Washington Post raised concerns about details of people's private meetings, health, politics and finances becoming part of their digital dossier kept by Google. Confidential discussions via Gmail of a meeting location might be transferred to Google Maps without the user's consent, for example. ...
Despite the repetition of denials, an accumulation of horror stories of tabloid practices has emerged
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
Tens of thousands of Russians expected to demonstrate against election results that saw Putin's party take majority in Duma
The Russian leadership has sought to calm tensions following an unprecedented protest against Vladimir Putin that brought tens of thousands of demonstrators on to the streets of Moscow.
The prime minister has yet to comment on the protest, but his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: "We respect the point of view of the protesters. We are hearing what is being said. We will continue to listen to them."
Up to 50,000 people demonstrated in Moscow on Saturday following the disputed parliamentary election in which Putin's United Russia party won nearly 50% of the vote amid widespread allegations of fraud.
Protests took place in more than 50 cities, with a reported 7,000 people gathering in St Petersburg and up to 4,000 in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, despite the temperature of -20C.
Protesters have promised to gather again in two weeks' time if the Kremlin refuses to annul the result, which was confirmed by the election commission on Friday. ...
The prime minister has yet to comment on the protest, but his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: "We respect the point of view of the protesters. We are hearing what is being said. We will continue to listen to them."
Up to 50,000 people demonstrated in Moscow on Saturday following the disputed parliamentary election in which Putin's United Russia party won nearly 50% of the vote amid widespread allegations of fraud.
Protests took place in more than 50 cities, with a reported 7,000 people gathering in St Petersburg and up to 4,000 in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, despite the temperature of -20C.
Protesters have promised to gather again in two weeks' time if the Kremlin refuses to annul the result, which was confirmed by the election commission on Friday. ...
Saudi women walk in Jeddah June 17, 2011. Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving. REUTERS/Susan Baaghil
Allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia would cause rampant sex, porn and homosexuality, according to some of the country's scholars.
Academics at the country's highest religious council submitted a report to the legislative assembly warning of the dangers of letting women behind the wheel, reports the Daily Telegraph.
If the only country in the world that still bans women from driving were to change its rules, there would be "a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce."
Within 10 years of the ban being lifted, the report claimed, there would be "no more virgins" in the country, according to the paper.
Currently, women caught driving in the kingdom may be lashed as punishment.
May those "scholars" reach complete and total enlightenment and on all levels, and quickly, for all our sakes.
Ta much, dear Glenn321
The New York Times did what I was not allowed to do - tell you there has been a second diagnosis of Infectious Salmon Anemia virus in wild BC salmon, this time in the Fraser River itself, the biggest wild salmon river in the world. The fish the New York Times is talking about is one that a small group of us picked up, sampled and sent to the world reference lab for the ISA virus. It was a beautiful coho salmon, in first blush of spawning colours. The salmon had navigated the river as a tiny fry, entered the sea as a fat and sassy little smolt eating everything insight. It traveled north and west in search of the saltiness of the ocean and in doing so passed millions of European salmon in pens. Whether it got infected then or on the way home carrying the richness of a life at sea, her body shut down infected with a virus her ancestors had never had a chance to prepare her for. We found her drifting down stream passing Harrison Mills. We scooped her up took a sliver of her heart and gills and sent them to one of the world authorities on ISA virus.
We did this because we want to know how widespread the European ISA virus is, in BC waters and I don't see anyone else out there trying to map the damage. The lab never reported back to me, muzzled I suspect, but the truth got out. We now have two diagnoses, 600 km apart, in two different species, of two different generations.
I don't know how no one could see this coming. We are the buffalo racing for the cliff, even as we watch videos of buffalo falling off cliffs. EVERY COUNTRY WITH SALMON FARMS has taken this path. I am so exhausted with trying to explain this to Ministers, bureaucrats, streamkeepers, environmentalists, fishermen. People just don't want to believe it. It is easier to write me off than deal with this.
Look, it is simple. Salmon farms break the natural laws and viruses, bacteria and parasites are the beneficiaries of this behaviour. If you move diseases across the world and brew them among local pathogens, in an environment where predators are not allowed to remove the sick - you get pestilence. There is no other outcome. ...
Thanks much, Glenn321
We did this because we want to know how widespread the European ISA virus is, in BC waters and I don't see anyone else out there trying to map the damage. The lab never reported back to me, muzzled I suspect, but the truth got out. We now have two diagnoses, 600 km apart, in two different species, of two different generations.
I don't know how no one could see this coming. We are the buffalo racing for the cliff, even as we watch videos of buffalo falling off cliffs. EVERY COUNTRY WITH SALMON FARMS has taken this path. I am so exhausted with trying to explain this to Ministers, bureaucrats, streamkeepers, environmentalists, fishermen. People just don't want to believe it. It is easier to write me off than deal with this.
Look, it is simple. Salmon farms break the natural laws and viruses, bacteria and parasites are the beneficiaries of this behaviour. If you move diseases across the world and brew them among local pathogens, in an environment where predators are not allowed to remove the sick - you get pestilence. There is no other outcome. ...
Thanks much, Glenn321
Report finds genetically modified crops fail to increase yields let alone solve hunger, soil erosion and chemical-use issues
Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of "superweeds", according to a report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African and Latin American food and conservation groups representing millions of people.
The so-called miracle crops, which were first sold in the US about 20 years ago and which are now grown in 29 countries on about 1.5bn hectares (3.7bn acres) of land, have been billed as potential solutions to food crises, climate change and soil erosion, but the assessment finds that they have not lived up to their promises.
The report claims that hunger has reached "epic proportions" since the technology was developed. Besides this, only two GM "traits" have been developed on any significant scale, despite investments of tens of billions of dollars, and benefits such as drought resistance and salt tolerance have yet to materialise on any scale.
Most worrisome, say the authors of the Global Citizens' Report on the State of GMOs, is the greatly increased use of synthetic chemicals, used to control pests despite biotech companies' justification that GM-engineered crops would reduce insecticide use.
In China, where insect-resistant Bt cotton is widely planted, populations of pests that previously posed only minor problems have increased 12-fold since 1997. A 2008 study in the International Journal of Biotechnology found that any benefits of planting Bt cotton have been eroded by the increasing use of pesticides needed to combat them.
Additionally, soya growers in Argentina and Brazil have been found to use twice as much herbicide on their GM as they do on conventional crops, and a survey by Navdanya International, in India, showed that pesticide use increased 13-fold since Bt cotton was introduced.
The report, which draws on empirical research and companies' own statements, also says weeds are now developing resistance to the GM firms' herbicides and pesticides that are designed to be used with their crops, and that this has led to growing infestations of "superweeds", especially in the US. ...
Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of "superweeds", according to a report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African and Latin American food and conservation groups representing millions of people.
The so-called miracle crops, which were first sold in the US about 20 years ago and which are now grown in 29 countries on about 1.5bn hectares (3.7bn acres) of land, have been billed as potential solutions to food crises, climate change and soil erosion, but the assessment finds that they have not lived up to their promises.
The report claims that hunger has reached "epic proportions" since the technology was developed. Besides this, only two GM "traits" have been developed on any significant scale, despite investments of tens of billions of dollars, and benefits such as drought resistance and salt tolerance have yet to materialise on any scale.
Most worrisome, say the authors of the Global Citizens' Report on the State of GMOs, is the greatly increased use of synthetic chemicals, used to control pests despite biotech companies' justification that GM-engineered crops would reduce insecticide use.
In China, where insect-resistant Bt cotton is widely planted, populations of pests that previously posed only minor problems have increased 12-fold since 1997. A 2008 study in the International Journal of Biotechnology found that any benefits of planting Bt cotton have been eroded by the increasing use of pesticides needed to combat them.
Additionally, soya growers in Argentina and Brazil have been found to use twice as much herbicide on their GM as they do on conventional crops, and a survey by Navdanya International, in India, showed that pesticide use increased 13-fold since Bt cotton was introduced.
The report, which draws on empirical research and companies' own statements, also says weeds are now developing resistance to the GM firms' herbicides and pesticides that are designed to be used with their crops, and that this has led to growing infestations of "superweeds", especially in the US. ...
Five years after the Russian dissident’s death, his widow has won a full inquiry into his murder. She tells why she’s determined to get justice – even if it means taking on the Russian state
Luke Harding
Tuesday 18 October 2011
… By 1997, however, Sasha [Alexander Litvinenko] had fallen out with his FSB bosses – refusing to take part in an operation to kill Berezovsky, the most influential oligarch in the murky court of the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin. After Litvinenko exposed the plot, his situation worsened, Marina [Litvinenko] says. First there was surveillance (“They didn’t even try to disguise it. But they knew Sasha was a good guy.”)
Then there was imprisonment – in Lefortovo, the KGB’s notorious Moscow detention centre. There was also a meeting with Putin, at the time Berezovsky’s protege and the new chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). “When Putin said he never knew Litvinenko it’s a lie. I saw in Sasha’s archive a lot of papers named directly to Putin,” Marina says.
After eight months in prison, Litvinenko was freed on appeal. On 1 November 2000, he quietly fled to Britain. “At Heathrow airport, Sasha said: ‘I’m a KGB officer.’ We were released after four hours,” she recalls.
Russian officials insist Litvinenko was a figure of little significance – someone not worth squashing. But in Britain, Litvinenko worked feverishly to discredit the Putin regime. He accused the FSB of blowing up Moscow apartment buildings as a pretext for war in Chechnya. He gave information to Spanish investigators probing Russian mafia bosses and their Kremlin backers. In the eyes of his former FSB colleagues he had broken the agency’s omerta, or code of silence. He was, in short, a traitor. …
rootin-tootin' vladimir putin is such an evil weasel.
Luke Harding
Tuesday 18 October 2011
… By 1997, however, Sasha [Alexander Litvinenko] had fallen out with his FSB bosses – refusing to take part in an operation to kill Berezovsky, the most influential oligarch in the murky court of the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin. After Litvinenko exposed the plot, his situation worsened, Marina [Litvinenko] says. First there was surveillance (“They didn’t even try to disguise it. But they knew Sasha was a good guy.”)
Then there was imprisonment – in Lefortovo, the KGB’s notorious Moscow detention centre. There was also a meeting with Putin, at the time Berezovsky’s protege and the new chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). “When Putin said he never knew Litvinenko it’s a lie. I saw in Sasha’s archive a lot of papers named directly to Putin,” Marina says.
After eight months in prison, Litvinenko was freed on appeal. On 1 November 2000, he quietly fled to Britain. “At Heathrow airport, Sasha said: ‘I’m a KGB officer.’ We were released after four hours,” she recalls.
Russian officials insist Litvinenko was a figure of little significance – someone not worth squashing. But in Britain, Litvinenko worked feverishly to discredit the Putin regime. He accused the FSB of blowing up Moscow apartment buildings as a pretext for war in Chechnya. He gave information to Spanish investigators probing Russian mafia bosses and their Kremlin backers. In the eyes of his former FSB colleagues he had broken the agency’s omerta, or code of silence. He was, in short, a traitor. …
rootin-tootin' vladimir putin is such an evil weasel.
Occupy movement: from local action to a global howl of protest
A month after its launch, more than 900 cities around the world have hosted protests affiliated to the Occupy cause
Esther Addley
Tuesday 18 October 2011
In Madrid, tens of thousands thronged the Puerta del Sol square shouting "Hands up! This is a robbery!" In Santiago, 25,000 Chileans processed through the city, pausing outside the presidential palace to hurl insults at the country's billionaire president. In Frankfurt, more than 5,000 people massed outside the European Central Bank, in scenes echoed in 50 towns and cities across Germany, from Berlin to Stuttgart. Sixty thousand people gathered in Barcelona, 100 in Manila, 3,000 in Auckland, 200 in Kuala Lumpur, 1,000 in Tel Aviv, 4,000 in London.
A month to the day after 1,000 people first turned up in Wall Street to express their outrage at corporate greed and social inequality, campaigners are reflecting on a weekend that saw a relatively modest demonstration in New York swell into a truly global howl of protest.
The Occupy campaign may have hoped, at its launch, to inspire similar action elsewhere, but few can have foreseen that within four weeks, more than 900 cities around the world would host co-ordinated protests directly or loosely affiliated to the Occupy cause.
The exact targets of protesters' anger may differ from city to city and country to country. But while their numbers remain small in many places, activists argue that Saturday's demonstrations, many of which are still ongoing – and are pledged to remain so for the foreseeable future – are evidence of a growing wave of global anger at social and economic injustice.
"This is not a battle by youth or Chilean society," said Camila Vallejo, a Chilean student leader who has become a key figure in that country's protests, and who this week travelled to Europe to forge alliances with protest movements there. "This is a world battle that transcends all frontiers." ...
A month after its launch, more than 900 cities around the world have hosted protests affiliated to the Occupy cause
Esther Addley
Tuesday 18 October 2011
In Madrid, tens of thousands thronged the Puerta del Sol square shouting "Hands up! This is a robbery!" In Santiago, 25,000 Chileans processed through the city, pausing outside the presidential palace to hurl insults at the country's billionaire president. In Frankfurt, more than 5,000 people massed outside the European Central Bank, in scenes echoed in 50 towns and cities across Germany, from Berlin to Stuttgart. Sixty thousand people gathered in Barcelona, 100 in Manila, 3,000 in Auckland, 200 in Kuala Lumpur, 1,000 in Tel Aviv, 4,000 in London.
A month to the day after 1,000 people first turned up in Wall Street to express their outrage at corporate greed and social inequality, campaigners are reflecting on a weekend that saw a relatively modest demonstration in New York swell into a truly global howl of protest.
The Occupy campaign may have hoped, at its launch, to inspire similar action elsewhere, but few can have foreseen that within four weeks, more than 900 cities around the world would host co-ordinated protests directly or loosely affiliated to the Occupy cause.
The exact targets of protesters' anger may differ from city to city and country to country. But while their numbers remain small in many places, activists argue that Saturday's demonstrations, many of which are still ongoing – and are pledged to remain so for the foreseeable future – are evidence of a growing wave of global anger at social and economic injustice.
"This is not a battle by youth or Chilean society," said Camila Vallejo, a Chilean student leader who has become a key figure in that country's protests, and who this week travelled to Europe to forge alliances with protest movements there. "This is a world battle that transcends all frontiers." ...
A secret CIA document shows that British and Libyans worked together to arrange the removal of a terror suspect to Tripoli
British and US intelligence agencies built up close links with Muammar Gaddafi and handed over detailed information to assist his regime, according to secret files found in Libyan government offices.
The documents claim that MI6 supplied its counterparts in Libya with details on exiled opponents living in the UK, and chart how the CIA abducted several suspected militants before handing them over to Tripoli.
They also contain communications between British and Libyan security officials ahead of Tony Blair's visit in 2004, and show that British officials helped write a draft speech for Gaddafi when he was being encouraged to give up his weapons programme.
The discovery was made by reporters and members of Human Rights Watch in the private offices of Moussa Koussa, the former foreign minister and head of Libyan intelligence, who defected to Britain in February. He is now believed to be in Qatar.
According to the documents, Libya's relationship with MI6 and the CIA was especially close between 2002 and 2004, at the height of the war on terror. The papers give details of how No 10 insisted that the 2004 meeting between Blair and Gaddafi took place in his bedouin tent, with a letter from an MI6 official saying: "I don't know why the English are fascinated by tents. The plain fact is that the journalists would love it."
They also show how a statement made by Gaddafi during the time in which he pledged to give up his nuclear programme and destroy his stock of chemical and biological weapons was put together with the help of British officials. A covering letter states: "For the sake of clarity, please find attached a tidied-up version of the language we agreed on Tuesday. I wanted to ensure that you had the same script."
Other letters seem to reveal that British intelligence gave Tripoli details of a Libyan dissident who had been freed from jail in Britain. One US document stated the CIA was in a position to deliver a prisoner into the custody of Libyan authorities.
The papers, which have not been independently verified, also suggest the CIA abducted several suspected militants from 2002 to 2004 who were subsequently handed over to Tripoli. Human Rights Watch has accused the CIA of condoning torture. ...
The documents claim that MI6 supplied its counterparts in Libya with details on exiled opponents living in the UK, and chart how the CIA abducted several suspected militants before handing them over to Tripoli.
They also contain communications between British and Libyan security officials ahead of Tony Blair's visit in 2004, and show that British officials helped write a draft speech for Gaddafi when he was being encouraged to give up his weapons programme.
The discovery was made by reporters and members of Human Rights Watch in the private offices of Moussa Koussa, the former foreign minister and head of Libyan intelligence, who defected to Britain in February. He is now believed to be in Qatar.
According to the documents, Libya's relationship with MI6 and the CIA was especially close between 2002 and 2004, at the height of the war on terror. The papers give details of how No 10 insisted that the 2004 meeting between Blair and Gaddafi took place in his bedouin tent, with a letter from an MI6 official saying: "I don't know why the English are fascinated by tents. The plain fact is that the journalists would love it."
They also show how a statement made by Gaddafi during the time in which he pledged to give up his nuclear programme and destroy his stock of chemical and biological weapons was put together with the help of British officials. A covering letter states: "For the sake of clarity, please find attached a tidied-up version of the language we agreed on Tuesday. I wanted to ensure that you had the same script."
Other letters seem to reveal that British intelligence gave Tripoli details of a Libyan dissident who had been freed from jail in Britain. One US document stated the CIA was in a position to deliver a prisoner into the custody of Libyan authorities.
The papers, which have not been independently verified, also suggest the CIA abducted several suspected militants from 2002 to 2004 who were subsequently handed over to Tripoli. Human Rights Watch has accused the CIA of condoning torture. ...
The scale of the CIA's rendition programme has been laid bare in court documents that illustrate in minute detail how the US contracted out the secret transportation of suspects to a network of private American companies.
The manner in which American firms flew terrorism suspects to locations around the world, where they were often tortured, has emerged after one of the companies sued another in a dispute over fees. As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the mass of invoices, receipts, contracts and email correspondence – submitted as evidence to a court in upstate New York – provides a unique glimpse into a world in which the "war on terror" became just another charter opportunity for American businesses.
As a result of the case, the identities of some of the corporations involved in the rendition programme have been disclosed for the first time, along with the names of some of the executives who knew the purpose of the flights.
One unintended consequence may be that some of those corporations and individuals are now at risk of being sued in proceedings brought on behalf of the al-Qaida and Taliban suspects who were the victims of the programme.
The New York case concerns Sportsflight, an aircraft broker, and Richmor, an aircraft operator. Sportsflight entered into an arrangement to make a Gulfstream IV executive jet available at $4,900 an hour rather than the market rate of $5,450. A crew was available to fly at 12 hours' notice. The government wanted "the cheapest aircraft to fulfil a mission", Sportsflight's owner, Don Moss, told the court. But it was the early days of the rendition programme, and business was booming: the court heard that Sportsflight told Richmor: "The client says we're going to be very, very busy." ...
Makes me so proud to be Yankistani. /hurl
The manner in which American firms flew terrorism suspects to locations around the world, where they were often tortured, has emerged after one of the companies sued another in a dispute over fees. As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the mass of invoices, receipts, contracts and email correspondence – submitted as evidence to a court in upstate New York – provides a unique glimpse into a world in which the "war on terror" became just another charter opportunity for American businesses.
As a result of the case, the identities of some of the corporations involved in the rendition programme have been disclosed for the first time, along with the names of some of the executives who knew the purpose of the flights.
One unintended consequence may be that some of those corporations and individuals are now at risk of being sued in proceedings brought on behalf of the al-Qaida and Taliban suspects who were the victims of the programme.
The New York case concerns Sportsflight, an aircraft broker, and Richmor, an aircraft operator. Sportsflight entered into an arrangement to make a Gulfstream IV executive jet available at $4,900 an hour rather than the market rate of $5,450. A crew was available to fly at 12 hours' notice. The government wanted "the cheapest aircraft to fulfil a mission", Sportsflight's owner, Don Moss, told the court. But it was the early days of the rendition programme, and business was booming: the court heard that Sportsflight told Richmor: "The client says we're going to be very, very busy." ...
Makes me so proud to be Yankistani. /hurl
It would be funny if it were not so terrible. Britain is 30 years into the grand Conservative project that was to transform the nation into a "property-owning democracy". To mark this great anniversary, a government-sponsored organisation, UK Asset Resolution, is about to embark on the highly patronising and paternalistic task of telephoning 30,000 mortgage-holders and telling them to spend less on nights out, Sky television, gym membership and mobile phones, and more on servicing their mortgages. It's safe to say that this is not what Margaret Thatcher had in mind when she promised that her privatisation policies would remove the state from people's personal lives. It hardly chimes with David Cameron's rhetoric either.
UK Asset Resolution. What a name. It sounds like a highly dodgy private company that buys debt, then intimidates people into paying it off at extortionate rates. But it isn't. UK Asset Resolution is the Treasury-owned holding company that was established last October to "support around 800,000 customers with £77bn of loans", customers who initially took out their mortgages with Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. Both of those companies, of course, are now "taxpayer owned", after receiving more than £48.7bn in government loans.
Essentially, all these 800,000 people live in houses that are owned by the government, and have to pay the government every month if they wish to carry on living in them. Some of them – the riskier propositions – will also have to put up with presumptive lectures from strangers about their frivolous failure to understand their financial priorities. And they are not the only vulnerable "home owners" by any means. It is Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland, for example, not Northern Rock and B&B, that have the greatest exposure to customers whose mortgages are already larger than the value of their homes.
You'd imagine that the implosion of the "property-owning democracy" project was obvious to all. You'd have imagined that it had become obvious back in 1997, when highly visible homelessness was one of the factors that delivered a landslide election victory to Tony Blair. But no.
Just to underline this historic failure, the National Housing Federation this week predicted that the proportion of the population who own or live with the owner of their home will fall to 63.8% by 2021, about the level it stood at in the 1980s. Of more immediate concern are the observations from homelessness charity Crisis that rough sleeping is up 8% on last year, while the number of people accepted as homeless by local councils and placed in social housing is up by 10%. Since the coalition came to power, the number of families claiming housing benefit has risen by 150,000. There are now five million names on waiting lists for social housing. Many more don't bother to make an application, because they understand that they have absolutely no chance of becoming a council or housing association tenant. ...
UK Asset Resolution. What a name. It sounds like a highly dodgy private company that buys debt, then intimidates people into paying it off at extortionate rates. But it isn't. UK Asset Resolution is the Treasury-owned holding company that was established last October to "support around 800,000 customers with £77bn of loans", customers who initially took out their mortgages with Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. Both of those companies, of course, are now "taxpayer owned", after receiving more than £48.7bn in government loans.
Essentially, all these 800,000 people live in houses that are owned by the government, and have to pay the government every month if they wish to carry on living in them. Some of them – the riskier propositions – will also have to put up with presumptive lectures from strangers about their frivolous failure to understand their financial priorities. And they are not the only vulnerable "home owners" by any means. It is Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland, for example, not Northern Rock and B&B, that have the greatest exposure to customers whose mortgages are already larger than the value of their homes.
You'd imagine that the implosion of the "property-owning democracy" project was obvious to all. You'd have imagined that it had become obvious back in 1997, when highly visible homelessness was one of the factors that delivered a landslide election victory to Tony Blair. But no.
Just to underline this historic failure, the National Housing Federation this week predicted that the proportion of the population who own or live with the owner of their home will fall to 63.8% by 2021, about the level it stood at in the 1980s. Of more immediate concern are the observations from homelessness charity Crisis that rough sleeping is up 8% on last year, while the number of people accepted as homeless by local councils and placed in social housing is up by 10%. Since the coalition came to power, the number of families claiming housing benefit has risen by 150,000. There are now five million names on waiting lists for social housing. Many more don't bother to make an application, because they understand that they have absolutely no chance of becoming a council or housing association tenant. ...
The man's a liar, a killer, a shill for the rich and assorted other unsavory things
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
By Dan Simpson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In spite of the kerfuffle about former Vice President Dick Cheney's newly published memoir, I have no intention of buying or reading the book, for the following reasons:
1) He is a liar. Anyone who would take the United States to war based on two false reasons -- the claim of Iraq having nuclear weapons and of the Saddam Hussein regime having links to al-Qaida -- has no further right to be believed about anything. Mr. Cheney's approach to these deadly lies was to choose and interpret U.S. intelligence to reinforce his goal, as opposed to arriving at a truth upon which to base U.S. policy.
2) He is a killer. His deliberate actions, probably intended to get himself and President George W. Bush reelected in 2004, led to the deaths of more than 4,400 Americans and countless thousands of Iraqis. Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, fine; George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, no way.
3) He in no small part ran up the debt burden under which America squirms. His commitment to the unfinanced Iraq war and his unswerving devotion to cutting taxes for the rich and deregulating America's financial and commercial institutions helped put us where we are now. This week we will see a shocking report on the increase in the number of Americans on food stamps -- a 70 percent rise in four years -- that points clearly at just where Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney put us.
4) Mr. Cheney played Edgar Bergen to Mr. Bush's Charlie McCarthy. For my younger readers, Edgar Bergen was a well-known comedian and ventiloquist of the 20th century radio days. Mr. Bergen's wooden puppet, who sat on his lap and frequently upstaged him, was Charlie McCarthy.
This device employed by Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney enabled the American public to imagine that Mr. Bush, as president, was either disinterested, cutting brush in Texas, or disassociated from the presidency in a combination of noblesse oblige and arrogance or just stupid. Virtually all of the bad decisions taken by the administration could be attributed to Mr. Cheney's machinations behind the scenes -- along with those of White House adviser Karl Rove. Mr. Bush was simply an oaf, or a tool or a ventriloquist's dummy in their hands. The bad effects of this de facto abdication of responsibility on the part of Mr. Bush are incalculable.
Normally -- I won't say correctly -- a vice president's impact on the country's governance is fairly low. FDR's vice president, Harry Truman, apparently didn't even know about the atomic bomb until the president died. I don't think Mr. Obama's vice president, Joe Biden, is that bad, but Americans did not elect him president.
Considerable power and influence was attributed to Mr. Cheney during Mr. Bush's two terms. Both the allocation of power and the actions of the person wielding it, Mr. Cheney, were damaging to America's well-being. ...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
By Dan Simpson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In spite of the kerfuffle about former Vice President Dick Cheney's newly published memoir, I have no intention of buying or reading the book, for the following reasons:
1) He is a liar. Anyone who would take the United States to war based on two false reasons -- the claim of Iraq having nuclear weapons and of the Saddam Hussein regime having links to al-Qaida -- has no further right to be believed about anything. Mr. Cheney's approach to these deadly lies was to choose and interpret U.S. intelligence to reinforce his goal, as opposed to arriving at a truth upon which to base U.S. policy.
2) He is a killer. His deliberate actions, probably intended to get himself and President George W. Bush reelected in 2004, led to the deaths of more than 4,400 Americans and countless thousands of Iraqis. Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, fine; George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, no way.
3) He in no small part ran up the debt burden under which America squirms. His commitment to the unfinanced Iraq war and his unswerving devotion to cutting taxes for the rich and deregulating America's financial and commercial institutions helped put us where we are now. This week we will see a shocking report on the increase in the number of Americans on food stamps -- a 70 percent rise in four years -- that points clearly at just where Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney put us.
4) Mr. Cheney played Edgar Bergen to Mr. Bush's Charlie McCarthy. For my younger readers, Edgar Bergen was a well-known comedian and ventiloquist of the 20th century radio days. Mr. Bergen's wooden puppet, who sat on his lap and frequently upstaged him, was Charlie McCarthy.
This device employed by Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney enabled the American public to imagine that Mr. Bush, as president, was either disinterested, cutting brush in Texas, or disassociated from the presidency in a combination of noblesse oblige and arrogance or just stupid. Virtually all of the bad decisions taken by the administration could be attributed to Mr. Cheney's machinations behind the scenes -- along with those of White House adviser Karl Rove. Mr. Bush was simply an oaf, or a tool or a ventriloquist's dummy in their hands. The bad effects of this de facto abdication of responsibility on the part of Mr. Bush are incalculable.
Normally -- I won't say correctly -- a vice president's impact on the country's governance is fairly low. FDR's vice president, Harry Truman, apparently didn't even know about the atomic bomb until the president died. I don't think Mr. Obama's vice president, Joe Biden, is that bad, but Americans did not elect him president.
Considerable power and influence was attributed to Mr. Cheney during Mr. Bush's two terms. Both the allocation of power and the actions of the person wielding it, Mr. Cheney, were damaging to America's well-being. ...
New details have emerged of the route used by Muammar Gaddafi's family to escape into neighbouring Algeria, triggering a diplomatic row over their fate.
According to officials in Libya's National Transitional Council, Gaddafi's second wife, daughter and two sons slipped out of the country along a road through central Libya not yet under NTC control.
The escape was made in a convoy of six armoured Mercedes limousines, once part of an extensive government fleet, which departed from the town of Bani Walid, the stronghold of Libya's biggest tribe, the Warfallah, where significant remnants of the regime are holding out.
Guma al-Gamaty, the NTC's UK co-ordinator, said the motorcade was carrying a total of 32 Gaddafi family members, including the ousted leader's second wife, Safia, daughter Aisha and two sons, Hannibal and Mohammed, and reached the Algerian border on Saturday.
"They were kept waiting there for 10 to 12 hours while the Algerian government decided what to do. It was the Algerian president himself [Abdelaziz Bouteflika] who authorised their entry," Gamaty said. "We will definitely be seeking their return, and we are co-operating with Interpol to secure their return."
On Monday the Algerian foreign ministry confirmed that the Gaddafi entourage had crossed the border that morning, after denying a report to that effect on Sunday. ...
According to officials in Libya's National Transitional Council, Gaddafi's second wife, daughter and two sons slipped out of the country along a road through central Libya not yet under NTC control.
The escape was made in a convoy of six armoured Mercedes limousines, once part of an extensive government fleet, which departed from the town of Bani Walid, the stronghold of Libya's biggest tribe, the Warfallah, where significant remnants of the regime are holding out.
Guma al-Gamaty, the NTC's UK co-ordinator, said the motorcade was carrying a total of 32 Gaddafi family members, including the ousted leader's second wife, Safia, daughter Aisha and two sons, Hannibal and Mohammed, and reached the Algerian border on Saturday.
"They were kept waiting there for 10 to 12 hours while the Algerian government decided what to do. It was the Algerian president himself [Abdelaziz Bouteflika] who authorised their entry," Gamaty said. "We will definitely be seeking their return, and we are co-operating with Interpol to secure their return."
On Monday the Algerian foreign ministry confirmed that the Gaddafi entourage had crossed the border that morning, after denying a report to that effect on Sunday. ...
Majority of 88 detainees who have died since start of uprising against regime said to have been tortured
The names of several News of the World journalists who ordered a private detective to hack into mobile phones belonging to six public figures will not be publicly disclosed after Scotland Yard intervened to prevent their publication.
The names were passed to Steve Coogan on Friday by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the paper, in compliance with a high court order the actor obtained earlier this year.
The names are critical to the phone-hacking investigation because they could show how far the practice was widespread at the paper, which was closed down by Rupert Murdoch last month, despite consistent denials from its owner News Group Newspapers. Coogan is one of several celebrities suing the paper for breach of privacy.
The high court order instructed Mulcaire to reveal who at the paper asked him to illegally intercept messages left on mobile belonging to former model Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and four others.
Mulcaire, who was employed exclusively by the News of the World, was also told to reveal who at the paper ordered him to target Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, his colleague Jo Armstrong and football agent Sky Andrew.
He was refused leave to appeal against the order earlier this month and handed over the names on Friday, the deadline set by the high court for making the information available.
Law firm Schillings was contacted by Mulcaire's solicitor Sarah Webb of Payne Hicks Beach on Friday and asked not to make the names public. Webb said: "The issues of confidentiality are of concern to the Metropolitan police and we asked Coogan's solicitors not to disclose the information until the Met could consider the matter." ...
The names were passed to Steve Coogan on Friday by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the paper, in compliance with a high court order the actor obtained earlier this year.
The names are critical to the phone-hacking investigation because they could show how far the practice was widespread at the paper, which was closed down by Rupert Murdoch last month, despite consistent denials from its owner News Group Newspapers. Coogan is one of several celebrities suing the paper for breach of privacy.
The high court order instructed Mulcaire to reveal who at the paper asked him to illegally intercept messages left on mobile belonging to former model Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford and four others.
Mulcaire, who was employed exclusively by the News of the World, was also told to reveal who at the paper ordered him to target Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, his colleague Jo Armstrong and football agent Sky Andrew.
He was refused leave to appeal against the order earlier this month and handed over the names on Friday, the deadline set by the high court for making the information available.
Law firm Schillings was contacted by Mulcaire's solicitor Sarah Webb of Payne Hicks Beach on Friday and asked not to make the names public. Webb said: "The issues of confidentiality are of concern to the Metropolitan police and we asked Coogan's solicitors not to disclose the information until the Met could consider the matter." ...
Author and folklorist Stetson Kennedy, who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan six decades ago and exposed its secrets but decades later was criticized for appearing to exaggerate his exploits, died Saturday at a medical center near St. Augustine, Fla. He was 94.
The death was announced on his website.
In his 1954 book "I Rode With the Ku Klux Klan," Kennedy wrote that he gained entrance to the Klan by posing as an encyclopedia salesman and using the name of an uncle who was a Klan member. The book was rereleased in 1990 as "The Klan Unmasked."
"Exposing their folklore — all their secret handshakes, passwords and how silly they were, dressing up in white sheets" was one of the strongest blows delivered to the Klan, Peggy Bulger, director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, told the Associated Press in 2007.
"If they weren't so violent, they would be silly," said Bulger, who wrote her doctoral thesis on Kennedy's work as a folklorist. ...
The death was announced on his website.
In his 1954 book "I Rode With the Ku Klux Klan," Kennedy wrote that he gained entrance to the Klan by posing as an encyclopedia salesman and using the name of an uncle who was a Klan member. The book was rereleased in 1990 as "The Klan Unmasked."
"Exposing their folklore — all their secret handshakes, passwords and how silly they were, dressing up in white sheets" was one of the strongest blows delivered to the Klan, Peggy Bulger, director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, told the Associated Press in 2007.
"If they weren't so violent, they would be silly," said Bulger, who wrote her doctoral thesis on Kennedy's work as a folklorist. ...
Fresh evidence has emerged of other voice messages allegedly hacked from the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's by the News of the World.
A report suggested that the former Sunday tabloid newspaper had details of more voicemails left on her mobile phone than originally thought.
The Wall Street Journal said it had obtained earlier print editions of the newspaper from 2002, which made reference to more messages on the missing teenager's phone.
It states that it undertook a review of the News International-owned newspaper and found that early versions on one day contained detailed quotes from three voicemails.
In the final edition, the article only contained one passing reference to a single voicemail.
On 14 April 2002, the News of the World published a story in its final edition about a woman allegedly pretending to be Milly who had applied for a job with a recruitment agency. It suggested that the hoaxer had given the agency Milly's real mobile number, which it used to contact her when a vacancy arose, leaving a message on her voicemail six days after she went missing.
The newspaper later informed the police about the voicemail that it is alleged to have intercepted.
However, the Wall Street Journal has now said that it has obtained earlier editions of the newspaper from the same day, which include an article that makes reference to two further messages left on the phone. ...
A report suggested that the former Sunday tabloid newspaper had details of more voicemails left on her mobile phone than originally thought.
The Wall Street Journal said it had obtained earlier print editions of the newspaper from 2002, which made reference to more messages on the missing teenager's phone.
It states that it undertook a review of the News International-owned newspaper and found that early versions on one day contained detailed quotes from three voicemails.
In the final edition, the article only contained one passing reference to a single voicemail.
On 14 April 2002, the News of the World published a story in its final edition about a woman allegedly pretending to be Milly who had applied for a job with a recruitment agency. It suggested that the hoaxer had given the agency Milly's real mobile number, which it used to contact her when a vacancy arose, leaving a message on her voicemail six days after she went missing.
The newspaper later informed the police about the voicemail that it is alleged to have intercepted.
However, the Wall Street Journal has now said that it has obtained earlier editions of the newspaper from the same day, which include an article that makes reference to two further messages left on the phone. ...
A police detective has been arrested on suspicion of leaking details about Scotland Yard's phone-hacking investigation.
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade.
Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak, discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week. Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation.
Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already.
"Closing the valve is a key step," said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell's exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. "It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond."
The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with.
Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by "rock mattresses", would "take time". The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. ...
Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak, discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week. Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation.
Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already.
"Closing the valve is a key step," said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell's exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. "It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond."
The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with.
Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by "rock mattresses", would "take time". The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, has been ordered by a court to reveal who instructed him to access the voicemails of model Elle Macpherson and five other public figures, including Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader.
Mulcaire is due to reveal these details by the end of next week in a move that will throw further light on the scale of phone hacking at the now defunct News International tabloid.
The Guardian has learned that Mulcaire has lost an attempt to appeal against a court order obliging him to identify who instructed him to hack the phones, something he has resisted since February.
Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to hacking the phones of members of the royal household for the NoW, has been forced into making the disclosure after legal action by Steve Coogan. In February, the actor's lawyers argued in court that if it were proved that the paper had instructed Mulcaire to hack into the phones of the six public figures, it would show that phone hacking was taking place on an industrial scale.
Mulcaire must now name names in relation to Macpherson, Hughes and four others: Max Clifford; the football agent Sky Andrew; Jo Armstrong, a legal adviser to the Professional Footballers Association; and Gordon Taylor, the former head of the PFA. At his trial in 2006 Mulcaire also admitted hacking the phones of five of the six names in Coogan's court order. ...
Mulcaire is due to reveal these details by the end of next week in a move that will throw further light on the scale of phone hacking at the now defunct News International tabloid.
The Guardian has learned that Mulcaire has lost an attempt to appeal against a court order obliging him to identify who instructed him to hack the phones, something he has resisted since February.
Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to hacking the phones of members of the royal household for the NoW, has been forced into making the disclosure after legal action by Steve Coogan. In February, the actor's lawyers argued in court that if it were proved that the paper had instructed Mulcaire to hack into the phones of the six public figures, it would show that phone hacking was taking place on an industrial scale.
Mulcaire must now name names in relation to Macpherson, Hughes and four others: Max Clifford; the football agent Sky Andrew; Jo Armstrong, a legal adviser to the Professional Footballers Association; and Gordon Taylor, the former head of the PFA. At his trial in 2006 Mulcaire also admitted hacking the phones of five of the six names in Coogan's court order. ...
'Isn't the Democrat/Republican choice in the US really a choice between good and evil?" someone tweeted me during last week's Republican debate in Iowa. On the one hand, such a reductive perspective only exacerbates the dysfunctionally hyper-partisan current state of American politics, with the Republicans retreating to a wing so far right it would have given their beloved Ronald Reagan whiplash.
On the other hand, the message did arrive just moments after the morally repulsive Rick Santorum had finished explaining that abortions must be denied even to victims of rape and incest because the baby shouldn't be "victimised twice", concentrating so deeply on maintaining his sanctimonious facial expression that he hadn't the mental space to consider that maybe it would be the raped woman who would be victimised twice if she were to be denied an abortion if she wished to have one. But then, of course, it's hard to answer intelligently when one talks out of one's arse and the brain is therefore so far away from one's speaking orifice.
Anal vocalisation is not the only explanation for much of the Grand Old party's (GOP) behaviour and pronouncements in recent days: rather, it is, I can exclusively reveal, currently engaged in a mash-up of 1984 and It's a Wonderful Life, two pieces of fiction created over 60 years ago, which goes some way to explaining the distinct smack of irrelevance to the party today. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
On the other hand, the message did arrive just moments after the morally repulsive Rick Santorum had finished explaining that abortions must be denied even to victims of rape and incest because the baby shouldn't be "victimised twice", concentrating so deeply on maintaining his sanctimonious facial expression that he hadn't the mental space to consider that maybe it would be the raped woman who would be victimised twice if she were to be denied an abortion if she wished to have one. But then, of course, it's hard to answer intelligently when one talks out of one's arse and the brain is therefore so far away from one's speaking orifice.
Anal vocalisation is not the only explanation for much of the Grand Old party's (GOP) behaviour and pronouncements in recent days: rather, it is, I can exclusively reveal, currently engaged in a mash-up of 1984 and It's a Wonderful Life, two pieces of fiction created over 60 years ago, which goes some way to explaining the distinct smack of irrelevance to the party today. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.
The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".
Goodman's claims also raise serious questions about Rupert Murdoch's close friend and adviser, Les Hinton, who was sent a copy of the letter but failed to pass it to police and who then led a cast of senior Murdoch personnel in telling parliament that they believed Coulson knew nothing about the interception of the voicemail of public figures and that Goodman was the only journalist involved.
The letters from Goodman and from the London law firm Harbottle & Lewis are among a cache of paperwork published by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee. One committee member, the Labour MP Tom Watson, said Goodman's letter was "absolutely devastating". He said: "Clive Goodman's letter is the most significant piece of evidence that has been revealed so far. It completely removes News International's defence. This is one of the largest cover-ups I have seen in my lifetime."
Goodman's letter is dated 2 March 2007, soon after he was released from a four-month prison sentence. It is addressed to News International's director of human resources, Daniel Cloke, and registers his appeal against the decision of Hinton, the company's then chairman, to sack him for gross misconduct after he admitted intercepting the voicemail of three members of the royal household. Goodman lists five grounds for his appeal.
He argues that the decision is perverse because he acted "with the full knowledge and support" of named senior journalists and that payments for the private investigator who assisted him, Glenn Mulcaire, were arranged by another senior journalist. The names of the journalists have been redacted from the published letter at the request of Scotland Yard, who are investigating the affair. ...
In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.
The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".
Goodman's claims also raise serious questions about Rupert Murdoch's close friend and adviser, Les Hinton, who was sent a copy of the letter but failed to pass it to police and who then led a cast of senior Murdoch personnel in telling parliament that they believed Coulson knew nothing about the interception of the voicemail of public figures and that Goodman was the only journalist involved.
The letters from Goodman and from the London law firm Harbottle & Lewis are among a cache of paperwork published by the Commons culture, media and sport select committee. One committee member, the Labour MP Tom Watson, said Goodman's letter was "absolutely devastating". He said: "Clive Goodman's letter is the most significant piece of evidence that has been revealed so far. It completely removes News International's defence. This is one of the largest cover-ups I have seen in my lifetime."
Goodman's letter is dated 2 March 2007, soon after he was released from a four-month prison sentence. It is addressed to News International's director of human resources, Daniel Cloke, and registers his appeal against the decision of Hinton, the company's then chairman, to sack him for gross misconduct after he admitted intercepting the voicemail of three members of the royal household. Goodman lists five grounds for his appeal.
He argues that the decision is perverse because he acted "with the full knowledge and support" of named senior journalists and that payments for the private investigator who assisted him, Glenn Mulcaire, were arranged by another senior journalist. The names of the journalists have been redacted from the published letter at the request of Scotland Yard, who are investigating the affair. ...
Police watchdog says it led media to believe shots were exchanged but Duggan was carrying gun that was never used
Riots not condoned by Chavez Campbell but says youths with no jobs, no money and no future were ripe for causing mayhem
Alexandra Topping
Friday 12 August 2011
At 6ft 3in, with a loose gait and a large kit bag slung over his shoulder, 18-year-old Chavez Campbell is a striking figure as he walks past the boarded-up shops in Wood Green, north London. Last Saturday, riots erupted here, rampaging youths shattered shopfronts and filled their arms with anything they could grab.
A week before it began, Campbell, in an interview with the Guardian about cuts to youth services, predicted what would happen. Asked what he thought the future held, he said, simply: "There'll be riots."
Looking at his words again, he said: "I did see the riots coming and the government should have seen it coming, too. Jobs are hard to get and, when they do become available, youths don't get the jobs. There is nothing to do, they are closing youth clubs so the streets are just crazy. They are full of people who have no ambitions, or have ambitions but can't fulfil them."
Campbell, who has recently left college and is struggling to find a job, represents a voice that has been rarely heard in the maelstrom of recent days. He saw the riots explode, but went home to stay safe. He thinks the government has to take some responsibility, claiming cuts and poverty played a role, but he also thinks the rioters were wrong and should be punished. He is not an academic, nor an expert, just a young person from a disadvantaged area trying to get on with his life.
Being poor is not an excuse, he argues, but it might help explain why there was such widespread looting of goods such as trainers, gadgets and clothes. "It doesn't justify it but they think: 'I ain't got no money for this, I ain't got no money for that, I can't get a job but I need it.' The only way they are going to get it is stealing. They are going to be ruthless and do anything they can to get it. This was fun for them." ...
Alexandra Topping
Friday 12 August 2011
At 6ft 3in, with a loose gait and a large kit bag slung over his shoulder, 18-year-old Chavez Campbell is a striking figure as he walks past the boarded-up shops in Wood Green, north London. Last Saturday, riots erupted here, rampaging youths shattered shopfronts and filled their arms with anything they could grab.
A week before it began, Campbell, in an interview with the Guardian about cuts to youth services, predicted what would happen. Asked what he thought the future held, he said, simply: "There'll be riots."
Looking at his words again, he said: "I did see the riots coming and the government should have seen it coming, too. Jobs are hard to get and, when they do become available, youths don't get the jobs. There is nothing to do, they are closing youth clubs so the streets are just crazy. They are full of people who have no ambitions, or have ambitions but can't fulfil them."
Campbell, who has recently left college and is struggling to find a job, represents a voice that has been rarely heard in the maelstrom of recent days. He saw the riots explode, but went home to stay safe. He thinks the government has to take some responsibility, claiming cuts and poverty played a role, but he also thinks the rioters were wrong and should be punished. He is not an academic, nor an expert, just a young person from a disadvantaged area trying to get on with his life.
Being poor is not an excuse, he argues, but it might help explain why there was such widespread looting of goods such as trainers, gadgets and clothes. "It doesn't justify it but they think: 'I ain't got no money for this, I ain't got no money for that, I can't get a job but I need it.' The only way they are going to get it is stealing. They are going to be ruthless and do anything they can to get it. This was fun for them." ...
The Liberal Democrat MP, Simon Hughes, is to sue News International over phone hacking at the News of the World, he confirmed on Thursday.
Hughes told the Evening Standard: "It is important now that all those who were clearly the subject of criminal activity help to get to the bottom of what happened during this dark period in British journalism."
Hughes's decision to take legal action against Rupert Murdoch's Sunday tabloid, which was closed last month, is significant because the private investigator employed by the paper has already been convicted of targeting his mobile phone.
Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking into Hughes's messages, along with those left on mobiles belonging to seven other people, in 2006.
That means Mulcaire will be unable to resist complying with any court order Hughes obtains that requires the former investigator to say who asked him to intercept Hughes's messages.
In other cases currently going through the civil courts, Mulcaire's legal team has successfully appealed against such orders by arguing that he would be incriminating himself if he were to comply with them by admitting his guilt.
Mulcaire will not be able to mount the same argument when Hughes takes legal action, against News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, because he pleaded guilty to hacking his phone five years ago.
That could lead to more News of the World journalists being named. Three of the original eight victims named in the 2006 legal action have already sued the paper's owner. ...
Hughes told the Evening Standard: "It is important now that all those who were clearly the subject of criminal activity help to get to the bottom of what happened during this dark period in British journalism."
Hughes's decision to take legal action against Rupert Murdoch's Sunday tabloid, which was closed last month, is significant because the private investigator employed by the paper has already been convicted of targeting his mobile phone.
Glenn Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking into Hughes's messages, along with those left on mobiles belonging to seven other people, in 2006.
That means Mulcaire will be unable to resist complying with any court order Hughes obtains that requires the former investigator to say who asked him to intercept Hughes's messages.
In other cases currently going through the civil courts, Mulcaire's legal team has successfully appealed against such orders by arguing that he would be incriminating himself if he were to comply with them by admitting his guilt.
Mulcaire will not be able to mount the same argument when Hughes takes legal action, against News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, because he pleaded guilty to hacking his phone five years ago.
That could lead to more News of the World journalists being named. Three of the original eight victims named in the 2006 legal action have already sued the paper's owner. ...
Dear Mr & Mrs Cameron,
Why did you never take the time to teach your child basic morality?
As a young man, he was in a gang that regularly smashed up private property. We know that you were absent parents who left your child to be brought up by a school rather than taking responsibility for his behaviour yourselves. The fact that he became a delinquent with no sense of respect for the property of others can only reflect that fact that you are terrible, lazy human beings who failed even in teaching your children the difference between right and wrong. I can only assume that his contempt for the small business owners of Oxford is indicative of his wider values.
Even worse, your neglect led him to fall in with a bad crowd. He became best friends with a young man who set fire to buildings for fun. And others:
There’s Michael Gove, whose wet-lipped rage was palpable on Newsnight last night. This is the Michael Gove who confused one of his houses with another of his houses in order to avail himself of £7,000 of the taxpayers’ money to which he was not entitled (or £13,000, depending on which house you think was which).
Or Hazel Blears, who was interviewed in full bristling peahen mode for almost all of last night. She once forgot which house she lived in, and benefited to the tune of £18,000. At the time she said it would take her reputation years to recover. Unfortunately not.
But, of course, this is different. This is just understandable confusion over the rules of how many houses you are meant to have as an MP. This doesn’t show the naked greed of people stealing plasma tellies. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Why did you never take the time to teach your child basic morality?
As a young man, he was in a gang that regularly smashed up private property. We know that you were absent parents who left your child to be brought up by a school rather than taking responsibility for his behaviour yourselves. The fact that he became a delinquent with no sense of respect for the property of others can only reflect that fact that you are terrible, lazy human beings who failed even in teaching your children the difference between right and wrong. I can only assume that his contempt for the small business owners of Oxford is indicative of his wider values.
Even worse, your neglect led him to fall in with a bad crowd. He became best friends with a young man who set fire to buildings for fun. And others:
There’s Michael Gove, whose wet-lipped rage was palpable on Newsnight last night. This is the Michael Gove who confused one of his houses with another of his houses in order to avail himself of £7,000 of the taxpayers’ money to which he was not entitled (or £13,000, depending on which house you think was which).
Or Hazel Blears, who was interviewed in full bristling peahen mode for almost all of last night. She once forgot which house she lived in, and benefited to the tune of £18,000. At the time she said it would take her reputation years to recover. Unfortunately not.
But, of course, this is different. This is just understandable confusion over the rules of how many houses you are meant to have as an MP. This doesn’t show the naked greed of people stealing plasma tellies. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
David Cameron is facing growing cabinet pressure to rethink the coalition's policing cuts in the wake of the deaths of three young Birmingham men, who were hit by a car during violent disturbances in the city.
As the Police Federation warned of a "catastrophe" if similar riots erupted after the cuts were introduced, a senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn from police funding over the next few years. "The optics have changed," the source told the Guardian. ...
"The optics have changed"??? What the fuck does that mean? Is it some kind of conservative jargon?
As the Police Federation warned of a "catastrophe" if similar riots erupted after the cuts were introduced, a senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn from police funding over the next few years. "The optics have changed," the source told the Guardian. ...
"The optics have changed"??? What the fuck does that mean? Is it some kind of conservative jargon?
At the Fox News Chrismas party the year the network overtook arch-rival CNN in the cable ratings, tipsy employees were herded down to the basement of a midtown bar in New York. As they gathered around a television mounted high on the wall, an image flashed to life, glowing bright in the darkened tavern: the MSNBC logo. A chorus of boos erupted among the Fox faithful. The CNN logo followed, and the catcalls multiplied. Then a third slide appeared, with a telling twist. In place of the logo for Fox News was a beneficent visage: the face of the network's founder. The man known to his fiercest loyalists simply as "the Chairman" – Roger Ailes.
"It was as though we were looking at Mao," recalls Charlie Reina, a former Fox News producer..."It's like the Soviet Union or China: People are always looking over their shoulders," says a former executive with the network's parent, News Corp. "There are people who turn people in."
The key to decoding Fox News isn't hosts Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn't even News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman Ailes. "He is Fox News," says Jane Hall, a Fox commentator for 10 years, who defected over Ailes's embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. "It's his vision. It's a reflection of him." ...
... The outsize success of Fox News gives Ailes a free hand to shape the network in his own image. "Murdoch has almost no involvement with it at all," says Michael Wolff, who spent nine months embedded at News Corp researching a biography of the Australian media giant. "People are afraid of Roger. Murdoch is, himself, afraid of Roger. He has amassed enormous power within the company – and within the country – from the success of Fox News."
Fear, in fact, is precisely what Ailes is selling: his network has relentlessly hyped phantom menaces such as the planned "terror mosque" near Ground Zero, inspiring Florida pastor Terry Jones to torch the Qur'an. Privately, Murdoch is as impressed by Ailes's business savvy as he is dismissive of his extremist politics. "You know Roger is crazy," Murdoch recently told a colleague, shaking his head in disbelief. "He really believes that stuff."
To watch even a day of Fox News – the anger, the bombast, the virulent paranoid streak, the unending appeals to white resentment, the reporting that is held to the same standard of evidence as a political campaign attack ad – is to see a refraction of its founder, one of the most skilled and fearsome operatives in the history of the Republican party. As a political consultant, Ailes repackaged Richard Nixon for television in 1968, papered over Ronald Reagan's budding Alzheimer's in 1984, shamelessly stoked racial fears to elect George Bush in 1988, and waged a secret campaign on behalf of Big Tobacco to derail healthcare reform in 1993. "He was the premier guy in the business," says former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins. "He was our Michelangelo." ...
"It was as though we were looking at Mao," recalls Charlie Reina, a former Fox News producer..."It's like the Soviet Union or China: People are always looking over their shoulders," says a former executive with the network's parent, News Corp. "There are people who turn people in."
The key to decoding Fox News isn't hosts Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn't even News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman Ailes. "He is Fox News," says Jane Hall, a Fox commentator for 10 years, who defected over Ailes's embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. "It's his vision. It's a reflection of him." ...
... The outsize success of Fox News gives Ailes a free hand to shape the network in his own image. "Murdoch has almost no involvement with it at all," says Michael Wolff, who spent nine months embedded at News Corp researching a biography of the Australian media giant. "People are afraid of Roger. Murdoch is, himself, afraid of Roger. He has amassed enormous power within the company – and within the country – from the success of Fox News."
Fear, in fact, is precisely what Ailes is selling: his network has relentlessly hyped phantom menaces such as the planned "terror mosque" near Ground Zero, inspiring Florida pastor Terry Jones to torch the Qur'an. Privately, Murdoch is as impressed by Ailes's business savvy as he is dismissive of his extremist politics. "You know Roger is crazy," Murdoch recently told a colleague, shaking his head in disbelief. "He really believes that stuff."
To watch even a day of Fox News – the anger, the bombast, the virulent paranoid streak, the unending appeals to white resentment, the reporting that is held to the same standard of evidence as a political campaign attack ad – is to see a refraction of its founder, one of the most skilled and fearsome operatives in the history of the Republican party. As a political consultant, Ailes repackaged Richard Nixon for television in 1968, papered over Ronald Reagan's budding Alzheimer's in 1984, shamelessly stoked racial fears to elect George Bush in 1988, and waged a secret campaign on behalf of Big Tobacco to derail healthcare reform in 1993. "He was the premier guy in the business," says former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins. "He was our Michelangelo." ...
UK riots: day four aftermath live
• Serious disorder in Manchester and west Midlands
• Murder inquiry launched in Birmingham after car hits three men
• Calm night in London as police maintain control
• Serious disorder in Manchester and west Midlands
• Murder inquiry launched in Birmingham after car hits three men
• Calm night in London as police maintain control
More than 100 priests from Madrid's poorest parishes have added their voices to the growing protest at the cost of Pope Benedict's visit to Madrid next week.
An umbrella group – the Priest's Forum – says the estimated €60m (£53m) cost of the papal visit, not counting security, cannot be justified at a time of massive public sector cuts and 20% unemployment in Spain.
Evaristo Villar, a 68-year-old member of the group, said he objected to the multinationals with which the Catholic church has had to ally itself to cover the costs of the "showmanship" of the event.
"The companies that are backing World Youth Day and the pope's visit leave much to be desired," he said. "They are the ones who, together with international capital, have caused the crisis. We are not against the pope's visit, we are against the way it is being staged."
The more than 100 corporate sponsors of the event include Coca-Cola, Telefónica and Santander. Opponents of the visit have set up a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the sponsors. Some 140 groups, among them the secular organisation Europa Laica (Secular Europe), are against the visit.
"Catholics can go wherever they like in Madrid but the freedom of movement of the rest of us is restricted," said Francisco Delgado, leader of Europa Laica, on discovering that the city had prohibited his group's proposed march.
Europa Laica plans to march under the slogans "Not a penny of my taxes for the pope" and "For a secular state". There is particular ire that the some 500,000 pilgrims expected in the city will get free transport. Madrid metro fares rose by 50% on Monday.
"With the economic crisis we are going through, we can't pay for this. The church should set the example," said a spokesman for the Indignados movement, which has staged high-profile protests in central Madrid. "They propose to spend €60m when the regional government has just cut €40m from the education budget." ...
... Interest in the Catholic church is on the wane among young people in Spain. A recent survey by the national statistics office showed that the number of believers aged 18 to 24 has fallen by 56% in the past 10 years. ...
An umbrella group – the Priest's Forum – says the estimated €60m (£53m) cost of the papal visit, not counting security, cannot be justified at a time of massive public sector cuts and 20% unemployment in Spain.
Evaristo Villar, a 68-year-old member of the group, said he objected to the multinationals with which the Catholic church has had to ally itself to cover the costs of the "showmanship" of the event.
"The companies that are backing World Youth Day and the pope's visit leave much to be desired," he said. "They are the ones who, together with international capital, have caused the crisis. We are not against the pope's visit, we are against the way it is being staged."
The more than 100 corporate sponsors of the event include Coca-Cola, Telefónica and Santander. Opponents of the visit have set up a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the sponsors. Some 140 groups, among them the secular organisation Europa Laica (Secular Europe), are against the visit.
"Catholics can go wherever they like in Madrid but the freedom of movement of the rest of us is restricted," said Francisco Delgado, leader of Europa Laica, on discovering that the city had prohibited his group's proposed march.
Europa Laica plans to march under the slogans "Not a penny of my taxes for the pope" and "For a secular state". There is particular ire that the some 500,000 pilgrims expected in the city will get free transport. Madrid metro fares rose by 50% on Monday.
"With the economic crisis we are going through, we can't pay for this. The church should set the example," said a spokesman for the Indignados movement, which has staged high-profile protests in central Madrid. "They propose to spend €60m when the regional government has just cut €40m from the education budget." ...
... Interest in the Catholic church is on the wane among young people in Spain. A recent survey by the national statistics office showed that the number of believers aged 18 to 24 has fallen by 56% in the past 10 years. ...
somehow, the Obama brain trust, a term herein used advisedly, always seems caught off guard by the ferocity, velocity and fury of the response to him. They were surprised at the verbal and physical violence of the healthcare debate, surprised at the hardiness of the birther nonsense, surprised by the stiff defense of the Bush-era tax cuts.
Now, they are surprised the GOP would rather see the U.S. economy go off a cliff than surrender the aforementioned tax cuts for rich folks. So the debt ceiling gets raised in exchange for cuts to services for the poor, who shortsightedly failed to hire lobbyists.
It is time Obama quit being surprised by the predictable, time he understood this is not politics as usual, not Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill snarling at one another by day and having drinks by night, like that old cartoon where the sheepdog and the coyote punch a time clock to signal the beginning and end of their hostilities. It is not Bill Clinton living in a state of permanent investigation, nor even George W. Bush being called incompetent all day every day.
No, this is a new thing, repulsion at a visceral, indeed, mitochondrial, level. Obama’s denigrators are appalled by the newness of him, the liberality of him, the exoticness of him and, yes, and the blackness of him.
“Your boy?” Really?
Sure. Why not. Didn’t Rep. Lynn Westmoreland call him “uppity?” Didn’t the ex-mayor of Los Alamitos, Calif., send out an email showing the White House with a watermelon patch? ...
Now, they are surprised the GOP would rather see the U.S. economy go off a cliff than surrender the aforementioned tax cuts for rich folks. So the debt ceiling gets raised in exchange for cuts to services for the poor, who shortsightedly failed to hire lobbyists.
It is time Obama quit being surprised by the predictable, time he understood this is not politics as usual, not Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill snarling at one another by day and having drinks by night, like that old cartoon where the sheepdog and the coyote punch a time clock to signal the beginning and end of their hostilities. It is not Bill Clinton living in a state of permanent investigation, nor even George W. Bush being called incompetent all day every day.
No, this is a new thing, repulsion at a visceral, indeed, mitochondrial, level. Obama’s denigrators are appalled by the newness of him, the liberality of him, the exoticness of him and, yes, and the blackness of him.
“Your boy?” Really?
Sure. Why not. Didn’t Rep. Lynn Westmoreland call him “uppity?” Didn’t the ex-mayor of Los Alamitos, Calif., send out an email showing the White House with a watermelon patch? ...
Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police sparked London's riots, did not fire a shot at police officers before they killed him, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said on Tuesday.
Releasing the initial findings of ballistics tests, the police watchdog said a CO19 firearms officer fired two bullets, and that a bullet that lodged in a police radio was "consistent with being fired from a police gun".
One theory, not confirmed by the IPCC, is that the bullet became lodged in the radio from a ricochet or after passing through Duggan.
Duggan, 29, was killed last Thursday in Tottenham, north London, after armed officers stopped the minicab in which he was travelling.
The IPCC said Duggan was carrying a loaded gun, but it had no evidence that the weapon had been fired. It said tests were continuing.
The officer who fired the fatal shots has been removed from firearms duties, which is standard procedure, pending the IPCC investigation. ...
Releasing the initial findings of ballistics tests, the police watchdog said a CO19 firearms officer fired two bullets, and that a bullet that lodged in a police radio was "consistent with being fired from a police gun".
One theory, not confirmed by the IPCC, is that the bullet became lodged in the radio from a ricochet or after passing through Duggan.
Duggan, 29, was killed last Thursday in Tottenham, north London, after armed officers stopped the minicab in which he was travelling.
The IPCC said Duggan was carrying a loaded gun, but it had no evidence that the weapon had been fired. It said tests were continuing.
The officer who fired the fatal shots has been removed from firearms duties, which is standard procedure, pending the IPCC investigation. ...
• Clashes between looters and police across London
• Violence spreads to Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool
• Fires in Clapham, Croydon, Enfield and Peckham
• Prime minister returns early from holiday
• Twitter movement #riotcleanup gets under way
• Violence spreads to Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool
• Fires in Clapham, Croydon, Enfield and Peckham
• Prime minister returns early from holiday
• Twitter movement #riotcleanup gets under way
• Full-scale alert as violence spreads across capital
• Disorder breaks out in Birmingham city centre
• Prime minister, mayor and home secretary return
• Disorder breaks out in Birmingham city centre
• Prime minister, mayor and home secretary return
There has been a second night of rioting across London, with violence erupting in several of the capital's boroughs, from Brixton in the south to Enfield and Islington in the north and Walthamstow to the east.
What police are calling "copycat criminal activity" – some of it apparently part of an orchestrated plan – has so far resulted in 100 arrests.
Sunday night's rioting followed disturbances on Saturday night in Tottenham, which came after the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, on Thursday.
In a statement on Monday morning, the Metropolitan police said they were shocked at the levels of "disgraceful violence" that had left 35 officers injured.
"Officers responding to sporadic disorder in a number of boroughs made more than 100 arrests throughout last night and early this morning.
"This is in addition to the 61 arrests made on Saturday night and Sunday morning … Officers are shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them. At least nine officers were injured overnight in addition to the 26 injured on Saturday night.
"We will not tolerate this disgraceful violence. The investigation continues to bring these criminals to justice."
Shops in Enfield Town and the A10 retail park were vandalised and looted, and there were reports of two vehicles set on fire.
Mounted police were seen chasing groups of masked youths, some carrying sticks, away from stores, while lines of riot police readied themselves for trouble.
At 9.30pm on Sunday Met police and reinforcements from Kent began turning the whole of Enfield into a "sterile area". Hundreds of riot police arrived with vans and police dogs, charging at groups of teenagers who disappeared into sidestreets, smashing cars and shop windows as they ran.
A large crowd of youths moved off westwards, with some teenagers saying the plan was to go to nearby Ponders End. A retail park and shops were attacked, among them a closed Tesco Extra store. Workers inside described hearing windows smashing as dozens of youths poured into the store. "They left carrying TVs, alcohol – they were stuffing trolleys," said one shop assistant.
Unlike the previous night's disturbances, this time riot police appeared on the scene in large numbers. Their stance was also more aggressive, with baton charges and dogs used to disperse crowds. ...
What police are calling "copycat criminal activity" – some of it apparently part of an orchestrated plan – has so far resulted in 100 arrests.
Sunday night's rioting followed disturbances on Saturday night in Tottenham, which came after the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, on Thursday.
In a statement on Monday morning, the Metropolitan police said they were shocked at the levels of "disgraceful violence" that had left 35 officers injured.
"Officers responding to sporadic disorder in a number of boroughs made more than 100 arrests throughout last night and early this morning.
"This is in addition to the 61 arrests made on Saturday night and Sunday morning … Officers are shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them. At least nine officers were injured overnight in addition to the 26 injured on Saturday night.
"We will not tolerate this disgraceful violence. The investigation continues to bring these criminals to justice."
Shops in Enfield Town and the A10 retail park were vandalised and looted, and there were reports of two vehicles set on fire.
Mounted police were seen chasing groups of masked youths, some carrying sticks, away from stores, while lines of riot police readied themselves for trouble.
At 9.30pm on Sunday Met police and reinforcements from Kent began turning the whole of Enfield into a "sterile area". Hundreds of riot police arrived with vans and police dogs, charging at groups of teenagers who disappeared into sidestreets, smashing cars and shop windows as they ran.
A large crowd of youths moved off westwards, with some teenagers saying the plan was to go to nearby Ponders End. A retail park and shops were attacked, among them a closed Tesco Extra store. Workers inside described hearing windows smashing as dozens of youths poured into the store. "They left carrying TVs, alcohol – they were stuffing trolleys," said one shop assistant.
Unlike the previous night's disturbances, this time riot police appeared on the scene in large numbers. Their stance was also more aggressive, with baton charges and dogs used to disperse crowds. ...
Doubts have emerged over whether Mark Duggan, whose death at the hands of police sparked the weekend's Tottenham riots, was killed during an exchange of fire .
The Guardian understands that initial ballistics tests on a bullet, found lodged in a police radio worn by an officer during Thursday's incident, suggested it was police issue – and therefore had not been fired by Duggan.
On Saturday night 26 police officers were injured, eight requiring hospital treatment, in clashes with around 300 rioters in Tottenham that saw buildings and vehicles torched, shops looted and residents forced to flee their homes.
Police have arrested 55 people as a major investigation began into the escalation of violence, which followed a peaceful demonstration to demand "justice" for Duggan, 29, a father of four shot dead on Thursday evening after being stopped in a taxi near Tottenham Hale. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched an inquiry into the shooting.
Initial reports from the IPCC were that during an apparent exchange of fire police officers from C019 fired two shots and Duggan died at the scene. The suggestion was that officers could have come under fire from a minicab carrying Duggan. Much of this assumption came from the fact that a bullet had lodged in a police radio worn by an officer at the scene – raising speculation he might have been fired at from the vehicle. A non-police issue handgun was also recovered at the scene where Duggan was shot dead in Ferry Road.
The latest developments come as one community organiser suggested the handgun recovered was found in a sock and therefore not ready for use. It is likely to fuel anger on the streets of Tottenham and elsewhere in London if it provides evidence that officers were not under attack at the time they opened fire on Duggan.
The IPCC said on Sunday: "We await further forensic analysis to enable us to have a fuller and more comprehensive account of what shots were discharged, the sequence of events and what exactly happened. In the meantime we would request people are patient while we seek to find answers to the questions raised by this incident."
Gutted buildings were still smouldering in Tottenham on Sunday evening. Firefighters dealt with 49 primary fires receiving 264 999 calls between 9.30pm on Saturday and 4.30am on Sunday. ...
The Guardian understands that initial ballistics tests on a bullet, found lodged in a police radio worn by an officer during Thursday's incident, suggested it was police issue – and therefore had not been fired by Duggan.
On Saturday night 26 police officers were injured, eight requiring hospital treatment, in clashes with around 300 rioters in Tottenham that saw buildings and vehicles torched, shops looted and residents forced to flee their homes.
Police have arrested 55 people as a major investigation began into the escalation of violence, which followed a peaceful demonstration to demand "justice" for Duggan, 29, a father of four shot dead on Thursday evening after being stopped in a taxi near Tottenham Hale. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched an inquiry into the shooting.
Initial reports from the IPCC were that during an apparent exchange of fire police officers from C019 fired two shots and Duggan died at the scene. The suggestion was that officers could have come under fire from a minicab carrying Duggan. Much of this assumption came from the fact that a bullet had lodged in a police radio worn by an officer at the scene – raising speculation he might have been fired at from the vehicle. A non-police issue handgun was also recovered at the scene where Duggan was shot dead in Ferry Road.
The latest developments come as one community organiser suggested the handgun recovered was found in a sock and therefore not ready for use. It is likely to fuel anger on the streets of Tottenham and elsewhere in London if it provides evidence that officers were not under attack at the time they opened fire on Duggan.
The IPCC said on Sunday: "We await further forensic analysis to enable us to have a fuller and more comprehensive account of what shots were discharged, the sequence of events and what exactly happened. In the meantime we would request people are patient while we seek to find answers to the questions raised by this incident."
Gutted buildings were still smouldering in Tottenham on Sunday evening. Firefighters dealt with 49 primary fires receiving 264 999 calls between 9.30pm on Saturday and 4.30am on Sunday. ...
Asked if the Metropolitan police were slow to respond to the Tottenham riots, commander Adrian Hanstock replied: "No, not at all." That account, given outside Scotland Yard on Sunday morning, did not correlate with events that had unfolded several miles away in north London hours earlier.
What began as a gathering of around 200 protesters demanding answers over the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police on Thursday, culminated 12 hours later in a full-scale riot that saw brazen looting spread across north-London suburbs.
By 5.00am, at Tottenham Hale retail park, teenagers were still emerging from shops into the dawn sunshine, stuffing bags and trolleys with stolen goods and running into back streets.
Some officers had apprehended a handful of looters; others had their phones out and were taking pictures of a burnt-out car.
At exactly the same time, looting was taking place nearly two miles away, on Wood Green high street, where approximately 100 people had spent hours burning cars and breaking into high-street shops. Some were even filling suitcases.
As for police – who had claimed to have "contained" disturbances six hours earlier – there was none in sight.
By Sunday night police said there had been 55 arrests, and 26 police officers injured. Yet what marked the weekend's disturbances were not the number of people hurt but the scale of property destruction. ...
What began as a gathering of around 200 protesters demanding answers over the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police on Thursday, culminated 12 hours later in a full-scale riot that saw brazen looting spread across north-London suburbs.
By 5.00am, at Tottenham Hale retail park, teenagers were still emerging from shops into the dawn sunshine, stuffing bags and trolleys with stolen goods and running into back streets.
Some officers had apprehended a handful of looters; others had their phones out and were taking pictures of a burnt-out car.
At exactly the same time, looting was taking place nearly two miles away, on Wood Green high street, where approximately 100 people had spent hours burning cars and breaking into high-street shops. Some were even filling suitcases.
As for police – who had claimed to have "contained" disturbances six hours earlier – there was none in sight.
By Sunday night police said there had been 55 arrests, and 26 police officers injured. Yet what marked the weekend's disturbances were not the number of people hurt but the scale of property destruction. ...
The violent riot that tore through a deprived north London neighbourhood and injured more than two dozen police officers has cast a pall over Britain's capital, spreading malaise through a city preparing to host the Olympic Games.
A peaceful protest against the fatal police shooting of a 29-year-old man degenerated into a Saturday night rampage, with rioters torching a double-decker bus, destroying patrol cars and trashing a shopping mall. Twenty-six police officers were injured, with eight of them being briefly hospitalised.
Looters descended on London's Tottenham area around midnight, setting buildings alight, and piling stolen goods into cars and shopping carts. Sirens could be heard across the capital as authorities rushed reinforcements to the scene. Police reported 46 arrests.
"This is just a glimpse into the abyss," former Metropolitan Police Commander John O'Connor told Sky News television yesterday. "Someone's pulled the clock back and you can look and see what's beneath the surface. And what with the Olympic Games coming up, this doesn't bode very well for London." ...
A peaceful protest against the fatal police shooting of a 29-year-old man degenerated into a Saturday night rampage, with rioters torching a double-decker bus, destroying patrol cars and trashing a shopping mall. Twenty-six police officers were injured, with eight of them being briefly hospitalised.
Looters descended on London's Tottenham area around midnight, setting buildings alight, and piling stolen goods into cars and shopping carts. Sirens could be heard across the capital as authorities rushed reinforcements to the scene. Police reported 46 arrests.
"This is just a glimpse into the abyss," former Metropolitan Police Commander John O'Connor told Sky News television yesterday. "Someone's pulled the clock back and you can look and see what's beneath the surface. And what with the Olympic Games coming up, this doesn't bode very well for London." ...
Senior MPs want to question further one of News International's technology suppliers, after the firm responsible for overseeing its day-to-day emails revealed that hundreds of thousands of them had been deleted on a total of nine occasions from the newspaper publisher's server since May last year.
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
... UPDATE: On Wednesday evening the Guardian sent the following reply to Downing St:
Thank you for your response which, you'll be aware, doesn't answer a single one of the 14 questions we submitted. ...
Thank you for your response which, you'll be aware, doesn't answer a single one of the 14 questions we submitted. ...
The Wall Street Journal "could have done a better job" when it published an interview with proprietor Rupert Murdoch in which he said News Corporation had made only "minor mistakes" in managing the phone-hacking scandal, according to the paper's special editorial committee.
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
Leading lawyers feel client information may have been intercepted after their names were found in Glenn Mulcaire's file
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
Vatican recalls ambassador after Irish PM's comments on sex abuse row
Archbishop Guiseppe Leanza, papal nuncio to Dublin, returns to Rome following Enda Kenny's attack on Vatican role in cover-up
Henry McDonald in Dublin
Monday 25 July 2011
Relations between the Irish government and the Roman Catholic church reached a historic nadir on Monday when the Vatican recalled its ambassador to Dublin, claiming "excessive reactions" in the Republic to the clerical child sex abuse crisis.
The Vatican confirmed that papal nuncio, archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, was returning to Rome for discussions over a damning report published earlier this month that had accused the Catholic hierarchy of undermining the Irish church's own policy of reporting child abuse to the authorities.
His recall followed an unprecedented and blistering attack by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, on the Vatican's role in the alleged cover-up of abuse in the County Cork diocese of Cloyne. ...
Archbishop Guiseppe Leanza, papal nuncio to Dublin, returns to Rome following Enda Kenny's attack on Vatican role in cover-up
Henry McDonald in Dublin
Monday 25 July 2011
Relations between the Irish government and the Roman Catholic church reached a historic nadir on Monday when the Vatican recalled its ambassador to Dublin, claiming "excessive reactions" in the Republic to the clerical child sex abuse crisis.
The Vatican confirmed that papal nuncio, archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, was returning to Rome for discussions over a damning report published earlier this month that had accused the Catholic hierarchy of undermining the Irish church's own policy of reporting child abuse to the authorities.
His recall followed an unprecedented and blistering attack by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, on the Vatican's role in the alleged cover-up of abuse in the County Cork diocese of Cloyne. ...
Record Report
Statement as of 04:25 PM EDT on July 21, 2011
Record high temperature set at Detroit, MI
A record high temperature of 100° was set at Detroit, MI today.
This breaks the old record of 97° which was set in 1926.
Statement as of 04:25 PM EDT on July 21, 2011
Record high temperature set at Detroit, MI
A record high temperature of 100° was set at Detroit, MI today.
This breaks the old record of 97° which was set in 1926.
It’s 85.2°F + 77% humidity + 77°F dew point = 96°F heat index & the clock now says it’s 2.50 AM.
A heat advisory remains in effect until 8 am EDT Wednesday. An
excessive heat watch remains in effect from Wednesday morning
through Thursday evening.
Potential effects...
* a prolonged period or consecutive days of heat can cause a
cumulative effect of heat stress to segments of the
population.
* Those prone to heat stress may suffer, especially when shade
or air conditioning is not available.
* Strenuous outdoor activity may lead to heat injuries such as
heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or heat cramps.
Hazardous weather
* temperatures tonight are only expected to drop into the upper
60s and lower 70s.
* The hottest stretch of the heat wave is expected to affect
southeastern Michigan on Wednesday and Thursday. High
temperatures are expected to range between 95 and 100 degrees
on Wednesday, with temperatures potentially reaching 100
degrees on Thursday.
* A tropical airmass is in place across southeastern Michigan.
With limited airmass modification expected, surface
dewpoints will range in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
* The combination of high heat and humidity will cause heat index
values to climb to around 100 degrees on Wednesday and between
105 and 110 degrees on Thursday. ...
We'd been getting air quality alerts all along too, also. O_o
excessive heat watch remains in effect from Wednesday morning
through Thursday evening.
Potential effects...
* a prolonged period or consecutive days of heat can cause a
cumulative effect of heat stress to segments of the
population.
* Those prone to heat stress may suffer, especially when shade
or air conditioning is not available.
* Strenuous outdoor activity may lead to heat injuries such as
heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or heat cramps.
Hazardous weather
* temperatures tonight are only expected to drop into the upper
60s and lower 70s.
* The hottest stretch of the heat wave is expected to affect
southeastern Michigan on Wednesday and Thursday. High
temperatures are expected to range between 95 and 100 degrees
on Wednesday, with temperatures potentially reaching 100
degrees on Thursday.
* A tropical airmass is in place across southeastern Michigan.
With limited airmass modification expected, surface
dewpoints will range in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
* The combination of high heat and humidity will cause heat index
values to climb to around 100 degrees on Wednesday and between
105 and 110 degrees on Thursday. ...
We'd been getting air quality alerts all along too, also. O_o
A leading tabloid journalist has joined those suing the News of the World for allegedly hacking into voicemails, reviving claims that the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper has been spying on its rivals to steal their stories.
According to the high court registry, Fleet Street veteran Dennis Rice has issued proceedings against the NoW and its private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. Rice, who is now freelance, was the investigations editor at the Mail on Sunday (MoS) when Mulcaire was at the peak of his activity between 2005 and 2006.
A source familiar with Mulcaire's activities claims that, acting on orders from an NoW editorial executive, he intercepted voicemail messages from Rice and half a dozen other journalists at the MoS. They say that among other targets, the paper was keen to steal stories that Rice was filing from Germany, where England were playing in the World Cup in the summer of 2006, generating tabloid interest in the players' wives and girlfriends.
The same source said that by hacking into voicemails, Mulcaire obtained a password which would have allowed him to access the MoS internal computer system, potentially disclosing all of its email traffic and every story awaiting publication.
Some journalists who have worked for the NoW claim they were also attempting to penetrate the security of the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People.
If proved, the claim could break the alliance of silence which has seen most Fleet Street papers refuse to investigate the scandal. Rice's legal action is only the latest in a number of indications that the claim may be correct. ...
According to the high court registry, Fleet Street veteran Dennis Rice has issued proceedings against the NoW and its private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. Rice, who is now freelance, was the investigations editor at the Mail on Sunday (MoS) when Mulcaire was at the peak of his activity between 2005 and 2006.
A source familiar with Mulcaire's activities claims that, acting on orders from an NoW editorial executive, he intercepted voicemail messages from Rice and half a dozen other journalists at the MoS. They say that among other targets, the paper was keen to steal stories that Rice was filing from Germany, where England were playing in the World Cup in the summer of 2006, generating tabloid interest in the players' wives and girlfriends.
The same source said that by hacking into voicemails, Mulcaire obtained a password which would have allowed him to access the MoS internal computer system, potentially disclosing all of its email traffic and every story awaiting publication.
Some journalists who have worked for the NoW claim they were also attempting to penetrate the security of the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People.
If proved, the claim could break the alliance of silence which has seen most Fleet Street papers refuse to investigate the scandal. Rice's legal action is only the latest in a number of indications that the claim may be correct. ...
... Grant...described the closeness of successive governments to the Murdoch press as "repulsive" and claimed his films, such as Love Actually, did not rely on publicity in the tabloid press for their success.
"Only one actress spoke to a newspaper in publicising that film. The tabloid press is completely unnecessary in my industry," said Grant.
He added that a film's success was 97% down to a good film, 2% to publicity material such as a trailer and 1% publicity in the press. "Almost no one will talk to the tabloid press," he said.
"People who have a bit of success in life will do anything in the world to avoid talking to a tabloid newspaper."
Warming to his theme, Grant said: "So little do we need the tabloid press that if I won a big libel case against a tabloid I wouldn't [want money], I would want an assurance that they would never mention my name again.
"We don't need them. The sooner they go out of business the better. They rely almost entirely on stealing people's privacy. Those journalists might go back to proper journalism in six or 12 months. They might actually be grateful ... they might feel better about themselves."
He added: "Basically they have all gone down the easy route, especially in the digital age. They just steal someone's privacy and sell it for money." ...
"Only one actress spoke to a newspaper in publicising that film. The tabloid press is completely unnecessary in my industry," said Grant.
He added that a film's success was 97% down to a good film, 2% to publicity material such as a trailer and 1% publicity in the press. "Almost no one will talk to the tabloid press," he said.
"People who have a bit of success in life will do anything in the world to avoid talking to a tabloid newspaper."
Warming to his theme, Grant said: "So little do we need the tabloid press that if I won a big libel case against a tabloid I wouldn't [want money], I would want an assurance that they would never mention my name again.
"We don't need them. The sooner they go out of business the better. They rely almost entirely on stealing people's privacy. Those journalists might go back to proper journalism in six or 12 months. They might actually be grateful ... they might feel better about themselves."
He added: "Basically they have all gone down the easy route, especially in the digital age. They just steal someone's privacy and sell it for money." ...
Don't let the door.....
Talks on resolving the European debt crisis have been plunged into disarray after the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a maid in a New York hotel.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, was taken from the first class cabin of a Paris-bound Air France flight at JFK airport by plainclothes officers before Manhattan police formally arrested him on charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.
The charges threatened to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and threw open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy.
The allegation is a major embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorised billions of dollars of lending to troubled countries and played a major role in the eurozone debt crisis. The arrest will cast a cloud over the IMF's role in addressing the rescues and is likely to have a major impact on stock markets as traders react to yet more uncertainty in Europe.
Strauss-Kahn had been flying to Europe to discuss the worsening European debt crisis. He had been scheduled to meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Sunday and European financial ministers on Monday and Tuesday. The IMF leader was to have discussed how best to tackle Greece's worsening debt crisis and finalise Portugal's €78bn bailout package.
A senior Greek government official said the arrest would not change the IMF's policy in Greece but could cause delays in the short term. The IMF-led bailout has become increasingly unpopular with other IMF members amid growing doubts about the Greek government's ability and resolve to meet the commitments of the international aid package. ...
Strauss-Kahn, 62, was taken from the first class cabin of a Paris-bound Air France flight at JFK airport by plainclothes officers before Manhattan police formally arrested him on charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.
The charges threatened to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and threw open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy.
The allegation is a major embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorised billions of dollars of lending to troubled countries and played a major role in the eurozone debt crisis. The arrest will cast a cloud over the IMF's role in addressing the rescues and is likely to have a major impact on stock markets as traders react to yet more uncertainty in Europe.
Strauss-Kahn had been flying to Europe to discuss the worsening European debt crisis. He had been scheduled to meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Sunday and European financial ministers on Monday and Tuesday. The IMF leader was to have discussed how best to tackle Greece's worsening debt crisis and finalise Portugal's €78bn bailout package.
A senior Greek government official said the arrest would not change the IMF's policy in Greece but could cause delays in the short term. The IMF-led bailout has become increasingly unpopular with other IMF members amid growing doubts about the Greek government's ability and resolve to meet the commitments of the international aid package. ...
... The allegations spread panic among the left at an extremely awkward time in the runup to the Socialist party's internal battle for a candidate to beat Nicolas Sarkozy. Strauss-Kahn, seen as the biggest danger to Sarkozy, had already been accused of being a champagne socialist in what his allies said was a concerted campaign against him. When Moscovici recently warned against the use of "stink bombs" in the political campaign, many read between the lines that it was a warning about political opponents digging up aspects of Strauss-Kahn's private life and relationship with women.
The far-right politician Marine Le Pen said Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York meant he could no longer run for president. "All of Paris – journalistic Paris, political Paris – has been abuzz for months about the rather pathological relationship that Mr Strauss-Kahn maintains towards women," she said. One rightwing MP from Sarkozy's ruling party compared Strauss-Kahn to JR in the soap opera Dallas.
The full implications of the shame raised by the allegations, on not just the Socialist party but the whole French political class, was apparent in New York's Daily News's headline: "Le Perv".
The far-right politician Marine Le Pen said Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York meant he could no longer run for president. "All of Paris – journalistic Paris, political Paris – has been abuzz for months about the rather pathological relationship that Mr Strauss-Kahn maintains towards women," she said. One rightwing MP from Sarkozy's ruling party compared Strauss-Kahn to JR in the soap opera Dallas.
The full implications of the shame raised by the allegations, on not just the Socialist party but the whole French political class, was apparent in New York's Daily News's headline: "Le Perv".
Even for the Lincoln Centre it was an unusual show, and an unscheduled one. Several hundred protesters turned up outside the arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side last week for the guerrilla screening of a short film. From a hotel on the other side of the street, a video was projected on to the centre's walls. The unwitting stars of the films were David and Charles Koch, the reclusive rightwing billionaire brothers whose secretive empire and network of influence and funding is emerging as a liberal rallying cause in America.
As bemused theatregoers watched the boisterous crowd, the videos depicted facts and figure showing Koch support for Tea Party groups, global warming sceptics and thinktanks seeking to strip away regulations on the environment, cut social security and oppose healthcare reform. On the David H Koch Theatre in the complex – renamed when one of the brothers donated $100m (£62m) in 2008 – activists climbed a ladder to post a giant sticker above the sign bearing Koch's name. "I am the Tea Party's wallet," it read. When the police vans finally arrived, the activists had gone.
For Koch Industries, one of the largest private businesses in America, it was another attempt by liberal groups to drag it into the public eye over accusations that it is corrupting US politics in pursuit of its business interests. There have been lengthy magazine articles investigating its activities, growing protests and a legion of bloggers scouring the company's every move. ...
As bemused theatregoers watched the boisterous crowd, the videos depicted facts and figure showing Koch support for Tea Party groups, global warming sceptics and thinktanks seeking to strip away regulations on the environment, cut social security and oppose healthcare reform. On the David H Koch Theatre in the complex – renamed when one of the brothers donated $100m (£62m) in 2008 – activists climbed a ladder to post a giant sticker above the sign bearing Koch's name. "I am the Tea Party's wallet," it read. When the police vans finally arrived, the activists had gone.
For Koch Industries, one of the largest private businesses in America, it was another attempt by liberal groups to drag it into the public eye over accusations that it is corrupting US politics in pursuit of its business interests. There have been lengthy magazine articles investigating its activities, growing protests and a legion of bloggers scouring the company's every move. ...
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund and the man French Socialists hope will be the next occupant of the Elysée Palace, was arrested at JFK airport in New York on Saturday afternoon accused of a sex attack on a Times Square hotel maid earlier in the day.
He was taken off an Air France flight by officers from the Port Authority of New York and turned over to Manhattan police, according to a spokesman from the agency. Plainclothes officers boarded the flight at 4.45pm, moments before take-off, and took the 62-year-old out of the first-class cabin and into custody. He had been due to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday.
"It was 10 minutes before its scheduled departure," said John Kelly, a Port Authority spokesman.
Port Authority officers were acting on information from the New York Police Department, whose detectives had been investigating a brutal alleged attack on a woman employee at the Sofitel New York on West 44th Street in the heart of the city's theatre district.
The 32-year-old woman told police that she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at about 1pm on Saturday and he emerged from the bedroom naked, threw her down and tried to sexually assault her, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. She broke free and escaped the room and told hotel staff what had happened who called the police.
When New York City police detectives arrived moments later, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his mobile phone and other personal items. "It looked like he got out of there in a hurry," Browne added. ...
He was taken off an Air France flight by officers from the Port Authority of New York and turned over to Manhattan police, according to a spokesman from the agency. Plainclothes officers boarded the flight at 4.45pm, moments before take-off, and took the 62-year-old out of the first-class cabin and into custody. He had been due to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday.
"It was 10 minutes before its scheduled departure," said John Kelly, a Port Authority spokesman.
Port Authority officers were acting on information from the New York Police Department, whose detectives had been investigating a brutal alleged attack on a woman employee at the Sofitel New York on West 44th Street in the heart of the city's theatre district.
The 32-year-old woman told police that she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at about 1pm on Saturday and he emerged from the bedroom naked, threw her down and tried to sexually assault her, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. She broke free and escaped the room and told hotel staff what had happened who called the police.
When New York City police detectives arrived moments later, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his mobile phone and other personal items. "It looked like he got out of there in a hurry," Browne added. ...
Disabled people have faced greater hostility from the public since the government launched its controversial benefits reforms, according to a survey by a leading charity.
A majority said that they experienced hostility, discrimination and even physical attacks from strangers every week and more than a third claimed the position had worsened over the previous 12 months.
Victims blame ministers for portraying all people with disabilities as scroungers as they seek to cut the number of people on the disability living allowance, the benefit now given to 1.9 million people deemed physically unable to work.
The government has presented changes, including the introduction of medical and psychological tests for those claiming the allowance, as a way of getting tough on people who are cheating the system. But Scope, a charity for disabled people, which commissioned the survey, said there was powerful evidence that the "backdrop of negativity" behind the cuts was leading to a rise in hostility and even violence towards some of the most vulnerable in society.
In the survey, 37% of people with disabilities claimed they were increasingly being abused in the streets, erroneously reported to the benefits fraud hotline and accosted when trying to use parking spaces for the disabled. Nearly two- thirds thought others did not believe they were disabled and half of respondents said they felt others presumed they did not work. Around two-thirds of the 676 surveyed said that they expected to experience discrimination when trying to find a job, and more than half expected to be discriminated against in the workplace.
The findings follow last week's protest by several thousand disabled people through London over cuts to services and benefits provided by central and local government. David Gillon, 47, from Chatham, Kent, who suffers from a debilitating back condition, told the Observer he was left distraught when he was recently reported to the Department for Work and Pensions' fraud hotline.
"I spend only about four hours a week outside the house, but I was contacted by the DWP recently because someone had anonymously reported me for cheating," he said. ...
A majority said that they experienced hostility, discrimination and even physical attacks from strangers every week and more than a third claimed the position had worsened over the previous 12 months.
Victims blame ministers for portraying all people with disabilities as scroungers as they seek to cut the number of people on the disability living allowance, the benefit now given to 1.9 million people deemed physically unable to work.
The government has presented changes, including the introduction of medical and psychological tests for those claiming the allowance, as a way of getting tough on people who are cheating the system. But Scope, a charity for disabled people, which commissioned the survey, said there was powerful evidence that the "backdrop of negativity" behind the cuts was leading to a rise in hostility and even violence towards some of the most vulnerable in society.
In the survey, 37% of people with disabilities claimed they were increasingly being abused in the streets, erroneously reported to the benefits fraud hotline and accosted when trying to use parking spaces for the disabled. Nearly two- thirds thought others did not believe they were disabled and half of respondents said they felt others presumed they did not work. Around two-thirds of the 676 surveyed said that they expected to experience discrimination when trying to find a job, and more than half expected to be discriminated against in the workplace.
The findings follow last week's protest by several thousand disabled people through London over cuts to services and benefits provided by central and local government. David Gillon, 47, from Chatham, Kent, who suffers from a debilitating back condition, told the Observer he was left distraught when he was recently reported to the Department for Work and Pensions' fraud hotline.
"I spend only about four hours a week outside the house, but I was contacted by the DWP recently because someone had anonymously reported me for cheating," he said. ...
Libyan regime accused of exploiting boat people
Muammar Gaddafi's officials admit unseaworthy migrant ships are being allowed to sail in protest at Nato air strikes
Muammar Gaddafi's officials admit unseaworthy migrant ships are being allowed to sail in protest at Nato air strikes
Yemeni forces have opened fire on demonstrators in three major cities, killing at least 18 and wounding hundreds in one of the fiercest bouts of violence witnessed in nearly three months of popular unrest aimed at toppling President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The clashes between a defected faction of Yemen's army and the republican guard, have raised fears that Yemen may be reaching a critical juncture as public fury continues to mount at the president's refusal to step down.
Violence broke out in the capital when a throng of 2,000 protesters tore away from the main sit-in area at Sana'a University and surged en masse towards the cabinet building in downtown Sana'a with shouts of "God is great" and "Allah rid us of this tyrant".
As they neared their destination they were halted by republican guards who, after trying to disperse them with tear gas and water cannons, began firing live rounds at the crowd.
Soldiers positioned on the balconies and roofs of nearby houses rained bullets down on the angry mob of protesters, who responded by hurling chunks of broken-off paving slabs.
The standoff, which lasted for around four hours, climaxed when soldiers loyal to a defected general, Major Ali Mohsin, arrived in pickup trucks and began returning fire at Saleh's troops.
It was the first time the two sides have clashed in the capital since Mohsin declared his support for the opposition in late March.
Local press reported that a lieutenant colonel, Yahya Muhammad al-Ansi, belonging to the rebel general's first armoured division, was killed in the clashes. ...
The clashes between a defected faction of Yemen's army and the republican guard, have raised fears that Yemen may be reaching a critical juncture as public fury continues to mount at the president's refusal to step down.
Violence broke out in the capital when a throng of 2,000 protesters tore away from the main sit-in area at Sana'a University and surged en masse towards the cabinet building in downtown Sana'a with shouts of "God is great" and "Allah rid us of this tyrant".
As they neared their destination they were halted by republican guards who, after trying to disperse them with tear gas and water cannons, began firing live rounds at the crowd.
Soldiers positioned on the balconies and roofs of nearby houses rained bullets down on the angry mob of protesters, who responded by hurling chunks of broken-off paving slabs.
The standoff, which lasted for around four hours, climaxed when soldiers loyal to a defected general, Major Ali Mohsin, arrived in pickup trucks and began returning fire at Saleh's troops.
It was the first time the two sides have clashed in the capital since Mohsin declared his support for the opposition in late March.
Local press reported that a lieutenant colonel, Yahya Muhammad al-Ansi, belonging to the rebel general's first armoured division, was killed in the clashes. ...
... Julie Fernandez, who played Brenda in The Office, said the government should be doing more to help disabled people who want to work. A wheelchair user, she said: "The government want to get people into employment in principle, but we are living in a recession and the business community don't see disabled people as viable employees.
"They see us as people who are going to be taking time off sick or who aren't intelligent enough. They should stop penalising disabled people and start making the business community and public transport more accessible."Fernandez, 37, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said the film and TV industry was "incredibly discriminatory" as it was still seen as acceptable to have able-bodied actors playing disabled characters. "There are millions of people across the UK with permanent disabilities. They need to be supported – they don't need to be living in fear of having their benefits taken away."
Carrying a black coffin with the words "disability equality" on the side, Mary Carr, 46, accused the government of "demonising disabled people".
Carr said: "I'm fortunate in that I can hold down a job. I have access to work support and the government pays for taxis to take me to work. They haven't cut that, but the warning signs are there.
"A lot of my disabled colleagues have lost their jobs, because in public services they are targeting local offices and disabled people can't travel to get to other places. We signed up to the European convention for people with disabilities, but if you go through the effects of the cuts – transport, education, housing – all the rights I have to take part in society are being eroded. It's the poor and disabled who are more reliant on the public sector." Sheila Gardiner, 62, from Derbyshire, was a book keeper until she had a stroke five years ago. Now unable to walk or transfer from her wheelchair unaided, she lives in a Leonard Cheshire disability care home, and currently gets £49.85 DLA support every week, which is under threat. Gardiner said: "Britain is going backwards towards Victorian times when people were either very rich or very poor."
The Hardest Hit march was organised by the UK Disabled People's Council and the Disability Benefits Consortium, and was supported by organisations including Mind, Mencap RNIB and Sense. ...
"They see us as people who are going to be taking time off sick or who aren't intelligent enough. They should stop penalising disabled people and start making the business community and public transport more accessible."Fernandez, 37, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said the film and TV industry was "incredibly discriminatory" as it was still seen as acceptable to have able-bodied actors playing disabled characters. "There are millions of people across the UK with permanent disabilities. They need to be supported – they don't need to be living in fear of having their benefits taken away."
Carrying a black coffin with the words "disability equality" on the side, Mary Carr, 46, accused the government of "demonising disabled people".
Carr said: "I'm fortunate in that I can hold down a job. I have access to work support and the government pays for taxis to take me to work. They haven't cut that, but the warning signs are there.
"A lot of my disabled colleagues have lost their jobs, because in public services they are targeting local offices and disabled people can't travel to get to other places. We signed up to the European convention for people with disabilities, but if you go through the effects of the cuts – transport, education, housing – all the rights I have to take part in society are being eroded. It's the poor and disabled who are more reliant on the public sector." Sheila Gardiner, 62, from Derbyshire, was a book keeper until she had a stroke five years ago. Now unable to walk or transfer from her wheelchair unaided, she lives in a Leonard Cheshire disability care home, and currently gets £49.85 DLA support every week, which is under threat. Gardiner said: "Britain is going backwards towards Victorian times when people were either very rich or very poor."
The Hardest Hit march was organised by the UK Disabled People's Council and the Disability Benefits Consortium, and was supported by organisations including Mind, Mencap RNIB and Sense. ...
The great corporate tax swindle
It's astounding how our politicians have bought in to firms' tax blackmail. But there is an alternative: workplace democracy
It's astounding how our politicians have bought in to firms' tax blackmail. But there is an alternative: workplace democracy
Financial Services Authority wants banks to speed up PPI payouts
• Barclays sets aside £1bn to cover compensation
• British Bankers Association drops case
• Payment protection insurance wrongly sold to millions
• Barclays sets aside £1bn to cover compensation
• British Bankers Association drops case
• Payment protection insurance wrongly sold to millions
Ian Tomlinson death: IPCC rules Met officer 'reckless' in conduct
Detective Inspector Eddie Hall falsely claimed Tomlinson fell down before encountering PC Simon Harwood
Detective Inspector Eddie Hall falsely claimed Tomlinson fell down before encountering PC Simon Harwood
Britain's wealthiest residents have recouped their losses from the financial crisis and are now just short of the record registered before the 2008 financial crash.
While most of the country struggles through the fallout from recession and government cuts, the UK's 1,000 richest people are now worth £396bn, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List. That figure is just 4% below that recorded at the height of the boom in 2008, before the financial crisis hammered large dents in many fortunes.
There are now 73 sterling billionaires, an increase of 20 on last year's total and just two short of the all-time high. Meanwhile, a fortune of at least £70m is required to feature among the country's 1,000 richest, up from £55m in 2009 and £63m in 2010.
Chuka Umunna, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee, said: "Clearly we are not all in this together. In this time of austerity many independent experts such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies have found that the impact is falling heavier on lower-income families and middle Britain.
"It is not indulging in the politics of envy to say that you want to find a more fair and equitable society. The challenge is to find a system that doesn't just work for the wealthy but also works for everybody else more effectively." ...
While most of the country struggles through the fallout from recession and government cuts, the UK's 1,000 richest people are now worth £396bn, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List. That figure is just 4% below that recorded at the height of the boom in 2008, before the financial crisis hammered large dents in many fortunes.
There are now 73 sterling billionaires, an increase of 20 on last year's total and just two short of the all-time high. Meanwhile, a fortune of at least £70m is required to feature among the country's 1,000 richest, up from £55m in 2009 and £63m in 2010.
Chuka Umunna, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee, said: "Clearly we are not all in this together. In this time of austerity many independent experts such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies have found that the impact is falling heavier on lower-income families and middle Britain.
"It is not indulging in the politics of envy to say that you want to find a more fair and equitable society. The challenge is to find a system that doesn't just work for the wealthy but also works for everybody else more effectively." ...
Iran helping Syrian regime crack down on protesters, say diplomats
Claim comes as four women shot dead by security forces in first use of violence against an all-female demonstration
Claim comes as four women shot dead by security forces in first use of violence against an all-female demonstration
Syrian tanks move into city of Homs
12-year-old boy reported killed as residents describe hearing gunfire and shelling
12-year-old boy reported killed as residents describe hearing gunfire and shelling
When a police officer from Toronto went on a routine visit to Osgoode Hall Law School to advise the students on personal safety, little did he know that he would unwittingly inspire a movement that has caught fire across Canada and the US.
"You know, I think we're beating around the bush here," Michael Sanguinetti began, blandly enough, as he addressed the 10 students who turned up for the pep talk. Then he said: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised." ...
... Another sign at the rally read: "It was Christmas Day. I was 14 and raped in a stairwell wearing snowshoes and layers. Did I deserve it too?" ...
... "We live in a society where rape isn't taken as seriously as it should be," said Katt Schott-Mancini, one of the organisers of the Boston SlutWalk.
"There's victim blaming: the idea that the victim of rape did something wrong. What you are wearing doesn't cause rape – the rapist causes it."
Schott-Mancini said she was herself a survivor of abuse by a former partner. "People belittled me, implying that it was my fault and that I shouldn't be an independent woman," she added.
The SlutWalks have particularly taken off among college students, given the location of the officer's remarks and the high prevalence of sexual violence on campus. The US government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that up to one in four women in US universities report having experienced an attempted or completed rape while in college. ...
"You know, I think we're beating around the bush here," Michael Sanguinetti began, blandly enough, as he addressed the 10 students who turned up for the pep talk. Then he said: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised." ...
... Another sign at the rally read: "It was Christmas Day. I was 14 and raped in a stairwell wearing snowshoes and layers. Did I deserve it too?" ...
... "We live in a society where rape isn't taken as seriously as it should be," said Katt Schott-Mancini, one of the organisers of the Boston SlutWalk.
"There's victim blaming: the idea that the victim of rape did something wrong. What you are wearing doesn't cause rape – the rapist causes it."
Schott-Mancini said she was herself a survivor of abuse by a former partner. "People belittled me, implying that it was my fault and that I shouldn't be an independent woman," she added.
The SlutWalks have particularly taken off among college students, given the location of the officer's remarks and the high prevalence of sexual violence on campus. The US government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that up to one in four women in US universities report having experienced an attempted or completed rape while in college. ...
Riots have swept across the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in the biggest anti-government protest in sub-Saharan Africa so far this year.
Security forces have launched a brutal crackdown, opening fire on unarmed civilians with live rounds, rubber bullets and teargas. Two people have been killed, more than 120 wounded and around 360 arrested. Women and girls have been among those beaten, according to witnesses.
Two weeks of growing unrest – sparked by rising food and fuel prices – have gained fresh impetus after the violent arrest of the opposition leader Kizza Besigye on Thursday. Critics say President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 25 years, is losing his grip. They claim his wildly disproportionate crackdown on Besigye's "walk to work" protests smacks of panic and is sowing the seeds of popular revolt.
"I thought the police were going to kill me," said Andrew Kibwka, 18, after police with heavy sticks rained blows on him. "I was telling them I'm harmless but they just carried on. I did nothing to provoke them. They beat me because I was running away."
Some point to the political earthquakes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and wonder if the aftershocks could reach tyrannies south of the Sahara. Already there are pockets of unrest from Burkina Faso to Senegal to Swaziland. Even South Africa, reputed anchor of the continent, is tormented by deadly protests over poor public service delivery.
In Uganda there is an inchoate revolution struggling to be born. Protests have spread to several towns, leaving seven people dead and hundreds in jail. The riots, in which roads have been barricaded with burning tyres and vehicles pelted with rocks, mark a new level of defiance. Facebook and Twitter, which the government unsuccessfully tried to block, are reverberating with dissent. Museveni's heavyhanded attempts to put out the fire only appear to be fanning its flames. ...
Security forces have launched a brutal crackdown, opening fire on unarmed civilians with live rounds, rubber bullets and teargas. Two people have been killed, more than 120 wounded and around 360 arrested. Women and girls have been among those beaten, according to witnesses.
Two weeks of growing unrest – sparked by rising food and fuel prices – have gained fresh impetus after the violent arrest of the opposition leader Kizza Besigye on Thursday. Critics say President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 25 years, is losing his grip. They claim his wildly disproportionate crackdown on Besigye's "walk to work" protests smacks of panic and is sowing the seeds of popular revolt.
"I thought the police were going to kill me," said Andrew Kibwka, 18, after police with heavy sticks rained blows on him. "I was telling them I'm harmless but they just carried on. I did nothing to provoke them. They beat me because I was running away."
Some point to the political earthquakes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and wonder if the aftershocks could reach tyrannies south of the Sahara. Already there are pockets of unrest from Burkina Faso to Senegal to Swaziland. Even South Africa, reputed anchor of the continent, is tormented by deadly protests over poor public service delivery.
In Uganda there is an inchoate revolution struggling to be born. Protests have spread to several towns, leaving seven people dead and hundreds in jail. The riots, in which roads have been barricaded with burning tyres and vehicles pelted with rocks, mark a new level of defiance. Facebook and Twitter, which the government unsuccessfully tried to block, are reverberating with dissent. Museveni's heavyhanded attempts to put out the fire only appear to be fanning its flames. ...
Syrian security forces opened fire on a demonstration on Friday in the coastal city of Latakia – the heartland of the ruling elite – wounding at least five people as thousands took to the streets in several places across the country, witnesses said.
President Bashar al-Assad's regime has stepped up its deadly crackdown on protesters in recent days by unleashing the army along with snipers and tanks. On Friday protesters came out in their thousands, defying the crackdown and using it as a rallying cry.
A witness in Latakia said about 1,000 people turned out for an anti-government rally when plainclothes security agents with automatic rifles opened fire. He said he saw at least five people wounded. Like many witnesses contacted by the Associated Press, he asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisal.
Other demonstrations were reported in Banias and in the north-eastern city of Qamishli.
The government had warned against holding any demonstrations on Friday. Syrian state television said the interior ministry had not approved any "march, demonstration or sit-ins" and that such rallies sought only to harm Syria's security and stability.
Many of the protests were held in remembrance of more than 50 people killed in the last week alone in Deraa, a southern city at the centre of the revolt. Deraa has been under military siege since Monday when thousands of soldiers stormed in backed by tanks and snipers.
A devastating picture has been emerging from the city – which is largely sealed off, without electricity and telephones – as residents flee to neighbouring countries. ...
President Bashar al-Assad's regime has stepped up its deadly crackdown on protesters in recent days by unleashing the army along with snipers and tanks. On Friday protesters came out in their thousands, defying the crackdown and using it as a rallying cry.
A witness in Latakia said about 1,000 people turned out for an anti-government rally when plainclothes security agents with automatic rifles opened fire. He said he saw at least five people wounded. Like many witnesses contacted by the Associated Press, he asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisal.
Other demonstrations were reported in Banias and in the north-eastern city of Qamishli.
The government had warned against holding any demonstrations on Friday. Syrian state television said the interior ministry had not approved any "march, demonstration or sit-ins" and that such rallies sought only to harm Syria's security and stability.
Many of the protests were held in remembrance of more than 50 people killed in the last week alone in Deraa, a southern city at the centre of the revolt. Deraa has been under military siege since Monday when thousands of soldiers stormed in backed by tanks and snipers.
A devastating picture has been emerging from the city – which is largely sealed off, without electricity and telephones – as residents flee to neighbouring countries. ...
Activists are claiming that dozens of politically linked Facebook accounts have been removed or suspended by the company in the last 12 hours.
The list of suspended pages include those for the anti cuts group UK Uncut, and pages that were created by students during last December's university occupations.
A list posted on the UCL occupation blog site says the Goldsmiths Fights Back, Slade Occupation, Open Brikbeck, and Tower Hamlet Greens pages as no longer functioning.
It is not yet known how many websites have been affected in total or why they are not working. Facebook is currently looking into the issue.
Guy Aitchison, 26, an administrator for one of the non-functioning pages said, "I woke up this morning to find that a lot of the groups we'd been using for anti-cuts activity had disappeared. The timing of it seems suspicious given a general political crackdown because of the royal wedding."
"It seems that dozens of other groups have also been affected, including some of the local UK Uncut groups."
Earlier, it was reported that the Metropolitan police had invoked special powers to deter anarchists in central London ahead of the royal wedding.
Police threw a section 60 cordon around the whole of the royal wedding zone on Friday morning to respond to anarchists masking up at a small gathering in Soho Square in central London. ...
The list of suspended pages include those for the anti cuts group UK Uncut, and pages that were created by students during last December's university occupations.
A list posted on the UCL occupation blog site says the Goldsmiths Fights Back, Slade Occupation, Open Brikbeck, and Tower Hamlet Greens pages as no longer functioning.
It is not yet known how many websites have been affected in total or why they are not working. Facebook is currently looking into the issue.
Guy Aitchison, 26, an administrator for one of the non-functioning pages said, "I woke up this morning to find that a lot of the groups we'd been using for anti-cuts activity had disappeared. The timing of it seems suspicious given a general political crackdown because of the royal wedding."
"It seems that dozens of other groups have also been affected, including some of the local UK Uncut groups."
Earlier, it was reported that the Metropolitan police had invoked special powers to deter anarchists in central London ahead of the royal wedding.
Police threw a section 60 cordon around the whole of the royal wedding zone on Friday morning to respond to anarchists masking up at a small gathering in Soho Square in central London. ...
The Metropolitan police has admitted that during the first four years of the phone-hacking affair it warned only 36 people they may have been targeted by the News of the World's private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
Scotland Yard's latest inquiry, which was launched in January, is believed to be contacting up to 4,000 people whose names and personal details were found in Mulcaire's possession during the original police investigation in 2006.
The disclosure of the number – which Scotland Yard had previously insisted on keeping secret – exposes the Met to the complaint that it breached an agreement with the director of public prosecutions that it would warn all "potential victims" in the affair.
It will also revive criticism that it has consistently played down the scale of criminal activity commissioned by the News of the World.
Scotland Yard has previously repeatedly refused to disclose the number of victims it had warned, rejecting applications under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that releasing it would necessarily disclose the identities of those warned, and that this would breach their privacy.
However, in a sharp change of policy, the Met's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, volunteered that during the 2006 inquiry police had warned 28 people they may have been victims; and that after the Guardian revived the affair in July 2009 they warned eight more.
In a letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, Yates – who was responsible for dealing with the hacking affair for nearly 20 months – gave no explanation for the failure to inform more than 36 potential victims. He said: "I have accepted that more could and should have been done in relation to those who may have been potential victims." ...
Scotland Yard's latest inquiry, which was launched in January, is believed to be contacting up to 4,000 people whose names and personal details were found in Mulcaire's possession during the original police investigation in 2006.
The disclosure of the number – which Scotland Yard had previously insisted on keeping secret – exposes the Met to the complaint that it breached an agreement with the director of public prosecutions that it would warn all "potential victims" in the affair.
It will also revive criticism that it has consistently played down the scale of criminal activity commissioned by the News of the World.
Scotland Yard has previously repeatedly refused to disclose the number of victims it had warned, rejecting applications under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that releasing it would necessarily disclose the identities of those warned, and that this would breach their privacy.
However, in a sharp change of policy, the Met's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, volunteered that during the 2006 inquiry police had warned 28 people they may have been victims; and that after the Guardian revived the affair in July 2009 they warned eight more.
In a letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, Yates – who was responsible for dealing with the hacking affair for nearly 20 months – gave no explanation for the failure to inform more than 36 potential victims. He said: "I have accepted that more could and should have been done in relation to those who may have been potential victims." ...
The White House is preparing to introduce new sanctions against the Syrian regime in response to a military crackdown that saw tanks and armoured cars deployed against protesters on Monday.
The Obama administration condemned "the brutal violence used by the government of Syria", describing it as deplorable, and adding: "The United States is pursuing a range of possible policy options, including targeted sanctions, to respond to the crackdown and make clear that this behaviour is unacceptable."
Human rights groups estimate that about 350 people have died so far in Syria, 100 of them on Friday. Troops mounted a major assault Monday on Deraa, the city where the uprising began a month ago, and Douma, a suburb of Damascus.
It was apparently the first time that tanks have been used. Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria, who is in exile in Egypt, was quoted by Reuters as saying at least 18 people died in Deraa alone.
The US, having announced sanctions unilaterally, is putting pressure on the UK and other European countries to impose sanctions against the Syrian regime.
The US treasury department and other American agencies are discussing freezing the assets of senior officials accused of human rights abuses and banning them from travelling to the US or doing business there. Such sanctions are mainly symbolic, as the US has long had stringent measures in place against Syria and has little trade with the country. Sanctions by European countries, with whom Syria has extensive trade, would have more impact and several members of the Syrian government have assets in Europe. ...
The Obama administration condemned "the brutal violence used by the government of Syria", describing it as deplorable, and adding: "The United States is pursuing a range of possible policy options, including targeted sanctions, to respond to the crackdown and make clear that this behaviour is unacceptable."
Human rights groups estimate that about 350 people have died so far in Syria, 100 of them on Friday. Troops mounted a major assault Monday on Deraa, the city where the uprising began a month ago, and Douma, a suburb of Damascus.
It was apparently the first time that tanks have been used. Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria, who is in exile in Egypt, was quoted by Reuters as saying at least 18 people died in Deraa alone.
The US, having announced sanctions unilaterally, is putting pressure on the UK and other European countries to impose sanctions against the Syrian regime.
The US treasury department and other American agencies are discussing freezing the assets of senior officials accused of human rights abuses and banning them from travelling to the US or doing business there. Such sanctions are mainly symbolic, as the US has long had stringent measures in place against Syria and has little trade with the country. Sanctions by European countries, with whom Syria has extensive trade, would have more impact and several members of the Syrian government have assets in Europe. ...
Bahrain accused of systematic attacks on doctors
Medical workers targeted because they have evidence of security force atrocities, claims US-based human rights group
Medical workers targeted because they have evidence of security force atrocities, claims US-based human rights group
Syria troops kill protesters in country's bloodiest day of turmoil
Dozens reportedly killed as live bullets and teargas used against rallies after Friday prayers
Dozens reportedly killed as live bullets and teargas used against rallies after Friday prayers
The Nation magazine has revealed that Koch Industries sent a letter to most of its 50,000 employees on the eve of the November elections, advising them on whom to vote for and warning them of the dire consequences should they choose to vote otherwise. As a result of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling last year, Koch Industries and other corporations are now legally allowed to pressure their workers to adopt their political views. Koch Industries is run by the billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, who have helped bankroll the Tea Party movement and dozens of other right-wing causes, including the recent attacks on public sector employees and unions going on in many states. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Security researchers have discovered that Apple's iPhone keeps track of where you go – and saves every detail of it to a secret file on the device which is then copied to the owner's computer when the two are synchronised.
The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone's recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner's movements using a simple program.
For some phones, there could be almost a year's worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple's iOS 4 update to the phone's operating system, released in June 2010.
"Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you've been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.
Only the iPhone records the user's location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn't find any," said Warden. "We haven't come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this."
Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: "This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone's life – just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage."
Warden and Allan point out that the file is moved onto new devices when an old one is replaced: "Apple might have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that's our specualtion. The fact that [the file] is transferred across [to a new iPhone or iPad] when you migrate is evidence that the data-gathering isn't accidental." But they said it does not seem to be transmitted to Apple itself. ...
The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone's recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner's movements using a simple program.
For some phones, there could be almost a year's worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple's iOS 4 update to the phone's operating system, released in June 2010.
"Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you've been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.
Only the iPhone records the user's location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn't find any," said Warden. "We haven't come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this."
Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: "This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone's life – just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage."
Warden and Allan point out that the file is moved onto new devices when an old one is replaced: "Apple might have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that's our specualtion. The fact that [the file] is transferred across [to a new iPhone or iPad] when you migrate is evidence that the data-gathering isn't accidental." But they said it does not seem to be transmitted to Apple itself. ...
Britain's banks will be forced to re-open thousands of claims over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and pay up to £4.5bn in compensation following a high court ruling.
PPI is insurance typically sold to consumers at the point of sale of personal loans, credit cards and other forms of debt, which is designed to meet their repayments in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment. Many customers have discovered after paying for PPI policies that they would never qualify for a payout due to exclusions in the terms and conditions, while others didn't even realise they had signed up to buy the insurance.
In December the Financial Services Authority introduced rules to stop mis-selling, which required providers to talk customers through the key features of a policy rather than assuming they will read any relevant documentation, and make it clear that the cover is optional.
But the banks, represented by trade body the British Bankers' Association, compained that the rules were unfair because they would be applied retrospectively. In January the BBA launched a high court challenge against the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman – but today's ruling found against them. They could now face a bill of up to £4.5bn – £1.3bn for new complaints received during the coming five years and up to £3.2bn as a result of reviewing previous PPI sales.
The high court judgment endorsed the approach taken by the ombudsman and the FSA, and the banks now have 21 days to appeal.
Several banks had put PPI complaints on hold until the outcome of the judicial review was known. However, the FSA made it clear they should still be dealing with complaints, and anyone whose bank has not dealt with their complaint within eight weeks is entitled to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The ombudsman service said the lack of cooperation from some financial businesses has made it difficult to progress PPI cases over this period. "However, the clear-cut judgment means that banks and other financial businesses should now be in the position to deal promptly, efficiently and fairly with their customers' PPI complaints," a statement said. ...
PPI is insurance typically sold to consumers at the point of sale of personal loans, credit cards and other forms of debt, which is designed to meet their repayments in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment. Many customers have discovered after paying for PPI policies that they would never qualify for a payout due to exclusions in the terms and conditions, while others didn't even realise they had signed up to buy the insurance.
In December the Financial Services Authority introduced rules to stop mis-selling, which required providers to talk customers through the key features of a policy rather than assuming they will read any relevant documentation, and make it clear that the cover is optional.
But the banks, represented by trade body the British Bankers' Association, compained that the rules were unfair because they would be applied retrospectively. In January the BBA launched a high court challenge against the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman – but today's ruling found against them. They could now face a bill of up to £4.5bn – £1.3bn for new complaints received during the coming five years and up to £3.2bn as a result of reviewing previous PPI sales.
The high court judgment endorsed the approach taken by the ombudsman and the FSA, and the banks now have 21 days to appeal.
Several banks had put PPI complaints on hold until the outcome of the judicial review was known. However, the FSA made it clear they should still be dealing with complaints, and anyone whose bank has not dealt with their complaint within eight weeks is entitled to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The ombudsman service said the lack of cooperation from some financial businesses has made it difficult to progress PPI cases over this period. "However, the clear-cut judgment means that banks and other financial businesses should now be in the position to deal promptly, efficiently and fairly with their customers' PPI complaints," a statement said. ...
How much did your pay go up in 2010? How about your friends and family? Working people in America are hurting—that’s for sure. They’re lucky to have jobs at all—and if they have jobs, odds are their pay is pretty much flat, or worse.
Now, consider this: In 2010, the average pay of a CEO at a major American company went up by 23 percent—to $11.4 million.
Despite the collapse of the financial markets at the hands of many of these same executives less than three years ago, the disparity between CEO and workers’ pay has continued to grow to levels that are simply stunning.
Take a look at 2011 Executive PayWatch, released this morning, to find out just how outrageous things have gotten.
Instead of investing to create good middle-class jobs and grow the economy, corporate CEOs are hoarding $2 trillion in cash.
Except, of course, when it comes to their own paychecks.
Go to the site, www.PayWatch.org, to see some of the worst examples of CEO pay.
Although pay is more out of balance than it has been during most of our lifetimes, for the first time there is hope that things are changing.
That’s because of a new law—the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2011. It’s a law that’s working today.
This year, for the first time ever, every public company is giving its shareholders an advisory vote on CEO pay. And soon, companies will be required to disclose the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay for their median employee—which will publicize just how inequitable things are at individual corporations.
These powerful new rules already are under attack—congressional Republicans have announced their intention to repeal Wall Street reform.
Go to www.PayWatch.org to urge Congress to keep tools for reining in CEO pay, share ridiculous pay disparities with your friends on Facebook, and help us build a movement to keep Wall Street in check.
In 2010, while most Americans were learning the hard way how to make do with less, and small businesses all across the country were shutting their doors, CEOs at our largest companies and Wall Street executives still found a way to make out like bandits. That’s something that’s got to change.
Of course, corporate CEOs would prefer to keep the public in the dark about the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay at their company. And it’s no surprise they wish shareholders didn’t have a “say on pay” vote.
But it shocks me they have the nerve to argue for these policies in public—and lobby for them—after their companies drove our country off an economic cliff. As if this is an argument they actually can win. ...
Now, consider this: In 2010, the average pay of a CEO at a major American company went up by 23 percent—to $11.4 million.
Despite the collapse of the financial markets at the hands of many of these same executives less than three years ago, the disparity between CEO and workers’ pay has continued to grow to levels that are simply stunning.
Take a look at 2011 Executive PayWatch, released this morning, to find out just how outrageous things have gotten.
Instead of investing to create good middle-class jobs and grow the economy, corporate CEOs are hoarding $2 trillion in cash.
Except, of course, when it comes to their own paychecks.
Go to the site, www.PayWatch.org, to see some of the worst examples of CEO pay.
Although pay is more out of balance than it has been during most of our lifetimes, for the first time there is hope that things are changing.
That’s because of a new law—the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2011. It’s a law that’s working today.
This year, for the first time ever, every public company is giving its shareholders an advisory vote on CEO pay. And soon, companies will be required to disclose the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay for their median employee—which will publicize just how inequitable things are at individual corporations.
These powerful new rules already are under attack—congressional Republicans have announced their intention to repeal Wall Street reform.
Go to www.PayWatch.org to urge Congress to keep tools for reining in CEO pay, share ridiculous pay disparities with your friends on Facebook, and help us build a movement to keep Wall Street in check.
In 2010, while most Americans were learning the hard way how to make do with less, and small businesses all across the country were shutting their doors, CEOs at our largest companies and Wall Street executives still found a way to make out like bandits. That’s something that’s got to change.
Of course, corporate CEOs would prefer to keep the public in the dark about the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay at their company. And it’s no surprise they wish shareholders didn’t have a “say on pay” vote.
But it shocks me they have the nerve to argue for these policies in public—and lobby for them—after their companies drove our country off an economic cliff. As if this is an argument they actually can win. ...
Fish worth £4m seized in EU crackdown on illegal fishing
Catches of octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper, allegedly caught using child labour, impounded in Canary Islands
Catches of octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper, allegedly caught using child labour, impounded in Canary Islands
... Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, collapsed and died less than three minutes after being hit with a baton and pushed to the ground by a police officer, PC Simon Harwood, during the demonstrations near the Bank of England.
He had been trying to get home from work at around 7.20pm on 1 April 2009 when he encountered the Metropolitan police officer.
Paramedics were unable to resuscitate Tomlinson, a father of nine, who was pronounced dead more than an hour later.
Prof Kevin Channer, a heart expert at Royal Hallamshire hospital, was asked by the inquest to analyse chart readings from a defibrillator that was used on Tomlinson by paramedics.
Channer's expert evidence, contained in a report to the inquest, was that the electrocardiogram (ECG) data obtained by paramedics as they fought to resuscitate Tomlinson was inconsistent with an arrhythmic heart attack. The heart pulse data was however consistent with the 47-year-old dying of internal bleeding, Channer said.
The medical cause of Tomlinson's death has proved a key area of controversy in his inquest, which is now in its fourth week. ...
He had been trying to get home from work at around 7.20pm on 1 April 2009 when he encountered the Metropolitan police officer.
Paramedics were unable to resuscitate Tomlinson, a father of nine, who was pronounced dead more than an hour later.
Prof Kevin Channer, a heart expert at Royal Hallamshire hospital, was asked by the inquest to analyse chart readings from a defibrillator that was used on Tomlinson by paramedics.
Channer's expert evidence, contained in a report to the inquest, was that the electrocardiogram (ECG) data obtained by paramedics as they fought to resuscitate Tomlinson was inconsistent with an arrhythmic heart attack. The heart pulse data was however consistent with the 47-year-old dying of internal bleeding, Channer said.
The medical cause of Tomlinson's death has proved a key area of controversy in his inquest, which is now in its fourth week. ...
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across Yemen on Sunday, denouncing President Ali Abdullah Saleh for saying women should not take part in protest rallies.
At least 10 people were shot and wounded in Sana'a by forces loyal to the president, doctors said, and around 200 were overcome by teargas. Clashes were also reported to have taken place in Dhamar, just south of the capital.
In a speech on Friday, Saleh had condemned the mingling of men and women at demonstrations, saying it violated Islamic law. The comments enraged many Yemenis and prompted the youth movement to call for mass protests, on what they called a day of honour and dignity.
There was a significant turnout, with more than 100,000 people – including significant numbers of women – taking to the streets in Taiz, and tens of thousands more marching in Ibb, Aden, Shabwa and other cities. Demonstrators also demanded the president step down.
Abdel-Malek al-Youssefi, a youth movement activist and organiser, said the protests could be "the last nail in Saleh's coffin".
Yemen has been racked with anti-government demonstrations for the past two months. The protesters are calling for steps to improve livelihoods and open up the country's restricted political life.
A young woman first led anti-Saleh rallies on a university campus in January, but women did not begin taking part in large numbers until early last month.
While Yemen has conservative social and religious traditions, women can vote, run for parliament and drive cars, unlike in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Near-daily protests and defections by key allies in the military, powerful tribes and diplomatic corps have failed to bring an end to Saleh's 32-year autocratic rule. A crackdown on protesters by government forces has killed more than 120 people, according to Yemeni rights groups, but has not deterred the crowds from gathering.
Last week, the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council suggested Saleh transfer power to his deputy, seeking an end to the unrest. The opposition criticised the proposal for not suggesting that the power transfer should be immediate. Opposition members are expected in the Saudi capital on Sunday to explain their position to Riyadh and other Gulf mediators. ...
At least 10 people were shot and wounded in Sana'a by forces loyal to the president, doctors said, and around 200 were overcome by teargas. Clashes were also reported to have taken place in Dhamar, just south of the capital.
In a speech on Friday, Saleh had condemned the mingling of men and women at demonstrations, saying it violated Islamic law. The comments enraged many Yemenis and prompted the youth movement to call for mass protests, on what they called a day of honour and dignity.
There was a significant turnout, with more than 100,000 people – including significant numbers of women – taking to the streets in Taiz, and tens of thousands more marching in Ibb, Aden, Shabwa and other cities. Demonstrators also demanded the president step down.
Abdel-Malek al-Youssefi, a youth movement activist and organiser, said the protests could be "the last nail in Saleh's coffin".
Yemen has been racked with anti-government demonstrations for the past two months. The protesters are calling for steps to improve livelihoods and open up the country's restricted political life.
A young woman first led anti-Saleh rallies on a university campus in January, but women did not begin taking part in large numbers until early last month.
While Yemen has conservative social and religious traditions, women can vote, run for parliament and drive cars, unlike in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Near-daily protests and defections by key allies in the military, powerful tribes and diplomatic corps have failed to bring an end to Saleh's 32-year autocratic rule. A crackdown on protesters by government forces has killed more than 120 people, according to Yemeni rights groups, but has not deterred the crowds from gathering.
Last week, the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council suggested Saleh transfer power to his deputy, seeking an end to the unrest. The opposition criticised the proposal for not suggesting that the power transfer should be immediate. Opposition members are expected in the Saudi capital on Sunday to explain their position to Riyadh and other Gulf mediators. ...
Senior officers policing protests in London last month focused too heavily on kettling to contain activists, Liberty says. The rights group, which had 120 observers, including two inside Scotland Yard's special operations room (SOR), for the TUC march on 26 March, said the tactic was "under near constant consideration" when potential trouble emerged.
"In the SOR, there seemed to be a continual expectation that a containment would be imposed at some point," Liberty's report said, adding that the tactic "does appear seriously to undermine the relationship of trust and confidence between peaceful protesters and the police".
The report added: "The possibility of mass containment of peaceful protesters has undoubtedly had a chilling effect on many people's rights to freedom of expression and assembly." ...
"In the SOR, there seemed to be a continual expectation that a containment would be imposed at some point," Liberty's report said, adding that the tactic "does appear seriously to undermine the relationship of trust and confidence between peaceful protesters and the police".
The report added: "The possibility of mass containment of peaceful protesters has undoubtedly had a chilling effect on many people's rights to freedom of expression and assembly." ...
... Successfully forging the belief that tabloid journalism is a worthwhile use of your brief time on this planet must require a mental leap beyond the reach of Galileo. This is one reason why so many tabloid stories are routinely peppered with lies – if their staff didn't continually flex their delusion muscles, a torrent of dark, awful self-awareness might rush into their heads like unforgiving black water pouring through the side of a stricken submarine, and they'd all slash their wrists open right there at their workstations. The newsroom hubbub would be regularly broken by the dispiriting thump of lifeless heads thunking on to desks. Each morning their bosses would have to clear all the spent corpses away with a bulldozer and hire a fresh team of soon-to-be-heartbroken lifewasters to replace the ones who couldn't make it, whose powers of self-deception simply weren't up to the job. Who couldn't cope with the knowledge that they were wasting their lives actively making the world worse.
And now – on top of all of these trials and indignities, on top of the harrowing leukaemia-of-the-soul their career choice inflicts upon them – now their job has got even harder. Because for a while, at least, wasting your life actively making the world worse was relatively easy. You could pay someone to root through someone's dustbins. Then, when the early mobiles arrived, you could get a £59 frequency scanner and sit outside a soap star's flat, surreptitiously recording their calls. And when phones went digital, there was the voicemail wheeze, which made life even easier. You could sit at your desk illegally invading the privacy of strangers just by pushing buttons.
But now, having abused all those tricks, like they abused their talent – not for any noble cause, but to find out which girlband member snogged which boyband member – those easy games are up. And it couldn't have come at a worse time: with plummeting sales, the need for sensational stories is higher than ever. All of which means all those people wasting their lives actively making the world worse will now have to expend colossal effort in order to do so: like prisoners forced at gunpoint to dig their own graves – but with a rubber shovel.
There is no fate more tragic. Pity them. Pity them hard.
And now – on top of all of these trials and indignities, on top of the harrowing leukaemia-of-the-soul their career choice inflicts upon them – now their job has got even harder. Because for a while, at least, wasting your life actively making the world worse was relatively easy. You could pay someone to root through someone's dustbins. Then, when the early mobiles arrived, you could get a £59 frequency scanner and sit outside a soap star's flat, surreptitiously recording their calls. And when phones went digital, there was the voicemail wheeze, which made life even easier. You could sit at your desk illegally invading the privacy of strangers just by pushing buttons.
But now, having abused all those tricks, like they abused their talent – not for any noble cause, but to find out which girlband member snogged which boyband member – those easy games are up. And it couldn't have come at a worse time: with plummeting sales, the need for sensational stories is higher than ever. All of which means all those people wasting their lives actively making the world worse will now have to expend colossal effort in order to do so: like prisoners forced at gunpoint to dig their own graves – but with a rubber shovel.
There is no fate more tragic. Pity them. Pity them hard.
Fuck you, chinastan.
A UK subsidiary of the world's largest commodities broker helped one of its African mining operations avoid paying tens of millions of pounds in tax, according to charities who have analysed a leaked review of its accounts.
The findings of a draft report into internal controls at Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines plc have been categorically rejected by its owner, Glencore, the giant fuel, metals and cereals trader based in the Swiss tax haven of Zug. The report, seen by the Observer, was carried out in 2009 by a Norwegian subsidiary of Grant Thornton, one of the world's largest accountancy firms, at the request of the previous Zambian government.
Its authors alleged the mine's owners "resisted the pilot audit at every stage", a claim denied by a spokesman for Glencore, which owns a 73% stake in Mopani through a company based in the British Virgin Islands, another tax haven.
The report claimed there had been an "unexplainable" increase in Mopani's costs between 2006 and 2008 that allowed it to minimise its stated profits and lower its tax bill. "We suggest the ZRA [Zambian Revenue Authority] does a new tax assessment based on the results of the audit," the report claims.
Glencore, which is preparing a £37bn listing on the London stock market, the capital's biggest ever flotation, said the auditors had failed to factor in rising fuel and labour costs over the period. The audit also suggested Mopani sold copper at artificially low prices to Glencore in Switzerland under a deal struck with the firm's UK subsidiary in 2000. The metal was then sold on, allowing Glencore to take advantage of Switzerland's ultra-low tax regime. ...
The findings of a draft report into internal controls at Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines plc have been categorically rejected by its owner, Glencore, the giant fuel, metals and cereals trader based in the Swiss tax haven of Zug. The report, seen by the Observer, was carried out in 2009 by a Norwegian subsidiary of Grant Thornton, one of the world's largest accountancy firms, at the request of the previous Zambian government.
Its authors alleged the mine's owners "resisted the pilot audit at every stage", a claim denied by a spokesman for Glencore, which owns a 73% stake in Mopani through a company based in the British Virgin Islands, another tax haven.
The report claimed there had been an "unexplainable" increase in Mopani's costs between 2006 and 2008 that allowed it to minimise its stated profits and lower its tax bill. "We suggest the ZRA [Zambian Revenue Authority] does a new tax assessment based on the results of the audit," the report claims.
Glencore, which is preparing a £37bn listing on the London stock market, the capital's biggest ever flotation, said the auditors had failed to factor in rising fuel and labour costs over the period. The audit also suggested Mopani sold copper at artificially low prices to Glencore in Switzerland under a deal struck with the firm's UK subsidiary in 2000. The metal was then sold on, allowing Glencore to take advantage of Switzerland's ultra-low tax regime. ...
Fuck you, chinastan.
Rick Santorum Borrows Campaign Slogan From Pro-Union Poem Written By Gay Rights Advocate
Earlier today, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced that he will begin fundraising for a presidential run using the campaign slogan “Fighting to make America America again.” This eloquent turn of phrase, however, was not invented by Santorum. It is borrowed from the title of a pro-union, pro-racial justice, and pro-immigrant poem written by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes — “Let America Be America Again”:
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home–
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay–
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
O, let America be America again–
The land that never has been yet–
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–
While Hughes is best known for his poetic cries for racial and economic justice, he was also a staunch defender of gay rights. His poem “Cafe: 3 a.m.” criticizes a police raid on a gay establishment, attacking the injustice of arresting gay people because “God, Nature, or somebody made them that way.” Santorum, by contrast, is best known for spouting a frothy mixture of anti-gay rhetoric comparing same-sex couples with people who have sex with dogs.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Earlier today, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced that he will begin fundraising for a presidential run using the campaign slogan “Fighting to make America America again.” This eloquent turn of phrase, however, was not invented by Santorum. It is borrowed from the title of a pro-union, pro-racial justice, and pro-immigrant poem written by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes — “Let America Be America Again”:
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home–
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay–
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
O, let America be America again–
The land that never has been yet–
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–
While Hughes is best known for his poetic cries for racial and economic justice, he was also a staunch defender of gay rights. His poem “Cafe: 3 a.m.” criticizes a police raid on a gay establishment, attacking the injustice of arresting gay people because “God, Nature, or somebody made them that way.” Santorum, by contrast, is best known for spouting a frothy mixture of anti-gay rhetoric comparing same-sex couples with people who have sex with dogs.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Thousands may sue over police kettling at G20 protests
High court rules way in which police kettled up to 5,000 demonstrators at G20 protests in April 2009 was illegal
High court rules way in which police kettled up to 5,000 demonstrators at G20 protests in April 2009 was illegal
Briton dies in Dubai police custody after 'severe beatings'
Foreign Office demands full investigation after death of Lee Brown during detention in Dubai over a row at luxury hotel
Foreign Office demands full investigation after death of Lee Brown during detention in Dubai over a row at luxury hotel
The News of the World reacted to the unexpected arrest of one of its most senior reporters by clearing his desk.
Despite the paper having promised that it would co-operate fully with police inquiries, executives descended on the desk of former news editor James Weatherup moments after learning of his arrest. Under the eyes of their legal team, they bagged up notebooks, papers and recording machines and removed them "via our lawyers", a firm whose identity the publisher refused to confirm.
A few hours later, the police arrived and took the bags to Scotland Yard.
The unexpected arrest of Weatherup, one of the most senior journalists at the News of the World, at his home leaves little room for doubt that the new police team investigating the phone-hacking scandal is determined to succeed where its much-criticised predecessors failed.
It was three weeks ago that the News of the World dumped a vast archive of data at Scotland Yard's door – a trove that has turbo-charged the Met investigation.
The data, which comprises millions of emails from everyone at the newspaper – and which the NoW previously claimed had been lost – could implicate the paper in more instances of malpractice than have been previously suggested.
There are 8,000 emails relating to Sienna Miller alone. An examination of their contents could reveal that many more public figures were also targeted by the newspaper, in addition to the 24 who are already bringing legal actions, including football agent Sky Andrew and the former culture secretary, Tessa Jowell. ...
Despite the paper having promised that it would co-operate fully with police inquiries, executives descended on the desk of former news editor James Weatherup moments after learning of his arrest. Under the eyes of their legal team, they bagged up notebooks, papers and recording machines and removed them "via our lawyers", a firm whose identity the publisher refused to confirm.
A few hours later, the police arrived and took the bags to Scotland Yard.
The unexpected arrest of Weatherup, one of the most senior journalists at the News of the World, at his home leaves little room for doubt that the new police team investigating the phone-hacking scandal is determined to succeed where its much-criticised predecessors failed.
It was three weeks ago that the News of the World dumped a vast archive of data at Scotland Yard's door – a trove that has turbo-charged the Met investigation.
The data, which comprises millions of emails from everyone at the newspaper – and which the NoW previously claimed had been lost – could implicate the paper in more instances of malpractice than have been previously suggested.
There are 8,000 emails relating to Sienna Miller alone. An examination of their contents could reveal that many more public figures were also targeted by the newspaper, in addition to the 24 who are already bringing legal actions, including football agent Sky Andrew and the former culture secretary, Tessa Jowell. ...
Girl, 6, frisked by security at US airport
The parents of a young child have called for changes to airport security procedures after their six-year-old daughter was body-searched at New Orleans airport.
14 Apr 2011
Selena Drexel said her daughter Anna was confused and began crying after the pat-down.
"When it was over and the camera was off, she got very weepy," she said. "She was apologetic: 'I'm sorry Mommy, I don't know what I did wrong, I don't know why they're mad at me'."
Mrs Drexel said searches were inappropriate for children because they are usually told not to let adults touch them in sensitive areas.
Airport screeners would not tell her why they were frisking her six-year-old daughter, she added.
Security officials said the officer followed proper procedures but that the security agency was reviewing its screening policies.
The parents of a young child have called for changes to airport security procedures after their six-year-old daughter was body-searched at New Orleans airport.
14 Apr 2011
Selena Drexel said her daughter Anna was confused and began crying after the pat-down.
"When it was over and the camera was off, she got very weepy," she said. "She was apologetic: 'I'm sorry Mommy, I don't know what I did wrong, I don't know why they're mad at me'."
Mrs Drexel said searches were inappropriate for children because they are usually told not to let adults touch them in sensitive areas.
Airport screeners would not tell her why they were frisking her six-year-old daughter, she added.
Security officials said the officer followed proper procedures but that the security agency was reviewing its screening policies.
Detectives investigating illegal news-gathering at the News of the World are planning to question Rebekah Brooks, the paper's former editor who is now Rupert Murdoch's chief executive in the UK, according to police sources.
The revelation came on the day that Brooks denied to MPs that she had "knowledge of any specific cases" of police officers being paid for information by any newspaper – despite having told MPs eight years ago that her journalists had paid officers in the past.
It is understood that Brooks now faces questioning from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's third attempt to investigate the interception of voicemail messages by News of the World journalists. At the same time, the Guardian has established that during an earlier inquiry Scotland Yard was so concerned by allegations that the paper was paying bribes to serving officers and other key workers that it tapped Brooks's telephone. Police found no evidence that she had committed any offence.
The tapping of her phone was carried out with a Home Office warrant early in 2004 as part of an inquiry by Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command into allegations that the News of the World was bribing serving officers, buying confidential data from the police national computer and making regular cash payments of up to £1,000 a week to employees of phone companies who were selling information from the accounts of public figures.
The paper's then assistant editor (news), Greg Miskiw, is believed to have been arrested and questioned. Four men were convicted of selling information from the police computer to the News of the World and other papers. But neither Brooks, Miskiw nor anyone else from Fleet Street was charged. ...
The revelation came on the day that Brooks denied to MPs that she had "knowledge of any specific cases" of police officers being paid for information by any newspaper – despite having told MPs eight years ago that her journalists had paid officers in the past.
It is understood that Brooks now faces questioning from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's third attempt to investigate the interception of voicemail messages by News of the World journalists. At the same time, the Guardian has established that during an earlier inquiry Scotland Yard was so concerned by allegations that the paper was paying bribes to serving officers and other key workers that it tapped Brooks's telephone. Police found no evidence that she had committed any offence.
The tapping of her phone was carried out with a Home Office warrant early in 2004 as part of an inquiry by Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command into allegations that the News of the World was bribing serving officers, buying confidential data from the police national computer and making regular cash payments of up to £1,000 a week to employees of phone companies who were selling information from the accounts of public figures.
The paper's then assistant editor (news), Greg Miskiw, is believed to have been arrested and questioned. Four men were convicted of selling information from the police computer to the News of the World and other papers. But neither Brooks, Miskiw nor anyone else from Fleet Street was charged. ...
There was to be no suicide pill, no bullet in the brain, no heroic martyrdom. Instead, it is claimed, there was a humiliating slap on the cheek and Laurent Gbagbo was hauled from his bunker and paraded before the TV cameras.
The fall of the African strongman came after one of the most drawn-out election results in history. Gbagbo was finally prised from his palace in the former Ivory Coast capital four months after the votes were cast against him.
Backed by French tanks, forces loyal to Gbagbo's opponent, Alassane Ouattara, said they stormed his underground bunker at the presidential residence in Abidjan, interrogated Gbagbo then carried him away with his wife, Simone, and his son Michel.
"We attacked and forced in a part of the bunker," Issard Soumahro, a pro-Ouattara soldier at the scene, told the Associated Press. "He was there with his wife and his son. He wasn't hurt, but he was tired and his cheek was swollen from where a soldier had slapped him."
The 65-year-old former history professor, who once dismissed the beheading of France's Louis XVI as public "ebullience", could be seen wearing a military flak jacket and flanked by two soldiers. His son was beaten and bleeding, according to an Ouattara spokesman.
Gbagbo was then reportedly taken to the city's Golf hotel, where Ouattara's government-in-waiting has been encamped under UN protection since Gbagbo's intransigence plunged the country back into civil war. ...
The fall of the African strongman came after one of the most drawn-out election results in history. Gbagbo was finally prised from his palace in the former Ivory Coast capital four months after the votes were cast against him.
Backed by French tanks, forces loyal to Gbagbo's opponent, Alassane Ouattara, said they stormed his underground bunker at the presidential residence in Abidjan, interrogated Gbagbo then carried him away with his wife, Simone, and his son Michel.
"We attacked and forced in a part of the bunker," Issard Soumahro, a pro-Ouattara soldier at the scene, told the Associated Press. "He was there with his wife and his son. He wasn't hurt, but he was tired and his cheek was swollen from where a soldier had slapped him."
The 65-year-old former history professor, who once dismissed the beheading of France's Louis XVI as public "ebullience", could be seen wearing a military flak jacket and flanked by two soldiers. His son was beaten and bleeding, according to an Ouattara spokesman.
Gbagbo was then reportedly taken to the city's Golf hotel, where Ouattara's government-in-waiting has been encamped under UN protection since Gbagbo's intransigence plunged the country back into civil war. ...
Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh has lost the backing of his closest allies in the Arab world who called on him to pass power to his vice president to ensure the country’s “unity, safety and stability.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council urged for the transition of power to Vice President Abduraboo Mansur Hadi and the creation of an opposition-led national unity government, Abdel Latif al Zayyani, secretary general of the GCC, told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh late yesterday. The group renewed its invitation to Saleh’s government and Yemen’s opposition to hold GCC-brokered talks in Riyadh.
“It has seemed more and more likely over the past week that Saleh would have to pass on power, whether in the two months that the opposition has called for or by the end of the year as the ruling party has said,” Abdul Ghani Aryani, an independent political analyst, said in a telephone interview from Sana’a. “With the GCC formally backing the transition, it will probably be at some point in between.”
In Yemen, the poorest Arab country, anti-government protests mirroring those across the Middle East and North Africa, are entering their third month. Saleh’s army, government and much of his tribal base have abandoned him as violent clashes between security forces and protesters calling for his removal escalated. At least 662 Yemenis, including 24 children, have been killed in the civil unrest since Feb. 18, the United Nations’ children’s fund said yesterday. ...
The Gulf Cooperation Council urged for the transition of power to Vice President Abduraboo Mansur Hadi and the creation of an opposition-led national unity government, Abdel Latif al Zayyani, secretary general of the GCC, told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh late yesterday. The group renewed its invitation to Saleh’s government and Yemen’s opposition to hold GCC-brokered talks in Riyadh.
“It has seemed more and more likely over the past week that Saleh would have to pass on power, whether in the two months that the opposition has called for or by the end of the year as the ruling party has said,” Abdul Ghani Aryani, an independent political analyst, said in a telephone interview from Sana’a. “With the GCC formally backing the transition, it will probably be at some point in between.”
In Yemen, the poorest Arab country, anti-government protests mirroring those across the Middle East and North Africa, are entering their third month. Saleh’s army, government and much of his tribal base have abandoned him as violent clashes between security forces and protesters calling for his removal escalated. At least 662 Yemenis, including 24 children, have been killed in the civil unrest since Feb. 18, the United Nations’ children’s fund said yesterday. ...
Bradley Manning: top US legal scholars voice outrage at 'torture'
Obama professor among 250 experts who have signed letter condemning humiliation of alleged WikiLeaks source
Obama professor among 250 experts who have signed letter condemning humiliation of alleged WikiLeaks source
Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, blocked an attempt by Gordon Brown before the general election to hold a judicial inquiry into allegations that the News of the World had hacked into the phones of cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures. ...
A government commission is to unveil measures aimed at ensuring taxpayers will never again need to bail out Britain's banks, with recommendations that risk splitting the coalition and infuriating the banking sector.
Amid warnings from large banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered that they will leave London if the proposals by Sir John Vickers are too radical, the commission will seek to ringfence savers from riskier banking operations.
The commission has considered the potential impact of its proposals on the City and is expected to counter suggestions that they would encourage banks to move to New York or Hong Kong.
The report, thought to run to 200 pages, was handed to ministers late on Friday to be presented to the banks at 6am on Monday – an hour before its official release. It is expected to back away from proposals such as "narrow banks", which only take savings, and splitting high street banks from their investment banking divisions, which Vince Cable, the business secretary, previously alluded to as "casinos". ...
Amid warnings from large banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered that they will leave London if the proposals by Sir John Vickers are too radical, the commission will seek to ringfence savers from riskier banking operations.
The commission has considered the potential impact of its proposals on the City and is expected to counter suggestions that they would encourage banks to move to New York or Hong Kong.
The report, thought to run to 200 pages, was handed to ministers late on Friday to be presented to the banks at 6am on Monday – an hour before its official release. It is expected to back away from proposals such as "narrow banks", which only take savings, and splitting high street banks from their investment banking divisions, which Vince Cable, the business secretary, previously alluded to as "casinos". ...
NHS chiefs ration healthcare to meet cuts target
Royal College of Nursing study reveals that most job losses involve frontline staff as patient services are withdrawn
Royal College of Nursing study reveals that most job losses involve frontline staff as patient services are withdrawn
Phone hacking: Rupert Murdoch 'urged Gordon Brown' to halt Labour attacks | UK news | guardian.co.uk
Rupert Murdoch used his political influence and contacts at the highest levels to try to get Labour MPs and peers to back away from investigations into phone hacking at the News of the World, a former minister in Gordon Brown's government has told the Observer.
The ex-minister, who does not want to be named, says he is aware of evidence that Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, relayed messages to Brown last year via a third party, urging him to help take the political heat out of the row, which he felt was in danger of damaging his company.
Brown, who stepped down as prime minister after last May's general election defeat for Labour, has refused to comment on the claim, but has not denied it. It is believed that contacts were made before he left No 10. The minister said: "What I know is that Murdoch got in touch with a good friend who then got in touch with Brown. The intention was to get him to cool things down. That is what I was told."
Brown, who became increasingly concerned at allegations of phone hacking and asked the police to investigate, had claimed that he was a victim of hacking when chancellor. He made Murdoch's views known to a select few in the Labour party.
In January, it was revealed Brown had written at least one letter to the Metropolitan police over concerns that his phone was targeted when he was still at the Treasury.
Suggestions that Murdoch involved Tony Blair in a chain of phone calls that led to Brown have been denied by the former prime minister. A spokesman for Blair said the claim was "categorically untrue", adding "no such calls ever took place". The allegation will, however, add to concerns about the influence Murdoch wielded over key political figures at Westminster and in Downing Street.
It will also raise further questions over the decision by David Cameron to appoint Andy Coulson, a former NoW editor who resigned over phone hacking, as his director of communications. ...
The ex-minister, who does not want to be named, says he is aware of evidence that Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, relayed messages to Brown last year via a third party, urging him to help take the political heat out of the row, which he felt was in danger of damaging his company.
Brown, who stepped down as prime minister after last May's general election defeat for Labour, has refused to comment on the claim, but has not denied it. It is believed that contacts were made before he left No 10. The minister said: "What I know is that Murdoch got in touch with a good friend who then got in touch with Brown. The intention was to get him to cool things down. That is what I was told."
Brown, who became increasingly concerned at allegations of phone hacking and asked the police to investigate, had claimed that he was a victim of hacking when chancellor. He made Murdoch's views known to a select few in the Labour party.
In January, it was revealed Brown had written at least one letter to the Metropolitan police over concerns that his phone was targeted when he was still at the Treasury.
Suggestions that Murdoch involved Tony Blair in a chain of phone calls that led to Brown have been denied by the former prime minister. A spokesman for Blair said the claim was "categorically untrue", adding "no such calls ever took place". The allegation will, however, add to concerns about the influence Murdoch wielded over key political figures at Westminster and in Downing Street.
It will also raise further questions over the decision by David Cameron to appoint Andy Coulson, a former NoW editor who resigned over phone hacking, as his director of communications. ...
Yeh, well...'e's got 'is black shirt on, innit.
Torture and killing in Kenya – Britain's double standards
The UK sees no contradiction in forcing Libyans to apologise for Lockerbie while denying Kenya's Mau Mau victims recompense
The UK sees no contradiction in forcing Libyans to apologise for Lockerbie while denying Kenya's Mau Mau victims recompense
News of the World phone hacking victims get apology from Murdoch
Confession that practice was rife is likely to cost News International millions of pounds in compensation
Confession that practice was rife is likely to cost News International millions of pounds in compensation
JP Morgan head Jamie Dimon pockets 51% pay rise
Wall Street firm gives chief executive a $5m cash bonus and pays for family's move from Chicago
Wall Street firm gives chief executive a $5m cash bonus and pays for family's move from Chicago
Ivory Coast's incumbent leader caught France and the rest of the world by surprise when he refused to surrender, accused Nicolas Sarkozy of an assassination plot, and defiantly held out as rebels attempted to storm his underground bunker.
French ministers had confidently predicted that Laurent Gbagbo could cede power within hours, ending the west African country's four-month crisis. A TV station run by his rival, Alassane Ouattara, played clips from Downfall, a German film about the final days of Adolf Hitler in his bunker in Berlin.
But France, the former colonial power, was forced to admit that negotiations for Gbagbo's surrender had collapsed on Wednesday. Troops loyal to Ouattara launched a ferocious assault on his presidential residence but met with unexpectedly stiff resistance. ...
French ministers had confidently predicted that Laurent Gbagbo could cede power within hours, ending the west African country's four-month crisis. A TV station run by his rival, Alassane Ouattara, played clips from Downfall, a German film about the final days of Adolf Hitler in his bunker in Berlin.
But France, the former colonial power, was forced to admit that negotiations for Gbagbo's surrender had collapsed on Wednesday. Troops loyal to Ouattara launched a ferocious assault on his presidential residence but met with unexpectedly stiff resistance. ...
The actor Leslie Ash has spoken out for the first time against the Metropolitan police for failing to investigate claims that a private investigator working for the News of the World had hacked into her mobile phone, even though the force had held evidence since 2006 that he had targeted her along with her husband and two children.
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
The former news editor and current chief reporter from the News of the World have been arrested on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages.
Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck had voluntarily presented themselves at different London police stations this morning and were arrested. It was expected their homes would be searched by officers at midday.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that two men, aged 50 and 42, "were arrested this morning after attending separate police stations in south-west London by appointment".
"They remain in custody for questioning after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977, and unlawful interception of voicemail messages, contrary to Section 1 Ripa [Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] 2000," the briefing added.
"The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking. It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details regarding this case at this time." ...
Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck had voluntarily presented themselves at different London police stations this morning and were arrested. It was expected their homes would be searched by officers at midday.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that two men, aged 50 and 42, "were arrested this morning after attending separate police stations in south-west London by appointment".
"They remain in custody for questioning after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977, and unlawful interception of voicemail messages, contrary to Section 1 Ripa [Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] 2000," the briefing added.
"The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking. It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details regarding this case at this time." ...
Rebel forces in Ivory Coast have laid siege to the presidential palace as president Laurent Gbagbo made a last stand and the battle for power in Abidjan raged for a second day, with the UN mission coming under heavy fire.
Forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara have overrun nearly three-quarters of Ivory Coast and looked poised to topple Gbagbo, but after entering the economic capital met with stiff resistance outside his fortified residence and office. With reports of beatings, looting and arson on the streets of Abidjan, residents barricaded inside their homes reported heavy arms fire throughout the early morning on Friday. On the peninsula where the palace is situated buildings were shaking with each explosion, witnesses said.
Ouattara's spokesman, Patrick Achi, told Reuters: "His house is under attack. That's for sure. There is a resistance, but it's under attack. [Gbagbo] hasn't shown any signs of giving up. I don't think he will see the game is up, because he really believes God will save him … Gbagbo is in his house. I'm certain. He hasn't gone anywhere."
Ouattara ordered the borders closed to prevent Gbagbo and his allies fleeing. Ouattara's foreign affairs minister told the Associated Press: "His inner circle is trying to run, but they won't be able to."
Not seen in public for five days, Gbagbo has been weakened by high-level defections in the military. The regular army put up almost no opposition during a four-day offensive, including in Gbagbo's home town, where rebels said they broke into his compound and slept in his bed.
Some 50,000 soldiers, police and gendarmes have abandoned Gbagbo, according to the head of the UN mission, Choi Young-jin. "Only the Republican Guard and his special forces remain loyal, guarding the palace and residence," he told France-Info. The chair of the commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, urged him to immediately hand power to Ouattara "in order to shorten the suffering of the Ivorians". But a core of Gbagbo loyalists have fought to defend their shrinking territory. A spokesman, Abdon Georges Bayeto, told the BBC: "The president is not going to step down. He's been elected for five years and we are going to put up a fight." The heaviest clashes were at the state TV station, which went off air after Ouattara forces seized it overnight. Gbagbo's forces said they had retaken it this morning. A senior diplomat said fighting continued.
Heavy weapons fire was also heard at two military bases. ...
Forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara have overrun nearly three-quarters of Ivory Coast and looked poised to topple Gbagbo, but after entering the economic capital met with stiff resistance outside his fortified residence and office. With reports of beatings, looting and arson on the streets of Abidjan, residents barricaded inside their homes reported heavy arms fire throughout the early morning on Friday. On the peninsula where the palace is situated buildings were shaking with each explosion, witnesses said.
Ouattara's spokesman, Patrick Achi, told Reuters: "His house is under attack. That's for sure. There is a resistance, but it's under attack. [Gbagbo] hasn't shown any signs of giving up. I don't think he will see the game is up, because he really believes God will save him … Gbagbo is in his house. I'm certain. He hasn't gone anywhere."
Ouattara ordered the borders closed to prevent Gbagbo and his allies fleeing. Ouattara's foreign affairs minister told the Associated Press: "His inner circle is trying to run, but they won't be able to."
Not seen in public for five days, Gbagbo has been weakened by high-level defections in the military. The regular army put up almost no opposition during a four-day offensive, including in Gbagbo's home town, where rebels said they broke into his compound and slept in his bed.
Some 50,000 soldiers, police and gendarmes have abandoned Gbagbo, according to the head of the UN mission, Choi Young-jin. "Only the Republican Guard and his special forces remain loyal, guarding the palace and residence," he told France-Info. The chair of the commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, urged him to immediately hand power to Ouattara "in order to shorten the suffering of the Ivorians". But a core of Gbagbo loyalists have fought to defend their shrinking territory. A spokesman, Abdon Georges Bayeto, told the BBC: "The president is not going to step down. He's been elected for five years and we are going to put up a fight." The heaviest clashes were at the state TV station, which went off air after Ouattara forces seized it overnight. Gbagbo's forces said they had retaken it this morning. A senior diplomat said fighting continued.
Heavy weapons fire was also heard at two military bases. ...
Jobcentres tricking people out of benefits to cut costs, says whistleblower
Soaring number of sanctions against unemployed amid claims that DWP staff are being told to trip people up with paperwork
John Domokos
Friday 1 April 2011
The Guardian has been told that unemployed people are being tricked into breaching the rules so that benefits can be held back
Rising numbers of vulnerable jobseekers are being tricked into losing benefits amid growing pressure to meet welfare targets, a Jobcentre Plus adviser has told the Guardian.
A whistleblower said staff at his jobcentre were given targets of three people a week to refer for sanctions, where benefits are removed for up to six months. He said it was part of a "culture change" since last summer that had led to competition between advisers, teams and regional offices.
"Suddenly you're not helping somebody into sustainable employment, which is what you're employed to do," he said. "You're looking for ways to trick your customers into 'not looking for work'. You come up with many ways. I've seen dyslexic customers given written job searches, and when they don't produce them – what a surprise – they're sanctioned. The only target that anyone seems to care about is stopping people's money.
"'Saving the public purse' is the catchphrase that is used in our office … It is drummed home all the time – you're saving the public purse. Feel good about stopping someone's money, you've just saved your own pocket. Its a joke."
The claims came as the big businesses handed contracts to get the long term jobless into worktoday said the government should privatise jobcentres so that their firms could work with people who have been jobless for less than a year.
Statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the total number of cases where people have lost their benefits has soared since the beginning of 2010 to 75,000 in October, the latest month available. The figures also reveal the number of claimants with registered disabilities being cut off has more than doubled to almost 20,000 over the same period. ...
Soaring number of sanctions against unemployed amid claims that DWP staff are being told to trip people up with paperwork
John Domokos
Friday 1 April 2011
The Guardian has been told that unemployed people are being tricked into breaching the rules so that benefits can be held back
Rising numbers of vulnerable jobseekers are being tricked into losing benefits amid growing pressure to meet welfare targets, a Jobcentre Plus adviser has told the Guardian.
A whistleblower said staff at his jobcentre were given targets of three people a week to refer for sanctions, where benefits are removed for up to six months. He said it was part of a "culture change" since last summer that had led to competition between advisers, teams and regional offices.
"Suddenly you're not helping somebody into sustainable employment, which is what you're employed to do," he said. "You're looking for ways to trick your customers into 'not looking for work'. You come up with many ways. I've seen dyslexic customers given written job searches, and when they don't produce them – what a surprise – they're sanctioned. The only target that anyone seems to care about is stopping people's money.
"'Saving the public purse' is the catchphrase that is used in our office … It is drummed home all the time – you're saving the public purse. Feel good about stopping someone's money, you've just saved your own pocket. Its a joke."
The claims came as the big businesses handed contracts to get the long term jobless into worktoday said the government should privatise jobcentres so that their firms could work with people who have been jobless for less than a year.
Statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the total number of cases where people have lost their benefits has soared since the beginning of 2010 to 75,000 in October, the latest month available. The figures also reveal the number of claimants with registered disabilities being cut off has more than doubled to almost 20,000 over the same period. ...
Rebels forces fighting to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected president are preparing to advance on the country's largest city, Abidjan, after seizing a key port and the official capital overnight.
Power seems to be slipping away from the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, after troops loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, swept south, taking the official capital, Yamoussoukro, and the port of San Pedro late on Wednesday.
Residents and combatants from both sides said opposition troops are in control and it is now largely calm apart from some sporadic shooting. Now attention turns to Abidjan, where the mood is tense ahead of a possible rebel assault. Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, told French radio that Gbagbo has just hours to leave power peacefully.
In a further sign of Gbagbo's weakening position, the Army Chief of Staff sought refuge last night at the home of the South African ambassador to Ivory Coast.
Gen. Phillippe Mangou, his wife and five children arrived at the ambassador's home in Abidjan on Wednesday night, according to the South African foreign ministry.
South Africa says it is consulting with unnamed parties in Ivory Coast, West African regional leaders, the African Union and the U.N. on Mangou's move.
Ouattara's New Forces, renamed the Republic Forces (FRCI), have made huge gains in the past two days, seizing swaths of territory in the centre, east and west.
Seydou Ouattara, a military spokesman, told Reuters: "We have taken the port of San Pedro. Gbagbo's forces have all left. We are in full control."
One San Pedro resident, who declined to be named, said: "Shooting started at around 9pm, then we saw the rebels' vehicles drive into the town. Everyone's staying indoors, but we're still hearing a lot of gunfire."
Witnesses saw soldiers taking off their uniforms and throwing guns and ammunition into ditches as they fled from the rebel army. Others say some soldiers simply switched sides and joined the Republican Forces.
Earlier, residents of Yamoussoukro said they braced themselves for conflict before sporadic gunfire erupted. Serge Kipre, who runs a small clothing store in the city, said: "The night before, we were all calling each other to make sure nobody went outside. In the morning, I saw loads of police with balaclavas and Kalashnikovs racing across town. The market closed, shops shuttered. Everybody seemed on edge."
But the approach of the rebels was eagerly awaited by many young pro-Ouattara supporters, who cheered as they drove by in 4x4s. ...
Power seems to be slipping away from the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, after troops loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, swept south, taking the official capital, Yamoussoukro, and the port of San Pedro late on Wednesday.
Residents and combatants from both sides said opposition troops are in control and it is now largely calm apart from some sporadic shooting. Now attention turns to Abidjan, where the mood is tense ahead of a possible rebel assault. Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, told French radio that Gbagbo has just hours to leave power peacefully.
In a further sign of Gbagbo's weakening position, the Army Chief of Staff sought refuge last night at the home of the South African ambassador to Ivory Coast.
Gen. Phillippe Mangou, his wife and five children arrived at the ambassador's home in Abidjan on Wednesday night, according to the South African foreign ministry.
South Africa says it is consulting with unnamed parties in Ivory Coast, West African regional leaders, the African Union and the U.N. on Mangou's move.
Ouattara's New Forces, renamed the Republic Forces (FRCI), have made huge gains in the past two days, seizing swaths of territory in the centre, east and west.
Seydou Ouattara, a military spokesman, told Reuters: "We have taken the port of San Pedro. Gbagbo's forces have all left. We are in full control."
One San Pedro resident, who declined to be named, said: "Shooting started at around 9pm, then we saw the rebels' vehicles drive into the town. Everyone's staying indoors, but we're still hearing a lot of gunfire."
Witnesses saw soldiers taking off their uniforms and throwing guns and ammunition into ditches as they fled from the rebel army. Others say some soldiers simply switched sides and joined the Republican Forces.
Earlier, residents of Yamoussoukro said they braced themselves for conflict before sporadic gunfire erupted. Serge Kipre, who runs a small clothing store in the city, said: "The night before, we were all calling each other to make sure nobody went outside. In the morning, I saw loads of police with balaclavas and Kalashnikovs racing across town. The market closed, shops shuttered. Everybody seemed on edge."
But the approach of the rebels was eagerly awaited by many young pro-Ouattara supporters, who cheered as they drove by in 4x4s. ...
Ivory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, is facing a bloody deposition after his top general deserted and rebel forces advanced into Abidjan, his seat of power.
Heavy weapons and machine-gun fire were heard in the centre of Ivory Coast's main city. And French troops were deployed as the four-month political crisis appeared to near its endgame.
Ivorian sources in South Africa said they heard rumours that Gbagbo could be about to step down, possibly turning to South Africa for a diplomatic channel to end his 10-year rule. Officials in Pretoria denied there had been any approach.
The speculation was begun by the abrupt departure of Phillippe Mangou, Gbagbo's army chief of staff, to take refuge with his wife and five children at the South African ambassador's residence in Abidjan.
"We've seen a regime collapse," said one western diplomat, who could hear gunfire and explosions from his residence. "The army is no longer an effective body. It has defected and deserted, and has no leadership now the general has gone into hiding. It lacks any command and control."
He added: "There's very little to keep Gbagbo in power and he must know it. I just hope he's not one of those men who fight to the death, because it will be a bloodbath." ...
Heavy weapons and machine-gun fire were heard in the centre of Ivory Coast's main city. And French troops were deployed as the four-month political crisis appeared to near its endgame.
Ivorian sources in South Africa said they heard rumours that Gbagbo could be about to step down, possibly turning to South Africa for a diplomatic channel to end his 10-year rule. Officials in Pretoria denied there had been any approach.
The speculation was begun by the abrupt departure of Phillippe Mangou, Gbagbo's army chief of staff, to take refuge with his wife and five children at the South African ambassador's residence in Abidjan.
"We've seen a regime collapse," said one western diplomat, who could hear gunfire and explosions from his residence. "The army is no longer an effective body. It has defected and deserted, and has no leadership now the general has gone into hiding. It lacks any command and control."
He added: "There's very little to keep Gbagbo in power and he must know it. I just hope he's not one of those men who fight to the death, because it will be a bloodbath." ...
The US supreme court heard oral arguments Tuesday on what could be the largest class action civil rights suit in US history. Or it could be the case that stops class action history in its tracks. Monster megastore Walmart is challenging a lower court's decision to permit women employed at thousands of Walmart stores to join together to contest alleged gender discrimination in pay and promotion practices.
"This has been a ten-year process," says plaintiff Edith Arana. What keeps the women of Dukes v Wal-Mart going, she says, is the belief that something bigger than them is at stake. (Walmart revised the form of its name a few years back.) Says Arana:
"I know what happened to me and it's not just me. The women of this lawsuit are the poster children for the all the women who couldn't do this, and they each have families and names and faces."
That, when it comes to class action lawsuits, is the whole point. Class action lawsuits have probably been the best tool since the passage of the 1964 civil rights act to bring forth claims and win cases against companies that discriminate. The case now before the court will decide not only if women like Arana and Betty Dukes experienced discrimination, but if an entire class of workers did.
It couldn't be a more contentious issue, at a more contentious moment. As Columbia University political science professor Dorian Warren noted on GRITtv this week, the Walmart case comes before a court that has been sceptical not just of discrimination cases, but of the very idea of "class action". And it comes before a nation that – from Madison to Main Street in just about every state – is in the streets over that very concept.
Coming up on 4 April is a nationally coordinated day of action by US trade unions and their allies: We Are One. The protesters will be recalling Dr Martin Luther King's legacy – on the anniversary of his assassination. But they could do worse than to take a tip from the Tea Party types and read the US Constitution while they're at it. Listen in to one of those Tea Party recitations and you'll find constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech, of the press and of the right peaceably to assemble and petition government for redress. For working Americans living in the most dramatically divided economy in a century, every one of those avenues is under attack.
Freedom of the press? Concentration of media ownership is consolidating press power into a few mighty hands. As in the recently approved NBC/Comcast merger, the power in question is the power to shut others out.
Assembly? After weeks of inconvenient public protest for labour rights and against draconian cuts to public services and the people who provide them, the city of Madison just restricted speech in the people's Capitol building to a small "free speech zone" – for the first time in Wisconsin history. In Albany, New York, protesters faced a sign that told them only "senators, staff and lobbyists" were welcome in the state's house. ...
"This has been a ten-year process," says plaintiff Edith Arana. What keeps the women of Dukes v Wal-Mart going, she says, is the belief that something bigger than them is at stake. (Walmart revised the form of its name a few years back.) Says Arana:
"I know what happened to me and it's not just me. The women of this lawsuit are the poster children for the all the women who couldn't do this, and they each have families and names and faces."
That, when it comes to class action lawsuits, is the whole point. Class action lawsuits have probably been the best tool since the passage of the 1964 civil rights act to bring forth claims and win cases against companies that discriminate. The case now before the court will decide not only if women like Arana and Betty Dukes experienced discrimination, but if an entire class of workers did.
It couldn't be a more contentious issue, at a more contentious moment. As Columbia University political science professor Dorian Warren noted on GRITtv this week, the Walmart case comes before a court that has been sceptical not just of discrimination cases, but of the very idea of "class action". And it comes before a nation that – from Madison to Main Street in just about every state – is in the streets over that very concept.
Coming up on 4 April is a nationally coordinated day of action by US trade unions and their allies: We Are One. The protesters will be recalling Dr Martin Luther King's legacy – on the anniversary of his assassination. But they could do worse than to take a tip from the Tea Party types and read the US Constitution while they're at it. Listen in to one of those Tea Party recitations and you'll find constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech, of the press and of the right peaceably to assemble and petition government for redress. For working Americans living in the most dramatically divided economy in a century, every one of those avenues is under attack.
Freedom of the press? Concentration of media ownership is consolidating press power into a few mighty hands. As in the recently approved NBC/Comcast merger, the power in question is the power to shut others out.
Assembly? After weeks of inconvenient public protest for labour rights and against draconian cuts to public services and the people who provide them, the city of Madison just restricted speech in the people's Capitol building to a small "free speech zone" – for the first time in Wisconsin history. In Albany, New York, protesters faced a sign that told them only "senators, staff and lobbyists" were welcome in the state's house. ...
No surveillance without oversight
Given the FBI's record of fallibility – and without genuine safeguards for citizens – this $1bn biometrics project is alarming
Jay Stanley
Wednesday 30 March 2011
The FBI recently announced that its Next Generation Identification System (NGIS) has "reached its initial operating capacity". This vast new biometrics project, for which Lockheed Martin won a $1bn contract in 2008, encompasses not only fingerprints but also, possibly, such biometrics as iris scans, face recognition, bodily scars, marks and tattoos.
Such a system raises a number of concerns from a civil liberties perspective. Many types of biometrics are of particular concern because they allow individuals to be tracked secretly and at a distance. For instance, facial recognition may allow a person to be tracked by various CCTV cameras across a city. Worse, in the future, this may be automated and done by computers.
The FBI is rushing ahead with this system in a larger context that is very troubling. Since 9/11, we've repeatedly seen the government throw together new identity and tracking systems without building in the necessary protections to make sure innocent people aren't caught up in them. A good example is aviation watchlists. Countless travelers have found themselves trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare – improperly listed as suspected terrorists, hassled, arrested or worse, and with no way to clear their names in the eyes of the government's secretive security bureaucracies. The problem is not just errors and mistaken identification, or the lack of due process or rigorous procedures for keeping the lists accurate, but also the possibility that government bureaucrats have used a "when in doubt, thrown a name on the list" approach.
We don't want to see the NGIS operate that way. Unfortunately, the FBI's record does not inspire confidence. In 2003, the bureau exempted its main criminal database, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), from a requirement under the Privacy Act that agencies maintain records with "such accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual". Some people have experienced the reality of this, such as a Maryland woman named Amy Studnitz who was fired from her job after an NCIC background check erroneously reported that she had a criminal record (even after the error was discovered, she was not rehired).
The experience of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield is also a cautionary tale. Considered a suspect in the 2004 bombing of a Madrid train due to a faulty fingerprint match, the FBI spied on Mayfield without a warrant, broke into his home several times and arrested him under the "material witness" statute. The FBI also investigated 19 other individuals whose fingerprints, like Mayfield's, were deemed similar to those found on evidence in Madrid.
Finally, the FBI's giant biometric project is taking place in a context where the United States – almost alone in the industrialised world – has no strong, overarching privacy laws, and no robust, independent institutions to enforce such laws. In another country where such institutions existed to protect people from error and abuse, this kind of programme might be cause for less concern. But rather than building such institutions, the US government has instead been granting sweeping new powers to our security agencies, and dismantling the checks and balances that are needed to ensure those powers are not misused. ...
Given the FBI's record of fallibility – and without genuine safeguards for citizens – this $1bn biometrics project is alarming
Jay Stanley
Wednesday 30 March 2011
The FBI recently announced that its Next Generation Identification System (NGIS) has "reached its initial operating capacity". This vast new biometrics project, for which Lockheed Martin won a $1bn contract in 2008, encompasses not only fingerprints but also, possibly, such biometrics as iris scans, face recognition, bodily scars, marks and tattoos.
Such a system raises a number of concerns from a civil liberties perspective. Many types of biometrics are of particular concern because they allow individuals to be tracked secretly and at a distance. For instance, facial recognition may allow a person to be tracked by various CCTV cameras across a city. Worse, in the future, this may be automated and done by computers.
The FBI is rushing ahead with this system in a larger context that is very troubling. Since 9/11, we've repeatedly seen the government throw together new identity and tracking systems without building in the necessary protections to make sure innocent people aren't caught up in them. A good example is aviation watchlists. Countless travelers have found themselves trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare – improperly listed as suspected terrorists, hassled, arrested or worse, and with no way to clear their names in the eyes of the government's secretive security bureaucracies. The problem is not just errors and mistaken identification, or the lack of due process or rigorous procedures for keeping the lists accurate, but also the possibility that government bureaucrats have used a "when in doubt, thrown a name on the list" approach.
We don't want to see the NGIS operate that way. Unfortunately, the FBI's record does not inspire confidence. In 2003, the bureau exempted its main criminal database, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), from a requirement under the Privacy Act that agencies maintain records with "such accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual". Some people have experienced the reality of this, such as a Maryland woman named Amy Studnitz who was fired from her job after an NCIC background check erroneously reported that she had a criminal record (even after the error was discovered, she was not rehired).
The experience of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield is also a cautionary tale. Considered a suspect in the 2004 bombing of a Madrid train due to a faulty fingerprint match, the FBI spied on Mayfield without a warrant, broke into his home several times and arrested him under the "material witness" statute. The FBI also investigated 19 other individuals whose fingerprints, like Mayfield's, were deemed similar to those found on evidence in Madrid.
Finally, the FBI's giant biometric project is taking place in a context where the United States – almost alone in the industrialised world – has no strong, overarching privacy laws, and no robust, independent institutions to enforce such laws. In another country where such institutions existed to protect people from error and abuse, this kind of programme might be cause for less concern. But rather than building such institutions, the US government has instead been granting sweeping new powers to our security agencies, and dismantling the checks and balances that are needed to ensure those powers are not misused. ...
Earlier this month, I was asked by an MIT graduate student why the United States government was "torturing" Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is accused of being the source of the WikiLeaks cables that have been reported by the Guardian and other news outlets and posted online. The fact is the government is doing no such thing. But questions about his treatment have led to a review by the UN special rapporteur on torture, and challenged the legitimacy of his pending prosecution.
As a public diplomat and (until recently) spokesman of the department of state, I was responsible for explaining the national security policy of the United States to the American people and populations abroad. I am also a retired military officer who has long believed that our civilian power must balance our military power. Part of our strength comes from international recognition that the United States practises what we preach. Most of the time, we do. This strategic narrative has made us, broadly speaking, the most admired country in the world.
To be clear, Private Manning is rightly facing prosecution and, if convicted, should spend a long, long time in prison. Having been deeply engaged in the WikiLeaks issue for many months, I know that the 251,000 diplomatic cables included properly classified information directly connected to our national interest. The release placed the lives of activists around the world at risk.
Julian Assange and others have suggested that the release of the cables was to expose wrongdoing. Nonsense.
While everyone can point to an isolated cable, taken as a whole, the cables tell a compelling story of "rightdoing" – of US diplomats engaged in 189 countries around the world, working on behalf of the American people, and serving broader interests as well. As a nation, we are proud of the story the cables tell, even as we decry their release.
But I understood why the question was asked. Private Manning's family, joined by a number of human rights organisations, has questioned the extremely restrictive conditions he has experienced at the brig at Marine Corps base Quantico, Virginia. I focused on the fact that he was forced to sleep naked, which led to a circumstance where he stood naked for morning call.
Based on 30 years of government experience, if you have to explain why a guy is standing naked in the middle of a jail cell, you have a policy in need of urgent review. The Pentagon was quick to point out that no women were present when he did so, which is completely beside the point.
The issue is a loss of dignity, not modesty.
Our strategic narrative connects our policies to our interests, values and aspirations. While what we do, day in and day out, is broadly consistent with the universal principles we espouse, individual actions can become disconnected. Every once in a while, even a top-notch symphony strikes a discordant note. So it is in this instance.
The Pentagon has said that it is playing the Manning case by the book. The book tells us what actions we can take, but not always what we should do. Actions can be legal and still not smart. With the Manning case unfolding in a fishbowl-like environment, going strictly by the book is not good enough. Private Manning's overly restrictive and even petty treatment undermines what is otherwise a strong legal and ethical position. ...
As a public diplomat and (until recently) spokesman of the department of state, I was responsible for explaining the national security policy of the United States to the American people and populations abroad. I am also a retired military officer who has long believed that our civilian power must balance our military power. Part of our strength comes from international recognition that the United States practises what we preach. Most of the time, we do. This strategic narrative has made us, broadly speaking, the most admired country in the world.
To be clear, Private Manning is rightly facing prosecution and, if convicted, should spend a long, long time in prison. Having been deeply engaged in the WikiLeaks issue for many months, I know that the 251,000 diplomatic cables included properly classified information directly connected to our national interest. The release placed the lives of activists around the world at risk.
Julian Assange and others have suggested that the release of the cables was to expose wrongdoing. Nonsense.
While everyone can point to an isolated cable, taken as a whole, the cables tell a compelling story of "rightdoing" – of US diplomats engaged in 189 countries around the world, working on behalf of the American people, and serving broader interests as well. As a nation, we are proud of the story the cables tell, even as we decry their release.
But I understood why the question was asked. Private Manning's family, joined by a number of human rights organisations, has questioned the extremely restrictive conditions he has experienced at the brig at Marine Corps base Quantico, Virginia. I focused on the fact that he was forced to sleep naked, which led to a circumstance where he stood naked for morning call.
Based on 30 years of government experience, if you have to explain why a guy is standing naked in the middle of a jail cell, you have a policy in need of urgent review. The Pentagon was quick to point out that no women were present when he did so, which is completely beside the point.
The issue is a loss of dignity, not modesty.
Our strategic narrative connects our policies to our interests, values and aspirations. While what we do, day in and day out, is broadly consistent with the universal principles we espouse, individual actions can become disconnected. Every once in a while, even a top-notch symphony strikes a discordant note. So it is in this instance.
The Pentagon has said that it is playing the Manning case by the book. The book tells us what actions we can take, but not always what we should do. Actions can be legal and still not smart. With the Manning case unfolding in a fishbowl-like environment, going strictly by the book is not good enough. Private Manning's overly restrictive and even petty treatment undermines what is otherwise a strong legal and ethical position. ...
More than 2,000 of the most experienced police officers will be made to retire by 2015 as forces across England and Wales try to find 20% budget cuts, a Labour survey has claimed.
A series of Freedom of Information Act requests by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has disclosed that over the next four years 13 of the 43 forces intend to use an obscure regulation to compulsorily retire 1,138 officers who have more than 30 years of service.
Labour estimates that a further 986 officers could be affected if some of the remaining 30 forces also decide to use the same regulation to find budget savings.
Cooper said that it was "deeply worrying" that 13 forces had already decided to use the A19 regulation to compulsorily retire some of the most experienced officers in the force.
"Some of these officers are experts in their fields and internationally respected for what they do in the fight against crime," she said.
"The home secretary must realise that you cannot make 20% front-loaded cuts to the police without losing the very crime fighters we need. The home secretary is taking unacceptable risks with public safety and the continued fight against crime."
As fully sworn officers of the crown rather than employees, policemen and women cannot be made redundant under existing rules. However, the A19 regulation can forcibly retire officers with more than 30 years' service on not less than two-thirds pension on the grounds of the efficiency of the force.
The experienced officers who have already left or are leaving the police this week include:
• An inspector with 33 years' service who is the longest serving specialist in crime reduction and crime prevention in England and Wales. He advises architects and builders on "designing out" crime in new buildings, especially on council estates.
• A neighbourhood sergeant who, at 48, is one of the youngest to be forcibly retired. He manages a team of officers and liaises with the local community on anti-social behaviour.
• A 55-year-old frontline roads policing officer who has spent the last 20 years responding to motorway incidents.
The latest Labour survey of police authority current plans shows that the jobs of 12,500 officers are to be lost over the next four years in addition to a further 15,000 police staff jobs, confirming the estimate of 28,000 jobs made by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
The Home Office estimated in November that 3,200 officers in England and Wales could be affected if all the 43 forces decided to enforce the compulsorily retirement rule. ...
A series of Freedom of Information Act requests by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has disclosed that over the next four years 13 of the 43 forces intend to use an obscure regulation to compulsorily retire 1,138 officers who have more than 30 years of service.
Labour estimates that a further 986 officers could be affected if some of the remaining 30 forces also decide to use the same regulation to find budget savings.
Cooper said that it was "deeply worrying" that 13 forces had already decided to use the A19 regulation to compulsorily retire some of the most experienced officers in the force.
"Some of these officers are experts in their fields and internationally respected for what they do in the fight against crime," she said.
"The home secretary must realise that you cannot make 20% front-loaded cuts to the police without losing the very crime fighters we need. The home secretary is taking unacceptable risks with public safety and the continued fight against crime."
As fully sworn officers of the crown rather than employees, policemen and women cannot be made redundant under existing rules. However, the A19 regulation can forcibly retire officers with more than 30 years' service on not less than two-thirds pension on the grounds of the efficiency of the force.
The experienced officers who have already left or are leaving the police this week include:
• An inspector with 33 years' service who is the longest serving specialist in crime reduction and crime prevention in England and Wales. He advises architects and builders on "designing out" crime in new buildings, especially on council estates.
• A neighbourhood sergeant who, at 48, is one of the youngest to be forcibly retired. He manages a team of officers and liaises with the local community on anti-social behaviour.
• A 55-year-old frontline roads policing officer who has spent the last 20 years responding to motorway incidents.
The latest Labour survey of police authority current plans shows that the jobs of 12,500 officers are to be lost over the next four years in addition to a further 15,000 police staff jobs, confirming the estimate of 28,000 jobs made by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
The Home Office estimated in November that 3,200 officers in England and Wales could be affected if all the 43 forces decided to enforce the compulsorily retirement rule. ...
Security forces fired shots and used teargas to disperse up to 4,000 protesters in the volatile Syrian city of Deraa on Monday as frustration mounted at the slow pace of promised reforms.
Despite the widespread presence of security forces, protesters appeared to consolidate their positions in Deraa in the deep south and in the northern port city of Latakia, which are the two main fronts in the challenge to the Syrian regime.
According to human rights activists, more than 150 people have been killed in 11 days of unrest, which have seen protesters calling for increased freedoms.
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, who has not been sighted during the protests, is expected to deliver a speech within days.
The government has pledged to lift an almost five decade old emergency law, which – among other things – severely limits citizens' rights to demonstrate. That and other reforms are yet to be implemented.
A witness said demonstrators in Deraa had converged on a main square chanting "no to emergency laws". ...
Despite the widespread presence of security forces, protesters appeared to consolidate their positions in Deraa in the deep south and in the northern port city of Latakia, which are the two main fronts in the challenge to the Syrian regime.
According to human rights activists, more than 150 people have been killed in 11 days of unrest, which have seen protesters calling for increased freedoms.
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, who has not been sighted during the protests, is expected to deliver a speech within days.
The government has pledged to lift an almost five decade old emergency law, which – among other things – severely limits citizens' rights to demonstrate. That and other reforms are yet to be implemented.
A witness said demonstrators in Deraa had converged on a main square chanting "no to emergency laws". ...
... The leak comes as a second survey of police authority intentions carried out by Labour confirms that the police are heading for 27,500 job losses, including 12,500 police officers, over the next four years. Ministers have vowed to protect frontline policing from the impact of the cuts and a report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary to be published on Wednesday is expected to clear up the confusion over where the "frontline" can be drawn in the battle against crime.
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the Warwickshire situation showed that chief constables had been put in an impossible position: "It is now clear that when there is not the staff to help plan, co-ordinate or forensically investigate the fight against crime, then police officers will have to be taken off the streets to do this work.
"The government needs to take responsibility and recognise that the loss of 12,500 police officers and 15,000 police staff across the country is taking risks with public safety and the progress on crime and antisocial behaviour that was made over the last decade."
The decision by Warwickshire to redeploy frontline officers to roles such as staffing inquiry offices and control rooms and conducting routine visits to crime scenes was disclosed in a leaked memo by Richard Elkin, the force's human resources director.
He has written to all 860 back-office staff inviting those with more than two years' service to apply for voluntary redundancy: "Whilst the force manages the required reductions in the number of police officers, it has been agreed that some will be temporarily posted into police staff posts which are currently vacant, or which will become vacant following voluntary redundancy," says the memo.
The Warwickshire force faces losing 450 jobs out of its 1,800 strength to find savings of £23m in its £100m budget by 2015. The home secretary, Theresa May, and the police minister, Nick Herbert, have repeatedly said it is possible for savings to be found through cutting bureaucracy and back-office functions without hitting the frontline.
Ian Francis, chairman of Warwickshire police authority, has said that there are too many police officers in the county force for the new model of policing which is being implemented. "We don't like it, they [Warwickshire police federation] don't like it, I don't think the public like it, but at the end of the day we have no option," Francis has said.
Francis has predicted that other forces are also likely to draft frontline officers into support roles: "The simple matter is yes, we are going to lose policemen from the front line." ...
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the Warwickshire situation showed that chief constables had been put in an impossible position: "It is now clear that when there is not the staff to help plan, co-ordinate or forensically investigate the fight against crime, then police officers will have to be taken off the streets to do this work.
"The government needs to take responsibility and recognise that the loss of 12,500 police officers and 15,000 police staff across the country is taking risks with public safety and the progress on crime and antisocial behaviour that was made over the last decade."
The decision by Warwickshire to redeploy frontline officers to roles such as staffing inquiry offices and control rooms and conducting routine visits to crime scenes was disclosed in a leaked memo by Richard Elkin, the force's human resources director.
He has written to all 860 back-office staff inviting those with more than two years' service to apply for voluntary redundancy: "Whilst the force manages the required reductions in the number of police officers, it has been agreed that some will be temporarily posted into police staff posts which are currently vacant, or which will become vacant following voluntary redundancy," says the memo.
The Warwickshire force faces losing 450 jobs out of its 1,800 strength to find savings of £23m in its £100m budget by 2015. The home secretary, Theresa May, and the police minister, Nick Herbert, have repeatedly said it is possible for savings to be found through cutting bureaucracy and back-office functions without hitting the frontline.
Ian Francis, chairman of Warwickshire police authority, has said that there are too many police officers in the county force for the new model of policing which is being implemented. "We don't like it, they [Warwickshire police federation] don't like it, I don't think the public like it, but at the end of the day we have no option," Francis has said.
Francis has predicted that other forces are also likely to draft frontline officers into support roles: "The simple matter is yes, we are going to lose policemen from the front line." ...
The News of the World has revealed that its computers have retained an archive of potentially damning emails, which hitherto it had claimed had been lost.
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
... What is relatively new, however, is the level of logical dysfunction and hyperbole within the American right, trapped in a fetid media ecosystem where all the Kool-Aid has been spiked. In short, what you need to say and do to be credible within the Republican party essentially deprives you of credibility outside it. The Republicans seem to realise this, but like an obese glutton at an all-you-can-eat buffet, they just can't seem to help themselves. ...
A sixth police officer has been unmasked as an undercover spy in the protest movement as it emerged that Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years posing as an environmental activist, is considering suing Scotland Yard.
In an interview with the Guardian Weekend magazine, Kennedy, who went "rogue" and offered to help environmental campaigners accused of planning to break into a power station, says he has suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder and has been suicidal. His lawyers have been instructed to consider legal action against the police.
The latest officer was reported to have been embedded in an anti-capitalist group for four years under the fake name of Simon Wellings. Newsnight on BBC2 reported that his true identity was discovered through a police blunder.
Wellings inadvertently phoned a campaigner with the Globalise Resistance anti-capitalist group on his mobile phone while discussing photographs of demonstrators with another officer at a police station.
The call was recorded on the campaigner's answerphone and Wellings is heard being pressed to identify protesters at demonstrations, according to Newsnight. He is recorded saying: "She's Hanna's girlfriend – very overt lesbian – last time I saw her, hair about that long, it was blonde, week before it was black."
The infiltration of police spies became controversial after the identification of Kennedy and four others who had posed as members of a variety of political groups including environmental, anti-racist and anti-globalisation campaigns.
The infiltration is the subject of four official investigations after police chiefs and ministers admitted the undercover operations had gone "badly wrong".
Kennedy believes that other undercover officers have been similarly ostracised. "The way the police handled the whole extraction .. is absolutely thoughtless from a psychological point of view and from a safety point of view."
He argues that the damage caused by such undercover work is too great, and that the police should rely more on electronic rather than human intelligence. ...
In an interview with the Guardian Weekend magazine, Kennedy, who went "rogue" and offered to help environmental campaigners accused of planning to break into a power station, says he has suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder and has been suicidal. His lawyers have been instructed to consider legal action against the police.
The latest officer was reported to have been embedded in an anti-capitalist group for four years under the fake name of Simon Wellings. Newsnight on BBC2 reported that his true identity was discovered through a police blunder.
Wellings inadvertently phoned a campaigner with the Globalise Resistance anti-capitalist group on his mobile phone while discussing photographs of demonstrators with another officer at a police station.
The call was recorded on the campaigner's answerphone and Wellings is heard being pressed to identify protesters at demonstrations, according to Newsnight. He is recorded saying: "She's Hanna's girlfriend – very overt lesbian – last time I saw her, hair about that long, it was blonde, week before it was black."
The infiltration of police spies became controversial after the identification of Kennedy and four others who had posed as members of a variety of political groups including environmental, anti-racist and anti-globalisation campaigns.
The infiltration is the subject of four official investigations after police chiefs and ministers admitted the undercover operations had gone "badly wrong".
Kennedy believes that other undercover officers have been similarly ostracised. "The way the police handled the whole extraction .. is absolutely thoughtless from a psychological point of view and from a safety point of view."
He argues that the damage caused by such undercover work is too great, and that the police should rely more on electronic rather than human intelligence. ...
... Their disappearance may not be noticed by anyone with a good income, in secure employment, in sound health, without caring responsibilities – anyone who does not look to the state for support with life's problems. For the more vulnerable, the decision to close these bodies and cut these jobs will be sharply felt. They will be more acutely obvious beyond the south-east, in areas that are more dependent on government grants. Women, parents, carers, disabled people, teenagers and elderly people are likely to be the most affected.
From a Westminster perspective, they may be easy to ignore. These are not dramatic closures of maternity wards, big events that would inspire fury and noisy protest; instead the process is much smaller, more fragmented in scale, and hardest felt by people who tend not to be particularly powerful or vocal. Mostly, ministers are able to wash their hands of responsibility, dismissing these cuts as local decisions (despite the fact that they originate in central government funding reductions).
Viewed from Downing Street, they probably seem a fractured collection of regrettable but relatively insignificant services, located (conveniently) in greater concentration the further you move from Westminster. But from the service users' perspective, their disappearance will often be catastrophic. ...
From a Westminster perspective, they may be easy to ignore. These are not dramatic closures of maternity wards, big events that would inspire fury and noisy protest; instead the process is much smaller, more fragmented in scale, and hardest felt by people who tend not to be particularly powerful or vocal. Mostly, ministers are able to wash their hands of responsibility, dismissing these cuts as local decisions (despite the fact that they originate in central government funding reductions).
Viewed from Downing Street, they probably seem a fractured collection of regrettable but relatively insignificant services, located (conveniently) in greater concentration the further you move from Westminster. But from the service users' perspective, their disappearance will often be catastrophic. ...
Why Is Microsoft Seeking New State Laws That Allow it to Sue Competitors For Piracy by Overseas Suppliers?
Thursday, March 24 2011 @ 09:46 AM EDT
Microsoft seems to be trying to get its own personal unfair competition laws passed state by state, so it can sue US companies who get parts from overseas companies who used pirated Microsoft software anywhere in their business. The laws allow Microsoft to block the US company from selling the finished product in the state and compel them to pay damages for what the overseas supplier did.
You heard me right. If a company overseas uses a pirated version of Excel, let's say, keeping track of how many parts it has shipped or whatever, and then sends some parts to General Motors or any large company to incorporate into the finished product, Microsoft can sue *not the overseas supplier* but General Motors, for unfair competition. So can the state's Attorney General. I kid you not. For piracy that was done by someone else, overseas. The product could be T shirts. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as it's manufactured with contributions from an overseas supplier, like in China, who didn't pay Microsoft for software that it uses somewhere in the business. It's the US company that has to pay damages, not the overseas supplier.
Awful, I know. But the real question is, Why? Why is Microsoft doing this? Does Microsoft need a new revenue stream, now that folks are switching to smartphones instead of PCs? Or is it something worse, something Machiavellian? I ask that because I noticed two things, one, that Microsoft said that it came up with the laws because it is dissatisfied with patent law and two, something odd and frankly alarming in the Washington State version of this bill that leads me to suspect that this is Microsoft's Plan B in its litigation storm against Linux -- its Ace in the hole in case the Supreme Court decides that its software is unpatentable.
Not that Microsoft would mind having more than one way to harass Linux and it competitors in general, or two revenue streams without having to actually work to make better products. I'd like to show you how Open Source is deliberately excluded, though, a deliberate carve out.
How can there be state copyright-related statutes without conflicting with US Copyright Law, which is federal? You may well ask....
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
Thursday, March 24 2011 @ 09:46 AM EDT
Microsoft seems to be trying to get its own personal unfair competition laws passed state by state, so it can sue US companies who get parts from overseas companies who used pirated Microsoft software anywhere in their business. The laws allow Microsoft to block the US company from selling the finished product in the state and compel them to pay damages for what the overseas supplier did.
You heard me right. If a company overseas uses a pirated version of Excel, let's say, keeping track of how many parts it has shipped or whatever, and then sends some parts to General Motors or any large company to incorporate into the finished product, Microsoft can sue *not the overseas supplier* but General Motors, for unfair competition. So can the state's Attorney General. I kid you not. For piracy that was done by someone else, overseas. The product could be T shirts. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as it's manufactured with contributions from an overseas supplier, like in China, who didn't pay Microsoft for software that it uses somewhere in the business. It's the US company that has to pay damages, not the overseas supplier.
Awful, I know. But the real question is, Why? Why is Microsoft doing this? Does Microsoft need a new revenue stream, now that folks are switching to smartphones instead of PCs? Or is it something worse, something Machiavellian? I ask that because I noticed two things, one, that Microsoft said that it came up with the laws because it is dissatisfied with patent law and two, something odd and frankly alarming in the Washington State version of this bill that leads me to suspect that this is Microsoft's Plan B in its litigation storm against Linux -- its Ace in the hole in case the Supreme Court decides that its software is unpatentable.
Not that Microsoft would mind having more than one way to harass Linux and it competitors in general, or two revenue streams without having to actually work to make better products. I'd like to show you how Open Source is deliberately excluded, though, a deliberate carve out.
How can there be state copyright-related statutes without conflicting with US Copyright Law, which is federal? You may well ask....
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
Syria's government pledged to consider protesters' "legitimate demands" after thousands took to the streets for the funerals of nine people killed by the military.
Rights activists described Wednesday's shootings in the southern city of Daraa as a massacre, claiming that more than 100 people may have been killed when troops fired on a mosque in the early hours and throughout the day.
With protests called for after Friday prayers, Buthaina Shaaban, adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, announced that the government would consider ending Syria's emergency law and revise legislation for political parties and the media. Similar reform pledges have been announced in the past, and are unlikely to satisfy protesters.
In Deraa, funeral-goers chanted "God, Syria, Freedom" and "The blood of martyrs is not spilt in vain!", Reuters news agency reported. Some reports said that up to 20,000 people attended, but this could not be verified. The city has been cordoned off.
Deraa's hospital reported receiving 37 bodies from Wednesday's violence. YouTube videos apparently showed bloody scenes at the mosque.
Electricity and communications in the city were cut before the attack, which sources said was by a unit of forces headed by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad.
"This is a crime against humanity because forces opened fire on unarmed civilians without any warning," said Radwan Ziadeh, head of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights and a visiting scholar at Harvard University. ...
Rights activists described Wednesday's shootings in the southern city of Daraa as a massacre, claiming that more than 100 people may have been killed when troops fired on a mosque in the early hours and throughout the day.
With protests called for after Friday prayers, Buthaina Shaaban, adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, announced that the government would consider ending Syria's emergency law and revise legislation for political parties and the media. Similar reform pledges have been announced in the past, and are unlikely to satisfy protesters.
In Deraa, funeral-goers chanted "God, Syria, Freedom" and "The blood of martyrs is not spilt in vain!", Reuters news agency reported. Some reports said that up to 20,000 people attended, but this could not be verified. The city has been cordoned off.
Deraa's hospital reported receiving 37 bodies from Wednesday's violence. YouTube videos apparently showed bloody scenes at the mosque.
Electricity and communications in the city were cut before the attack, which sources said was by a unit of forces headed by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad.
"This is a crime against humanity because forces opened fire on unarmed civilians without any warning," said Radwan Ziadeh, head of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights and a visiting scholar at Harvard University. ...
The extraordinary public clash between the Metropolitan police and the director of public prosecutions during which each side has implied that the other has misled parliament continued with controversial claims before a Commons committee.
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
Um, who are the good guys again?
Barclays has made it clear to the Treasury that if the government insists on forcing UK banks to split their high street retail operation from their investment banking work, then it could move its headquarters out of London to the United States.
The claim was made by the Sunday Times which said the bank's former chief executive, John Varley, made the "thinly veiled threat" in a private meeting last week with the Treasury.
Varley was one of several senior bankers called in to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on Banking, chaired by Sir John Vickers, which is expected to outline a break-up scheme of some kind when it reports on April 11.
It is believed that Varley stopped short of making an explicit threat to pull out of the UK - but that he made Barclays' feelings very clear. ...
The claim was made by the Sunday Times which said the bank's former chief executive, John Varley, made the "thinly veiled threat" in a private meeting last week with the Treasury.
Varley was one of several senior bankers called in to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on Banking, chaired by Sir John Vickers, which is expected to outline a break-up scheme of some kind when it reports on April 11.
It is believed that Varley stopped short of making an explicit threat to pull out of the UK - but that he made Barclays' feelings very clear. ...
Business digest: Bailed-out bank’s key staff paid £1.1m on average
MARCH 18, 2011
The Royal Bank of Scotland's top five bankers, none of whom are on the board, earned more than £20m in 2010, it was revealed yesterday. RBS was bailed out by the government during the financial crisis.
The news was a result of Project Merlin, an agreement to increase transparency, which was signed by the UK's four biggest banks and announced by the chancellor last month. HSBC had been the first to comply with the agreement by revealing that five of their bankers took home between £2.1m and £2.7m in 2010.
In line with new FSA regulations, RBS also revealed how much their 'code staff' – those deemed crucial to business operations – were paid. The 232 staff members deemed to fit these criteria were paid £1.1m on average in 2010, costing the bank a total of £375m. ...
MARCH 18, 2011
The Royal Bank of Scotland's top five bankers, none of whom are on the board, earned more than £20m in 2010, it was revealed yesterday. RBS was bailed out by the government during the financial crisis.
The news was a result of Project Merlin, an agreement to increase transparency, which was signed by the UK's four biggest banks and announced by the chancellor last month. HSBC had been the first to comply with the agreement by revealing that five of their bankers took home between £2.1m and £2.7m in 2010.
In line with new FSA regulations, RBS also revealed how much their 'code staff' – those deemed crucial to business operations – were paid. The 232 staff members deemed to fit these criteria were paid £1.1m on average in 2010, costing the bank a total of £375m. ...
Syrian police have sealed off a southern city after security forces killed at least five protesters.
Residents of Daraa were being allowed to leave but not enter the city , said prominent Syrian rights activist Mazen Darwish.
The cordon seemed aimed at choking off any spread of unrest after earlier clashes and emotional funeral processions for the dead.
President Bashar Al-Assad, who has boasted that his country is immune to the demands for change that have already toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, sent a delegation to the southern city to offer his condolences to families of the victims, according to a Syrian official.
Serious disturbances in Syria would be a major expansion of the region's unrest. Syria, a predominantly Sunni country ruled by minority Alawites, has a history of brutally crushing dissent.
Security forces launched a harsh crackdown on Friday's demonstrations calling for political freedoms. Protests took place in at least five cities, including the capital, Damascus. But only in Daraa did they turn deadly. ...
Residents of Daraa were being allowed to leave but not enter the city , said prominent Syrian rights activist Mazen Darwish.
The cordon seemed aimed at choking off any spread of unrest after earlier clashes and emotional funeral processions for the dead.
President Bashar Al-Assad, who has boasted that his country is immune to the demands for change that have already toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, sent a delegation to the southern city to offer his condolences to families of the victims, according to a Syrian official.
Serious disturbances in Syria would be a major expansion of the region's unrest. Syria, a predominantly Sunni country ruled by minority Alawites, has a history of brutally crushing dissent.
Security forces launched a harsh crackdown on Friday's demonstrations calling for political freedoms. Protests took place in at least five cities, including the capital, Damascus. But only in Daraa did they turn deadly. ...
Andrew Lansley accused of burying poll showing record satisfaction with NHS | Society | The Observer
Ministers have been accused of "burying good news" about the NHS because it will undermine their case for sweeping reforms, after it emerged that they are withholding unpublished polling data that shows record levels of satisfaction with healthcare.
The Observer has learned that the polling organisation Ipsos MORI submitted the results last autumn to the Department of Health for inclusion in a government survey of public perceptions of the NHS. The data, commissioned by the department, shows that more members of the public than ever believe the NHS is doing a good job – a finding contrary to health secretary Andrew Lansley's insistence that it is falling short and needs urgent change.
The department has had the findings for six months, but has yet to make them public – the most recent information on its website relates to 2007. The decision to "sit on" the positive information has fuelled a row over the way in which the government is rooting out negative statistics about the NHS to justify reforms. Under the plans – rejected by the Liberal Democrats at their spring conference last weekend and opposed by a small band of Tory MPs, as well as by the Labour party – GPs will be handed control of £80bn of the NHS budget, tiers of management will be swept away and the private sector will play a greater role. The department was unable to say yesterday when it would publish the new data, but sources confirmed that the information shows public satisfaction at a record level.
In January, John Appleby, chief economist at the King's Fund thinktank, questioned the way in which ministers were unfavourably comparing the NHS with France. Appleby's article for the British Medical Journal attracted support from several academics and doctors. Professor Raj Bhopal, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "Justifying NHS reforms by picking a few statistics that cast doubts on the UK's renowned healthcare system is worrying, but choosing statistics that are widely questioned reminds me of previous government briefings that led to dodgy dossiers." ...
The Observer has learned that the polling organisation Ipsos MORI submitted the results last autumn to the Department of Health for inclusion in a government survey of public perceptions of the NHS. The data, commissioned by the department, shows that more members of the public than ever believe the NHS is doing a good job – a finding contrary to health secretary Andrew Lansley's insistence that it is falling short and needs urgent change.
The department has had the findings for six months, but has yet to make them public – the most recent information on its website relates to 2007. The decision to "sit on" the positive information has fuelled a row over the way in which the government is rooting out negative statistics about the NHS to justify reforms. Under the plans – rejected by the Liberal Democrats at their spring conference last weekend and opposed by a small band of Tory MPs, as well as by the Labour party – GPs will be handed control of £80bn of the NHS budget, tiers of management will be swept away and the private sector will play a greater role. The department was unable to say yesterday when it would publish the new data, but sources confirmed that the information shows public satisfaction at a record level.
In January, John Appleby, chief economist at the King's Fund thinktank, questioned the way in which ministers were unfavourably comparing the NHS with France. Appleby's article for the British Medical Journal attracted support from several academics and doctors. Professor Raj Bhopal, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "Justifying NHS reforms by picking a few statistics that cast doubts on the UK's renowned healthcare system is worrying, but choosing statistics that are widely questioned reminds me of previous government briefings that led to dodgy dossiers." ...
The growing number of public figures suing the News of the World won a major high court victory when a judge said Scotland Yard must hand over a mass of phone-hacking evidence that has never before been disclosed.
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
The US is pushing the UN to authorise not just a no-fly zone over Libya, but also the use of air strikes to stop the advance of forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Washington's ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said on Wednesday that a no-fly zone would have only a limited use, and that the Obama administration was working "very hard" to pass a new resolution, which would authorise the use of aerial bombing of Libyan tanks and heavy artillery.
The UN security council is planning to vote on the resolution late on Thursday.
After a day of intensive negotiation in New York, Rice told reporters: "We need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include, but perhaps go beyond, a no-fly zone at this point, as the situation on the ground has evolved, and as a no-fly zone has inherent limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk."
The draft, supported by the US, Britain, France and Germany, reflects a significant shift by Washington, alarmed by the speed at which the uprising is collapsing and concerned at the possibility of a massacre in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. ...
Washington's ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said on Wednesday that a no-fly zone would have only a limited use, and that the Obama administration was working "very hard" to pass a new resolution, which would authorise the use of aerial bombing of Libyan tanks and heavy artillery.
The UN security council is planning to vote on the resolution late on Thursday.
After a day of intensive negotiation in New York, Rice told reporters: "We need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include, but perhaps go beyond, a no-fly zone at this point, as the situation on the ground has evolved, and as a no-fly zone has inherent limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk."
The draft, supported by the US, Britain, France and Germany, reflects a significant shift by Washington, alarmed by the speed at which the uprising is collapsing and concerned at the possibility of a massacre in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. ...
Security forces in Bahrain arrested six key opposition members whom they accused of having contacted "foreign agents", as a crackdown on a two-month anti-government rebellion continued.
Several were accused of incitement to murder. They include Hassan Musaima and Abdul Jalil al-Sangaece, who had been jailed for allegedly plotting to overthrow the monarchy but had been freed in February as part of an amnesty designed to build trust. The pair had been critical of the government since their release.
Clashes continued in the capital, Manama, but not on the same scale as the pitched battles on Tuesday and Wednesday which drew strong international condemnation and set Bahrain's rulers at odds with the US, their key western backers.
Friday prayers loom as a further flashpoint in the violent rebellion, which has seen the Shia majority pitch against a ruling Sunni elite. Tensions soared this week after Bahrain's beseiged rulers invited into the kingdom troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council, led by a contingent from Saudi Arabia, which had felt increasingly threatened by the Shia uprising on its northern border. ...
Several were accused of incitement to murder. They include Hassan Musaima and Abdul Jalil al-Sangaece, who had been jailed for allegedly plotting to overthrow the monarchy but had been freed in February as part of an amnesty designed to build trust. The pair had been critical of the government since their release.
Clashes continued in the capital, Manama, but not on the same scale as the pitched battles on Tuesday and Wednesday which drew strong international condemnation and set Bahrain's rulers at odds with the US, their key western backers.
Friday prayers loom as a further flashpoint in the violent rebellion, which has seen the Shia majority pitch against a ruling Sunni elite. Tensions soared this week after Bahrain's beseiged rulers invited into the kingdom troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council, led by a contingent from Saudi Arabia, which had felt increasingly threatened by the Shia uprising on its northern border. ...
Dr Freddy Patel, the former Home Office pathologist suspended for incompetence in a series of high profile autopsies, has been found guilty of misconduct after failing to spot that a murder victim had been suffocated.
The 63-year-old forensic examiner now faces being struck off the medical register.
A disciplinary panel of the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that his "fitness to practise was impaired" because of his reluctance to consider asphyxiation in the murder case, the falsification of his professional CV, and his failure to redress previous professional shortcomings.
Over the last 18 months, Patel's work has come under intense scrutiny. He has been criticised for suggesting the newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson died of natural causes during the G20 protests in 2009.
Last summer Patel was suspended from practice for three months after the GMC found him guilty of misconduct or "deficient professional performance" in other cases. A disciplinary panel in effect banned him from carrying out postmortem examinations involving suspicious deaths.
In its latest findings the GMC told Patel that his clinical approach was not "sufficiently in line with the required standard of a competent pathologist".
In relation to his inaccurate CV, it said he had "acted in a way that was dishonest and liable to bring the profession into disrepute" and that the failings were "deliberate rather than inadvertent". ...
Believe it or not, as the article continues it actually gets worse.
The 63-year-old forensic examiner now faces being struck off the medical register.
A disciplinary panel of the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that his "fitness to practise was impaired" because of his reluctance to consider asphyxiation in the murder case, the falsification of his professional CV, and his failure to redress previous professional shortcomings.
Over the last 18 months, Patel's work has come under intense scrutiny. He has been criticised for suggesting the newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson died of natural causes during the G20 protests in 2009.
Last summer Patel was suspended from practice for three months after the GMC found him guilty of misconduct or "deficient professional performance" in other cases. A disciplinary panel in effect banned him from carrying out postmortem examinations involving suspicious deaths.
In its latest findings the GMC told Patel that his clinical approach was not "sufficiently in line with the required standard of a competent pathologist".
In relation to his inaccurate CV, it said he had "acted in a way that was dishonest and liable to bring the profession into disrepute" and that the failings were "deliberate rather than inadvertent". ...
Believe it or not, as the article continues it actually gets worse.
Phone hacking: Panorama to name sixth journalist in News of the World scandal | Media | The Guardian
The News of the World phone-hacking scandal is set to reach a new peak of embarrassment for the paper and for Scotland Yard with the naming of the sixth and most senior journalist yet to be implicated in illegal news-gathering.
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
What was the most amazing thing about last weekend's 24 Hour Panel People (highlights of which will be shown all week on BBC3 in the run-up to Friday's Comic Relief)? Was it David Walliams's incredible achievement of performing live in panel shows for a solid 24 hours – a feat of comic endurance not equalled since someone at the BBFC had to classify the DVD release of the complete Chucklevision? Or the generosity with which a host of Britain's best-loved comedians and Nicholas Parsons gave their time to make the event such a success? Or the speed with which the people at Dave subsequently put together a business plan for a 24-hour live rolling panel-show channel entirely fronted by Chinese children?
Well, I was there and I can tell you it was none of those things. The most amazing aspect of it, as a contributor, was the number of people bustling around with clipboards and headsets. Wherever I stood, unless actually on camera, dozens of them would immediately try to push past, politely but hurriedly, as if I'd obstinately positioned myself on the route of an air traffic controllers' fun run. "What can they possibly all be doing?" I thought irritably, forgetting temporarily that I lack the knowledge or power to self-televise.
It's an easy attitude to fall into, assuming that everyone else is perversely inconveniencing you, rather than having jobs or problems of their own – sitting in heavy traffic thinking: "Where are all these people going? Do they really need to? I'm late! They're getting in the way." In the case of this particular TV studio, I was the one who was getting in the way, and also having the gall to question the necessity and urgency of what I was getting in the way of: "Where are they going with the clipboards? Who are they talking to on the headsets? None of this makes any sense! All this process requires is people like me going in front of cameras and talking some shit."
That's precisely what David Cameron thinks about government. He simply can't understand what all the guys in headsets – the civil service – are up to. And he says it's not just him they're annoying – they're pushing past or obstructing the whole private sector. In an extraordinary speech to the Conservatives' spring conference last weekend, he called them the "enemies of enterprise". To him, they're the Klingons.
He said he was "taking on… the bureaucrats in government departments who concoct those ridiculous rules and regulations that make life impossible for small firms". On the face of it, this is simple crowd-pleasing stuff. It's easy to slag off the faceless bureaucrats, who supposedly waste our time and money with all their stupid rules. It's convenient to forget that bureaucrats, or civil servants as they're called when they're not being victimised, don't actually make rules, they just enforce them. Maybe, sometimes, they enforce them officiously. Maybe, sometimes, the processes they "concoct" for enforcing them are unnecessarily time-consuming. Maybe fewer of them could enforce the rules just as effectively. But they don't make the rules, Parliament does.
In seeking to blame the civil service for the rules as well as their enforcement, I think this speech is more sinister than Cameron's usual second-rate demagogy and I'm surprised it didn't attract greater attention. To me, these remarks are just as damaging as the prime minister's disparagement of multiculturalism, which rightly drew criticism, and a truer reflection of his political standpoint. Here he's breaking new ground for his evidence-averse Thatcherite ideological crusade. ...
Well, I was there and I can tell you it was none of those things. The most amazing aspect of it, as a contributor, was the number of people bustling around with clipboards and headsets. Wherever I stood, unless actually on camera, dozens of them would immediately try to push past, politely but hurriedly, as if I'd obstinately positioned myself on the route of an air traffic controllers' fun run. "What can they possibly all be doing?" I thought irritably, forgetting temporarily that I lack the knowledge or power to self-televise.
It's an easy attitude to fall into, assuming that everyone else is perversely inconveniencing you, rather than having jobs or problems of their own – sitting in heavy traffic thinking: "Where are all these people going? Do they really need to? I'm late! They're getting in the way." In the case of this particular TV studio, I was the one who was getting in the way, and also having the gall to question the necessity and urgency of what I was getting in the way of: "Where are they going with the clipboards? Who are they talking to on the headsets? None of this makes any sense! All this process requires is people like me going in front of cameras and talking some shit."
That's precisely what David Cameron thinks about government. He simply can't understand what all the guys in headsets – the civil service – are up to. And he says it's not just him they're annoying – they're pushing past or obstructing the whole private sector. In an extraordinary speech to the Conservatives' spring conference last weekend, he called them the "enemies of enterprise". To him, they're the Klingons.
He said he was "taking on… the bureaucrats in government departments who concoct those ridiculous rules and regulations that make life impossible for small firms". On the face of it, this is simple crowd-pleasing stuff. It's easy to slag off the faceless bureaucrats, who supposedly waste our time and money with all their stupid rules. It's convenient to forget that bureaucrats, or civil servants as they're called when they're not being victimised, don't actually make rules, they just enforce them. Maybe, sometimes, they enforce them officiously. Maybe, sometimes, the processes they "concoct" for enforcing them are unnecessarily time-consuming. Maybe fewer of them could enforce the rules just as effectively. But they don't make the rules, Parliament does.
In seeking to blame the civil service for the rules as well as their enforcement, I think this speech is more sinister than Cameron's usual second-rate demagogy and I'm surprised it didn't attract greater attention. To me, these remarks are just as damaging as the prime minister's disparagement of multiculturalism, which rightly drew criticism, and a truer reflection of his political standpoint. Here he's breaking new ground for his evidence-averse Thatcherite ideological crusade. ...
Muammar Gaddafi's army won control of a strategic rebel-held Libyan town and laid siege to another as the revolutionary administration in Benghazi again appealed for foreign military help to prevent what it said would be the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people if the insurgents were to lose.
The rebels admitted retreating from the oil town of Ras Lanuf – captured a week ago – after two days of intense fighting and that the nearby town of Brega was now threatened.
The revolutionary army, in large part made up of inexperienced young volunteers, has been forced back by a sustained artillery, tank and air bombardment about 20 miles along the road to the rebel capital of Benghazi.
The head of Libya's revolutionary council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, claimed that if Gaddafi's forces were to reach the country's second-largest city it would result in "the death of half a million" people.
The Arab League, meeting in Cairo, called on the UN security council to impose a no fly-zone on Libya as Gaddafi's forces also began to move against Misrata, a city of 300,000 people about 125 miles from Tripoli. Misrata is the only town in the west of the country still under the control of the insurgents after their defeat in a vicious battle for Zawiya. The rebels said that Misrata was now surrounded by Gaddafi's forces, which included tanks.
"We are bracing for a massacre," Mohamad Ahmed, a rebel fighter in the city, said. "We know it will happen and Misrata will be like Zawiya, but we believe in God. We do not have the capabilities to fight Gaddafi and his forces. They have tanks and heavy weapons and we have our belief and trust in God. The fighters here and the people of Misrata hold the international community responsible for the fall of Zawiya and for all the deaths that happened. Gaddafi is responsible, but they are partners in crime."
Jalil again appealed for the imposition of a no-fly zone to stop the air attacks on rebel forces: "If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Gaddafi's regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya." ...
The rebels admitted retreating from the oil town of Ras Lanuf – captured a week ago – after two days of intense fighting and that the nearby town of Brega was now threatened.
The revolutionary army, in large part made up of inexperienced young volunteers, has been forced back by a sustained artillery, tank and air bombardment about 20 miles along the road to the rebel capital of Benghazi.
The head of Libya's revolutionary council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, claimed that if Gaddafi's forces were to reach the country's second-largest city it would result in "the death of half a million" people.
The Arab League, meeting in Cairo, called on the UN security council to impose a no fly-zone on Libya as Gaddafi's forces also began to move against Misrata, a city of 300,000 people about 125 miles from Tripoli. Misrata is the only town in the west of the country still under the control of the insurgents after their defeat in a vicious battle for Zawiya. The rebels said that Misrata was now surrounded by Gaddafi's forces, which included tanks.
"We are bracing for a massacre," Mohamad Ahmed, a rebel fighter in the city, said. "We know it will happen and Misrata will be like Zawiya, but we believe in God. We do not have the capabilities to fight Gaddafi and his forces. They have tanks and heavy weapons and we have our belief and trust in God. The fighters here and the people of Misrata hold the international community responsible for the fall of Zawiya and for all the deaths that happened. Gaddafi is responsible, but they are partners in crime."
Jalil again appealed for the imposition of a no-fly zone to stop the air attacks on rebel forces: "If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Gaddafi's regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya." ...
Al-Jazeera says a cameraman for the pan-Arab satellite station has been killed near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. It is the first death of a journalist since the Libyan uprising began.
The station identified the slain journalist as Ali Hassan al-Jaber but did not specify his nationality. It said he was killed in what it called an "armed ambush" on an Al-Jazeera crew in the Hawari area near Benghazi, which is the headquarters of the rebellion seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. ...
The station identified the slain journalist as Ali Hassan al-Jaber but did not specify his nationality. It said he was killed in what it called an "armed ambush" on an Al-Jazeera crew in the Hawari area near Benghazi, which is the headquarters of the rebellion seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. ...
Yemeni security forces have killed four people and wounded hundreds more in the second day of a harsh crackdown on anti-government protests, witnesses said. One of the dead was a 15-year-old student.
The assault with gunfire and tear gas was the toughest yet by the government in a month of protests aimed at unseating the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. An ally in the Obama administration's fight against al-Qaida, Saleh had appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sana'a, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out.
Eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armoured personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5am, security forces attacked, firing bullets and tear gas.
One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said.
"We were performing dawn prayers when we were surprised by a sudden hail of bullets and tear gas," said Walid Hassan, a 25-year-old activist. "The protesters began throwing rocks at security ... it was total mayhem, a real battlefield."
A few hours later, another protester was shot dead in a nearby street. In the city of Dar Saad in the southern province of Aden, police used live fire and tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand, killing one demonstrator. ...
The assault with gunfire and tear gas was the toughest yet by the government in a month of protests aimed at unseating the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. An ally in the Obama administration's fight against al-Qaida, Saleh had appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sana'a, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out.
Eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armoured personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5am, security forces attacked, firing bullets and tear gas.
One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said.
"We were performing dawn prayers when we were surprised by a sudden hail of bullets and tear gas," said Walid Hassan, a 25-year-old activist. "The protesters began throwing rocks at security ... it was total mayhem, a real battlefield."
A few hours later, another protester was shot dead in a nearby street. In the city of Dar Saad in the southern province of Aden, police used live fire and tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand, killing one demonstrator. ...
The money came pouring in. Jonathan Rees worked from a dingy office in south London. He lived in a cramped flat upstairs. He was divorced, overweight and foul-mouthed but his business was golden: he traded information. His sources may have been corrupt. His actions may have been illegal. But the money kept coming – from one golden source in particular. As Rees himself put it: "No one pays like the News of the World do."
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
A man cleared of murder can be named as a private investigator with links to corrupt police officers who earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information on people in the public eye.
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist who revealed the News of the World had made a series of legal payments to hide the full extent of the phone-hacking scandal, wrote to the paper's former editor Andy Coulson on 23 February last year.
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
BT, Sky and Virgin Media – along with the rest of Britain's leading internet service providers – will next week outline an industry-wide "code of practice" on how they explain controversial "two-speed internet" policies to customers.
The group will make their announcement at a ministerial summit on net neutrality chaired by culture minister Ed Vaizey – which will also be attended by Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web and a strong supporter of net neutrality – on 16 March.
The ISPs plan to publish how they manage internet traffic – such as video viewing, music streaming and movie downloading – in comparison to their rivals. That will make clear if they throttle popular services such as the BBC's iPlayer to maintain capacity for all customers on their network.
However, the companies – whose ranks also include the leading mobile operators – will not commit to a minimum service standard, even though some phone companies believe that "there should be a basic commitment to let people browse everything on the internet".
The agreement follows a wide-ranging debate on "net neutrality" – whether ISPs should be allowed to charge content companies such as the BBC or Google for faster delivery to the nation's homes.
BT, TalkTalk and others argue that ISPs should be free to strike deals for more efficient delivery.
Under the plans, described as a "voluntary code of conduct" by people at the meeting, ISPs will be compelled to publish a "scorecard" of how they speed up and slow down traffic and for which companies. But internet providers will still be allowed to throttle public access to video and peer-to-peer services if they wish.
The Broadband Stakeholders Group, which has been facilitating meetings with ISPs on traffic management since late last year, will publish a statement shortly after the meeting. ISPs hope the move will head off an enforced code of practice by the communications regulator Ofcom. ...
The group will make their announcement at a ministerial summit on net neutrality chaired by culture minister Ed Vaizey – which will also be attended by Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web and a strong supporter of net neutrality – on 16 March.
The ISPs plan to publish how they manage internet traffic – such as video viewing, music streaming and movie downloading – in comparison to their rivals. That will make clear if they throttle popular services such as the BBC's iPlayer to maintain capacity for all customers on their network.
However, the companies – whose ranks also include the leading mobile operators – will not commit to a minimum service standard, even though some phone companies believe that "there should be a basic commitment to let people browse everything on the internet".
The agreement follows a wide-ranging debate on "net neutrality" – whether ISPs should be allowed to charge content companies such as the BBC or Google for faster delivery to the nation's homes.
BT, TalkTalk and others argue that ISPs should be free to strike deals for more efficient delivery.
Under the plans, described as a "voluntary code of conduct" by people at the meeting, ISPs will be compelled to publish a "scorecard" of how they speed up and slow down traffic and for which companies. But internet providers will still be allowed to throttle public access to video and peer-to-peer services if they wish.
The Broadband Stakeholders Group, which has been facilitating meetings with ISPs on traffic management since late last year, will publish a statement shortly after the meeting. ISPs hope the move will head off an enforced code of practice by the communications regulator Ofcom. ...
As unrest escalated across the Middle East, activists in Saudi Arabia demanded a political voice as well. Rather than promises of democracy, they got a $36 billion handout and a slap down from Islamic clerics.
Saudi academics, writers and representatives of the minority Shiite Muslim population called on King Abdullah, the sixth monarch in the Arab world’s largest economy, to move the country toward a constitutional monarchy. Anti-government demonstrators are advocating a “Day of Rage” today.
“Demands for political reform will inevitably increase in the kingdom as democracy takes root in the region,” said Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment in Oslo and author of “Jihad in Saudi Arabia.” “If the regime does nothing, tension will grow between conservative and progressive factions.”
More than two months of protests have rocked the Middle East and North Africa as citizens demand civil rights, higher living standards and the ouster of entrenched autocratic regimes. In Bahrain, a Saudi neighbor and home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, mainly Shiite protesters are pressing their demands for free elections and a constitutional monarchy.
The Saudi Tadawul stock index has dropped 9 percent since Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted by a popular movement and fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14. The benchmark had been down as much as 21 percent since that date when it slumped close to a two-year low on March 2. Crude oil has advanced 19 percent since turmoil in Libya started on Feb. 17.
‘Urgent Matter’
“The monarchy is trying hard to absorb demands for political change and cast them as economic demands,” Madawi Al- Rasheed, a professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College London, said in response to e-mailed questions. “Political reform is an urgent matter.”
Saudi Arabia has so far tried to calm oil markets and avoid the political upheaval with a package of new jobless benefits, education and housing subsidies and debt write-offs. There was also a warning from the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars that public protests won’t be tolerated. ...
Saudi academics, writers and representatives of the minority Shiite Muslim population called on King Abdullah, the sixth monarch in the Arab world’s largest economy, to move the country toward a constitutional monarchy. Anti-government demonstrators are advocating a “Day of Rage” today.
“Demands for political reform will inevitably increase in the kingdom as democracy takes root in the region,” said Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment in Oslo and author of “Jihad in Saudi Arabia.” “If the regime does nothing, tension will grow between conservative and progressive factions.”
More than two months of protests have rocked the Middle East and North Africa as citizens demand civil rights, higher living standards and the ouster of entrenched autocratic regimes. In Bahrain, a Saudi neighbor and home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, mainly Shiite protesters are pressing their demands for free elections and a constitutional monarchy.
The Saudi Tadawul stock index has dropped 9 percent since Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted by a popular movement and fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14. The benchmark had been down as much as 21 percent since that date when it slumped close to a two-year low on March 2. Crude oil has advanced 19 percent since turmoil in Libya started on Feb. 17.
‘Urgent Matter’
“The monarchy is trying hard to absorb demands for political change and cast them as economic demands,” Madawi Al- Rasheed, a professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College London, said in response to e-mailed questions. “Political reform is an urgent matter.”
Saudi Arabia has so far tried to calm oil markets and avoid the political upheaval with a package of new jobless benefits, education and housing subsidies and debt write-offs. There was also a warning from the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars that public protests won’t be tolerated. ...
... The witness, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared government reprisal, said police in the area opened fire and at least one protester was injured.
The Reuters news agency reported one witness as saying police fired percussion bombs to disperse the crowd of around 200 people.
Last week Saudi Arabia banned public protests following demonstrations by minority Shia groups.
The ruling came after widespread demonstrations in the Middle East – including those that led to the downfall of regimes in Egypt and Tunisia – and two weeks of Shia agitation in Saudi Arabia itself, during which 22 people were arrested.
A statement issued by the country's council of senior clerics at the time said: "The council ... affirms that demonstrations are forbidden in this country. The correct way in sharia [law] of realising common interest is by advising, which is what the Prophet Muhammad established.
"Reform and advice should not be via demonstrations and ways that provoke strife and division, this is what the religious scholars of this country in the past and now have forbidden and warned against."
The statement made clear the council's stance against political parties, which are banned as they are deemed to be not in keeping with Islam.
The Reuters news agency reported one witness as saying police fired percussion bombs to disperse the crowd of around 200 people.
Last week Saudi Arabia banned public protests following demonstrations by minority Shia groups.
The ruling came after widespread demonstrations in the Middle East – including those that led to the downfall of regimes in Egypt and Tunisia – and two weeks of Shia agitation in Saudi Arabia itself, during which 22 people were arrested.
A statement issued by the country's council of senior clerics at the time said: "The council ... affirms that demonstrations are forbidden in this country. The correct way in sharia [law] of realising common interest is by advising, which is what the Prophet Muhammad established.
"Reform and advice should not be via demonstrations and ways that provoke strife and division, this is what the religious scholars of this country in the past and now have forbidden and warned against."
The statement made clear the council's stance against political parties, which are banned as they are deemed to be not in keeping with Islam.
Downing Street is set to appoint former BP employee Ben Moxham to head up its energy and environment policy, as one of nine new policy advisers due to beef up No 10.
Moxham is currently employed at the Riverstone private equity group run by former BP boss Lord John Browne, which specialises in oil and renewable energy investment.
The 31-year-old has been put forward on a shortlist of one to David Cameron and Nick Clegg for approval, having been vetted by an impartial civil service appointment process. The two party leaders will meet six civil service candidates and three private sector recruits, of which Moxham is one, in the final round of the process to bring nine extra policy experts into government. All will be appointed as civil servants in order not to breach Cameron's stipulation on the number of political appointees. ...
Moxham is currently employed at the Riverstone private equity group run by former BP boss Lord John Browne, which specialises in oil and renewable energy investment.
The 31-year-old has been put forward on a shortlist of one to David Cameron and Nick Clegg for approval, having been vetted by an impartial civil service appointment process. The two party leaders will meet six civil service candidates and three private sector recruits, of which Moxham is one, in the final round of the process to bring nine extra policy experts into government. All will be appointed as civil servants in order not to breach Cameron's stipulation on the number of political appointees. ...
The controversial former bank chief Sir Fred Goodwin is the latest high profile figure to obtain a superinjunction, it has emerged.
The existence of the measure – which bans the press from reporting that an injunction has been obtained – can be revealed after a backbench Liberal Democrat, John Hemming, raised the issue in the Commons.
"In a secret hearing this week Fred Goodwin has obtained a superinjunction preventing him being identified as a banker," said Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley.
Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to avoid the legal ban on reporting the use of superinjunctions, asked: "Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?"
Goodwin, who presided over the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, was reported to have been angered by press coverage after he became popularly known as "Fred the Shred".
He attracted widespread media attention after he was forced to step down in 2008 as a non-negotiable condition of the bank's £20bn bailout by the taxpayer. Goodwin initially left RBS with a pension of £700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly £3m. He agreed to reduce the payout following public outcry.
News that Goodwin has obtained a superinjunction – over issues that cannot be reported – has raised further questions about the use of the measures. ...
The existence of the measure – which bans the press from reporting that an injunction has been obtained – can be revealed after a backbench Liberal Democrat, John Hemming, raised the issue in the Commons.
"In a secret hearing this week Fred Goodwin has obtained a superinjunction preventing him being identified as a banker," said Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley.
Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to avoid the legal ban on reporting the use of superinjunctions, asked: "Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?"
Goodwin, who presided over the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, was reported to have been angered by press coverage after he became popularly known as "Fred the Shred".
He attracted widespread media attention after he was forced to step down in 2008 as a non-negotiable condition of the bank's £20bn bailout by the taxpayer. Goodwin initially left RBS with a pension of £700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly £3m. He agreed to reduce the payout following public outcry.
News that Goodwin has obtained a superinjunction – over issues that cannot be reported – has raised further questions about the use of the measures. ...
Two journalists working for the BBC in Libya have been arrested, tortured and subjected to a mock execution by security forces of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
The shocking account of their experiences, including being held in a cage in a militia barracks while others were tortured around them, was made available to media colleagues in Tripoli after the men had been released and left the country.
At one point during their captivity the men say they had shots fired past their heads as they were led into a barracks.
One of the men was attacked repeatedly with fists, boots, rifle butts, a stick and piece of pipe. He also described trying to help other victims of torture whom they saw, some of whom had had their ribs broken during beatings.
The ordeal represents the most serious incident yet involving the targeting of the international media and may offer an insight into the fate of many of those opposition supporters who have been rounded up during the regime's crackdown on its opponents.
It also offers the first real eyewitness depiction of conditions endured by those arrested by the regime, including those whose only crime has been to talk to foreign journalists.
A reporter for the BBC Arabic service, Feras Killani, a Palestinian refugee with a Syrian passport and Turkish cameraman Goktay Koraltan, were arrested on Monday with Chris Cobb-Smith, a British citizen, at a checkpoint in Zahra, six miles from the besieged town of Zawiya 30 miles from Tripoli.
The two journalists say they were kicked and punched and beaten to the floor with rifle butts while being interrogated as suspected "British spies" despite having permission to work in Libya. Cobb-Smith was not assaulted. ...
The shocking account of their experiences, including being held in a cage in a militia barracks while others were tortured around them, was made available to media colleagues in Tripoli after the men had been released and left the country.
At one point during their captivity the men say they had shots fired past their heads as they were led into a barracks.
One of the men was attacked repeatedly with fists, boots, rifle butts, a stick and piece of pipe. He also described trying to help other victims of torture whom they saw, some of whom had had their ribs broken during beatings.
The ordeal represents the most serious incident yet involving the targeting of the international media and may offer an insight into the fate of many of those opposition supporters who have been rounded up during the regime's crackdown on its opponents.
It also offers the first real eyewitness depiction of conditions endured by those arrested by the regime, including those whose only crime has been to talk to foreign journalists.
A reporter for the BBC Arabic service, Feras Killani, a Palestinian refugee with a Syrian passport and Turkish cameraman Goktay Koraltan, were arrested on Monday with Chris Cobb-Smith, a British citizen, at a checkpoint in Zahra, six miles from the besieged town of Zawiya 30 miles from Tripoli.
The two journalists say they were kicked and punched and beaten to the floor with rifle butts while being interrogated as suspected "British spies" despite having permission to work in Libya. Cobb-Smith was not assaulted. ...
It may be furnished, according to its new occupants, just as you would expect "when you have spent £10m of blood money on a house", but judging by the appearance mid-afternoon of a masked man in camouflage gear carrying two shopping bags from Budgens, no one had thought to fill the fridge.
Perhaps when occupying the multimillion-pound London mansion of a tyrant's son, food is some way down the list of priorities. More pressing tasks, for the small group of protesters who have moved into Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's redbrick Hampstead home, were affixing banners to the roof reading "Revolution" and "Out of Libya, out of London", and summoning the press, to whom they declared their actions had been taken "in solidarity with the people of Libya, the people of Cairo, the people of Saudi Arabia".
Spokesman Montgomery Jones told the Guardian that the group, called Topple the Tyrants, had been formed in response to the events of the Arab spring; this was their first action. How many of them were there? "We're not doing numbers."
Though there were no Libyans among the group, "we have people from the Middle East and we're hoping to disseminate the protests more widely". Further properties would be targeted "if they are owned by dictators, absolutely".
A printed notice declaring their legal rights as squatters and taped to the front door, and the appearance of a man in a yellow tabard with the words "legal observer" handwritten on the back, suggested this was not the first such protest for those involved.
The property, the protesters said, was managed by Gaddafi through a holding company registered in the British Cayman Islands. They said they had been alerted anonymously to the address. ...
Perhaps when occupying the multimillion-pound London mansion of a tyrant's son, food is some way down the list of priorities. More pressing tasks, for the small group of protesters who have moved into Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's redbrick Hampstead home, were affixing banners to the roof reading "Revolution" and "Out of Libya, out of London", and summoning the press, to whom they declared their actions had been taken "in solidarity with the people of Libya, the people of Cairo, the people of Saudi Arabia".
Spokesman Montgomery Jones told the Guardian that the group, called Topple the Tyrants, had been formed in response to the events of the Arab spring; this was their first action. How many of them were there? "We're not doing numbers."
Though there were no Libyans among the group, "we have people from the Middle East and we're hoping to disseminate the protests more widely". Further properties would be targeted "if they are owned by dictators, absolutely".
A printed notice declaring their legal rights as squatters and taped to the front door, and the appearance of a man in a yellow tabard with the words "legal observer" handwritten on the back, suggested this was not the first such protest for those involved.
The property, the protesters said, was managed by Gaddafi through a holding company registered in the British Cayman Islands. They said they had been alerted anonymously to the address. ...
Trade unions representing a million state employees are drawing up plans for strikes that could bring Britain's schools, universities, courts and Whitehall to a standstill as early as June in protest over government plans to end so-called "gold-plated" public sector pensions, the Guardian has learned.
Lord Hutton, the Labour former work and pensions secretary charged by the coalition with reviewing public sector pensions, will publish his final report on Thursday, and it now looks likely to act as a starting gun for extended industrial action against the government's austerity programme.
The report will recommend that 6 million nurses, teachers, local government and other public sector workers should pay more into their pension pots, retire later and receive less when they do. All state employees will be affected, and it will create the first legal basis for simultaneous strikes across the public service unions. ...
Lord Hutton, the Labour former work and pensions secretary charged by the coalition with reviewing public sector pensions, will publish his final report on Thursday, and it now looks likely to act as a starting gun for extended industrial action against the government's austerity programme.
The report will recommend that 6 million nurses, teachers, local government and other public sector workers should pay more into their pension pots, retire later and receive less when they do. All state employees will be affected, and it will create the first legal basis for simultaneous strikes across the public service unions. ...
For America's beleaguered liberals, Monday's New York Times reports what sounds like a dream come true: Fox News is considering parting company with Glenn Beck, the rococo conspiracy theorist who inspires those on the swivel-eyed right and infuriates anyone to their left.
According to the New York Times's media correspondent David Carr, unnamed Fox News executives are said to be "contemplating life without Mr Beck" when the conservative shock jock's contract ends in December.
Some dismiss this as part of the rough and tumble of contract negotiations going on between Fox and Beck. But others point to Beck's sagging viewing figures - especially his loss of a million viewers for his daily one-hour show in the past year - from an average of 2.9 million in January 2010 to 1.8 million in January 2011 - as more to the point, with Beck's increasingly paranoid stylings said to be driving away more moderate viewers and high profile advertisers.
Democrats and others on the left would like to hope that it's Beck's outrageousness that has brought him to this impasse, and they may have a case. Beck has recently got Fox News into hot water on some sensitive subjects. One was a long rant against George Soros - in itself hardly a crime as the wealthy liberal philanthropist is a favourite target of the Fox News commentariat. Beck, though, went too far, and cast Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as: "Here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps."
That controversy had barely died down when Beck launched himself at Reform rabbis, equating them to "radicalized Islam," for which he later apologised. (That statement, like most of Beck's more outrageous claims, came on his syndicated radio show, not on Fox News, although his high profile means it reflects upon the channel.)
In between, Beck has been labelling Google as somehow orchestrating a single world government via its overthrow of regimes in North Africa (no, really), while at the same time the same set of regime changes also spells out the dawn of a sinister new Islamic Caliphate.
The NYT's Carr suggests that liberal protests has little to do with Fox News having coolness towards giving Beck a new contract...
According to the New York Times's media correspondent David Carr, unnamed Fox News executives are said to be "contemplating life without Mr Beck" when the conservative shock jock's contract ends in December.
Some dismiss this as part of the rough and tumble of contract negotiations going on between Fox and Beck. But others point to Beck's sagging viewing figures - especially his loss of a million viewers for his daily one-hour show in the past year - from an average of 2.9 million in January 2010 to 1.8 million in January 2011 - as more to the point, with Beck's increasingly paranoid stylings said to be driving away more moderate viewers and high profile advertisers.
Democrats and others on the left would like to hope that it's Beck's outrageousness that has brought him to this impasse, and they may have a case. Beck has recently got Fox News into hot water on some sensitive subjects. One was a long rant against George Soros - in itself hardly a crime as the wealthy liberal philanthropist is a favourite target of the Fox News commentariat. Beck, though, went too far, and cast Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as: "Here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps."
That controversy had barely died down when Beck launched himself at Reform rabbis, equating them to "radicalized Islam," for which he later apologised. (That statement, like most of Beck's more outrageous claims, came on his syndicated radio show, not on Fox News, although his high profile means it reflects upon the channel.)
In between, Beck has been labelling Google as somehow orchestrating a single world government via its overthrow of regimes in North Africa (no, really), while at the same time the same set of regime changes also spells out the dawn of a sinister new Islamic Caliphate.
The NYT's Carr suggests that liberal protests has little to do with Fox News having coolness towards giving Beck a new contract...
Chinese authorities have closed Tibet to foreign visitors as the third anniversary of anti-government riots approaches.
The region's top official confirmed the restrictions after travel agents reported orders not to arrange trips for tourists, who need a special permit to visit the region in addition to the visa for China.
Zhang Qingli, the Communist party secretary in Tibet, said there were "some control measures" for safety reasons, citing potential overcrowding and freezing winter weather.
He told reporters at an annual political meeting in Beijing that the region was stable. "It's not that the anti-Chinese forces and the Dalai clique haven't thought of it but the fact is they haven't been able to stir up any unrest since the March 14 incident."
Twenty-two people, almost all Han Chinese, died when Tibetans took to the streets of the capital, Lhasa, in 2008, burning shops and attacking passers-by. Unrest rippled out across other Tibetan areas in western China.
Exiles allege that scores of Tibetans died in the ensuing crackdown. It has not been possible to verify the claims. ...
The region's top official confirmed the restrictions after travel agents reported orders not to arrange trips for tourists, who need a special permit to visit the region in addition to the visa for China.
Zhang Qingli, the Communist party secretary in Tibet, said there were "some control measures" for safety reasons, citing potential overcrowding and freezing winter weather.
He told reporters at an annual political meeting in Beijing that the region was stable. "It's not that the anti-Chinese forces and the Dalai clique haven't thought of it but the fact is they haven't been able to stir up any unrest since the March 14 incident."
Twenty-two people, almost all Han Chinese, died when Tibetans took to the streets of the capital, Lhasa, in 2008, burning shops and attacking passers-by. Unrest rippled out across other Tibetan areas in western China.
Exiles allege that scores of Tibetans died in the ensuing crackdown. It has not been possible to verify the claims. ...
... Leonid Nikolayev and Oleg Vorotnikov, members of the radical art collective Voina, were freed from custody last week after nearly four months awaiting trial for overturning police cars in St Petersburg.
They held a press conference on Thursday to talk about their ordeal. On their way home, accompanied by Oleg's wife Natalia Sokol and his two-year-old son, Casper, they noticed they were being followed by seven men, who looked like "typical thugs".
When Natalia started taking pictures of the men, they tried to grab the camera. In the struggle she was pushed into a puddle and dragged by the hair, so violently that one of her braids was ripped out.
"They said they were from the Criminal Investigation department," she said when I eventually reached her by e-mail. "But if they really were police investigators they behaved pretty strangely."
Oleg added: "They waved their IDs, but we couldn't examine them. Then they attacked Leonid from behind and rained down blows on my back and my head."
The baby pram was given a violent push, knocking Casper's face hard against a wall.
St Petersburg police could not be reached for comment but a spokesman told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that "preliminary investigations" were under way. ...
They held a press conference on Thursday to talk about their ordeal. On their way home, accompanied by Oleg's wife Natalia Sokol and his two-year-old son, Casper, they noticed they were being followed by seven men, who looked like "typical thugs".
When Natalia started taking pictures of the men, they tried to grab the camera. In the struggle she was pushed into a puddle and dragged by the hair, so violently that one of her braids was ripped out.
"They said they were from the Criminal Investigation department," she said when I eventually reached her by e-mail. "But if they really were police investigators they behaved pretty strangely."
Oleg added: "They waved their IDs, but we couldn't examine them. Then they attacked Leonid from behind and rained down blows on my back and my head."
The baby pram was given a violent push, knocking Casper's face hard against a wall.
St Petersburg police could not be reached for comment but a spokesman told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that "preliminary investigations" were under way. ...
... In a speech earlier this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Americans For Prosperity-Michigan Executive Director Scott Hagerstrom revealed the true goal of his group and allies like Walker.
Speaking at CPAC's "Panel for Labor Policy," Hagerstrom said that even more than cutting taxes and regulations, AFP really wants to "take the unions out at the knees ." Knee-capping free labor has long been a goal of the Koch brothers and their many front groups. In the run-up to the 2010 elections, the Kochs worked with other anti-labor billionaires, corporations and activists to fund conservative candidates and groups across the country.
Now after viciously opposing pro-middle class policies for years, Koch Industries is trying to eliminate the only organizations which serve as a counterweight to its well-oiled corporate machine. Believing he was talking with David Koch, Walker told a prankster his plans to crush the unions. Koch's AFP operatives are now working with "state officials in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania to urge them to duplicate Walker's crusade in Wisconsin." ...
... According to EPA databases, Koch businesses are huge polluters, emitting thousands of pounds of toxic pollutants. As soon as he got into office, Walker started cutting environmental regulations and appointed a Republican known for her disregard for environmental regulations to lead the Department of Natural Resources. In addition, Walker has stated his opposition to clean energy jobs policies that might draw workers away from Koch-owned interests. ...
I don't give a fuck how they pronounce it - they're cocks.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Speaking at CPAC's "Panel for Labor Policy," Hagerstrom said that even more than cutting taxes and regulations, AFP really wants to "take the unions out at the knees ." Knee-capping free labor has long been a goal of the Koch brothers and their many front groups. In the run-up to the 2010 elections, the Kochs worked with other anti-labor billionaires, corporations and activists to fund conservative candidates and groups across the country.
Now after viciously opposing pro-middle class policies for years, Koch Industries is trying to eliminate the only organizations which serve as a counterweight to its well-oiled corporate machine. Believing he was talking with David Koch, Walker told a prankster his plans to crush the unions. Koch's AFP operatives are now working with "state officials in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania to urge them to duplicate Walker's crusade in Wisconsin." ...
... According to EPA databases, Koch businesses are huge polluters, emitting thousands of pounds of toxic pollutants. As soon as he got into office, Walker started cutting environmental regulations and appointed a Republican known for her disregard for environmental regulations to lead the Department of Natural Resources. In addition, Walker has stated his opposition to clean energy jobs policies that might draw workers away from Koch-owned interests. ...
I don't give a fuck how they pronounce it - they're cocks.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Daily Star reporter quits in protest at tabloid's 'anti-Muslim' coverage
Richard Peppiatt admits producing fictional stories about celebrities and accuses tabloid of inciting racial tensions
Paul Lewis
Friday 4 March 2011
The Daily Star has been accused of printing fictional stories by a disgruntled reporter who has resigned over its "hatemongering" anti-Muslim propaganda.
In a resignation letter, Richard Peppiatt said he was leaving after the Star gave sympathetic coverage to the far-right English Defence League last month.
Peppiatt admits producing a number of fictional stories about celebrities during his two years at the tabloid, a practice he implies was sanctioned by his seniors.
The reporter, who was once made to dress up in a burqa, now accuses the paper of inciting racial tensions and Islamaphobia. "You may have heard the phrase 'the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas'," Peppiatt wrote to the proprietor, Richard Desmond, in a letter seen by the Guardian.
"Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a bloke's head caved-in down an alley in Bradford.' If you can't see that words matter, you should go back to running porn magazines." ...'
Richard Peppiatt admits producing fictional stories about celebrities and accuses tabloid of inciting racial tensions
Paul Lewis
Friday 4 March 2011
The Daily Star has been accused of printing fictional stories by a disgruntled reporter who has resigned over its "hatemongering" anti-Muslim propaganda.
In a resignation letter, Richard Peppiatt said he was leaving after the Star gave sympathetic coverage to the far-right English Defence League last month.
Peppiatt admits producing a number of fictional stories about celebrities during his two years at the tabloid, a practice he implies was sanctioned by his seniors.
The reporter, who was once made to dress up in a burqa, now accuses the paper of inciting racial tensions and Islamaphobia. "You may have heard the phrase 'the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas'," Peppiatt wrote to the proprietor, Richard Desmond, in a letter seen by the Guardian.
"Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a bloke's head caved-in down an alley in Bradford.' If you can't see that words matter, you should go back to running porn magazines." ...'
There is still a way to win this Murdoch media war
Vince Cable may have lost out over the BSkyB decision, but by fighting from the backbenches he could yet achieve victory
Polly Toynbee
Friday 4 March 2011
As certain as the sun rises in the sky was it that the owner of the Sun would be granted ownership of Sky outright. Few are surprised – but that doesn't stop most being shocked. Rupert Murdoch did what he has always done – defied regulators, governments and tax authorities to carve himself an anti-competitive market dominance with an unmatched global concentration of media power. Think how tightly he grips US politics between his Fox News foghorn and the Wall Street Journal.
In the next four years BSkyB will earn half of all UK television revenues – rising thereafter. Sky's turnover is nearly twice that of the BBC's, whose licence fee has been cut – as urged almost daily by Murdoch's papers. Watch his empire's earnings multiply as packages bundle together monopolistic sports, TV archive and film rights, combining advertising and sales offers across newspapers, their websites and all digital platforms, and making it impossible for new competitors to enter the market. Britain has the weakest media laws, weaker by far than America's.
Desperately needing growth in a stricken economy over-dependent on finance, the government praises Britain's successful creative industries. But News Corp is a dead hand, fostering little new UK talent or creative risk-taking, relying on ready-made successes from elsewhere. This is no way to nurture that industry.
The man who pretends to be a great free marketeer has built an empire almost entirely out of circumventing competition to throttle free markets. That is what Adam Smith warned businesses will do unless commerce is well-regulated by governments to keep healthy markets open. The paradox ignored by this government is that entrepreneurial capitalism needs a strong state to thrive: once markets ossify into monopolies, cartels, corruptions, briberies and intimidation of law-makers, they stagnate. That's why third world dictatorships fail economically. ...
Vince Cable may have lost out over the BSkyB decision, but by fighting from the backbenches he could yet achieve victory
Polly Toynbee
Friday 4 March 2011
As certain as the sun rises in the sky was it that the owner of the Sun would be granted ownership of Sky outright. Few are surprised – but that doesn't stop most being shocked. Rupert Murdoch did what he has always done – defied regulators, governments and tax authorities to carve himself an anti-competitive market dominance with an unmatched global concentration of media power. Think how tightly he grips US politics between his Fox News foghorn and the Wall Street Journal.
In the next four years BSkyB will earn half of all UK television revenues – rising thereafter. Sky's turnover is nearly twice that of the BBC's, whose licence fee has been cut – as urged almost daily by Murdoch's papers. Watch his empire's earnings multiply as packages bundle together monopolistic sports, TV archive and film rights, combining advertising and sales offers across newspapers, their websites and all digital platforms, and making it impossible for new competitors to enter the market. Britain has the weakest media laws, weaker by far than America's.
Desperately needing growth in a stricken economy over-dependent on finance, the government praises Britain's successful creative industries. But News Corp is a dead hand, fostering little new UK talent or creative risk-taking, relying on ready-made successes from elsewhere. This is no way to nurture that industry.
The man who pretends to be a great free marketeer has built an empire almost entirely out of circumventing competition to throttle free markets. That is what Adam Smith warned businesses will do unless commerce is well-regulated by governments to keep healthy markets open. The paradox ignored by this government is that entrepreneurial capitalism needs a strong state to thrive: once markets ossify into monopolies, cartels, corruptions, briberies and intimidation of law-makers, they stagnate. That's why third world dictatorships fail economically. ...
Over the last half century, the richest Americans have shifted the burden of the federal individual income tax off themselves and onto everybody else. The three convenient and accurate Wikipedia graphs below show the details. The first graph compares the official tax rates paid by the top and bottom income earners. Note especially that from the end of the second world war into the early 1960s, the highest income earners paid a tax rate over 90% for many years. Today, the top earners pay a rate of only 35%. Note also how the gap between the rates paid by the richest and the poorest has narrowed. If we take into account the many loopholes the rich can and do use far more than the poor, the gap narrows even more.
One conclusion is clear and obvious: the richest Americans have dramatically lowered their income tax burden since 1945, both absolutely and relative to the tax burdens of the middle income groups and the poor.
...if the highest income earners today were required to pay the same rate that they paid for many years after 1945, the federal government would need far lower deficits to support the private economy through its current crisis; and second, those tax-the-rich years after 1945 experienced far lower unemployment and far faster economic growth than we have had for years.
The lower taxes the rich got for themselves are one reason why they have become so much richer over the last half century. Just as their tax rates started to come down from their 1960s heights, so their shares of the total national income began their rise. As the two other Wikipedia graphs below show, we have now returned to the extreme inequality of income that characterised the US a century ago. ...
One conclusion is clear and obvious: the richest Americans have dramatically lowered their income tax burden since 1945, both absolutely and relative to the tax burdens of the middle income groups and the poor.
...if the highest income earners today were required to pay the same rate that they paid for many years after 1945, the federal government would need far lower deficits to support the private economy through its current crisis; and second, those tax-the-rich years after 1945 experienced far lower unemployment and far faster economic growth than we have had for years.
The lower taxes the rich got for themselves are one reason why they have become so much richer over the last half century. Just as their tax rates started to come down from their 1960s heights, so their shares of the total national income began their rise. As the two other Wikipedia graphs below show, we have now returned to the extreme inequality of income that characterised the US a century ago. ...
Mervyn King has risked reopening the bitter argument over blame for the financial crisis by saying that government spending cuts are the fault of the City and expressing surprise there has not been more public anger.
The governor of the Bank of England said that people made unemployed and businesses bankrupted during the crisis had every reason to be resentful and voice their protest. He told the Treasury select committee that the billions spent bailing out the banks and the need for public spending cuts were the fault of the financial services sector.
"The price of this financial crisis is being borne by people who absolutely did not cause it," he said. "Now is the period when the cost is being paid, I'm surprised that the degree of public anger has not been greater than it has."
King has repeatedly pointed the finger at the City since the crisis erupted in 2007, but this was the first time he blamed bankers for the coalition's spending cuts.
It became clear during the hearing that King and his fellow members of the Bank's monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates, believe the crisis will have a lasting impact on the economy.
Asked when living standards enjoyed before the crisis would return, King said: "The research makes it clear that the impact of these crises lasts for many years. It is not like an ordinary recession, where you lose output and get it back quickly. We may not get the lost output back for very many years, if ever." ...
The governor of the Bank of England said that people made unemployed and businesses bankrupted during the crisis had every reason to be resentful and voice their protest. He told the Treasury select committee that the billions spent bailing out the banks and the need for public spending cuts were the fault of the financial services sector.
"The price of this financial crisis is being borne by people who absolutely did not cause it," he said. "Now is the period when the cost is being paid, I'm surprised that the degree of public anger has not been greater than it has."
King has repeatedly pointed the finger at the City since the crisis erupted in 2007, but this was the first time he blamed bankers for the coalition's spending cuts.
It became clear during the hearing that King and his fellow members of the Bank's monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates, believe the crisis will have a lasting impact on the economy.
Asked when living standards enjoyed before the crisis would return, King said: "The research makes it clear that the impact of these crises lasts for many years. It is not like an ordinary recession, where you lose output and get it back quickly. We may not get the lost output back for very many years, if ever." ...
Libya uprising - live updates
• Libyan forces launch counter attacks against rebels
• Prospect of military intervention by west moves closer
• Gaddafi labelled "delusional" by US ambassador to UN
• Libyan leader maintains "All my people love me"
• Libyan forces launch counter attacks against rebels
• Prospect of military intervention by west moves closer
• Gaddafi labelled "delusional" by US ambassador to UN
• Libyan leader maintains "All my people love me"
Muammar Gaddafi has insisted that the people of Libya love him and denied during an interview that there have been any demonstrations against his regime.
"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," said the Libyan leader, speaking to news organisations including the BBC, laughing off international pressure to step down.
"As if anyone would leave their homeland," he replied, accusing western leaders of betrayal and of having "no morals."
Besides, he insisted, he had no official position from which he could resign: "It's honorary. It has nothing to do with exercising power or authority."
"In Britain who has the power, is it Queen Elizabeth or is it David Cameron?" he asked.
Throughout an interview, conducted at a Tripoli restaurant overlooking a port on the Mediterranean coast, he appeared to be in denial about the strength of the uprising against his 41-year rule that has ended his control over eastern Libya and is closing in on Tripoli itself.
Sometimes breaking into English from Arabic, he repeated claims that al-Qaida was behind the uprising and said that young people involved in it had been given drugs, which were now beginning to wear off. ...
"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," said the Libyan leader, speaking to news organisations including the BBC, laughing off international pressure to step down.
"As if anyone would leave their homeland," he replied, accusing western leaders of betrayal and of having "no morals."
Besides, he insisted, he had no official position from which he could resign: "It's honorary. It has nothing to do with exercising power or authority."
"In Britain who has the power, is it Queen Elizabeth or is it David Cameron?" he asked.
Throughout an interview, conducted at a Tripoli restaurant overlooking a port on the Mediterranean coast, he appeared to be in denial about the strength of the uprising against his 41-year rule that has ended his control over eastern Libya and is closing in on Tripoli itself.
Sometimes breaking into English from Arabic, he repeated claims that al-Qaida was behind the uprising and said that young people involved in it had been given drugs, which were now beginning to wear off. ...
The playboy son of one of Africa's most notorious dictators commissioned plans for a luxury superyacht costing $380m (£234m) – nearly three times his country's combined health and education budgets, according to a corruption watchdog.
Teodorin Obiang, eldest son of Teodoro Obiang, the president of Equatorial Guinea, wanted to build the world's second most expensive yacht after the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich's $1.2bn Eclipse, the campaign group Global Witness said. It condemned the plan as "outrageous extravagance" in a country where, despite vast oil wealth, 20% of children die before their fifth birthday and few people live beyond 50.
The government of the tiny west African country confirmed that Obiang junior had ordered the yacht design, but said he had decided against going ahead with it.
President Obiang has ruled for more than 30 years and been accused of grave human rights violations. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at around $600m.
Teodorin Obiang, 41, is his minister of agriculture and apparently being groomed as his father's successor. Global Witness said his "extravagant lifestyle" includes a $35m mansion in Malibu , a $33m jet and a fleet of luxury cars – yet his ministerial salary is $6,799 a month.
Global Witness claimed Obiang asked the German company Kusch Yachts to build the superyacht under the codename "Project Zen". It said Kusch employees told investigators the 387ft yacht would have a cinema, restaurant, bar, pool and a $1.3m security system complete with floor motion sensors, photoelectric barriers and fingerprint door openers. The basic design was completed by Kusch in December 2009 for €250,000 (£212,192) with an original delivery date set for late next year. ...
Teodorin Obiang, eldest son of Teodoro Obiang, the president of Equatorial Guinea, wanted to build the world's second most expensive yacht after the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich's $1.2bn Eclipse, the campaign group Global Witness said. It condemned the plan as "outrageous extravagance" in a country where, despite vast oil wealth, 20% of children die before their fifth birthday and few people live beyond 50.
The government of the tiny west African country confirmed that Obiang junior had ordered the yacht design, but said he had decided against going ahead with it.
President Obiang has ruled for more than 30 years and been accused of grave human rights violations. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at around $600m.
Teodorin Obiang, 41, is his minister of agriculture and apparently being groomed as his father's successor. Global Witness said his "extravagant lifestyle" includes a $35m mansion in Malibu , a $33m jet and a fleet of luxury cars – yet his ministerial salary is $6,799 a month.
Global Witness claimed Obiang asked the German company Kusch Yachts to build the superyacht under the codename "Project Zen". It said Kusch employees told investigators the 387ft yacht would have a cinema, restaurant, bar, pool and a $1.3m security system complete with floor motion sensors, photoelectric barriers and fingerprint door openers. The basic design was completed by Kusch in December 2009 for €250,000 (£212,192) with an original delivery date set for late next year. ...
Britain froze the assets of Muammar Gaddafi and his five children on Sunday evening at an emergency meeting of the Privy Council at Windsor castle presided over by the Queen.
The chancellor, George Osborne, acted amid reports that the Libyan leader had moved £3bn to Britain last week. In a separate cloak-and-dagger operation, £900m of Libyan currency was impounded in Britain.
Earlier ministers announced they had stripped the Gaddafi family of its diplomatic immunity in Britain.
A special meeting of the Privy Council at 5.15pm on Sunday approved an order in council freezing the assets of Gaddafi, his sons Saif al-Islam, Hannibal Muammar, Khamis Muammar, and Mutassim, and his daughter Aisha Muammar. The Times reported on Saturday that Gaddafi had deposited £3m with a Mayfair-based private wealth manager last week.
The chancellor said: "I have today taken action to freeze the assets in the UK of Colonel Gaddafi and his family or those acting on their behalf so that they cannot be used against the interests of the Libyan people. This follows the UN security council resolution tabled by the UK and France.
"I decided to implement this UN resolution in the UK as quickly as possible, before the financial markets reopened. This is a strong message for the Libyan regime that violence against its own people is not acceptable."
The order in council freezes "all funds, financial assets and economic resources owned or controlled by the listed individuals and entities, or by anyone acting on their behalf or by entities controlled" by the named members of the Gaddafi family. The City of London has been informed that "no funds or economic resources can be made available to listed persons or entities, or for their benefit". ...
The chancellor, George Osborne, acted amid reports that the Libyan leader had moved £3bn to Britain last week. In a separate cloak-and-dagger operation, £900m of Libyan currency was impounded in Britain.
Earlier ministers announced they had stripped the Gaddafi family of its diplomatic immunity in Britain.
A special meeting of the Privy Council at 5.15pm on Sunday approved an order in council freezing the assets of Gaddafi, his sons Saif al-Islam, Hannibal Muammar, Khamis Muammar, and Mutassim, and his daughter Aisha Muammar. The Times reported on Saturday that Gaddafi had deposited £3m with a Mayfair-based private wealth manager last week.
The chancellor said: "I have today taken action to freeze the assets in the UK of Colonel Gaddafi and his family or those acting on their behalf so that they cannot be used against the interests of the Libyan people. This follows the UN security council resolution tabled by the UK and France.
"I decided to implement this UN resolution in the UK as quickly as possible, before the financial markets reopened. This is a strong message for the Libyan regime that violence against its own people is not acceptable."
The order in council freezes "all funds, financial assets and economic resources owned or controlled by the listed individuals and entities, or by anyone acting on their behalf or by entities controlled" by the named members of the Gaddafi family. The City of London has been informed that "no funds or economic resources can be made available to listed persons or entities, or for their benefit". ...
Libya's Berbers join the revolution in fight to reclaim ancient identity | World news | The Guardian
"Have a good revolution," said the Tunisian customs officer, handing back our passports. We set out across the short stretch of no man's land towards Libya beneath a giant image of Muammar Gaddafi, his chin lifted, hands held together in a gesture of unity and victory.
Before we could reach him, a car bearing the flag of Libya's revolution raced out and its driver gestured us inside before speeding around the border post in a wide circle. We could make out the gaping expressions of the police and intelligence officers as they receded into the distance.
"This [is] all free now," the driver said, gesturing at the expanses of mountain and desert.
The roads in western Libya are clogged with makeshift checkpoints. Barricades built of burnt-out cars and rocks and manned by a patchwork of armed militias block the entrances to towns and villages. The fighters here are an assortment of turbaned Amazigh, or Berber, tribesmen, defectors wearing army uniforms and volunteers in mismatched combat fatigues.
The leaders of this uprising are equally varied: one burly military commander, Talibi, in civilian life is an Amazigh poet. Other revolutionaries we met were doctors, engineers, tribal elders, even a web-savvy youth in a baseball cap.
Night had fallen by the time we reached Nalut, where dozens of Amazigh tribesmen stood around campfires guarding barricades and manning checkpoints in the cold. Some carried weapons they had looted from army bases, the rest carried hunting rifles and clubs. The Amazigh we spoke to could not hide their euphoria.
"The fear of decades was broken after what happened in Egypt and Tunisia," said Khairy as he handed us small cups of green tea. The Amazigh have long struggled to retain their cultural rights in Gaddafi's Libya. "We never thought this could happen in our lifetime," he said. ...
Before we could reach him, a car bearing the flag of Libya's revolution raced out and its driver gestured us inside before speeding around the border post in a wide circle. We could make out the gaping expressions of the police and intelligence officers as they receded into the distance.
"This [is] all free now," the driver said, gesturing at the expanses of mountain and desert.
The roads in western Libya are clogged with makeshift checkpoints. Barricades built of burnt-out cars and rocks and manned by a patchwork of armed militias block the entrances to towns and villages. The fighters here are an assortment of turbaned Amazigh, or Berber, tribesmen, defectors wearing army uniforms and volunteers in mismatched combat fatigues.
The leaders of this uprising are equally varied: one burly military commander, Talibi, in civilian life is an Amazigh poet. Other revolutionaries we met were doctors, engineers, tribal elders, even a web-savvy youth in a baseball cap.
Night had fallen by the time we reached Nalut, where dozens of Amazigh tribesmen stood around campfires guarding barricades and manning checkpoints in the cold. Some carried weapons they had looted from army bases, the rest carried hunting rifles and clubs. The Amazigh we spoke to could not hide their euphoria.
"The fear of decades was broken after what happened in Egypt and Tunisia," said Khairy as he handed us small cups of green tea. The Amazigh have long struggled to retain their cultural rights in Gaddafi's Libya. "We never thought this could happen in our lifetime," he said. ...
The coalition has sneaked a coup on a sleeping public | John Harris | Comment is free | The Guardian
As people elsewhere are killed for their belief in democracy and the rule of law, the supposed controversies of British politics inevitably rather fade. By comparison, we live in an Eden of stability, and argue over mere increments: to be getting in a lather about Cameron and Clegg can easily feel not just indulgent, but indecent.
Still, in the broadest terms, there is a tale to be told that includes Westminster as well as Tripoli and Cairo, and underlines what watershed times these are. Much of the world's current tumult is traceable to the long and tangled fall-out from the crash of 2008 (note the role of rising food prices in Middle Eastern unrest). And though most commentators seem either too polite or deluded to recognise it, the British side of this story is rapidly being revealed: not just cuts, but the most far-reaching attempt to remodel British society in 60 years, undertaken at speed, and with a breathtaking disregard for what was offered to the country only months ago. Last week, Labour MP John McDonnell wrote to the Guardian arguing that the increasing gap between claims of fiscal necessity and a transparently ideological project merited another election. It won't happen, but he has a point.
The other day, I picked up a copy of Naomi Klein's underrated book The Shock Doctrine, and was reminded of a celebrated quotation from Milton Friedman: "Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable."
The Klein book, published in 2007, examines how Friedman's instructions were followed, and free-market "disaster capitalism" forced on Iraq, eastern Europe, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, in the wake of wars, natural disasters and revolutions (watch out Libya and Egypt). Four years after it came out, I was struck by a simple and mind-boggling fact. Here, as the coalition sets about the benefits system, marketises the NHS, threatens to do the same to schools and now apparently plans to put the entire public sector out to tender, what crisis was it that set the stage? Answer: that of the very economic model that is being pursued as never before. Welcome, then, to a new phase of history, when a crisis of laissez-faire capitalism begets that same system triumphant, something which brings to mind not so much Friedman, as Marshal Foch: "My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I am attacking." ...
Still, in the broadest terms, there is a tale to be told that includes Westminster as well as Tripoli and Cairo, and underlines what watershed times these are. Much of the world's current tumult is traceable to the long and tangled fall-out from the crash of 2008 (note the role of rising food prices in Middle Eastern unrest). And though most commentators seem either too polite or deluded to recognise it, the British side of this story is rapidly being revealed: not just cuts, but the most far-reaching attempt to remodel British society in 60 years, undertaken at speed, and with a breathtaking disregard for what was offered to the country only months ago. Last week, Labour MP John McDonnell wrote to the Guardian arguing that the increasing gap between claims of fiscal necessity and a transparently ideological project merited another election. It won't happen, but he has a point.
The other day, I picked up a copy of Naomi Klein's underrated book The Shock Doctrine, and was reminded of a celebrated quotation from Milton Friedman: "Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable."
The Klein book, published in 2007, examines how Friedman's instructions were followed, and free-market "disaster capitalism" forced on Iraq, eastern Europe, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, in the wake of wars, natural disasters and revolutions (watch out Libya and Egypt). Four years after it came out, I was struck by a simple and mind-boggling fact. Here, as the coalition sets about the benefits system, marketises the NHS, threatens to do the same to schools and now apparently plans to put the entire public sector out to tender, what crisis was it that set the stage? Answer: that of the very economic model that is being pursued as never before. Welcome, then, to a new phase of history, when a crisis of laissez-faire capitalism begets that same system triumphant, something which brings to mind not so much Friedman, as Marshal Foch: "My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I am attacking." ...
The TaxPayers' Alliance said Cumbria Police had ''wasted money'' by paying a marketing firm £10,880 to create the ''Safer Stronger Cumbria'' logo.
A force spokeswoman defended the spending, saying the ''brand and logo'' had helped police ''leave a footprint that people can easily recognise''.
Earlier this year, the Plain English Campaign (PEC) - which campaigns for better use of English by public bodies - said such police branding slogans served no purpose and should be scrapped.
PEC officials said the police service had nothing to sell and the word ''police'' told people all they needed to know.
The amount spent on the slogan was revealed after a local newspaper - the North West Evening Mail, which is based in Barrow - asked police questions under freedom of information legislation.
''Taxpayers want their money focused on fighting crime,'' said Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance.
''It is absurd that Cumbria Police have spent thousands on rebranding, a waste of money that will do nothing to make Cumbria safer or stronger.
''If they want to build trust, they should be working to convince the public that they aren't distracted by this kind of presentational nonsense.'' ...
A force spokeswoman defended the spending, saying the ''brand and logo'' had helped police ''leave a footprint that people can easily recognise''.
Earlier this year, the Plain English Campaign (PEC) - which campaigns for better use of English by public bodies - said such police branding slogans served no purpose and should be scrapped.
PEC officials said the police service had nothing to sell and the word ''police'' told people all they needed to know.
The amount spent on the slogan was revealed after a local newspaper - the North West Evening Mail, which is based in Barrow - asked police questions under freedom of information legislation.
''Taxpayers want their money focused on fighting crime,'' said Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance.
''It is absurd that Cumbria Police have spent thousands on rebranding, a waste of money that will do nothing to make Cumbria safer or stronger.
''If they want to build trust, they should be working to convince the public that they aren't distracted by this kind of presentational nonsense.'' ...
... A Whitehall source said: “Some of what is going on in local government is simply scandalous; it’s comparable to the MPs expenses scandal. Ministers are rushing to keep up with all the loopholes and make sure these people are paid realistic wages.”
GMPTE – which runs buses, trains and trams – lists the salaries of six executives, who earn up to £125,000 a year. Payments for Mr Leather do not appear on the list.
GMPTE has said that it will have to cut up to 15 per cent of its workforce and is planning to save nearly £25 million over three years by increasing concessionary fares for pensioners and children.
It lists payments to Ernst & Young and engineering group Parsons Brinckerhoff, which have both provided staff on long-term secondments. In December 2010, GMPTE paid Parsons Brinckerhoff £963,597, and Ernst &Young £192,196.
A spokesman for Ernst & Young said: “Like our competitors, Ernst & Young run an extensive programme of secondments to and from organisations in both the public and private sectors. We do not disclose the individual salaries of our people.”
Emma Boon, the campaign director from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, criticised the GMPTE for not listing the chief executive’s salary. “It’s sneaky because they are listing other people’s salaries, so you think it is the whole list,” she said. ...
GMPTE – which runs buses, trains and trams – lists the salaries of six executives, who earn up to £125,000 a year. Payments for Mr Leather do not appear on the list.
GMPTE has said that it will have to cut up to 15 per cent of its workforce and is planning to save nearly £25 million over three years by increasing concessionary fares for pensioners and children.
It lists payments to Ernst & Young and engineering group Parsons Brinckerhoff, which have both provided staff on long-term secondments. In December 2010, GMPTE paid Parsons Brinckerhoff £963,597, and Ernst &Young £192,196.
A spokesman for Ernst & Young said: “Like our competitors, Ernst & Young run an extensive programme of secondments to and from organisations in both the public and private sectors. We do not disclose the individual salaries of our people.”
Emma Boon, the campaign director from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, criticised the GMPTE for not listing the chief executive’s salary. “It’s sneaky because they are listing other people’s salaries, so you think it is the whole list,” she said. ...
... But the men in Zawiyah were not foreigners, or drugged – as Gaddafi had previously claimed. Nor were they bearded Islamists or even rebels from outside. Instead, they were the town's people. There were doctors and engineers, teachers, local youths and old men all anxious to speak, although many of them still fearful that the army – whose nearest positions were only two kilometres away – would try to enter Zawiyah again.
In a small mosque off the main square, locals led us into a small storeroom to show off two captured teenage soldiers, one whose family had come from Chad.
Terrified, the boys were led out of the room, one with a dressing on a face wound. We were told they were being handed over to one of the boys' fathers.
Youssef Mustapha, a doctor who had been working at the aid station, said he believed 24 people had died in the fighting in this city, which began last Thursday night and continued for almost four days.
"We saw all kinds of injuries," he said. "People shot in the head and neck. Shotgun and rifle wounds and injuries caused by heavy calibre weapons. The firing always came from the south and east. Have you seen the graves?"
These are in the centre of Martyrs Square. Those killed in the fighting are now buried there and a pair of open graves waited to be filled.
Ghari Ahmed, a computer engineer was worried about the soldiers outside: "They control all of the main roads into city," he explained. "Villagers from around the town want to come in, but the army is blocking them. I am afraid they will try to attack again." ...
In a small mosque off the main square, locals led us into a small storeroom to show off two captured teenage soldiers, one whose family had come from Chad.
Terrified, the boys were led out of the room, one with a dressing on a face wound. We were told they were being handed over to one of the boys' fathers.
Youssef Mustapha, a doctor who had been working at the aid station, said he believed 24 people had died in the fighting in this city, which began last Thursday night and continued for almost four days.
"We saw all kinds of injuries," he said. "People shot in the head and neck. Shotgun and rifle wounds and injuries caused by heavy calibre weapons. The firing always came from the south and east. Have you seen the graves?"
These are in the centre of Martyrs Square. Those killed in the fighting are now buried there and a pair of open graves waited to be filled.
Ghari Ahmed, a computer engineer was worried about the soldiers outside: "They control all of the main roads into city," he explained. "Villagers from around the town want to come in, but the army is blocking them. I am afraid they will try to attack again." ...
Police in Beijing and other cities mounted a major show of force following an anonymous call for protests inspired by the Middle East uprisings.
A US journalist was punched and kicked in the face and more than a dozen other journalists manhandled, detained or delayed as they covered the events which revealed official anxiety over similar protests against authoritarian rule in China.
Few expected Chinese citizens to answer the "jasmine revolution" appeal, which urged them to express their desire for reform by "strolling" past a McDonald's on Wangfujing shopping street and spots in 22 other mainland cities.
In addition to the heavy police presence, street cleaning vehicles and men with brooms swept back and forth along the designated streets in Beijing and Shanghai, preventing pedestrians from slowing down. A construction site appeared on Wangfujing earlier this week, blocking off a stretch outside the hamburger bar.
Associated Press reported that Shanghai police used whistles to disperse a crowd of around 200, although it was unclear if the people were anything more than onlookers. It said officers detained at least four Chinese citizens in the city and two others in Beijing. It was not clear, however, if those detained had tried to protest.
In a statement, the Foreign Correspondent's Club of China said it was "appalled by the attack on one of our members by men who appeared to be plain clothes security officers in Beijing. This video journalist was trying to do his job when he was set upon and repeatedly punched and kicked in the face by officers as part of a general crackdown in Wangfujing following calls on the internet for a protest in this area. ...
A US journalist was punched and kicked in the face and more than a dozen other journalists manhandled, detained or delayed as they covered the events which revealed official anxiety over similar protests against authoritarian rule in China.
Few expected Chinese citizens to answer the "jasmine revolution" appeal, which urged them to express their desire for reform by "strolling" past a McDonald's on Wangfujing shopping street and spots in 22 other mainland cities.
In addition to the heavy police presence, street cleaning vehicles and men with brooms swept back and forth along the designated streets in Beijing and Shanghai, preventing pedestrians from slowing down. A construction site appeared on Wangfujing earlier this week, blocking off a stretch outside the hamburger bar.
Associated Press reported that Shanghai police used whistles to disperse a crowd of around 200, although it was unclear if the people were anything more than onlookers. It said officers detained at least four Chinese citizens in the city and two others in Beijing. It was not clear, however, if those detained had tried to protest.
In a statement, the Foreign Correspondent's Club of China said it was "appalled by the attack on one of our members by men who appeared to be plain clothes security officers in Beijing. This video journalist was trying to do his job when he was set upon and repeatedly punched and kicked in the face by officers as part of a general crackdown in Wangfujing following calls on the internet for a protest in this area. ...
International efforts to respond to the Libyan crisis are gathering pace under US leadership after a still defiant Muammar Gaddafi launched counterattacks to defend Tripoli against the popular uprising now consolidating its hold on the liberated east of the country.
The White House said Barack Obama planned to call David Cameron and France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to discuss possible actions, including a no-fly zone or sanctions to force the Libyan leader to end the violence. Switzerland said it had frozen Gaddafi's assets.
Gaddafi, in power for 42 years, has used aircraft, tanks and foreign mercenaries in eight days of violence that has killed hundreds in the bloodiest of the uprisings to shake the Arab world. Up to 2,000 people may have died, it was claimed by a senior French human rights official.
But there was no sign Gaddafi was prepared to change course. In another semi-coherent and abusive speech on Thursday, he accused protesters of being drugged and agents of al-Qaida. "Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee," he said in a telephone interview with Libyan state TV – suggesting he may already have left his heavily guarded Tripoli compound.
It only boosted the growing impression that he is desperate and out of touch with reality. "This is the speech of a dead man," said Said el-Gareeny in the eastern city of Benghazi, which is now in opposition hands.
"People always warn about al-Qaida and say this will become an Islamic state ... to get support from western countries. This isn't true. The Libyan people are free. That's it." ...
The White House said Barack Obama planned to call David Cameron and France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to discuss possible actions, including a no-fly zone or sanctions to force the Libyan leader to end the violence. Switzerland said it had frozen Gaddafi's assets.
Gaddafi, in power for 42 years, has used aircraft, tanks and foreign mercenaries in eight days of violence that has killed hundreds in the bloodiest of the uprisings to shake the Arab world. Up to 2,000 people may have died, it was claimed by a senior French human rights official.
But there was no sign Gaddafi was prepared to change course. In another semi-coherent and abusive speech on Thursday, he accused protesters of being drugged and agents of al-Qaida. "Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee," he said in a telephone interview with Libyan state TV – suggesting he may already have left his heavily guarded Tripoli compound.
It only boosted the growing impression that he is desperate and out of touch with reality. "This is the speech of a dead man," said Said el-Gareeny in the eastern city of Benghazi, which is now in opposition hands.
"People always warn about al-Qaida and say this will become an Islamic state ... to get support from western countries. This isn't true. The Libyan people are free. That's it." ...
Tensions are mounting in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after the third peaceful demonstration in three weeks was violently dispersed on Wednesday. There are increasing reports of intimidation and blocking of communications by secret services in the wake of violent unrest in neighbouring Arab countries.
Fourteen people were arrested and several people beaten by uniformed and plainclothes police on Tuesday after about 200 staged a peaceful sit-in outside the Libyan embassy to show support for Libya's protesters.
Witnesses said at least two women were among those beaten.
The demonstrators carried placards reading "Freedom for the people" and "Down with Gaddafi", and chanted slogans such as "Traitors are those that beat their people."
Witnesses said authorities warned the group to disperse but they reconvened shortly afterwards in the central neighbouring suburb of Sha'alan. When they tried to march back to the embassy they were met with a heavy police presence.
Several witnesses told the Guardian there were nearly twice as many secret and uniformed police as protesters. Some protesters were punched, kicked and beaten with sticks..
All present had their identities recorded. Fourteen people were detained but later released, Human Rights Watch in Beirut confirmed.
"They hit two girls, I saw them on the ground crying," said a witness who was briefly detained.
"There were so many of them, we didn't know where they all came from."
Under emergency law, public congregations are banned in Syria. This kind of protest is very rare but last Friday 1,500 people took part in a seemingly spontaneous demonstration outside the central Hamidiyah souq. It was reportedly in protest at the police beating of a local shop owner, rather than being directed at the government. People chanted "The Syrian people will not be humiliated", "Shame, shame" and "With our soul, with our blood, we sacrifice for you Bashar" in reference to the country's president, Bashar al-Assad. Syria's interior minister has promised an investigation. ...
Fourteen people were arrested and several people beaten by uniformed and plainclothes police on Tuesday after about 200 staged a peaceful sit-in outside the Libyan embassy to show support for Libya's protesters.
Witnesses said at least two women were among those beaten.
The demonstrators carried placards reading "Freedom for the people" and "Down with Gaddafi", and chanted slogans such as "Traitors are those that beat their people."
Witnesses said authorities warned the group to disperse but they reconvened shortly afterwards in the central neighbouring suburb of Sha'alan. When they tried to march back to the embassy they were met with a heavy police presence.
Several witnesses told the Guardian there were nearly twice as many secret and uniformed police as protesters. Some protesters were punched, kicked and beaten with sticks..
All present had their identities recorded. Fourteen people were detained but later released, Human Rights Watch in Beirut confirmed.
"They hit two girls, I saw them on the ground crying," said a witness who was briefly detained.
"There were so many of them, we didn't know where they all came from."
Under emergency law, public congregations are banned in Syria. This kind of protest is very rare but last Friday 1,500 people took part in a seemingly spontaneous demonstration outside the central Hamidiyah souq. It was reportedly in protest at the police beating of a local shop owner, rather than being directed at the government. People chanted "The Syrian people will not be humiliated", "Shame, shame" and "With our soul, with our blood, we sacrifice for you Bashar" in reference to the country's president, Bashar al-Assad. Syria's interior minister has promised an investigation. ...
So many messages are being examined by Scotland Yard's phone-hacking inquiry that it is difficult to identify every mention of a celebrity's name among "hundreds of intercepts", lawyers for the police have claimed.
The proliferation of legal actions generated by complaints against the News of the World is also in danger of congesting the courts with "parallel claims", the judge hearing applications for disclosure in three cases has implied.
Official recognition of the scale of the problem came as three more alleged victims of the practice of hacking into voicemail messages sought high court orders granting them access to documents that may substantiate claims for damages. Lawyers for Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway and Mick McGuire, former deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, were granted permission to see relevant sections of transcripts.
The notebooks are among material seized by the Metropolitan police from the convicted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper.
Gascoigne and McGuire's applications were supported by Newsgroup Newspapers, owners of the News of the World, because, the court heard, the company "wishes to show it was not involved in the interception of information" relating to them.
Explaining the need for efficient case management, Mr Justice Vos told the court: "There have been numerous parallel applications with different counsel and solicitors ... raising identical or nearly identical points". He wanted to avoid duplication, he said.
At least 14 cases were already before the courts, agreed Jeremy Reed, counsel for Gascoigne and McGuire. There is speculation there will be many more, he added.
Lawyers for Gascoigne requested that any intercepted messages "about him or concerning him" should be included in the disclosure order because private information about his medical treatment had been obtained by hacking into other people's phones.
Edwin Buckett, representing the Met, said that would mean the police "having to listen to every transcript to see if Mr Gascoigne is mentioned". There are "hundreds of intercepts", he said. "It makes it so wide, it's difficult to comply with."
The judge ordered the police to hand over anything in the transcripts that was "about or concerning" Paul Gascoigne.
The names of more journalists may appear after the judge ordered that ''redactions'' – the blanked-out sections in the transcripts handed to the claimants – should not hide the names of employees of the News of the World.
The three claimants were also granted access to information on breaches of privacy gathered by the Information Commissioner's Office during its Operation Motorman inquiry into the matter. ...
The proliferation of legal actions generated by complaints against the News of the World is also in danger of congesting the courts with "parallel claims", the judge hearing applications for disclosure in three cases has implied.
Official recognition of the scale of the problem came as three more alleged victims of the practice of hacking into voicemail messages sought high court orders granting them access to documents that may substantiate claims for damages. Lawyers for Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway and Mick McGuire, former deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, were granted permission to see relevant sections of transcripts.
The notebooks are among material seized by the Metropolitan police from the convicted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper.
Gascoigne and McGuire's applications were supported by Newsgroup Newspapers, owners of the News of the World, because, the court heard, the company "wishes to show it was not involved in the interception of information" relating to them.
Explaining the need for efficient case management, Mr Justice Vos told the court: "There have been numerous parallel applications with different counsel and solicitors ... raising identical or nearly identical points". He wanted to avoid duplication, he said.
At least 14 cases were already before the courts, agreed Jeremy Reed, counsel for Gascoigne and McGuire. There is speculation there will be many more, he added.
Lawyers for Gascoigne requested that any intercepted messages "about him or concerning him" should be included in the disclosure order because private information about his medical treatment had been obtained by hacking into other people's phones.
Edwin Buckett, representing the Met, said that would mean the police "having to listen to every transcript to see if Mr Gascoigne is mentioned". There are "hundreds of intercepts", he said. "It makes it so wide, it's difficult to comply with."
The judge ordered the police to hand over anything in the transcripts that was "about or concerning" Paul Gascoigne.
The names of more journalists may appear after the judge ordered that ''redactions'' – the blanked-out sections in the transcripts handed to the claimants – should not hide the names of employees of the News of the World.
The three claimants were also granted access to information on breaches of privacy gathered by the Information Commissioner's Office during its Operation Motorman inquiry into the matter. ...
The governor said he had “thought about” hiring outside agitators to disrupt demonstrations by thousands of union workers against a bill that would remove their collective bargaining rights.
His remarks are only likely to stiffen opposition to his proposals. On the call, Mr Walker joked about bringing a baseball bat to a meeting with Democratic leaders, and said it would "be outstanding" to be flown out to California by businessman David Koch for a good time after the battle was over.
Mr Koch donated $43,000 to the governor’s 2010 campaign and with his brother Charles own Koch Industries, which is the largest privately-owned company in America which has significant operations in Wisconsin.
The conversation was posted on the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in New York. The governor also said he would tell 14 Democrat state senators, whose absence denied the Senate a quorum needed for a vote on his proposal, that he was "willing to sit down and talk" with them but "only ... if they came back to the Capitol with all 14 of them".
Mr Walker said on the call that his legal advisers believed the presence of the 14 in the Capitol building alone, but not the Senate chamber, would allow the Republicans to declare a quorum in the chamber and pass the measure. ...
His remarks are only likely to stiffen opposition to his proposals. On the call, Mr Walker joked about bringing a baseball bat to a meeting with Democratic leaders, and said it would "be outstanding" to be flown out to California by businessman David Koch for a good time after the battle was over.
Mr Koch donated $43,000 to the governor’s 2010 campaign and with his brother Charles own Koch Industries, which is the largest privately-owned company in America which has significant operations in Wisconsin.
The conversation was posted on the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in New York. The governor also said he would tell 14 Democrat state senators, whose absence denied the Senate a quorum needed for a vote on his proposal, that he was "willing to sit down and talk" with them but "only ... if they came back to the Capitol with all 14 of them".
Mr Walker said on the call that his legal advisers believed the presence of the 14 in the Capitol building alone, but not the Senate chamber, would allow the Republicans to declare a quorum in the chamber and pass the measure. ...
Gaddafi speech and Libya unrest – as it happened
• Gaddafi: 'I cannot leave my country, I will die a martyr'
• Libyan leader makes rambling speech after days of unrest
• 'Anyone who undermines state will be punished by death'
• Hague: 'Structure of Libyan state is collapsing'
• Gaddafi: 'I cannot leave my country, I will die a martyr'
• Libyan leader makes rambling speech after days of unrest
• 'Anyone who undermines state will be punished by death'
• Hague: 'Structure of Libyan state is collapsing'
Gaddafi urges violent showdown and tells Libya 'I'll die a martyr'
• Muammar Gaddafi tells loyalists to take to streets of Libya
• Witnesses speak of mercenaries in death squads
• International condemnation of bloodshed grows
• Muammar Gaddafi tells loyalists to take to streets of Libya
• Witnesses speak of mercenaries in death squads
• International condemnation of bloodshed grows
The wife of the jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo said she and her family are "hostages", according to a friend. The comment is thought to be her first contact with the outside world for four months.
Supporters have been unable to reach Liu Xia since shortly after October's announcement that her husband had won the award. It was initially thought she was under house arrest at the couple's home in Beijing, but it is now believed she may be being held at her parents' house. ...
...The Washington Post said it received the document from the friend, with whom she had communicated online, via an intermediary.
"I don't know how I managed to get online," Liu Xia wrote in the five-minute chat on Thursday night. "Don't go online. Otherwise my whole family is in danger."
Asked whether she was at home, she [replied], "Yes. Can't go out. My whole family are hostages."
She added: "So miserable. I'm crying. Nobody can help me."
The chat ended when her friend asked her to log out because he was concerned he would cause her more trouble, adding: "We miss you and support you. We will wait for you outside."
Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power for co-authoring Charter 08, a bold call for democratic reforms, and other essays posted online.
The author was represented by an empty chair at the Nobel ceremony last year because none of his family was able to attend.
The authorities placed his wife under house arrest when he won. Her communications were cut off a few days later, although she had said she was able to visit him in prison after the announcement.
In her online chat, she wrote: "I only saw him once,"...
Liu Xiaobo's case has sparked international condemnation. Campaigners are particularly alarmed at the treatment of his wife, because she has never been accused of any crime. ...
... Human rights groups say they fear the authorities are increasingly turning to unlawful methods to silence unwanted voices, citing cases such Liu Xia's, the disappearance of the lawyer Gao Zhisheng and the house arrest of the legal activist Chen Guangcheng following his release from prison. ...
Supporters have been unable to reach Liu Xia since shortly after October's announcement that her husband had won the award. It was initially thought she was under house arrest at the couple's home in Beijing, but it is now believed she may be being held at her parents' house. ...
...The Washington Post said it received the document from the friend, with whom she had communicated online, via an intermediary.
"I don't know how I managed to get online," Liu Xia wrote in the five-minute chat on Thursday night. "Don't go online. Otherwise my whole family is in danger."
Asked whether she was at home, she [replied], "Yes. Can't go out. My whole family are hostages."
She added: "So miserable. I'm crying. Nobody can help me."
The chat ended when her friend asked her to log out because he was concerned he would cause her more trouble, adding: "We miss you and support you. We will wait for you outside."
Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power for co-authoring Charter 08, a bold call for democratic reforms, and other essays posted online.
The author was represented by an empty chair at the Nobel ceremony last year because none of his family was able to attend.
The authorities placed his wife under house arrest when he won. Her communications were cut off a few days later, although she had said she was able to visit him in prison after the announcement.
In her online chat, she wrote: "I only saw him once,"...
Liu Xiaobo's case has sparked international condemnation. Campaigners are particularly alarmed at the treatment of his wife, because she has never been accused of any crime. ...
... Human rights groups say they fear the authorities are increasingly turning to unlawful methods to silence unwanted voices, citing cases such Liu Xia's, the disappearance of the lawyer Gao Zhisheng and the house arrest of the legal activist Chen Guangcheng following his release from prison. ...
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: LSE-educated man the west can no longer deal with | World news | The Guardian
With his flawless English, his expensive Italian suits and his place at the London School of Economics, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appeared to be a man with whom the west could do business: a man who could smooth access to his country's vast mineral resources while avoiding the need to deal with his famously capricious father.
As state security forces were reported to be firing relentlessly into crowds of civilian protesters on Monday, and with Gaddafi Jr appearing on television to threaten a civil war in which the regime "will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet", many of his erstwhile associates were questioning their friendships with him.
The LSE has been quick to distance itself from Saif, issuing a statement in which it said the university had had a number of links with Libya, but that "in view of the highly distressing news from Libya over the weekend of 19-20 February, the school has reconsidered those links as a matter of urgency".
Although the LSE had accepted £1.5m from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, an organisation headed by Saif – some of which was to finance "a virtual democracy centre" – the university stressed that it was to be paid over five years, and only £300,000 has been received to date. "In current difficult circumstances across the region, the school has decided to stop new activities under that programme," the statement said. The LSE has also received scholarship funding in return for advice given to the Libyan Investment Authority in London. "No further receipts are anticipated," the university said.
Professor David Held, an academic advisor to Saif Gaddafi during his four years at the LSE, said: "Watching Saif give that speech – looking so exhausted, nervous and, frankly, terrible – was the stuff of Shakespeare and of Freud: a young man torn by a struggle between loyalty to his father and his family, and the beliefs he had come to hold for reform, democracy and the rule of law. The man giving that speech wasn't the Saif I had got to know well over those years." ...
As state security forces were reported to be firing relentlessly into crowds of civilian protesters on Monday, and with Gaddafi Jr appearing on television to threaten a civil war in which the regime "will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet", many of his erstwhile associates were questioning their friendships with him.
The LSE has been quick to distance itself from Saif, issuing a statement in which it said the university had had a number of links with Libya, but that "in view of the highly distressing news from Libya over the weekend of 19-20 February, the school has reconsidered those links as a matter of urgency".
Although the LSE had accepted £1.5m from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, an organisation headed by Saif – some of which was to finance "a virtual democracy centre" – the university stressed that it was to be paid over five years, and only £300,000 has been received to date. "In current difficult circumstances across the region, the school has decided to stop new activities under that programme," the statement said. The LSE has also received scholarship funding in return for advice given to the Libyan Investment Authority in London. "No further receipts are anticipated," the university said.
Professor David Held, an academic advisor to Saif Gaddafi during his four years at the LSE, said: "Watching Saif give that speech – looking so exhausted, nervous and, frankly, terrible – was the stuff of Shakespeare and of Freud: a young man torn by a struggle between loyalty to his father and his family, and the beliefs he had come to hold for reform, democracy and the rule of law. The man giving that speech wasn't the Saif I had got to know well over those years." ...
Idi Amin finished up in Saudi Arabia. Mobutu Sese Seko went to Togo then settled in Morocco. Mengistu Haile Mariam, author of Ethiopia's Red Terror, is living out his days in Zimbabwe. And so, if the once unthinkable should happen and the dictator falls in Libya, whither Muammar Gaddafi?
Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are among the contenders floated by analysts if the self-declared "doyen of Arab leaders, king of kings of Africa and imam of all Muslims" was forced to seek asylum. Saudi hospitality has previously been extended to ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and overthrown Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. But its relations with Libya have been strained for years; in 2009 Gaddafi told King Abdullah: "You are propelled by fibs towards the grave and you were made by Britain and protected by the US."
Venezuela is a stronger candidate having had close ties with Libya of late. Gaddafi was seen shopping on a Venezuelan island during a summit 18 month ago. President Hugo Chavez has visited Libya several times and a football stadium there was named in his honour.
But Gaddafi also has a long history with the rest of Africa, which intensified after he switched from promoting Arab unity to buying influence at the African Union – debts he may now seek to call in. Adekeye Adebajo, executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at Cape Town University in South Africa, said: "He has enough friends to be able to find a safe haven in many parts of Africa, but obviously there would be a lot of people scared to take him."
Adebajo noted Gaddafi's past involvement in funding rebel movements in Liberia and Sierra Leone. "A lot of insecure African leaders would be nervous to have him on their territory." ...
Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are among the contenders floated by analysts if the self-declared "doyen of Arab leaders, king of kings of Africa and imam of all Muslims" was forced to seek asylum. Saudi hospitality has previously been extended to ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and overthrown Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. But its relations with Libya have been strained for years; in 2009 Gaddafi told King Abdullah: "You are propelled by fibs towards the grave and you were made by Britain and protected by the US."
Venezuela is a stronger candidate having had close ties with Libya of late. Gaddafi was seen shopping on a Venezuelan island during a summit 18 month ago. President Hugo Chavez has visited Libya several times and a football stadium there was named in his honour.
But Gaddafi also has a long history with the rest of Africa, which intensified after he switched from promoting Arab unity to buying influence at the African Union – debts he may now seek to call in. Adekeye Adebajo, executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at Cape Town University in South Africa, said: "He has enough friends to be able to find a safe haven in many parts of Africa, but obviously there would be a lot of people scared to take him."
Adebajo noted Gaddafi's past involvement in funding rebel movements in Liberia and Sierra Leone. "A lot of insecure African leaders would be nervous to have him on their territory." ...
Libya and Bahrain protests – Saturday 19 February
• Dozens reported killed in deadly crackdowns
• Video shows Libya protester shot in head
• Iran opposition calls for more demonstrations
• Dozens reported killed in deadly crackdowns
• Video shows Libya protester shot in head
• Iran opposition calls for more demonstrations
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is confronting the most serious challenge to his 42-year rule as leader of Libya by unleashing his army on unarmed protesters.
Unlike the rulers of neighbouring Egypt, Gaddafi has refused to countenance the politics of disobedience, despite growing international condemnation, and the death toll of demonstrators nearing 100.
The pro-government Al-Zahf al-Akhdar newspaper warned that the government would "violently and thunderously respond" to the protests, and said those opposing the regime risked "suicide".
William Hague, the UK's foreign secretary, condemned the violence as "unacceptable and horrifying", even as the Libyan regime's special forces, backed by African mercenaries, launched a dawn attack on a protest camp in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
Britain is scrambling to extricate itself from its recently cosy relationship with Gaddafi, initiated by then prime minister Tony Blair in 2004. That rapprochement saw Libya open its doors to British oil companies in exchange for becoming a new ally in the "war on terror" while Britain sold Gaddafi arms.
Hague's outspoken comments came a day after the government revoked arms export licenses to both Bahrain and Libya for their use of deadly force against protesters calling for a change in the regime.
With internet services in Libya shut off for long periods, foreign journalists excluded and access already blocked to social networking sites, Gaddafi appeared determined to quell a revolt centred in the country's east, which has long suffered a policy of deliberate economic exclusion.
Libya has also jammed the signals of Al-Jazeera, the Arab broadcaster to the country. Reports from inside the country claimed pro-regime forces had deliberately aimed at protesters' heads. ...
Unlike the rulers of neighbouring Egypt, Gaddafi has refused to countenance the politics of disobedience, despite growing international condemnation, and the death toll of demonstrators nearing 100.
The pro-government Al-Zahf al-Akhdar newspaper warned that the government would "violently and thunderously respond" to the protests, and said those opposing the regime risked "suicide".
William Hague, the UK's foreign secretary, condemned the violence as "unacceptable and horrifying", even as the Libyan regime's special forces, backed by African mercenaries, launched a dawn attack on a protest camp in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
Britain is scrambling to extricate itself from its recently cosy relationship with Gaddafi, initiated by then prime minister Tony Blair in 2004. That rapprochement saw Libya open its doors to British oil companies in exchange for becoming a new ally in the "war on terror" while Britain sold Gaddafi arms.
Hague's outspoken comments came a day after the government revoked arms export licenses to both Bahrain and Libya for their use of deadly force against protesters calling for a change in the regime.
With internet services in Libya shut off for long periods, foreign journalists excluded and access already blocked to social networking sites, Gaddafi appeared determined to quell a revolt centred in the country's east, which has long suffered a policy of deliberate economic exclusion.
Libya has also jammed the signals of Al-Jazeera, the Arab broadcaster to the country. Reports from inside the country claimed pro-regime forces had deliberately aimed at protesters' heads. ...
It is not the sex or sleaze swirling around Silvio Berlusconi that irks Matteo Renzi most. "I checked, and he is only six years younger than my granny," said the leftwing mayor of Florence who, at the tender age of 36, is being tipped as the man to clean up Italy if and when Berlusconi's creaking rule collapses.
As the Italian prime minister, 74, prepares to go on trial on suspicion of paying an underage girl for sex, Renzi is basking in ratings revealing he is the country's most popular mayor. He is now building national backing with a 20-city tour promoting his book calling for a dramatic generational change in Italian politics. Its title? Fuori! (Out!)
"When Italy hosted international summits in 1994, 2001 and 2009, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were Britain's prime ministers, but Berlusconi was there every time," Renzi, a member of the centre-left Democratic party, told the Observer. "We need to send a whole generation of politicians into retirement and I am just one of many demanding we turn a page."
Renzi has yet to make the leap to the national stage, but for many it is just a matter of time. In an attempt to drive home his ambitions and youthful credentials, he held a book launch in Florence this month at which he preached change over a U2 soundtrack and prowled the stage before 1,000 fans. It was a far cry from Berlusconi's idea of connecting with young people, which allegedly consists of groping topless girls as they cavort at his private soirées and sending out emissaries to scour beauty contests for a fresh stock of "virgins ready to sacrifice themselves to the dragon", as his wife put it before leaving him.
Last week the allegations of sleaze and debauchery took a dramatic turn in favour of Berlusconi's critics as he was ordered to stand trial, before three female judges, in April. But the media mogul shows no sign of resigning and is beefing up his support in parliament. ...
As the Italian prime minister, 74, prepares to go on trial on suspicion of paying an underage girl for sex, Renzi is basking in ratings revealing he is the country's most popular mayor. He is now building national backing with a 20-city tour promoting his book calling for a dramatic generational change in Italian politics. Its title? Fuori! (Out!)
"When Italy hosted international summits in 1994, 2001 and 2009, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were Britain's prime ministers, but Berlusconi was there every time," Renzi, a member of the centre-left Democratic party, told the Observer. "We need to send a whole generation of politicians into retirement and I am just one of many demanding we turn a page."
Renzi has yet to make the leap to the national stage, but for many it is just a matter of time. In an attempt to drive home his ambitions and youthful credentials, he held a book launch in Florence this month at which he preached change over a U2 soundtrack and prowled the stage before 1,000 fans. It was a far cry from Berlusconi's idea of connecting with young people, which allegedly consists of groping topless girls as they cavort at his private soirées and sending out emissaries to scour beauty contests for a fresh stock of "virgins ready to sacrifice themselves to the dragon", as his wife put it before leaving him.
Last week the allegations of sleaze and debauchery took a dramatic turn in favour of Berlusconi's critics as he was ordered to stand trial, before three female judges, in April. But the media mogul shows no sign of resigning and is beefing up his support in parliament. ...
Ali Ismail had helped wash the body of a dead protester for burial and he was already talking of more blood. "We will go to them and they will attack us," he said of Bahrain's riot police. Within hours he was proved correct.
Just after 5.30pm on Friday, central Manama again erupted in gunfire and screaming. Up to 200 demonstrators had attempted to march on Pearl Square, the scene of Thursday morning's savage assault that left three dead. Just over a mile from the central Bahrain landmark, soldiers and police opened fire, killing at least one more protester and leaving 50 others wounded.
"We don't care if they kill 5,000 of us," a protester screamed inside the forecourt of the Salmaniya hospital, which has become a staging point for Bahrain's raging youth. "The regime must fall and we will make sure it does."
Just before dusk, riot police advanced on the hospital, apparently chasing protesters who had attempted to link up with the group bound for Pearl Square. Sound grenades cracked in the distance, gradually getting closer as protesters beat a retreat to the only place in Manama where they now feel safe to gather in numbers.
Within minutes, the bitter scent of tear-gas had wafted into the hospital grounds, sparking panic that the riot police were coming for them there as well. The police backed off and the crowd in the hospital swelled to at least 7,000 people, all of them chanting anti-regime slogans that they would not have dared to utter a month ago.
"Down with the king, down with the Khalifas," they cried, referring to the kingdom's ruling family. Anger among the overwhelmingly Shia Muslim demonstrators towards the Sunni dynasty that has ruled Bahrain for more than 200 years is now virulent.
"They have done nothing for us in the past except discriminate against us," said one nurse, sobbing against a hospital gurney. "Now their new trick is to kill us."
Inside the hospital I saw a young man being wheeled into a makeshift trauma room, which is usually used to conduct angiograms. The gurney was soaked in blood and he had been shot in the head.
"There are at least two bullets. I don't think he will live," said a young doctor as he left the room.
He didn't.
The man's death takes to at least five the number killed during clashes with police since Wednesday. Scores more have been injured. Most of those brought to the emergency ward had wounds from rubber bullets, although at least one youth had a gaping wound to his calf that specialists said was caused by a live round. ...
Just after 5.30pm on Friday, central Manama again erupted in gunfire and screaming. Up to 200 demonstrators had attempted to march on Pearl Square, the scene of Thursday morning's savage assault that left three dead. Just over a mile from the central Bahrain landmark, soldiers and police opened fire, killing at least one more protester and leaving 50 others wounded.
"We don't care if they kill 5,000 of us," a protester screamed inside the forecourt of the Salmaniya hospital, which has become a staging point for Bahrain's raging youth. "The regime must fall and we will make sure it does."
Just before dusk, riot police advanced on the hospital, apparently chasing protesters who had attempted to link up with the group bound for Pearl Square. Sound grenades cracked in the distance, gradually getting closer as protesters beat a retreat to the only place in Manama where they now feel safe to gather in numbers.
Within minutes, the bitter scent of tear-gas had wafted into the hospital grounds, sparking panic that the riot police were coming for them there as well. The police backed off and the crowd in the hospital swelled to at least 7,000 people, all of them chanting anti-regime slogans that they would not have dared to utter a month ago.
"Down with the king, down with the Khalifas," they cried, referring to the kingdom's ruling family. Anger among the overwhelmingly Shia Muslim demonstrators towards the Sunni dynasty that has ruled Bahrain for more than 200 years is now virulent.
"They have done nothing for us in the past except discriminate against us," said one nurse, sobbing against a hospital gurney. "Now their new trick is to kill us."
Inside the hospital I saw a young man being wheeled into a makeshift trauma room, which is usually used to conduct angiograms. The gurney was soaked in blood and he had been shot in the head.
"There are at least two bullets. I don't think he will live," said a young doctor as he left the room.
He didn't.
The man's death takes to at least five the number killed during clashes with police since Wednesday. Scores more have been injured. Most of those brought to the emergency ward had wounds from rubber bullets, although at least one youth had a gaping wound to his calf that specialists said was caused by a live round. ...
A BBC journalist was held for 15 hours at Bahrain international airport before having her equipment confiscated, amid radical anti-government protests in the country.
The BBC declined to name the detained producer, but confirmed that she was allowed into the country on Friday after having her equipment – including her mobile phone – confiscated indefinitely.
Bahrain security forces have tightened restrictions on journalists entering the country in the past 24 hours, as tens of thousands of protesters intensify calls for the downfall of the country's ruling monarchy. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, said 16 foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, ABC and CNN, were being held at Bahrain airport on Friday.
Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times columnist, said on Twitter on Thursday: "Bahrain barring journalists from entry at airport. King Hamad doesn't want witnesses to his brutality."
Political unrest has swept across the Middle East this week in the aftermath of last Friday's events in Egypt where president Hosni Mubarak was ousted. Attempts to break up the protests by security forces in Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain have been largely fruitless.
Attempts by Bahrain security forces to obstruct journalists had remained relatively non-violent, but on Friday that situation showed signs of escalating as government forces in a helicopter fired on a reporter and cameraman who were filming the unfolding violence in Manama's Pearl Square, according to the New York Times. There were also reports of sniper fire from rooftops in the square. ...
The BBC declined to name the detained producer, but confirmed that she was allowed into the country on Friday after having her equipment – including her mobile phone – confiscated indefinitely.
Bahrain security forces have tightened restrictions on journalists entering the country in the past 24 hours, as tens of thousands of protesters intensify calls for the downfall of the country's ruling monarchy. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, said 16 foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, ABC and CNN, were being held at Bahrain airport on Friday.
Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times columnist, said on Twitter on Thursday: "Bahrain barring journalists from entry at airport. King Hamad doesn't want witnesses to his brutality."
Political unrest has swept across the Middle East this week in the aftermath of last Friday's events in Egypt where president Hosni Mubarak was ousted. Attempts to break up the protests by security forces in Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain have been largely fruitless.
Attempts by Bahrain security forces to obstruct journalists had remained relatively non-violent, but on Friday that situation showed signs of escalating as government forces in a helicopter fired on a reporter and cameraman who were filming the unfolding violence in Manama's Pearl Square, according to the New York Times. There were also reports of sniper fire from rooftops in the square. ...
Barclays Bank has been forced to admit it paid just £113m in UK corporation tax in 2009 – a year when it rang up a record £11.6bn of profits.
The admission stunned politicians and tax campaigners. It was revealed on the eve of a day of protests planned against the high street banks by activists from UK Uncut, a group set up five months ago to oppose government cuts and corporate tax avoidance.
The Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who lobbied Barclays' chief executive, Bob Diamond, to reveal the tax paid by the bank, described the figure – just 1% of its 2009 profits – as "shocking".
The current rate of corporation tax in the UK is 28%, although global banks such as Barclays – which has hundreds of overseas subsidiaries, including many in tax havens – do not generate all of their profits in their domestic market.
Max Lawson, of the Robin Hood Tax Campaign, said: "This is proof that banks live in a parallel universe to the rest of us, paying billions in bonuses and unhampered by the inconvenience of paying tax.
"If banks paid their fair share we could avoid the worst of the cuts and help those hit hardest by the financial crisis they did nothing to cause."
UK Uncut, which has also campaigned against Vodafone, Boots and Top Shop, intends to take its first national day of action against the banks on Saturday with protesters expected to bring more than 30 high street branches of Barclays to a standstill.
On Tuesday – when Barclays announced 2010 profits of £6.1bn and a 23% rise in average pay in its investment banking arm, Barclays Capital – the tax campaigners turned a London branch of the bank into a library.
The disclosure of the size of Barclays' corporation tax bill was made in a letter by Diamond to Umunna, who had asked the Barclays boss about the tax paid by the bank when he appeared before the Treasury select committee of MPs last month. ...
The admission stunned politicians and tax campaigners. It was revealed on the eve of a day of protests planned against the high street banks by activists from UK Uncut, a group set up five months ago to oppose government cuts and corporate tax avoidance.
The Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who lobbied Barclays' chief executive, Bob Diamond, to reveal the tax paid by the bank, described the figure – just 1% of its 2009 profits – as "shocking".
The current rate of corporation tax in the UK is 28%, although global banks such as Barclays – which has hundreds of overseas subsidiaries, including many in tax havens – do not generate all of their profits in their domestic market.
Max Lawson, of the Robin Hood Tax Campaign, said: "This is proof that banks live in a parallel universe to the rest of us, paying billions in bonuses and unhampered by the inconvenience of paying tax.
"If banks paid their fair share we could avoid the worst of the cuts and help those hit hardest by the financial crisis they did nothing to cause."
UK Uncut, which has also campaigned against Vodafone, Boots and Top Shop, intends to take its first national day of action against the banks on Saturday with protesters expected to bring more than 30 high street branches of Barclays to a standstill.
On Tuesday – when Barclays announced 2010 profits of £6.1bn and a 23% rise in average pay in its investment banking arm, Barclays Capital – the tax campaigners turned a London branch of the bank into a library.
The disclosure of the size of Barclays' corporation tax bill was made in a letter by Diamond to Umunna, who had asked the Barclays boss about the tax paid by the bank when he appeared before the Treasury select committee of MPs last month. ...
An attempt by Barclays to suppress details of its allegedly massive tax avoidance schemes two years ago ended in farce. The high street bank went to court in the middle of the night to gag the Guardian but was outmanoeuvred by free-spirited souls on the internet.
It showed the legal system struggling to keep documents secret even after they were freely available on the web.
The story emerged in March 2009 when a whistleblower leaked internal Barclays memos to the Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable.
The memos – passed on to the newspaper – described how a 2007 scheme called Project Knight proposed to save tax by manipulating loans totalling more than $16bn (£9.8bn), through a web of firms in the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and the United States.
The memos also quoted advice from lawyers on how to blunt any challenges from HM Revenue & Customs. The whistleblower alleged: "It is a commonly held view that no agency in the US or the UK has the resources or the commitment to challenge [Barclays]."
Freshfields, Barclays' lawyers, toiled into the night to compel the Guardian to remove the documents from the website. Geraldine Proudler, a solicitor acting for the Guardian, was woken by a high court judge telephoning at 2am and asked to justify their publication. At 2.31am, Mr Justice Ouseley, over the phone, ordered that the documents be removed from the website, by which time 127 people had read them. ...
It showed the legal system struggling to keep documents secret even after they were freely available on the web.
The story emerged in March 2009 when a whistleblower leaked internal Barclays memos to the Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable.
The memos – passed on to the newspaper – described how a 2007 scheme called Project Knight proposed to save tax by manipulating loans totalling more than $16bn (£9.8bn), through a web of firms in the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and the United States.
The memos also quoted advice from lawyers on how to blunt any challenges from HM Revenue & Customs. The whistleblower alleged: "It is a commonly held view that no agency in the US or the UK has the resources or the commitment to challenge [Barclays]."
Freshfields, Barclays' lawyers, toiled into the night to compel the Guardian to remove the documents from the website. Geraldine Proudler, a solicitor acting for the Guardian, was woken by a high court judge telephoning at 2am and asked to justify their publication. At 2.31am, Mr Justice Ouseley, over the phone, ordered that the documents be removed from the website, by which time 127 people had read them. ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone-hacking case, passed phone intercept information to several individuals working on the tabloid's news desk, the high court heard today.
The private eye – who was on a £100,000-a-year contract with the News of the World – was quoted in court documents as saying that he dealt with so many people on the news desk at the tabloid that he cannot recall precisely who received certain items of information.
Mulcaire's admission, if true, was "devastating" to the News of the World's long-held insistence that phone hacking was the work of a "lone, rotten journalist", Jeremy Reed QC told the court.
Reed was representing Sky Andrew, a football agent who is suing the paper's immediate parent, News Group Newspapers (NGN) for breach of privacy over phone hacking.
Mulcaire was jailed for six months in 2007 for hacking into phones belonging to staff at Buckingham Palace, along with the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman.
However, in that trial the court also heard that Mulcaire hacked into the phones of high profile individuals such as publicist Max Clifford and supermodel Elle Macpherson, as well as Andrew.
Earlier this year, Mulcaire also said in court documents that he had been instructed by Ian Edmondson, the assistant editor (news) at the tabloid, to intercept Andrew's voicemails. Edmondson was initially suspended, and has now been sacked.
Today's case saw lawyers for Andrew lodge a claim against the Metropolitan police, seeking greater access to heavily redacted documents released by the force to his legal team. ...
The private eye – who was on a £100,000-a-year contract with the News of the World – was quoted in court documents as saying that he dealt with so many people on the news desk at the tabloid that he cannot recall precisely who received certain items of information.
Mulcaire's admission, if true, was "devastating" to the News of the World's long-held insistence that phone hacking was the work of a "lone, rotten journalist", Jeremy Reed QC told the court.
Reed was representing Sky Andrew, a football agent who is suing the paper's immediate parent, News Group Newspapers (NGN) for breach of privacy over phone hacking.
Mulcaire was jailed for six months in 2007 for hacking into phones belonging to staff at Buckingham Palace, along with the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman.
However, in that trial the court also heard that Mulcaire hacked into the phones of high profile individuals such as publicist Max Clifford and supermodel Elle Macpherson, as well as Andrew.
Earlier this year, Mulcaire also said in court documents that he had been instructed by Ian Edmondson, the assistant editor (news) at the tabloid, to intercept Andrew's voicemails. Edmondson was initially suspended, and has now been sacked.
Today's case saw lawyers for Andrew lodge a claim against the Metropolitan police, seeking greater access to heavily redacted documents released by the force to his legal team. ...
The controversial French journalist Éric Zemmour has been found guilty of incitement to racial hatred after telling a TV chatshow that drug dealers were mostly "blacks and Arabs".
The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of France's racism problem, which is poisoning the republican ideal that all citizens are equal regardless of colour.
Zemmour, a well-known media commentator and columnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his outspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.
He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate turned to the question of the French police's excessive use of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: "But why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Because most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That's a fact."
According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically equal under a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to count ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figures on the ethnic identity of criminals.
Zemmour was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers "had a right" to turn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thought to be widespread in France. ...
The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of France's racism problem, which is poisoning the republican ideal that all citizens are equal regardless of colour.
Zemmour, a well-known media commentator and columnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his outspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.
He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate turned to the question of the French police's excessive use of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: "But why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Because most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That's a fact."
According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically equal under a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to count ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figures on the ethnic identity of criminals.
Zemmour was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers "had a right" to turn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thought to be widespread in France. ...
Women's rights activists and pro-change protesters in Egypt have rallied to condemn a serious sexual assault on an American news reporter, Lara Logan, which took place in Cairo's Tahrir Square in the moments following Hosni Mubarak's resignation last Friday.
"Lara Logan … and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration," Logan's employers, CBS news, said in a brief statement. "It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.
"In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers."
Logan, a 39-year-old foreign correspondent, had previously been detained by the Egyptian police while covering the anti-government uprising. She has now flown back to the US and is "recovering at home", CBS said. The incident has provoked a storm of comment in both the Egyptian and American blogospheres, with many protesters in Cairo keen to show that Logan's attackers were not representative of the pro-change crowds.
"It's incredibly sad that this has happened, and it's something that the spirit of Tahrir and the spirit of revolution was resolutely against," Ahdaf Soueif, an author who spent a great deal of time in Tahrir Square, told the Guardian. "Women in the square were rejoicing that they felt freedom on the streets of Cairo for the first time, and [this is] definitely something that we want to stamp out alongside corruption and all the other social ills that have befallen Egypt during Mubarak's regime."
Mahmoud Salem, a well known Egyptian blogger, was one of many 25 January activists to express outrage. "Lara Logan, what happened to you was reprehensible, I hope u don't judge the egyptian people or Tahrir because of it," he tweeted under his moniker Sandmonkey. ...
Of course activists didn't attack her - they were government thugs.
May she - and all those who truly love her - receive all needed healing.
May all those who attack women (and children!) reach complete and total enlightenment, and on all levels.
"Lara Logan … and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration," Logan's employers, CBS news, said in a brief statement. "It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.
"In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers."
Logan, a 39-year-old foreign correspondent, had previously been detained by the Egyptian police while covering the anti-government uprising. She has now flown back to the US and is "recovering at home", CBS said. The incident has provoked a storm of comment in both the Egyptian and American blogospheres, with many protesters in Cairo keen to show that Logan's attackers were not representative of the pro-change crowds.
"It's incredibly sad that this has happened, and it's something that the spirit of Tahrir and the spirit of revolution was resolutely against," Ahdaf Soueif, an author who spent a great deal of time in Tahrir Square, told the Guardian. "Women in the square were rejoicing that they felt freedom on the streets of Cairo for the first time, and [this is] definitely something that we want to stamp out alongside corruption and all the other social ills that have befallen Egypt during Mubarak's regime."
Mahmoud Salem, a well known Egyptian blogger, was one of many 25 January activists to express outrage. "Lara Logan, what happened to you was reprehensible, I hope u don't judge the egyptian people or Tahrir because of it," he tweeted under his moniker Sandmonkey. ...
Of course activists didn't attack her - they were government thugs.
May she - and all those who truly love her - receive all needed healing.
May all those who attack women (and children!) reach complete and total enlightenment, and on all levels.
Riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets have stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters in Bahrain's capital Manama, driving out demonstrators and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the hub for demands to bring sweeping political changes to the kingdom.
The main opposition group Al Wefaq said at least two people were killed in the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square, which was littered with flattened tents, trampled banners and broken glass. There was no official word on deaths or injuries.
After police regained control of the plaza, they chased protesters through sidestreets and put a ring of vehicles around the area with blue lights flashing in the darkened city just as the dawn call for prayers rang out.
The blow by authorities marked a dramatic shift in tactics. It appeared Bahrain's leaders had sought to rein in security forces after clashes on Monday that left at least two people dead and brought sharp criticism from Western allies, including the US – which operates its main naval base in the Gulf from Bahrain. ...
The main opposition group Al Wefaq said at least two people were killed in the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square, which was littered with flattened tents, trampled banners and broken glass. There was no official word on deaths or injuries.
After police regained control of the plaza, they chased protesters through sidestreets and put a ring of vehicles around the area with blue lights flashing in the darkened city just as the dawn call for prayers rang out.
The blow by authorities marked a dramatic shift in tactics. It appeared Bahrain's leaders had sought to rein in security forces after clashes on Monday that left at least two people dead and brought sharp criticism from Western allies, including the US – which operates its main naval base in the Gulf from Bahrain. ...
The Iranian regime has been accused of hijacking the death of a young pro-democracy protester killed during rallies in Tehran on Monday.
A family member of Saane Zhaleh, a 26-year-old theatre student at Tehran University of Arts, told the Guardian that the Iranian authorities had launched a campaign to depict the pro-opposition protester as a member of the government-sponsored basiji militia who had been killed by what they described as terrorists.
"They [security forces] have killed him and now they want to hijack his dead body and exploit his funeral for their own purposes. His family is totally devastated and inundated in sorrow," said the family member, who asked not to be identified.
Opposition websites reported that two protesters were killed in clashes between security forces and thousands of defiant protesters who marched in a banned rally organised by the leaders of the green movement on Monday.
Iranian state news agencies later identified them as Zhaleh, a member of Iran's Kurd and Sunni minority, and 22-year-old Mohammad Mokhtari, but blamed the opposition for their death.
Iran's semi-official FARS news agency published a basiji identity card that it said belonged to Zhaleh, but the opposition immediately questioned its authenticity. In response, activists sympathetic to the green movement published a photo of Zhaleh on social networking websites that showed him in a meeting with grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a leading opposition figure who died in 2009. ...
A family member of Saane Zhaleh, a 26-year-old theatre student at Tehran University of Arts, told the Guardian that the Iranian authorities had launched a campaign to depict the pro-opposition protester as a member of the government-sponsored basiji militia who had been killed by what they described as terrorists.
"They [security forces] have killed him and now they want to hijack his dead body and exploit his funeral for their own purposes. His family is totally devastated and inundated in sorrow," said the family member, who asked not to be identified.
Opposition websites reported that two protesters were killed in clashes between security forces and thousands of defiant protesters who marched in a banned rally organised by the leaders of the green movement on Monday.
Iranian state news agencies later identified them as Zhaleh, a member of Iran's Kurd and Sunni minority, and 22-year-old Mohammad Mokhtari, but blamed the opposition for their death.
Iran's semi-official FARS news agency published a basiji identity card that it said belonged to Zhaleh, but the opposition immediately questioned its authenticity. In response, activists sympathetic to the green movement published a photo of Zhaleh on social networking websites that showed him in a meeting with grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a leading opposition figure who died in 2009. ...
Officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency are expected to begin tracing the bank accounts of Hosni Mubarak's cabinet after the Egyptian government made a formal request for a freeze on the assets of the ousted president and his former colleagues.
The foreign secretary, William Hague, said Soca would take charge of the hunt for accounts in London, although the timing and extent of the investigation would be decided by EU finance ministers following discussions in Brussels. Hague said UK rules prevented the police from freezing bank accounts without "evidence of illegality or misuse of state assets". He said if evidence became available, the government would take "firm and prompt action".
Egypt's state prosecutor meanwhile launched corruption investigations against three former government ministers and a member of parliament from Egypt's ruling National Democratic party. They are the former minister of commerce, Muhammad Rachid, the former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, the former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi, and member of parliament Ahmed Ezz.
The corruption investigations came as thousands of anti-government protesters remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square and outside the parliament building. Protesters held a funeral procession for those killed in anti-protest violence.
British MPs have argued that the UK government should move more quickly to help the new Egyptian government in its efforts to repatriate illicit funds sent overseas. The shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, said the government had failed to authorise an immediate investigation to prevent funds leaving the UK for less regulated offshore tax havens. He said the government needed to move quickly to prevent Mubarak, his family and cronies who benefited from the corrupt regime from avoiding scrutiny. ...
The foreign secretary, William Hague, said Soca would take charge of the hunt for accounts in London, although the timing and extent of the investigation would be decided by EU finance ministers following discussions in Brussels. Hague said UK rules prevented the police from freezing bank accounts without "evidence of illegality or misuse of state assets". He said if evidence became available, the government would take "firm and prompt action".
Egypt's state prosecutor meanwhile launched corruption investigations against three former government ministers and a member of parliament from Egypt's ruling National Democratic party. They are the former minister of commerce, Muhammad Rachid, the former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, the former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi, and member of parliament Ahmed Ezz.
The corruption investigations came as thousands of anti-government protesters remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square and outside the parliament building. Protesters held a funeral procession for those killed in anti-protest violence.
British MPs have argued that the UK government should move more quickly to help the new Egyptian government in its efforts to repatriate illicit funds sent overseas. The shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, said the government had failed to authorise an immediate investigation to prevent funds leaving the UK for less regulated offshore tax havens. He said the government needed to move quickly to prevent Mubarak, his family and cronies who benefited from the corrupt regime from avoiding scrutiny. ...
Thieves have stolen 18 priceless artefacts from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, including two gilded statues of King Tutankhamun, during the political unrest.
Zahi Hawass, the antiquities minister, said the losses were discovered during an inventory of the museum after the protests died down.
Among missing items are a statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess and another of him harpooning. Also stolen is a limestone statue of the pharaoh Akhenaten holding an offering table, a statue of Nefertiti making offerings and several other stone and wooden artefacts.
Hawass said that an investigation is underway and that the "police and army plan to follow up with the criminals already in custody".
The museum is on the edge of Tahrir square, the heart of three weeks of protests that brought down the president, Hosni Mubarak. It was raided on 28 January by thieves who climbed up a fire escape and then used ropes to lower themselves into the museum.
The thieves appear to have carefully selected some of the most valuable objects while ignoring less important artefacts. "They are not something you would come and randomly find," an Egyptologist at Cairo's American University, Ikram Said Salima Ikram, told Reuters.
Restoration work has already started at the museum to repair the damage by looters. Hawass said that 70 pieces were damaged. ...
Zahi Hawass, the antiquities minister, said the losses were discovered during an inventory of the museum after the protests died down.
Among missing items are a statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess and another of him harpooning. Also stolen is a limestone statue of the pharaoh Akhenaten holding an offering table, a statue of Nefertiti making offerings and several other stone and wooden artefacts.
Hawass said that an investigation is underway and that the "police and army plan to follow up with the criminals already in custody".
The museum is on the edge of Tahrir square, the heart of three weeks of protests that brought down the president, Hosni Mubarak. It was raided on 28 January by thieves who climbed up a fire escape and then used ropes to lower themselves into the museum.
The thieves appear to have carefully selected some of the most valuable objects while ignoring less important artefacts. "They are not something you would come and randomly find," an Egyptologist at Cairo's American University, Ikram Said Salima Ikram, told Reuters.
Restoration work has already started at the museum to repair the damage by looters. Hawass said that 70 pieces were damaged. ...
Geppi Calcara, a Sicilian archivist, was there with her friend and 11-year-old daughter "because we're tired of our children living in a society of non-values", she said. "We find it really difficult to bring up our children with the values they're learning."
Behind her, the Piazza del Popolo in Rome was filling up with tens of thousands of women, and many men who had arrived with their wives or girlfriends.
"There are lots of us," said Calcara. "But we're not visible. The privately-owned TV channels, which belong to [Silvio] Berlusconi, and all but one of the [state-owned] RAI channels, manipulate the news. So people know nothing, or only half, of what is happening."
On Sunday, Italians dismayed by the prime minister and his antics got a chance to show their feelings in a way that even his television network will find difficult to ignore. Thousands of them assembled in piazzas from the foothills of the Alps to the tip of Sicily and in cities from Auckland to Zurich.
"We're more than a million across the world," the actor Angela Finocchiaro told the crowd in the Piazza del Popolo. And though that claim may be disputed, there was plenty of evidence to suggest the numbers ran to several hundreds of thousands.
The posters for the demonstration proclaimed it was being held in support of "a country that respects women". That the need should be felt for such a protest in Europe, 11 years into the 21st century and several decades after Italy spawned one of the continent's most lively feminist movements is, in part at least, evidence of the impact of Berlusconi and his media empire. Last week, the 74-year-old prime minister learned that prosecutors had asked for his indictment on charges of paying an underage sex worker and abusing his official position when she was arrested. He denies any wrongdoing.
His Mediaset network has for years thrived on supplying the public with schedules that are long on glitzy variety programmes and quiz shows that feature so-called veline – young, pretty women in scanty costumes whose most demanding duty in most cases is to hold up a score card.
But RAI too uses veline, and both networks reflect attitudes in society as much as create them. The posters for the demonstration were printed on a pink background without anyone apparently thinking that was patronising.
Unlike Spanish, Italian has not been altered by the change in relations between the sexes, so the words for positions of authority – chief, minister, lawyer and so on – have no have feminine forms.
According to the World Economic Forum's latest global gender gap report, Italy ranked 74th out of 134 countries surveyed — 33 places below Kazakhstan. It scored particularly badly on economic participation and opportunity. Less than half of Italian women have a job and the notion that they should not return to paid work after having a child is still widespread. ...
Behind her, the Piazza del Popolo in Rome was filling up with tens of thousands of women, and many men who had arrived with their wives or girlfriends.
"There are lots of us," said Calcara. "But we're not visible. The privately-owned TV channels, which belong to [Silvio] Berlusconi, and all but one of the [state-owned] RAI channels, manipulate the news. So people know nothing, or only half, of what is happening."
On Sunday, Italians dismayed by the prime minister and his antics got a chance to show their feelings in a way that even his television network will find difficult to ignore. Thousands of them assembled in piazzas from the foothills of the Alps to the tip of Sicily and in cities from Auckland to Zurich.
"We're more than a million across the world," the actor Angela Finocchiaro told the crowd in the Piazza del Popolo. And though that claim may be disputed, there was plenty of evidence to suggest the numbers ran to several hundreds of thousands.
The posters for the demonstration proclaimed it was being held in support of "a country that respects women". That the need should be felt for such a protest in Europe, 11 years into the 21st century and several decades after Italy spawned one of the continent's most lively feminist movements is, in part at least, evidence of the impact of Berlusconi and his media empire. Last week, the 74-year-old prime minister learned that prosecutors had asked for his indictment on charges of paying an underage sex worker and abusing his official position when she was arrested. He denies any wrongdoing.
His Mediaset network has for years thrived on supplying the public with schedules that are long on glitzy variety programmes and quiz shows that feature so-called veline – young, pretty women in scanty costumes whose most demanding duty in most cases is to hold up a score card.
But RAI too uses veline, and both networks reflect attitudes in society as much as create them. The posters for the demonstration were printed on a pink background without anyone apparently thinking that was patronising.
Unlike Spanish, Italian has not been altered by the change in relations between the sexes, so the words for positions of authority – chief, minister, lawyer and so on – have no have feminine forms.
According to the World Economic Forum's latest global gender gap report, Italy ranked 74th out of 134 countries surveyed — 33 places below Kazakhstan. It scored particularly badly on economic participation and opportunity. Less than half of Italian women have a job and the notion that they should not return to paid work after having a child is still widespread. ...
An Ecuadorian judge has ruled that Chevron was responsible for widespread contamination of the country's Amazon basin and fined the company $8bn. The oil firm blasted the ruling as a "fraud".
Pablo Fajardo, the plaintiffs' lawyer, told Associated Press the judgment at the provincial court of justice of Sucumbíos in Lago Agrio was "a great step that we have made towards the crystallisation of justice", but the fine was too small and he may appeal.
The epic and bitterly fought lawsuit over the "Amazon Chernobyl" has been going on for 18 years. It was brought on behalf of 30,000 people whose health and environment were allegedly damaged by chemical-laden waste water dumped by Texaco's operations from 1972 to 1990. Chevron bought Texaco in 2001.
The lawsuit alleges that Chevron should be held responsible for $27bn in damages from illness, deaths and economic loss suffered by the Amazon residents. The case was the subject of 2009's award-winning documentary Crude and has attracted celebrity supporters including Sting, Trudie Styler and Daryl Hannah.
The case goes back to the 1970s when Texaco partnered the government oil company PetroEcuador to drill wells. Texaco ended its Ecuadorian operations in the 1990s and was assigned responsibility for cleaning up sites proportional to its share in the project. The company spent $40m on the clean-up and argues that it was legally released from further claims or liabilities. But the suit claims the clean-up failed to address faulty drilling practices by Texaco that caused damage to wide areas of jungle and harmed indigenous people. ...
Pablo Fajardo, the plaintiffs' lawyer, told Associated Press the judgment at the provincial court of justice of Sucumbíos in Lago Agrio was "a great step that we have made towards the crystallisation of justice", but the fine was too small and he may appeal.
The epic and bitterly fought lawsuit over the "Amazon Chernobyl" has been going on for 18 years. It was brought on behalf of 30,000 people whose health and environment were allegedly damaged by chemical-laden waste water dumped by Texaco's operations from 1972 to 1990. Chevron bought Texaco in 2001.
The lawsuit alleges that Chevron should be held responsible for $27bn in damages from illness, deaths and economic loss suffered by the Amazon residents. The case was the subject of 2009's award-winning documentary Crude and has attracted celebrity supporters including Sting, Trudie Styler and Daryl Hannah.
The case goes back to the 1970s when Texaco partnered the government oil company PetroEcuador to drill wells. Texaco ended its Ecuadorian operations in the 1990s and was assigned responsibility for cleaning up sites proportional to its share in the project. The company spent $40m on the clean-up and argues that it was legally released from further claims or liabilities. But the suit claims the clean-up failed to address faulty drilling practices by Texaco that caused damage to wide areas of jungle and harmed indigenous people. ...
A "treasure trove" of information could be accessed on actor Steve Coogan's mobile phone at a time when journalists at the News of the World were instructing a private investigator to hack into it, the high court was told today.
Coogan's counsel, Jeremy Reed, said his witness statement showed: "He conducts business by voicemail messages. He tends to let messages stack up ... There is essentially a treasure trove of commercial information on his voicemail at any one time."
Coogan is suing News of the World publisher News Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the paper.
Lawyers for Coogan and former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray, who is also suing, were in court for a pre-trial hearing. They are trying to force Mulcaire to name the News of the World executives who ordered him to hack into phones.
"The News of the World entertainment section is likely to be extremely interested in what Mr Coogan ... or some other actor or director seeks to charge when they are working for Baby Cow," Reed said, referring to the TV production company co-owned by the comedian.
Scotland Yard has written to Coogan to confirm that the actor's mobile number, voicemail pin, password and other account details were found in Mulcaire's notebooks, which were seized in a police raid on his home in 2006.
Gray has been handed redacted copies of Mulcaire's notes, which allegedly show he was targeted by the investigator, along with billing information showing his mobile voicemail number was called about a dozen times from landlines registered to Mulcaire in a six-month period.
The court was reminded that copies of Mulcaire's notes also showed the private investigator wrote "Greg" on the left-hand side of the page. Reed said that was a reference to Greg Miskiw, a former News of the World investigations editor. ...
Coogan's counsel, Jeremy Reed, said his witness statement showed: "He conducts business by voicemail messages. He tends to let messages stack up ... There is essentially a treasure trove of commercial information on his voicemail at any one time."
Coogan is suing News of the World publisher News Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the paper.
Lawyers for Coogan and former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray, who is also suing, were in court for a pre-trial hearing. They are trying to force Mulcaire to name the News of the World executives who ordered him to hack into phones.
"The News of the World entertainment section is likely to be extremely interested in what Mr Coogan ... or some other actor or director seeks to charge when they are working for Baby Cow," Reed said, referring to the TV production company co-owned by the comedian.
Scotland Yard has written to Coogan to confirm that the actor's mobile number, voicemail pin, password and other account details were found in Mulcaire's notebooks, which were seized in a police raid on his home in 2006.
Gray has been handed redacted copies of Mulcaire's notes, which allegedly show he was targeted by the investigator, along with billing information showing his mobile voicemail number was called about a dozen times from landlines registered to Mulcaire in a six-month period.
The court was reminded that copies of Mulcaire's notes also showed the private investigator wrote "Greg" on the left-hand side of the page. Reed said that was a reference to Greg Miskiw, a former News of the World investigations editor. ...
Three large energy companies have been carrying out covert intelligence-gathering operations on environmental activists, the Guardian can reveal.
The energy giant E.ON, Britain's second-biggest coal producer Scottish Resources Group and Scottish Power, one of the UK's largest electricity-generators, have been paying for the services of a private security firm that has been secretly monitoring activists.
Leaked documents show how the security firm's owner, Rebecca Todd, tipped off company executives about environmentalists' plans after snooping on their emails. She is also shown instructing an agent to attend campaign meetings and coaching him on how to ingratiate himself with activists. The disclosures come as police chiefs, on the defensive over damaging revelations of undercover police officers in the protest movement, privately claim that there are more corporate spies in protest groups than undercover police officers.
Senior police officers complain that spies hired by commercial firms are – unlike their own agents – barely regulated.
Sir Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, which until recently ran the secretive national unit of undercover police officers deployed in protest groups, said in a speech last week that "the deployment by completely uncontrolled and unrestrained players in the private sector" constituted a "massive area of concern".
Revelations about Mark Kennedy and three other undercover police officers in protest groups caused a furore last month and led to four official inquiries into their activities.
Now a Guardian investigation has shed new light on the surveillance of green campaigners by private security firms whose intrusive operations include posing as activists on mailing lists and infiltrating full-time agents into campaign groups over many years. ...
The energy giant E.ON, Britain's second-biggest coal producer Scottish Resources Group and Scottish Power, one of the UK's largest electricity-generators, have been paying for the services of a private security firm that has been secretly monitoring activists.
Leaked documents show how the security firm's owner, Rebecca Todd, tipped off company executives about environmentalists' plans after snooping on their emails. She is also shown instructing an agent to attend campaign meetings and coaching him on how to ingratiate himself with activists. The disclosures come as police chiefs, on the defensive over damaging revelations of undercover police officers in the protest movement, privately claim that there are more corporate spies in protest groups than undercover police officers.
Senior police officers complain that spies hired by commercial firms are – unlike their own agents – barely regulated.
Sir Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, which until recently ran the secretive national unit of undercover police officers deployed in protest groups, said in a speech last week that "the deployment by completely uncontrolled and unrestrained players in the private sector" constituted a "massive area of concern".
Revelations about Mark Kennedy and three other undercover police officers in protest groups caused a furore last month and led to four official inquiries into their activities.
Now a Guardian investigation has shed new light on the surveillance of green campaigners by private security firms whose intrusive operations include posing as activists on mailing lists and infiltrating full-time agents into campaign groups over many years. ...
At 8.04pm, an agent using the conspicuous alias Vandango007 received an email setting out the details of his deployment. The message had come from Rebecca Todd, chief executive of Vericola, a company spying on environmental campaigners on behalf of some of Europe's largest power companies.
It was September 2009, and green activists involved in the Climate Camp network were planning a major demonstration against Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, owned by one of Todd's clients, the energy company E.ON. A meeting to plan the protest was being held at London's SOAS university, and Todd wanted someone on the inside.
"Hola Carlos," she wrote to Vandango007 – whose real name is Carl Bishop – in an email providing details of the rendezvous. "It should only last 2 hours … same people that you have met before."
Todd, 33, gave Bishop tips on how to explain his recent absence from the group. "Apologise for delay in getting back to them – you have had girlfriend issues!!!! That sounds better than family or work issues!!!" She added: "Use your own wording – do your own thing be yourself. Do not mention that your [sic] going to Munich – obviously they hate short haul flights." She signed off the email: "Over and out!"
The email was one of dozens of Vericola communications leaked to the Guardian as part of the ongoing investigation into surveillance of the protest movement.
Much of the evidence was gathered by environmental activists, who have been quietly investigating suspicious activities in their movement.
The disclosures come after four inquiries were launched into undercover police activities after a month of revelations concerning undercover officer Mark Kennedy and three other police spies.
Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, which ran the secret police unit Kennedy worked for, said he was "staggered" that espionage conducted in the private sector had not prompted similar outrage. In a speech last week he highlighted "the deployment by completely uncontrolled and unrestrained players in the private sector".
Privately, senior officers claim there are "without question" more corporate spies embedded in the protest movement than police officers. Among their number are former police officers cashing in on their surveillance skills for a host of companies that target protesters. ...
It was September 2009, and green activists involved in the Climate Camp network were planning a major demonstration against Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, owned by one of Todd's clients, the energy company E.ON. A meeting to plan the protest was being held at London's SOAS university, and Todd wanted someone on the inside.
"Hola Carlos," she wrote to Vandango007 – whose real name is Carl Bishop – in an email providing details of the rendezvous. "It should only last 2 hours … same people that you have met before."
Todd, 33, gave Bishop tips on how to explain his recent absence from the group. "Apologise for delay in getting back to them – you have had girlfriend issues!!!! That sounds better than family or work issues!!!" She added: "Use your own wording – do your own thing be yourself. Do not mention that your [sic] going to Munich – obviously they hate short haul flights." She signed off the email: "Over and out!"
The email was one of dozens of Vericola communications leaked to the Guardian as part of the ongoing investigation into surveillance of the protest movement.
Much of the evidence was gathered by environmental activists, who have been quietly investigating suspicious activities in their movement.
The disclosures come after four inquiries were launched into undercover police activities after a month of revelations concerning undercover officer Mark Kennedy and three other police spies.
Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, which ran the secret police unit Kennedy worked for, said he was "staggered" that espionage conducted in the private sector had not prompted similar outrage. In a speech last week he highlighted "the deployment by completely uncontrolled and unrestrained players in the private sector".
Privately, senior officers claim there are "without question" more corporate spies embedded in the protest movement than police officers. Among their number are former police officers cashing in on their surveillance skills for a host of companies that target protesters. ...
A juror in a controversial trial of environmental activists has castigated police for withholding covert recordings that he said could have led to them being declared not guilty.
Jezz Davis, 39, a construction worker, took the rare step of speaking out after hearing revelations that Nottinghamshire police allegedly suppressed surveillance tapes of activists convicted of conspiring to shut down one of Britain's biggest power stations for a week.
He told the Guardian the police's behaviour was "outrageous" and "corrupt" and left him "feeling betrayed by the British judicial system".
His criticism is likely to intensify the disquiet about police conduct in the trial. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, has ordered an investigation into the safety of the convictions, while the Independent Police Complaints Commission is scrutinising the police's alleged failure to disclose the tapes to court.
Mark Kennedy, the 41-year-old undercover officer who infiltrated the environmental movement for seven years, says he secretly recorded a private meeting of the activists before the planned invasion of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. He is alleged to have played a key role in organising the planned break-in of the power station for four months.
Davis told the Guardian that there was "no question" that the tapes should have been heard in court. "When called for jury service, you assume with good faith that all relevant evidence will be presented. The absence of potentially verdict-changing evidence is utterly outrageous."
"It just exposes the corruption in what is meant to be the system that you trust, that you place your faith in to do things by the book. They are the law. If you can't trust the law, who can you trust ?"
He said revelations about Kennedy's activities – which emerged after the trial – "turned everything on its head", as it became clear police knew through their spy about the planned action long before "but did nothing about it". He said it amounted to "prolonged entrapment".
The jury delivered guilty verdicts on the 20 activists in December after a trial lasting more than three weeks. The activists had relied on a legal strategy – known as "necessity", in which they admitted they were conspiring to shut the power station but said they did so to prevent death and serious injury caused by carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. The prosecution argued that the activists were lying and were intending to pull off a publicity stunt.
The activists, who are seeking to overturn their criminal convictions, say Kennedy's tapes would have supported their case in court as their intentions, recorded at the private meeting before the planned break-in, would rebut the prosecution's position. ...
Jezz Davis, 39, a construction worker, took the rare step of speaking out after hearing revelations that Nottinghamshire police allegedly suppressed surveillance tapes of activists convicted of conspiring to shut down one of Britain's biggest power stations for a week.
He told the Guardian the police's behaviour was "outrageous" and "corrupt" and left him "feeling betrayed by the British judicial system".
His criticism is likely to intensify the disquiet about police conduct in the trial. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, has ordered an investigation into the safety of the convictions, while the Independent Police Complaints Commission is scrutinising the police's alleged failure to disclose the tapes to court.
Mark Kennedy, the 41-year-old undercover officer who infiltrated the environmental movement for seven years, says he secretly recorded a private meeting of the activists before the planned invasion of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. He is alleged to have played a key role in organising the planned break-in of the power station for four months.
Davis told the Guardian that there was "no question" that the tapes should have been heard in court. "When called for jury service, you assume with good faith that all relevant evidence will be presented. The absence of potentially verdict-changing evidence is utterly outrageous."
"It just exposes the corruption in what is meant to be the system that you trust, that you place your faith in to do things by the book. They are the law. If you can't trust the law, who can you trust ?"
He said revelations about Kennedy's activities – which emerged after the trial – "turned everything on its head", as it became clear police knew through their spy about the planned action long before "but did nothing about it". He said it amounted to "prolonged entrapment".
The jury delivered guilty verdicts on the 20 activists in December after a trial lasting more than three weeks. The activists had relied on a legal strategy – known as "necessity", in which they admitted they were conspiring to shut the power station but said they did so to prevent death and serious injury caused by carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. The prosecution argued that the activists were lying and were intending to pull off a publicity stunt.
The activists, who are seeking to overturn their criminal convictions, say Kennedy's tapes would have supported their case in court as their intentions, recorded at the private meeting before the planned break-in, would rebut the prosecution's position. ...
Deadly battles between south Sudan's army and a renegade commander have killed 105 fighters and civilians, the military said, as the war-scarred region moves towards independence.
The violence comes days after results of a referendum on secession confirmed south Sudan would declare independence in July, after decades of civil war that has claimed 2 million lives.
The region's army said clashes at Fangak in Jonglei state on Wednesday and Thursday had killed 50 fighters from both sides and 39 civilians, adding to the 16 casualties it reported earlier from fighting in Door.
"It was George Athor's men who came with machine guns, AK 47s and started firing," said south Sudan's army spokesman Philip Aguer. ...
The violence comes days after results of a referendum on secession confirmed south Sudan would declare independence in July, after decades of civil war that has claimed 2 million lives.
The region's army said clashes at Fangak in Jonglei state on Wednesday and Thursday had killed 50 fighters from both sides and 39 civilians, adding to the 16 casualties it reported earlier from fighting in Door.
"It was George Athor's men who came with machine guns, AK 47s and started firing," said south Sudan's army spokesman Philip Aguer. ...
Attack is the best defence and this government is pretty good at it. But holding the line on cuts gets harder as 90 Lib Dem councillors and council leaders break silence in a letter of protest to the Times warning of the damage to the economy and the most vulnerable. Now some Tory councils are joining in. All this is before the great cull of jobs and services begins in earnest in April, when notice periods end and the redundant start to join the unemployment register.
Esoteric ideological debates over "localism" have become pretty meaningless – though the right find it a useful distraction from the brutality of the cuts. The coalition brand of localism means the axe is devolved, along with the blame. Brazen denial, outrageous abuse of figures, and accusations of (Labour) council profligacy are their weapons of choice.
It's easy to bamboozle voters in the impenetrable thickets of local authority funding formulae. Once a minister sinks a Newsnight debate into a row over whether a council is losing 8% or 25%, the hope is viewers give up. How can they know who's right? Side-swiping at extravagance, from chocolate biscuits to chief executive's pay, is a cunning diversionary counter-attack. Some top pay is excessive, and the local government secretary Eric Pickles forcing councils to publish managerial pay is no bad thing. But if chief executives were cut to the minimum wage, the saving would still be a drop in the ocean of these cuts.
There is just one extraordinary fact everyone needs to know. The cuts have fallen hardest on the most deprived councils, while the richest areas have suffered least. Whichever way the figures are construed, the highest percentage of cuts hit the poorest places hardest: Liverpool worst, followed by Manchester; Knowsley; Blackburn with Darwen; South Tyneside; Hackney; Newham; Hartlepool; Tower Hamlets and so on.
Now look up at the top and some councils actually gain – such as Oliver Letwin's Dorset. Among the least affected in spending power are such places as Vince Cable's Richmond upon Thames, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, and Michael Gove's Surrey. ...
Esoteric ideological debates over "localism" have become pretty meaningless – though the right find it a useful distraction from the brutality of the cuts. The coalition brand of localism means the axe is devolved, along with the blame. Brazen denial, outrageous abuse of figures, and accusations of (Labour) council profligacy are their weapons of choice.
It's easy to bamboozle voters in the impenetrable thickets of local authority funding formulae. Once a minister sinks a Newsnight debate into a row over whether a council is losing 8% or 25%, the hope is viewers give up. How can they know who's right? Side-swiping at extravagance, from chocolate biscuits to chief executive's pay, is a cunning diversionary counter-attack. Some top pay is excessive, and the local government secretary Eric Pickles forcing councils to publish managerial pay is no bad thing. But if chief executives were cut to the minimum wage, the saving would still be a drop in the ocean of these cuts.
There is just one extraordinary fact everyone needs to know. The cuts have fallen hardest on the most deprived councils, while the richest areas have suffered least. Whichever way the figures are construed, the highest percentage of cuts hit the poorest places hardest: Liverpool worst, followed by Manchester; Knowsley; Blackburn with Darwen; South Tyneside; Hackney; Newham; Hartlepool; Tower Hamlets and so on.
Now look up at the top and some councils actually gain – such as Oliver Letwin's Dorset. Among the least affected in spending power are such places as Vince Cable's Richmond upon Thames, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, and Michael Gove's Surrey. ...
A high court judge has ordered the education secretary, Michael Gove, to reconsider his decision to cancel scores of multimillion-pound school rebuilding projects.
Mr Justice Holman said Gove's actions over the scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative last year had been "so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power".
Under the £55bn scheme introduced by Labour, every secondary school in England was to be either rebuilt or refurbished. More than 700 schools' building projects were cancelled when the scheme was scrapped in July.
Justice Holman told the high court in London that the education secretary had acted unlawfully in failing to consult local authorities over the decision and had broken the law by failing to give "due regard" to equality legislation.
The result is a major embarrassment for Gove and may result in the government paying compensation costs to six councils who had taken the case to the high court claiming that the cancellation of the school building projects had been "arbitrary and legally flawed". ...
Mr Justice Holman said Gove's actions over the scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative last year had been "so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power".
Under the £55bn scheme introduced by Labour, every secondary school in England was to be either rebuilt or refurbished. More than 700 schools' building projects were cancelled when the scheme was scrapped in July.
Justice Holman told the high court in London that the education secretary had acted unlawfully in failing to consult local authorities over the decision and had broken the law by failing to give "due regard" to equality legislation.
The result is a major embarrassment for Gove and may result in the government paying compensation costs to six councils who had taken the case to the high court claiming that the cancellation of the school building projects had been "arbitrary and legally flawed". ...
A Chinese grassroots lawyer and his wife have been severely beaten after secretly filming a video documenting their house arrest, human rights campaigners fear.
Chen Guangcheng and Yuan Weijing described in a recording, smuggled out of their village and published online, how they and their children were being held at home and watched round the clock since Chen's release from prison five months ago.
The China Human Rights Defenders network said a source – unwilling to disclose their identity – said the couple were attacked on Tuesday by security officials who learned of the video. The source said Chen and Yuan were too badly injured to get out of bed, and in any case would not be allowed to go to hospital.
Chen is one of the country's best-known activists, a self-taught legal advocate for women who had forced abortions and sterilisations and farmers who lost their land. Rights groups have expressed grave concern for Chen and his family and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, raised his case in a speech shortly before the Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit to the US last month.
"I was in a small prison and now I am in a larger prison," Chen said in the hour-long video, his first direct statement to the outside world since his detention in 2006. He said three shifts of people monitor the family, with more than 20 agents per shift.
Wearing black sunglasses, Chen, who is blind, urges Chinese people to stand up for their rights and the international community to pay attention to the situation in China. He says his treatment is illegal under the constitution and that officials who took away his phone have committed robbery. ...
Chen Guangcheng and Yuan Weijing described in a recording, smuggled out of their village and published online, how they and their children were being held at home and watched round the clock since Chen's release from prison five months ago.
The China Human Rights Defenders network said a source – unwilling to disclose their identity – said the couple were attacked on Tuesday by security officials who learned of the video. The source said Chen and Yuan were too badly injured to get out of bed, and in any case would not be allowed to go to hospital.
Chen is one of the country's best-known activists, a self-taught legal advocate for women who had forced abortions and sterilisations and farmers who lost their land. Rights groups have expressed grave concern for Chen and his family and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, raised his case in a speech shortly before the Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit to the US last month.
"I was in a small prison and now I am in a larger prison," Chen said in the hour-long video, his first direct statement to the outside world since his detention in 2006. He said three shifts of people monitor the family, with more than 20 agents per shift.
Wearing black sunglasses, Chen, who is blind, urges Chinese people to stand up for their rights and the international community to pay attention to the situation in China. He says his treatment is illegal under the constitution and that officials who took away his phone have committed robbery. ...
North Korea has ordered all its embassies to appeal to foreign governments for food aid in a sign of growing desperation in Pyongyang, according to diplomatic sources.
This direct approach to foreign capitals, launched in December, is highly unusual for the insular and totalitarian regime, which normally negotiates deliveries of food assistance with international organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP). ...
This direct approach to foreign capitals, launched in December, is highly unusual for the insular and totalitarian regime, which normally negotiates deliveries of food assistance with international organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP). ...
The Egyptian military has secretly detained hundreds and possibly thousands of suspected government opponents since mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak began, and at least some of these detainees have been tortured, according to testimony gathered by the Guardian.
The military has claimed to be neutral, merely keeping anti-Mubarak protesters and loyalists apart. But human rights campaigners say this is clearly no longer the case, accusing the army of involvement in both disappearances and torture – abuses Egyptians have for years associated with the notorious state security intelligence (SSI) but not the army.
The Guardian has spoken to detainees who say they have suffered extensive beatings and other abuses at the hands of the military in what appears to be an organised campaign of intimidation. Human rights groups have documented the use of electric shocks on some of those held by the army.
Egyptian human rights groups say families are desperately searching for missing relatives who have disappeared into army custody. Some of the detainees have been held inside the renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on the edge of Tahrir Square. Those released have given graphic accounts of physical abuse by soldiers who accused them of acting for foreign powers, including Hamas and Israel.
Among those detained have been human rights activists, lawyers and journalists, but most have been released. However, Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, said hundreds, and possibly thousands, of ordinary people had "disappeared" into military custody across the country for no more than carrying a political flyer, attending the demonstrations or even the way they look. Many were still missing.
"Their range is very wide, from people who were at the protests or detained for breaking curfew to those who talked back at an army officer or were handed over to the army for looking suspicious or for looking like foreigners even if they were not," he said. "It's unusual and to the best of our knowledge it's also unprecedented for the army to be doing this."
One of those detained by the army was a 23-year-old man who would only give his first name, Ashraf, for fear of again being arrested. He was detained last Friday on the edge of Tahrir Square carrying a box of medical supplies intended for one of the makeshift clinics treating protesters attacked by pro-Mubarak forces.
"I was on a sidestreet and a soldier stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told him and he accused me of working for foreign enemies and other soldiers rushed over and they all started hitting me with their guns," he said. ...
The military has claimed to be neutral, merely keeping anti-Mubarak protesters and loyalists apart. But human rights campaigners say this is clearly no longer the case, accusing the army of involvement in both disappearances and torture – abuses Egyptians have for years associated with the notorious state security intelligence (SSI) but not the army.
The Guardian has spoken to detainees who say they have suffered extensive beatings and other abuses at the hands of the military in what appears to be an organised campaign of intimidation. Human rights groups have documented the use of electric shocks on some of those held by the army.
Egyptian human rights groups say families are desperately searching for missing relatives who have disappeared into army custody. Some of the detainees have been held inside the renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on the edge of Tahrir Square. Those released have given graphic accounts of physical abuse by soldiers who accused them of acting for foreign powers, including Hamas and Israel.
Among those detained have been human rights activists, lawyers and journalists, but most have been released. However, Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, said hundreds, and possibly thousands, of ordinary people had "disappeared" into military custody across the country for no more than carrying a political flyer, attending the demonstrations or even the way they look. Many were still missing.
"Their range is very wide, from people who were at the protests or detained for breaking curfew to those who talked back at an army officer or were handed over to the army for looking suspicious or for looking like foreigners even if they were not," he said. "It's unusual and to the best of our knowledge it's also unprecedented for the army to be doing this."
One of those detained by the army was a 23-year-old man who would only give his first name, Ashraf, for fear of again being arrested. He was detained last Friday on the edge of Tahrir Square carrying a box of medical supplies intended for one of the makeshift clinics treating protesters attacked by pro-Mubarak forces.
"I was on a sidestreet and a soldier stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told him and he accused me of working for foreign enemies and other soldiers rushed over and they all started hitting me with their guns," he said. ...
The sickening, rapid click-click-clicking of the electrocuting device sounded like an angry rattlesnake as it passed within inches of my face. Then came a scream of agony, followed by a pitiful whimpering from the handcuffed, blindfolded victim as the force of the shock propelled him across the floor.
A hail of vicious punches and kicks rained down on the prone bodies next to me, creating loud thumps. The torturers screamed abuse all around me. Only later were their chilling words translated to me by an Arabic-speaking colleague: "In this hotel, there are only two items on the menu for those who don't behave – electrocution and rape."
Cuffed and blindfolded, like my fellow detainees, I lay transfixed. My palms sweated and my heart raced. I felt myself shaking. Would it be my turn next? Or would my outsider status, conferred by holding a British passport, save me? I suspected – hoped – that it would be the latter and, thankfully, it was. But I could never be sure.
I had "disappeared", along with countless Egyptians, inside the bowels of the Mukhabarat, President Hosni Mubarak's vast security-intelligence apparatus and an organisation headed, until recently, by his vice-president and former intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, the man trusted to negotiate an "orderly transition" to democratic rule.
Judging by what I witnessed, that seems a forlorn hope.
I had often wondered, reading accounts of political prisoners detained and tortured in places such as junta-run Argentina of the 1970s, what it would be like to be totally at the mercy of, and dependent on, your jailer for everything – food, water, the toilet. I never dreamed I would find out. Yet here I was, cooped up in a tiny room with a group of Egyptian detainees who were being mercilessly brutalised.
I had been handed over to the security services after being stopped at a police checkpoint near central Cairo last Friday. I had flown there, along with an Iraqi-born British colleague, Abdelilah Nuaimi, to cover Egypt's unfolding crisis for RFE/RL, an American radio station based in Prague.
We knew beforehand that foreign journalists had been targeted by security services as they scrambled to contain a revolt against Mubarak's regime, so our incarceration was not unique.
Yet it was different. My experience, while highly personal, wasn't really about me or the foreign media. It was about gaining an insight – if that is possible behind a blindfold – into the inner workings of the Mubarak regime. It told me all I needed to know about why it had become hated, feared and loathed by the mass of ordinary Egyptians. ...
A hail of vicious punches and kicks rained down on the prone bodies next to me, creating loud thumps. The torturers screamed abuse all around me. Only later were their chilling words translated to me by an Arabic-speaking colleague: "In this hotel, there are only two items on the menu for those who don't behave – electrocution and rape."
Cuffed and blindfolded, like my fellow detainees, I lay transfixed. My palms sweated and my heart raced. I felt myself shaking. Would it be my turn next? Or would my outsider status, conferred by holding a British passport, save me? I suspected – hoped – that it would be the latter and, thankfully, it was. But I could never be sure.
I had "disappeared", along with countless Egyptians, inside the bowels of the Mukhabarat, President Hosni Mubarak's vast security-intelligence apparatus and an organisation headed, until recently, by his vice-president and former intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, the man trusted to negotiate an "orderly transition" to democratic rule.
Judging by what I witnessed, that seems a forlorn hope.
I had often wondered, reading accounts of political prisoners detained and tortured in places such as junta-run Argentina of the 1970s, what it would be like to be totally at the mercy of, and dependent on, your jailer for everything – food, water, the toilet. I never dreamed I would find out. Yet here I was, cooped up in a tiny room with a group of Egyptian detainees who were being mercilessly brutalised.
I had been handed over to the security services after being stopped at a police checkpoint near central Cairo last Friday. I had flown there, along with an Iraqi-born British colleague, Abdelilah Nuaimi, to cover Egypt's unfolding crisis for RFE/RL, an American radio station based in Prague.
We knew beforehand that foreign journalists had been targeted by security services as they scrambled to contain a revolt against Mubarak's regime, so our incarceration was not unique.
Yet it was different. My experience, while highly personal, wasn't really about me or the foreign media. It was about gaining an insight – if that is possible behind a blindfold – into the inner workings of the Mubarak regime. It told me all I needed to know about why it had become hated, feared and loathed by the mass of ordinary Egyptians. ...
The reopened police investigation into phone hacking by News of the World journalists has identified a number of new potential victims, including Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, the Guardian has learned.
Just a fortnight after reopening their inquiry, in the wake of an 18-month campaign by the Guardian, police said a re-examination of the evidence they had held for years, but failed to fully investigate, combined with new evidence from the Sunday tabloid, had thrown up an "important and immediate new line of inquiry". The new investigation, they said, had already established "reasonable evidence" that up to 20 people, mainly prominent public figures, were targeted by the paper.
The development represents Scotland Yard finally beginning to take the lid off the phone-hacking scandal. More than five years after they first started to investigate the illegal interception of voicemail messages by a private investigator working for the News of the World, the Met announced that its new inquiry would:
• Review all the decisions made by their two previous inquiries.
• Contact thousands of public figures who have never been told that their personal details were recorded by the private investigator.
• Warn some public figures that they had previously been misled when they asked the Yard for information.
Police had been dismissive of Prescott's suspicions that he had been targeted, but the head of the new investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, saw Prescott on Wednesday. He was told that invoices recovered by police showed he was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye used by the NoW, who was an expert in phone hacking. They also have notes made by Mulcaire about Prescott, who as deputy prime minister was in possession of highly sensitive information. After his briefing by the police chief, Prescott told the Guardian that previous police investigations had been "completely inadequate".
The new evidence is understood to show that Prescott was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. In a statement Prescott told the Guardian: "I can confirm that at her request I met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers today. She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence. I now look forward to the Met police finally uncovering the truth." ...
Just a fortnight after reopening their inquiry, in the wake of an 18-month campaign by the Guardian, police said a re-examination of the evidence they had held for years, but failed to fully investigate, combined with new evidence from the Sunday tabloid, had thrown up an "important and immediate new line of inquiry". The new investigation, they said, had already established "reasonable evidence" that up to 20 people, mainly prominent public figures, were targeted by the paper.
The development represents Scotland Yard finally beginning to take the lid off the phone-hacking scandal. More than five years after they first started to investigate the illegal interception of voicemail messages by a private investigator working for the News of the World, the Met announced that its new inquiry would:
• Review all the decisions made by their two previous inquiries.
• Contact thousands of public figures who have never been told that their personal details were recorded by the private investigator.
• Warn some public figures that they had previously been misled when they asked the Yard for information.
Police had been dismissive of Prescott's suspicions that he had been targeted, but the head of the new investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, saw Prescott on Wednesday. He was told that invoices recovered by police showed he was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye used by the NoW, who was an expert in phone hacking. They also have notes made by Mulcaire about Prescott, who as deputy prime minister was in possession of highly sensitive information. After his briefing by the police chief, Prescott told the Guardian that previous police investigations had been "completely inadequate".
The new evidence is understood to show that Prescott was targeted in April 2006, the month he admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple. In a statement Prescott told the Guardian: "I can confirm that at her request I met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers today. She informed me that significant new evidence relating to phone hacking and myself had been discovered and that they were investigating it. I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence. I now look forward to the Met police finally uncovering the truth." ...
The leader of France's National Front has praised David Cameron for what she says is an endorsement of her party's far-right views on multiculturalism and immigration.
Marine Le Pen was elected to lead the National Front last month. She claimed the prime minister's speech on the failures of multiculturalism showed he was taking Britain's Conservatives towards her stance on the issue. "It is exactly this type of statement that has barred us from public life [in France] for 30 years," she told the Financial Times. "I sense an evolution at European level, even in classic governments. I can only congratulate him."
Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was among European leaders listening to Cameron's speech in Munich at the weekend. He is accused of having played into the hands of rightwing extremists by talking of the failings of multiculturalism within hours of one of the biggest anti-Islam rallies ever staged in Britain.
Cameron called for a new "muscular liberalism", promoting British values and national identity. A policy of "passive tolerance" had only served to encourage Islamist extremism, he argued.
Marine Le Pen is daughter of the former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. She told the FT it was "indisputable" Cameron was moving the Conservatives closer to the traditional positions held by her party. A Conservative spokesman said she had "clearly failed to understand the prime minister's speech".
Cameron told the Munich Security Conference, attended by world leaders, that state multiculturalism had failed in this country and pledged to cut funding for Muslim groups that failed to respect basic British values.
He warned other European leaders that they needed to "wake up" to the threat of Islamist extremism and the radicalisation of Muslims inside their nations' borders. ...
Marine Le Pen was elected to lead the National Front last month. She claimed the prime minister's speech on the failures of multiculturalism showed he was taking Britain's Conservatives towards her stance on the issue. "It is exactly this type of statement that has barred us from public life [in France] for 30 years," she told the Financial Times. "I sense an evolution at European level, even in classic governments. I can only congratulate him."
Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was among European leaders listening to Cameron's speech in Munich at the weekend. He is accused of having played into the hands of rightwing extremists by talking of the failings of multiculturalism within hours of one of the biggest anti-Islam rallies ever staged in Britain.
Cameron called for a new "muscular liberalism", promoting British values and national identity. A policy of "passive tolerance" had only served to encourage Islamist extremism, he argued.
Marine Le Pen is daughter of the former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. She told the FT it was "indisputable" Cameron was moving the Conservatives closer to the traditional positions held by her party. A Conservative spokesman said she had "clearly failed to understand the prime minister's speech".
Cameron told the Munich Security Conference, attended by world leaders, that state multiculturalism had failed in this country and pledged to cut funding for Muslim groups that failed to respect basic British values.
He warned other European leaders that they needed to "wake up" to the threat of Islamist extremism and the radicalisation of Muslims inside their nations' borders. ...
Republicans have launched an attack on the Obama administration's powers to act on climate change, proposing a 17% budget cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a follow-up strike, they repeatedly challenged the legal authority of the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions during a contentious hearing in Congress.
The proposed $1.6bn (£1bn) cut to the EPA was the largest in dollar terms of some 70 budgetary measures put forward by Republicans on Wednesday.
Lisa Jackson, the EPA chief, said the attacks were part of a larger Republican project to roll back years of environmental and safety protections.
"I think this is a serious effort to weaken the clean air act," she said.
Jackson and the EPA have emerged as prime targets for the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, who have promised to block what they say are "job-killing" regulations.
The energy and commerce committee is now under the control of a Republican, Fred Upton, who told a seminar this week he did not believe in man-made climate change. ...
In a follow-up strike, they repeatedly challenged the legal authority of the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions during a contentious hearing in Congress.
The proposed $1.6bn (£1bn) cut to the EPA was the largest in dollar terms of some 70 budgetary measures put forward by Republicans on Wednesday.
Lisa Jackson, the EPA chief, said the attacks were part of a larger Republican project to roll back years of environmental and safety protections.
"I think this is a serious effort to weaken the clean air act," she said.
Jackson and the EPA have emerged as prime targets for the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, who have promised to block what they say are "job-killing" regulations.
The energy and commerce committee is now under the control of a Republican, Fred Upton, who told a seminar this week he did not believe in man-made climate change. ...
Silvio Berlusconi has raised the spectre of a full-scale constitutional showdown in Italy after prosecutors in Milan asked for him to be put on trial immediately, charged with sex-related offences.
Italy's prime minister accused them of breaking the law and going against parliament. Soon afterwards his chief ally, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League, said the indictment request marked the start of a "total war" between Italy's judiciary and its legislature.
Berlusconi and his allies have argued that the case should have been dropped last week after a vote in the lower house of parliament, where they have a narrow majority. The house adopted a resolution that meant, in effect, that the prosecutors had no right to pursue their investigation.
Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, said his colleagues had asked for the prime minister to be put in the dock without a preliminary hearing because of the "obviousness of the evidence" against him.
A judge, Cristina Di Censo, is expected to rule early next week on the prosecutors' application. If it is granted, Berlusconi could be put on trial as early as April.
The latest move piled yet more pressure on the media tycoon-turned-conservative politician, whose Freedom People movement was hit by a split last year. His government has since survived two make-or-break confidence votes in parliament, but it is struggling to pass legislation Bossi has said is essential to the Northern League's continued support. ...
Italy's prime minister accused them of breaking the law and going against parliament. Soon afterwards his chief ally, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League, said the indictment request marked the start of a "total war" between Italy's judiciary and its legislature.
Berlusconi and his allies have argued that the case should have been dropped last week after a vote in the lower house of parliament, where they have a narrow majority. The house adopted a resolution that meant, in effect, that the prosecutors had no right to pursue their investigation.
Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, said his colleagues had asked for the prime minister to be put in the dock without a preliminary hearing because of the "obviousness of the evidence" against him.
A judge, Cristina Di Censo, is expected to rule early next week on the prosecutors' application. If it is granted, Berlusconi could be put on trial as early as April.
The latest move piled yet more pressure on the media tycoon-turned-conservative politician, whose Freedom People movement was hit by a split last year. His government has since survived two make-or-break confidence votes in parliament, but it is struggling to pass legislation Bossi has said is essential to the Northern League's continued support. ...
Disgraced Eric Illsley has finally quit as an MP, weeks after being convicted of fiddling his expenses.
Treasury sources confirmed that Illsley had been granted the ceremonial post of crown steward and bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham – the traditional way of resigning from parliament.
Labour is planning to trigger a by-election in his Barnsley Central seat on March 3.
Illsley is due to be sentenced on Thursday after admitting dishonestly claiming £14,000 of expenses on 11 January.
He could theoretically have stayed on as an MP with a jail term of less than 12 months.
However, following heavy pressure Illsley expressed "deep regret" over his actions and said he would quit before the court decided his fate. He is believed to have been receiving his £65,000 a year parliamentary salary over the past month – meaning he will have pocketed roughly £5,400 since being convicted. ...
Treasury sources confirmed that Illsley had been granted the ceremonial post of crown steward and bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham – the traditional way of resigning from parliament.
Labour is planning to trigger a by-election in his Barnsley Central seat on March 3.
Illsley is due to be sentenced on Thursday after admitting dishonestly claiming £14,000 of expenses on 11 January.
He could theoretically have stayed on as an MP with a jail term of less than 12 months.
However, following heavy pressure Illsley expressed "deep regret" over his actions and said he would quit before the court decided his fate. He is believed to have been receiving his £65,000 a year parliamentary salary over the past month – meaning he will have pocketed roughly £5,400 since being convicted. ...
Will George W. Bush set foot in Europe again in his lifetime?
A planned trip by Bush to speak at the Switzerland-based United Israel Appeal later this week has been canceled after several human rights groups called for Swiss authorities to arrest Bush and investigate him for authorizing torture. Bush has traveled widely since leaving office, but not to Europe, where there is a strong tradition of international prosecutions.
The Swiss group and Bush's spokesman claim that it was threats of protest, not of legal action, that prompted the cancellation. But facing protests is nothing new for Bush. What was different about this trip was that groups including Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights argued that Switzerland, as a party to the UN Convention against Torture, is obligated to investigate Bush for potential prosecution.
Amnesty's memo to Swiss authorities cites, among other things, Bush's admission in his own memoir that he approved the use of waterboarding....
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A planned trip by Bush to speak at the Switzerland-based United Israel Appeal later this week has been canceled after several human rights groups called for Swiss authorities to arrest Bush and investigate him for authorizing torture. Bush has traveled widely since leaving office, but not to Europe, where there is a strong tradition of international prosecutions.
The Swiss group and Bush's spokesman claim that it was threats of protest, not of legal action, that prompted the cancellation. But facing protests is nothing new for Bush. What was different about this trip was that groups including Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights argued that Switzerland, as a party to the UN Convention against Torture, is obligated to investigate Bush for potential prosecution.
Amnesty's memo to Swiss authorities cites, among other things, Bush's admission in his own memoir that he approved the use of waterboarding....
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Zohra Mejri shivered from the damp and rot spreading along the cracked ceiling of her makeshift concrete home. Outside, as raw sewage trickled past children playing, men were discussing renaming the desolate, windswept road "Martyr Street".
Mejri's son, Muhammad, 23, was shot dead by a police sniper as he walked home during the rural street demonstrations that led to Tunisia's revolution and the toppling of the dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
"We just don't want him to have died in vain," she said. "Nothing has changed in people's miserable lives here in this forgotten corner of Tunisia. And if the old faces of the regime keep terrorising us, then what was it all worth? People will rise up again."
Few places better illustrate the problems of Tunisia's unfinished revolution than Kasserine, a lawless and poverty-stricken border town nestled below mountains on the Algerian frontier, nearly 200 miles south-west of Tunis. For centuries a bastion of rebellion and unrest, the rural town of 100,000 people had the highest death toll of the revolution after Ben Ali's police snipers were ordered to shoot to kill to quell street demonstrations. Far from the golden tourist coast, Kasserine has the highest unemployment, crime rate, suicide levels and divorce figures in Tunisia.
Jobs are so scarce that much of the population survives from the smuggling of petrol, cigarettes and hashish over the Algerian border. Makeshift stands sell jerrycans of contraband fuel for £1 a throw.
Kasserine was at the forefront of Tunisia's historic January uprising, the first time in the Arab world that people on the streets have ousted a brutal dictator. The country's hope of becoming the first true Arab democracy spread across the region, inspiring Egypt's revolt. But as the world spotlight turns to Cairo, Tunisia's rural interior fears its revolution could disintegrate.
The town now finds itself at the heart of the attempts by Ben Ali's former ruling RCD party to stir fresh violence to disrupt the revolution. In the past three days, at least five people have died in Tunisia in the worst violence since Ben Ali fled on January 14. The interim government has blamed the wave of violence on a plot by old figures in the RCD party to stir panic and damage the revolution.
Last week in Kasserine at least 1,000 thugs descended on the town centre, ransacking schools, smashing buildings, attacking the court-house and robbing at knifepoint, left to run riot through the town by the lack of police. "This was a war of terrorism," said local lawyer Bedma Askri. "The RCD paid criminals and thugs around 15 dinars each [£5] to do this.
"In some cases, they just plied them with alcohol in exchange for violence. That's poverty for you, when someone will smash up a town and terrify people in exchange for a drink." ...
Mejri's son, Muhammad, 23, was shot dead by a police sniper as he walked home during the rural street demonstrations that led to Tunisia's revolution and the toppling of the dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
"We just don't want him to have died in vain," she said. "Nothing has changed in people's miserable lives here in this forgotten corner of Tunisia. And if the old faces of the regime keep terrorising us, then what was it all worth? People will rise up again."
Few places better illustrate the problems of Tunisia's unfinished revolution than Kasserine, a lawless and poverty-stricken border town nestled below mountains on the Algerian frontier, nearly 200 miles south-west of Tunis. For centuries a bastion of rebellion and unrest, the rural town of 100,000 people had the highest death toll of the revolution after Ben Ali's police snipers were ordered to shoot to kill to quell street demonstrations. Far from the golden tourist coast, Kasserine has the highest unemployment, crime rate, suicide levels and divorce figures in Tunisia.
Jobs are so scarce that much of the population survives from the smuggling of petrol, cigarettes and hashish over the Algerian border. Makeshift stands sell jerrycans of contraband fuel for £1 a throw.
Kasserine was at the forefront of Tunisia's historic January uprising, the first time in the Arab world that people on the streets have ousted a brutal dictator. The country's hope of becoming the first true Arab democracy spread across the region, inspiring Egypt's revolt. But as the world spotlight turns to Cairo, Tunisia's rural interior fears its revolution could disintegrate.
The town now finds itself at the heart of the attempts by Ben Ali's former ruling RCD party to stir fresh violence to disrupt the revolution. In the past three days, at least five people have died in Tunisia in the worst violence since Ben Ali fled on January 14. The interim government has blamed the wave of violence on a plot by old figures in the RCD party to stir panic and damage the revolution.
Last week in Kasserine at least 1,000 thugs descended on the town centre, ransacking schools, smashing buildings, attacking the court-house and robbing at knifepoint, left to run riot through the town by the lack of police. "This was a war of terrorism," said local lawyer Bedma Askri. "The RCD paid criminals and thugs around 15 dinars each [£5] to do this.
"In some cases, they just plied them with alcohol in exchange for violence. That's poverty for you, when someone will smash up a town and terrify people in exchange for a drink." ...
Human rights groups have vowed to track George W Bush round the world after their success in forcing him to cancel a trip to Switzerland amid concerns over protests and a threatened arrest warrant.
Katherine Gallagher, a lawyer with the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, said: "The reach of the convention against torture is wide. This case is prepared and will be waiting for him wherever he travels next.
"Torturers, even if they are former presidents of the United States, must be held to account and prosecuted."
Although Bush has travelled freely round the world since leaving the White House in January 2009, human rights groups believe he is vulnerable to prosecution after admitting in his autobiography last November that he authorised waterboarding and other interrogation techniques.
"Waterboarding is torture, and Bush has admitted, without any sign of remorse, that he approved its use," said Gallagher, who is also vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights.
Bush's staff, as well as US embassies around the world, will have to factor into their planning of future trips whether a country is a signatory to the convention on torture, as most countries are, which should at least theoretically trigger near-automatic action by legal authorities, and negotiate with governments to ensure there will be no arrest warrants. They will also seek assurances that Bush has diplomatic immunity.
Since the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998 over alleged murders, senior politicians linked to war, internal conflict and oppression have had to be more careful in their travel plans.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights, backed by other human rights organisations, has published a 2,500-word "indictment for torture" against Bush. It was to have been filed with a Swiss court today, but that plan had to be dropped when Bush cancelled a visit to Geneva on Saturday to deliver a speech. Under the original plan, a criminal complaint would have been brought on behalf of two former Guantánamo prisoners who claim they were tortured. ...
Katherine Gallagher, a lawyer with the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, said: "The reach of the convention against torture is wide. This case is prepared and will be waiting for him wherever he travels next.
"Torturers, even if they are former presidents of the United States, must be held to account and prosecuted."
Although Bush has travelled freely round the world since leaving the White House in January 2009, human rights groups believe he is vulnerable to prosecution after admitting in his autobiography last November that he authorised waterboarding and other interrogation techniques.
"Waterboarding is torture, and Bush has admitted, without any sign of remorse, that he approved its use," said Gallagher, who is also vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights.
Bush's staff, as well as US embassies around the world, will have to factor into their planning of future trips whether a country is a signatory to the convention on torture, as most countries are, which should at least theoretically trigger near-automatic action by legal authorities, and negotiate with governments to ensure there will be no arrest warrants. They will also seek assurances that Bush has diplomatic immunity.
Since the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998 over alleged murders, senior politicians linked to war, internal conflict and oppression have had to be more careful in their travel plans.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights, backed by other human rights organisations, has published a 2,500-word "indictment for torture" against Bush. It was to have been filed with a Swiss court today, but that plan had to be dropped when Bush cancelled a visit to Geneva on Saturday to deliver a speech. Under the original plan, a criminal complaint would have been brought on behalf of two former Guantánamo prisoners who claim they were tortured. ...
Undercover policing operations should be authorised in advance by a judge, the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said today.
Sir Hugh Orde, the Acpo president, said the change was needed to restore public confidence in the system after concerns about the role played by the ex-Metropolitan police constable Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years posing as an environmental activist.
Orde said the benefits of judicial oversight of future operations would "far outweigh the additional administrative burden".
Speaking at a policing seminar held by the human rights group Liberty in central London, he said: "The current system of retrospective inspection is, in my judgment, no longer sufficient to secure the confidence of right thinking people that such interference with citizens' rights – with its foreseeable collateral intrusion on many – is appropriate.
"Therefore, the solution must take the form of some independent pre-authority that is already a common feature in other areas of policing in this country.
"It is not for me to suggest the level or form, but I do believe that an additional element of judicial oversight, in keeping with our traditions of accountability to the rule of law, need not be over-bureaucratic and the benefit would far outweigh the additional administrative burden."
Control of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), to which undercover officer Kennedy belonged, was transferred from Acpo to Scotland Yard last Monday. ...
Sir Hugh Orde, the Acpo president, said the change was needed to restore public confidence in the system after concerns about the role played by the ex-Metropolitan police constable Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years posing as an environmental activist.
Orde said the benefits of judicial oversight of future operations would "far outweigh the additional administrative burden".
Speaking at a policing seminar held by the human rights group Liberty in central London, he said: "The current system of retrospective inspection is, in my judgment, no longer sufficient to secure the confidence of right thinking people that such interference with citizens' rights – with its foreseeable collateral intrusion on many – is appropriate.
"Therefore, the solution must take the form of some independent pre-authority that is already a common feature in other areas of policing in this country.
"It is not for me to suggest the level or form, but I do believe that an additional element of judicial oversight, in keeping with our traditions of accountability to the rule of law, need not be over-bureaucratic and the benefit would far outweigh the additional administrative burden."
Control of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), to which undercover officer Kennedy belonged, was transferred from Acpo to Scotland Yard last Monday. ...
The last Labour government did "all it could" to help release the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to secure a BP oil deal and strengthen its political ties with Libya, an official review has found.
The study of hundreds of confidential government papers by the Cabinet Office concluded that there was an "underlying desire" by the UK government to see Abdelbaset al-Megrahi released early from his life sentence to further UK-Libyan relations.
That included briefing the Libyans on how to approach the Scottish government to seek Megrahi's release under a prisoner transfer treaty and on compassionate grounds – briefings sanctioned by ministers in Edinburgh.
But Sir Gus O'Donnell, the head of the civil service, said ministers in London "took great efforts" not to overtly pressurise the Scottish government into releasing Megrahi.
The report says Jack Straw, then the UK justice secretary, and Des Browne, then the secretary of state for Scotland, knew that releasing Megrahi was solely a matter for ministers in Edinburgh and feared that directly and overtly lobbying the Scottish nationalist government would backfire.
However, O'Donnell's inquiry has also found that, at an early stage, Scottish government ministers in Edinburgh tried to trade Megrahi for concessions on two controversial policies controlled by the UK government, on air guns and compensation payments for prison inmates.
The UK government's records said Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, was prepared to shelve his government's fierce objections to including Megrahi in a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya in return for concessions. ...
The study of hundreds of confidential government papers by the Cabinet Office concluded that there was an "underlying desire" by the UK government to see Abdelbaset al-Megrahi released early from his life sentence to further UK-Libyan relations.
That included briefing the Libyans on how to approach the Scottish government to seek Megrahi's release under a prisoner transfer treaty and on compassionate grounds – briefings sanctioned by ministers in Edinburgh.
But Sir Gus O'Donnell, the head of the civil service, said ministers in London "took great efforts" not to overtly pressurise the Scottish government into releasing Megrahi.
The report says Jack Straw, then the UK justice secretary, and Des Browne, then the secretary of state for Scotland, knew that releasing Megrahi was solely a matter for ministers in Edinburgh and feared that directly and overtly lobbying the Scottish nationalist government would backfire.
However, O'Donnell's inquiry has also found that, at an early stage, Scottish government ministers in Edinburgh tried to trade Megrahi for concessions on two controversial policies controlled by the UK government, on air guns and compensation payments for prison inmates.
The UK government's records said Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, was prepared to shelve his government's fierce objections to including Megrahi in a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya in return for concessions. ...
Number 10 considered proposals to protect David Cameron's flagship "big society" project from the harshest of the council spending cuts but the high-level moves were blocked by the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, the Guardian has learned.
The voluntary sector faces an estimated £1.14bn cut in its local government grants this year, triggering warnings this week that Britain's volunteer army will be destroyed. Liverpool has abandoned a big society pilot project because the cuts have hit the voluntary groups who are supposed to take over some services under the programme.
The Guardian has established that ministers and No 10 formulated plans to reward councils for their contribution to the big society or force them to show they were cutting their own costs as much as their contracts with charities. But Pickles rejected the proposals.
A senior Whitehall source said Pickles had opposed the plans formulated by Steve Hilton, the No 10 strategy chief, the Cabinet Office ministers Oliver Letwin and Francis Maude and the big society "tsar", Nat Wei. Pickles instead agreed to hold one-to-one conversations with the worst-offending councils that were "gung-ho" about the cuts.
"He [Pickles] talks a lot about a radical decentralisation and big society, but it's still very municipalist. He won't go the full whack," the source said.
Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, executive director of Community Service Volunteers (CSV), warned that "draconian" cuts were threatening to undermine the big society and that the government had failed to sell the policy to the public. ...
The voluntary sector faces an estimated £1.14bn cut in its local government grants this year, triggering warnings this week that Britain's volunteer army will be destroyed. Liverpool has abandoned a big society pilot project because the cuts have hit the voluntary groups who are supposed to take over some services under the programme.
The Guardian has established that ministers and No 10 formulated plans to reward councils for their contribution to the big society or force them to show they were cutting their own costs as much as their contracts with charities. But Pickles rejected the proposals.
A senior Whitehall source said Pickles had opposed the plans formulated by Steve Hilton, the No 10 strategy chief, the Cabinet Office ministers Oliver Letwin and Francis Maude and the big society "tsar", Nat Wei. Pickles instead agreed to hold one-to-one conversations with the worst-offending councils that were "gung-ho" about the cuts.
"He [Pickles] talks a lot about a radical decentralisation and big society, but it's still very municipalist. He won't go the full whack," the source said.
Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, executive director of Community Service Volunteers (CSV), warned that "draconian" cuts were threatening to undermine the big society and that the government had failed to sell the policy to the public. ...
Protests against the planned closure of more than 450 library services were staged today. Library users, authors, parents and children took part in "read-ins" and demonstrations at libraries in south Yorkshire, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Oxfordshire, where 20 of the 43 libraries still running are earmarked for withdrawal of funds.
TV presenter Kirsty Young, musician Billy Bragg and literary stars such as Philip Pullman, Colin Dexter, Mark Haddon, Kate Mosse and Julia Donaldson were involved in Save Our Libraries events.
At Sheffield central library a mass "shhh-in" was organised by Library Workers for a Brighter Future. On the stroke of 11am, protesters joined in a chorus of "shhh" then cheered for their library, before taking out the maximum 15 books each on their tickets – the theory being that you cannot close down a library while most books are on loan. In Dorset, Bragg attended an event where library users also attempted to empty its shelves. A rally was staged outside Bolton's central library, and in Cambridge a "flashmob book reading" surprised the public outside the city's main library.
For Pullman and Dexter the planned closures around Oxford have a particular irony. In September they were at the forefront of the city's bid to become Unesco's World Book Capital in 2014. "At the time we had the meetings I said we would have a wonderful chance," said Dexter. "But if the committee come along to Somertown in North Oxford we would have to take them and show them a library building with boarded-up windows. It is a sad commentary and what makes a lot of us very cross is that the argument deployed in defence is simply to ask us what we would cut. We are here to say that this is a terrible, shameful business."
Oxfordshire County Council believes the library cuts could save £2m over four years and is offering an option for local groups to bid for grants and then run libraries voluntarily. ...
TV presenter Kirsty Young, musician Billy Bragg and literary stars such as Philip Pullman, Colin Dexter, Mark Haddon, Kate Mosse and Julia Donaldson were involved in Save Our Libraries events.
At Sheffield central library a mass "shhh-in" was organised by Library Workers for a Brighter Future. On the stroke of 11am, protesters joined in a chorus of "shhh" then cheered for their library, before taking out the maximum 15 books each on their tickets – the theory being that you cannot close down a library while most books are on loan. In Dorset, Bragg attended an event where library users also attempted to empty its shelves. A rally was staged outside Bolton's central library, and in Cambridge a "flashmob book reading" surprised the public outside the city's main library.
For Pullman and Dexter the planned closures around Oxford have a particular irony. In September they were at the forefront of the city's bid to become Unesco's World Book Capital in 2014. "At the time we had the meetings I said we would have a wonderful chance," said Dexter. "But if the committee come along to Somertown in North Oxford we would have to take them and show them a library building with boarded-up windows. It is a sad commentary and what makes a lot of us very cross is that the argument deployed in defence is simply to ask us what we would cut. We are here to say that this is a terrible, shameful business."
Oxfordshire County Council believes the library cuts could save £2m over four years and is offering an option for local groups to bid for grants and then run libraries voluntarily. ...
David Cameron was accused of playing into the hands of rightwing extremists today as he delivered a controversial speech on the failings of multiculturalism within hours of one of the biggest anti-Islam rallies ever staged in Britain.
Muslim and anti-fascist groups questioned the prime minister's judgment and sensitivity to the issues, saying he had handed a propaganda coup to the hard-right English Defence League as 3,000 of its supporters marched through Luton chanting anti-Islamic slogans.
Some of crowd were jubilant, saying that Cameron "had come round to our way of thinking". Paul Bradburn, 35, from Stockport, said Cameron was "coming out against extremism".
He added: "The timing of his speech is quite weird as it comes on the day of one of the biggest EDL demos we've ever seen. If he wants to start sticking up for us, that's great."
Matt, 16, a school pupil in Birmingham who was at the march said: "He believes what we believe to some extent."
Downing Street issued a robust defence saying the prime minister was "absolutely unapologetic".
A spokeswoman said the speech had been "in the diary for months". She added: "The idea that he would be blown off course on an issue as fundamental as this by the English Defence League is ridiculous and extraordinary."
Cameron told the Munich Security Conference, attended by world leaders, that state multiculturalism had failed in this country and pledged to cut funding for Muslim groups that failed to respect basic British values.
He blamed the radicalisation of Muslim youths and the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism on the sense of alienation that builds among young people living in separate communities and the "hands-off tolerance" of groups that peddle separatist ideology. ...
Muslim and anti-fascist groups questioned the prime minister's judgment and sensitivity to the issues, saying he had handed a propaganda coup to the hard-right English Defence League as 3,000 of its supporters marched through Luton chanting anti-Islamic slogans.
Some of crowd were jubilant, saying that Cameron "had come round to our way of thinking". Paul Bradburn, 35, from Stockport, said Cameron was "coming out against extremism".
He added: "The timing of his speech is quite weird as it comes on the day of one of the biggest EDL demos we've ever seen. If he wants to start sticking up for us, that's great."
Matt, 16, a school pupil in Birmingham who was at the march said: "He believes what we believe to some extent."
Downing Street issued a robust defence saying the prime minister was "absolutely unapologetic".
A spokeswoman said the speech had been "in the diary for months". She added: "The idea that he would be blown off course on an issue as fundamental as this by the English Defence League is ridiculous and extraordinary."
Cameron told the Munich Security Conference, attended by world leaders, that state multiculturalism had failed in this country and pledged to cut funding for Muslim groups that failed to respect basic British values.
He blamed the radicalisation of Muslim youths and the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism on the sense of alienation that builds among young people living in separate communities and the "hands-off tolerance" of groups that peddle separatist ideology. ...
Genetically modified crops will be allowed to enter the UK food chain without the need for regulatory clearance for the first time under controversial plans expected to be approved this week.
The Observer understands that the UK intends to back EU plans permitting the importing of animal feed containing traces of unauthorised GM crops in a move that has alarmed environmental groups.
Importing animal feed containing GM feed must at present be authorised by European regulators. But a vote on Tuesday in favour of the scheme put forward by the EU's standing committee on the food chain and animal health would overturn the EU's "zero tolerance" policy towards the import of unauthorised GM crops.
The move would mark a significant victory for the GM lobby, which has pushed for a relaxation of the blanket ban for years.Environmental groups claim the GM industry wants to use the presence of unauthorised organisms in animal feed as part of a wider strategy to promote its technology.
"The GM industry is pushing this proposal so it can wedge its foot firmly in the door and open up the British and European markets to food no one wants to eat," said Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK, which campaigns against GM food. "Its long-term aim is to contaminate the food chain to such an extent that GM-free food will disappear."
Relaxing the EU's zero-tolerance position would greatly benefit US feed exporters. The push for Europe to drop its zero-tolerance policy began in 2009 after EU authorities found traces of GM maize in soy shipments from the US and refused to allow its entry. Such recalls are expensive and those affected are unlikely to receive compensation. ...
The Observer understands that the UK intends to back EU plans permitting the importing of animal feed containing traces of unauthorised GM crops in a move that has alarmed environmental groups.
Importing animal feed containing GM feed must at present be authorised by European regulators. But a vote on Tuesday in favour of the scheme put forward by the EU's standing committee on the food chain and animal health would overturn the EU's "zero tolerance" policy towards the import of unauthorised GM crops.
The move would mark a significant victory for the GM lobby, which has pushed for a relaxation of the blanket ban for years.Environmental groups claim the GM industry wants to use the presence of unauthorised organisms in animal feed as part of a wider strategy to promote its technology.
"The GM industry is pushing this proposal so it can wedge its foot firmly in the door and open up the British and European markets to food no one wants to eat," said Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK, which campaigns against GM food. "Its long-term aim is to contaminate the food chain to such an extent that GM-free food will disappear."
Relaxing the EU's zero-tolerance position would greatly benefit US feed exporters. The push for Europe to drop its zero-tolerance policy began in 2009 after EU authorities found traces of GM maize in soy shipments from the US and refused to allow its entry. Such recalls are expensive and those affected are unlikely to receive compensation. ...
Andy Coulson was aware that phone hacking was taking place at Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire and "told others to do it", a former executive at the News of the World told MPs.
In written evidence given to the home affairs select committee and published for the first time today, Paul McMullan, a former features executive and investigative journalist at the title, said former editor Coulson "knew a lot of people" used the technique when Coulson worked at sister paper the Sun. He joined the News of the World in 2003, where he worked alongside McMullan for 18 months.
McMullan said: "As he sat a few feet from me in the [News of the World] newsroom he probably heard me doing it, laughing about it … and told others to do it".
Coulson, who last month quit as David Cameron's director of communications, worked at the Sun for more than a decade before joining the News of the World.
"Andy Coulson knew a lot of people did it at the Sun on his Bizarre [showbiz] column and after that at the NOTW," McMullan claimed.
McMullan, who is now a pub landlord, also described a flourishing trade in private information at the News of the World, which he said was regularly supplied with details of celebrities' medical records and mobile phone pin numbers.
"People who worked for Vodaphone [sic] etc would sometimes ring up the newsdesk offering to sell numbers and codes of stars' phones," he said, "as indeed people at the tax office, people in doctors' receptions."
In separate evidence also published today, Vodafone told the committee: "A small minority of customers were targeted by unscrupulous individuals."
The company said it had passed all evidence to the police during their 2006 investigation into phone hacking carried out by former News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
McMullan told the Guardian last year that Coulson must have been well aware the practice was "pretty widespread".
Coulson has continued to deny this. ...
In written evidence given to the home affairs select committee and published for the first time today, Paul McMullan, a former features executive and investigative journalist at the title, said former editor Coulson "knew a lot of people" used the technique when Coulson worked at sister paper the Sun. He joined the News of the World in 2003, where he worked alongside McMullan for 18 months.
McMullan said: "As he sat a few feet from me in the [News of the World] newsroom he probably heard me doing it, laughing about it … and told others to do it".
Coulson, who last month quit as David Cameron's director of communications, worked at the Sun for more than a decade before joining the News of the World.
"Andy Coulson knew a lot of people did it at the Sun on his Bizarre [showbiz] column and after that at the NOTW," McMullan claimed.
McMullan, who is now a pub landlord, also described a flourishing trade in private information at the News of the World, which he said was regularly supplied with details of celebrities' medical records and mobile phone pin numbers.
"People who worked for Vodaphone [sic] etc would sometimes ring up the newsdesk offering to sell numbers and codes of stars' phones," he said, "as indeed people at the tax office, people in doctors' receptions."
In separate evidence also published today, Vodafone told the committee: "A small minority of customers were targeted by unscrupulous individuals."
The company said it had passed all evidence to the police during their 2006 investigation into phone hacking carried out by former News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
McMullan told the Guardian last year that Coulson must have been well aware the practice was "pretty widespread".
Coulson has continued to deny this. ...
China has penetrated the Foreign Office's internal communications in the most audacious example yet of the growing threat posed by state-sponsored cyber-attacks, it emerged tonight.
William Hague told a security conference in Munich that the FO repelled the attack last month from "a hostile state intelligence agency". Although the foreign secretary did not name the country behind the attacks, intelligence sources familiar with the incidents made it clear he was referring to China. The sources did not want to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
In his speech Hague was reflecting growing anger and concern within the government about the increasing threat posed by cyber-espionage – states, as well as individuals, using cyberspace to steal defence, diplomatic and commercial secrets.
"It is a new development. The UK is prepared to admit the attacks were state-backed," said Alexander Neill, head of the Asia programme at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank.
The foreign secretary said the FO attack came in the form of an email sent to three of his staff "which claimed to be about a forthcoming visit to the region and looked quite innocent". "In fact it was from a hostile state intelligence agency and contained computer code embedded in the attached document that would have attacked their machine. Luckily, our systems identified it and stopped it from ever reaching my staff," Hague said.
In another attack last year, the foreign secretary said Britain's defence industry was "deliberately" targeted. "A malicious file posing as a report on a nuclear Trident missile was sent to a defence contractor by someone masquerading as an employee of another defence contractor," Hague told an audience of western officials and businessmen. "Security meant that the email was detected and blocked, but its purpose was undoubtedly to steal information relating to our most sensitive defence projects."
Hague admitted that a third attack, apparently criminal, had succeeded in evading Britain's defences, with a version of the Zeus malware widely used to extract banking information and other personal details from targeted computers.
"In late December a spoof email purporting to be from the White House was sent to a large number of international recipients who were directed to click on a link that then downloaded a variant of Zeus," Hague said. "The UK government was targeted in this attack and a large number of emails bypassed some of our filters. Our experts were able to clear up the infection, but more sophisticated attacks such as these are becoming more common." ...
William Hague told a security conference in Munich that the FO repelled the attack last month from "a hostile state intelligence agency". Although the foreign secretary did not name the country behind the attacks, intelligence sources familiar with the incidents made it clear he was referring to China. The sources did not want to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
In his speech Hague was reflecting growing anger and concern within the government about the increasing threat posed by cyber-espionage – states, as well as individuals, using cyberspace to steal defence, diplomatic and commercial secrets.
"It is a new development. The UK is prepared to admit the attacks were state-backed," said Alexander Neill, head of the Asia programme at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank.
The foreign secretary said the FO attack came in the form of an email sent to three of his staff "which claimed to be about a forthcoming visit to the region and looked quite innocent". "In fact it was from a hostile state intelligence agency and contained computer code embedded in the attached document that would have attacked their machine. Luckily, our systems identified it and stopped it from ever reaching my staff," Hague said.
In another attack last year, the foreign secretary said Britain's defence industry was "deliberately" targeted. "A malicious file posing as a report on a nuclear Trident missile was sent to a defence contractor by someone masquerading as an employee of another defence contractor," Hague told an audience of western officials and businessmen. "Security meant that the email was detected and blocked, but its purpose was undoubtedly to steal information relating to our most sensitive defence projects."
Hague admitted that a third attack, apparently criminal, had succeeded in evading Britain's defences, with a version of the Zeus malware widely used to extract banking information and other personal details from targeted computers.
"In late December a spoof email purporting to be from the White House was sent to a large number of international recipients who were directed to click on a link that then downloaded a variant of Zeus," Hague said. "The UK government was targeted in this attack and a large number of emails bypassed some of our filters. Our experts were able to clear up the infection, but more sophisticated attacks such as these are becoming more common." ...
Sir George Young, the leader of the house of Commons, today delivered a devastating critique of the expenses watchdog as it published the latest tranche of claims, naming and shaming 125 MPs who had claims rejected.
The list includes the ministers Ed Davey, Ed Vaizey Maria Miller and Peter Luff and Labour grandees, among them Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.
The Conservative MP for Loughborough, Nicky Morgan, had a £77 claim for hosting a "big society" reception rejected, though it was subsequently resubmitted and paid, and her colleague in Hereford, Jesse Norman, had the largest sum rejected – £1,504.01 for furniture for his office.
Overall, the rejected claims amounted to just £15,352 out of the total £3.64m expenses bill for September and October.
The number of MPs rejected has fallen substantially compared with the first four months of the new scheme, which was introduced to clean up the expenses system after the scandal that rocked parliament in 2009.
But today is the first time those who have had their expenses rejected have been named.
Young published his official response to a consultation on the future of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) moments before the latest tranche of expenses was revealed.
In it, he accused Ipsa of "failing" to support MPs in their work, and said it had "unsatisfactory features" which are "at best distracting, and at worst impeding".
He called for widespread reforms, but insisted Ipsa should remain independent of the House of Commons. It is understood that the prime minister, David Cameron, has seen the document. ...
The list includes the ministers Ed Davey, Ed Vaizey Maria Miller and Peter Luff and Labour grandees, among them Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.
The Conservative MP for Loughborough, Nicky Morgan, had a £77 claim for hosting a "big society" reception rejected, though it was subsequently resubmitted and paid, and her colleague in Hereford, Jesse Norman, had the largest sum rejected – £1,504.01 for furniture for his office.
Overall, the rejected claims amounted to just £15,352 out of the total £3.64m expenses bill for September and October.
The number of MPs rejected has fallen substantially compared with the first four months of the new scheme, which was introduced to clean up the expenses system after the scandal that rocked parliament in 2009.
But today is the first time those who have had their expenses rejected have been named.
Young published his official response to a consultation on the future of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) moments before the latest tranche of expenses was revealed.
In it, he accused Ipsa of "failing" to support MPs in their work, and said it had "unsatisfactory features" which are "at best distracting, and at worst impeding".
He called for widespread reforms, but insisted Ipsa should remain independent of the House of Commons. It is understood that the prime minister, David Cameron, has seen the document. ...
The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) was warned about Bernard Madoff in October 2008, two months before the fraudster confessed that his investment empire was a sham, according to a lawsuit unsealed in New York.
The allegation was made in a suit filed against JP Morgan, one of Madoff's banks, on behalf of the fraudster's victims.
According to the suit, filed by the court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, executives at JP Morgan allegedly told Soca that they were concerned about "investment performance achieved by its [Madoff's business] funds which is so consistently and significantly ahead of its peers, year-on-year, even in the prevailing market conditions, as to appear too good to be true – meaning that it probably is".
The lawsuit, which cites internal emails, claims that employees in the bank's "equity exotics & hybrids" desk found that the so-called feeder funds which brought in new investors knew little about Madoff's operations and asked few questions. "It's almost a cult [Madoff] seems to have fostered," one employee observed.
The suit is damning of JP Morgan's alleged role in the scandal. It claims that Soca was informed by JP Morgan "only in an effort to protect its own investments" and the bank did nothing further to stop the fraud even though it had informed the authorities. ...
The allegation was made in a suit filed against JP Morgan, one of Madoff's banks, on behalf of the fraudster's victims.
According to the suit, filed by the court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, executives at JP Morgan allegedly told Soca that they were concerned about "investment performance achieved by its [Madoff's business] funds which is so consistently and significantly ahead of its peers, year-on-year, even in the prevailing market conditions, as to appear too good to be true – meaning that it probably is".
The lawsuit, which cites internal emails, claims that employees in the bank's "equity exotics & hybrids" desk found that the so-called feeder funds which brought in new investors knew little about Madoff's operations and asked few questions. "It's almost a cult [Madoff] seems to have fostered," one employee observed.
The suit is damning of JP Morgan's alleged role in the scandal. It claims that Soca was informed by JP Morgan "only in an effort to protect its own investments" and the bank did nothing further to stop the fraud even though it had informed the authorities. ...
David Cameron yesterday marked a break with the era of Andy Coulson by appointing a senior BBC TV news editor with no links to the Murdoch empire as the new No 10 communications director.
Craig Oliver, who made his name revamping the News at Ten and who ran the BBC's general election coverage last year, will be paid £140,000 a year and will act as a political special adviser.
The recruitment of a senior BBC figure shows that Cameron and George Osborne, who met Oliver over the weekend, recognise that they need to place some distance between Downing Street and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Coulson announced his resignation on 21 January after concluding that the swirl of allegations about illegal phone hacking from his time as News of the World editor had made his job impossible. Coulson has always denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
Downing Street said that No 10's relations with News Corp had nothing to with the decision to hire a BBC executive. One source said: "Craig was simply the best candidate."
Fears of offending the Murdoch empire were highlighted yesterday when Tom Baldwin, Oliver's Labour counterpart, asked members of the shadow cabinet to show restraint on phone hacking and not to attack one newspaper group "out of spite".
In an email sent on his behalf, which was leaked to the New Statesman, Baldwin also called on shadow ministers not to link allegations of phone hacking with questions about News Corp's bid to take control of BSkyB.
The email said: "On phone hacking … this is not just an issue about News International. Almost every media organisation in the country may end up becoming embroiled in these allegations … We must guard against anything which appears to be attacking a particular newspaper group out of spite."
Further evidence that hacking was used regularly by the News of the World emerged yesterday when new details of the case brought by Nicola Philips, the publicist who is suing the newspaper, were published. Philips alleges the tabloid obtained a story about an affair between actor Ralph Fiennes and a Romanian singer by hacking into her mobile phone. ...
Craig Oliver, who made his name revamping the News at Ten and who ran the BBC's general election coverage last year, will be paid £140,000 a year and will act as a political special adviser.
The recruitment of a senior BBC figure shows that Cameron and George Osborne, who met Oliver over the weekend, recognise that they need to place some distance between Downing Street and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Coulson announced his resignation on 21 January after concluding that the swirl of allegations about illegal phone hacking from his time as News of the World editor had made his job impossible. Coulson has always denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
Downing Street said that No 10's relations with News Corp had nothing to with the decision to hire a BBC executive. One source said: "Craig was simply the best candidate."
Fears of offending the Murdoch empire were highlighted yesterday when Tom Baldwin, Oliver's Labour counterpart, asked members of the shadow cabinet to show restraint on phone hacking and not to attack one newspaper group "out of spite".
In an email sent on his behalf, which was leaked to the New Statesman, Baldwin also called on shadow ministers not to link allegations of phone hacking with questions about News Corp's bid to take control of BSkyB.
The email said: "On phone hacking … this is not just an issue about News International. Almost every media organisation in the country may end up becoming embroiled in these allegations … We must guard against anything which appears to be attacking a particular newspaper group out of spite."
Further evidence that hacking was used regularly by the News of the World emerged yesterday when new details of the case brought by Nicola Philips, the publicist who is suing the newspaper, were published. Philips alleges the tabloid obtained a story about an affair between actor Ralph Fiennes and a Romanian singer by hacking into her mobile phone. ...
The security services were unable to identify the ringleader of a terrorist gang before it struck London on 7 July 2005, despite having his picture and having seen him associating with other terrorist suspects, the inquest into the 52 deaths heard today.
Mohammad Sidique Khan was spotted by MI5 on the periphery of another terror plot as early as 2003, and was seen with suspected terrorists. Khan was groomed through contact with other suspected terrorists progressing from "an associate of terrorists to prime conspirator and murderer", said Hugo Keith QC, counsel to the inquests, in a statement assessing whether the attacks could have been prevented.
Security services did not believe Khan was a high priority and did not connect different pieces of information relating to him, including training at terrorist camps and having an interest in "martyrdom operations". Various sources pointed towards an individual in the West Yorkshire area, but the authorities never uncovered Khan's full name until he led the biggest mass murder on UK soil.
Several different men linked to different terrorism plots were shown photographs of Khan before the attacks, but they failed to recognise him. Khan was also linked to a number of different vehicles – a blue BMW, a green Honda Civic, and a green Vauxhall Astra – used to hold or travel to meetings with suspected terrorist ringleaders.
Keith told Lady Justice Hallett, who is sitting as the coroner: "One issue that my lady may need to explore, in particular with the security service, is whether it is fair to say that the threads of Mohammad Sidique Khan's graduation from an associate of terrorists to prime conspirator and murderer were in fact there to see.
"Was it simply a question of tying threads together? And that process, the process of tying those threads together, should, it may be argued, be carried out, not only as part of an investigation into those who may already have formed their plans, but also by aggressive investigation of those who may be in the process of radicalisation." ...
Mohammad Sidique Khan was spotted by MI5 on the periphery of another terror plot as early as 2003, and was seen with suspected terrorists. Khan was groomed through contact with other suspected terrorists progressing from "an associate of terrorists to prime conspirator and murderer", said Hugo Keith QC, counsel to the inquests, in a statement assessing whether the attacks could have been prevented.
Security services did not believe Khan was a high priority and did not connect different pieces of information relating to him, including training at terrorist camps and having an interest in "martyrdom operations". Various sources pointed towards an individual in the West Yorkshire area, but the authorities never uncovered Khan's full name until he led the biggest mass murder on UK soil.
Several different men linked to different terrorism plots were shown photographs of Khan before the attacks, but they failed to recognise him. Khan was also linked to a number of different vehicles – a blue BMW, a green Honda Civic, and a green Vauxhall Astra – used to hold or travel to meetings with suspected terrorist ringleaders.
Keith told Lady Justice Hallett, who is sitting as the coroner: "One issue that my lady may need to explore, in particular with the security service, is whether it is fair to say that the threads of Mohammad Sidique Khan's graduation from an associate of terrorists to prime conspirator and murderer were in fact there to see.
"Was it simply a question of tying threads together? And that process, the process of tying those threads together, should, it may be argued, be carried out, not only as part of an investigation into those who may already have formed their plans, but also by aggressive investigation of those who may be in the process of radicalisation." ...
Silvio Berlusconi to face charges as early as next week, prosecutors say | World news | The Guardian
Prosecutors investigating Silvio Berlusconi said today that they were expecting to recommend the Italian prime minister be charged with abusing his position to cover up allegations that he had paid an underage prostitute.
In a move that will electrify the country's already tense political situation, Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, who has overseen the investigation into Berlusconi, said a request for an immediate indictment would be submitted to a judge "most likely on Monday or Tuesday".
The prime minister is formally suspected of paying for an underage prostitute and abusing his official position to cover it up. Together, the offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Prosecutors met to discuss whether they should seek Berlusconi's immediate indictment on both charges, or only the second. A trial on juvenile prostitution charges is normally preceded by committal proceedings.
News of the impending request came as it was reported that the girl at the centre of the investigation is pregnant and has plans to marry. The web site of the weekly magazine Oggi quoted well-informed sources as saying Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan runaway who visited Berlusconi's home while still 17 years old, was two months pregnant. The magazine had earlier said that she and her boyfriend had published their marriage ban[n]s in his native Genoa. ...
In a move that will electrify the country's already tense political situation, Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, who has overseen the investigation into Berlusconi, said a request for an immediate indictment would be submitted to a judge "most likely on Monday or Tuesday".
The prime minister is formally suspected of paying for an underage prostitute and abusing his official position to cover it up. Together, the offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Prosecutors met to discuss whether they should seek Berlusconi's immediate indictment on both charges, or only the second. A trial on juvenile prostitution charges is normally preceded by committal proceedings.
News of the impending request came as it was reported that the girl at the centre of the investigation is pregnant and has plans to marry. The web site of the weekly magazine Oggi quoted well-informed sources as saying Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan runaway who visited Berlusconi's home while still 17 years old, was two months pregnant. The magazine had earlier said that she and her boyfriend had published their marriage ban[n]s in his native Genoa. ...
Two out of three people believe the prime minister showed poor judgment in employing Andy Coulson as his Downing Street director of communications.
In an opinion poll carried out by ComRes for the Independent newspaper, 66% said they thought David Cameron should not have hired Coulson knowing he had resigned as editor of the News of the World over the phone-hacking scandal.
Coulson quit his role in the government 10 days ago after repeated inquiries into his knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World, saying the affair limited his ability to devote himself to his job.
Nine out of 10 of those polled believe it is wrong for journalists to hack into the private telephone voicemail messages of celebrities and politicians.
The poll also showed that 67% thought the allegations of telephone hacking meant the newspaper industry should no longer regulate itself.
ComRes polled 1,002 adults over the weekend between the 28-30 January.
Last night, giving the Hugh Cudlipp memorial lecture in London, the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, warned that Britain's newspapers risked political "retribution" in the form of statutory regulation following the phone hacking scandal. He accused Rupert Murdoch's News International – publishers of the NoW – of failing to pursue a policy of "own up rather than cover up", and he criticised the bulk of the industry for failing to "take the issue seriously" because their titles may also have been implicated in the illegal practice.
In a trenchant lecture, he described "the phone hacking scandal" as a "watershed - not just for News International but also for tabloid journalism" arguing that a 2006 report by the Information Commissioner suggested that 305 journalists from a range of titles used the services of a private investigator. ...
In an opinion poll carried out by ComRes for the Independent newspaper, 66% said they thought David Cameron should not have hired Coulson knowing he had resigned as editor of the News of the World over the phone-hacking scandal.
Coulson quit his role in the government 10 days ago after repeated inquiries into his knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World, saying the affair limited his ability to devote himself to his job.
Nine out of 10 of those polled believe it is wrong for journalists to hack into the private telephone voicemail messages of celebrities and politicians.
The poll also showed that 67% thought the allegations of telephone hacking meant the newspaper industry should no longer regulate itself.
ComRes polled 1,002 adults over the weekend between the 28-30 January.
Last night, giving the Hugh Cudlipp memorial lecture in London, the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, warned that Britain's newspapers risked political "retribution" in the form of statutory regulation following the phone hacking scandal. He accused Rupert Murdoch's News International – publishers of the NoW – of failing to pursue a policy of "own up rather than cover up", and he criticised the bulk of the industry for failing to "take the issue seriously" because their titles may also have been implicated in the illegal practice.
In a trenchant lecture, he described "the phone hacking scandal" as a "watershed - not just for News International but also for tabloid journalism" arguing that a 2006 report by the Information Commissioner suggested that 305 journalists from a range of titles used the services of a private investigator. ...
María Ester García Polanco, one of the women at the centre of the scandal engulfing the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is bouncing her daughter on her knee – but that doesn't mean she's not a worried woman.
"With the newspapers full of this story, I am concerned about my child and what other mothers are saying at school," says the 27-year-old model and showgirl. Two weeks ago police woke her at 6am to search for evidence that she was accepting cash gifts and free rent from the Italian prime minister, allegedly in return for sexual favours.
Since then journalists have laid siege to the smart apartment complex on the fringes of Milan that is home to María and a "stable" of other beautiful women, all suspected of participating in Berlusconi's alleged "bunga bunga" nights of striptease and sex at his villa an hour's drive to the north.
The investigation into the prime minister's sexual activities, following suspicions that Berlusconi paid an underage Moroccan dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, thousands of euros for sex when she was 17, is deadly serious. But its ramifications took on a tragi-comic dimension when the owners of the Via Olgettina apartment complex tried to evict the models for "lowering the tone" of the neighbourhood. That eviction notice has been shelved, but the journalists remain. ...
"With the newspapers full of this story, I am concerned about my child and what other mothers are saying at school," says the 27-year-old model and showgirl. Two weeks ago police woke her at 6am to search for evidence that she was accepting cash gifts and free rent from the Italian prime minister, allegedly in return for sexual favours.
Since then journalists have laid siege to the smart apartment complex on the fringes of Milan that is home to María and a "stable" of other beautiful women, all suspected of participating in Berlusconi's alleged "bunga bunga" nights of striptease and sex at his villa an hour's drive to the north.
The investigation into the prime minister's sexual activities, following suspicions that Berlusconi paid an underage Moroccan dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, thousands of euros for sex when she was 17, is deadly serious. But its ramifications took on a tragi-comic dimension when the owners of the Via Olgettina apartment complex tried to evict the models for "lowering the tone" of the neighbourhood. That eviction notice has been shelved, but the journalists remain. ...
Police brutality in Egypt is "routine and pervasive" and the use of torture so widespread that the Egyptian government has stopped denying it exists, according to leaked cables released today by WikiLeaks.
The batch of US embassy cables paint a despairing portrait of a police force and security service in Egypt wholly out of control. They suggest torture is routinely used against ordinary criminals, Islamist detainees, opposition activists and bloggers.
"The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders. One human rights lawyer told us there is evidence of torture in Egypt dating back to the time of the pharoahs. NGO contacts estimate there are literally hundreds of torture incidents every day in Cairo police stations alone," one cable said.
Under Hosni Mubarak's presidency there had been "no serious effort to transform the police from an instrument of regime power into a public service institution", it said. The police's ubiquitous use of force had pervaded Egyptian culture to such an extent that one popular TV soap opera recently featured a police detective hero who beat up suspects to collect evidence.
Some middle-class Egyptians did not report thefts from their apartment blocks because they knew the police would immediately go and torture "all of the doormen", the cable added. It cited one source who said the police would use routinely electric shocks against suspected criminals, and would beat up human rights lawyers who enter police stations to defend their clients. Women detainees allegedly faced sexual abuse. Demoralised officers felt solving crimes justified brutal interrogation methods, with some believing that Islamic law also sanctioned torture, the cable said. ...
The batch of US embassy cables paint a despairing portrait of a police force and security service in Egypt wholly out of control. They suggest torture is routinely used against ordinary criminals, Islamist detainees, opposition activists and bloggers.
"The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders. One human rights lawyer told us there is evidence of torture in Egypt dating back to the time of the pharoahs. NGO contacts estimate there are literally hundreds of torture incidents every day in Cairo police stations alone," one cable said.
Under Hosni Mubarak's presidency there had been "no serious effort to transform the police from an instrument of regime power into a public service institution", it said. The police's ubiquitous use of force had pervaded Egyptian culture to such an extent that one popular TV soap opera recently featured a police detective hero who beat up suspects to collect evidence.
Some middle-class Egyptians did not report thefts from their apartment blocks because they knew the police would immediately go and torture "all of the doormen", the cable added. It cited one source who said the police would use routinely electric shocks against suspected criminals, and would beat up human rights lawyers who enter police stations to defend their clients. Women detainees allegedly faced sexual abuse. Demoralised officers felt solving crimes justified brutal interrogation methods, with some believing that Islamic law also sanctioned torture, the cable said. ...
The convictions of 20 environmental campaigners involved in a protest at Britain's second largest coal-fired power station are to be reviewed less than two weeks after they were sentenced.
The urgent investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) into the safety of the convictions was welcomed by one of the activists, Ben Stewart, a Greenpeace employee who branded the trial a miscarriage of justice.
The CPS decision follows revelations in the Guardian about the role of PC Mark Kennedy, allegedly at the centre of a £250,000-a-year undercover operationwithin the climate change movement. Under the name Mark Stone the former Metropolitan police officer infiltrated environmental groups across Europe.
The demonstrators were convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. ...
The urgent investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) into the safety of the convictions was welcomed by one of the activists, Ben Stewart, a Greenpeace employee who branded the trial a miscarriage of justice.
The CPS decision follows revelations in the Guardian about the role of PC Mark Kennedy, allegedly at the centre of a £250,000-a-year undercover operationwithin the climate change movement. Under the name Mark Stone the former Metropolitan police officer infiltrated environmental groups across Europe.
The demonstrators were convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. ...
A former commodities trader threatened to torture his regulator until he would "beg to be killed", according to court documents.
Vincent McCrudden, founder of Alnbri Asset Management, was arrested in New York last month and charged with drawing up an "execution list" of more than 40 employees of the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other agencies.
Details of one threatening email McCrudden wrote to Dan Driscoll, chief operating officer of the National Futures Association, have now been released in court papers.
McCrudden said he had hired "professionals" to torture and kill Driscoll. "They have things they will do to you that will make you beg to be killed, shot, anything to get away from the pain," he wrote. "And the great thing is, you will be the first, but not the last."
According to his website, McCrudden is a former professional football player and a 25-year Wall Street veteran. The CFTC filed a civil enforcement lawsuit filed against McCrudden in December, according to prosecutors, who also say that McCrudden has been the subject of various enforcement or disciplinary proceedings over several years. ...
Vincent McCrudden, founder of Alnbri Asset Management, was arrested in New York last month and charged with drawing up an "execution list" of more than 40 employees of the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other agencies.
Details of one threatening email McCrudden wrote to Dan Driscoll, chief operating officer of the National Futures Association, have now been released in court papers.
McCrudden said he had hired "professionals" to torture and kill Driscoll. "They have things they will do to you that will make you beg to be killed, shot, anything to get away from the pain," he wrote. "And the great thing is, you will be the first, but not the last."
According to his website, McCrudden is a former professional football player and a 25-year Wall Street veteran. The CFTC filed a civil enforcement lawsuit filed against McCrudden in December, according to prosecutors, who also say that McCrudden has been the subject of various enforcement or disciplinary proceedings over several years. ...
The whistleblower
A police officer and divorced mother of three, Kathyrn Bolkovac was looking for a fresh start when she signed up as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia. But when she began to investigate the local trafficking of young girls into prostitution, all the evidence pointed to those she worked alongside
Kathyrn Bolkovac
Saturday 22 January 2011
Ta much, dear BrightKnight
A police officer and divorced mother of three, Kathyrn Bolkovac was looking for a fresh start when she signed up as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia. But when she began to investigate the local trafficking of young girls into prostitution, all the evidence pointed to those she worked alongside
Kathyrn Bolkovac
Saturday 22 January 2011
Ta much, dear BrightKnight
Scotland Yard reopened its investigation into phone hacking today – four years after the only convictions in the case – after the News of the World passed on "significant new information" alleged to implicate one of the paper's top executives in the practice.
Shortly afterwards the paper announced that it had sacked its assistant editor (news), Ian Edmondson. This came hard on the heels of the arrival in London of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, said to be in town to deal with both the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed the paper and his corporation's bid to take complete control of BSkyB.
The sacking, and the new police investigation, come after 18 months of Guardian reports into allegations of widespread phone hacking at the News of the World.
Until shortly before Christmas the paper had always alleged that only one rogue reporter and a private investigator were involved in the practice, and the police had repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence available to link any other News Corporation employees with hacking.
Tonight a source close to the new police investigation said the latest evidence passed to the Metropolitan police so far amounted to only a small number of emails, although detectives believe there may be many more.
"It's hard to believe these are the only ones. There may be a shedload of shit still to come," said one source. ...
Shortly afterwards the paper announced that it had sacked its assistant editor (news), Ian Edmondson. This came hard on the heels of the arrival in London of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, said to be in town to deal with both the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed the paper and his corporation's bid to take complete control of BSkyB.
The sacking, and the new police investigation, come after 18 months of Guardian reports into allegations of widespread phone hacking at the News of the World.
Until shortly before Christmas the paper had always alleged that only one rogue reporter and a private investigator were involved in the practice, and the police had repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence available to link any other News Corporation employees with hacking.
Tonight a source close to the new police investigation said the latest evidence passed to the Metropolitan police so far amounted to only a small number of emails, although detectives believe there may be many more.
"It's hard to believe these are the only ones. There may be a shedload of shit still to come," said one source. ...
The international row over undercover police officer Mark Kennedy escalated tonight after the full scope of his activities were revealed in a secret sitting at the German parliament.
Germany's federal police chief, Jörg Ziercke, was forced to admit to MPs at the Bundestag that not only had Kennedy had a long-term lover in Berlin – in direct violation of a law forbidding police officers to have sexual relationships while undercover – but that he had been invited to Germany by the authorities to infiltrate the anti-fascist movement.
Ziercke also revealed that Kennedy, the Metropolitan police officer at the centre of a controversy over the infiltration of peaceful environmental groups across Europe, worked for three German states during at least five visits to the country between 2004 and 2009.
He said the agent committed at least two crimes, but the cases against him were dropped at the behest of German authorities who knew Kennedy's true identity.
Kennedy first broke the law during protests at Heiligendamm, the town near Rostock where the G8 meetings took place in 2007. He later committed arson, Der Spiegel said, during a demonstration in Berlin at which he set fire to containers.
The revelations are published today in Der Spiegel, which says Kennedy's involvement in criminal activity during his time in Germany highlights concerns that he was working as an agent provocateur and not just an observer of the activists.
In addition, the newspaper says, the fact that investigations into both crimes were shelved suggests police authorities wielded an unacceptable influence over the country's judicial process. ...
Germany's federal police chief, Jörg Ziercke, was forced to admit to MPs at the Bundestag that not only had Kennedy had a long-term lover in Berlin – in direct violation of a law forbidding police officers to have sexual relationships while undercover – but that he had been invited to Germany by the authorities to infiltrate the anti-fascist movement.
Ziercke also revealed that Kennedy, the Metropolitan police officer at the centre of a controversy over the infiltration of peaceful environmental groups across Europe, worked for three German states during at least five visits to the country between 2004 and 2009.
He said the agent committed at least two crimes, but the cases against him were dropped at the behest of German authorities who knew Kennedy's true identity.
Kennedy first broke the law during protests at Heiligendamm, the town near Rostock where the G8 meetings took place in 2007. He later committed arson, Der Spiegel said, during a demonstration in Berlin at which he set fire to containers.
The revelations are published today in Der Spiegel, which says Kennedy's involvement in criminal activity during his time in Germany highlights concerns that he was working as an agent provocateur and not just an observer of the activists.
In addition, the newspaper says, the fact that investigations into both crimes were shelved suggests police authorities wielded an unacceptable influence over the country's judicial process. ...
Alastair Campbell has written to the Metropolitan police to say he suspects his phone was hacked by the News of the World while he was advising Tony Blair's government.
As the Commons home affairs select committee announced it is to publish a list of victims of alleged phone hacking, Blair's former communications director said his lawyers had contacted the Met with details of a specific incident.
Campbell believes his phone was hacked shortly after he left Downing Street in 2003 when he advised a senior member of Blair's cabinet. A News of the World photographer was waiting outside Campbell's house when the minister arrived for a meeting which had been arranged in mobile phone calls and text messages without reference to civil servants.
Campbell said: "Phone hacking is more widespread than people realise and was carried out by many more newspapers.
"That is why it is not being pursued by most of the press. Just as John Prescott has been pursuing it, I intend to get to the bottom of it."
The intervention by Campbell came as Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he would be publishing a list of people whose phones were allegedly hacked. ...
As the Commons home affairs select committee announced it is to publish a list of victims of alleged phone hacking, Blair's former communications director said his lawyers had contacted the Met with details of a specific incident.
Campbell believes his phone was hacked shortly after he left Downing Street in 2003 when he advised a senior member of Blair's cabinet. A News of the World photographer was waiting outside Campbell's house when the minister arrived for a meeting which had been arranged in mobile phone calls and text messages without reference to civil servants.
Campbell said: "Phone hacking is more widespread than people realise and was carried out by many more newspapers.
"That is why it is not being pursued by most of the press. Just as John Prescott has been pursuing it, I intend to get to the bottom of it."
The intervention by Campbell came as Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he would be publishing a list of people whose phones were allegedly hacked. ...
Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaçi, has been identified as one of the "biggest fish" in organised crime in his country, according to western military intelligence reports leaked to the Guardian.
The Nato documents, which are marked "Secret", indicate that the US and other western powers backing Kosovo's government have had extensive knowledge of its criminal connections for several years.
They also identify another senior ruling politician in Kosovo as having links to the Albanian mafia, stating that he exerts considerable control over Thaçi, a former guerrilla leader.
Marked "USA KFOR", they provide detailed information about organised criminal networks in Kosovo based on reports by western intelligence agencies and informants. The geographical spread of Kosovo's criminal gangs is set out, alongside details of alleged familial and business links.
The Council of Europe is tomorrow expected to formally demand an investigation into claims that Thaçi was the head of a "mafia-like" network responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war. ...
The Nato documents, which are marked "Secret", indicate that the US and other western powers backing Kosovo's government have had extensive knowledge of its criminal connections for several years.
They also identify another senior ruling politician in Kosovo as having links to the Albanian mafia, stating that he exerts considerable control over Thaçi, a former guerrilla leader.
Marked "USA KFOR", they provide detailed information about organised criminal networks in Kosovo based on reports by western intelligence agencies and informants. The geographical spread of Kosovo's criminal gangs is set out, alongside details of alleged familial and business links.
The Council of Europe is tomorrow expected to formally demand an investigation into claims that Thaçi was the head of a "mafia-like" network responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war. ...
News Corporation refused to say today what Rupert Murdoch's son James was told about evidence of phone hacking by News of the World journalists when he signed off a £700,000 settlement with the football chief Gordon Taylor.
The company declined to comment on any of a set of questions asked by the Guardian about which board members were made aware of the fact that the practice of phone hacking extended beyond the former royal editor Clive Goodman, and the reasons for payouts to Taylor and the public relations specialist Max Clifford.
News Corp also refused to reply to further questions about what was discussed at a social meeting between David Cameron, James Murdoch and its UK chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, over the Christmas period.
Rupert Murdoch today spent the day at News International's Wapping offices in east London, where he had lunch in the company canteen with his son, Brooks, Dominic Mohan, the editor of the Sun, and James Harding, the editor of the Times.
There has so far been no explanation as to why James Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp's operations in Europe and Asia, decided to sign off the payment to Taylor. One friend of Rupert Murdoch's younger son said he had failed to appreciate the significance of the hacking allegations until recently. ...
The company declined to comment on any of a set of questions asked by the Guardian about which board members were made aware of the fact that the practice of phone hacking extended beyond the former royal editor Clive Goodman, and the reasons for payouts to Taylor and the public relations specialist Max Clifford.
News Corp also refused to reply to further questions about what was discussed at a social meeting between David Cameron, James Murdoch and its UK chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, over the Christmas period.
Rupert Murdoch today spent the day at News International's Wapping offices in east London, where he had lunch in the company canteen with his son, Brooks, Dominic Mohan, the editor of the Sun, and James Harding, the editor of the Times.
There has so far been no explanation as to why James Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp's operations in Europe and Asia, decided to sign off the payment to Taylor. One friend of Rupert Murdoch's younger son said he had failed to appreciate the significance of the hacking allegations until recently. ...
Following the resignation of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as David Cameron's media man, the voicemail hacking scandal has snowballed to include other newspapers.
Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has already brought one damages claim against the NoW for phone hacking, told the Observer last night that he is now representing four people who believe their voicemail was tapped by journalists.
And Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in his previous case, said none of the four had been the victims of News Group newspapers. (News Group is a Murdoch company which controls the NoW.)
He told the paper: "Lots of people were doing it. It was such a widespread practice, this was almost kids' playtime.
"Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
The allegation that the practice spread beyond the NoW will surely be a welcome one for Rupert Murdoch.
The latest intrigue over Coulson's behaviour at one of his papers could not have come at a worse time for the Australian mogul. Murdoch's News Corp, the parent company of News Group, is still hoping to avoid having its bid to take full control of BSkyB brought before the Competition Commission. ...
Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has already brought one damages claim against the NoW for phone hacking, told the Observer last night that he is now representing four people who believe their voicemail was tapped by journalists.
And Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in his previous case, said none of the four had been the victims of News Group newspapers. (News Group is a Murdoch company which controls the NoW.)
He told the paper: "Lots of people were doing it. It was such a widespread practice, this was almost kids' playtime.
"Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
The allegation that the practice spread beyond the NoW will surely be a welcome one for Rupert Murdoch.
The latest intrigue over Coulson's behaviour at one of his papers could not have come at a worse time for the Australian mogul. Murdoch's News Corp, the parent company of News Group, is still hoping to avoid having its bid to take full control of BSkyB brought before the Competition Commission. ...
Nearly two weeks after the lethal rampages in Tucson, it's clear that there's collateral damage way beyond the dead and wounded hosed down by Loughner's Glock in that Safeway parking lot.
Sarah Palin has taken a major hit. A Gallup poll run at the end of last week gives her a 53 per cent unfavourable rating, the lowest level she's sunk to in public esteem since she was first lofted to national prominence as John McCain's vice presidential pick in 2008.
Only 38 per cent now have a favourable view of the former Alaska governor.
Palin has only herself to blame. She could have countered accusations that her bulls-eye campaign map targeted Democrats, including Gabrielle Giffords, with measured expressions of sympathy for the dead and wounded, and a more in-sorrow-than-in-anger reproof for the over-hasty accusers.
Instead of which she came out with eight minutes of self-defensive whining on Facebook, and caused great annoyance to Jewish groups by filching the "blood libel" charge on which they have had copyright since the Middle Ages. Since then, she's done nothing to improve her performance, complaining that Obama had given a campaign speech at the memorial in Tucson. ...
Sarah Palin has taken a major hit. A Gallup poll run at the end of last week gives her a 53 per cent unfavourable rating, the lowest level she's sunk to in public esteem since she was first lofted to national prominence as John McCain's vice presidential pick in 2008.
Only 38 per cent now have a favourable view of the former Alaska governor.
Palin has only herself to blame. She could have countered accusations that her bulls-eye campaign map targeted Democrats, including Gabrielle Giffords, with measured expressions of sympathy for the dead and wounded, and a more in-sorrow-than-in-anger reproof for the over-hasty accusers.
Instead of which she came out with eight minutes of self-defensive whining on Facebook, and caused great annoyance to Jewish groups by filching the "blood libel" charge on which they have had copyright since the Middle Ages. Since then, she's done nothing to improve her performance, complaining that Obama had given a campaign speech at the memorial in Tucson. ...
All Sherry Rehman wants is to go out – for a coffee, a stroll, lunch, anything. But that's not possible. Death threats flood her email inbox and mobile phone; armed police are squatted at the gate of her Karachi mansion; government ministers advise her to flee.
"I get two types of advice about leaving," says the steely politician. "One from concerned friends, the other from those who want me out so I'll stop making trouble. But I'm going nowhere." She pauses, then adds quietly: "At least for now."
It's been almost three weeks since Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was gunned down outside an Islamabad cafe. As the country plunged into crisis, Rehman became a prisoner in her own home. Having championed the same issue that caused Taseer's death – reform of Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws – she is, by popular consensus, next on the extremists' list.
Giant rallies against blasphemy reform have swelled the streets of Karachi, where clerics use her name. There are allegations that a cleric in a local mosque, barely five minutes' drive away, has branded her an "infidel" deserving of death. In the Punjabi city of Multan last week opponents tried to file blasphemy charges against her – raising the absurd possibility of Rehman, a national politician, facing a possible death sentence. "My inbox is inundated. The good news is that a lot of it is no longer hate mail," she says with a grim smile. "But a lot of it is."
Pakistani politicians have a long tradition of self-imposed exile but 50-year-old Rehman – a former confidante of Benazir Bhutto, and known for her glamour, principled politics and sharp tongue – is surely the first to undergo self-imposed house arrest. Hers is a luxury cell near the Karachi shore, filled with fine furniture and expensive art, but a stifling one. Government officials insist on 48 hours' notice before putting a foot outside. Plots are afoot, they warn. ...
"I get two types of advice about leaving," says the steely politician. "One from concerned friends, the other from those who want me out so I'll stop making trouble. But I'm going nowhere." She pauses, then adds quietly: "At least for now."
It's been almost three weeks since Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was gunned down outside an Islamabad cafe. As the country plunged into crisis, Rehman became a prisoner in her own home. Having championed the same issue that caused Taseer's death – reform of Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws – she is, by popular consensus, next on the extremists' list.
Giant rallies against blasphemy reform have swelled the streets of Karachi, where clerics use her name. There are allegations that a cleric in a local mosque, barely five minutes' drive away, has branded her an "infidel" deserving of death. In the Punjabi city of Multan last week opponents tried to file blasphemy charges against her – raising the absurd possibility of Rehman, a national politician, facing a possible death sentence. "My inbox is inundated. The good news is that a lot of it is no longer hate mail," she says with a grim smile. "But a lot of it is."
Pakistani politicians have a long tradition of self-imposed exile but 50-year-old Rehman – a former confidante of Benazir Bhutto, and known for her glamour, principled politics and sharp tongue – is surely the first to undergo self-imposed house arrest. Hers is a luxury cell near the Karachi shore, filled with fine furniture and expensive art, but a stifling one. Government officials insist on 48 hours' notice before putting a foot outside. Plots are afoot, they warn. ...
Criticisms of the police handling of the phone-hacking scandal intensified tonight after a senior minister accused Scotland Yard of failing to properly investigate the allegations, while it emerged that Gordon Brown has asked police to establish whether he had been a victim.
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, cast doubt on News International's claims that hacking was the work of a "rogue reporter". He criticised the initial handling of the allegations by the police and accused them of reacting to his calls for a full inquiry last year by "scurrying back to Scotland Yard" and dismissing the idea in an afternoon.
"It seemed to me clear that the number of people that were being hacked clearly was not consistent with it being one rogue reporter who happened to be the royal correspondent. Why would the royal correspondent be interested in hacking the voicemails of Simon Hughes, my colleague who is a Liberal Democrat MP, for example?" he told the BBC's Daily Politics.
"We know the police were not keen on the subject because when I called for a very clear review of this, the police scurried back into Scotland Yard, spent less than a day reviewing it and popped out again in time for the six o'clock news to say they had discovered no further evidence."
Asked whether he thought the police had been deterred from carrying out a full investigation after their failure to make charges in Labour's "cash for honours" scandal, he said: "I certainly think that may well have played a part of it because obviously they had been through a very thorough investigation there and they got nowhere, so they may have decided that messing with the political process was something that they didn't want to bother doing." He quickly added: "I really don't know, I mean you'll have to ask a police officer that."
Huhne's intervention is a guarantee that the row over phone hacking won't disappear with Andy Coulson's resignation as director of communications from Downing Street last week. The former editor of the News of the World stepped down claiming that the continued controversy over phone hacking was making it difficult for him to do his job. ...
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, cast doubt on News International's claims that hacking was the work of a "rogue reporter". He criticised the initial handling of the allegations by the police and accused them of reacting to his calls for a full inquiry last year by "scurrying back to Scotland Yard" and dismissing the idea in an afternoon.
"It seemed to me clear that the number of people that were being hacked clearly was not consistent with it being one rogue reporter who happened to be the royal correspondent. Why would the royal correspondent be interested in hacking the voicemails of Simon Hughes, my colleague who is a Liberal Democrat MP, for example?" he told the BBC's Daily Politics.
"We know the police were not keen on the subject because when I called for a very clear review of this, the police scurried back into Scotland Yard, spent less than a day reviewing it and popped out again in time for the six o'clock news to say they had discovered no further evidence."
Asked whether he thought the police had been deterred from carrying out a full investigation after their failure to make charges in Labour's "cash for honours" scandal, he said: "I certainly think that may well have played a part of it because obviously they had been through a very thorough investigation there and they got nowhere, so they may have decided that messing with the political process was something that they didn't want to bother doing." He quickly added: "I really don't know, I mean you'll have to ask a police officer that."
Huhne's intervention is a guarantee that the row over phone hacking won't disappear with Andy Coulson's resignation as director of communications from Downing Street last week. The former editor of the News of the World stepped down claiming that the continued controversy over phone hacking was making it difficult for him to do his job. ...
Britain's tabloid newspapers are now facing a major crisis after being drawn into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
Twenty-four hours after Andy Coulson, the prime minister's communications chief and former News of the World editor, was forced to resign, a lawyer confirmed other newspapers were facing legal claims.
Mark Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in a damages claim against the NoW, confirmed to the Observer that he was now representing four people who believe they were targeted by other newspapers.
Lewis said that none of the four had been hacked by News Group Newspapers, owner of the News of the World and the Sun. "Lots of people were doing it," Lewis said. "It was such a widespread practice."
He added that he had been preparing the cases since Christmas. "We are at an initial stage in our investigations made with police forces and phone companies. But we believe there is a prima facie case that information has been obtained unlawfully.
"This was almost kids' playtime. It was such a widespread practice. Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
Speculation about further law suits, and the prospect of fresh evidence in the form of emails and audio tapes stretching back over years, has heaped pressure on News Group over the past few weeks. It emerged earlier this month that News of the World executive Ian Edmondson had been suspended as a result of claims in a case brought by actress Sienna Miller. ...
Twenty-four hours after Andy Coulson, the prime minister's communications chief and former News of the World editor, was forced to resign, a lawyer confirmed other newspapers were facing legal claims.
Mark Lewis, who acted for Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association in a damages claim against the NoW, confirmed to the Observer that he was now representing four people who believe they were targeted by other newspapers.
Lewis said that none of the four had been hacked by News Group Newspapers, owner of the News of the World and the Sun. "Lots of people were doing it," Lewis said. "It was such a widespread practice."
He added that he had been preparing the cases since Christmas. "We are at an initial stage in our investigations made with police forces and phone companies. But we believe there is a prima facie case that information has been obtained unlawfully.
"This was almost kids' playtime. It was such a widespread practice. Although it is a crime, people were regarding it as though it was driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone, that you just sort of do it and hope you don't get caught."
Speculation about further law suits, and the prospect of fresh evidence in the form of emails and audio tapes stretching back over years, has heaped pressure on News Group over the past few weeks. It emerged earlier this month that News of the World executive Ian Edmondson had been suspended as a result of claims in a case brought by actress Sienna Miller. ...
Arizona is a state riddled with anti-government white militias, radio stations pumping out racist hate speech and politicians who wave guns as they denounce the oppressive rule of Washington. But Arizona's attorney general apparently believes the real threat to the stability of the US government is being fomented in a handful of high schools in a liberal corner of the desert state.
Tom Horne has declared classes in Mexican-American history and social studies in the city of Tucson illegal on the grounds that they are "propagandising and brainwashing" students into overthrowing the constitutional government and hating white people.
Horne has ordered schools to scrap the ethnic studies programmes under a law he wrote in his previous role as Arizona's education superintendent. He has not banned similar classes dealing with black or Native American history on the grounds that no one has complained about them.
Critics, including teachers of the classes he wants to scrap, accuse Horne of political opportunism by exploiting growing hostility to people of Hispanic origin in a state that recently passed controversial anti-immigrant legislation.
José Gonzalez, who lectures at a Tucson high school, is one of 11 teachers suing to prevent that ban from being enforced.
"If you were to look at the legacy of Tom Horne and his past eight years as the superintendent of instruction in Arizona, you will see that he has targeted Mexican-American people. He did away with bilingual education. He was very proud of that," said Gonzales. "He's a politician and, quite frankly, a very successful politician so he's pandering to these xenophobic sentiments here in Arizona and that's helping him get elected." ...
Tom Horne has declared classes in Mexican-American history and social studies in the city of Tucson illegal on the grounds that they are "propagandising and brainwashing" students into overthrowing the constitutional government and hating white people.
Horne has ordered schools to scrap the ethnic studies programmes under a law he wrote in his previous role as Arizona's education superintendent. He has not banned similar classes dealing with black or Native American history on the grounds that no one has complained about them.
Critics, including teachers of the classes he wants to scrap, accuse Horne of political opportunism by exploiting growing hostility to people of Hispanic origin in a state that recently passed controversial anti-immigrant legislation.
José Gonzalez, who lectures at a Tucson high school, is one of 11 teachers suing to prevent that ban from being enforced.
"If you were to look at the legacy of Tom Horne and his past eight years as the superintendent of instruction in Arizona, you will see that he has targeted Mexican-American people. He did away with bilingual education. He was very proud of that," said Gonzales. "He's a politician and, quite frankly, a very successful politician so he's pandering to these xenophobic sentiments here in Arizona and that's helping him get elected." ...
One of these things is not like the others....
Andy Coulson resigns – as it happened
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, has quit in the wake of the latest phone-hacking revelations
5.15pm: Here's a summary of events tonight.
Live blog: recap
The intensification of the phone-hacking scandal, a story that refuses to go away, has forced Andy Coulson into a second resignation. Coulson quit as director of communications at Downing Street, blaming "continued coverage" of the phone-hacking scandal which forced him from the editorship of the News of the World. He said: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on." (It was later revealed that the satirist Armando Iannucci first used this line last September.)
Coulson's resignation has once again raised questions over the judgment of David Cameron, who knew of the controversy surrounding his editorship of the News of the World. Cameron said of Coulson: "He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication."
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, attempted to turn the focus onto Cameron. Miliband said: "I think it raises real questions about David Cameron's judgment that he hung on to Andy Coulson for so long."
It is understood that Coulson told Cameron of his decision on Wednesday night. Some commentators have questioned the decision to announce his departure today – as Tony Blair was giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry, but Downing Street denied the timing was deliberate.
The MP who triggered the latest Commons inquiry into phone hacking called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, said: "I hope now finally that the police will be able to conduct the full, transparent, and thorough inquiry into phone hacking that we are still waiting for and that the murky truth will come to light."
4.56pm: Coulson has been shown on the news channels leaving Downing Street. As the flashbulbs popped, Coulson strode off, saying nothing. I'll resist the temptation to sugggest that, as the sun sets over London, he looked as if he was slunking away into the shadows. I'll just confine myself to noting that Adam Boulton, Sky's political editor, reckons that he won't be back at No 10 before he leaves his job in a few weeks. I guess he'll just be working from home, then.
4.48pm: My colleague Mark Sweney has been trawling through the archives to see what key figures said about phone hacking in the past. My favourite is the one from Rebekah Brooks, who preceded Coulson as editor of the News of the World. On 10 July 2009, Brooks, who was then chief executive of News International, said:
"The Guardian coverage, we believe, has substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public." ...
... 11.51am: This is the full statement issued by Andy Coulson today:
I can today confirm that I've resigned as Downing Street director of communications. It's been a privilege and an honour to work for David Cameron for three-and-a-half years.
I'm extremely proud of the part I've played in helping him reach No 10 and during the coalition's first nine months.
Nothing is more important than the Government's task of getting this country back on its feet.
Unfortunately, continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World has made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role.
I stand by what I've said about those events but when the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on.
I'll leave within the next few weeks and will do so wishing the Prime Minister, his family, and his brilliant and dedicated team the very best for what I'm sure will be a long and successful future in Government.
11.51am: Here's the full statement from David Cameron:
I am very sorry that Andy Coulson has decided to resign as my Director of Communications, although I understand that the continuing pressures on him and his family mean that he feels compelled to do so. Andy has told me that the focus on him was impeding his ability to do his job and was starting to prove a distraction for the Government.
During his time working for me, Andy has carried out his role with complete professionalism. He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication. He can be extremely proud of the role he has played, including for the last eight months in Government.
I wish Andy all the very best for his future, which I am certain will be a successful one.
11.48am: This is the second time Coulson has lost a high-profile job over the phone-hacking scandal. He quit as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 when Clive Goodman was jailed. Until now, the prime minister, David Cameron, had maintained Coulson "deserved a second chance". ...
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, has quit in the wake of the latest phone-hacking revelations
5.15pm: Here's a summary of events tonight.
Live blog: recap
The intensification of the phone-hacking scandal, a story that refuses to go away, has forced Andy Coulson into a second resignation. Coulson quit as director of communications at Downing Street, blaming "continued coverage" of the phone-hacking scandal which forced him from the editorship of the News of the World. He said: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on." (It was later revealed that the satirist Armando Iannucci first used this line last September.)
Coulson's resignation has once again raised questions over the judgment of David Cameron, who knew of the controversy surrounding his editorship of the News of the World. Cameron said of Coulson: "He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication."
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, attempted to turn the focus onto Cameron. Miliband said: "I think it raises real questions about David Cameron's judgment that he hung on to Andy Coulson for so long."
It is understood that Coulson told Cameron of his decision on Wednesday night. Some commentators have questioned the decision to announce his departure today – as Tony Blair was giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry, but Downing Street denied the timing was deliberate.
The MP who triggered the latest Commons inquiry into phone hacking called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, said: "I hope now finally that the police will be able to conduct the full, transparent, and thorough inquiry into phone hacking that we are still waiting for and that the murky truth will come to light."
4.56pm: Coulson has been shown on the news channels leaving Downing Street. As the flashbulbs popped, Coulson strode off, saying nothing. I'll resist the temptation to sugggest that, as the sun sets over London, he looked as if he was slunking away into the shadows. I'll just confine myself to noting that Adam Boulton, Sky's political editor, reckons that he won't be back at No 10 before he leaves his job in a few weeks. I guess he'll just be working from home, then.
4.48pm: My colleague Mark Sweney has been trawling through the archives to see what key figures said about phone hacking in the past. My favourite is the one from Rebekah Brooks, who preceded Coulson as editor of the News of the World. On 10 July 2009, Brooks, who was then chief executive of News International, said:
"The Guardian coverage, we believe, has substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public." ...
... 11.51am: This is the full statement issued by Andy Coulson today:
I can today confirm that I've resigned as Downing Street director of communications. It's been a privilege and an honour to work for David Cameron for three-and-a-half years.
I'm extremely proud of the part I've played in helping him reach No 10 and during the coalition's first nine months.
Nothing is more important than the Government's task of getting this country back on its feet.
Unfortunately, continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World has made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role.
I stand by what I've said about those events but when the spokesman needs a spokesman, it's time to move on.
I'll leave within the next few weeks and will do so wishing the Prime Minister, his family, and his brilliant and dedicated team the very best for what I'm sure will be a long and successful future in Government.
11.51am: Here's the full statement from David Cameron:
I am very sorry that Andy Coulson has decided to resign as my Director of Communications, although I understand that the continuing pressures on him and his family mean that he feels compelled to do so. Andy has told me that the focus on him was impeding his ability to do his job and was starting to prove a distraction for the Government.
During his time working for me, Andy has carried out his role with complete professionalism. He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication. He can be extremely proud of the role he has played, including for the last eight months in Government.
I wish Andy all the very best for his future, which I am certain will be a successful one.
11.48am: This is the second time Coulson has lost a high-profile job over the phone-hacking scandal. He quit as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 when Clive Goodman was jailed. Until now, the prime minister, David Cameron, had maintained Coulson "deserved a second chance". ...
Nearly a third of Zimbabwe's 5.5m registered voters are dead, research has found. Others appear to be up to 120 years old, improbably outstripping the country's average life expectancy of 43.
The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said the country's electoral roll was a "shambles" and should be overhauled before fresh elections, which could be held this year.
A new electoral register is a key demand of the Movement for Democratic Change , which has accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of counting "ghost voters" in its own favour.
After conducting an audit of the roll, the ZESN reported that 27% of people registered to vote were dead.
"The computer test revealed that 2,344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years, were on the voters' roll," it said. "Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years, are registered voters."
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 43 years, according to the World Health Organisation. Mugabe will soon turn 87. ...
The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said the country's electoral roll was a "shambles" and should be overhauled before fresh elections, which could be held this year.
A new electoral register is a key demand of the Movement for Democratic Change , which has accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of counting "ghost voters" in its own favour.
After conducting an audit of the roll, the ZESN reported that 27% of people registered to vote were dead.
"The computer test revealed that 2,344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years, were on the voters' roll," it said. "Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years, are registered voters."
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 43 years, according to the World Health Organisation. Mugabe will soon turn 87. ...
UK authorities passed information about British nationals to notorious Bangladeshi intelligence agencies and police units, then pressed for information while the men were being held at a secret interrogation centre where inmates are known to have died under torture.
A Guardian investigation into counter-terrorism co-operation between the UK and Bangladesh has revealed a detailed picture of the last Labour government's reliance on overseas intelligence agencies that were known to use torture.
Meetings and exchanges of information took place between British and Bangladeshi officials in an effort to protect the UK from attacks that might be fomented in Bangladesh, according to sources in both countries.
The likelihood that a number of suspects would be tortured as a result of the meetings went unmentioned, according to the sources. Subsequently, more than a dozen men of dual British-Bangladeshi nationality were placed under investigation, and at least some suffered horrific abuse from the Bangladeshi authorities. ...
A Guardian investigation into counter-terrorism co-operation between the UK and Bangladesh has revealed a detailed picture of the last Labour government's reliance on overseas intelligence agencies that were known to use torture.
Meetings and exchanges of information took place between British and Bangladeshi officials in an effort to protect the UK from attacks that might be fomented in Bangladesh, according to sources in both countries.
The likelihood that a number of suspects would be tortured as a result of the meetings went unmentioned, according to the sources. Subsequently, more than a dozen men of dual British-Bangladeshi nationality were placed under investigation, and at least some suffered horrific abuse from the Bangladeshi authorities. ...
The government will respond today to revelations that police spent millions of pounds running a network of undercover spies in the environmental protest movement.
Home Office minister Nick Herbert will be questioned by MPs about Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years living as an activist. Kennedy claims he has been "hung out to dry" by his handlers, makes numerous criticisms of the operation and admits to sexual relations with activists.
He also alleges that secret surveillance tapes would have exonerated six activists accused of breaking into a power station. He accuses senior officers of suppressing the tapes, a move that could have resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice.
Herbert, who has responsibility for policing, will appear before the home affairs select committee to answer questions on police financing. Members of the committee, including the Labour chair, Keith Vaz, are planning to question him over Kennedy. A programme to plant spies in the protest movement is now estimated to have cost £15m over the last decade.
Kennedy denies claims by activists that he was an agent provocateur in protests, including the attempt to break into Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009. He insists all of his activities were scrutinised and "sanctioned" by his superiors. ...
Home Office minister Nick Herbert will be questioned by MPs about Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years living as an activist. Kennedy claims he has been "hung out to dry" by his handlers, makes numerous criticisms of the operation and admits to sexual relations with activists.
He also alleges that secret surveillance tapes would have exonerated six activists accused of breaking into a power station. He accuses senior officers of suppressing the tapes, a move that could have resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice.
Herbert, who has responsibility for policing, will appear before the home affairs select committee to answer questions on police financing. Members of the committee, including the Labour chair, Keith Vaz, are planning to question him over Kennedy. A programme to plant spies in the protest movement is now estimated to have cost £15m over the last decade.
Kennedy denies claims by activists that he was an agent provocateur in protests, including the attempt to break into Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009. He insists all of his activities were scrutinised and "sanctioned" by his superiors. ...
...it was some years before I heard he had been an informer. I was left feeling rather grubby, and rueing my taste in men. Yet I never thought that he had specifically targeted me, or that anything I said had been of particular use to his police handlers.
A far greater betrayal came in the form of Joy Harnden, another spy in my organisation, the End Conscription Campaign. We weren't particularly close but I remember being impressed by her dedication and intimate knowledge of the workings of the apartheid state. (Odd that.) I recall one conversation when she pumped me for personal information about a housemate who had recently been released from police detention. I should have noticed something was amiss, but I admired Joy and was pleased to spend time with her.
I later learned that she was a lieutenant in the security police and was responsible for the death of at least one ANC comrade. It still makes me feel sick. She changed her name and lived in Scotland for a while, and sometimes I fantasise about tracking her down and confronting her.
But it didn't cross my mind to take legal action against the police over any of this. After all, it was South Africa in the 1980s and we were trying to overthrow the state. We expected it. But it's not what I would expect if I was protesting against climate change in Britain today.
A far greater betrayal came in the form of Joy Harnden, another spy in my organisation, the End Conscription Campaign. We weren't particularly close but I remember being impressed by her dedication and intimate knowledge of the workings of the apartheid state. (Odd that.) I recall one conversation when she pumped me for personal information about a housemate who had recently been released from police detention. I should have noticed something was amiss, but I admired Joy and was pleased to spend time with her.
I later learned that she was a lieutenant in the security police and was responsible for the death of at least one ANC comrade. It still makes me feel sick. She changed her name and lived in Scotland for a while, and sometimes I fantasise about tracking her down and confronting her.
But it didn't cross my mind to take legal action against the police over any of this. After all, it was South Africa in the 1980s and we were trying to overthrow the state. We expected it. But it's not what I would expect if I was protesting against climate change in Britain today.
News Corporation's defence that phone hacking at the News of the World was the work of a single "rogue reporter" was on the verge of collapse tonight after Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective at the centre of the case, said the paper's head of news commissioned him to access voicemail messages.
Mulcaire is understood to have submitted a statement to the high court this afternoon confirming that Ian Edmondson, the paper's assistant editor (news) asked him to hack into voicemail messages left on a mobile phone belonging to Sky Andrew, a football agent. Andrew is suing the paper for breach of privacy.
It is also understood that Mulcaire said in the court statement that several other executives at the News of the World were aware that phone hacking was taking place, although he does not name them.
A spokesman for the News of the World said: "This is a serious allegation that will form part of our internal investigation."
Edmondson was suspended by the paper before Christmas after he was named in court documents in a separate case against the News of the World brought by the actor Sienna Miller.
His computer has been impounded as part of the paper's internal investigation and the company is trawling through his emails. He is expected to be questioned after colleagues have been interviewed.
Mulcaire's decision to name Edmondson helps to explains why News Group acted so quickly to suspend him. ...
Mulcaire is understood to have submitted a statement to the high court this afternoon confirming that Ian Edmondson, the paper's assistant editor (news) asked him to hack into voicemail messages left on a mobile phone belonging to Sky Andrew, a football agent. Andrew is suing the paper for breach of privacy.
It is also understood that Mulcaire said in the court statement that several other executives at the News of the World were aware that phone hacking was taking place, although he does not name them.
A spokesman for the News of the World said: "This is a serious allegation that will form part of our internal investigation."
Edmondson was suspended by the paper before Christmas after he was named in court documents in a separate case against the News of the World brought by the actor Sienna Miller.
His computer has been impounded as part of the paper's internal investigation and the company is trawling through his emails. He is expected to be questioned after colleagues have been interviewed.
Mulcaire's decision to name Edmondson helps to explains why News Group acted so quickly to suspend him. ...
A "significant" number of women had sex with the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, for money at his residence near Milan, prosecutors alleged in a document published today.
Investigators also claim to have "ample investigative evidence" that Berlusconi provided free flats to the women at a Milan housing complex which he built in the 1970s before he entered politics.
Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex last year with Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan belly dancer, when she was 17, an offence under Italian law. He is also suspected of pressuring police into freeing Mahroug from custody when she was arrested on suspicion of theft.
Prosecutors sent the document outlining their case to the Italian parliament today to seek permission to raid the Milan offices of an accountant working for Berlusconi who is suspected of handling payments to the women. ...
Investigators also claim to have "ample investigative evidence" that Berlusconi provided free flats to the women at a Milan housing complex which he built in the 1970s before he entered politics.
Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex last year with Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan belly dancer, when she was 17, an offence under Italian law. He is also suspected of pressuring police into freeing Mahroug from custody when she was arrested on suspicion of theft.
Prosecutors sent the document outlining their case to the Italian parliament today to seek permission to raid the Milan offices of an accountant working for Berlusconi who is suspected of handling payments to the women. ...
Boy, 9, has Disney World trip ruined after US immigration rules him a threat
A nine-year-old boy's dream trip to Disney World was ruined when US immigration officials ruled he was a threat.
14 Jan 2011
Civil servants Kathy and Edward Francis planned to surprise their grandson Micah Strachan with the holiday of a lifetime to Florida in February.
They were only going to tell Micah about it when they took him to the airport on February 19 for the flight to the US.
They had already spent more than £1,500 on plane tickets and had been organising the trip for months.
But this week US Embassy officials denied the schoolboy a visa to enter the US.
They said there was a risk he would not leave the US at the end of his holiday and refused his application under Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Micah was born in Britain and has lived in Middlesex all his life with his mum Claudia Lewis.
He holds a South African passport because his grandparents Kathy and Edward, who have lived and worked in Britain since 1990, only got him a South African passport.
They are originally from South Africa.
A letter from Micah's primary school was included in his visa application confirming he attended the school.
But the US Embassy's rejection letter to Micah said: "Because you either did not demonstrate strong ties outside the United States or were not able to demonstrate that your intended activities in the US would be consistent with the visa status, you are ineligible."
His grandmother Kathy, from Brixton, South London, said: "It was going to be a total surprise. He would have loved it." ...
A nine-year-old boy's dream trip to Disney World was ruined when US immigration officials ruled he was a threat.
14 Jan 2011
Civil servants Kathy and Edward Francis planned to surprise their grandson Micah Strachan with the holiday of a lifetime to Florida in February.
They were only going to tell Micah about it when they took him to the airport on February 19 for the flight to the US.
They had already spent more than £1,500 on plane tickets and had been organising the trip for months.
But this week US Embassy officials denied the schoolboy a visa to enter the US.
They said there was a risk he would not leave the US at the end of his holiday and refused his application under Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Micah was born in Britain and has lived in Middlesex all his life with his mum Claudia Lewis.
He holds a South African passport because his grandparents Kathy and Edward, who have lived and worked in Britain since 1990, only got him a South African passport.
They are originally from South Africa.
A letter from Micah's primary school was included in his visa application confirming he attended the school.
But the US Embassy's rejection letter to Micah said: "Because you either did not demonstrate strong ties outside the United States or were not able to demonstrate that your intended activities in the US would be consistent with the visa status, you are ineligible."
His grandmother Kathy, from Brixton, South London, said: "It was going to be a total surprise. He would have loved it." ...
Silvio Berlusconi was tonight facing the potentially devastating possibility that he might be put on trial as an alleged sex offender.
The chief prosecutor in his home city of Milan said the Italian prime minister had been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of having sex with an underage prostitute. He was also accused of abusing his position to pressure the police.
The offences carry sentences totalling up to 15 years in jail. Berlusconi had not been charged, but had been invited to present himself for questioning, according to the prosecutor's statement.
The previous day Italy's constitutional court overturned key passages of a bill introduced by Berlusconi's government that would have shielded him from the courts. The double blow looked certain to weaken a leader whose majority in parliament has hung by a thread ever since he was deserted last year by his former ally and deputy, Gianfranco Fini.
The investigation concerns Karima El Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori, a Moroccan teenager who told investigators last year – when she was 17 – that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's estate near Milan, one of which ended in an erotic game called "Bunga Bunga".
The period in which Berlusconi is suspected of relations with a juvenile prostitute, February to May 2010, coincides with that in which Mahroug is thought to have visited his estate. She has denied having sexual relations with the prime minister, but acknowledged accepting from him a gift of several thousand euros.
Berlusconi's lawyers said in a statement that the allegations were "absurd and groundless". They called the investigation a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister. ...
The chief prosecutor in his home city of Milan said the Italian prime minister had been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of having sex with an underage prostitute. He was also accused of abusing his position to pressure the police.
The offences carry sentences totalling up to 15 years in jail. Berlusconi had not been charged, but had been invited to present himself for questioning, according to the prosecutor's statement.
The previous day Italy's constitutional court overturned key passages of a bill introduced by Berlusconi's government that would have shielded him from the courts. The double blow looked certain to weaken a leader whose majority in parliament has hung by a thread ever since he was deserted last year by his former ally and deputy, Gianfranco Fini.
The investigation concerns Karima El Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori, a Moroccan teenager who told investigators last year – when she was 17 – that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's estate near Milan, one of which ended in an erotic game called "Bunga Bunga".
The period in which Berlusconi is suspected of relations with a juvenile prostitute, February to May 2010, coincides with that in which Mahroug is thought to have visited his estate. She has denied having sexual relations with the prime minister, but acknowledged accepting from him a gift of several thousand euros.
Berlusconi's lawyers said in a statement that the allegations were "absurd and groundless". They called the investigation a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister. ...
Any one of the many allegations levelled at Silvio Berlusconi over the years would probably be sufficient to sink a prime minister in most countries, but the scandal which could finally undo him is perhaps the most scurrilous of them all. It combines an underage belly dancer, ribald sex parties and claims of political interference with the police.
The unwitting protagonist in this particular tale is Karima el-Mahroug, who also goes under the stage monicker of Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby Heartstealer.
According to a series of media reports last October, Berlusconi met Mahroug, then 17, through Nicole Minetti, a TV showgirl turned dental hygienist who acquired a post in Berlusconi's Freedom People party after catching his eye while cleaning his teeth.
Mahroug insisted that she had not slept with the 74-year-old prime minister, but she told Italian newspapers that she attended "bunga bunga" sex parties at his mansion near Milan. At one of these, Mahroug said, she sat next to Berlusconi, who later took her upstairs and gave her an envelope containing €7,000. She said he also gave her jewellery.
Their acquaintance came to light after Mahroug was arrested in Milan for allegedly stealing cash. The station commander said that she was released after police received a call from the prime minister's office saying – incorrectly – that she was the granddaughter of Egypt's long-serving president, Hosni Mubarak.
Berlusconi ridiculed opposition calls for him to resign over the affair, saying: "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay." ...
The unwitting protagonist in this particular tale is Karima el-Mahroug, who also goes under the stage monicker of Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby Heartstealer.
According to a series of media reports last October, Berlusconi met Mahroug, then 17, through Nicole Minetti, a TV showgirl turned dental hygienist who acquired a post in Berlusconi's Freedom People party after catching his eye while cleaning his teeth.
Mahroug insisted that she had not slept with the 74-year-old prime minister, but she told Italian newspapers that she attended "bunga bunga" sex parties at his mansion near Milan. At one of these, Mahroug said, she sat next to Berlusconi, who later took her upstairs and gave her an envelope containing €7,000. She said he also gave her jewellery.
Their acquaintance came to light after Mahroug was arrested in Milan for allegedly stealing cash. The station commander said that she was released after police received a call from the prime minister's office saying – incorrectly – that she was the granddaughter of Egypt's long-serving president, Hosni Mubarak.
Berlusconi ridiculed opposition calls for him to resign over the affair, saying: "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay." ...
Twenty environmental activists are seeking to overturn recent criminal convictions in the wake of the Guardian's revelations about a network of undercover police officers embedded deep in the movement.
Lawyers for the group claim that a failure to disclose the role of covert police operative Mark Kennedy during their trial may have led to a miscarriage of justice and have written to the Crown Prosecution Service demanding details of his role.
Six other activists walked free from court earlier this week after their lawyer, Mike Schwarz, demanded details of the part played by Kennedy in planning the environmental protest they took part in at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, near Nottingham, in 2009.
However, last month, in a separate trial, the 20 green campaigners were convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass during the same protest, after failing to convince a jury that their actions were designed to prevent immediate harm to human life and property from climate change.
"The police allowed this trial, unlike the later one, to run all the way to conviction," said Schwarz, whose firm, Bindmans, represents both groups of protesters. "In the light of events last week, this must be seen as a potential miscarriage of justice."
Revelations of PC Kennedy's activities by the Guardian this week have triggered a crisis in undercover policing. He is alleged to have played a central role in organising a proposal to break into the power station.
Kennedy used the fake identity "Mark Stone" to live for seven years in the protest movement, infiltrating activist groups in 22 countries. He had sexual relationships with a number of women. He also revealed the identity of another undercover officer to fellow activists, leading to a security operation this week as police tried to ensure all their undercover officers were safe.
An investigation into the collapse of the trial of the six activists is expected to be launched shortly by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The body is also considering widening its inquiry to take into account whether or not Kennedy acted as an agent provocateur during his years undercover. A further review into the wider undercover operation and those organising it may also follow. ...
Lawyers for the group claim that a failure to disclose the role of covert police operative Mark Kennedy during their trial may have led to a miscarriage of justice and have written to the Crown Prosecution Service demanding details of his role.
Six other activists walked free from court earlier this week after their lawyer, Mike Schwarz, demanded details of the part played by Kennedy in planning the environmental protest they took part in at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, near Nottingham, in 2009.
However, last month, in a separate trial, the 20 green campaigners were convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass during the same protest, after failing to convince a jury that their actions were designed to prevent immediate harm to human life and property from climate change.
"The police allowed this trial, unlike the later one, to run all the way to conviction," said Schwarz, whose firm, Bindmans, represents both groups of protesters. "In the light of events last week, this must be seen as a potential miscarriage of justice."
Revelations of PC Kennedy's activities by the Guardian this week have triggered a crisis in undercover policing. He is alleged to have played a central role in organising a proposal to break into the power station.
Kennedy used the fake identity "Mark Stone" to live for seven years in the protest movement, infiltrating activist groups in 22 countries. He had sexual relationships with a number of women. He also revealed the identity of another undercover officer to fellow activists, leading to a security operation this week as police tried to ensure all their undercover officers were safe.
An investigation into the collapse of the trial of the six activists is expected to be launched shortly by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The body is also considering widening its inquiry to take into account whether or not Kennedy acted as an agent provocateur during his years undercover. A further review into the wider undercover operation and those organising it may also follow. ...
A protest was staged against rightwing talkshow host Glenn Beck today, calling for his immediate removal from Fox News.
The organisers, Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ), a charity that campaigns for social change, delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting, the TV and radio personality has had to defend his record against accusations that he has whipped up hatred within the public discourse.
For a media figure who has been variously lambasted as a liar, buffoon, clown, bigot and racist Beck is no stranger to the vitriol that currently passes in America as public debate. In fact, he's built a multimillion dollar empire out of it.
So the protest rally that was staged outside the News Corporation headquarters in New York today probably troubled him as much as water flowing off a duck's back.
The petition was part of a groundswell of opinion that when it comes to Beck, arguably the most extreme of America's multitude of rightwing talk hosts, enough is now enough.
Amid the billowing criticism, Beck has defended himself by claiming he has "softened" the tone of his monologues over the past couple of years. "Nobody wants to recognise this. Why? Because it hurts their dialogue."
But the evidence belies his claim of moderation. The JFSJ accompanied the petition with a list of 10 of Beck's most egregious comments in 2010 (see below).
They include Beck's radio comment on the financier and philanthropist, George Soros, that "here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps". The remark was made in reference to Soros as a 13-year-old teenager in Hungary, who survived the Holocaust because his father hid their Jewish identity through elaborate forged documents.
The comment was made as part of a three-part Beck "exposé" of Soros on Fox News last November called the "Puppet Master". Beck's portrayal of Soros was so mendacious and malicious that he was accused by the New Yorker of broadcasting tropes that corresponded "uncannily to those of classical antisemitism". The Daily Beast noted that "nothing like it has ever been on American television before".
Simon Greer, JFSJ's president, said that following last Saturday's Tucson shootings, in which a Congresswoman was shot and six people died, it was time for action. "We are not accusing Glenn Beck or Roger Ailes or Rupert Murdoch of pulling the trigger in Tucson, only one man did that. But we are accusing them of playing to the worst in all of us." ...
The organisers, Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ), a charity that campaigns for social change, delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting, the TV and radio personality has had to defend his record against accusations that he has whipped up hatred within the public discourse.
For a media figure who has been variously lambasted as a liar, buffoon, clown, bigot and racist Beck is no stranger to the vitriol that currently passes in America as public debate. In fact, he's built a multimillion dollar empire out of it.
So the protest rally that was staged outside the News Corporation headquarters in New York today probably troubled him as much as water flowing off a duck's back.
The petition was part of a groundswell of opinion that when it comes to Beck, arguably the most extreme of America's multitude of rightwing talk hosts, enough is now enough.
Amid the billowing criticism, Beck has defended himself by claiming he has "softened" the tone of his monologues over the past couple of years. "Nobody wants to recognise this. Why? Because it hurts their dialogue."
But the evidence belies his claim of moderation. The JFSJ accompanied the petition with a list of 10 of Beck's most egregious comments in 2010 (see below).
They include Beck's radio comment on the financier and philanthropist, George Soros, that "here's a Jewish boy helping send the Jews to the death camps". The remark was made in reference to Soros as a 13-year-old teenager in Hungary, who survived the Holocaust because his father hid their Jewish identity through elaborate forged documents.
The comment was made as part of a three-part Beck "exposé" of Soros on Fox News last November called the "Puppet Master". Beck's portrayal of Soros was so mendacious and malicious that he was accused by the New Yorker of broadcasting tropes that corresponded "uncannily to those of classical antisemitism". The Daily Beast noted that "nothing like it has ever been on American television before".
Simon Greer, JFSJ's president, said that following last Saturday's Tucson shootings, in which a Congresswoman was shot and six people died, it was time for action. "We are not accusing Glenn Beck or Roger Ailes or Rupert Murdoch of pulling the trigger in Tucson, only one man did that. But we are accusing them of playing to the worst in all of us." ...
... "Indeed, if Mr Assange were rendered to the USA, without assurances that the death penalty would not be carried out, there is a real risk that he could be made subject to the death penalty. It is well known that prominent figures have implied, if not stated outright, that Mr Assange should be executed." ...
... The woman who said she had had a sexual relationship with Kennedy now lives abroad and wants to be known only by her first name, Anna. She said she had sex more than 20 times with the undercover officer about five years ago, including at his house in Nottingham, when she was aged just 21. They met at protests around Europe, and it seemed clear to her that Kennedy was "seeing other women" around the same time. "I'm not sure personally if I would be willing to take part in an inquiry that touched on our sexual relationship," she said. "If the Met knew that this was going on, then obviously they should reveal this. There should be an inquiry into whether this is legal."
Kennedy, who joined the police in about 1994, is known to have had a wife and children before going undercover. There have also been unconfirmed reports that Kennedy had a long-term relationship with a woman in Nottingham while posing as an activist.
Questions over the ethics of the Kennedy operation have already been raised in Germany, where the MP Andrej Hunko has tabled questions asking whether authorities authorised the undercover officer to have "sexual relationships" in the country.
A Guardian investigation revealed on Monday that Kennedy had used a fake passport to travel to 22 different countries while posing as a campaigner, earning the trust of activists and feeding back intelligence to his commanders. ...
Kennedy, who joined the police in about 1994, is known to have had a wife and children before going undercover. There have also been unconfirmed reports that Kennedy had a long-term relationship with a woman in Nottingham while posing as an activist.
Questions over the ethics of the Kennedy operation have already been raised in Germany, where the MP Andrej Hunko has tabled questions asking whether authorities authorised the undercover officer to have "sexual relationships" in the country.
A Guardian investigation revealed on Monday that Kennedy had used a fake passport to travel to 22 different countries while posing as a campaigner, earning the trust of activists and feeding back intelligence to his commanders. ...
Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator jailed for intercepting voicemails on phones used by aides to Princes William and Harry at the behest of the News of the World, has run up a legal bill of hundreds of thousands of pounds as he battles a string of ongoing phone-hacking lawsuits.
The expensive defence, estimated to be in excess of £500,000, has triggered speculation that the costs are being paid by the publishers of the tabloid newspaper, whose controlling shareholder, Rupert Murdoch, has said he would take "immediate action" against anybody found to be caught hacking again.
Mulcaire's costs are likely to rise quickly as a string of actions from more public figures suing both him and the newspaper are expected to follow in the next few weeks, adding to the pressure on a south Londoner described as unemployed and receiving jobseeker's allowance in a court judgment in February of last year.
Mulcaire's legal team refuses to say who is paying his bills. When Sarah Webb, his lawyer, was asked if it was known whether News International – owners of News Group Newspapers, the publisher of NotW – was paying his fees, she replied: "No, we don't know that." News International declined to comment. ...
The expensive defence, estimated to be in excess of £500,000, has triggered speculation that the costs are being paid by the publishers of the tabloid newspaper, whose controlling shareholder, Rupert Murdoch, has said he would take "immediate action" against anybody found to be caught hacking again.
Mulcaire's costs are likely to rise quickly as a string of actions from more public figures suing both him and the newspaper are expected to follow in the next few weeks, adding to the pressure on a south Londoner described as unemployed and receiving jobseeker's allowance in a court judgment in February of last year.
Mulcaire's legal team refuses to say who is paying his bills. When Sarah Webb, his lawyer, was asked if it was known whether News International – owners of News Group Newspapers, the publisher of NotW – was paying his fees, she replied: "No, we don't know that." News International declined to comment. ...
Brave Woman Who Grabbed Clip from Shooter Blames Right-Wing Media and Rhetoric ... In Fox News Interview
In an interview on Fox, the brave woman who helped stop Loughner calls out right-wing media for creating an environment that encourages violent impulses.
January 10, 2011 |
Patricia Maisch, 61, was the brave woman who kept alleged shooter Jared Loughner from unloading a second clip into a Tuscon crowd on Saturday. Wounded herself from a bullet, she saw him attempting to equip his gun with another magazine, grabbed him and knelt on his ankle, delaying the reload and potentially saving many more lives.
So when Fox News interviewed her on Sunday, they clearly wanted to know if her strength could translate to psychic healing as Americans grappled with the tragedy. “We've all noted the calmness with which all of you, who helped save the day, conducted yourself,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “I just want to know now, a day later... if there's anything you can think of... that you might be able to turn into a positive. Is there anything that you can leave us with that will make us all feel better?”
“I think Sheriff Dupnik said it best that the extreme right reporters in radio and TV have added to this problem,” she responded. “And I'm just hoping that'll change because of this." She then specifically calls out Republicans for characterizing the health care bill as “job-killing.” "I think they've just gone over the top," she added. "I think that the extreme right has gone too far." ...
Brava, Goddess!
Ta much, dear Anneliese
In an interview on Fox, the brave woman who helped stop Loughner calls out right-wing media for creating an environment that encourages violent impulses.
January 10, 2011 |
Patricia Maisch, 61, was the brave woman who kept alleged shooter Jared Loughner from unloading a second clip into a Tuscon crowd on Saturday. Wounded herself from a bullet, she saw him attempting to equip his gun with another magazine, grabbed him and knelt on his ankle, delaying the reload and potentially saving many more lives.
So when Fox News interviewed her on Sunday, they clearly wanted to know if her strength could translate to psychic healing as Americans grappled with the tragedy. “We've all noted the calmness with which all of you, who helped save the day, conducted yourself,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “I just want to know now, a day later... if there's anything you can think of... that you might be able to turn into a positive. Is there anything that you can leave us with that will make us all feel better?”
“I think Sheriff Dupnik said it best that the extreme right reporters in radio and TV have added to this problem,” she responded. “And I'm just hoping that'll change because of this." She then specifically calls out Republicans for characterizing the health care bill as “job-killing.” "I think they've just gone over the top," she added. "I think that the extreme right has gone too far." ...
Brava, Goddess!
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Public release date: 7-Jan-2011
Rosanne Spector
Stanford University Medical Center
Evidence lacking for widespread use of costly antipsychotic drugs, says Stanford researcher
STANFORD, Calif. — Many prescriptions for the top-selling class of drugs, known as atypical antipsychotic medications, lack strong evidence that the drugs will actually help, a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and University of Chicago has found. Yet, drugs in this class may cause such serious effects as weight gain, diabetes and heart disease, and cost Americans billions of dollars.
"Because these drugs have safety issues, physicians should prescribe them only when they are sure patients will get substantial benefits," said Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who is senior author of the study to be published online Jan. 7 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. "These are commonly used and very expensive drugs."
Prescriptions for these drugs have risen steadily since they first came on the U.S. market in 1989, largely replacing the first generation of antipsychotics, which were mainly used to treat schizophrenia. The U.S. government's original stamp of approval for the new drugs was for treating schizophrenia, but they're used more today for other conditions, including other psychoses, autism, bipolar disorder, delirium, dementia, depression and personality disorders. And while some of these uses have recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many have not.
For example, the FDA has approved quetiapine (brand name, Seroquel), the antipsychotic with the biggest U.S. sales, for treating schizophrenia and some aspects of bipolar disorder and depression, but the drug is also often used for anxiety and dementia, among other conditions.
These new drugs accounted for more than $10 billion in retail pharmacy U.S. prescription drug costs in 2008, representing the largest expenditure for any single drug class — nearly 5 percent of all drug spending, surpassing even blockbusters like statin cholesterol medications. According to a 2004 study, a quarter of all residents of U.S. nursing homes had taken them. Among the drugs are quetiapine, aripoprazole (brand name, Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal), each with annual U.S. sales exceeding $1 billion.
Stafford's new study adds to concerns about the drugs, which have been the focus of thousands of lawsuits, and as a class make up the single largest target of litigation filed under the federal False Claims Act. All major companies selling new-generation antipsychotics have either recently settled cases for hundreds of millions of dollars or are currently under investigation for skewing results or using questionable marketing tactics.
In 2005, the FDA issued its strongest type of caution, the "black box" warning, for use of new-generation antipsychotics, because of increased risk of death for dementia patients.
"Most people think, 'If my doctor prescribed this, the FDA must have evaluated whether this drug was safe and effective for this use.' That's not true," said Stafford. When doctors prescribe drugs for purposes other than those approved by the FDA, it's called "off-label" use. Though it's riskier for patients, there's nothing illegal about it, and can make sense medically in some instances, Stafford said, especially if there are no approved treatments or if a patient has not responded to approved drugs. ...
Rosanne Spector
Stanford University Medical Center
Evidence lacking for widespread use of costly antipsychotic drugs, says Stanford researcher
STANFORD, Calif. — Many prescriptions for the top-selling class of drugs, known as atypical antipsychotic medications, lack strong evidence that the drugs will actually help, a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and University of Chicago has found. Yet, drugs in this class may cause such serious effects as weight gain, diabetes and heart disease, and cost Americans billions of dollars.
"Because these drugs have safety issues, physicians should prescribe them only when they are sure patients will get substantial benefits," said Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who is senior author of the study to be published online Jan. 7 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. "These are commonly used and very expensive drugs."
Prescriptions for these drugs have risen steadily since they first came on the U.S. market in 1989, largely replacing the first generation of antipsychotics, which were mainly used to treat schizophrenia. The U.S. government's original stamp of approval for the new drugs was for treating schizophrenia, but they're used more today for other conditions, including other psychoses, autism, bipolar disorder, delirium, dementia, depression and personality disorders. And while some of these uses have recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many have not.
For example, the FDA has approved quetiapine (brand name, Seroquel), the antipsychotic with the biggest U.S. sales, for treating schizophrenia and some aspects of bipolar disorder and depression, but the drug is also often used for anxiety and dementia, among other conditions.
These new drugs accounted for more than $10 billion in retail pharmacy U.S. prescription drug costs in 2008, representing the largest expenditure for any single drug class — nearly 5 percent of all drug spending, surpassing even blockbusters like statin cholesterol medications. According to a 2004 study, a quarter of all residents of U.S. nursing homes had taken them. Among the drugs are quetiapine, aripoprazole (brand name, Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal), each with annual U.S. sales exceeding $1 billion.
Stafford's new study adds to concerns about the drugs, which have been the focus of thousands of lawsuits, and as a class make up the single largest target of litigation filed under the federal False Claims Act. All major companies selling new-generation antipsychotics have either recently settled cases for hundreds of millions of dollars or are currently under investigation for skewing results or using questionable marketing tactics.
In 2005, the FDA issued its strongest type of caution, the "black box" warning, for use of new-generation antipsychotics, because of increased risk of death for dementia patients.
"Most people think, 'If my doctor prescribed this, the FDA must have evaluated whether this drug was safe and effective for this use.' That's not true," said Stafford. When doctors prescribe drugs for purposes other than those approved by the FDA, it's called "off-label" use. Though it's riskier for patients, there's nothing illegal about it, and can make sense medically in some instances, Stafford said, especially if there are no approved treatments or if a patient has not responded to approved drugs. ...
Another study is raising questions about widespread use of atypical antipsychotics. The newer schizophrenia meds have been adopted for a variety of other uses, including bipolar disorder and depression, but those uses aren't really warranted by the evidence, researchers concluded after reviewing data from prescribing physicians. Indeed, more than half of the 2008 scrips for atypicals were based on less-than-solid data, the Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety study found.
"What we see is wide adoption for the use of these medications far beyond the evidence base to support it," Dr. Caleb Alexander, a professors at the University of Chicago and an IMS Health consultant, told Reuters. "We're talking millions of prescriptions a year for antipsychotics in settings where there is uncertain evidence to support them." ...
"What we see is wide adoption for the use of these medications far beyond the evidence base to support it," Dr. Caleb Alexander, a professors at the University of Chicago and an IMS Health consultant, told Reuters. "We're talking millions of prescriptions a year for antipsychotics in settings where there is uncertain evidence to support them." ...
WikiLeaks has demanded that Google and Facebook reveal the contents of any US subpoenas they may have received after it emerged that a court in Virginia had ordered Twitter to secretly hand over details of accounts on the micro-blogging site by five figures associated with the group, including Julian Assange.
Amid strong evidence that a US grand jury has begun a wideranging trawl for details of what networks and accounts WikiLeaks used to communicate with Bradley Manning, the US serviceman accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of sensitive government cables, some of those named in the subpoena said they would fight disclosure.
"Today, the existence of a secret US government grand jury espionage investigation into WikiLeaks was confirmed for the first time as a subpoena was brought into the public domain," WikiLeaks said in a statement.
The writ, approved by a court in Virginia in December, demands that the San Franscisco based micro-blogging site hand over all details of five individuals' accounts and private messaging on Twitter – including the computers and networks used.
They include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Manning, Icelandic MP Brigitta Jonsdottir and Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp. Three of them – Gonggrijp, Assange and Jonsdottir – were named as "producers" of the first significant leak from the US cables cache: a video of an Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians and journalists in Baghdad. ...
Amid strong evidence that a US grand jury has begun a wideranging trawl for details of what networks and accounts WikiLeaks used to communicate with Bradley Manning, the US serviceman accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of sensitive government cables, some of those named in the subpoena said they would fight disclosure.
"Today, the existence of a secret US government grand jury espionage investigation into WikiLeaks was confirmed for the first time as a subpoena was brought into the public domain," WikiLeaks said in a statement.
The writ, approved by a court in Virginia in December, demands that the San Franscisco based micro-blogging site hand over all details of five individuals' accounts and private messaging on Twitter – including the computers and networks used.
They include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Manning, Icelandic MP Brigitta Jonsdottir and Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp. Three of them – Gonggrijp, Assange and Jonsdottir – were named as "producers" of the first significant leak from the US cables cache: a video of an Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians and journalists in Baghdad. ...
The former Labour MP David Chaytor behind bars tonight beginning an 18-month jail sentence after admitting claiming false parliamentary expenses.
Chaytor, who as MP for Bury North tried to cheat taxpayers out of more than £22,000, looked gaunt but impassive as Mr Justice Saunders at Southwark crown court told him the expenses scandal had "shaken public confidence in our legislature" and had "angered the public".
The first MP to be convicted and sentenced over the debacle, he was led from a reinforced glass-panelled dock and taken to Wandsworth prison, where he will be held until transferred to an open prison.
The 61-year-old may serve just four-and-a-half months if risk-assessed as eligible for the home detention curfew scheme, which could see him released with a tag as early as the end of May.
Passing sentence, the judge said a custodial sentence was one of the first steps in restoring public faith in the parliamentary system. He said Chaytor had breached "the high degree of trust" placed in MPs who hold an "important and powerful place in society". ...
Chaytor, who as MP for Bury North tried to cheat taxpayers out of more than £22,000, looked gaunt but impassive as Mr Justice Saunders at Southwark crown court told him the expenses scandal had "shaken public confidence in our legislature" and had "angered the public".
The first MP to be convicted and sentenced over the debacle, he was led from a reinforced glass-panelled dock and taken to Wandsworth prison, where he will be held until transferred to an open prison.
The 61-year-old may serve just four-and-a-half months if risk-assessed as eligible for the home detention curfew scheme, which could see him released with a tag as early as the end of May.
Passing sentence, the judge said a custodial sentence was one of the first steps in restoring public faith in the parliamentary system. He said Chaytor had breached "the high degree of trust" placed in MPs who hold an "important and powerful place in society". ...
The Metropolitan police today faced calls for an independent review of its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the former home secretary Alan Johnson called for an independent inquiry and Ed Balls branded the affair as increasingly "murky".
MPs on the cross-party Commons culture select committee, who will discuss the scandal next week after the announcement that a senior News of the World executive had been suspended, said the latest development raised fresh questions about alleged collusion between the police and News International. ...
MPs on the cross-party Commons culture select committee, who will discuss the scandal next week after the announcement that a senior News of the World executive had been suspended, said the latest development raised fresh questions about alleged collusion between the police and News International. ...
A senior News of the World executive has been suspended by the paper following a "serious allegation" that he was involved with phone hacking when the paper was edited by Andy Coulson, now the prime minister's director of communications.
It was revealed today that Ian Edmondson, the title's assistant editor, was "suspended from active duties" before Christmas, shortly after the Guardian obtained court documents which apparently showed that he had asked private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to hack into phones belonging to Sienna Miller and her staff in 2005.
The News of the World confirmed in a statement today that Edmondson had been suspended. It said it had launched an internal investigation into the claims and that "appropriate action" would be taken if they were found to be true.
The paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed along with Mulcaire in January 2007 after the two men were found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages left on mobile phones belonging to members of the royal household. Coulson resigned when the men were sentenced, but he has always insisted that Goodman acted alone and that he and other executives knew nothing about their activities.
If it is proved Edmondson also used Mulcaire's services it would destroy the paper's carefully constructed public defence that Goodman was a rogue reporter. His suspension puts fresh pressure on Coulson, who has consistently maintained that he was unaware of any hacking while editor of the paper between 2003 and 2007. Edmondson was hired by Coulson and was part of the former editor's inner circle.
It also raises embarrassing questions for the Metropolitan police, who failed to interview any News of the World executive during the Goodman/Mulcaire investigation despite the fact that the name "Ian" appears on a number of documents seized from Mulcaire. ...
It was revealed today that Ian Edmondson, the title's assistant editor, was "suspended from active duties" before Christmas, shortly after the Guardian obtained court documents which apparently showed that he had asked private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to hack into phones belonging to Sienna Miller and her staff in 2005.
The News of the World confirmed in a statement today that Edmondson had been suspended. It said it had launched an internal investigation into the claims and that "appropriate action" would be taken if they were found to be true.
The paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed along with Mulcaire in January 2007 after the two men were found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages left on mobile phones belonging to members of the royal household. Coulson resigned when the men were sentenced, but he has always insisted that Goodman acted alone and that he and other executives knew nothing about their activities.
If it is proved Edmondson also used Mulcaire's services it would destroy the paper's carefully constructed public defence that Goodman was a rogue reporter. His suspension puts fresh pressure on Coulson, who has consistently maintained that he was unaware of any hacking while editor of the paper between 2003 and 2007. Edmondson was hired by Coulson and was part of the former editor's inner circle.
It also raises embarrassing questions for the Metropolitan police, who failed to interview any News of the World executive during the Goodman/Mulcaire investigation despite the fact that the name "Ian" appears on a number of documents seized from Mulcaire. ...
WikiLeaks: US targets EU over GM crops
US embassy cable recommends drawing up list of countries for 'retaliation' over opposition to genetic modification
John Vidal, environment editor
Monday 3 January 2011
The US embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country which opposed genetically modified (GM) crops, newly released WikiLeaks cables show.
In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits.
"The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," said Stapleton, who with Bush co-owned the St Louis-based Texas Rangers baseball team in the 1990s.
In other newly released cables, US diplomats around the world are found to have pushed GM crops as a strategic government and commercial imperative.
Because many Catholic bishops in developing countries have been vehemently opposed to the controversial crops, the US applied particular pressure to the pope's advisers.
Cables from the US embassy in the Vatican show that the US believes the pope is broadly supportive of the crops after sustained lobbying of senior Holy See advisers, but regrets that he has not yet stated his support. The US state department special adviser on biotechnology as well as government biotech advisers based in Kenya lobbied Vatican insiders to persuade the pope to declare his backing. "… met with [US monsignor] Fr Michael Osborn of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, offering a chance to push the Vatican on biotech issues, and an opportunity for post to analyse the current state of play on biotech in the Vatican generally," says one cable in 2008.
"Opportunities exist to press the issue with the Vatican, and in turn to influence a wide segment of the population in Europe and the developing world," says another.
But in a setback, the US embassy found that its closest ally on GM, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the powerful Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the man who mostly represents the pope at the United Nations, had withdrawn his support for the US.
"A Martino deputy told us recently that the cardinal had co-operated with embassy Vatican on biotech over the past two years in part to compensate for his vocal disapproval of the Iraq war and its aftermath – to keep relations with the USG [US government] smooth. According to our source, Martino no longer feels the need to take this approach," says the cable.
In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto. "In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] state secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level US government intervention."
It also emerges that Spain and the US have worked closely together to persuade the EU not to strengthen biotechnology laws. In one cable, the embassy in Madrid writes: "If Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow."
The cables show that not only did the Spanish government ask the US to keep pressure on Brussels but that the US knew in advance how Spain would vote, even before the Spanish biotech commission had reported.
US embassy cable recommends drawing up list of countries for 'retaliation' over opposition to genetic modification
John Vidal, environment editor
Monday 3 January 2011
The US embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country which opposed genetically modified (GM) crops, newly released WikiLeaks cables show.
In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits.
"The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," said Stapleton, who with Bush co-owned the St Louis-based Texas Rangers baseball team in the 1990s.
In other newly released cables, US diplomats around the world are found to have pushed GM crops as a strategic government and commercial imperative.
Because many Catholic bishops in developing countries have been vehemently opposed to the controversial crops, the US applied particular pressure to the pope's advisers.
Cables from the US embassy in the Vatican show that the US believes the pope is broadly supportive of the crops after sustained lobbying of senior Holy See advisers, but regrets that he has not yet stated his support. The US state department special adviser on biotechnology as well as government biotech advisers based in Kenya lobbied Vatican insiders to persuade the pope to declare his backing. "… met with [US monsignor] Fr Michael Osborn of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, offering a chance to push the Vatican on biotech issues, and an opportunity for post to analyse the current state of play on biotech in the Vatican generally," says one cable in 2008.
"Opportunities exist to press the issue with the Vatican, and in turn to influence a wide segment of the population in Europe and the developing world," says another.
But in a setback, the US embassy found that its closest ally on GM, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the powerful Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the man who mostly represents the pope at the United Nations, had withdrawn his support for the US.
"A Martino deputy told us recently that the cardinal had co-operated with embassy Vatican on biotech over the past two years in part to compensate for his vocal disapproval of the Iraq war and its aftermath – to keep relations with the USG [US government] smooth. According to our source, Martino no longer feels the need to take this approach," says the cable.
In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto. "In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] state secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level US government intervention."
It also emerges that Spain and the US have worked closely together to persuade the EU not to strengthen biotechnology laws. In one cable, the embassy in Madrid writes: "If Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow."
The cables show that not only did the Spanish government ask the US to keep pressure on Brussels but that the US knew in advance how Spain would vote, even before the Spanish biotech commission had reported.
A leading charity figure and key supporter of David Cameron's "big society" project warns that massive public spending cuts could doom the prime minister's main social policy initiative to failure and become a Hurricane Katrina moment for the government.
David Robinson declares that a barrage of unsustainable cuts will damage Britain's poorest neighbourhoods.
In an open letter to Cameron, the co-founder of the Community Links charity warns that vital local voluntary organisations will be wiped out. Robinson, whose charity has been described by Cameron as "one of Britain's most inspiring community organisations", writes: "Forcing an unsustainable pace on a barrage of unco-ordinated cuts that hit the poorest hardest is not an act of God. Why let it be your Katrina?"
Robinson gives a practical example of the impact of the cuts – and how they will jeopardise Cameron's central big society philosophy – when he warns that deprived areas face a "double whammy" of increasing unemployment and cuts to services. He says that Community Links, based in east London, faces an uncertain future because of the government's changes to legal aid and welfare-to-work funding. "Charities like us are surely the bedrock of the big society, and we are wobbling." ...
David Robinson declares that a barrage of unsustainable cuts will damage Britain's poorest neighbourhoods.
In an open letter to Cameron, the co-founder of the Community Links charity warns that vital local voluntary organisations will be wiped out. Robinson, whose charity has been described by Cameron as "one of Britain's most inspiring community organisations", writes: "Forcing an unsustainable pace on a barrage of unco-ordinated cuts that hit the poorest hardest is not an act of God. Why let it be your Katrina?"
Robinson gives a practical example of the impact of the cuts – and how they will jeopardise Cameron's central big society philosophy – when he warns that deprived areas face a "double whammy" of increasing unemployment and cuts to services. He says that Community Links, based in east London, faces an uncertain future because of the government's changes to legal aid and welfare-to-work funding. "Charities like us are surely the bedrock of the big society, and we are wobbling." ...
The British government has been training a Bangladeshi paramilitary force condemned by human rights organisations as a "government death squad", leaked US embassy cables have revealed.
Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), which has been held responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial killings in recent years and is said to routinely use torture, have received British training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement".
Details of the training were revealed in a number of cables, released by WikiLeaks, which address the counter-terrorism objectives of the US and UK governments in Bangladesh. One cable makes clear that the US would not offer any assistance other than human rights training to the RAB – and that it would be illegal under US law to do so – because its members commit gross human rights violations with impunity.
Since the RAB was established six years ago, it is estimated by some human rights activists to have been responsible for more than 1,000 extra-judicial killings, described euphemistically as "crossfire" deaths. In September last year the director general of the RAB said his men had killed 577 people in "crossfire". In March this year he updated the figure, saying they had killed 622 people.
The RAB's use of torture has also been exhaustively documented by human rights organisations. In addition, officers from the paramilitary force are alleged to have been involved in kidnap and extortion, and are frequently accused of taking large bribes in return for carrying out crossfire killings.
However, the cables reveal that both the British and the Americans, in their determination to strengthen counter-terrorism operations in Bangladesh, are in favour of bolstering the force, arguing that the "RAB enjoys a great deal of respect and admiration from a population scarred by decreasing law and order over the last decade". In one cable, the US ambassador to Dhaka, James Moriarty, expresses the view that the RAB is the "enforcement organisation best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation". ...
Well, they've certainly got a superb foundation on which to build a baby fbi, innit.
Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), which has been held responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial killings in recent years and is said to routinely use torture, have received British training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement".
Details of the training were revealed in a number of cables, released by WikiLeaks, which address the counter-terrorism objectives of the US and UK governments in Bangladesh. One cable makes clear that the US would not offer any assistance other than human rights training to the RAB – and that it would be illegal under US law to do so – because its members commit gross human rights violations with impunity.
Since the RAB was established six years ago, it is estimated by some human rights activists to have been responsible for more than 1,000 extra-judicial killings, described euphemistically as "crossfire" deaths. In September last year the director general of the RAB said his men had killed 577 people in "crossfire". In March this year he updated the figure, saying they had killed 622 people.
The RAB's use of torture has also been exhaustively documented by human rights organisations. In addition, officers from the paramilitary force are alleged to have been involved in kidnap and extortion, and are frequently accused of taking large bribes in return for carrying out crossfire killings.
However, the cables reveal that both the British and the Americans, in their determination to strengthen counter-terrorism operations in Bangladesh, are in favour of bolstering the force, arguing that the "RAB enjoys a great deal of respect and admiration from a population scarred by decreasing law and order over the last decade". In one cable, the US ambassador to Dhaka, James Moriarty, expresses the view that the RAB is the "enforcement organisation best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation". ...
Well, they've certainly got a superb foundation on which to build a baby fbi, innit.
Iran jails director Jafar Panahi and stops him making films for 20 years | World news | The Guardian
The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison today, and banned from directing and producing films for the next 20 years, his lawyer said.
Panahi, an outspoken supporter of Iran's opposition green movement, was convicted of gathering, colluding and propaganda against the regime, Farideh Gheyrat told the Iranian state news agency ISNA.
"He is therefore sentenced to six years in prison and also he is banned for 20 years from making any films, writing any scripts, travelling abroad and also giving any interviews to the media including foreign and domestic news organisations," she said. Gheyrat said she would appeal against the conviction.
Panahi won the Camera d'Or award at the Cannes film festival in 1995 for his debut feature, The White Balloon, and took the Golden Lion prize at Venice for his 2000 drama, The Circle. His other films include Crimson Gold and Offside. He is highly regarded around the world but his films are banned at home.
Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies at Columbia university, told the Guardian the sentence showed Iran's leaders could not tolerate the arts. "This is a catastrophe for Iran's cinema," he said. "Panahi is now exactly in the most creative phase of his life and by silencing him at this sensitive time, they are killing his art and talent. ...
Panahi, an outspoken supporter of Iran's opposition green movement, was convicted of gathering, colluding and propaganda against the regime, Farideh Gheyrat told the Iranian state news agency ISNA.
"He is therefore sentenced to six years in prison and also he is banned for 20 years from making any films, writing any scripts, travelling abroad and also giving any interviews to the media including foreign and domestic news organisations," she said. Gheyrat said she would appeal against the conviction.
Panahi won the Camera d'Or award at the Cannes film festival in 1995 for his debut feature, The White Balloon, and took the Golden Lion prize at Venice for his 2000 drama, The Circle. His other films include Crimson Gold and Offside. He is highly regarded around the world but his films are banned at home.
Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies at Columbia university, told the Guardian the sentence showed Iran's leaders could not tolerate the arts. "This is a catastrophe for Iran's cinema," he said. "Panahi is now exactly in the most creative phase of his life and by silencing him at this sensitive time, they are killing his art and talent. ...
After McCain flares up, Senate's cooler heads prevail
Sunday, December 19, 2010
If John McCain gets any more hostile toward his Senate colleagues, they might consider having him go through the metal detector before he enters the Capitol.
Saturday's debate on the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was only half an hour old when the Arizona Republican burst onto the floor from the cloakroom, hiked up his pants and stalked over to his friend Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Ignoring Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who had the floor, McCain hectored the men noisily for a few moments, waving his arms for emphasis.
When McCain finally stormed off, Durbin shook his head in exasperation and Lieberman smiled. A minute later, McCain returned - he had apparently remembered another element of his grievance - and resumed his harangue.
It turns out McCain's tempest was needlessly stirred - he had wanted more time for the debate, which the Democrats eventually gave him - but that was typical. It doesn't take much to set off McCain these days.
Earlier in the week, he was observed in the act of publicly gloating on the Senate floor over his success in killing a massive spending bill. He's also been raising hurdles to the ratification of the Obama administration's nuclear arms treaty with Russia. At the same time, he led the opposition Saturday to repealing the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military - taking on Lieberman, who led the other side.
McCain's statement on the floor was roughly one part argument, four parts tantrum. "So here we are about six weeks after an election that repudiated the agenda of the other side," he said, and those who would repeal don't-ask-don't-tell "are acting in direct repudiation of the message of the American people." (Actually, polls show support for repeal.)
He bemoaned "this bizarro world that the majority leader has been carrying us in," and taunted: "Maybe it will require another election." The Arizonan suggested that those who vote to repeal would have blood on their hands. "Don't think that it won't be at great cost," he said, punctuating his words by bouncing on his toes and chopping with his left hand. It will "probably," he said, "harm the battle effectiveness which is so vital to the survival of our young men and women in the military." ...
Sunday, December 19, 2010
If John McCain gets any more hostile toward his Senate colleagues, they might consider having him go through the metal detector before he enters the Capitol.
Saturday's debate on the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was only half an hour old when the Arizona Republican burst onto the floor from the cloakroom, hiked up his pants and stalked over to his friend Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Ignoring Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who had the floor, McCain hectored the men noisily for a few moments, waving his arms for emphasis.
When McCain finally stormed off, Durbin shook his head in exasperation and Lieberman smiled. A minute later, McCain returned - he had apparently remembered another element of his grievance - and resumed his harangue.
It turns out McCain's tempest was needlessly stirred - he had wanted more time for the debate, which the Democrats eventually gave him - but that was typical. It doesn't take much to set off McCain these days.
Earlier in the week, he was observed in the act of publicly gloating on the Senate floor over his success in killing a massive spending bill. He's also been raising hurdles to the ratification of the Obama administration's nuclear arms treaty with Russia. At the same time, he led the opposition Saturday to repealing the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military - taking on Lieberman, who led the other side.
McCain's statement on the floor was roughly one part argument, four parts tantrum. "So here we are about six weeks after an election that repudiated the agenda of the other side," he said, and those who would repeal don't-ask-don't-tell "are acting in direct repudiation of the message of the American people." (Actually, polls show support for repeal.)
He bemoaned "this bizarro world that the majority leader has been carrying us in," and taunted: "Maybe it will require another election." The Arizonan suggested that those who vote to repeal would have blood on their hands. "Don't think that it won't be at great cost," he said, punctuating his words by bouncing on his toes and chopping with his left hand. It will "probably," he said, "harm the battle effectiveness which is so vital to the survival of our young men and women in the military." ...
Dodgy dealings in tough year for whistleblowers
It's been a marvellous year for bullshit and pseudoscience
Ben Goldacre
17 December 2010
It's been a marvellous year for bullshit. We saw quantitative evidence showing that drug adverts aimed at doctors are routinely factually inaccurate, while pharmaceutical company ghostwriters were the secret hands behind letters to the Times, and a whole series of academic papers. We saw more drug companies and even regulators withholding evidence from doctors and patients that a drug was dangerous – the most important and neglected ethical issue in modern medicine — and that whistleblowers have a rubbish life.
Bias is everywhere. Academic papers from people who get money from tobacco companies are vastly more likely to say that cigarettes prevent Alzheimer's, and we saw the first good quantitative evidence describing how academics routinely mislead readers about their negative results in academic papers, by spinning them as positive. Dodgy facts aren't the only reason clever people believe stupid things, as demonstrated by a gale of research on irrationality. Superstitious rituals really do improve performance.
What women musicians wear affects listeners' assessment of their skill. Antibiotics don't work for a sore throat, but if you're prescribed them, you come away thinking they do. You can find mysterious alien patterns in ancient sites on a map of the UK, but you can find similar patterns in the locations of former Woolworths stores.
More chillingly, if a piece of information which reinforced your prejudices is corrected, this only reinforces your prejudices; and we think crimes are less serious, when they have more victims.
Newspapers continued to bravely make false claims about the efficacy of fish oils despite the negative trial data. There was the usual round of "Facebook spreads syphilis" that is barely worth still documenting, though the Sunday Times distortion of figures to claim the public sector pays more for the same job was particularly elaborate. ...
Hunters angry at ‘amateur’ Palin’s caribou shoot
Sarah Palin’s clumsy rifle handling and failure to shoot straight on TV mocked by ‘true hunters’
By Sophie Taylor
LAST UPDATED 11:53 AM, DECEMBER 7, 2010
Sarah Palin shot a caribou in the latest episode of her TV series - a move doubtless calculated to wind up as many limp-wristed liberal urbanites as possible. But she probably didn't expect the extraordinary criticism she has attracted from the hunting fraternity, many of whom think Palin has exposed herself as at best an amateur - and at worst a danger to other hunters.
A New York blogger showed the video, in which Palin misses a caribou four times before her father hands her another rifle and she finally hits the target, to some hunter friends - and they were distinctly unimpressed.
Among the hunters' criticisms are:
• Palin's father chooses a "varmint rifle" for the expedition, even though they are going caribou hunting. Why did Palin not question this choice?
• Palin fails to 'sight-in' her rifle before setting off on their hunting trip - a basic error which might help explain her four misses
• Palin doesn't carry her own rifle or load her own rounds - a point picked up by a commenter on her Facebook page, who feels this shows she isn't a "true hunter".
• Palin is clumsy with her rifle and doesn't look like she regularly handles one. A Facebook commenter points this out, mocking her for asking her dad, "does the rifle kick?"
"What kind of a question is that?" says the commenter. "Doesn't matter if it kicks or not you shoot it the same. That was a girly question, momma griz."
• When Palin is handed the second weapon, with which she finally bags her caribou, she immediately puts her finger on the trigger. As all hunters know, this is dangerous: one should only finger the trigger when one is ready to shoot. ...
Sarah Palin’s clumsy rifle handling and failure to shoot straight on TV mocked by ‘true hunters’
By Sophie Taylor
LAST UPDATED 11:53 AM, DECEMBER 7, 2010
Sarah Palin shot a caribou in the latest episode of her TV series - a move doubtless calculated to wind up as many limp-wristed liberal urbanites as possible. But she probably didn't expect the extraordinary criticism she has attracted from the hunting fraternity, many of whom think Palin has exposed herself as at best an amateur - and at worst a danger to other hunters.
A New York blogger showed the video, in which Palin misses a caribou four times before her father hands her another rifle and she finally hits the target, to some hunter friends - and they were distinctly unimpressed.
Among the hunters' criticisms are:
• Palin's father chooses a "varmint rifle" for the expedition, even though they are going caribou hunting. Why did Palin not question this choice?
• Palin fails to 'sight-in' her rifle before setting off on their hunting trip - a basic error which might help explain her four misses
• Palin doesn't carry her own rifle or load her own rounds - a point picked up by a commenter on her Facebook page, who feels this shows she isn't a "true hunter".
• Palin is clumsy with her rifle and doesn't look like she regularly handles one. A Facebook commenter points this out, mocking her for asking her dad, "does the rifle kick?"
"What kind of a question is that?" says the commenter. "Doesn't matter if it kicks or not you shoot it the same. That was a girly question, momma griz."
• When Palin is handed the second weapon, with which she finally bags her caribou, she immediately puts her finger on the trigger. As all hunters know, this is dangerous: one should only finger the trigger when one is ready to shoot. ...
Boffins from Southern California have caught YouPorn.com and 45 other sites pilfering visitors' surfing habits in what is believed to be the first study to measure in-the-wild exploits of a decade-old browser vulnerability.
YouPorn, which fancies itself the YouTube of smut, uses JavaScript to detect whether visitors have recently browsed to PornHub.com, tube8.com and 21 other sites, according to the study. It tracked the 50,000 most popular websites and found a total of 46 other offenders, including news sites charter.net and newsmax.com, finance site morningstar.com and sports site espnf1.com.
“We found that several popular sites – including an Alexa global top-100 site – make use of history sniffing to exfiltrate information about users' browsing history, and, in some cases, do so in an obfuscated manner to avoid easy detection,” the report states. “While researchers have known about the possibility of such attacks, hitherto it was not known how prevalent they are in real, popular websites.”
To cover its tracks, YouPorn encodes its JavaScript to hide the sites it searches for and decodes it only when used. Other websites dynamically generate the snoop code to prevent detection by simple inspection. Still others rely on third-party history-stealing libraries from services that include interclick.com and meaningtool.com. ...
... The 46 sites exploit a widely known vulnerability that currently exists in all production version browsers except...Apple's Safari, which earlier this year became the first major browser to insulate users against the threat. Google Chrome, which is based on the same Webkit engine, soon followed. Beta versions of Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer also fix the problem, but production versions of those browsers are still wide open.
The exploit works by using JavaScript to read cascading style sheet technologies included in virtually every browser...Developers have known of the weakness for a decade or more but until recently said it couldn't be easily repaired without removing core functionality.
The study also detected code on sites maintained by Microsoft, YouTube, Yahoo and About.com that perform what the scientists called “behavioral sniffing.” They employ JavaScript that covertly tracks mouse movements on a page to detect what a user does after visiting it. ...
YouPorn, which fancies itself the YouTube of smut, uses JavaScript to detect whether visitors have recently browsed to PornHub.com, tube8.com and 21 other sites, according to the study. It tracked the 50,000 most popular websites and found a total of 46 other offenders, including news sites charter.net and newsmax.com, finance site morningstar.com and sports site espnf1.com.
“We found that several popular sites – including an Alexa global top-100 site – make use of history sniffing to exfiltrate information about users' browsing history, and, in some cases, do so in an obfuscated manner to avoid easy detection,” the report states. “While researchers have known about the possibility of such attacks, hitherto it was not known how prevalent they are in real, popular websites.”
To cover its tracks, YouPorn encodes its JavaScript to hide the sites it searches for and decodes it only when used. Other websites dynamically generate the snoop code to prevent detection by simple inspection. Still others rely on third-party history-stealing libraries from services that include interclick.com and meaningtool.com. ...
... The 46 sites exploit a widely known vulnerability that currently exists in all production version browsers except...Apple's Safari, which earlier this year became the first major browser to insulate users against the threat. Google Chrome, which is based on the same Webkit engine, soon followed. Beta versions of Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer also fix the problem, but production versions of those browsers are still wide open.
The exploit works by using JavaScript to read cascading style sheet technologies included in virtually every browser...Developers have known of the weakness for a decade or more but until recently said it couldn't be easily repaired without removing core functionality.
The study also detected code on sites maintained by Microsoft, YouTube, Yahoo and About.com that perform what the scientists called “behavioral sniffing.” They employ JavaScript that covertly tracks mouse movements on a page to detect what a user does after visiting it. ...
The party of the rich, by the rich, for the rich
Never have Republican values been so brazenly apparent than in holding the unemployed to ransom for the Bush tax cuts
Paul Harris
Thursday 2 December 2010
Rarely has the true face of the modern Republican party in America been exposed so obviously.
Just a day after President Barack Obama met with Republican leaders and came out talking of a new era of co-operation, Republican senators united around Mitch McConnell to sign a letter declaring they would pass no legislation without movement on extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
That legislation they are willing to scupper includes extending unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans, still suffering the terrible hangover of the Great Recession. The tax cuts the Republicans are really fired up over will benefit only the top 2% of Americans.
To put it even more simply: Republican leaders are happy to go virtually on strike in order to win a tax cut worth billions of dollars for America's most wealthy people (which includes themselves and many of their top campaign donors). At the same time, they are willing to deny help to America's most vulnerable; standing by as once middle-class people lose their homes as their benefits disappear.
The hypocrisy is staggering and almost beyond belief. One of the arguments the Republicans continually use to justify cutting jobless benefits is that America cannot afford such largesse because it would inflate the deficit. Too bad, they say, but these are tough times and you just have to grit your teeth and take the pain to get the nation's fiscal house in order.
Yet, that very same deficit would also be massively boosted by saving Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy from expiry. That, however, does not seem to bother them. It's unfair, they howl, to raise anyone's taxes at such a time – failing to point out that "raising taxes" is very different from letting tax cuts expire on time (as they were designed to do, not by Obama, but by President George W Bush).
It is a staggering confidence trick that the Republicans are seeking to pull off. Except that most such con jobs at least vaguely try and disguise themselves. This one is being carried out in plain sight.
The Republicans are fond of using tough language about Obama. They call him an extremist and a socialist and a revolutionary. Well, perhaps some of that tone should be used back at them. This Republican strategy is not about politics. It is about class war: waged by the rich against the poor. ...
Never have Republican values been so brazenly apparent than in holding the unemployed to ransom for the Bush tax cuts
Paul Harris
Thursday 2 December 2010
Rarely has the true face of the modern Republican party in America been exposed so obviously.
Just a day after President Barack Obama met with Republican leaders and came out talking of a new era of co-operation, Republican senators united around Mitch McConnell to sign a letter declaring they would pass no legislation without movement on extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
That legislation they are willing to scupper includes extending unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans, still suffering the terrible hangover of the Great Recession. The tax cuts the Republicans are really fired up over will benefit only the top 2% of Americans.
To put it even more simply: Republican leaders are happy to go virtually on strike in order to win a tax cut worth billions of dollars for America's most wealthy people (which includes themselves and many of their top campaign donors). At the same time, they are willing to deny help to America's most vulnerable; standing by as once middle-class people lose their homes as their benefits disappear.
The hypocrisy is staggering and almost beyond belief. One of the arguments the Republicans continually use to justify cutting jobless benefits is that America cannot afford such largesse because it would inflate the deficit. Too bad, they say, but these are tough times and you just have to grit your teeth and take the pain to get the nation's fiscal house in order.
Yet, that very same deficit would also be massively boosted by saving Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy from expiry. That, however, does not seem to bother them. It's unfair, they howl, to raise anyone's taxes at such a time – failing to point out that "raising taxes" is very different from letting tax cuts expire on time (as they were designed to do, not by Obama, but by President George W Bush).
It is a staggering confidence trick that the Republicans are seeking to pull off. Except that most such con jobs at least vaguely try and disguise themselves. This one is being carried out in plain sight.
The Republicans are fond of using tough language about Obama. They call him an extremist and a socialist and a revolutionary. Well, perhaps some of that tone should be used back at them. This Republican strategy is not about politics. It is about class war: waged by the rich against the poor. ...
Internet backbone provider Level 3 Communications says that US cable outfit Comcast is demanding a recurring fee for transmitting internet movies and "other content" to Comcast customers who request the content, accusing the cable provider of violating the Federal Communications Commission's "net neutrality" principles. But Comcast says Level 3 is misrepresenting the negotiations between the two companies.
"Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity delivered content," reads a statement from Level 3 chief legal officer Thomas Stortz. "This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation's largest cable provider."
According to Storz's statement, Comcast first made its demand on November 19, and on November 22, Level 3 agreed to the terms "under protest, in order to ensure customers did not experience any disruptions."
Earlier this month, movie rental outfit Netflix announced that Level 3 will be the primary content delivery network provider for its internet-based streaming video service, which is available via PCs but is also embedded in various gaming consoles and TVs. ...
"Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity delivered content," reads a statement from Level 3 chief legal officer Thomas Stortz. "This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation's largest cable provider."
According to Storz's statement, Comcast first made its demand on November 19, and on November 22, Level 3 agreed to the terms "under protest, in order to ensure customers did not experience any disruptions."
Earlier this month, movie rental outfit Netflix announced that Level 3 will be the primary content delivery network provider for its internet-based streaming video service, which is available via PCs but is also embedded in various gaming consoles and TVs. ...
Revealed: Lib Dems planned before election to abandon tuition fees pledge
Exclusive: Documents show Nick Clegg's public claim was at odds with secret decision made by party in March
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent
Friday 12 November 2010
In addition to the party's manifesto pledge, Nick Clegg signed an NUS pledge in April to vote against any increase in tuition fees. Photograph: NUS press office
The Liberal Democrats were drawing up plans to abandon Nick Clegg's flagship policy to scrap university tuition fees two months before the general election, secret party documents reveal.
As the Lib Dem leader faces a growing revolt after this week's violent protest against fee rises, internal documents show the party was drawing up proposals for coalition negotiations which contrasted sharply with Clegg's public pronouncements.
A month before Clegg pledged in April to scrap the "dead weight of debt", a secret team of key Lib Dems made clear that, in the event of a hung parliament, the party would not waste political capital defending its manifesto pledge to abolish university tuition fees within six years.
In a document marked "confidential" and dated 16 March, the head of the secret pre-election coalition negotiating team, Danny Alexander, wrote: "On tuition fees we should seek agreement on part time students and leave the rest. We will have clear yellow water with the other [parties] on raising the tuition fee cap, so let us not cause ourselves more headaches."
The document is likely to fuel criticism among Lib Dem backbenchers and in the National Union of Students that the party courted the university vote in the full knowledge that its pledge would have to be abandoned as the party sought to achieve a foot in government. Within a month of the secret document, Clegg recorded a YouTube video for the annual NUS conference on 13 April in which he pledged to abolish fees within six years. ...
Exclusive: Documents show Nick Clegg's public claim was at odds with secret decision made by party in March
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent
Friday 12 November 2010
In addition to the party's manifesto pledge, Nick Clegg signed an NUS pledge in April to vote against any increase in tuition fees. Photograph: NUS press office
The Liberal Democrats were drawing up plans to abandon Nick Clegg's flagship policy to scrap university tuition fees two months before the general election, secret party documents reveal.
As the Lib Dem leader faces a growing revolt after this week's violent protest against fee rises, internal documents show the party was drawing up proposals for coalition negotiations which contrasted sharply with Clegg's public pronouncements.
A month before Clegg pledged in April to scrap the "dead weight of debt", a secret team of key Lib Dems made clear that, in the event of a hung parliament, the party would not waste political capital defending its manifesto pledge to abolish university tuition fees within six years.
In a document marked "confidential" and dated 16 March, the head of the secret pre-election coalition negotiating team, Danny Alexander, wrote: "On tuition fees we should seek agreement on part time students and leave the rest. We will have clear yellow water with the other [parties] on raising the tuition fee cap, so let us not cause ourselves more headaches."
The document is likely to fuel criticism among Lib Dem backbenchers and in the National Union of Students that the party courted the university vote in the full knowledge that its pledge would have to be abandoned as the party sought to achieve a foot in government. Within a month of the secret document, Clegg recorded a YouTube video for the annual NUS conference on 13 April in which he pledged to abolish fees within six years. ...
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan -- a nonprofit created to keep health costs affordable -- has tried to derail physical therapy programs designed to save auto giants Ford and Chrysler millions of dollars annually, according to a review of hundreds of pages of e-mails and internal documents produced in a lawsuit against Blue Cross.
Blue Cross, the state's largest health insurer, strongly denies the allegations.
Yet an Oakland County jury disagreed this summer, finding the insurer wrongfully interfered with physical therapy firm TheraMatrix's efforts to create a program for Chrysler. TheraMatrix was awarded $4.5 million. Blue Cross has appealed.
Now, antitrust investigators at the Michigan Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Justice Department are reviewing records in the case, along with other practices by the Blues. Competitors say Blue Cross is so powerful that it negotiates deals with hospitals others don't get -- driving up health costs to customers insured by other companies.
Together, these issues have put Michigan in a national spotlight.
The tale of Pontiac-based TheraMatrix's efforts to carve out a cost-saving physical therapy program for some of the nation's largest employers raises larger questions about whether relationships between insurers and hospitals are inflating the cost of health care and stifling competition critical to controlling costs under the nation's new health law.
"It's really an exposure of the entire health care situation in this state," said Robert Whitton, TheraMatrix's CEO.
As health care costs soared nationwide, a small Michigan firm gave Ford a proposal to cut its physical therapy costs. The automaker signed up for an instate pilot program, which was so successful Ford expanded it last year to cover about 390,000 employees, retirees and their families nationwide.
Yet the cost-saving program created by Pontiac-based TheraMatrix has come under attack from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Court records allege Blue Cross used its position as the state's dominant insurer to try to crush TheraMatrix as it worked also to sign up Chrysler and General Motors. A USA Today review of hundreds of pages of e-mails and internal documents that are part of a lawsuit TheraMatrix filed against Blue Cross indicates that TheraMatrix's efforts to carve out a niche market in managing outpatient physical therapy costs was seen as a threat by officials at Blue Cross and by some Michigan hospitals.
"They tried to destroy us," said Robert Whitton, a physical therapist who founded TheraMatrix in 1981. TheraMatrix has cut Ford's physical therapy costs by about half, Whitton says, saving millions of dollars annually. Under Blue Cross, Ford's costs averaged $745,000 a month just in Michigan, he said. "We shouldn't have been in this position for creating a program that helped save health care costs." ...
Blue Cross, the state's largest health insurer, strongly denies the allegations.
Yet an Oakland County jury disagreed this summer, finding the insurer wrongfully interfered with physical therapy firm TheraMatrix's efforts to create a program for Chrysler. TheraMatrix was awarded $4.5 million. Blue Cross has appealed.
Now, antitrust investigators at the Michigan Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Justice Department are reviewing records in the case, along with other practices by the Blues. Competitors say Blue Cross is so powerful that it negotiates deals with hospitals others don't get -- driving up health costs to customers insured by other companies.
Together, these issues have put Michigan in a national spotlight.
The tale of Pontiac-based TheraMatrix's efforts to carve out a cost-saving physical therapy program for some of the nation's largest employers raises larger questions about whether relationships between insurers and hospitals are inflating the cost of health care and stifling competition critical to controlling costs under the nation's new health law.
"It's really an exposure of the entire health care situation in this state," said Robert Whitton, TheraMatrix's CEO.
As health care costs soared nationwide, a small Michigan firm gave Ford a proposal to cut its physical therapy costs. The automaker signed up for an instate pilot program, which was so successful Ford expanded it last year to cover about 390,000 employees, retirees and their families nationwide.
Yet the cost-saving program created by Pontiac-based TheraMatrix has come under attack from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Court records allege Blue Cross used its position as the state's dominant insurer to try to crush TheraMatrix as it worked also to sign up Chrysler and General Motors. A USA Today review of hundreds of pages of e-mails and internal documents that are part of a lawsuit TheraMatrix filed against Blue Cross indicates that TheraMatrix's efforts to carve out a niche market in managing outpatient physical therapy costs was seen as a threat by officials at Blue Cross and by some Michigan hospitals.
"They tried to destroy us," said Robert Whitton, a physical therapist who founded TheraMatrix in 1981. TheraMatrix has cut Ford's physical therapy costs by about half, Whitton says, saving millions of dollars annually. Under Blue Cross, Ford's costs averaged $745,000 a month just in Michigan, he said. "We shouldn't have been in this position for creating a program that helped save health care costs." ...
David Cameron faced renewed pressure over his decision to retain Andy Coulson as his communications chief last night after the former tabloid editor was questioned by police over allegations of phone-hacking at the News of the World.
Labour raised the stakes when the party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said it was now time for the prime minister to take a detailed interest in the controversy, rather than brushing aside claims about one of his closest aides.
Downing Street confirmed that Coulson attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers voluntarily on Thursday and was interviewed as a witness. He was not cautioned or arrested.
Stoking a row that Cameron is desperate to close down, Harman said there were now questions to be answered. "The continued presence of Andy Coulson as director of communications at No 10 when question marks hang over him casts doubt over David Cameron's judgment," said Harman. "It is time he took this matter seriously."
Coulson was editor of the News of the World when its royal reporter, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages involving Princes William and Harry, but Coulson has always insisted he did not know about or authorise illegal activity.
A Metropolitan police inquiry was revived earlier this year following an investigation by the New York Times which alleged that the practice was more widespread at the Sunday paper than previously admitted.
A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: "Andy Coulson voluntarily attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers on Thursday morning at a solicitor's office in London. Mr Coulson – who first offered to meet the police two months ago – was interviewed as a witness and was not cautioned or arrested."
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "We do not discuss persons interviewed as potential witnesses." ...
Labour raised the stakes when the party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said it was now time for the prime minister to take a detailed interest in the controversy, rather than brushing aside claims about one of his closest aides.
Downing Street confirmed that Coulson attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers voluntarily on Thursday and was interviewed as a witness. He was not cautioned or arrested.
Stoking a row that Cameron is desperate to close down, Harman said there were now questions to be answered. "The continued presence of Andy Coulson as director of communications at No 10 when question marks hang over him casts doubt over David Cameron's judgment," said Harman. "It is time he took this matter seriously."
Coulson was editor of the News of the World when its royal reporter, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages involving Princes William and Harry, but Coulson has always insisted he did not know about or authorise illegal activity.
A Metropolitan police inquiry was revived earlier this year following an investigation by the New York Times which alleged that the practice was more widespread at the Sunday paper than previously admitted.
A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: "Andy Coulson voluntarily attended a meeting with Metropolitan police officers on Thursday morning at a solicitor's office in London. Mr Coulson – who first offered to meet the police two months ago – was interviewed as a witness and was not cautioned or arrested."
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "We do not discuss persons interviewed as potential witnesses." ...
Alcohol is the most dangerous drug in the UK by a considerable margin, beating heroin and crack cocaine into second and third place, according to an authoritative study published today which will reopen calls for the drugs classification system to be scrapped and a concerted campaign launched against drink.
Led by the sacked government drugs adviser David Nutt with colleagues from the breakaway Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, the study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
Today's paper, published by the respected Lancet medical journal, will be seen as a challenge to the government to take on the fraught issue of the relative harms of legal and illegal drugs, which proved politically damaging to Labour.
Nutt was sacked last year by the home secretary at the time, Alan Johnson, for challenging ministers' refusal to take the advice of the official Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which he chaired. The committee wanted cannabis to remain a class C drug and for ecstasy to be downgraded from class A, arguing that these were less harmful than other drugs. Nutt claimed scientific evidence was overruled for political reasons.
The new paper updates a study carried out by Nutt and others in 2007, which was also published by the Lancet and triggered debate for suggesting that legally available alcohol and tobacco were more dangerous than cannabis and LSD. ...
Consider this, girls and boys:
The study makes no mention of the dangers of prescription and over the counter drugs.
Led by the sacked government drugs adviser David Nutt with colleagues from the breakaway Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, the study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
Today's paper, published by the respected Lancet medical journal, will be seen as a challenge to the government to take on the fraught issue of the relative harms of legal and illegal drugs, which proved politically damaging to Labour.
Nutt was sacked last year by the home secretary at the time, Alan Johnson, for challenging ministers' refusal to take the advice of the official Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which he chaired. The committee wanted cannabis to remain a class C drug and for ecstasy to be downgraded from class A, arguing that these were less harmful than other drugs. Nutt claimed scientific evidence was overruled for political reasons.
The new paper updates a study carried out by Nutt and others in 2007, which was also published by the Lancet and triggered debate for suggesting that legally available alcohol and tobacco were more dangerous than cannabis and LSD. ...
Consider this, girls and boys:
The study makes no mention of the dangers of prescription and over the counter drugs.
Posted: Oct. 27, 2010
Kwame Kilpatrick's news of tossed city computer upsets judge
Computer, e-mails for Greene case gone
By TRESA BALDAS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Someone threw away ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city computer in the middle of his heated text-message scandal in 2008.
And a federal judge is demanding to know why.
"It's highly troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said at a hearing Tuesday after learning the computer was tossed seven months before Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008.
Of particular concern, said Whalen, who could sanction the city for spoiling evidence, is that e-mails potentially relevant to several lawsuits have been wiped out.
Whalen's comments came during an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, a slain stripper said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the Manoogian Mansion. The family is suing the city and Kilpatrick, claiming authorities sabotaged the murder investigation to shield the killers.
Gary Hermanson, an attorney for the family, argued that the city has dragged its feet in producing e-mails for Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff and lover, Christine Beatty.
City attorney John Schapka, in explaining why the city doesn't have the e-mails, disclosed that computer hard drives belonging to Kilpatrick and Beatty were thrown away and replaced in February 2008. Any deleted e-mails would have been electronically shredded by the main server to free up space, he said.
Whalen was miffed as to why "nobody archived anything," given the litigation the city has faced involving Kilpatrick's and Beatty's electronic communications.
"The relevance and potential role seems really obvious to me," he said.
Whalen ordered Hermanson to submit a brief within two weeks addressing the handling of evidence. The city will get two weeks to respond. ...
Kwame Kilpatrick's news of tossed city computer upsets judge
Computer, e-mails for Greene case gone
By TRESA BALDAS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Someone threw away ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city computer in the middle of his heated text-message scandal in 2008.
And a federal judge is demanding to know why.
"It's highly troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said at a hearing Tuesday after learning the computer was tossed seven months before Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008.
Of particular concern, said Whalen, who could sanction the city for spoiling evidence, is that e-mails potentially relevant to several lawsuits have been wiped out.
Whalen's comments came during an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, a slain stripper said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the Manoogian Mansion. The family is suing the city and Kilpatrick, claiming authorities sabotaged the murder investigation to shield the killers.
Gary Hermanson, an attorney for the family, argued that the city has dragged its feet in producing e-mails for Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff and lover, Christine Beatty.
City attorney John Schapka, in explaining why the city doesn't have the e-mails, disclosed that computer hard drives belonging to Kilpatrick and Beatty were thrown away and replaced in February 2008. Any deleted e-mails would have been electronically shredded by the main server to free up space, he said.
Whalen was miffed as to why "nobody archived anything," given the litigation the city has faced involving Kilpatrick's and Beatty's electronic communications.
"The relevance and potential role seems really obvious to me," he said.
Whalen ordered Hermanson to submit a brief within two weeks addressing the handling of evidence. The city will get two weeks to respond. ...
The Ministry of Defence is under pressure to release all of its evidence to an independent inquiry into the death of an Iraqi detainee in British custody after it emerged that military interrogators were still being trained to mistreat prisoners after the 2003 incident.
Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker, died in the custody of British soldiers in September 2003 after he and other detainees were abused and beaten.
However the Guardian reported yesterday that training materials drawn up secretly between 2005 and 2008 tell interrogators to try to provoke humiliation, insecurity, disorientation, exhaustion, anxiety and fear in the prisoners they are questioning, and suggest ways in which this could be achieved.
It revealed that one PowerPoint demonstration created in September 2005 suggested that prisoners should be stripped before they were questioned. "Get them naked," the training aid said. "Keep them naked if they do not follow commands." A manual prepared in April 2008 suggests that "Cpers" – captured personnel – be kept in conditions of physical discomfort and intimidated.
"The only sensible MoD response to these humiliating PowerPoint revelations is full and frank disclosure without delay," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty. "The department had to be dragged through the courts before it conceded an inquiry into Baha Mousa's death. Let's hope that saner counsel will prevail this time," she said.
The MoD declined to shed light on the reports, saying that the Guardian story "draws upon material provided to the Baha Mousa public inquiry by the MoD".
The manuals, which appear to breach the Geneva Conventions and human rights laws, were drawn up by the combined military intelligence headquarters in Chicksands in Bedfordshire and were described as an "Introduction to Interrogation and Tactical Questioning". ...
Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker, died in the custody of British soldiers in September 2003 after he and other detainees were abused and beaten.
However the Guardian reported yesterday that training materials drawn up secretly between 2005 and 2008 tell interrogators to try to provoke humiliation, insecurity, disorientation, exhaustion, anxiety and fear in the prisoners they are questioning, and suggest ways in which this could be achieved.
It revealed that one PowerPoint demonstration created in September 2005 suggested that prisoners should be stripped before they were questioned. "Get them naked," the training aid said. "Keep them naked if they do not follow commands." A manual prepared in April 2008 suggests that "Cpers" – captured personnel – be kept in conditions of physical discomfort and intimidated.
"The only sensible MoD response to these humiliating PowerPoint revelations is full and frank disclosure without delay," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty. "The department had to be dragged through the courts before it conceded an inquiry into Baha Mousa's death. Let's hope that saner counsel will prevail this time," she said.
The MoD declined to shed light on the reports, saying that the Guardian story "draws upon material provided to the Baha Mousa public inquiry by the MoD".
The manuals, which appear to breach the Geneva Conventions and human rights laws, were drawn up by the combined military intelligence headquarters in Chicksands in Bedfordshire and were described as an "Introduction to Interrogation and Tactical Questioning". ...
Facebook pages very much public, even when set as private
Privacy theatre
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
25th October 2010
Facebook settings that are supposed to cloak user profiles can easily be bypassed to reveal the friends, pictures, and other attributes of users who have configured their accounts to be private.
The inability to keep profile pages private would seem to contradict Facebook's promise that "The settings you choose control which people and applications can see your information." In fact, profiles configured to be private remain viewable when manually browsing through the pages of users who are friends.
“My problem with this issue is actually how I found the bug,” said Justin E. Dian, a software developer who brought the setting bypass to the attention of The Register. “People I didn't want requesting me as friends kept somehow finding me and requesting friendship. I keep my Facebook security settings pretty much as tight as possible and I soon realized this is how they were finding me.”
The privacy settings were put in place following outcries that Facebook accounts spilled users' birthdates, friends, home towns, current location, and other information that could jeopardize their privacy. The new settings made it possible to share specific details with the world at large, a user's Facebook friends, friends of friends, or no one at all.
A Facebook spokesman said certain information, including the URL to the user's profile page, the user's picture, sex, and networks remain public no matter what settings are chosen. [Ed. Note: Italics mine.]
“You can make it harder for people to find your profile in searches, but people may still be able to get to it in other ways (e.g., if they know your vanity URL or navigate there through a friend list or News Feed story),” the spokesman said. “The basic information that allows friends to find and connect with people is available to everyone and has no privacy settings.”
The spokesman didn't respond to repeated questions asking whether Facebook had plans to change the settings so the information was no longer public.
Profiles that have been designated as private are viewable when browsing a list of friends that includes the profile. These lists can be made available to the world at large, or to friends or friends of friends of the user. The lists include the profiles of all of the user's friends, even when they've told Facebook to keep information — including their friends — private.
The arrangement means that it's impossible to keep a Facebook profile completely private if it includes even a single friend whose friend list is accessible to others.
Dian said it probably wouldn't be hard to create a script that browses and records all of a user's friends of friends and then recursively browses and records each friend's friends who have lists set to be viewable by everyone or friends of friends. Search-engine spiders build detailed repositories of links in much the same fashion.
“Doing this, you could quickly create a very large database of people and have, at the least, the following information on all of these people, no matter their security settings: name, profile picture, networks and sex,” Dian said. “So in essence, while Facebook offers you security settings to only be searchable by your friends, it would be very easy for someone you are not friends with to have access to the previous information.”
Interestingly, using a name search to identify someone's friends won't list profiles that have been set to be private. But the same profiles continue to show up when you manually view the friends list. That means Facebook is technically correct that private profiles aren't searchable, even though they are in many cases easily found. ®
Privacy theatre
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
25th October 2010
Facebook settings that are supposed to cloak user profiles can easily be bypassed to reveal the friends, pictures, and other attributes of users who have configured their accounts to be private.
The inability to keep profile pages private would seem to contradict Facebook's promise that "The settings you choose control which people and applications can see your information." In fact, profiles configured to be private remain viewable when manually browsing through the pages of users who are friends.
“My problem with this issue is actually how I found the bug,” said Justin E. Dian, a software developer who brought the setting bypass to the attention of The Register. “People I didn't want requesting me as friends kept somehow finding me and requesting friendship. I keep my Facebook security settings pretty much as tight as possible and I soon realized this is how they were finding me.”
The privacy settings were put in place following outcries that Facebook accounts spilled users' birthdates, friends, home towns, current location, and other information that could jeopardize their privacy. The new settings made it possible to share specific details with the world at large, a user's Facebook friends, friends of friends, or no one at all.
A Facebook spokesman said certain information, including the URL to the user's profile page, the user's picture, sex, and networks remain public no matter what settings are chosen. [Ed. Note: Italics mine.]
“You can make it harder for people to find your profile in searches, but people may still be able to get to it in other ways (e.g., if they know your vanity URL or navigate there through a friend list or News Feed story),” the spokesman said. “The basic information that allows friends to find and connect with people is available to everyone and has no privacy settings.”
The spokesman didn't respond to repeated questions asking whether Facebook had plans to change the settings so the information was no longer public.
Profiles that have been designated as private are viewable when browsing a list of friends that includes the profile. These lists can be made available to the world at large, or to friends or friends of friends of the user. The lists include the profiles of all of the user's friends, even when they've told Facebook to keep information — including their friends — private.
The arrangement means that it's impossible to keep a Facebook profile completely private if it includes even a single friend whose friend list is accessible to others.
Dian said it probably wouldn't be hard to create a script that browses and records all of a user's friends of friends and then recursively browses and records each friend's friends who have lists set to be viewable by everyone or friends of friends. Search-engine spiders build detailed repositories of links in much the same fashion.
“Doing this, you could quickly create a very large database of people and have, at the least, the following information on all of these people, no matter their security settings: name, profile picture, networks and sex,” Dian said. “So in essence, while Facebook offers you security settings to only be searchable by your friends, it would be very easy for someone you are not friends with to have access to the previous information.”
Interestingly, using a name search to identify someone's friends won't list profiles that have been set to be private. But the same profiles continue to show up when you manually view the friends list. That means Facebook is technically correct that private profiles aren't searchable, even though they are in many cases easily found. ®
Facebook gets poked in latest privacy gaffe
'No personal details were used. But we're changing our tech anyway... bitch'
By Kelly Fiveash
Posted in ID, 18th October 2010
Facebook’s privacy rules aren’t as watertight as the company would have its users believe, after the Wall Street Journal uncovered that some of the social network’s most popular apps have siphoned off personal information to ad firms and internet tracking outfits.
According to the report, many Facebook apps have transmitted identifiable details about individual users to around 25 companies, in effect breaking the terms laid down by the Mark Zuckerberg-run website.
The privacy breach, which gives advertising and internet tracking firms access to people’s names, affects a huge number of Facebook app users.
Worse still, the newspaper found that users whose profiles have rigorous privacy settings have also had their details exposed.
It said that the 10 most popular Facebook apps, including Farmville and Texas HoldEm Poker, were transmitting users’ IDs to external firms.
Game Network Inc’s Farmville was found to also be transmitting personal details about a user’s Facebook "friends" to advertisers and internet tracking companies.
Facebook, which claims to have around 500 million users of its service, told the WSJ that the social network would bring in new tech to close the breach.
One company, RapLeaf Inc, was found to have linked Facebook ID details taken from apps to its own database of internet users, which it sells on to companies.
RapLeaf insisted that the transmission of data hadn’t been intentional.
“We didn’t do it on purpose,” the company’s biz development veep Joel Jewitt told the newspaper.
The Register asked Facebook to comment on the story. It gave us this statement:
As part of our work to provide people with control over their information, we've learned that the design and operation of the Internet doesn't always provide the greatest control that is technically possible.
"For example, in the Spring, it was brought to our attention that Facebook user IDs may be inadvertently included in the URL referrer sent to advertisers.
Here, WSJ has uncovered the same issue on Facebook Platform, where a Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user's internet browser or by an application delivering content to a user.
While knowledge of user ID does not permit access to anyone's private information on Facebook, we plan to introduce new technical systems that will dramatically limit the sharing of User ID's [sic].
This is an even more complicated technical challenge than the similar issue we successfully addressed last spring, but one that we are committed to addressing. Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information.
It is important to note that there is no evidence that any personal information was misused or even collected as a result of this issue. In fact, all of the companies questioned about this issue said publicly that they did not use the user IDs or did not use them to obtain personal info.
Which leaves us wondering whether Facebook may have been aware of the flaw in its technology prior to the WSJ report, but just hadn't got around to closing the door on that particular privacy leak yet.
Note also that Facebook has tried to distance itself from any implication that personal information could have been used by any one of the 25 companies to which the apps transmitted the data.
The company put out a separate statement to its third-party developers that was part finger-wagging, and partly an assertion that the press had exaggerated the implications of sharing a UID.
In effect, the company is trying to downplay the whole sorry affair. The only trouble is that by admitting it needs to fix its technology to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, Facebook just got poked. And not in a good way. ®
'No personal details were used. But we're changing our tech anyway... bitch'
By Kelly Fiveash
Posted in ID, 18th October 2010
Facebook’s privacy rules aren’t as watertight as the company would have its users believe, after the Wall Street Journal uncovered that some of the social network’s most popular apps have siphoned off personal information to ad firms and internet tracking outfits.
According to the report, many Facebook apps have transmitted identifiable details about individual users to around 25 companies, in effect breaking the terms laid down by the Mark Zuckerberg-run website.
The privacy breach, which gives advertising and internet tracking firms access to people’s names, affects a huge number of Facebook app users.
Worse still, the newspaper found that users whose profiles have rigorous privacy settings have also had their details exposed.
It said that the 10 most popular Facebook apps, including Farmville and Texas HoldEm Poker, were transmitting users’ IDs to external firms.
Game Network Inc’s Farmville was found to also be transmitting personal details about a user’s Facebook "friends" to advertisers and internet tracking companies.
Facebook, which claims to have around 500 million users of its service, told the WSJ that the social network would bring in new tech to close the breach.
One company, RapLeaf Inc, was found to have linked Facebook ID details taken from apps to its own database of internet users, which it sells on to companies.
RapLeaf insisted that the transmission of data hadn’t been intentional.
“We didn’t do it on purpose,” the company’s biz development veep Joel Jewitt told the newspaper.
The Register asked Facebook to comment on the story. It gave us this statement:
As part of our work to provide people with control over their information, we've learned that the design and operation of the Internet doesn't always provide the greatest control that is technically possible.
"For example, in the Spring, it was brought to our attention that Facebook user IDs may be inadvertently included in the URL referrer sent to advertisers.
Here, WSJ has uncovered the same issue on Facebook Platform, where a Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user's internet browser or by an application delivering content to a user.
While knowledge of user ID does not permit access to anyone's private information on Facebook, we plan to introduce new technical systems that will dramatically limit the sharing of User ID's [sic].
This is an even more complicated technical challenge than the similar issue we successfully addressed last spring, but one that we are committed to addressing. Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information.
It is important to note that there is no evidence that any personal information was misused or even collected as a result of this issue. In fact, all of the companies questioned about this issue said publicly that they did not use the user IDs or did not use them to obtain personal info.
Which leaves us wondering whether Facebook may have been aware of the flaw in its technology prior to the WSJ report, but just hadn't got around to closing the door on that particular privacy leak yet.
Note also that Facebook has tried to distance itself from any implication that personal information could have been used by any one of the 25 companies to which the apps transmitted the data.
The company put out a separate statement to its third-party developers that was part finger-wagging, and partly an assertion that the press had exaggerated the implications of sharing a UID.
In effect, the company is trying to downplay the whole sorry affair. The only trouble is that by admitting it needs to fix its technology to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, Facebook just got poked. And not in a good way. ®
Oh no they didn't: China accused of releasing killer as Nobel backlash continues
Robert Foyle
October 19, 2010
Is China going through its own Kübler-Ross process - otherwise known as the Five Stages of Grief - regarding its unwanted Nobel Peace Prize?
We’ve seen a brief flirtation with denial, in the form of a media blackout: that lasted a day or so. What’s followed has been a seemingly endless stream of fuming editorials, dodgy polls and pissy governmental statements.
If we’re lucky, we can look forward to an extended period of depression - Politburo members listening to Leonard Cohen, Foreign Ministry officials responding to questions about US-South Korean naval drills with listless shrugs etc. Less likely, though, is acceptance; that might take a while - a century or so - given that that they still haven’t gotten over the Opium Wars, the Japanese occupation or, God forbid, the Dalai Lama’s Peace Prize.
But if you thought that Beijing’s retaliatory measures merely extended to cancelled fisheries meetings and some (yet-to-be-announced but inevitable) visa difficulties for Norwegian students and businessmen, think again… maybe.
According to reports circulating in Scandinavian media, officials have recently released a suspect Chinese national accused of murdering his Norwegian girlfriend, a surprise move some now suggest may be connected to the Liu Xiaobo controversy.
Foreign student Zhao Fei, 26, was arrested in China after apparently fleeing Hungary last month, where the body of his 21-year-old Norwegian girlfriend, Pernille Marie Thronsen, was discovered stabbed to death in Budapest August 30th. Hungarian police issued an arrest warrant on September 1st , naming Zhao as the sole suspect. A remorseful Zhaon is later said to have turned himself into Chinese cops, and reportedly confessed to the deed.
Yet in a rare (and ironic) display of legal compliance, China has since released Zhao, claiming it cannot hold a suspect longer than 30 days without evidence; Hungarian authorities are unwilling to supply the necessary evidence due to China’s death penalty, a move the Pernille family are said to sympathize with.
Norwegian Foreign Ministry Ragnhild Imerslund has denied the two incidents are in any way linked, telling Norwegian Broadcasting that Zhao was released before the Liu announcement and the government is content with China’s jurisprudence in this case.
Who cannot commend China’s sudden passionate adherence to the constitutional rule of law? Supporters of Liu probably wish it weren’t quite so schizophrenic. Yet the fact that the link is being made is less an example of people just believing anything you say about China - albeit there are plenty of those around - more that China’s global stage presence has over the last year or so has shrunken the credibility gap by ten years.
Ever since Premier Wen personally blanked President Obama (and possibly helped wreck Copenhagen), China has been the dick in the room, alternated between swaggering and petulant, with the occasional self-flagellating cry of “We’re still developing!” Indelicate? Whether they are ignoring North Korean complicity in the Cheonan tragedy, declaring the entire South China Sea suddenly sovereign Chinese territory or flouting international trade law by embargoing rare earth exports to Japan (while, of course, denying it), the prevailing attitude emanating from Zhongnanhai could diplomatically be described as bullish. Others might prefer hawkish, or simply hubristic.
Publicly alienating South Korea, all but wrecking a decade plus of ASEAN diplomacy, driving Japan and Vietnam into the US’s embrace and locking up pretty much everybody connected with human rights because they won the wrong Nobel are surely not examples of reasoned, respectable governance befitting a leading world power.
If nothing else, such acts, coupled with the country’s infamous lack of transparency, give credibility to all kind of damaging rumors - like thinking that China would release a murderer just because he killed the right foreign national. People are once again starting to believe anything about China - and how can that be good for Beijing?
Yet let’s not forget the most important thing about this sorry tale: are we really to expect that Pernille Thronsen and her family will be forever denied justice because of a Chinese legal loophole? That surely would be the hardest story of all to believe.
Robert Foyle
October 19, 2010
Is China going through its own Kübler-Ross process - otherwise known as the Five Stages of Grief - regarding its unwanted Nobel Peace Prize?
We’ve seen a brief flirtation with denial, in the form of a media blackout: that lasted a day or so. What’s followed has been a seemingly endless stream of fuming editorials, dodgy polls and pissy governmental statements.
If we’re lucky, we can look forward to an extended period of depression - Politburo members listening to Leonard Cohen, Foreign Ministry officials responding to questions about US-South Korean naval drills with listless shrugs etc. Less likely, though, is acceptance; that might take a while - a century or so - given that that they still haven’t gotten over the Opium Wars, the Japanese occupation or, God forbid, the Dalai Lama’s Peace Prize.
But if you thought that Beijing’s retaliatory measures merely extended to cancelled fisheries meetings and some (yet-to-be-announced but inevitable) visa difficulties for Norwegian students and businessmen, think again… maybe.
According to reports circulating in Scandinavian media, officials have recently released a suspect Chinese national accused of murdering his Norwegian girlfriend, a surprise move some now suggest may be connected to the Liu Xiaobo controversy.
Foreign student Zhao Fei, 26, was arrested in China after apparently fleeing Hungary last month, where the body of his 21-year-old Norwegian girlfriend, Pernille Marie Thronsen, was discovered stabbed to death in Budapest August 30th. Hungarian police issued an arrest warrant on September 1st , naming Zhao as the sole suspect. A remorseful Zhaon is later said to have turned himself into Chinese cops, and reportedly confessed to the deed.
Yet in a rare (and ironic) display of legal compliance, China has since released Zhao, claiming it cannot hold a suspect longer than 30 days without evidence; Hungarian authorities are unwilling to supply the necessary evidence due to China’s death penalty, a move the Pernille family are said to sympathize with.
Norwegian Foreign Ministry Ragnhild Imerslund has denied the two incidents are in any way linked, telling Norwegian Broadcasting that Zhao was released before the Liu announcement and the government is content with China’s jurisprudence in this case.
Who cannot commend China’s sudden passionate adherence to the constitutional rule of law? Supporters of Liu probably wish it weren’t quite so schizophrenic. Yet the fact that the link is being made is less an example of people just believing anything you say about China - albeit there are plenty of those around - more that China’s global stage presence has over the last year or so has shrunken the credibility gap by ten years.
Ever since Premier Wen personally blanked President Obama (and possibly helped wreck Copenhagen), China has been the dick in the room, alternated between swaggering and petulant, with the occasional self-flagellating cry of “We’re still developing!” Indelicate? Whether they are ignoring North Korean complicity in the Cheonan tragedy, declaring the entire South China Sea suddenly sovereign Chinese territory or flouting international trade law by embargoing rare earth exports to Japan (while, of course, denying it), the prevailing attitude emanating from Zhongnanhai could diplomatically be described as bullish. Others might prefer hawkish, or simply hubristic.
Publicly alienating South Korea, all but wrecking a decade plus of ASEAN diplomacy, driving Japan and Vietnam into the US’s embrace and locking up pretty much everybody connected with human rights because they won the wrong Nobel are surely not examples of reasoned, respectable governance befitting a leading world power.
If nothing else, such acts, coupled with the country’s infamous lack of transparency, give credibility to all kind of damaging rumors - like thinking that China would release a murderer just because he killed the right foreign national. People are once again starting to believe anything about China - and how can that be good for Beijing?
Yet let’s not forget the most important thing about this sorry tale: are we really to expect that Pernille Thronsen and her family will be forever denied justice because of a Chinese legal loophole? That surely would be the hardest story of all to believe.
US Attorney General calls for release of China Nobel winner
19 Oct 2010
(AFP
HONG KONG — US Attorney General Eric Holder called Tuesday for the release of detained Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, ahead of a visit to Beijing this week.
Liu, 54, is the co-author of Charter 08, a petition calling for democratic reforms in one-party China that has been circulated on the Internet and signed by thousands of people.
He was jailed last December for 11 years for subversion, and the award of the Nobel prize earlier this month provoked furious denunciations from Beijing.
Speaking in Hong Kong ahead of a two-day visit to China starting Wednesday, Holder said: "The case of Liu Xiaobo is an unfortunate one given his status and his recognition by the Nobel committee.
"I think it's incumbent upon the Chinese government to react in an appropriate way and consistent with its international treaty obligations and to release him."
He said he was "not at all certain" that he would raise the issue in Beijing during his visit, but added that "President (Barack) Obama, Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton (and) I have all made clear what the United States view is of his treatment."
Liu is only the third Nobel laureate to have been awarded the prize while in prison, and Holder is the most senior member of the Obama administration to visit China since the announcement.
Liu's wife, Liu Xia, who is currently under house arrest in Beijing, was allowed to visit the writer and political activist two days after he was awarded the prize.
During the visit, a tearful Liu said he wished to dedicate the Nobel prize to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
The former university professor helped negotiate the safe exit from Tiananmen Square of thousands of student demonstrators before tanks crushed the six weeks of peaceful protests in the heart of Beijing.
China's communist government has repeatedly lashed out at the award, condemning it as an "obscenity", a violation of the Nobel principles, and saying it is tantamount to "encouraging crime".
19 Oct 2010
(AFP
HONG KONG — US Attorney General Eric Holder called Tuesday for the release of detained Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, ahead of a visit to Beijing this week.
Liu, 54, is the co-author of Charter 08, a petition calling for democratic reforms in one-party China that has been circulated on the Internet and signed by thousands of people.
He was jailed last December for 11 years for subversion, and the award of the Nobel prize earlier this month provoked furious denunciations from Beijing.
Speaking in Hong Kong ahead of a two-day visit to China starting Wednesday, Holder said: "The case of Liu Xiaobo is an unfortunate one given his status and his recognition by the Nobel committee.
"I think it's incumbent upon the Chinese government to react in an appropriate way and consistent with its international treaty obligations and to release him."
He said he was "not at all certain" that he would raise the issue in Beijing during his visit, but added that "President (Barack) Obama, Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton (and) I have all made clear what the United States view is of his treatment."
Liu is only the third Nobel laureate to have been awarded the prize while in prison, and Holder is the most senior member of the Obama administration to visit China since the announcement.
Liu's wife, Liu Xia, who is currently under house arrest in Beijing, was allowed to visit the writer and political activist two days after he was awarded the prize.
During the visit, a tearful Liu said he wished to dedicate the Nobel prize to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
The former university professor helped negotiate the safe exit from Tiananmen Square of thousands of student demonstrators before tanks crushed the six weeks of peaceful protests in the heart of Beijing.
China's communist government has repeatedly lashed out at the award, condemning it as an "obscenity", a violation of the Nobel principles, and saying it is tantamount to "encouraging crime".
China promises help over shooting of Zambian miners
Bill Smith
Oct 19, 2010
Beijing - China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday promised to cooperate with Zambian authorities over the shooting of a group of Zambian miners by Chinese coal mine managers.
'The Chinese embassy in Zambia has taken timely measures to cope with the incident, such as to direct relevant companies to properly handle disputes and to visit the victims and their family,' ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.
Ma said the problem at the Chinese Collum Coal Mine was 'largely resolved' but he said the Chinese government would continue 'cooperating closely with Zambia.'
Zambian police arrested two Chinese mine managers on Monday after they 'accidentally wounded some Zambian miners during a clash sparked by disputes over working conditions' at the mine in the southern town of Sinazongwe, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The Zambian news website zambianwatchdog.com said 10 miners and one bystander were injured in the clash at the Chinese-run coal mine last week.
The miners had been 'presenting their grievances of poor working conditions' to the managers, Zambian Watchdog said.
Local residents protested and blocked the main road to the mine after the shooting, it said.
Bill Smith
Oct 19, 2010
Beijing - China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday promised to cooperate with Zambian authorities over the shooting of a group of Zambian miners by Chinese coal mine managers.
'The Chinese embassy in Zambia has taken timely measures to cope with the incident, such as to direct relevant companies to properly handle disputes and to visit the victims and their family,' ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.
Ma said the problem at the Chinese Collum Coal Mine was 'largely resolved' but he said the Chinese government would continue 'cooperating closely with Zambia.'
Zambian police arrested two Chinese mine managers on Monday after they 'accidentally wounded some Zambian miners during a clash sparked by disputes over working conditions' at the mine in the southern town of Sinazongwe, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The Zambian news website zambianwatchdog.com said 10 miners and one bystander were injured in the clash at the Chinese-run coal mine last week.
The miners had been 'presenting their grievances of poor working conditions' to the managers, Zambian Watchdog said.
Local residents protested and blocked the main road to the mine after the shooting, it said.
Chinese managers 'mistakenly hurt' Zambian miners: China
Oct 19 2010
China said the managers of a Chinese private company in Zambia 'mistakenly hurt' 12 coal miners protesting the poor working conditions prevailing in the pits.
Asked about reports that Chinese managers shot and wounded 12 Zambian workers at a coal mine on October 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Chinese managers mistakenly hurt several local workers.
Both the government took serious note of the incidents and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has directed the local company to 'properly' handle the dispute with visits to the injured and their families.
The situation was brought under control with joint efforts of Chinese and Zambian governments.
The Chinese government will continue close cooperation with the Zambian government and continue close cooperation and properly handle aftermath and safeguard the safety and legitimate interest of Chinese personnel, he said.
Reports from Zambia said two Chinese managers who allegedly shot and wounded 12 miners protesting against poor working conditions at a Chinese run coal-mine have been arrested.
Oct 19 2010
China said the managers of a Chinese private company in Zambia 'mistakenly hurt' 12 coal miners protesting the poor working conditions prevailing in the pits.
Asked about reports that Chinese managers shot and wounded 12 Zambian workers at a coal mine on October 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Chinese managers mistakenly hurt several local workers.
Both the government took serious note of the incidents and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has directed the local company to 'properly' handle the dispute with visits to the injured and their families.
The situation was brought under control with joint efforts of Chinese and Zambian governments.
The Chinese government will continue close cooperation with the Zambian government and continue close cooperation and properly handle aftermath and safeguard the safety and legitimate interest of Chinese personnel, he said.
Reports from Zambia said two Chinese managers who allegedly shot and wounded 12 miners protesting against poor working conditions at a Chinese run coal-mine have been arrested.
Chinese anger at 37 coal mine deaths
Thirty seven miners trapped after an explosion at a Chinese coal mine have been confirmed dead, prompting comparisons to the Chilean mine rescue and triggering anger at China's inability to ensure mine safety.
Thirty seven miners trapped after an explosion at a Chinese coal mine have been confirmed dead, prompting comparisons to the Chilean mine rescue and triggering anger at China's inability to ensure mine safety.
Street View spies a €2.4m fine
Spanish Data Protection Agency thinks Google would look nice in a lawsuit
By Lester Haines
19th October 2010
The Spanish Agencia de Protección de Datos (Data Protection Agency) is demanding Street View be brought to book over its clandestine Wi-Fi slurping activities.
The agency has requested a Madrid judge consider whether Google is guilty of two counts of "collecting and storing data without the owner's consent", and two counts of "recording protected data without legal permission and without the owner's agreement".
The agency said that it believes data on the location of Wi-Fi networks, along with the identification of their owners, and personal data including names and surnames, users names and or passwords was captured by Google. Read more here.
The offences each carry a maximum fine of €300,506 and €601,012 respectively. Google also stands accused of illegally transferring the data to the United States, and could be looking at a total hit of €2,404,048 - if the court decides to impose the maximum sanction.
Google handed over the offending data to the authorities back in July, El País notes. The Data Protection Agency's director, Artemi Rallo, quantified it as 13 gigabytes, equivalent to "6,590 copies of Don Quixote".*
In August, Spain's snappily-titled Asociación para la Prevención y Estudio de Delitos, Abusos y Negligencias en Informática y Comunicaciones Avanzadas (Association for the Prevention and Investigation of Crime, Abuse and Malpractice in Information Technology and Advanced Communications), hit Google with a similar legal action.
The case is still pending, with Google's legal representative in Spain expected in court to answer the charges.
A Google spokesman said back in August: "We're working in every country with the authorities and legal bodies to answer any questions they may have. Our final aim is to delete the data according to our legal obligations and in consultation with the relevant authorities." ®
Bootnote
*An agreeable new data standard, we're sure you'll agree.
Spanish Data Protection Agency thinks Google would look nice in a lawsuit
By Lester Haines
19th October 2010
The Spanish Agencia de Protección de Datos (Data Protection Agency) is demanding Street View be brought to book over its clandestine Wi-Fi slurping activities.
The agency has requested a Madrid judge consider whether Google is guilty of two counts of "collecting and storing data without the owner's consent", and two counts of "recording protected data without legal permission and without the owner's agreement".
The agency said that it believes data on the location of Wi-Fi networks, along with the identification of their owners, and personal data including names and surnames, users names and or passwords was captured by Google. Read more here.
The offences each carry a maximum fine of €300,506 and €601,012 respectively. Google also stands accused of illegally transferring the data to the United States, and could be looking at a total hit of €2,404,048 - if the court decides to impose the maximum sanction.
Google handed over the offending data to the authorities back in July, El País notes. The Data Protection Agency's director, Artemi Rallo, quantified it as 13 gigabytes, equivalent to "6,590 copies of Don Quixote".*
In August, Spain's snappily-titled Asociación para la Prevención y Estudio de Delitos, Abusos y Negligencias en Informática y Comunicaciones Avanzadas (Association for the Prevention and Investigation of Crime, Abuse and Malpractice in Information Technology and Advanced Communications), hit Google with a similar legal action.
The case is still pending, with Google's legal representative in Spain expected in court to answer the charges.
A Google spokesman said back in August: "We're working in every country with the authorities and legal bodies to answer any questions they may have. Our final aim is to delete the data according to our legal obligations and in consultation with the relevant authorities." ®
Bootnote
*An agreeable new data standard, we're sure you'll agree.
What a scientist didn't tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths
By Katherine Eban, contributor
October 8, 2010
FORTUNE -- Few ecological disasters have been as confounding as the massive and devastating die-off of the world's honeybees. The phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) -- in which disoriented honeybees die far from their hives -- has kept scientists, beekeepers, and regulators desperately seeking the cause. After all, the honeybee, nature's ultimate utility player, pollinates a third of all the food we eat and contributes an estimated $15 billion in annual agriculture revenue to the U.S. economy.
The long list of possible suspects has included pests, viruses, fungi, and also pesticides, particularly so-called neonicotinoids, a class of neurotoxins that kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. For years, their leading manufacturer, Bayer Crop Science, a subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG (BAYRY), has tangled with regulators and fended off lawsuits from angry beekeepers who allege that the pesticides have disoriented and ultimately killed their bees. The company has countered that, when used correctly, the pesticides pose little risk.
A cheer must have gone up at Bayer on Thursday when a front-page New York Times article, under the headline "Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery," described how a newly released study pinpoints a different cause for the die-off: "a fungus tag-teaming with a virus." The study, written in collaboration with Army scientists at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center outside Baltimore, analyzed the proteins of afflicted bees using a new Army software system. The Bayer pesticides, however, go unmentioned.
What the Times article did not explore -- nor did the study disclose -- was the relationship between the study's lead author, Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, and Bayer Crop Science. In recent years Bromenshenk has received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination. Indeed, before receiving the Bayer funding, Bromenshenk was lined up on the opposite side: He had signed on to serve as an expert witness for beekeepers who brought a class-action lawsuit against Bayer in 2003. He then dropped out and received the grant.
Bromenshenk's company, Bee Alert Technology, which is developing hand-held acoustic scanners that use sound to detect various bee ailments, will profit more from a finding that disease, and not pesticides, is harming bees. Two years ago Bromenshenk acknowledged as much to me when I was reporting on the possible neonicotinoid/CCD connection for Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, which folded before I completed my reporting.
Bromenshenk defends the study and emphasized that it did not examine the impact of pesticides. "It wasn't on the table because others are funded to do that," he says, noting that no Bayer funds were used on the new study. Bromenshenk vociferously denies that receiving funding from Bayer (to study bee pollination of onions) had anything to do with his decision to withdraw from the plaintiff's side in the litigation against Bayer. "We got no money from Bayer," he says. "We did no work for Bayer; Bayer was sending us warning letters by lawyers."
A Bayer publicist reached last night said she was not authorized to comment on the topic but was trying to reach an official company spokesperson.
The Times reporter who authored the recent article, Kirk Johnson, responded in an e-mail that Dr. Bromenshenk "did not volunteer his funding sources." Johnson's e-mail notes that he found the peer-reviewed scientific paper cautious and that he "tried to convey that caution in my story." Adds Johnson: The study "doesn't say pesticides aren't a cause of the underlying vulnerability that the virus-fungus combo then exploits...."
At least one scientist questions the new study. Dr. James Frazier, professor of entomology at Penn State University, who is currently researching the sublethal impact of pesticides on bees, said that while Bromenshenk's study generated some useful data, Bromenshenk has a conflict of interest as CEO of a company developing scanners to diagnose bee diseases. "He could benefit financially from that if this thing gets popularized," Frazier says, "so it's a difficult situation to deal with." He adds that his own research has shown that pesticides affect bees "absolutely, in multiple ways." ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman, who asks,
"Bayer? It's that German for Monsanto?"
By Katherine Eban, contributor
October 8, 2010
FORTUNE -- Few ecological disasters have been as confounding as the massive and devastating die-off of the world's honeybees. The phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) -- in which disoriented honeybees die far from their hives -- has kept scientists, beekeepers, and regulators desperately seeking the cause. After all, the honeybee, nature's ultimate utility player, pollinates a third of all the food we eat and contributes an estimated $15 billion in annual agriculture revenue to the U.S. economy.
The long list of possible suspects has included pests, viruses, fungi, and also pesticides, particularly so-called neonicotinoids, a class of neurotoxins that kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. For years, their leading manufacturer, Bayer Crop Science, a subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG (BAYRY), has tangled with regulators and fended off lawsuits from angry beekeepers who allege that the pesticides have disoriented and ultimately killed their bees. The company has countered that, when used correctly, the pesticides pose little risk.
A cheer must have gone up at Bayer on Thursday when a front-page New York Times article, under the headline "Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery," described how a newly released study pinpoints a different cause for the die-off: "a fungus tag-teaming with a virus." The study, written in collaboration with Army scientists at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center outside Baltimore, analyzed the proteins of afflicted bees using a new Army software system. The Bayer pesticides, however, go unmentioned.
What the Times article did not explore -- nor did the study disclose -- was the relationship between the study's lead author, Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, and Bayer Crop Science. In recent years Bromenshenk has received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination. Indeed, before receiving the Bayer funding, Bromenshenk was lined up on the opposite side: He had signed on to serve as an expert witness for beekeepers who brought a class-action lawsuit against Bayer in 2003. He then dropped out and received the grant.
Bromenshenk's company, Bee Alert Technology, which is developing hand-held acoustic scanners that use sound to detect various bee ailments, will profit more from a finding that disease, and not pesticides, is harming bees. Two years ago Bromenshenk acknowledged as much to me when I was reporting on the possible neonicotinoid/CCD connection for Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, which folded before I completed my reporting.
Bromenshenk defends the study and emphasized that it did not examine the impact of pesticides. "It wasn't on the table because others are funded to do that," he says, noting that no Bayer funds were used on the new study. Bromenshenk vociferously denies that receiving funding from Bayer (to study bee pollination of onions) had anything to do with his decision to withdraw from the plaintiff's side in the litigation against Bayer. "We got no money from Bayer," he says. "We did no work for Bayer; Bayer was sending us warning letters by lawyers."
A Bayer publicist reached last night said she was not authorized to comment on the topic but was trying to reach an official company spokesperson.
The Times reporter who authored the recent article, Kirk Johnson, responded in an e-mail that Dr. Bromenshenk "did not volunteer his funding sources." Johnson's e-mail notes that he found the peer-reviewed scientific paper cautious and that he "tried to convey that caution in my story." Adds Johnson: The study "doesn't say pesticides aren't a cause of the underlying vulnerability that the virus-fungus combo then exploits...."
At least one scientist questions the new study. Dr. James Frazier, professor of entomology at Penn State University, who is currently researching the sublethal impact of pesticides on bees, said that while Bromenshenk's study generated some useful data, Bromenshenk has a conflict of interest as CEO of a company developing scanners to diagnose bee diseases. "He could benefit financially from that if this thing gets popularized," Frazier says, "so it's a difficult situation to deal with." He adds that his own research has shown that pesticides affect bees "absolutely, in multiple ways." ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman, who asks,
"Bayer? It's that German for Monsanto?"
A toxic red mud spill that killed four people in western Hungary has reached the Mosoni-Danube, a southern branch of the Danube, Hungarian disaster officials said today.
Tibor Dobson of Hungary's national disaster unit told Reuters the spill reached the branch of Europe's second-longest river near Hungary's border with Slovakia and Austria this morning.
But Dobson said the highly caustic slurry has been reduced to the point where it is unlikely to cause further damage to the environment. The pH level of the sludge, originally above 12, is now under 10, he said. However, a harmless level is between 6 and 8.
There are fears that the toxic torrent will cause serious ecological damage to the Danube after being carried downstream by tributaries. The sludge is expected to reach the river by the weekend or early next week.
Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, who visited one of three villages inundated by red sludge, today declared one area a write-off.
Orban said he sees "no sense" in rebuilding in an area made uninhabitable by the torrent that poured from a breached reservoir at a nearby alumina factory on Monday.
Local officials in Kolontar say 34 houses in the village of about 800 were so badly damaged by the slurry that they cannot be refurbished. Orban spoke after an unannounced dawn visit to Kolontar. ...
Tibor Dobson of Hungary's national disaster unit told Reuters the spill reached the branch of Europe's second-longest river near Hungary's border with Slovakia and Austria this morning.
But Dobson said the highly caustic slurry has been reduced to the point where it is unlikely to cause further damage to the environment. The pH level of the sludge, originally above 12, is now under 10, he said. However, a harmless level is between 6 and 8.
There are fears that the toxic torrent will cause serious ecological damage to the Danube after being carried downstream by tributaries. The sludge is expected to reach the river by the weekend or early next week.
Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, who visited one of three villages inundated by red sludge, today declared one area a write-off.
Orban said he sees "no sense" in rebuilding in an area made uninhabitable by the torrent that poured from a breached reservoir at a nearby alumina factory on Monday.
Local officials in Kolontar say 34 houses in the village of about 800 were so badly damaged by the slurry that they cannot be refurbished. Orban spoke after an unannounced dawn visit to Kolontar. ...
Hungarians battle to hold back toxic sludge spill from Danube
Greenpeace describes incident as 'one of the top three environmental disasters in Europe in the last 20 or 30 years'
Greenpeace describes incident as 'one of the top three environmental disasters in Europe in the last 20 or 30 years'
David Cameron defends Andy Coulson – but says no one is 'unsackable'
PM praises director of communications after fresh allegations by Channel 4 film over phone hacking at News of the World
Nicholas Watt
Tuesday 5 October 2010
David Cameron said last night that nobody on his team is unsackable, as he faced questions about his communications director, Andy Coulson.
In a Channel 4 News interview, the prime minister defended Coulson, who is facing allegations that he knew about illegal phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World.
Asked by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow whether Coulson was unsackable, Cameron said: "No one is unsackable. But … we haven't had one single complaint about how he has done his job, or indeed about how the Downing Street press office has done its job. That is quite a contrast from the years of [Labour's director of communications] Alastair Campbell and [special adviser] Damian McBride and all the rest of them."
Cameron faced renewed questions about the phone hacking scandal after new allegations that Coulson personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures. The allegations were aired on the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on Monday night.
Former Labour minister Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said the new allegations made against Coulson were "new, far-reaching and warrant investigation". He wrote to Cameron calling for a statement to parliament, after an unnamed former News International executive was quoted.
Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World after Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator paid by the newspaper, were jailed for illegal phone hacking.
Coulson, who resigned on the basis that he took "ultimate" responsibility for their actions, has consistently denied any knowledge of the phone hacking. ...
PM praises director of communications after fresh allegations by Channel 4 film over phone hacking at News of the World
Nicholas Watt
Tuesday 5 October 2010
David Cameron said last night that nobody on his team is unsackable, as he faced questions about his communications director, Andy Coulson.
In a Channel 4 News interview, the prime minister defended Coulson, who is facing allegations that he knew about illegal phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World.
Asked by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow whether Coulson was unsackable, Cameron said: "No one is unsackable. But … we haven't had one single complaint about how he has done his job, or indeed about how the Downing Street press office has done its job. That is quite a contrast from the years of [Labour's director of communications] Alastair Campbell and [special adviser] Damian McBride and all the rest of them."
Cameron faced renewed questions about the phone hacking scandal after new allegations that Coulson personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures. The allegations were aired on the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on Monday night.
Former Labour minister Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said the new allegations made against Coulson were "new, far-reaching and warrant investigation". He wrote to Cameron calling for a statement to parliament, after an unnamed former News International executive was quoted.
Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World after Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator paid by the newspaper, were jailed for illegal phone hacking.
Coulson, who resigned on the basis that he took "ultimate" responsibility for their actions, has consistently denied any knowledge of the phone hacking. ...
Hungary toxic sludge spill an 'ecological catastrophe' says government
Hungary declares a state of emergency as 1m cubic metres of sludge leaks from an alumina factory killing four and injuring 120
Mark Tran and agencies
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Hungary today declared a state of emergency in three western counties after a dam holding back a vast reservoir of toxic red sludge, from an alumina plant, burst, killing four people and injuring 120 others in what officials said was an "ecological catastrophe".
An elderly woman, a young man and a three-year-old child died in the deluge and six others were reported missing. Two of the injured were in a serious condition.
The sludge, which is waste produced during aluminium manufacture, swept cars off roads and damaged bridges and homes, forcing the evacuation of 400 residents. About 7,000 people are thought to have been directly affected by the spill.
The sludge poured out yesterday when a dam at the reservoir of the Ajkai Timfoldgyar Zrt alumina plant, owned by MAL Zrt, broke after days of heavy rain.
So far, about 1m cubic metres of sludge have leaked from the reservoir. Seven towns, including Kolontal, Devecser and Somlovasarhely, have been affected near the plant in Ajka, 100 miles south-west of Budapest.
Doctors said that the injured were being closely monitored because the chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what could seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue.
Robert Kis, in Devecser, said his uncle was taken to Budapest by helicopter after the sludge "burned him to the bone". The flood overturned his wife's car, pushing it 30 metres to the back of the garden, while his van was lifted on to a fence. ...
Tinfoil: is it really worth it?
Hungary declares a state of emergency as 1m cubic metres of sludge leaks from an alumina factory killing four and injuring 120
Mark Tran and agencies
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Hungary today declared a state of emergency in three western counties after a dam holding back a vast reservoir of toxic red sludge, from an alumina plant, burst, killing four people and injuring 120 others in what officials said was an "ecological catastrophe".
An elderly woman, a young man and a three-year-old child died in the deluge and six others were reported missing. Two of the injured were in a serious condition.
The sludge, which is waste produced during aluminium manufacture, swept cars off roads and damaged bridges and homes, forcing the evacuation of 400 residents. About 7,000 people are thought to have been directly affected by the spill.
The sludge poured out yesterday when a dam at the reservoir of the Ajkai Timfoldgyar Zrt alumina plant, owned by MAL Zrt, broke after days of heavy rain.
So far, about 1m cubic metres of sludge have leaked from the reservoir. Seven towns, including Kolontal, Devecser and Somlovasarhely, have been affected near the plant in Ajka, 100 miles south-west of Budapest.
Doctors said that the injured were being closely monitored because the chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what could seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue.
Robert Kis, in Devecser, said his uncle was taken to Budapest by helicopter after the sludge "burned him to the bone". The flood overturned his wife's car, pushing it 30 metres to the back of the garden, while his van was lifted on to a fence. ...
Tinfoil: is it really worth it?
As Jérôme Kerviel stood to hear the verdict that would decide his fate, not a flicker of emotion showed in his eyes. It was only once the judge had gone and the court had risen that the former trader slumped in his chair and stared down at the floor. He had entered the chamber looking sharp in a suit and shining leather shoes, but left it a broken man.
The ruling read out in Paris's historic Palais de Justice was eagerly anticipated. But few had predicted how hard the court would come down on Kerviel, the man behind one of history's biggest trading scandals.
Accused of breach of trust, computer abuse and forgery, the 33-year-old was convicted of all three charges and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with two years suspended. In an order that prompted an audible gasp from court observers, he was also told to pay damages to Société Générale of €4.9bn (£4.2bn) – the total sum of money his risky betting strategies cost his former employers in January 2008.
It is understood the bank views the granting of damages as a symbolic payment, and may not intend to force its erstwhile employee into a lifetime of unpayable debt. Its lawyer, Jean Veil, said the tough verdict was "moral compensation" for a company which insists it knew nothing of the malpractice. "It has been very clearly shown that Jérôme Kerviel's behaviour, his lies, were so sophisticated that the bank could not suspect what he was doing," he added.
Olivier Metzner, the defendant's lawyer, begged to differ. "This is a completely unreasonable ruling which says that the bank is responsible for nothing, not responsible for a creature it has made, and that only Jérôme Kerviel is responsible for the excesses [and] the crises of a banking system," he said, adding that he would "quite obviously" be appealing.
Such outrage was unlikely to cut any ice with judge Dominique Pauthe, whose dense, often impenetrable ruling tore into Kerviel's character and demolished his lawyers' attempts to portray him as the victim of a wider system and global malaise.
According to Pauthe, the Brittany-born computer whizz was a quietly cynical operator who exploited his technological knowhow and market understanding to pull the wool over his employers' eyes.
Exposing the bank to uncovered trades worth €50bn – more than Société Générale's total value – he took risks on a "gigantic scale", all the time maintaining his sang-froid. "The varied nature of his means of forgery and deceit were rivalled only by the dazzling reactivity, the constant cool-headedness and the deceptive serenity which he was able to exhibit on an everyday basis," said the judge.
He added: "Through his deliberate actions, he put in danger the solvency of the bank employing 140,000 people, including him, whose future was seriously endangered … In their size, their specificity and the context of crisis in which they occurred, these acts undoubtedly harmed the international economic order." ...
The ruling read out in Paris's historic Palais de Justice was eagerly anticipated. But few had predicted how hard the court would come down on Kerviel, the man behind one of history's biggest trading scandals.
Accused of breach of trust, computer abuse and forgery, the 33-year-old was convicted of all three charges and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with two years suspended. In an order that prompted an audible gasp from court observers, he was also told to pay damages to Société Générale of €4.9bn (£4.2bn) – the total sum of money his risky betting strategies cost his former employers in January 2008.
It is understood the bank views the granting of damages as a symbolic payment, and may not intend to force its erstwhile employee into a lifetime of unpayable debt. Its lawyer, Jean Veil, said the tough verdict was "moral compensation" for a company which insists it knew nothing of the malpractice. "It has been very clearly shown that Jérôme Kerviel's behaviour, his lies, were so sophisticated that the bank could not suspect what he was doing," he added.
Olivier Metzner, the defendant's lawyer, begged to differ. "This is a completely unreasonable ruling which says that the bank is responsible for nothing, not responsible for a creature it has made, and that only Jérôme Kerviel is responsible for the excesses [and] the crises of a banking system," he said, adding that he would "quite obviously" be appealing.
Such outrage was unlikely to cut any ice with judge Dominique Pauthe, whose dense, often impenetrable ruling tore into Kerviel's character and demolished his lawyers' attempts to portray him as the victim of a wider system and global malaise.
According to Pauthe, the Brittany-born computer whizz was a quietly cynical operator who exploited his technological knowhow and market understanding to pull the wool over his employers' eyes.
Exposing the bank to uncovered trades worth €50bn – more than Société Générale's total value – he took risks on a "gigantic scale", all the time maintaining his sang-froid. "The varied nature of his means of forgery and deceit were rivalled only by the dazzling reactivity, the constant cool-headedness and the deceptive serenity which he was able to exhibit on an everyday basis," said the judge.
He added: "Through his deliberate actions, he put in danger the solvency of the bank employing 140,000 people, including him, whose future was seriously endangered … In their size, their specificity and the context of crisis in which they occurred, these acts undoubtedly harmed the international economic order." ...
Phone-hacking scandal: Andy Coulson 'listened to intercepted messages'
Anonymous source tells Channel Four David Cameron's media adviser would ask for recordings to be played for him at News of the World
Nick Davies
Sunday 3 October 2010
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures when he edited the News of the World, a senior journalist who worked alongside him has said.
Coulson has always denied knowing about any illegal activity by the journalists who worked for him, but an unidentified former executive from the paper told Channel Four Dispatches that Coulson not only knew his reporters were using intercepted voicemail but was also personally involved.
"Sometimes, they would say: 'We've got a recording' and Andy would say: 'OK, bring it into my office and play it to me' or 'Bring me, email me a transcript of it'," the journalist said.
The claim, due to be broadcast tomorrow night, goes beyond earlier statements by Coulson's former colleagues.
Sean Hoare, a showbusiness reporter, told the New York Times Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to intercept voicemail.
Paul McMullan, who handled investigations, told the Guardian illegal activity was so widespread in the newsroom that Coulson must have known about it. Coulson has denied all the claims.
Channel Four's anonymous witness, whose words are spoken by an actor in the programme, says: "Andy was a very good editor.
"He was very conscientious and he wouldn't let stories pass unless he was sure they were correct ... so, if the evidence that a reporter had was a recorded phone message, that would be what Andy would know about.
"So you'd have to say: 'Yes, there's a recorded message.' You go and either play it to him or show him a transcript of it, in order to satisfy him that you weren't going to get sued, that it wasn't made up."
In evidence to a House of Commons select committee last year, Coulson said he could not remember any instance of voicemail being intercepted during his six years at the paper.
He resigned in January 2007 after the tabloid's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, was jailed for listening to the voicemails of three members of the royal household. "I am absolutely sure that Clive's case was a very unfortunate rogue case," he told the committee.
Channel Four's witness said: "It was fairly common – not so common that everybody was doing it. That wasn't the case at all. But the people who did know how to do it would do it regularly." ...
... Brian Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard who is also taking the police to court, suggested that his former colleagues' decision to cut short their original investigation may have been influenced by their links with the News of the World.
"That relationship was well worth protecting ... when you have something as big as this, where you're talking about potentially a large investigation involving illegal activity, you can see how potentially pressure could have been brought to bear," he said. ...
Anonymous source tells Channel Four David Cameron's media adviser would ask for recordings to be played for him at News of the World
Nick Davies
Sunday 3 October 2010
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures when he edited the News of the World, a senior journalist who worked alongside him has said.
Coulson has always denied knowing about any illegal activity by the journalists who worked for him, but an unidentified former executive from the paper told Channel Four Dispatches that Coulson not only knew his reporters were using intercepted voicemail but was also personally involved.
"Sometimes, they would say: 'We've got a recording' and Andy would say: 'OK, bring it into my office and play it to me' or 'Bring me, email me a transcript of it'," the journalist said.
The claim, due to be broadcast tomorrow night, goes beyond earlier statements by Coulson's former colleagues.
Sean Hoare, a showbusiness reporter, told the New York Times Coulson had "actively encouraged" him to intercept voicemail.
Paul McMullan, who handled investigations, told the Guardian illegal activity was so widespread in the newsroom that Coulson must have known about it. Coulson has denied all the claims.
Channel Four's anonymous witness, whose words are spoken by an actor in the programme, says: "Andy was a very good editor.
"He was very conscientious and he wouldn't let stories pass unless he was sure they were correct ... so, if the evidence that a reporter had was a recorded phone message, that would be what Andy would know about.
"So you'd have to say: 'Yes, there's a recorded message.' You go and either play it to him or show him a transcript of it, in order to satisfy him that you weren't going to get sued, that it wasn't made up."
In evidence to a House of Commons select committee last year, Coulson said he could not remember any instance of voicemail being intercepted during his six years at the paper.
He resigned in January 2007 after the tabloid's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, was jailed for listening to the voicemails of three members of the royal household. "I am absolutely sure that Clive's case was a very unfortunate rogue case," he told the committee.
Channel Four's witness said: "It was fairly common – not so common that everybody was doing it. That wasn't the case at all. But the people who did know how to do it would do it regularly." ...
... Brian Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard who is also taking the police to court, suggested that his former colleagues' decision to cut short their original investigation may have been influenced by their links with the News of the World.
"That relationship was well worth protecting ... when you have something as big as this, where you're talking about potentially a large investigation involving illegal activity, you can see how potentially pressure could have been brought to bear," he said. ...
The police watchdog believed as far back as a year ago that it should carry out an independent review of the Metropolitan police's handling of the investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, the Guardian understands.
Senior figures at Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary decided last summer that there was sufficient public interest in the matter for it to investigate the handling of the case by the Met. The inspectorate eventually decided against undertaking a review because it did not have sufficient resources at the time.
The disclosure of the inspectorate's concerns may increase pressure on the Met, which is facing the threat of a series of legal actions over an allegedly slow response in alerting public figures and celebrities that they may have been targeted by a private investigator employed by the News of the World.
Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, is the most senior political figure seeking a judicial review of the police action. Prescott, whose name was found on papers seized from the office of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, is demanding damages from Scotland Yard for initially failing to inform him about the documents.
The inspectorate's interest in the case may raise questions about senior figures in the Home Office. The Guardian disclosed last month that Stephen Rimmer, the Home Office director general for crime and policing, had warned last summer that Scotland Yard would "deeply resent" a review of its investigation by the inspectorate. Senior officials at the inspectorate conducted their preliminary inquiry last summer after fresh allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were published by the Guardian in July 2009.
The paper reported that News Group Newspapers paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal the repeated involvement of journalists in illegal methods to obtain stories. ...
Senior figures at Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary decided last summer that there was sufficient public interest in the matter for it to investigate the handling of the case by the Met. The inspectorate eventually decided against undertaking a review because it did not have sufficient resources at the time.
The disclosure of the inspectorate's concerns may increase pressure on the Met, which is facing the threat of a series of legal actions over an allegedly slow response in alerting public figures and celebrities that they may have been targeted by a private investigator employed by the News of the World.
Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, is the most senior political figure seeking a judicial review of the police action. Prescott, whose name was found on papers seized from the office of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, is demanding damages from Scotland Yard for initially failing to inform him about the documents.
The inspectorate's interest in the case may raise questions about senior figures in the Home Office. The Guardian disclosed last month that Stephen Rimmer, the Home Office director general for crime and policing, had warned last summer that Scotland Yard would "deeply resent" a review of its investigation by the inspectorate. Senior officials at the inspectorate conducted their preliminary inquiry last summer after fresh allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were published by the Guardian in July 2009.
The paper reported that News Group Newspapers paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal the repeated involvement of journalists in illegal methods to obtain stories. ...
... "They want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort," O'Keefe fumed. But looking at O'Keefe's latest bizarre, sexist and misogynistic stunt, it is hard to see how anyone could portray him in any other way.
Lusby, Maryland (CNN) -- A conservative activist known for making undercover videos plotted to embarrass a CNN correspondent by recording a meeting on hidden cameras aboard a floating "palace of pleasure" and making sexually suggestive comments, e-mails and a planning document show.
James O'Keefe, best known for hitting the community organizing group ACORN with an undercover video sting, hoped to get CNN Investigative Correspondent Abbie Boudreau onto a boat filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session, those documents show.
The plan apparently was thwarted after Boudreau was warned minutes before it was supposed to happen.
"I never intended to become part of the story," Boudreau said. "But things suddenly took a very strange turn."
O'Keefe is best known for making a series of undercover videos inside ACORN offices around the country in 2009. The 40-year-old liberal group was crippled by scandal after O'Keefe and fellow activist Hannah Giles allegedly solicited advice from ACORN workers on setting up a brothel and evading taxes.
The videos led to some of the employees being fired and contributed to the disbanding of ACORN, which advocated for low- and middle-income and worked to register voters.
But prosecutors in New York and California eventually found no evidence of wrongdoing by the group, and the California probe found the videos had been heavily and selectively edited.
O'Keefe's next big splash ended with his arrest after he taped associates entering Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in New Orleans posing as telephone repairmen. He ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering a federal office under false pretenses and is now on probation. ...
James O'Keefe, best known for hitting the community organizing group ACORN with an undercover video sting, hoped to get CNN Investigative Correspondent Abbie Boudreau onto a boat filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session, those documents show.
The plan apparently was thwarted after Boudreau was warned minutes before it was supposed to happen.
"I never intended to become part of the story," Boudreau said. "But things suddenly took a very strange turn."
O'Keefe is best known for making a series of undercover videos inside ACORN offices around the country in 2009. The 40-year-old liberal group was crippled by scandal after O'Keefe and fellow activist Hannah Giles allegedly solicited advice from ACORN workers on setting up a brothel and evading taxes.
The videos led to some of the employees being fired and contributed to the disbanding of ACORN, which advocated for low- and middle-income and worked to register voters.
But prosecutors in New York and California eventually found no evidence of wrongdoing by the group, and the California probe found the videos had been heavily and selectively edited.
O'Keefe's next big splash ended with his arrest after he taped associates entering Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in New Orleans posing as telephone repairmen. He ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering a federal office under false pretenses and is now on probation. ...
Clerics in the South Pacific have fingered the key cause of climate change - homosexuals.
The revelation came at a conference at the University of the South Pacific considering the implications of Climate Change and Creativity.
Academics were apparently thrown off their consideration of "Arts in the Age of Global Warming" and "Ecology in Poetry / Poetry in Ecology" by reports of Church Ministers who maintained that climate change in Samoa are clearly attributable to to homosexuals.
The revelation prompted one attendee USP student, Shaiza Janif, to opine: "We need to educate our ministers and not turn this into an agenda."
Details of exactly how the ministers think homosexuals are pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere, thereby trapping heat around the planet, driving up the average temperature and causing massive economic and environmental dislocation are scant. ...
A little insecure, guys?
The revelation came at a conference at the University of the South Pacific considering the implications of Climate Change and Creativity.
Academics were apparently thrown off their consideration of "Arts in the Age of Global Warming" and "Ecology in Poetry / Poetry in Ecology" by reports of Church Ministers who maintained that climate change in Samoa are clearly attributable to to homosexuals.
The revelation prompted one attendee USP student, Shaiza Janif, to opine: "We need to educate our ministers and not turn this into an agenda."
Details of exactly how the ministers think homosexuals are pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere, thereby trapping heat around the planet, driving up the average temperature and causing massive economic and environmental dislocation are scant. ...
A little insecure, guys?
Vatican bank chief investigated over money laundering claims
In unprecedented move, judge freezes €23m held in account at financial institution with close church links
John Hooper in Rome
Tuesday 21 September 2010
The head of the Vatican bank has formally been placed under investigation in an inquiry into a suspected violation of Italy's money-laundering laws, judicial sources said today.
At the same time, a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in an account opened by the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), at another financial institution in the Italian capital. It was thought to be the first time such action had been authorised against the IOR in Italy.
Since last September, the Bank of Italy has classified the Vatican bank as a non-EU institution whose dealings with other banks are thus subject to especially close scrutiny.
The sources said that last Wednesday, on the eve of Pope Benedict's departure for Britain, a unit of the Italian revenue guard alerted prosecutors to an anomaly in an account owned by the IOR at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano, which has close historic ties to the Catholic church. ...
In unprecedented move, judge freezes €23m held in account at financial institution with close church links
John Hooper in Rome
Tuesday 21 September 2010
The head of the Vatican bank has formally been placed under investigation in an inquiry into a suspected violation of Italy's money-laundering laws, judicial sources said today.
At the same time, a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in an account opened by the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), at another financial institution in the Italian capital. It was thought to be the first time such action had been authorised against the IOR in Italy.
Since last September, the Bank of Italy has classified the Vatican bank as a non-EU institution whose dealings with other banks are thus subject to especially close scrutiny.
The sources said that last Wednesday, on the eve of Pope Benedict's departure for Britain, a unit of the Italian revenue guard alerted prosecutors to an anomaly in an account owned by the IOR at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano, which has close historic ties to the Catholic church. ...
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Blackwater Working for Monsanto Company and Canada
Blackwater, now called Xe, is back in the news again after it was reported that they have provided services to the Canadian Military, the Netherlands Police, and Monsanto Company.
Blackwater/Xe is a mercenary force most famous for its controversial run in Iraq under the Bush administration. Jeremy Scahill, a journalist who wrote a book on the soldiers of fortune, said:
"... entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to documents obtained by The Nation. Blackwater's work for corporations and government agencies was contracted using two companies owned by Blackwater's owner and founder, Erik Prince: Total Intelligence Solutions and the Terrorism Research Center (TRC). Prince is listed as the chairman of both companies in internal company documents, which show how the web of companies functions as a highly coordinated operation."
A spokesperson for Monsanto said his company paid Total Intelligence for reports on groups and individuals that could pose a threat to the company wherever it operates. Total Intelligence worked on this by monitoring local news reports and searching the pages of activist blogs and websites. It didn't stop there, Blackwater's puppet company also infiltrated anti-Monsanto activist groups.
This is no surprise, given the fact that Monsanto is the same company that gave the world Agent Orange.
Another one of Blackwater/Xe's subsidiaries, the Terrorism Research Center, was paid over $1.6 million by Canada to provide training to its soldiers. This violation of the US export control laws, as well as other violations by the private death squad, incurred a fine of only $42 million. This is a mere slap on the wrist given the fact that Xe is raking in billions and has grown enormously over the past few years. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
Blackwater Working for Monsanto Company and Canada
Blackwater, now called Xe, is back in the news again after it was reported that they have provided services to the Canadian Military, the Netherlands Police, and Monsanto Company.
Blackwater/Xe is a mercenary force most famous for its controversial run in Iraq under the Bush administration. Jeremy Scahill, a journalist who wrote a book on the soldiers of fortune, said:
"... entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to documents obtained by The Nation. Blackwater's work for corporations and government agencies was contracted using two companies owned by Blackwater's owner and founder, Erik Prince: Total Intelligence Solutions and the Terrorism Research Center (TRC). Prince is listed as the chairman of both companies in internal company documents, which show how the web of companies functions as a highly coordinated operation."
A spokesperson for Monsanto said his company paid Total Intelligence for reports on groups and individuals that could pose a threat to the company wherever it operates. Total Intelligence worked on this by monitoring local news reports and searching the pages of activist blogs and websites. It didn't stop there, Blackwater's puppet company also infiltrated anti-Monsanto activist groups.
This is no surprise, given the fact that Monsanto is the same company that gave the world Agent Orange.
Another one of Blackwater/Xe's subsidiaries, the Terrorism Research Center, was paid over $1.6 million by Canada to provide training to its soldiers. This violation of the US export control laws, as well as other violations by the private death squad, incurred a fine of only $42 million. This is a mere slap on the wrist given the fact that Xe is raking in billions and has grown enormously over the past few years. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
More than half of the Catholic clergy jailed for paedophile activity in England and Wales remain in the priesthood – with several receiving financial support from church authorities, raising serious questions about depth of church commitment to child protection and overshadowing the start of the papal visit.
There are also claims the church has breached guidelines it agreed to in 2001 by not punishing offenders appropriately and that it has even relaxed some of the rules on how to treat them.
The allegations, shown on Channel 4 News, will fuel hostility towards a trip that is proving controversial on many levels and in many quarters.
The investigation examines one of the key recommendations in the Nolan report, which was published in the wake of damaging disclosures of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups at the start of the decade and was designed to root out sex offenders and prevent paedophiles from entering the priesthood.
It said that any cleric sentenced to a year or more in jail for sexual abuse should face laicisation – meaning they were to be stripped of their priesthood and privileges.
But at least 14 of the 22 priests who have served a year or more behind bars are still members of the clergy and 10 of these appear in the most recent edition of the Catholic Directory, the official yearbook of the church. Only eight of the 22 men have been dismissed from their positions. ...
There are also claims the church has breached guidelines it agreed to in 2001 by not punishing offenders appropriately and that it has even relaxed some of the rules on how to treat them.
The allegations, shown on Channel 4 News, will fuel hostility towards a trip that is proving controversial on many levels and in many quarters.
The investigation examines one of the key recommendations in the Nolan report, which was published in the wake of damaging disclosures of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups at the start of the decade and was designed to root out sex offenders and prevent paedophiles from entering the priesthood.
It said that any cleric sentenced to a year or more in jail for sexual abuse should face laicisation – meaning they were to be stripped of their priesthood and privileges.
But at least 14 of the 22 priests who have served a year or more behind bars are still members of the clergy and 10 of these appear in the most recent edition of the Catholic Directory, the official yearbook of the church. Only eight of the 22 men have been dismissed from their positions. ...
Most Detroiters have an almost genetic fear and/or distrust of police. You now know why.
And so the Press Complaints Commission sits there, not as King Canute failing to turn back the tide of voicemail hacking, but as the embodiment of all three monkeys, seeing nothing, saying nothing, and doing nothing.
The News of the World now assures us it has "zero tolerance" of phone hacking. Bill Akass, the managing editor, says that if the latest case is proven, the perpetrator will be dismissed for "gross misconduct without compensation". That is an improvement on the position adopted after the convictions of Clive Goodman (the former royal correspondent) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator). Both were paid off, and to this day both remain silent.
After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing.
It continues to do nothing while making noises that "phone message hacking is deplorable". The excuses for doing nothing are varied but the outcome is the same. ...
The News of the World now assures us it has "zero tolerance" of phone hacking. Bill Akass, the managing editor, says that if the latest case is proven, the perpetrator will be dismissed for "gross misconduct without compensation". That is an improvement on the position adopted after the convictions of Clive Goodman (the former royal correspondent) and Glenn Mulcaire (a private investigator). Both were paid off, and to this day both remain silent.
After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing.
It continues to do nothing while making noises that "phone message hacking is deplorable". The excuses for doing nothing are varied but the outcome is the same. ...
John Prescott furious over unrevealed link to phone-hacking scandal
Documents held by Metropolitan police suggest News of the World targeted former deputy prime minister
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
4 September 2010
John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the Observer revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.
Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the NoW, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.
The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".
The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.
The Yard's letter, obtained by the Observer, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."
The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."
In a statement to the Observer, Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said. ...
Documents held by Metropolitan police suggest News of the World targeted former deputy prime minister
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
4 September 2010
John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as the Observer revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.
Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the NoW, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.
The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".
The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.
The Yard's letter, obtained by the Observer, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."
The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."
In a statement to the Observer, Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said. ...
News of the World faces fresh phone hacking charge
• Calls for judicial inquiry after reporter is suspended
• Latest phone hacking allegation dates from earlier this year
• Four targets poised to sue police over failure to warn them
Nick Davies, Vikram Dodd and Nicholas Watt
Thursday 2 September 2010
The government tonight came under pressure to set up a judicial inquiry into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World after the paper confirmed that it has suspended a journalist while it investigates new allegations of the unlawful interception of voicemail.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has denied a report in the New York Times which claimed he freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques when he was editing the paper and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in illegal interception of voicemail messages. Coulson has always denied knowing of any illegal activity by his journalists.
Scotland Yard, too, found itself in the firing line after the New York Times quoted unnamed detectives alleging they had cut short their investigation because of their close relationship with the News of the World. A group of four public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, is poised to sue police over a failure to warn them they had been targeted by the private investigator at the centre of the scandal, Glenn Mulcaire.
The Guardian has learned that the Metropolitan police commissioner at the time of the original investigation, Sir Ian Blair, was among those whose names were found in material seized from Mulcaire, raising questions about whether officers who were directly involved in the investigation had discovered that they, too, had been targets of the newspaper. It is understood Blair was assured at the time that his phone had not been hacked.
The former Labour minister Tom Watson today called on the government to set up an inquiry into the relationship between Scotland Yard and Rupert Murdoch's News Group, which publishes the News of the World. In a letter which was addressed to the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, in the absence of the prime minister, who is on paternity leave, Watson wrote: "The testimony given to the New York Times is that the police did not share all the relevant information with the Crown Prosecution Service, and that, if they had done, the CPS would have reached a different conclusion. These are clear grounds for a judicial inquiry.
"I think that information should be made available to the people concerned." ...
• Calls for judicial inquiry after reporter is suspended
• Latest phone hacking allegation dates from earlier this year
• Four targets poised to sue police over failure to warn them
Nick Davies, Vikram Dodd and Nicholas Watt
Thursday 2 September 2010
The government tonight came under pressure to set up a judicial inquiry into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World after the paper confirmed that it has suspended a journalist while it investigates new allegations of the unlawful interception of voicemail.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has denied a report in the New York Times which claimed he freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques when he was editing the paper and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in illegal interception of voicemail messages. Coulson has always denied knowing of any illegal activity by his journalists.
Scotland Yard, too, found itself in the firing line after the New York Times quoted unnamed detectives alleging they had cut short their investigation because of their close relationship with the News of the World. A group of four public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, is poised to sue police over a failure to warn them they had been targeted by the private investigator at the centre of the scandal, Glenn Mulcaire.
The Guardian has learned that the Metropolitan police commissioner at the time of the original investigation, Sir Ian Blair, was among those whose names were found in material seized from Mulcaire, raising questions about whether officers who were directly involved in the investigation had discovered that they, too, had been targets of the newspaper. It is understood Blair was assured at the time that his phone had not been hacked.
The former Labour minister Tom Watson today called on the government to set up an inquiry into the relationship between Scotland Yard and Rupert Murdoch's News Group, which publishes the News of the World. In a letter which was addressed to the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, in the absence of the prime minister, who is on paternity leave, Watson wrote: "The testimony given to the New York Times is that the police did not share all the relevant information with the Crown Prosecution Service, and that, if they had done, the CPS would have reached a different conclusion. These are clear grounds for a judicial inquiry.
"I think that information should be made available to the people concerned." ...
Tredegar terror - Weeping residents angry at MP and police
Published: Saturday | August 14, 2010
Arthur Hall and Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Reporters
THE GRIEF was evident, and the tears flowed freely as residents of Tredegar Park, St Catherine, responded to the killing of eight of their neighbours yesterday morning.
But what was more evident was the anger, as the residents claimed that they had been abandoned by the security forces and their political representatives and left to the mercy of heartless criminals.
With five men and three females, including an 11-year-old girl dead, the residents of the east central St Catherine community had reason to mourn. ...
... The residents reported that about 12:30 yesterday morning, explosions were heard in the area.
On investigation, the residents saw a group of men numbering between 15 and 20, dressed in dark-coloured clothing, firing shots into a number of houses before setting fire to at least two premises.
According to residents, calls to the police went unanswered as the gunmen went on a rampage that lasted for between 30 and 45 minutes.
"As anything happen, the police come round here, but when gunmen come kill wi aff, wi caan si any police," said a young woman, as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Let this be a warning to all of you that we have to come together to protect each other because the police and soldiers nah protect we," said an obviously angry young man.
"If you did think we have any MP (member of Parliament) or police to protect wi, you can see wi nuh have none now. You nuh see all now the MP nuh reach yah so," the young man added angrily. ...
Published: Saturday | August 14, 2010
Arthur Hall and Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Reporters
THE GRIEF was evident, and the tears flowed freely as residents of Tredegar Park, St Catherine, responded to the killing of eight of their neighbours yesterday morning.
But what was more evident was the anger, as the residents claimed that they had been abandoned by the security forces and their political representatives and left to the mercy of heartless criminals.
With five men and three females, including an 11-year-old girl dead, the residents of the east central St Catherine community had reason to mourn. ...
... The residents reported that about 12:30 yesterday morning, explosions were heard in the area.
On investigation, the residents saw a group of men numbering between 15 and 20, dressed in dark-coloured clothing, firing shots into a number of houses before setting fire to at least two premises.
According to residents, calls to the police went unanswered as the gunmen went on a rampage that lasted for between 30 and 45 minutes.
"As anything happen, the police come round here, but when gunmen come kill wi aff, wi caan si any police," said a young woman, as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Let this be a warning to all of you that we have to come together to protect each other because the police and soldiers nah protect we," said an obviously angry young man.
"If you did think we have any MP (member of Parliament) or police to protect wi, you can see wi nuh have none now. You nuh see all now the MP nuh reach yah so," the young man added angrily. ...
Wrong again! Man 'killed' by police still on the run
Published: Saturday | August 14, 2010
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
ANOTHER POLICE report has been called into question less than three weeks after the police information arm was left with egg on its face when a private video recording contradicted its report about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a man in Buckfield, St Ann.
Early yesterday morning, the police claimed that they had engaged the gunmen who had killed eight persons in Tredegar Park, St Catherine, and fatally shot two of the men in the section of the community known as Brooklyn.
According to the police, the dead gunmen were identified as Kevin, otherwise called 'Bilbo', and Jerome Williams, otherwise called 'Crab', both members of the Clansman gang, which operates in Spanish Town.
But hours later, residents disputed the police reports and compounded this by identifying the two dead persons.
The residents identified one of the victims as 15-year-old Derrick Anthony Bolton, otherwise called 'Crabby'. The other victim was identified as Lemone Turner, otherwise called 'Frenchman'.
"Crabby is my son who is a dancer who stay in Brooklyn and practise him dancing, so me tell him not to come home until in the morning," Geraldien Williams, his mother, told The Gleaner.
"The police dem hold him and dem ask him what the people call him, and him say Crabby, and dem say a him shoot the people a Tredegar Park, and a so dem kill him. It was a case of mistaken identity," Williams argued.
Other residents were most upset that the police could have mistaken the young Crabby for the alleged gangster known as Crab who was recently released from state custody.
"The police dem should a know say a nuh him name Crab, and dem should a never kill the youth," an angry resident said. ...
Published: Saturday | August 14, 2010
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
ANOTHER POLICE report has been called into question less than three weeks after the police information arm was left with egg on its face when a private video recording contradicted its report about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a man in Buckfield, St Ann.
Early yesterday morning, the police claimed that they had engaged the gunmen who had killed eight persons in Tredegar Park, St Catherine, and fatally shot two of the men in the section of the community known as Brooklyn.
According to the police, the dead gunmen were identified as Kevin, otherwise called 'Bilbo', and Jerome Williams, otherwise called 'Crab', both members of the Clansman gang, which operates in Spanish Town.
But hours later, residents disputed the police reports and compounded this by identifying the two dead persons.
The residents identified one of the victims as 15-year-old Derrick Anthony Bolton, otherwise called 'Crabby'. The other victim was identified as Lemone Turner, otherwise called 'Frenchman'.
"Crabby is my son who is a dancer who stay in Brooklyn and practise him dancing, so me tell him not to come home until in the morning," Geraldien Williams, his mother, told The Gleaner.
"The police dem hold him and dem ask him what the people call him, and him say Crabby, and dem say a him shoot the people a Tredegar Park, and a so dem kill him. It was a case of mistaken identity," Williams argued.
Other residents were most upset that the police could have mistaken the young Crabby for the alleged gangster known as Crab who was recently released from state custody.
"The police dem should a know say a nuh him name Crab, and dem should a never kill the youth," an angry resident said. ...
This is well beyond tasteless.
Last Updated: August 05. 2010 9:12PM
$1.4M in drugs seized in Detroit party store bust
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Three men suspected of selling more than pop and potato chips from a party store in the city were arrested Tuesday evening as police seized more than $1.4 million worth of drugs.
An informant tipped a task force made up of Detroit police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted a shipment of drugs to the store about 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
Task force members found more than 700 grams of heroin with a street value of $1.4 million and 300 painkillers and 120 tranquilizer pills worth about $4,260. The task force also discovered eight guns and $18,000 in cash believed to have been generated by drug sales. ...
... Godbee did not identify the men, but said one was a 41-year-old Farmington Hills resident and the other two men, ages 45 and 49 years old, live in West Bloomfield Township.
Police said the party store had been in business for several years but would not say how long they suspect drugs allegedly were part of the operation. ...
$1.4M in drugs seized in Detroit party store bust
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Three men suspected of selling more than pop and potato chips from a party store in the city were arrested Tuesday evening as police seized more than $1.4 million worth of drugs.
An informant tipped a task force made up of Detroit police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted a shipment of drugs to the store about 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
Task force members found more than 700 grams of heroin with a street value of $1.4 million and 300 painkillers and 120 tranquilizer pills worth about $4,260. The task force also discovered eight guns and $18,000 in cash believed to have been generated by drug sales. ...
... Godbee did not identify the men, but said one was a 41-year-old Farmington Hills resident and the other two men, ages 45 and 49 years old, live in West Bloomfield Township.
Police said the party store had been in business for several years but would not say how long they suspect drugs allegedly were part of the operation. ...
FEDERAL BUREAU of Investigations (FBI) director, Robert Mueller, told Congress yesterday that he does not know how many of his agents cheated on an important test about the limitations of the bureau's powers to conduct surveillance and open cases without evidence that a crime has been committed.
The Justice Department inspector general (IG) is investigating whether hundreds of FBI agents cheated on the test, a brewing scandal that could be further embarrassment for the FBI as it continues cleaning up after years of collecting phone records without court approval. Asked by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, about an Associated Press report on the cheating, Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee he didn't know the exact number of agents involved. ...
The Justice Department inspector general (IG) is investigating whether hundreds of FBI agents cheated on the test, a brewing scandal that could be further embarrassment for the FBI as it continues cleaning up after years of collecting phone records without court approval. Asked by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, about an Associated Press report on the cheating, Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee he didn't know the exact number of agents involved. ...
Vital leads 'ignored' in Natalya Estemirova murder investigation
One year on, many observers suspect cover-up over Russian human rights campaigner's murder in Chechnya
Tom Parfitt in Moscow
Wednesday 14 July 2010
... Investigators now say they have solved Estemirova's murder, finding she was killed by a boyevik (rebel fighter) called Alkhazur Bashayev from Shalazhi village in central Chechnya. Bashayev was allegedly upset by reports Estemirova wrote about his armed group for the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, whose office she headed in Grozny.
This theory rests on investigators' claims earlier this year that they had found a rebel arms cache in Shalazhi including the pistol used in the killing, a car fitting descriptions of that used to kidnap Estemirova, part of a silencer in the boot of the car which fitted the pistol, and then the owner of the car, who said he had sold it to Bashayev.
Bashayev – too conveniently, say critics – cannot be questioned because he was killed in a shootout with security forces last autumn.
In fact, many observers suspect a cover-up. They think Estemirova, known to friends as Natasha, was killed for the reports she wrote on wayward law enforcement agencies – perhaps even those filed in the days before her death.
One report described how officers in the police department of Chechnya's Kurchaloy district had publicly executed Rizvan Albekov, an unarmed man suspected of helping the rebels, on 7 July.
"Natasha must have struggled with her captors because investigators obtained DNA samples of three people from under her fingernails," said Milashina. "Why have no samples been taken from the police officers in Kurchaloy for comparative study?"
Critics say there are other glaring errors: Estemirova never visited Shalazhi or wrote about Bashayev; and investigators have not questioned any of the witnesses who saw her being kidnapped near her home in Grozny.
Oleg Orlov, the head of Memorial, said investigators must seek Estemirova's killers among those she exposed.
"Above all, the investigation needs to determine who were the guilty parties in the crimes that Natasha was examining," he said. "So far, they have not looked at a single case she handled in the year she died."
One year on, many observers suspect cover-up over Russian human rights campaigner's murder in Chechnya
Tom Parfitt in Moscow
Wednesday 14 July 2010
... Investigators now say they have solved Estemirova's murder, finding she was killed by a boyevik (rebel fighter) called Alkhazur Bashayev from Shalazhi village in central Chechnya. Bashayev was allegedly upset by reports Estemirova wrote about his armed group for the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, whose office she headed in Grozny.
This theory rests on investigators' claims earlier this year that they had found a rebel arms cache in Shalazhi including the pistol used in the killing, a car fitting descriptions of that used to kidnap Estemirova, part of a silencer in the boot of the car which fitted the pistol, and then the owner of the car, who said he had sold it to Bashayev.
Bashayev – too conveniently, say critics – cannot be questioned because he was killed in a shootout with security forces last autumn.
In fact, many observers suspect a cover-up. They think Estemirova, known to friends as Natasha, was killed for the reports she wrote on wayward law enforcement agencies – perhaps even those filed in the days before her death.
One report described how officers in the police department of Chechnya's Kurchaloy district had publicly executed Rizvan Albekov, an unarmed man suspected of helping the rebels, on 7 July.
"Natasha must have struggled with her captors because investigators obtained DNA samples of three people from under her fingernails," said Milashina. "Why have no samples been taken from the police officers in Kurchaloy for comparative study?"
Critics say there are other glaring errors: Estemirova never visited Shalazhi or wrote about Bashayev; and investigators have not questioned any of the witnesses who saw her being kidnapped near her home in Grozny.
Oleg Orlov, the head of Memorial, said investigators must seek Estemirova's killers among those she exposed.
"Above all, the investigation needs to determine who were the guilty parties in the crimes that Natasha was examining," he said. "So far, they have not looked at a single case she handled in the year she died."
McInnis' articles for foundation lift ideas, words from 20-year-old essay
By Karen E. Crummy
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 07/13/2010 02:57:26 PM MDT
Although GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis presented his "Musings on Water" for publication as original works, portions are identical and nearly identical to an essay on water written 20 years earlier by now-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs.
A Clemson University expert who reviewed McInnis' work next to Hobbs' essay called it a clear case of plagiarism of both words and ideas.
McInnis' water articles were a required part of his two-year fellowship at the Hasan Family Foundation in 2005 and 2006. The former congressman, who left office in 2004, was paid $300,000 to do speaking engagements and "research and write a monthly article on water issues that can be distributed to media and organizations as well as be available on the Internet."
Totaling 150 pages over 23 installments, the articles discussing state water policy are devoid of footnotes, endnotes or other forms of attribution.
In at least four of those articles, McInnis' work mirrors Hobbs' 1984 essay published by the Colorado Water Congress, "Green Mountain Reservoir: Lock or Key?"
In one of his installments of the musings, titled "Pumpbacks and Roundtables," McInnis uses four full pages that are nearly reprinted verbatim from Hobbs' earlier work. ...
By Karen E. Crummy
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 07/13/2010 02:57:26 PM MDT
Although GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis presented his "Musings on Water" for publication as original works, portions are identical and nearly identical to an essay on water written 20 years earlier by now-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs.
A Clemson University expert who reviewed McInnis' work next to Hobbs' essay called it a clear case of plagiarism of both words and ideas.
McInnis' water articles were a required part of his two-year fellowship at the Hasan Family Foundation in 2005 and 2006. The former congressman, who left office in 2004, was paid $300,000 to do speaking engagements and "research and write a monthly article on water issues that can be distributed to media and organizations as well as be available on the Internet."
Totaling 150 pages over 23 installments, the articles discussing state water policy are devoid of footnotes, endnotes or other forms of attribution.
In at least four of those articles, McInnis' work mirrors Hobbs' 1984 essay published by the Colorado Water Congress, "Green Mountain Reservoir: Lock or Key?"
In one of his installments of the musings, titled "Pumpbacks and Roundtables," McInnis uses four full pages that are nearly reprinted verbatim from Hobbs' earlier work. ...
McInnis's Colo. gubernatorial bid derailed by plagiarism charges
By Aaron Blake
July 14, 2010; 3:06 PM ET
Former Rep. Scott McInnis's (R-Colo.) gubernatorial campaign is in a fight for its life as charges of plagiarism have led to questions of whether McInnis can stay in the race.
Republicans in Colorado say he's a dead man walking, and they are exploring the ins and outs of how to get another nominee.
The Denver Post this week uncovered two examples of alleged plagiarism by McInnis -- one in papers McInnis wrote for a fellowship a few years ago and another in a Washington Post column and speech he delivered in 1994.
Sources in Colorado Republican circles say it's likely a matter of when, not if, McInnis will exit the race.
"Almost without exception, they think he is done," said one senior Colorado Republican who spoke on the condition that his name not be used.
"He may be the last one to know it, but he's dead in the water," said another. "It's likely he will resist heavily, but at some point he's got to realize this is a fact of life." ...
By Aaron Blake
July 14, 2010; 3:06 PM ET
Former Rep. Scott McInnis's (R-Colo.) gubernatorial campaign is in a fight for its life as charges of plagiarism have led to questions of whether McInnis can stay in the race.
Republicans in Colorado say he's a dead man walking, and they are exploring the ins and outs of how to get another nominee.
The Denver Post this week uncovered two examples of alleged plagiarism by McInnis -- one in papers McInnis wrote for a fellowship a few years ago and another in a Washington Post column and speech he delivered in 1994.
Sources in Colorado Republican circles say it's likely a matter of when, not if, McInnis will exit the race.
"Almost without exception, they think he is done," said one senior Colorado Republican who spoke on the condition that his name not be used.
"He may be the last one to know it, but he's dead in the water," said another. "It's likely he will resist heavily, but at some point he's got to realize this is a fact of life." ...
McInnis should throw in the towel
After revelations of plagiarism and other cases of questionable judgment, it's clear the GOP candidate is not fit to be governor.
By The Denver Post
Posted: 07/14/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Revelations of extensive plagiarism in work that gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis claimed as his own call into question his fitness for public office.
The lifted work, examined in The Denver Post, constitutes inexcusable intellectual thievery. It is so damaging that we believe McInnis ought to drop out of the race.
Colorado's next governor should be a person of integrity, a trusted hand to lead the state through difficult times.
The Post revealed in Tuesday's paper that McInnis was paid to write essays on water in 2005 and 2006 yet turned in writings that had been plagiarized. Now we learn he did the same thing in a 1994 op-ed in the Rocky Mountain News.
We were astonished Tuesday to hear McInnis, in an interview with 9News, call the revelations over his water essays a "non-issue." Later, he did tell us he had made a mistake and that he should have checked the material. Yes, he should have.
The Hasan Family Foundation paid McInnis $300,000 over two years to give talks on water issues and write original, monthly articles on the topic. The plagiarism detailed by Post reporter Karen E. Crummy is extensive.
McInnis says he hired a consultant to serve as an expert for the writings. Yet the foundation hired McInnis as the expert, and McInnis' work never mentioned the help of anyone else. It was presented as his own.
The written work he submitted to the foundation included numerous instances of passages that were copied, with few changes, from scholarly work originated by Gregory J. Hobbs, who is now a Colorado Supreme Court justice.
The former congressman was paid handsomely for work that he said was "original and not reprinted from any other source." It was McInnis' obligation to ensure that was true.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've had questions about McInnis' judgment. ...
After revelations of plagiarism and other cases of questionable judgment, it's clear the GOP candidate is not fit to be governor.
By The Denver Post
Posted: 07/14/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Revelations of extensive plagiarism in work that gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis claimed as his own call into question his fitness for public office.
The lifted work, examined in The Denver Post, constitutes inexcusable intellectual thievery. It is so damaging that we believe McInnis ought to drop out of the race.
Colorado's next governor should be a person of integrity, a trusted hand to lead the state through difficult times.
The Post revealed in Tuesday's paper that McInnis was paid to write essays on water in 2005 and 2006 yet turned in writings that had been plagiarized. Now we learn he did the same thing in a 1994 op-ed in the Rocky Mountain News.
We were astonished Tuesday to hear McInnis, in an interview with 9News, call the revelations over his water essays a "non-issue." Later, he did tell us he had made a mistake and that he should have checked the material. Yes, he should have.
The Hasan Family Foundation paid McInnis $300,000 over two years to give talks on water issues and write original, monthly articles on the topic. The plagiarism detailed by Post reporter Karen E. Crummy is extensive.
McInnis says he hired a consultant to serve as an expert for the writings. Yet the foundation hired McInnis as the expert, and McInnis' work never mentioned the help of anyone else. It was presented as his own.
The written work he submitted to the foundation included numerous instances of passages that were copied, with few changes, from scholarly work originated by Gregory J. Hobbs, who is now a Colorado Supreme Court justice.
The former congressman was paid handsomely for work that he said was "original and not reprinted from any other source." It was McInnis' obligation to ensure that was true.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've had questions about McInnis' judgment. ...
Researcher: CO gov. campaign trying to pass blame
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 15, 2010; 12:40 AM
DENVER -- A researcher who Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis blamed for plagiarism allegations says he won't sign a letter from the campaign owning up to what happened because he claims McInnis is lying.
Researcher Rolly Fischer told KMGH-TV in an interview Wednesday that McInnis' campaign sent him a letter to sign in which Fischer would say the alleged plagiarism was "solely my own." A McInnis spokesman didn't immediately return a call for comment. ...
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 15, 2010; 12:40 AM
DENVER -- A researcher who Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis blamed for plagiarism allegations says he won't sign a letter from the campaign owning up to what happened because he claims McInnis is lying.
Researcher Rolly Fischer told KMGH-TV in an interview Wednesday that McInnis' campaign sent him a letter to sign in which Fischer would say the alleged plagiarism was "solely my own." A McInnis spokesman didn't immediately return a call for comment. ...
BP oil spill could be tip of the iceberg as a study questions the safety of abandoned oil wells
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED 5:02 PM, JULY 7, 2010
A study has revealed there are more than 27,000 abandoned oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico - 4,600 of which may have been badly plugged and are at risk of leaking.
The investigation by Associated Press suggests the BP oil spill is just the tip of the iceberg and that abandoned wells may have been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico for decades.
Abandonment of oil wells – both permanent and temporary – is common in the oil industry. BP was in the process of temporarily abandoning its Macondo well in April when its Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew and breached the pipe.
The process of abandonment typically involves installing in the well a number of plugs of cement 30-60m long. Temporarily abandoned wells will have fewer plugs installed and are therefore not as secure.
When a well is temporarily abandoned, a plan to reuse or permanently plug it is supposed to be presented within a year. AP claims the regulation is frequently ignored with three-quarters of 'temporarily' abandoned wells being left for more than a year and more than 1,000 of them left for over 10 years.
In this time, various processes can lead to the breach of a capped well. Exposure to seawater and pressure underground can corrode pipes and cement. Oil reservoirs can repressurise thanks to "changing geological conditions", according to Andy Radford, a petroleum engineer with the American Petroleum Institute.
History suggests badly sealed oil wells are common. State records show that Texas alone has had to plug more than 21,000 abandoned wells to control pollution. ...
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED 5:02 PM, JULY 7, 2010
A study has revealed there are more than 27,000 abandoned oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico - 4,600 of which may have been badly plugged and are at risk of leaking.
The investigation by Associated Press suggests the BP oil spill is just the tip of the iceberg and that abandoned wells may have been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico for decades.
Abandonment of oil wells – both permanent and temporary – is common in the oil industry. BP was in the process of temporarily abandoning its Macondo well in April when its Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew and breached the pipe.
The process of abandonment typically involves installing in the well a number of plugs of cement 30-60m long. Temporarily abandoned wells will have fewer plugs installed and are therefore not as secure.
When a well is temporarily abandoned, a plan to reuse or permanently plug it is supposed to be presented within a year. AP claims the regulation is frequently ignored with three-quarters of 'temporarily' abandoned wells being left for more than a year and more than 1,000 of them left for over 10 years.
In this time, various processes can lead to the breach of a capped well. Exposure to seawater and pressure underground can corrode pipes and cement. Oil reservoirs can repressurise thanks to "changing geological conditions", according to Andy Radford, a petroleum engineer with the American Petroleum Institute.
History suggests badly sealed oil wells are common. State records show that Texas alone has had to plug more than 21,000 abandoned wells to control pollution. ...
The former chief executive of a British chemical company faces the prospect of extradition to the US after the firm admitted million-dollar bribes to officials to sell toxic fuel additives to Iraq.
Paul Jennings, until last year chief executive of the Octel chemical works near Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, and his predecessor, Dennis Kerrison, exported tonnes of tetra ethyl lead (TEL), to Iraq. TEL is banned from cars in western countries because of links with brain damage to children. Iraq is believed to be the only country that still adds lead to petrol.
The company recently admitted that, in a deliberate policy to maximise profits, executives from Octel – which since changed its name to Innospec – bribed officials in Iraq and Indonesia with millions of dollars to carry on using TEL, despite its health hazards.
The firm's Lebanese agent, Osama Naaman, was extradited and agreed this week to plead guilty and co-operate with US prosecutors. Although the US department of justice has run much of the case, the Serious Fraud Office is keen to claim jurisdiction.
Senior Iraqi oil ministry officials are accused of taking British bribes throughout the UK-US occupation, up until 2008. Ahmad al-Shamma, the deputy oil minister in Iraq, told the Guardian he would investigate the charges. He strongly denied courtroom allegations that he himself had taken a free holiday in Thailand. He said he had never been to Thailand and that a middle man involved, now under arrest in the US, may have pocketed the alleged payment himself.
Both Jennings and Kerrison are identified in court statements by the US department of justice, which is conducting an expanding corruption investigation and may seek Jennings's extradition to the US, according to legal sources. ...
Paul Jennings, until last year chief executive of the Octel chemical works near Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, and his predecessor, Dennis Kerrison, exported tonnes of tetra ethyl lead (TEL), to Iraq. TEL is banned from cars in western countries because of links with brain damage to children. Iraq is believed to be the only country that still adds lead to petrol.
The company recently admitted that, in a deliberate policy to maximise profits, executives from Octel – which since changed its name to Innospec – bribed officials in Iraq and Indonesia with millions of dollars to carry on using TEL, despite its health hazards.
The firm's Lebanese agent, Osama Naaman, was extradited and agreed this week to plead guilty and co-operate with US prosecutors. Although the US department of justice has run much of the case, the Serious Fraud Office is keen to claim jurisdiction.
Senior Iraqi oil ministry officials are accused of taking British bribes throughout the UK-US occupation, up until 2008. Ahmad al-Shamma, the deputy oil minister in Iraq, told the Guardian he would investigate the charges. He strongly denied courtroom allegations that he himself had taken a free holiday in Thailand. He said he had never been to Thailand and that a middle man involved, now under arrest in the US, may have pocketed the alleged payment himself.
Both Jennings and Kerrison are identified in court statements by the US department of justice, which is conducting an expanding corruption investigation and may seek Jennings's extradition to the US, according to legal sources. ...
6. teabagger
A misinformed, right-wing corporate media consumer who often fails to understand that BOTH major parties represent a corrupt plutocracy that steals from the middle class by taxing labor and profiting from corporate tax subsidies.
A teabagger also often fails to acknowledge that George W. Bush and his neo-conservative minions perpetrated one of the boldest and most egregious executive power grabs in the history of the United States. Furthermore, teabaggers mistakenly continue to blame a newly elected President Obama for all that ails the United States of America, based on a grossly flawed perception of reality (including latent racial prejudice) and despite the fact the U.S. economy collapsed on the previous administration's watch.
Teabaggers are also known to base their misguided, right-wing-media-inspired beliefs about President Obama on stupid conspiracy theories about totalitarian takeovers, FEMA camps, etc., despite the fact these very same theories have been circulating around on the Internet for years, and were originally ascribed to neo-conservative cabalists at a time when Barack Obama had not even entered national politics. Teabaggers also are known to be particularly paranoid, xenophobic and intolerant, especially with regard to immigrants and anyone who isn't white.
Additionally, teabaggers generally echo stupid myths about entitlement spending (it actually only accounts for about 1% of federal budget spending), have no idea that most poor people in America are not lazy, actually do work and don't want to be on welfare, and have no idea what socialism actually means or that socialist reform in this country is actually what allowed a middle class to flourish and ultimately make the U.S. one of the most prosperous nations in human history.
Furthermore, teabaggers incorrectly equate socialism with Stalinism, think a system that rewards greed (capitalism) is the divine preference (despite Gospel evidence to the contrary), and are shameless champions of a misguided belief in American exceptionalism. Teabaggers also fail to recognize the inherently unpatriotic nature of their failed every-man-for-himself ideology that ultimately vilifies anyone who supports public policy aimed at reaching out to fellow Americans in need. They celebrate an exploitative corporatocracy (holy creator of jobs, blah blah blah) while denigrating the little guy for being "weak."
Interestingly, teabaggers uphold an immoral, morbidly obese, twice divorced, draft-dodging, college dropout and known drug addict as their de facto leader, and are even known to advocate burning books. Of course, teabaggers fail to recognize the blatant hypocrisy within the GOP and tend to oversimplify all political debate and social issues, much like their pseudo-intellectual, fat-ass leader.
Finally, incredibly, teabaggers fail to recognize the hysterical double entendre associated with their proudly adopted teabag moniker.
Every village has its idiots, of course, but it's sad when citizens of any nation allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy en masse by a state-run propaganda machine masquerading as a legitimate, fair, balanced and independent news organization. Teabaggers are right to believe the future of the U.S.A. is in jeopardy, but sadly they have not yet correctly identified the real enemy. Perhaps when teabaggers finally grow up and mature into thinking adults, they will see the right-leaning power establishment for the oppressive and cunning beast that it is.
Teabagger: We don't care that George Bush tripled the deficit and lied us into a war. The new administration only cut taxes for 90% of the population... fascists. Let's go throw some Lipton tea bags into a fountain!
tags: brainwashed misfit idiot fool foxlover
by deepshot Apr 20, 2009
Ta much, dear MSiegel
A misinformed, right-wing corporate media consumer who often fails to understand that BOTH major parties represent a corrupt plutocracy that steals from the middle class by taxing labor and profiting from corporate tax subsidies.
A teabagger also often fails to acknowledge that George W. Bush and his neo-conservative minions perpetrated one of the boldest and most egregious executive power grabs in the history of the United States. Furthermore, teabaggers mistakenly continue to blame a newly elected President Obama for all that ails the United States of America, based on a grossly flawed perception of reality (including latent racial prejudice) and despite the fact the U.S. economy collapsed on the previous administration's watch.
Teabaggers are also known to base their misguided, right-wing-media-inspired beliefs about President Obama on stupid conspiracy theories about totalitarian takeovers, FEMA camps, etc., despite the fact these very same theories have been circulating around on the Internet for years, and were originally ascribed to neo-conservative cabalists at a time when Barack Obama had not even entered national politics. Teabaggers also are known to be particularly paranoid, xenophobic and intolerant, especially with regard to immigrants and anyone who isn't white.
Additionally, teabaggers generally echo stupid myths about entitlement spending (it actually only accounts for about 1% of federal budget spending), have no idea that most poor people in America are not lazy, actually do work and don't want to be on welfare, and have no idea what socialism actually means or that socialist reform in this country is actually what allowed a middle class to flourish and ultimately make the U.S. one of the most prosperous nations in human history.
Furthermore, teabaggers incorrectly equate socialism with Stalinism, think a system that rewards greed (capitalism) is the divine preference (despite Gospel evidence to the contrary), and are shameless champions of a misguided belief in American exceptionalism. Teabaggers also fail to recognize the inherently unpatriotic nature of their failed every-man-for-himself ideology that ultimately vilifies anyone who supports public policy aimed at reaching out to fellow Americans in need. They celebrate an exploitative corporatocracy (holy creator of jobs, blah blah blah) while denigrating the little guy for being "weak."
Interestingly, teabaggers uphold an immoral, morbidly obese, twice divorced, draft-dodging, college dropout and known drug addict as their de facto leader, and are even known to advocate burning books. Of course, teabaggers fail to recognize the blatant hypocrisy within the GOP and tend to oversimplify all political debate and social issues, much like their pseudo-intellectual, fat-ass leader.
Finally, incredibly, teabaggers fail to recognize the hysterical double entendre associated with their proudly adopted teabag moniker.
Every village has its idiots, of course, but it's sad when citizens of any nation allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy en masse by a state-run propaganda machine masquerading as a legitimate, fair, balanced and independent news organization. Teabaggers are right to believe the future of the U.S.A. is in jeopardy, but sadly they have not yet correctly identified the real enemy. Perhaps when teabaggers finally grow up and mature into thinking adults, they will see the right-leaning power establishment for the oppressive and cunning beast that it is.
Teabagger: We don't care that George Bush tripled the deficit and lied us into a war. The new administration only cut taxes for 90% of the population... fascists. Let's go throw some Lipton tea bags into a fountain!
tags: brainwashed misfit idiot fool foxlover
by deepshot Apr 20, 2009
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Arrests made amidst violent G20 protests
By Ashley Terry, Linda Nguyen and Mark Kennedy
Canwest News Service June 27, 2010 12:06 AM
TORONTO — Riot police arrested more than a hundred G20 protesters who rampaged through the city’s downtown core burning police cars and smashing windows on Saturday.
A small group of black-clad protesters were surrounded at a downtown intersection around 10 p.m. ET.
A police line in full riot gear began marching at the group, banging their batons on their shields, in hopes of preventing more protesters from moving towards the G20 security fence still located blocks away.
The mood was tense as a small number of protesters yelled obscenities. Helicopters could be heard overhead.
The officers loudly chanted: “Move, move,” as they marched.
One older man was pushed by police out of the way as he was seeking shelter from the pouring rain. ...
By Ashley Terry, Linda Nguyen and Mark Kennedy
Canwest News Service June 27, 2010 12:06 AM
TORONTO — Riot police arrested more than a hundred G20 protesters who rampaged through the city’s downtown core burning police cars and smashing windows on Saturday.
A small group of black-clad protesters were surrounded at a downtown intersection around 10 p.m. ET.
A police line in full riot gear began marching at the group, banging their batons on their shields, in hopes of preventing more protesters from moving towards the G20 security fence still located blocks away.
The mood was tense as a small number of protesters yelled obscenities. Helicopters could be heard overhead.
The officers loudly chanted: “Move, move,” as they marched.
One older man was pushed by police out of the way as he was seeking shelter from the pouring rain. ...
Media covering G20 caught up in arrests
Canwest News Service June 27, 2010 1:02 AM
TORONTO — Two National Post photographers were arrested Saturday night during anti-G20 demonstrations in downtown Toronto.
Brent Gundlock, a staff photographer for the Post, was tackled and taken away by several police officers in riot gear as they attempted to disperse protesters hanging around near the Ontario legislature.
Kier Gilmour, a photographer for Canwest News Service who witnessed the arrest, said the officers knocked Gundlock to the ground and then dragged him away. He had been standing with several other media photographers at the time.
"They slammed him down, onto his ass so to speak, then they dragged him back up and pulled him back to the police line," Gilmour said.
He said the photographer was not wearing his yellow media credentials at the time. He had taken the badge off because he was trying to stay close to members of the Black Bloc — the anarchist group believed to be behind many of the outbreaks of violence at the demonstrations — and they did not want members of the media among them.
Colin O’Connor, a freelance photographer working for the Post, was also apparently detained.
Gilmour said the police were being very aggressive in trying to disperse the remaining demonstrators near Queen’s Park, which is several blocks away from the secure zone where the G20 meeting is taking place. ...
Canwest News Service June 27, 2010 1:02 AM
TORONTO — Two National Post photographers were arrested Saturday night during anti-G20 demonstrations in downtown Toronto.
Brent Gundlock, a staff photographer for the Post, was tackled and taken away by several police officers in riot gear as they attempted to disperse protesters hanging around near the Ontario legislature.
Kier Gilmour, a photographer for Canwest News Service who witnessed the arrest, said the officers knocked Gundlock to the ground and then dragged him away. He had been standing with several other media photographers at the time.
"They slammed him down, onto his ass so to speak, then they dragged him back up and pulled him back to the police line," Gilmour said.
He said the photographer was not wearing his yellow media credentials at the time. He had taken the badge off because he was trying to stay close to members of the Black Bloc — the anarchist group believed to be behind many of the outbreaks of violence at the demonstrations — and they did not want members of the media among them.
Colin O’Connor, a freelance photographer working for the Post, was also apparently detained.
Gilmour said the police were being very aggressive in trying to disperse the remaining demonstrators near Queen’s Park, which is several blocks away from the secure zone where the G20 meeting is taking place. ...
Mission Accomplished: The Reagan Occupation and the Destruction of the American Middle Class
by David Michael Green | June 25, 2010
... If Americans understood the real ambitions of Ronald Reagan and his puppeteers, and if they knew the degree to which the supposed patriotism of those folks extended beyond falsity and into the far darker waters of being an irritating irrelevance put on purely for show, then they would not only stop seeing Reagan as some sort of national hero, but would also understand that he instead launched a process far more equivalent to an invasion and occupation of this country.
The goal of the right - which cares about America about as much as it does about Burkina Faso - has been to restore the economic order last seen under Herbert Hoover, in which a tiny minority possess vast sums of wealth and there is (therefore) essentially no remaining middle class. It is nothing short of a breathtaking display of a world class greed, worthy of the ages.
It has also been a work of strategic genius (in much the same way one might appreciate the Germans' engineering prowess in figuring out the logistics of how to mass murder ten or twelve million civilians in a year or two), one which has drawn upon deep psychological insights, absolutely sociopathic amoralism, and clever tactics that have all simultaneously pushed in the same direction. In plain English, they hired some politicians of hit-man level moral integrity, who then marshaled fear, insecurity, hate and deceit into a witch's brew of self-destruction that would prove highly attractive to a large segment of the population already sinking from the effects of a global economic order rebalancing after decades of post-war American dominance.
Of course, you couldn't just come right out and say, "Vote for me and I'll give your money to people so rich they can't even imagine what they'll do with it (but they still demand to have it anyhow)", so slightly more subtle tactics had to be employed. It is telling that the most honest thing Barack Obama ever said was when he thought there were no microphones in the room. But he was right when, at a presidential fundraiser in San Francisco he told the wine and cheese set that the right uses guns, god and gays (I would add Gaddafis) to scare people out of their money. I'll believe that Republicans are serious about protecting heterosexual marriage on the day that you can't find half of them prowling the gay bars of DC every night (and you don't even want to know what the other half are into).
This bait-and-switch tactic worked perfectly well whenever it was applied. It didn't hurt that the regressive Billy-Bobs who vote for these folks are as dumb as a tree. With bags of hammers for leaves. But stupid is really only the facilitating quality, and often one that is neither present nor required. What really drives this stuff is fear. If you can turn that into a loathing of fur'ners, fags, bitches, blackies and brownies, you got their vote. Then you can do what you really set out to accomplish in the first place. George W. Bush's 2004 campaign was the paradigmatic example....
by David Michael Green | June 25, 2010
... If Americans understood the real ambitions of Ronald Reagan and his puppeteers, and if they knew the degree to which the supposed patriotism of those folks extended beyond falsity and into the far darker waters of being an irritating irrelevance put on purely for show, then they would not only stop seeing Reagan as some sort of national hero, but would also understand that he instead launched a process far more equivalent to an invasion and occupation of this country.
The goal of the right - which cares about America about as much as it does about Burkina Faso - has been to restore the economic order last seen under Herbert Hoover, in which a tiny minority possess vast sums of wealth and there is (therefore) essentially no remaining middle class. It is nothing short of a breathtaking display of a world class greed, worthy of the ages.
It has also been a work of strategic genius (in much the same way one might appreciate the Germans' engineering prowess in figuring out the logistics of how to mass murder ten or twelve million civilians in a year or two), one which has drawn upon deep psychological insights, absolutely sociopathic amoralism, and clever tactics that have all simultaneously pushed in the same direction. In plain English, they hired some politicians of hit-man level moral integrity, who then marshaled fear, insecurity, hate and deceit into a witch's brew of self-destruction that would prove highly attractive to a large segment of the population already sinking from the effects of a global economic order rebalancing after decades of post-war American dominance.
Of course, you couldn't just come right out and say, "Vote for me and I'll give your money to people so rich they can't even imagine what they'll do with it (but they still demand to have it anyhow)", so slightly more subtle tactics had to be employed. It is telling that the most honest thing Barack Obama ever said was when he thought there were no microphones in the room. But he was right when, at a presidential fundraiser in San Francisco he told the wine and cheese set that the right uses guns, god and gays (I would add Gaddafis) to scare people out of their money. I'll believe that Republicans are serious about protecting heterosexual marriage on the day that you can't find half of them prowling the gay bars of DC every night (and you don't even want to know what the other half are into).
This bait-and-switch tactic worked perfectly well whenever it was applied. It didn't hurt that the regressive Billy-Bobs who vote for these folks are as dumb as a tree. With bags of hammers for leaves. But stupid is really only the facilitating quality, and often one that is neither present nor required. What really drives this stuff is fear. If you can turn that into a loathing of fur'ners, fags, bitches, blackies and brownies, you got their vote. Then you can do what you really set out to accomplish in the first place. George W. Bush's 2004 campaign was the paradigmatic example....
... The parents are Ashkenazi, originating from Europe, and are in a long-running battle to have their daughters educated separately from Sephardi girls originating from north Africa and the Middle East. ...
... The reason for wanting separate education, the parents claim, is not racism but a desire to remove their daughters from the influence of those they consider less strict in their religious observance. Watching TV at home, having access to the internet, and a laxer dress code among the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox have been cited.
The ultra-Orthodox school in the illegal West Bank settlement of Immanuel segregated the girls, a move that was subject to a legal challenge resulting in an order to reintegrate. The parents of the 43 girls refused to send them back to mixed classes, leading to sentences for contempt of court.
Underlying the case is the rejection of what the ultra-Orthodox community sees as state interference in their religious practice and life. "We don't give our girls all the knowledge that there is in the world," said Esther Bark, 50, a mother of seven daughters watching the male-only demonstration today. "We shelter them, and that's why they need a sheltered school. We can't mix a whole assortment of girls in one school." [Italics mine.]
As police helicopters throbbed over the mass of black-hatted demonstrators, Aaron Shuv, 28, said: "We only follow the rules of God. The Torah [scriptures] is above all government."
The issue had nothing to do with discrimination, said Dubin, a father of two. "No court in the world should have the right to tell me how to educate my sons or daughters. The court went against our rabbis."
Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community has swollen to a third of the Jewish population, assisted by a high birthrate and departure of thousands of secular residents. The secular population is increasingly resentful that its taxes support welfare benefits for the ultra-Orthodox, who reject paid work in favour of religious study. ...
So move to Saudi Arabia, you parasitical, racist, sexist morons!
... The reason for wanting separate education, the parents claim, is not racism but a desire to remove their daughters from the influence of those they consider less strict in their religious observance. Watching TV at home, having access to the internet, and a laxer dress code among the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox have been cited.
The ultra-Orthodox school in the illegal West Bank settlement of Immanuel segregated the girls, a move that was subject to a legal challenge resulting in an order to reintegrate. The parents of the 43 girls refused to send them back to mixed classes, leading to sentences for contempt of court.
Underlying the case is the rejection of what the ultra-Orthodox community sees as state interference in their religious practice and life. "We don't give our girls all the knowledge that there is in the world," said Esther Bark, 50, a mother of seven daughters watching the male-only demonstration today. "We shelter them, and that's why they need a sheltered school. We can't mix a whole assortment of girls in one school." [Italics mine.]
As police helicopters throbbed over the mass of black-hatted demonstrators, Aaron Shuv, 28, said: "We only follow the rules of God. The Torah [scriptures] is above all government."
The issue had nothing to do with discrimination, said Dubin, a father of two. "No court in the world should have the right to tell me how to educate my sons or daughters. The court went against our rabbis."
Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community has swollen to a third of the Jewish population, assisted by a high birthrate and departure of thousands of secular residents. The secular population is increasingly resentful that its taxes support welfare benefits for the ultra-Orthodox, who reject paid work in favour of religious study. ...
So move to Saudi Arabia, you parasitical, racist, sexist morons!
American troops going home from Iraq after seven painful years are leaving behind a legacy that is literally toxic.
An investigation by The Times in five Iraqi provinces has found that hazardous material from US bases is being dumped locally rather than sent back to America, in clear breach of Pentagon rules.
North and west of Baghdad, engine oil is leaking from 55-gallon drums into dusty ground, open acid canisters sit within easy reach of children, and discarded batteries lie close to irrigated farmland. A 2009 Pentagon document shown to The Times by a private contractor working with US soldiers mentions “an estimated 11 million pounds [5,000 tonnes] of hazardous waste” produced by American troops.
But even this figure appears to be only a partial estimate. Brigadier General Kendall Cox, who is responsible for engineering and infrastructure in Iraq, told The Times yesterday that he was in the process of disposing of 14,500 tonnes of oil and soil contaminated with oil. “This has accumulated over seven years,” he said. ...
An investigation by The Times in five Iraqi provinces has found that hazardous material from US bases is being dumped locally rather than sent back to America, in clear breach of Pentagon rules.
North and west of Baghdad, engine oil is leaking from 55-gallon drums into dusty ground, open acid canisters sit within easy reach of children, and discarded batteries lie close to irrigated farmland. A 2009 Pentagon document shown to The Times by a private contractor working with US soldiers mentions “an estimated 11 million pounds [5,000 tonnes] of hazardous waste” produced by American troops.
But even this figure appears to be only a partial estimate. Brigadier General Kendall Cox, who is responsible for engineering and infrastructure in Iraq, told The Times yesterday that he was in the process of disposing of 14,500 tonnes of oil and soil contaminated with oil. “This has accumulated over seven years,” he said. ...
Screw you, fbi.
David Cameron sought to distance himself from BP yesterday, dashing any hopes that he might intervene to repair the company’s appalling relations with Washington over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The US Administration is now pursuing a criminal investigation into BP. Yesterday a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “Clearly Mr Cameron is concerned about the situation but it is primarily a matter for the company.”
It is understood that BP will meet Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, today after a request by the company. It is also understood that the new Government has not asked to meet BP to discuss the spill. However, BP representatives briefed Energy Department officials at a recent event in Aberdeen.
BP said: “We have not approached No 10 for assistance but have had conversations with officials to keep them up to date. We could well be talking to ministers over the next week or so.”
Shares in BP have lost a third of their value since the rig exploded in April. The shares closed down just 0.25p to 429.75p yesterday as investors began to believe the company would hold to its pledge not to cut the dividend. There was also speculation that BHP Billiton, the mining giant, may emerge as a white knight if BP has to sell its Gulf of Mexico assets. ...
It is understood that BP will meet Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, today after a request by the company. It is also understood that the new Government has not asked to meet BP to discuss the spill. However, BP representatives briefed Energy Department officials at a recent event in Aberdeen.
BP said: “We have not approached No 10 for assistance but have had conversations with officials to keep them up to date. We could well be talking to ministers over the next week or so.”
Shares in BP have lost a third of their value since the rig exploded in April. The shares closed down just 0.25p to 429.75p yesterday as investors began to believe the company would hold to its pledge not to cut the dividend. There was also speculation that BHP Billiton, the mining giant, may emerge as a white knight if BP has to sell its Gulf of Mexico assets. ...
Witter to probe army strike
Published: Friday | May 28, 2010
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
THE Golding administration has announced an independent enquiry into the security operation in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town in west Kingston which left at least 73 civilians dead and three members of the security forces killed.
Public Defender Earl Witter and a team to be selected by him will carry out a probe into what is being described by some as the largest casualty figure arising from a security-force operation in Jamaica.
"The Government will be having independent investigations on all police-military operations taking place to date. That will be the starting point," Information Minister Daryl Vaz told journalists yesterday at a press conference at the Hilton hotel in New Kingston.
The investigation comes as the Government yesterday expressed concern about alleged reports of misconduct in the security operation in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town.
"These vary from mistreatment of citizens to innocent persons being killed. The Government is committed and insistent that the rights of citizens be respected and observed," Vaz stated.
He said the public defender would set up office in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town to provide easy access to residents who wanted to make complaints. ...
Published: Friday | May 28, 2010
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
THE Golding administration has announced an independent enquiry into the security operation in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town in west Kingston which left at least 73 civilians dead and three members of the security forces killed.
Public Defender Earl Witter and a team to be selected by him will carry out a probe into what is being described by some as the largest casualty figure arising from a security-force operation in Jamaica.
"The Government will be having independent investigations on all police-military operations taking place to date. That will be the starting point," Information Minister Daryl Vaz told journalists yesterday at a press conference at the Hilton hotel in New Kingston.
The investigation comes as the Government yesterday expressed concern about alleged reports of misconduct in the security operation in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town.
"These vary from mistreatment of citizens to innocent persons being killed. The Government is committed and insistent that the rights of citizens be respected and observed," Vaz stated.
He said the public defender would set up office in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town to provide easy access to residents who wanted to make complaints. ...
How far should we let Big Oil go?
An alternative annual report for the oil company Chevron looks at the deep costs paid for the world's oil addiction
Antonia Juhasz
Monday 24 May 2010
... As I prepare for the annual general meeting of the fourth largest global oil company – Chevron (BP is the third largest) – I am confronted daily by people who are looking around their own communities and out across the world with new-found attention to the deep costs paid every day for our oil addiction.
A new alternative annual report for Chevron, The True Cost of Chevron, of which I am an author and the editor, will be released at a press conference on 25 May in Houston, Texas – just a few hundred miles from the sites where oil is washing up on shore following the explosion on BP's rig. Written by dozens of authors from 16 countries and 10 states from across the US who either live in, or advocate on behalf of, communities where Chevron operates, the report criticises Chevron's record on human rights, the environment, the climate, public health, worker safety and treatment of indigenous populations.
From Chevron's coalfields in Alabama to its oil wells in Indonesia, the report examines operations mired in accusations of human rights abuse (Angola, Burma, Indonesia, Chad and Nigeria); mass environmental and human health devastation (including Ecuador, Kazakhstan and Canada); toxic abuse of its neighbours (including Alabama, California, Mississippi, Texas, Thailand and the Philippines); abuse of its workers (including Utah); threats to endangered species (including Australia and the US Gulf Coast); and, in Iraq, intensifying the violent insurgency and putting the lives of US and Iraqi service members at greater risk.
There is also a powerful silver lining. All of these authors are part of a global resistance movement bringing its message to Houston where Chevron is hosting its AGM.
It has likely been 40 years since the American public in particular, was so ready to hear and embrace this message. In 1969, a Unocal (now Chevron) oil platform off the coast of California experienced a massive blowout and the issue forced its way to the nation's attention. Activists organised against offshore drilling in their community, ultimately enlisting millions of supporters and advocates, spawning a massive environmental movement which, within just a few years, achieved the establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the US Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. ...
An alternative annual report for the oil company Chevron looks at the deep costs paid for the world's oil addiction
Antonia Juhasz
Monday 24 May 2010
... As I prepare for the annual general meeting of the fourth largest global oil company – Chevron (BP is the third largest) – I am confronted daily by people who are looking around their own communities and out across the world with new-found attention to the deep costs paid every day for our oil addiction.
A new alternative annual report for Chevron, The True Cost of Chevron, of which I am an author and the editor, will be released at a press conference on 25 May in Houston, Texas – just a few hundred miles from the sites where oil is washing up on shore following the explosion on BP's rig. Written by dozens of authors from 16 countries and 10 states from across the US who either live in, or advocate on behalf of, communities where Chevron operates, the report criticises Chevron's record on human rights, the environment, the climate, public health, worker safety and treatment of indigenous populations.
From Chevron's coalfields in Alabama to its oil wells in Indonesia, the report examines operations mired in accusations of human rights abuse (Angola, Burma, Indonesia, Chad and Nigeria); mass environmental and human health devastation (including Ecuador, Kazakhstan and Canada); toxic abuse of its neighbours (including Alabama, California, Mississippi, Texas, Thailand and the Philippines); abuse of its workers (including Utah); threats to endangered species (including Australia and the US Gulf Coast); and, in Iraq, intensifying the violent insurgency and putting the lives of US and Iraqi service members at greater risk.
There is also a powerful silver lining. All of these authors are part of a global resistance movement bringing its message to Houston where Chevron is hosting its AGM.
It has likely been 40 years since the American public in particular, was so ready to hear and embrace this message. In 1969, a Unocal (now Chevron) oil platform off the coast of California experienced a massive blowout and the issue forced its way to the nation's attention. Activists organised against offshore drilling in their community, ultimately enlisting millions of supporters and advocates, spawning a massive environmental movement which, within just a few years, achieved the establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the US Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. ...
Posted: May 21, 2010
Raid footage in hands of State Police TV crew
BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The production company for the TV crew that was with Detroit police when an officer's gun went off, killing 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, said it has turned over its footage to Michigan State Police.
The crew following the Detroit Police Special Response Team early Sunday shot footage from outside the house only, according to a statement released Thursday on behalf of ITV Studios, which produces "The First 48" for A&E.
Earlier this week, a person familiar with the case told the Free Press that the film crew had turned over its video to Detroit police on Sunday.
A second source told the Free Press on Thursday that the tape turned over to Detroit police was a copy of the original. The film crew, though, had a second camera operator at the raid who did not surrender footage Sunday. In the days since the shooting, copies of footage from both cameras were turned over to the State Police.
The girl was shot in the neck during the raid after an officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window of her east-side duplex. Police say the gun went off accidentally when a cop came in contact with the girl's grandmother. The grandmother denies any contact.
Detroit attorney Herschel Fink, who is representing ITV, said the footage turned over to State Police is not the footage referenced by Geoffrey Fieger, the lawyer for the girl's family. Fink also frequently represents the Free Press in First Amendment and other legal matters.
State Police "have the ITV footage, but ITV was not the source of the footage supposedly shown to the attorney for the family," Fink said. ...
Raid footage in hands of State Police TV crew
BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The production company for the TV crew that was with Detroit police when an officer's gun went off, killing 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, said it has turned over its footage to Michigan State Police.
The crew following the Detroit Police Special Response Team early Sunday shot footage from outside the house only, according to a statement released Thursday on behalf of ITV Studios, which produces "The First 48" for A&E.
Earlier this week, a person familiar with the case told the Free Press that the film crew had turned over its video to Detroit police on Sunday.
A second source told the Free Press on Thursday that the tape turned over to Detroit police was a copy of the original. The film crew, though, had a second camera operator at the raid who did not surrender footage Sunday. In the days since the shooting, copies of footage from both cameras were turned over to the State Police.
The girl was shot in the neck during the raid after an officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window of her east-side duplex. Police say the gun went off accidentally when a cop came in contact with the girl's grandmother. The grandmother denies any contact.
Detroit attorney Herschel Fink, who is representing ITV, said the footage turned over to State Police is not the footage referenced by Geoffrey Fieger, the lawyer for the girl's family. Fink also frequently represents the Free Press in First Amendment and other legal matters.
State Police "have the ITV footage, but ITV was not the source of the footage supposedly shown to the attorney for the family," Fink said. ...
It is 19 years since Erin Brockovich first went into battle against corporate America. She was a small-town single mum who stood up to an industrial Goliath and won. Now, as she champions a new case with a depressingly similar plot, it is clear that she has lost none of her fighting spirit or trademark candour.
“Stand up to BP and say, ‘You know what, I’m not taking your shit any more’ ,” she tells an audience of more than 300 anxious individuals in Pensacola, Florida, who have gathered to hear how they can seek legal redress for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
“If you stand down and you say nothing and you get complacent and let them run over you, they will do that. They are already doing that. I’m telling you: Don’t let them,” she continues, and is greeted with applause.
But backstage, the 49-year-old former beauty queen whose grit helped to win hundreds of millions of dollars for wronged communities and made her a symbol of environmental activism seems momentarily beaten.
“In all my 19 years this is the first time I feel helpless,” she admits, wiping away a tear. “I’m the one that usually sends a message of hope and I’m feeling helpless in this scenario because it’s so big and so complex and so . . . just awful.”
It is a powerful confession for a woman whose life story is based on mental toughness, a “modern-day David who loves a good brawl with today’s Goliaths”, as she admits.
In 1991, as a filing clerk at a legal firm in California, she uncovered a scandal in which a utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric, had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley by leaking toxic Chromium 6 into the ground water. The subsequent court settlement of $333 million was the largest of its kind and inspired a Hollywood film, with Julia Roberts winning an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ms Brockovich. ...
“Stand up to BP and say, ‘You know what, I’m not taking your shit any more’ ,” she tells an audience of more than 300 anxious individuals in Pensacola, Florida, who have gathered to hear how they can seek legal redress for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
“If you stand down and you say nothing and you get complacent and let them run over you, they will do that. They are already doing that. I’m telling you: Don’t let them,” she continues, and is greeted with applause.
But backstage, the 49-year-old former beauty queen whose grit helped to win hundreds of millions of dollars for wronged communities and made her a symbol of environmental activism seems momentarily beaten.
“In all my 19 years this is the first time I feel helpless,” she admits, wiping away a tear. “I’m the one that usually sends a message of hope and I’m feeling helpless in this scenario because it’s so big and so complex and so . . . just awful.”
It is a powerful confession for a woman whose life story is based on mental toughness, a “modern-day David who loves a good brawl with today’s Goliaths”, as she admits.
In 1991, as a filing clerk at a legal firm in California, she uncovered a scandal in which a utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric, had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley by leaking toxic Chromium 6 into the ground water. The subsequent court settlement of $333 million was the largest of its kind and inspired a Hollywood film, with Julia Roberts winning an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ms Brockovich. ...
May 22, 2010
Aiyana Jones murder turns spotlight on a nation hooked on reality TV
Giles Whittell in Washington
When police scooped up the limp body of Aiyana Jones, 7, last Sunday night they promised her father that she would be all right. They were wrong. She was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, the victim of a police Swat team member being filmed for a reality TV show.
Miss Jones went to sleep for the last time under the front window of her parents’ flat on Detroit’s violent and impoverished east side. A police bullet killed her later that night. The porch outside is now festooned with flowers, teddy bears and “you will be missed” balloons.
Her body went on display yesterday at a nearby funeral parlour. She will be eulogised at her funeral today by the Rev Al Sharpton, with the Rev Jesse Jackson in attendance — figures from an era of racial politics that millions of Americans hoped to consign to history two years ago by voting for Barack Obama.
Six days after police burst into the Jones’s flat — the wrong flat — Miss Jones’s death has acquired the dimensions of a national scandal. Black leaders in Washington have demanded a federal investigation into the use of paramilitary police units in poor neighbourhoods.
A white Republican candidate for governor of Michigan has condemned Mr Sharpton’s appearance at the funeral as disgusting. The family’s lawyer has accused police of a cover-up. All are being forced to confront the issue of whether the murder has been turned into entertainment for a nation addicted to reality TV.
There were 379 murders in Detroit last year alone. Miss Jones’s killing may yet be ruled manslaughter but it is her death that has focused national attention on “ridealong” TV crews and Detroit violence.
Police claim that she was struck by a bullet in the neck after her grandmother jostled a Swat team officer who was inside the flat with a search warrant for a separate murder hunt. The family’s lawyer insists that the only shot was fired from outside the building, and claims to have seen videotape that proves it.
No one denies the existence of the tape: it was shot by a film crew following the Swat team for “The First 48, a reality series for the A & E network that focuses on the crucial first two days of murder investigations. A Supreme Court ruling bars the media from following police inside private homes, forcing the crew to wait outside while the team went in.
Geoffrey Fieger, the family’s lawyer and a prominent Michigan Democrat, believes that the cameraman missed nothing. Flanked by tearful family members at a news conference this week he told reporters that the raid began with a flash-bang grenade — or bomb — being thrown through the front window to stun anyone inside. ...
Aiyana Jones murder turns spotlight on a nation hooked on reality TV
Giles Whittell in Washington
When police scooped up the limp body of Aiyana Jones, 7, last Sunday night they promised her father that she would be all right. They were wrong. She was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, the victim of a police Swat team member being filmed for a reality TV show.
Miss Jones went to sleep for the last time under the front window of her parents’ flat on Detroit’s violent and impoverished east side. A police bullet killed her later that night. The porch outside is now festooned with flowers, teddy bears and “you will be missed” balloons.
Her body went on display yesterday at a nearby funeral parlour. She will be eulogised at her funeral today by the Rev Al Sharpton, with the Rev Jesse Jackson in attendance — figures from an era of racial politics that millions of Americans hoped to consign to history two years ago by voting for Barack Obama.
Six days after police burst into the Jones’s flat — the wrong flat — Miss Jones’s death has acquired the dimensions of a national scandal. Black leaders in Washington have demanded a federal investigation into the use of paramilitary police units in poor neighbourhoods.
A white Republican candidate for governor of Michigan has condemned Mr Sharpton’s appearance at the funeral as disgusting. The family’s lawyer has accused police of a cover-up. All are being forced to confront the issue of whether the murder has been turned into entertainment for a nation addicted to reality TV.
There were 379 murders in Detroit last year alone. Miss Jones’s killing may yet be ruled manslaughter but it is her death that has focused national attention on “ridealong” TV crews and Detroit violence.
Police claim that she was struck by a bullet in the neck after her grandmother jostled a Swat team officer who was inside the flat with a search warrant for a separate murder hunt. The family’s lawyer insists that the only shot was fired from outside the building, and claims to have seen videotape that proves it.
No one denies the existence of the tape: it was shot by a film crew following the Swat team for “The First 48, a reality series for the A & E network that focuses on the crucial first two days of murder investigations. A Supreme Court ruling bars the media from following police inside private homes, forcing the crew to wait outside while the team went in.
Geoffrey Fieger, the family’s lawyer and a prominent Michigan Democrat, believes that the cameraman missed nothing. Flanked by tearful family members at a news conference this week he told reporters that the raid began with a flash-bang grenade — or bomb — being thrown through the front window to stun anyone inside. ...
ISP shuttered for hosting 'witches' brew' of spam, child porn
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
19th May 2010
A federal judge has permanently pulled the plug on a California web hosting provider accused of harboring a "witches' brew" of pernicious content on behalf of child pornographers, spammers, and malware purveyors.
San Jose, California–based 3FN.net, which also operated under the name Pricewert, was also ordered to liquidate all assets and surrender more than $1m in illegal profits. The ruling by US District Judge Ronald M. Whyte was in response to a complaint filed in June in which Federal Trade Commission lawyers portrayed 3FN as a haven for some of the internet's most objectionable content.
FTC attorneys cited a mountain of evidence to support their claims, including instant message transcripts from high-level 3FN employees and logs from NASA servers that showed attacks originating from IP addresses controlled by 3FN. They also submitted findings from computer-forensics expert Gary Warner of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, NASA's office of the inspector general, and researchers from Spamhaus and Symantec in proving the allegations.
"These experts had analyzed data derived from internet searches which establish that defendant, an internet service provider, was engaged in widespread illegal activity," Whyte wrote in his ruling, which was dated April 8 but not announced by the FTC until Wednesday.
The FTC's June 4 complaint wasn't made public until after authorities obtained a temporary restraining order shuttering the service. Attorneys sought the order in secret to prevent 3FN customers from destroying evidence or finding new hosts. After...alleged...representatives failed to respond to the allegations in court, Whyte ruled that the order should become permanent. ...
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
19th May 2010
A federal judge has permanently pulled the plug on a California web hosting provider accused of harboring a "witches' brew" of pernicious content on behalf of child pornographers, spammers, and malware purveyors.
San Jose, California–based 3FN.net, which also operated under the name Pricewert, was also ordered to liquidate all assets and surrender more than $1m in illegal profits. The ruling by US District Judge Ronald M. Whyte was in response to a complaint filed in June in which Federal Trade Commission lawyers portrayed 3FN as a haven for some of the internet's most objectionable content.
FTC attorneys cited a mountain of evidence to support their claims, including instant message transcripts from high-level 3FN employees and logs from NASA servers that showed attacks originating from IP addresses controlled by 3FN. They also submitted findings from computer-forensics expert Gary Warner of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, NASA's office of the inspector general, and researchers from Spamhaus and Symantec in proving the allegations.
"These experts had analyzed data derived from internet searches which establish that defendant, an internet service provider, was engaged in widespread illegal activity," Whyte wrote in his ruling, which was dated April 8 but not announced by the FTC until Wednesday.
The FTC's June 4 complaint wasn't made public until after authorities obtained a temporary restraining order shuttering the service. Attorneys sought the order in secret to prevent 3FN customers from destroying evidence or finding new hosts. After...alleged...representatives failed to respond to the allegations in court, Whyte ruled that the order should become permanent. ...
May 17, 2010
Detroit police investigate grenade use in fatal raid
By AMBER HUNT and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Detroit police are investigating whether officers were right to use a disorienting flash-bang grenade when executing a search warrant on an east-side home that turned deadly early Sunday, Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said.
He told reporters that the department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office together agreed that the investigation into the shooting should be handled by Michigan State Police to address “community confidence concerns.”
But he said the investigation into the officers’ use of the flash-bang is under way in-house.
“This is not about egos,” Godbee said this afternoon. “This is about getting to the veracity of the truth, finding out what happened and taking the appropriate prosecutorial approach and taking the appropriate approach to assessing our tactics, our policies and our procedures.”
Godbee declined to discuss the specifics of the shooting that left 7-year-old Aiyana Jones dead of a gunshot wound to the neck.
The officer whose firearm was discharged during the incident is on administrative leave without gun access. The unnamed officer is a 14-year veteran who has worked on the Special Response Team – which handled the Sunday raid – for about six years, Godbee said. ...
Detroit police investigate grenade use in fatal raid
By AMBER HUNT and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Detroit police are investigating whether officers were right to use a disorienting flash-bang grenade when executing a search warrant on an east-side home that turned deadly early Sunday, Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said.
He told reporters that the department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office together agreed that the investigation into the shooting should be handled by Michigan State Police to address “community confidence concerns.”
But he said the investigation into the officers’ use of the flash-bang is under way in-house.
“This is not about egos,” Godbee said this afternoon. “This is about getting to the veracity of the truth, finding out what happened and taking the appropriate prosecutorial approach and taking the appropriate approach to assessing our tactics, our policies and our procedures.”
Godbee declined to discuss the specifics of the shooting that left 7-year-old Aiyana Jones dead of a gunshot wound to the neck.
The officer whose firearm was discharged during the incident is on administrative leave without gun access. The unnamed officer is a 14-year veteran who has worked on the Special Response Team – which handled the Sunday raid – for about six years, Godbee said. ...
May 17, 2010
Cop car crash kills Dearborn Heights woman
By ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Michigan State Police have been asked to investigate a collision between a Dearborn police officer and a Dearborn Heights woman that left the woman dead today.
State Police Capt. Harold Love, commander for southeast Michigan, said the request was made by Dearborn police, and that once completed, the investigation results would be reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
After the collision, the 55-year-old woman, identified by her neighbors on Hanover Street as Deborah Hodges, was taken to Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, where she was pronounced dead. Police said her SUV collided with a Dearborn police cruiser on Outer Drive at Parker Street this morning.
Her 20-year-old daughter, who was a passenger in the 1994 Ford Explorer, and the officer who was driving the cruiser were both taken to Oakwood Hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad. The officer was later released from the hospital.
“It’s a tragedy for the family. It’s a tragedy for the community. It’s a tragedy for the police department,” Haddad said. ...
Cop car crash kills Dearborn Heights woman
By ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Michigan State Police have been asked to investigate a collision between a Dearborn police officer and a Dearborn Heights woman that left the woman dead today.
State Police Capt. Harold Love, commander for southeast Michigan, said the request was made by Dearborn police, and that once completed, the investigation results would be reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
After the collision, the 55-year-old woman, identified by her neighbors on Hanover Street as Deborah Hodges, was taken to Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, where she was pronounced dead. Police said her SUV collided with a Dearborn police cruiser on Outer Drive at Parker Street this morning.
Her 20-year-old daughter, who was a passenger in the 1994 Ford Explorer, and the officer who was driving the cruiser were both taken to Oakwood Hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad. The officer was later released from the hospital.
“It’s a tragedy for the family. It’s a tragedy for the community. It’s a tragedy for the police department,” Haddad said. ...
The Vatican will today make its most detailed defence yet against claims that it is liable for US bishops who allowed priests to molest children, saying bishops are not its employees and that a document from 1962 did not require them to keep quiet.
The Vatican will make the arguments in a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds filed in Louisville, Kentucky, but it could affect other efforts to sue the Holy See.
Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's lawyer in the US, said the Vatican would assert that bishops are not its employees because they are not paid by Rome, don't act on Rome's behalf and are not controlled day-to-day by the pope — factors courts use to determine whether employers are liable for the actions of their employees.
Mr Lena said he would suggest to the court that it should avoid using the religious nature of the relationship between bishops and the pope as a basis for civil liability because it entangles the court in an analysis of religious doctrine that dates back to the apostles. ...
The Vatican will make the arguments in a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds filed in Louisville, Kentucky, but it could affect other efforts to sue the Holy See.
Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's lawyer in the US, said the Vatican would assert that bishops are not its employees because they are not paid by Rome, don't act on Rome's behalf and are not controlled day-to-day by the pope — factors courts use to determine whether employers are liable for the actions of their employees.
Mr Lena said he would suggest to the court that it should avoid using the religious nature of the relationship between bishops and the pope as a basis for civil liability because it entangles the court in an analysis of religious doctrine that dates back to the apostles. ...
Scientists are calling for the long-term risks of GM crops to be reassessed after field studies revealed an explosion in pest numbers around farms growing modified strains of cotton.
The unexpected surge of infestations "highlights a critical need" for better ways of predicting the impact of GM crops and spotting potentially damaging knock-on effects arising from their cultivation, researchers said.
Millions of hectares of farmland in northern China have been struck by infestations of bugs following the widespread adoption of Bt cotton, an engineered variety made by the US biotech giant, Monsanto.
Outbreaks of mirid bugs, which can devastate around 200 varieties of fruit, vegetable and corn crops, have risen dramatically in the past decade, as cotton farmers have shifted from traditional cotton crops to GM varieties, scientists said.
Traditional cotton famers have to spray their crops with insecticides to combat destructive bollworm pests, but Bt cotton produces its own insecticide, meaning farmers can save money by spraying it less.
But a 10-year study across six major cotton-growing regions of China found that by spraying their crops less, farmers allowed mirid bugs to thrive and infest their own and neighbouring farms.
The infestations are potentially catastrophic for more than 10m small-scale farmers who cultivate 26m hectares of vulnerable crops in the region studied. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
The unexpected surge of infestations "highlights a critical need" for better ways of predicting the impact of GM crops and spotting potentially damaging knock-on effects arising from their cultivation, researchers said.
Millions of hectares of farmland in northern China have been struck by infestations of bugs following the widespread adoption of Bt cotton, an engineered variety made by the US biotech giant, Monsanto.
Outbreaks of mirid bugs, which can devastate around 200 varieties of fruit, vegetable and corn crops, have risen dramatically in the past decade, as cotton farmers have shifted from traditional cotton crops to GM varieties, scientists said.
Traditional cotton famers have to spray their crops with insecticides to combat destructive bollworm pests, but Bt cotton produces its own insecticide, meaning farmers can save money by spraying it less.
But a 10-year study across six major cotton-growing regions of China found that by spraying their crops less, farmers allowed mirid bugs to thrive and infest their own and neighbouring farms.
The infestations are potentially catastrophic for more than 10m small-scale farmers who cultivate 26m hectares of vulnerable crops in the region studied. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
Incident spurs call for school use review
A city School Committee member says she's 'appalled' at how GOP guests treated a classroom.
By Kelley Bouchard kbouchard@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
PORTLAND - One School Committee member, saying she's "appalled" by the behavior of some of the Republicans who used a room at King Middle School last weekend, wants to protect the city's public schools from future harm.
Sarah Thompson said she plans to raise the issue when the committee meets on May 19. She has asked Superintendent Jim Morse to contact City Manager Joe Gray so the committee will have a clear understanding of policies and legalities related to the rental and public use of school buildings.
"We allowed them to use the space and I'm appalled that they would go through a teacher's things, let alone remove something from a classroom," Thompson said Wednesday. "We want the public to use school spaces, but they need to respect that it's a school and understand that they should leave it the way they find it."
The Republican State Convention was held at the Portland Exposition Building, which is on Park Avenue, near the middle school. Party members from Knox County caucused in a classroom used by eighth-grade social studies teacher Paul Clifford.
When Clifford returned to school on Monday, he found that a favorite poster about the U.S. labor movement had been taken and replaced with a bumper sticker that read, "Working People Vote Republican."
Later, Clifford learned that his classroom had been searched. Republicans who had attended the convention called Principal Mike McCarthy to complain about "anti-American" things they saw there, including a closed box containing copies of the U.S. Constitution that were published by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Maine Republican Party leaders have issued a written apology to King students and teachers.
"King Middle School was kind enough to allow the (party) to use their facilities and we are deeply concerned about the lack of respect shown to the faculty," wrote Executive Director Christie-Lee McNally. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A city School Committee member says she's 'appalled' at how GOP guests treated a classroom.
By Kelley Bouchard kbouchard@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
PORTLAND - One School Committee member, saying she's "appalled" by the behavior of some of the Republicans who used a room at King Middle School last weekend, wants to protect the city's public schools from future harm.
Sarah Thompson said she plans to raise the issue when the committee meets on May 19. She has asked Superintendent Jim Morse to contact City Manager Joe Gray so the committee will have a clear understanding of policies and legalities related to the rental and public use of school buildings.
"We allowed them to use the space and I'm appalled that they would go through a teacher's things, let alone remove something from a classroom," Thompson said Wednesday. "We want the public to use school spaces, but they need to respect that it's a school and understand that they should leave it the way they find it."
The Republican State Convention was held at the Portland Exposition Building, which is on Park Avenue, near the middle school. Party members from Knox County caucused in a classroom used by eighth-grade social studies teacher Paul Clifford.
When Clifford returned to school on Monday, he found that a favorite poster about the U.S. labor movement had been taken and replaced with a bumper sticker that read, "Working People Vote Republican."
Later, Clifford learned that his classroom had been searched. Republicans who had attended the convention called Principal Mike McCarthy to complain about "anti-American" things they saw there, including a closed box containing copies of the U.S. Constitution that were published by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Maine Republican Party leaders have issued a written apology to King students and teachers.
"King Middle School was kind enough to allow the (party) to use their facilities and we are deeply concerned about the lack of respect shown to the faculty," wrote Executive Director Christie-Lee McNally. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Airplane bomber targeted in-laws in Soviet attack
30 Jul, 03:26 PM
Russian security services have declassified information concerning an incident in the 1970-s, when a Soviet pilot crashed his plane into an apartment block, seeking to kill his in-laws, but killing three neighbors instead.
According to the report published on the Life.ru web-site, the events happened in the city of Novosibirsk in 1976. On September 26, 24-year old Vladimir Serkov crashed his small AN-2 biplane into the residential building, killing himself and three more people and wounding seven more.
Investigators had established several weeks before the attack that the pilot had split with his wife. The woman took their 2-year old son and went to live with her parents. Serkov asked the in-laws to let him see his spouse and child, but they refused. Then he asked them to at least not file for divorce, as it would ruin his career, but was refused again.
Eventually, the strained aviator asked the airfield staff to prepare his plane for take off and, before closing the cockpit, told that they should look for him on Stepnaya street – the address of his in-laws. He then flew to the city, made two circles above the central square and rammed the apartment block on Stepnaya, aiming at the window of the kitchen where the family had breakfast every morning.
The plane missed the window in question, but it exploded on impact with the building and set fire to several apartments. Three people, including two small children, died in the ensuing blaze, and seven more were seriously injured. The pilot’s family and in-laws were not among the victims – they had left the building earlier in the morning.
Coroners also found out that Serkov died of heart failure seconds before the crash. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
30 Jul, 03:26 PM
Russian security services have declassified information concerning an incident in the 1970-s, when a Soviet pilot crashed his plane into an apartment block, seeking to kill his in-laws, but killing three neighbors instead.
According to the report published on the Life.ru web-site, the events happened in the city of Novosibirsk in 1976. On September 26, 24-year old Vladimir Serkov crashed his small AN-2 biplane into the residential building, killing himself and three more people and wounding seven more.
Investigators had established several weeks before the attack that the pilot had split with his wife. The woman took their 2-year old son and went to live with her parents. Serkov asked the in-laws to let him see his spouse and child, but they refused. Then he asked them to at least not file for divorce, as it would ruin his career, but was refused again.
Eventually, the strained aviator asked the airfield staff to prepare his plane for take off and, before closing the cockpit, told that they should look for him on Stepnaya street – the address of his in-laws. He then flew to the city, made two circles above the central square and rammed the apartment block on Stepnaya, aiming at the window of the kitchen where the family had breakfast every morning.
The plane missed the window in question, but it exploded on impact with the building and set fire to several apartments. Three people, including two small children, died in the ensuing blaze, and seven more were seriously injured. The pilot’s family and in-laws were not among the victims – they had left the building earlier in the morning.
Coroners also found out that Serkov died of heart failure seconds before the crash. ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
As the federal and congressional probes continue into the causes of the Gulf oil rig explosion, new information is coming to light about the failure of a key device, the blowout preventer, to shut off the gushing well, which could have prevented the growing catastrophe.
And new questions are being raised about the testing of the preventers. At today's hearing before a House subcommittee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., revealed that the blowout preventer had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system and had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion. And at a hearing in Louisiana on Tuesday, the government engineer who gave oil giant BP the final approval to drill admitted that he never asked for proof that the preventer worked.
In addition, an oil industry whistleblower told Huffington Post that BP had been aware for years that tests of blowout prevention devices were being falsified in Alaska. The devices are different from the ones involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion but are also intended to prevent dangerous blowouts at drilling operations.
Mike Mason, who worked on oil rigs in Alaska for 18 years, says that he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on many wells owned by BP.
As he describes it, the test involves a chart that shows whether the device will hold a certain amount of pressure for five minutes on each valve. (The test involves increasing the pressure from 250 pounds per square-inch (psi) to 5,000 psi.) "Sometimes, they would put their finger on the chart and slide it ahead -- so that it only recorded the pressure for 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes," he tells HuffPost.
Mason claims that a BP representative was usually present while subcontractors performed the tests. ...
Ta much, dear Zaxy
And new questions are being raised about the testing of the preventers. At today's hearing before a House subcommittee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., revealed that the blowout preventer had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system and had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion. And at a hearing in Louisiana on Tuesday, the government engineer who gave oil giant BP the final approval to drill admitted that he never asked for proof that the preventer worked.
In addition, an oil industry whistleblower told Huffington Post that BP had been aware for years that tests of blowout prevention devices were being falsified in Alaska. The devices are different from the ones involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion but are also intended to prevent dangerous blowouts at drilling operations.
Mike Mason, who worked on oil rigs in Alaska for 18 years, says that he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on many wells owned by BP.
As he describes it, the test involves a chart that shows whether the device will hold a certain amount of pressure for five minutes on each valve. (The test involves increasing the pressure from 250 pounds per square-inch (psi) to 5,000 psi.) "Sometimes, they would put their finger on the chart and slide it ahead -- so that it only recorded the pressure for 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes," he tells HuffPost.
Mason claims that a BP representative was usually present while subcontractors performed the tests. ...
Ta much, dear Zaxy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has issued a recall of 43 children’s medications available over the counter, issued late Friday.
The FDA is recommending that parents throw away any of the products having lot numbers specified on the FDA website. There are over 1000 lot numbers listed on the site. The FDA is suggesting the use of generic equivalents of the products.
Johnson and Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit in Fort Washington, Pa. manufactured all of the recalled products.
The affected products are Children’s Tylenol, Children and Infants Motrin, Children’s Benadryl and Children’s Zyrtec. The FDA has stated that an inspection of the McNeil manufacturing facility uncovered broken equipment, heavy dust and grime, duct taped pipes and a hole in the ceiling. The FDA also found product ingredients contaminated by bacteria, products containing larger amounts of active ingredients than specified, inactive ingredients that did not meet testing requirements and small metallic particles in some products.
The FDA cited poor quality control procedures and inefficient employee training as problems.
Johnson and Johnson was denying that consumer complaints had lead to the inspection and subsequent recall but the FDA states that over 50 such complaints were received concerning dark spots in some of the liquid medicines. ...
The FDA is recommending that parents throw away any of the products having lot numbers specified on the FDA website. There are over 1000 lot numbers listed on the site. The FDA is suggesting the use of generic equivalents of the products.
Johnson and Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit in Fort Washington, Pa. manufactured all of the recalled products.
The affected products are Children’s Tylenol, Children and Infants Motrin, Children’s Benadryl and Children’s Zyrtec. The FDA has stated that an inspection of the McNeil manufacturing facility uncovered broken equipment, heavy dust and grime, duct taped pipes and a hole in the ceiling. The FDA also found product ingredients contaminated by bacteria, products containing larger amounts of active ingredients than specified, inactive ingredients that did not meet testing requirements and small metallic particles in some products.
The FDA cited poor quality control procedures and inefficient employee training as problems.
Johnson and Johnson was denying that consumer complaints had lead to the inspection and subsequent recall but the FDA states that over 50 such complaints were received concerning dark spots in some of the liquid medicines. ...
NPR and other outlets are reporting today that there seems to be a federal criminal probe into allegations of bribery by Massey Energy - Don Blankenship's company, the one involved in last month's horrible disaster - of federal mine-regulating officials.
Ken Ward, who writes the excellent Coal Tattoo blog for the Charleston (WV) Gazette, offers the best summary here. It's early on this story and still a bit fuzzy, but it's something we shall keep an eye on.
When last we spoke of this general matter, the subject of why MSHA, the mine safety and health administration, didn't do more to prevent such disasters was the topic of lots of down-thread discussion. Well, one answer might be that some officials took bribes. But let me take pains to say that we're a long long way from having that established as a fact, or even officially alleged.
Even so, here's another reason, from the AP:
The nation's top mine safety official told lawmakers earlier this week that the government will start going directly to federal court to shut down mines that make a habit of ignoring safety.
Joe Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said his agency has had the power to seek federal injunctions for years, but has never tried to use it.
"I can't speak for past administrations," Main said during the Senate's first hearing on the accident that killed 29 men. "We're going to use it."
Main also called for a slew of other legal and regulatory reforms to beef up safety enforcement in the wake of this month's deadly explosion at a mine in West Virginia. ...
Ken Ward, who writes the excellent Coal Tattoo blog for the Charleston (WV) Gazette, offers the best summary here. It's early on this story and still a bit fuzzy, but it's something we shall keep an eye on.
When last we spoke of this general matter, the subject of why MSHA, the mine safety and health administration, didn't do more to prevent such disasters was the topic of lots of down-thread discussion. Well, one answer might be that some officials took bribes. But let me take pains to say that we're a long long way from having that established as a fact, or even officially alleged.
Even so, here's another reason, from the AP:
The nation's top mine safety official told lawmakers earlier this week that the government will start going directly to federal court to shut down mines that make a habit of ignoring safety.
Joe Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said his agency has had the power to seek federal injunctions for years, but has never tried to use it.
"I can't speak for past administrations," Main said during the Senate's first hearing on the accident that killed 29 men. "We're going to use it."
Main also called for a slew of other legal and regulatory reforms to beef up safety enforcement in the wake of this month's deadly explosion at a mine in West Virginia. ...
Vatican officials fear the clerical sex abuse scandal could have a devastating effect on the finances of the Italian church, undermining what until now has been a bastion of the faith.
Italian taxpayers have until the end of July to declare their income for 2009 and, under a system in force in several European countries, they can opt for a proportion of their taxes to be paid to the church.
In Italy, 0.8% of income tax revenue is divided between state-run aid organisations and recognised denominations and religions according to the preferences expressed by taxpayers on their returns.
"The media always talk of class actions, compensation for the victims of abuse by the clergy and the legal fees which, since 2001 have forced the American dioceses to sell schools, hospitals, convents and universities," the daily La Stampa quoted a Vatican source as saying. "But in fact the biggest economic damage is done by the collapse in donations."
In Italy, among those who expressed a preference, the proportion of taxpayers earmarking a share for the church rose to a peak of 90% in 2004. It fell slightly to 87% in 2008. That percentage was far higher than the proportion attending Mass each Sunday, perhaps because only predominantly middle-class non-wage earners have to fill in a tax declaration. Last year, they earned the church some €900m (£776m; US$1,188,536,322.46) from the state.
With many Catholics across Europe saying the scandals have robbed them of their faith, there is a risk that this year's income could be much lower. In Germany, where church membership is registered and has a direct impact on church funds, pollsters for Focus magazine this month found that 26% of Catholics were reconsidering their religious allegiance.
Oh, no! Not that! Not less money for one of the world's biggest multi-death corporations and the world's biggest property owner!
Italian taxpayers have until the end of July to declare their income for 2009 and, under a system in force in several European countries, they can opt for a proportion of their taxes to be paid to the church.
In Italy, 0.8% of income tax revenue is divided between state-run aid organisations and recognised denominations and religions according to the preferences expressed by taxpayers on their returns.
"The media always talk of class actions, compensation for the victims of abuse by the clergy and the legal fees which, since 2001 have forced the American dioceses to sell schools, hospitals, convents and universities," the daily La Stampa quoted a Vatican source as saying. "But in fact the biggest economic damage is done by the collapse in donations."
In Italy, among those who expressed a preference, the proportion of taxpayers earmarking a share for the church rose to a peak of 90% in 2004. It fell slightly to 87% in 2008. That percentage was far higher than the proportion attending Mass each Sunday, perhaps because only predominantly middle-class non-wage earners have to fill in a tax declaration. Last year, they earned the church some €900m (£776m; US$1,188,536,322.46) from the state.
With many Catholics across Europe saying the scandals have robbed them of their faith, there is a risk that this year's income could be much lower. In Germany, where church membership is registered and has a direct impact on church funds, pollsters for Focus magazine this month found that 26% of Catholics were reconsidering their religious allegiance.
Oh, no! Not that! Not less money for one of the world's biggest multi-death corporations and the world's biggest property owner!
Sixty Russian officials should be banned from the United States over the torture and death in prison of a lawyer who exposed a $230 million (£149 million) fraud by corrupt policemen, a powerful US government body has urged Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State.
Senator Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, sent Mrs Clinton a list of security service agents, police, prosecutors, judges, tax officials and prison wardens who he said were implicated in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.
The request threatens to cause a row between the Kremlin and the Obama Administration.
The list includes Viktor Grin, Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Grin, Aleksei Anichin, the Interior Ministry’s chief investigator Alexei Anichin, and 11 senior judges.
Mr Magnitsky, 37, died in November in Matrosskaya Tishina prison, Moscow, where he was held in pre-trial detention for almost a year for an alleged tax crime. He was refused medical treatment despite serious illnesses and denied access to his family.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer for the US firm Firestone Duncan, represented Hermitage Capital, a London-based hedge fund, in a battle with Kremlin officials allegedly involved in the theft of companies belonging to Hermitage and HSBC.
He was arrested on the orders of a group of Interior Ministry officers whom he had accused of fraudulently reclaiming $230 million in state taxes paid by Hermitage. ...
Senator Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, sent Mrs Clinton a list of security service agents, police, prosecutors, judges, tax officials and prison wardens who he said were implicated in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.
The request threatens to cause a row between the Kremlin and the Obama Administration.
The list includes Viktor Grin, Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Grin, Aleksei Anichin, the Interior Ministry’s chief investigator Alexei Anichin, and 11 senior judges.
Mr Magnitsky, 37, died in November in Matrosskaya Tishina prison, Moscow, where he was held in pre-trial detention for almost a year for an alleged tax crime. He was refused medical treatment despite serious illnesses and denied access to his family.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer for the US firm Firestone Duncan, represented Hermitage Capital, a London-based hedge fund, in a battle with Kremlin officials allegedly involved in the theft of companies belonging to Hermitage and HSBC.
He was arrested on the orders of a group of Interior Ministry officers whom he had accused of fraudulently reclaiming $230 million in state taxes paid by Hermitage. ...
The Tories' chief spin doctor, Andy Coulson, faces more awkward questions about a phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World during his time as editor. The Observer understands that a leading football agent has launched a legal action alleging that his phone was hacked by private investigators working with the newspaper's journalists while Coulson was in charge.
More than 10 MPs and at least one former football star, ex-England midfielder Paul Gascoigne, are also in discussions with lawyers looking to bring similar cases against the newspaper's owner, News Group Newspapers (NGN), part of Rupert Murdoch's empire. The pending legal action will severely embarrass Coulson who, as director of communications and planning for the Conservative party, will wield significant influence if it comes to power after the election.
Sky Andrew, who represents Arsenal defender Sol Campbell and has acted on behalf of former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, issued proceedings last week. Andrew's move comes just weeks after the newspaper agreed to pay more than £1m to PR agent Max Clifford, who dropped an action in which he alleged that his voicemail messages had been intercepted.
A similar case involving Gordon Taylor, the former chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, was settled out of court in 2008 with a £700,000 payout.
Labour has been quick to use Coulson's past to embarrass David Cameron. Last week Lord Mandelson, Labour's election strategist, blamed Coulson for a "dirty tricks" campaign waged in some newspapers against the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg.
"This is pure Andy Coulson-style News of the World territory turned into political form," Mandelson said. "It is cheap and rather squalid. If a Tory campaign is subcontracted to someone like Andy Coulson, it is no surprise that things like this are going to appear on the front pages of our newspapers." ...
More than 10 MPs and at least one former football star, ex-England midfielder Paul Gascoigne, are also in discussions with lawyers looking to bring similar cases against the newspaper's owner, News Group Newspapers (NGN), part of Rupert Murdoch's empire. The pending legal action will severely embarrass Coulson who, as director of communications and planning for the Conservative party, will wield significant influence if it comes to power after the election.
Sky Andrew, who represents Arsenal defender Sol Campbell and has acted on behalf of former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, issued proceedings last week. Andrew's move comes just weeks after the newspaper agreed to pay more than £1m to PR agent Max Clifford, who dropped an action in which he alleged that his voicemail messages had been intercepted.
A similar case involving Gordon Taylor, the former chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, was settled out of court in 2008 with a £700,000 payout.
Labour has been quick to use Coulson's past to embarrass David Cameron. Last week Lord Mandelson, Labour's election strategist, blamed Coulson for a "dirty tricks" campaign waged in some newspapers against the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg.
"This is pure Andy Coulson-style News of the World territory turned into political form," Mandelson said. "It is cheap and rather squalid. If a Tory campaign is subcontracted to someone like Andy Coulson, it is no surprise that things like this are going to appear on the front pages of our newspapers." ...
A Belgian bishop has confessed to molesting a boy, becoming the first high-ranking prelate to be directly implicated in child sex abuse since the outbreak of the global scandal enveloping the Roman Catholic church.
Shortly after the Vatican announced that the pope had accepted his resignation , Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of the Flemish city of Bruges, said that before he took over his diocese "and for a short time afterwards, I sexually abused a young boy close to me".
In a letter read to a press conference, the 73-year-old prelate, who was not present, said what he had done more than 25 years ago "marked the victim forever".
"The wound does not heal. Neither for me, nor for the victim," he said.
Vangheluwe, who was consecrated a bishop in 1985, said he had several times begged for the forgiveness of the victim and his family – apparently to no avail.
His voice shaking with emotion, the head of the Belgian church and archbishop of Brussels, André-Joseph Léonard, acknowledged that the affair would have a painful effect on Belgian Catholics. "We are aware of the crisis of confidence that this is going to engender in a number of people," he said. ...
Shortly after the Vatican announced that the pope had accepted his resignation , Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of the Flemish city of Bruges, said that before he took over his diocese "and for a short time afterwards, I sexually abused a young boy close to me".
In a letter read to a press conference, the 73-year-old prelate, who was not present, said what he had done more than 25 years ago "marked the victim forever".
"The wound does not heal. Neither for me, nor for the victim," he said.
Vangheluwe, who was consecrated a bishop in 1985, said he had several times begged for the forgiveness of the victim and his family – apparently to no avail.
His voice shaking with emotion, the head of the Belgian church and archbishop of Brussels, André-Joseph Léonard, acknowledged that the affair would have a painful effect on Belgian Catholics. "We are aware of the crisis of confidence that this is going to engender in a number of people," he said. ...
Barely 6 1/2 months before the midterm elections, an internal investigation by the Republican National Committee has revealed that the organization is beset with questionable financial management and oversight and is spending more money courting top-dollar donors than it raises.
The investigation found that the Republican Party's national governing body is losing money on its major-donors' fundraising program -- spending $1.09 for each $1.00 raised, according to RNC members privy to the investigation's findings. It typically costs about 40 cents for every dollar raised from donors who give more than $1,000.
The investigation also found that the RNC has allowed employees to forge Finance Director Rob Bickhart's initials on expense-reimbursement request approvals, according to an RNC member who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The RNC's top elected and appointed management have united in defense of the committee's practices. RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele can withhold or increase RNC contributions to a state party.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of a report on the investigation -- prepared by RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen -- that he sent to the 28-member RNC Executive Committee before a conference call hastily scheduled for Wednesday afternoon by Mr. Steele's office. It includes some of the findings.
RNC communications director Doug Heye disputed the fundraising figures when reached for comment about the report. He said year-to-date the RNC has received $2,649,586 from major donors at a cost of $1,832,642, netting the organization more than $800,000.
The report says several RNC Finance Department employees have been forging Mr. Bickhart's signature for reimbursement for the purchase of clothing, wine and entertainment expenses, including some that were labeled as office supplies.
One such expense was the nearly $2,000 that a Finance Department employee named Allison Myers -- since fired -- received for money spent by a friend and non-employee at an Los Angeles nightclub that featured a sexual-bondage theme. Many small and large RNC donors alike were not amused. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
The investigation found that the Republican Party's national governing body is losing money on its major-donors' fundraising program -- spending $1.09 for each $1.00 raised, according to RNC members privy to the investigation's findings. It typically costs about 40 cents for every dollar raised from donors who give more than $1,000.
The investigation also found that the RNC has allowed employees to forge Finance Director Rob Bickhart's initials on expense-reimbursement request approvals, according to an RNC member who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The RNC's top elected and appointed management have united in defense of the committee's practices. RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele can withhold or increase RNC contributions to a state party.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of a report on the investigation -- prepared by RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen -- that he sent to the 28-member RNC Executive Committee before a conference call hastily scheduled for Wednesday afternoon by Mr. Steele's office. It includes some of the findings.
RNC communications director Doug Heye disputed the fundraising figures when reached for comment about the report. He said year-to-date the RNC has received $2,649,586 from major donors at a cost of $1,832,642, netting the organization more than $800,000.
The report says several RNC Finance Department employees have been forging Mr. Bickhart's signature for reimbursement for the purchase of clothing, wine and entertainment expenses, including some that were labeled as office supplies.
One such expense was the nearly $2,000 that a Finance Department employee named Allison Myers -- since fired -- received for money spent by a friend and non-employee at an Los Angeles nightclub that featured a sexual-bondage theme. Many small and large RNC donors alike were not amused. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A US Muslim website has warned the creators of South Park they face death after once again depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed in an episode last week.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone celebrated the 200th episode of South Park with a storyline in which the actor Tom Cruise launches a class lawsuit against the animation’s townsfolk, uniting every celebrity that has ever been insulted by the cartoon.
During the episode, Cruise agrees not to pursue his lawsuit if the South Park characters can hand Mohammed over to him. It transpires Cruise and the other celebrities, who include Bono, the Pope, Mel Gibson, and George Lucas leading a ball-gagged Harrison Ford on a leash, only want Mohammed for his "goo", which they believe will lend them invulnerability to public ridicule. Mohammed eventually appears, but dressed in a bear suit. ...
Trey Parker and Matt Stone celebrated the 200th episode of South Park with a storyline in which the actor Tom Cruise launches a class lawsuit against the animation’s townsfolk, uniting every celebrity that has ever been insulted by the cartoon.
During the episode, Cruise agrees not to pursue his lawsuit if the South Park characters can hand Mohammed over to him. It transpires Cruise and the other celebrities, who include Bono, the Pope, Mel Gibson, and George Lucas leading a ball-gagged Harrison Ford on a leash, only want Mohammed for his "goo", which they believe will lend them invulnerability to public ridicule. Mohammed eventually appears, but dressed in a bear suit. ...
Last week, in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, more than a dozen radio stations switched off their music in accordance with an ultimatum from Islamist rebels.
Apparently seeking to bolster their global-jihadist credentials, Somali extremist groups Hezb al-Islam and their sometime-allies al-Shebab decreed that all music - Arab, East African or Britney Spears - is "un-Islamic", and ordered all radio stations to cease playing it, in any form, or face "serious consequences".
Broadcasters were quick to devise light-hearted alternatives to their scheduled music, re-recording ads and replacing bridging jingles with the sounds of car horns, frogs croaking, roosters crowing and, with grim irony, gunfire. The situation was bizarre enough to earn the beleaguered Somalis a spoof-tribute on America's National Public Radio.
The bigger picture, though, is less amusing. Of the 16 FM broadcasters in Mogadishu, all but two complied. The proud hold-outs were Radio Mogadishu, run by Somalia's Transition Federal Government (TFG) and protected by African Union forces, and Radio Bar-Kulan, funded by the UN and broadcast from Kenya.
Notwithstanding radio's vital role in Somalia as the principal medium of both entertainment and news broadcasting, media bosses have said they had little choice but to toe the hardline. In the capital, predominantly controlled by Islamist extremist groups, this is, very unmetaphorically, a matter of life and death: nine journalists were killed in Mogadishu last year, several others held for ransom.
The National Somali Journalists Association quotes one radio editor as saying that, however discomfiting the Islamists' musical edict may be to their professional ethics, the reality was crystal clear: to deny the ban outright could mean the end of journalism altogether in the capital, and of many journalists. ...
Apparently seeking to bolster their global-jihadist credentials, Somali extremist groups Hezb al-Islam and their sometime-allies al-Shebab decreed that all music - Arab, East African or Britney Spears - is "un-Islamic", and ordered all radio stations to cease playing it, in any form, or face "serious consequences".
Broadcasters were quick to devise light-hearted alternatives to their scheduled music, re-recording ads and replacing bridging jingles with the sounds of car horns, frogs croaking, roosters crowing and, with grim irony, gunfire. The situation was bizarre enough to earn the beleaguered Somalis a spoof-tribute on America's National Public Radio.
The bigger picture, though, is less amusing. Of the 16 FM broadcasters in Mogadishu, all but two complied. The proud hold-outs were Radio Mogadishu, run by Somalia's Transition Federal Government (TFG) and protected by African Union forces, and Radio Bar-Kulan, funded by the UN and broadcast from Kenya.
Notwithstanding radio's vital role in Somalia as the principal medium of both entertainment and news broadcasting, media bosses have said they had little choice but to toe the hardline. In the capital, predominantly controlled by Islamist extremist groups, this is, very unmetaphorically, a matter of life and death: nine journalists were killed in Mogadishu last year, several others held for ransom.
The National Somali Journalists Association quotes one radio editor as saying that, however discomfiting the Islamists' musical edict may be to their professional ethics, the reality was crystal clear: to deny the ban outright could mean the end of journalism altogether in the capital, and of many journalists. ...
How the Boston Globe exposed the abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church
The tenacity of Boston Globe journalists in uncovering the scandal of widespread sexual abuse by priests led to the current crisis in the Catholic church. And there's more to come, as Jon Henley reports
Jon Henley
Wednesday 21 April 2010
In June 2001, Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, perhaps the most staunchly Catholic of all America's big cities, filed a routine court submission in response to a number of allegations contained in lawsuits brought against one of his former priests, Father John Geoghan.
At the time, sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic clerics was not a widespread topic of discussion, in the US or anywhere else. Cases would surface, and sometimes be quite extensively reported: in 1981, Father Donald Roemer pleaded guilty to child molestation in Los Angeles; in 1985, a Louisiana priest, Gilbert Gauthe, was convicted of similar offences against 11 boys. But they were seen, for the most part, as isolated incidents. There was no convincing evidence of any consistent pattern of clerical abuse, still less of a sustained attempt by the church to cover up such behaviour – by simply moving priests on without informing the authorities.
Cardinal Law's seemingly innocent court filing, though, was about to change that. Buried somewhere in it was the admission that when, in 1984, he had assigned Geoghan to St Julia's church in the Boston suburb of Weston, he had done so knowing that the priest had, in his previous parish, been accused of molesting seven boys from the same family.
With fresh allegations of abuse and cover-ups now surfacing almost daily, and calls in the UK for Pope Benedict to be arrested, something resembling the worldwide crisis facing the Catholic church would surely have happened sooner or later. But it is possible it would not be happening now, on such a large scale and with such potentially disastrous consequences for the church, had it not been for the work of a small group of journalists – the majority of them Catholic – from the Boston Globe newspaper, who were the first to spot Cardinal Law's startling admission. ...
The tenacity of Boston Globe journalists in uncovering the scandal of widespread sexual abuse by priests led to the current crisis in the Catholic church. And there's more to come, as Jon Henley reports
Jon Henley
Wednesday 21 April 2010
In June 2001, Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, perhaps the most staunchly Catholic of all America's big cities, filed a routine court submission in response to a number of allegations contained in lawsuits brought against one of his former priests, Father John Geoghan.
At the time, sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic clerics was not a widespread topic of discussion, in the US or anywhere else. Cases would surface, and sometimes be quite extensively reported: in 1981, Father Donald Roemer pleaded guilty to child molestation in Los Angeles; in 1985, a Louisiana priest, Gilbert Gauthe, was convicted of similar offences against 11 boys. But they were seen, for the most part, as isolated incidents. There was no convincing evidence of any consistent pattern of clerical abuse, still less of a sustained attempt by the church to cover up such behaviour – by simply moving priests on without informing the authorities.
Cardinal Law's seemingly innocent court filing, though, was about to change that. Buried somewhere in it was the admission that when, in 1984, he had assigned Geoghan to St Julia's church in the Boston suburb of Weston, he had done so knowing that the priest had, in his previous parish, been accused of molesting seven boys from the same family.
With fresh allegations of abuse and cover-ups now surfacing almost daily, and calls in the UK for Pope Benedict to be arrested, something resembling the worldwide crisis facing the Catholic church would surely have happened sooner or later. But it is possible it would not be happening now, on such a large scale and with such potentially disastrous consequences for the church, had it not been for the work of a small group of journalists – the majority of them Catholic – from the Boston Globe newspaper, who were the first to spot Cardinal Law's startling admission. ...
... The allegations came to light in a lawsuit filed by the family of Blake Robbins, which argues that the LANrev software illegally invaded his privacy. The family first learned of the surveillance in November when an assistant principal confronted the 15-year-old high school sophomore with a picture of him that was taken by the tracking software.
The image, Robbins has said, showed him with a handful of Mike and Ike candies that the principal had mistaken for illegal pills.
Robbins' $1,000 laptop was not believed to be missing, so the theft-tracking software never should have been activated, his attorney has argued.
School officials told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the software was turned on because Robbins' family had failed to pay a $55 insurance fee to cover the laptop, so he was not authorized to take it home. They also say there is no evidence to indicate school employees used any of the images inappropriately.
Still, the district acknowledged that the software has been activated 42 times since September and an undisclosed number of times the previous year. They have yet to say how many students were photographed or monitored.
According to documents filed by the Robbins' attorney on Thursday, more than 400 images were secretly snapped of Blake, some while he was sleeping or partially undressed.
"Thousands of webcam pictures and screenshots have been taken of numerous other students in their homes, many of which never reported their laptops lost or missing," the filing added.
The motion went on to recite the email exchange between two district employees who administered the laptops.
Viewing the images was like watching "a little LMSD soap opera," one of them said, referring to the initials of the school district.
"I know, I love it!" technology coordinator Carol Cafiero replied.
The image, Robbins has said, showed him with a handful of Mike and Ike candies that the principal had mistaken for illegal pills.
Robbins' $1,000 laptop was not believed to be missing, so the theft-tracking software never should have been activated, his attorney has argued.
School officials told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the software was turned on because Robbins' family had failed to pay a $55 insurance fee to cover the laptop, so he was not authorized to take it home. They also say there is no evidence to indicate school employees used any of the images inappropriately.
Still, the district acknowledged that the software has been activated 42 times since September and an undisclosed number of times the previous year. They have yet to say how many students were photographed or monitored.
According to documents filed by the Robbins' attorney on Thursday, more than 400 images were secretly snapped of Blake, some while he was sleeping or partially undressed.
"Thousands of webcam pictures and screenshots have been taken of numerous other students in their homes, many of which never reported their laptops lost or missing," the filing added.
The motion went on to recite the email exchange between two district employees who administered the laptops.
Viewing the images was like watching "a little LMSD soap opera," one of them said, referring to the initials of the school district.
"I know, I love it!" technology coordinator Carol Cafiero replied.
Lawyers for Harriton High School sophomore Blake Robbins are claiming that the teenager's school district has used built-in tracking software on students' laptops to take "thousands" of unauthorized images, "including pictures of Blake partially undressed and of Blake sleeping."
The motion, filed April 15 by Michael and Holly Robbins, is the latest salvo in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, PA earlier this year. The issue of remote laptop surveillance came to light after school administrators accused Robbins of "improper behavior in his home," based on a photograph that was taken through the school's remote-monitoring software, LANrev.
Around 2,300 students across two schools in the district have received $1,000 Macintosh laptops for use with said software preinstalled and, as allegedly confirmed by one of Harriton's assistant principals, it can be remotely activated at any time, for any reason.
According to the lawsuit, "By virtue of the fact that the Webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the Webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it." Consequently, the suit is accusing the school district of violating various federal and state statutes against surveillance and wiretapping, including the federal Electronics Communications Privacy Act. ...
The motion, filed April 15 by Michael and Holly Robbins, is the latest salvo in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, PA earlier this year. The issue of remote laptop surveillance came to light after school administrators accused Robbins of "improper behavior in his home," based on a photograph that was taken through the school's remote-monitoring software, LANrev.
Around 2,300 students across two schools in the district have received $1,000 Macintosh laptops for use with said software preinstalled and, as allegedly confirmed by one of Harriton's assistant principals, it can be remotely activated at any time, for any reason.
According to the lawsuit, "By virtue of the fact that the Webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the Webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it." Consequently, the suit is accusing the school district of violating various federal and state statutes against surveillance and wiretapping, including the federal Electronics Communications Privacy Act. ...
Lawyers for Harriton High School sophomore Blake Robbins are claiming that the teenager's school district has used built-in tracking software on students' laptops to take "thousands" of unauthorized images, "including pictures of Blake partially undressed and of Blake sleeping."
The motion, filed April 15 by Michael and Holly Robbins, is the latest salvo in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, PA earlier this year. The issue of remote laptop surveillance came to light after school administrators accused Robbins of "improper behavior in his home," based on a photograph that was taken through the school's remote-monitoring software, LANrev.
Around 2,300 students across two schools in the district have received $1,000 Macintosh laptops for use with said software preinstalled and, as allegedly confirmed by one of Harriton's assistant principals, it can be remotely activated at any time, for any reason.
According to the lawsuit, "By virtue of the fact that the Webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the Webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it." Consequently, the suit is accusing the school district of violating various federal and state statutes against surveillance and wiretapping, including the federal Electronics Communications Privacy Act. ...
The motion, filed April 15 by Michael and Holly Robbins, is the latest salvo in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, PA earlier this year. The issue of remote laptop surveillance came to light after school administrators accused Robbins of "improper behavior in his home," based on a photograph that was taken through the school's remote-monitoring software, LANrev.
Around 2,300 students across two schools in the district have received $1,000 Macintosh laptops for use with said software preinstalled and, as allegedly confirmed by one of Harriton's assistant principals, it can be remotely activated at any time, for any reason.
According to the lawsuit, "By virtue of the fact that the Webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the Webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it." Consequently, the suit is accusing the school district of violating various federal and state statutes against surveillance and wiretapping, including the federal Electronics Communications Privacy Act. ...
A new motion in the Lower Merion School School District Webcam-spying case has presented extraordinary suggestions as to the frequency and intimate nature of the photographs allegedly taken remotely by the cameras on school-issued laptops.
On Thursday, lawyers for 15-year-old Blake Robbins and his family claimed that thousands of images were taken by the laptop Webcams. Included in these were, according to the motion, "pictures of Blake partially undressed and of Blake sleeping." In addition, images of Web sites visited and snapshots of their instant messages were also allegedly captured.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, lawyers claim that each time the LANRev software took Webcam shots, it sent them back to school district servers, where employees found entertainment in "a little LMSD soap opera."
Two school district employees were placed on administrative leave in March, after the allegations surfaced, and the school agreed to immediately turn off the Webcams. ...
On Thursday, lawyers for 15-year-old Blake Robbins and his family claimed that thousands of images were taken by the laptop Webcams. Included in these were, according to the motion, "pictures of Blake partially undressed and of Blake sleeping." In addition, images of Web sites visited and snapshots of their instant messages were also allegedly captured.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, lawyers claim that each time the LANRev software took Webcam shots, it sent them back to school district servers, where employees found entertainment in "a little LMSD soap opera."
Two school district employees were placed on administrative leave in March, after the allegations surfaced, and the school agreed to immediately turn off the Webcams. ...
Gloating officials who spied on them said it was "like a soap opera", it is alleged. ...
April 17. 2010 3:07PM
Other militias told on Hutaree
FBI is told group is 'kind of creepy'
Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Long before they were charged with trying to start an anti-government war, members of the Hutaree militia group made enemies among a group they may have considered allies: the local militias with whom they occasionally trained.
Instead of being brothers-in-arms, those other groups became deeply suspicious of the religious and violence-tinged rhetoric of the Hutaree and warned the FBI about the group in late 2008.
Two members of the Southern Michigan Volunteer Militia said this week they provided the FBI with information on the Hutaree, identifying them as "kind of creepy" and considering them a threat that the FBI should keep an eye on.
A federal grand jury indictment unsealed March 29 alleges David Stone Sr. of Clayton in Lenawee County and eight followers belong to a radical militia called the Hutaree plotted to kill police officers and wage war against the U.S. government. Charges include seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction.
"I saw them as damaging our organization in particular and the movement as a whole," said Mike Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southern Michigan Volunteer Militia.
Others sent e-mails to the FBI about the group. And ultimately one militia member was so concerned he joined the Hutaree to see what they were about. That man is now considered a "cooperating witness" in the case.
The revelations may surprise those who view militia members as a singular, tight-knit group that rallies around gun rights and anti-government attitudes.
But to the Southeast Michigan Militia, an umbrella group that represents hundreds of members, the Hutaree was different to a fault. No one in the southeast group advocated killing police officers as a way of sparking a revolution designed to protect the work of Jesus, they said.
"That's just rotten and wrong," said Lee Miracle, coordinator for the Southeast Michigan Militia. "What part of that is supporting the Constitution?" ...
Other militias told on Hutaree
FBI is told group is 'kind of creepy'
Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Long before they were charged with trying to start an anti-government war, members of the Hutaree militia group made enemies among a group they may have considered allies: the local militias with whom they occasionally trained.
Instead of being brothers-in-arms, those other groups became deeply suspicious of the religious and violence-tinged rhetoric of the Hutaree and warned the FBI about the group in late 2008.
Two members of the Southern Michigan Volunteer Militia said this week they provided the FBI with information on the Hutaree, identifying them as "kind of creepy" and considering them a threat that the FBI should keep an eye on.
A federal grand jury indictment unsealed March 29 alleges David Stone Sr. of Clayton in Lenawee County and eight followers belong to a radical militia called the Hutaree plotted to kill police officers and wage war against the U.S. government. Charges include seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction.
"I saw them as damaging our organization in particular and the movement as a whole," said Mike Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southern Michigan Volunteer Militia.
Others sent e-mails to the FBI about the group. And ultimately one militia member was so concerned he joined the Hutaree to see what they were about. That man is now considered a "cooperating witness" in the case.
The revelations may surprise those who view militia members as a singular, tight-knit group that rallies around gun rights and anti-government attitudes.
But to the Southeast Michigan Militia, an umbrella group that represents hundreds of members, the Hutaree was different to a fault. No one in the southeast group advocated killing police officers as a way of sparking a revolution designed to protect the work of Jesus, they said.
"That's just rotten and wrong," said Lee Miracle, coordinator for the Southeast Michigan Militia. "What part of that is supporting the Constitution?" ...
April 12, 2010
Arrest the Pope? I rather think we should
The sin of making victims and the community complicit in the abuse cover-up is still not acknowledged
Libby Purves
... From Ireland, America, Australia, Austria, the story is always the same: a brave complaint, an admission of guilt including other crimes, followed only by weak supervision and an exaggerated concern for the perpetrator. The wolf retains his clerical dress and status, making other children and their parents feel safe when they are not. Higher authority deplores the sin, takes the confession but won’t risk corporate reputation by handling it properly. As the Murphy Commission scathingly put it, the priority was always “the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the Church and the preservation of its assets”.
What troubles me even more is that in doing this, church authorities repeatedly dragged other people into collusion and thus into what — in more convenient circumstances — they themselves would call sin. Young victims, particularly of sexual crimes, badly need to know that they are absolutely accepted as innocents betrayed: the crime is not their burden and does not define them. One of the ways in which societies achieve this is by openly punishing the perpetrator. Too often, that didn’t happen. In some of the most infamous Irish cases the children who suffered were sworn to secrecy, with all the dusty, incense-smelling, habit-rustling impressiveness of canonical process. They were made to collaborate in the shame, by men round whose necks hung the cross they had been taught to revere.
Even when there was no such formality, testimonies of the young victims tell us again and again how they would be ordered not to speak of it, often by shocked Catholic parents, and that keeping the invasive memory locked in their breasts bred guilt and shame that festered for a lifetime. Some killed themselves. Many speak of the particular misery of knowing that their silence — their collusion with the lie that all was well — condemned other younger children to the same ordeal.
Nor is it only children who were stained by secrecy. The respect for church authority and wisdom in homogenous Catholic communities — schools, slums, villages — bred another horror. Not only did it make parents unwittingly betray their raped children by disbelieving them, but if you read memoirs of victims, such as Colm O’Gorman, you hear how in later years they would find that many of the adults around them always “sort of knew” — that there were jokes about the priest’s little ways, that you’d do well not to get too close. From Ealing Abbey now we learn that the criminal Father Pearce was widely giggled about as “gay Dave” by the boys. People knew, but knew they mustn’t speak. ...
Arrest the Pope? I rather think we should
The sin of making victims and the community complicit in the abuse cover-up is still not acknowledged
Libby Purves
... From Ireland, America, Australia, Austria, the story is always the same: a brave complaint, an admission of guilt including other crimes, followed only by weak supervision and an exaggerated concern for the perpetrator. The wolf retains his clerical dress and status, making other children and their parents feel safe when they are not. Higher authority deplores the sin, takes the confession but won’t risk corporate reputation by handling it properly. As the Murphy Commission scathingly put it, the priority was always “the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the Church and the preservation of its assets”.
What troubles me even more is that in doing this, church authorities repeatedly dragged other people into collusion and thus into what — in more convenient circumstances — they themselves would call sin. Young victims, particularly of sexual crimes, badly need to know that they are absolutely accepted as innocents betrayed: the crime is not their burden and does not define them. One of the ways in which societies achieve this is by openly punishing the perpetrator. Too often, that didn’t happen. In some of the most infamous Irish cases the children who suffered were sworn to secrecy, with all the dusty, incense-smelling, habit-rustling impressiveness of canonical process. They were made to collaborate in the shame, by men round whose necks hung the cross they had been taught to revere.
Even when there was no such formality, testimonies of the young victims tell us again and again how they would be ordered not to speak of it, often by shocked Catholic parents, and that keeping the invasive memory locked in their breasts bred guilt and shame that festered for a lifetime. Some killed themselves. Many speak of the particular misery of knowing that their silence — their collusion with the lie that all was well — condemned other younger children to the same ordeal.
Nor is it only children who were stained by secrecy. The respect for church authority and wisdom in homogenous Catholic communities — schools, slums, villages — bred another horror. Not only did it make parents unwittingly betray their raped children by disbelieving them, but if you read memoirs of victims, such as Colm O’Gorman, you hear how in later years they would find that many of the adults around them always “sort of knew” — that there were jokes about the priest’s little ways, that you’d do well not to get too close. From Ealing Abbey now we learn that the criminal Father Pearce was widely giggled about as “gay Dave” by the boys. People knew, but knew they mustn’t speak. ...
Ireland's embattled Catholic Cardinal Sean Brady was taken to hospital tonight with a suspected heart attack.
The Catholic primate was taken to Craigavon Area hospital in Northern Ireland after being taken ill at a confirmation ceremony in Co Tyrone this evening.
A spokesman for the hospital said the 70-year-old cardinal was in a stable condition.
Brady faces demands from clerical abuse victims to stand down over his role in silencing two young victims of the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth. Smyth was one of Ireland's most notorious paedophiles whom the Catholic church continually moved around the country, Northern Ireland, England and the US even after it knew about the allegations against the Norbertine priest. ...
The Catholic primate was taken to Craigavon Area hospital in Northern Ireland after being taken ill at a confirmation ceremony in Co Tyrone this evening.
A spokesman for the hospital said the 70-year-old cardinal was in a stable condition.
Brady faces demands from clerical abuse victims to stand down over his role in silencing two young victims of the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth. Smyth was one of Ireland's most notorious paedophiles whom the Catholic church continually moved around the country, Northern Ireland, England and the US even after it knew about the allegations against the Norbertine priest. ...
The great happy Vatican death spiral
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
... I wasn't kidding above. I firmly believe we have this apocalypse thing all wrong, backwards. The Second Coming has nothing whatsoever to do with some melodramatic return of a bearded, sandal-wearing hippie anarchist who comes back to take away all the booze, porn and tattoos as he whisks away the trembling "true believers" to a land of harps, minivans and horrible sex.
Wrong. The Rapture is when the major karmic roadblocks of man -- all the Vaticans, popes, temples, cults, megachurches and even most organized religions all stagger and collapse under the weight of their inherent hypocrisy, all the oppressed sexuality, the homophobia, misogyny, fear of science, the denial of true spiritual source.
You could call it one of the greatest ironies of man: Only when our supposedly "holy" dogmas, institutions and leaders fail, can the human soul ever truly be free.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
... I wasn't kidding above. I firmly believe we have this apocalypse thing all wrong, backwards. The Second Coming has nothing whatsoever to do with some melodramatic return of a bearded, sandal-wearing hippie anarchist who comes back to take away all the booze, porn and tattoos as he whisks away the trembling "true believers" to a land of harps, minivans and horrible sex.
Wrong. The Rapture is when the major karmic roadblocks of man -- all the Vaticans, popes, temples, cults, megachurches and even most organized religions all stagger and collapse under the weight of their inherent hypocrisy, all the oppressed sexuality, the homophobia, misogyny, fear of science, the denial of true spiritual source.
You could call it one of the greatest ironies of man: Only when our supposedly "holy" dogmas, institutions and leaders fail, can the human soul ever truly be free.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.
A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is.
The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI.
Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."
The interview was spotted on Friday by the American Jewish Committee, which said Babini was using "slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two".
On its website, the American Jewish Group Committee quoted bishop Vincenzo Paglia, an official at the Italian Bishops' Conference, as saying Babini's remarks were "entirely contrary to the official line and mainstream thought of the Catholic church".
As the interview appeared on Italy's main newspaper sites today, complete with the American reaction, the Bishops' Conference rushed out a statement quoting Babini denying he had ever given the interview in the first place. "Statements I have never made about our Jewish brothers have been attributed to me," he said.
Babini has previously been quoted on the Pontifex website accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust, as well as criticising homosexuality. ...
A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is.
The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI.
Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."
The interview was spotted on Friday by the American Jewish Committee, which said Babini was using "slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two".
On its website, the American Jewish Group Committee quoted bishop Vincenzo Paglia, an official at the Italian Bishops' Conference, as saying Babini's remarks were "entirely contrary to the official line and mainstream thought of the Catholic church".
As the interview appeared on Italy's main newspaper sites today, complete with the American reaction, the Bishops' Conference rushed out a statement quoting Babini denying he had ever given the interview in the first place. "Statements I have never made about our Jewish brothers have been attributed to me," he said.
Babini has previously been quoted on the Pontifex website accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust, as well as criticising homosexuality. ...
Pope Benedict XVI was dragged directly into the scandal engulfing the Roman Catholic Church when a letter with his signature emerged implicating him in the failure to defrock a known paedophile priest.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger resisted pleas from a Californian diocese to defrock a priest with a record of molesting children, putting “the good of the universal Church”, above other considerations, according to the 1985 letter.
The correspondence, obtained by the Associated Press, undermines the repeated insistence from the Holy See that Benedict XVI has had no personal involvement in covering up the sins of paedophiles.
The letter, bearing the then Cardinal Ratzinger’s signature, was typed and in Latin, and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed laicisation [defrocking] of Father Stephen Kiesle. ...
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger resisted pleas from a Californian diocese to defrock a priest with a record of molesting children, putting “the good of the universal Church”, above other considerations, according to the 1985 letter.
The correspondence, obtained by the Associated Press, undermines the repeated insistence from the Holy See that Benedict XVI has had no personal involvement in covering up the sins of paedophiles.
The letter, bearing the then Cardinal Ratzinger’s signature, was typed and in Latin, and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed laicisation [defrocking] of Father Stephen Kiesle. ...
The World Bank approved a controversial $3.75bn loan to build one of the world's largest coal-fired power plants in South Africa yesterday, defying international protests and sharp criticism from the Obama administration that the project would fuel climate change.
The proposed Medupi power station, operated by South Africa's state-owned Eskom company, was fiercely opposed by an international coalition of grassroots, church and environmental activists who said it would hurt the environment and do little to help end poverty. As planned, it would put out 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and would prevent South Africa making good on a promise to try to curb future emissions.
The bank said it had acted to help South Africa escape a crippling power shortage. "Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth," said Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank's vice president for Africa.
But the bank's approval for the Medupi plant, though expected, was overshadowed by dissatisfaction from American and European donors, as well as a groundswell of protests. ...
There is no sane reason to use anything but wind and solar power in Africa, you idiots.
The proposed Medupi power station, operated by South Africa's state-owned Eskom company, was fiercely opposed by an international coalition of grassroots, church and environmental activists who said it would hurt the environment and do little to help end poverty. As planned, it would put out 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and would prevent South Africa making good on a promise to try to curb future emissions.
The bank said it had acted to help South Africa escape a crippling power shortage. "Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth," said Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank's vice president for Africa.
But the bank's approval for the Medupi plant, though expected, was overshadowed by dissatisfaction from American and European donors, as well as a groundswell of protests. ...
There is no sane reason to use anything but wind and solar power in Africa, you idiots.
Exclusive: Phone-tapping inquiry over John Terry affair
Vanessa Perroncel, in her first interview since news of her affair with ex-England captain emerged, reveals how her refusal to talk to the tabloids caused a prolonged campaign of vilification
Saturday 10 April 2010
An official inquiry has been launched into the suspected interception of voicemail messages around the tabloid newspaper story of the former England football captain John Terry and his alleged affair with a French model.
The inquiry, which is being led from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), will cause concern in Fleet Street, where newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission have insisted that this kind of illegal activity has been stamped out since the jailing of a News of the World reporter in January 2007.
The evidence focuses on the phone records of Vanessa Perroncel and of one of her close friends, Antonia Graham. Perroncel was accused by tabloids of having an affair with Terry.
One allegation involves the interception of a live telephone call between the two women, a more serious offence than listening to phone messages.
In her first interview since the story broke, published in the Guardian today, Perroncel, the former partner of the Manchester City and England footballer Wayne Bridge, says of her experience at the hands of the tabloid pack: "It is horrible. It is like a nightmare. Every day you think: 'What else are they going to say about me?' It is so intrusive and so false. Every day, so many lies – and then people making judgments because of the lies."
Her lawyers this week formally warned seven national newspapers that she is moving to sue them for breach of privacy over reports that claimed to expose her personal life, including her sexual relationships, her medical history, her finances and her wider family's personal problems. ...
... Perroncel says she refused to speak to journalists but that the quote is an accurate account of what she said – in a private phone call to Antonia Graham.
Perroncel told the Guardian: "Antonia did not sell that quotation. I know she does not do that. So how did they get it? There have been other times when the same thing has happened: a conversation with a friend ends up word for word in the paper." ...
Vanessa Perroncel, in her first interview since news of her affair with ex-England captain emerged, reveals how her refusal to talk to the tabloids caused a prolonged campaign of vilification
Saturday 10 April 2010
An official inquiry has been launched into the suspected interception of voicemail messages around the tabloid newspaper story of the former England football captain John Terry and his alleged affair with a French model.
The inquiry, which is being led from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), will cause concern in Fleet Street, where newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission have insisted that this kind of illegal activity has been stamped out since the jailing of a News of the World reporter in January 2007.
The evidence focuses on the phone records of Vanessa Perroncel and of one of her close friends, Antonia Graham. Perroncel was accused by tabloids of having an affair with Terry.
One allegation involves the interception of a live telephone call between the two women, a more serious offence than listening to phone messages.
In her first interview since the story broke, published in the Guardian today, Perroncel, the former partner of the Manchester City and England footballer Wayne Bridge, says of her experience at the hands of the tabloid pack: "It is horrible. It is like a nightmare. Every day you think: 'What else are they going to say about me?' It is so intrusive and so false. Every day, so many lies – and then people making judgments because of the lies."
Her lawyers this week formally warned seven national newspapers that she is moving to sue them for breach of privacy over reports that claimed to expose her personal life, including her sexual relationships, her medical history, her finances and her wider family's personal problems. ...
... Perroncel says she refused to speak to journalists but that the quote is an accurate account of what she said – in a private phone call to Antonia Graham.
Perroncel told the Guardian: "Antonia did not sell that quotation. I know she does not do that. So how did they get it? There have been other times when the same thing has happened: a conversation with a friend ends up word for word in the paper." ...
A retired army brigadier general is among six suspects arrested by Israeli police investigating an organ-trafficking ring, police say.
The organisation offered as much as $100,000 (£65,600) for kidneys, which were transplanted by doctors in poor countries, a sting operation uncovered.
Police said they had been "shocked" by the extent of the smuggling ring.
Retired Gen Meir Zamir, arrested in connection with the trafficking, won a medal of valour in the Yom Kippur War. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
The organisation offered as much as $100,000 (£65,600) for kidneys, which were transplanted by doctors in poor countries, a sting operation uncovered.
Police said they had been "shocked" by the extent of the smuggling ring.
Retired Gen Meir Zamir, arrested in connection with the trafficking, won a medal of valour in the Yom Kippur War. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times.
The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.
Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”.
General Powell, who left the Bush Administration in 2005, angry about the misinformation that he unwittingly gave the world when he made the case for the invasion of Iraq at the UN, is understood to have backed Colonel Wilkerson’s declaration. ...
The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.
Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”.
General Powell, who left the Bush Administration in 2005, angry about the misinformation that he unwittingly gave the world when he made the case for the invasion of Iraq at the UN, is understood to have backed Colonel Wilkerson’s declaration. ...
Unemployment benefits and GOP principle
Michael Tomasky Monday 5 April 2010
... You may remember a few weeks ago that it was Republican Senator Jim Bunning who held up extension of these benefits because the Senate wasn't coming up to any way to pay for them and make the extension deficit neutral thereby. This time around it's Oklahoma's Tom Coburn:
"The legitimate debate is whether we borrow and steal from our kids or we get out of town and send the bill to our kids for something that we're going to consume today," Coburn said on the Senate floor.
The cost is $10 billion, so I can see that if you're concerned about the deficit it's a fair point. But here's the thing that gets me.
Somehow, Republicans don't manage to raise these objections about deficit neutrality when the question involves tax cuts heavily weighted toward the rich. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 increased the deficit. I don't remember many Republican protestations about that. As you can see from this roll-call vote from 2006, extending the tax cuts (well after their deficit-augmenting reality was known), all 51 (at the time) Republican senators voted for them, Coburn and Bunning among them.
Rich people are rich because they're good, so by definition the deficit isn't their fault. Working-class unemployed people, well, hard luck.
Michael Tomasky Monday 5 April 2010
... You may remember a few weeks ago that it was Republican Senator Jim Bunning who held up extension of these benefits because the Senate wasn't coming up to any way to pay for them and make the extension deficit neutral thereby. This time around it's Oklahoma's Tom Coburn:
"The legitimate debate is whether we borrow and steal from our kids or we get out of town and send the bill to our kids for something that we're going to consume today," Coburn said on the Senate floor.
The cost is $10 billion, so I can see that if you're concerned about the deficit it's a fair point. But here's the thing that gets me.
Somehow, Republicans don't manage to raise these objections about deficit neutrality when the question involves tax cuts heavily weighted toward the rich. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 increased the deficit. I don't remember many Republican protestations about that. As you can see from this roll-call vote from 2006, extending the tax cuts (well after their deficit-augmenting reality was known), all 51 (at the time) Republican senators voted for them, Coburn and Bunning among them.
Rich people are rich because they're good, so by definition the deficit isn't their fault. Working-class unemployed people, well, hard luck.
Why we must break up the banks
Paul Krugman says it isn't necessary – but breaking up financial giants would at least give us hope that things can change
Dean Baker
Wednesday 7 April 2010
It's not often that I disagree with Paul Krugman, but there are occasions where at least one of us is wrong. And the treatment of too big to fail (TBTF) banks is one of them.
Krugman argued in a column last week that breaking up the TBTF banks is not a necessary part of financial reform. Krugman pointed to the example of Canada as a country with a well-regulated financial system. Canada did not experience a financial crisis in 2008 in spite of the fact that five big banks essentially account for the whole of the Canadian banking system. On the other side, Krugman noted that the collapse of large numbers of small banks can also create a crisis, pointing to the chain of bank collapses at the start of the Great Depression.
These are valid points, but to paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: "we're not in Canada anymore." While Canadian banking regulation appears to have been effective thus far (we may want to see how they cope with a yet to deflate housing bubble before pronouncing it a success), Canada is a very different country from the United States. In Canada, they have had universal Medicare for 40 years. As the first President Bush used to say, it is a kinder, gentler, country.
This matters for financial regulation, because there is a level of independence and integrity on the part of the regulators in Canada that does not exist in the United States. The line in Washington is that if you want to talk to someone from Goldman Sachs, call the treasury department. ...
Paul Krugman says it isn't necessary – but breaking up financial giants would at least give us hope that things can change
Dean Baker
Wednesday 7 April 2010
It's not often that I disagree with Paul Krugman, but there are occasions where at least one of us is wrong. And the treatment of too big to fail (TBTF) banks is one of them.
Krugman argued in a column last week that breaking up the TBTF banks is not a necessary part of financial reform. Krugman pointed to the example of Canada as a country with a well-regulated financial system. Canada did not experience a financial crisis in 2008 in spite of the fact that five big banks essentially account for the whole of the Canadian banking system. On the other side, Krugman noted that the collapse of large numbers of small banks can also create a crisis, pointing to the chain of bank collapses at the start of the Great Depression.
These are valid points, but to paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: "we're not in Canada anymore." While Canadian banking regulation appears to have been effective thus far (we may want to see how they cope with a yet to deflate housing bubble before pronouncing it a success), Canada is a very different country from the United States. In Canada, they have had universal Medicare for 40 years. As the first President Bush used to say, it is a kinder, gentler, country.
This matters for financial regulation, because there is a level of independence and integrity on the part of the regulators in Canada that does not exist in the United States. The line in Washington is that if you want to talk to someone from Goldman Sachs, call the treasury department. ...
When rightwing hate goes mainstream
The Republican party is indulging extremists, hoping they'll put down their guns long enough to vote for them this November
Dan Kennedy
Wednesday 7 April 2010
... The first warning came a year ago, when the department of homeland security predicted a rise in rightwing extremism fuelled by economic calamity and the election of our first black president. News of the report, and especially about a warning contained therein that military veterans might be pulled into the movement, set off criticism among conservative bloggers. Yet it proved prescient.
The most recent and oddest manifestation was last week's arrest of nine people involved in what authorities have referred to as a "Christian militia" intent on sparking revolution. But there have been other examples, each treated by the media as isolated incidents. The murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, whose killer was sentenced to life in prison last week. The pilot who crashed his plane into an Internal Revenue Service facility in Austin, Texas, in February. Protesters whipped into a frenzy during the healthcare debate who yelled racist and homophobic slurs at members of Congress, who spat upon one and who phoned in threats of violence.
According to Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the number of rightwing extremist groups has risen exponentially during the past 18 months. And in an interview with National Public Radio's On the Media last week, he was unstinting in placing at least some of the blame for that with their enablers in the Republican party and in the media....
The Republican party is indulging extremists, hoping they'll put down their guns long enough to vote for them this November
Dan Kennedy
Wednesday 7 April 2010
... The first warning came a year ago, when the department of homeland security predicted a rise in rightwing extremism fuelled by economic calamity and the election of our first black president. News of the report, and especially about a warning contained therein that military veterans might be pulled into the movement, set off criticism among conservative bloggers. Yet it proved prescient.
The most recent and oddest manifestation was last week's arrest of nine people involved in what authorities have referred to as a "Christian militia" intent on sparking revolution. But there have been other examples, each treated by the media as isolated incidents. The murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, whose killer was sentenced to life in prison last week. The pilot who crashed his plane into an Internal Revenue Service facility in Austin, Texas, in February. Protesters whipped into a frenzy during the healthcare debate who yelled racist and homophobic slurs at members of Congress, who spat upon one and who phoned in threats of violence.
According to Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the number of rightwing extremist groups has risen exponentially during the past 18 months. And in an interview with National Public Radio's On the Media last week, he was unstinting in placing at least some of the blame for that with their enablers in the Republican party and in the media....
The Great Barrier Reef scandal
The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by the worst environmental disaster in Australia's history after a ship ran aground. So why are giant coal carriers allowed to use this well-known shipping hazard as a shortcut?
Ellen Connolly and Jon Henley
Tuesday 6 April 2010
On 11 June 1770, six weeks or so after becoming the first European to make landfall on the east coast of Australia, Lieutenant James Cook unexpectedly ran aground. His ship, the Endeavour, had struck a reef now known as the Endeavour Reef, within a manifestly far bigger reef system, nearly 25 miles from shore. Only the urgent jettisoning of 50 tonnes of stores and equipment (including all but four of the ship's guns), a delicate operation known as fothering (in which an old sail was drawn under the hull, effectively plugging the hole), Cook's expert seamanship and a great deal of hard pumping saved the vessel and her crew.
It would be another 30-odd years before the great Lincolnshire explorer and cartographer Matthew Flinders, having circumnavigated the entirety of Terra Australis Incognita, the Unknown Southern Land, gave the vast reef system its name. But despite his astonishing success in charting a safe passage through its treacherous waters, mainly by the expedient of sending small boats ahead to sound the depths, Flinders himself was later stranded on it while heading home for England in 1803.
For nearly 250 years, the Great Barrier Reef has been a hazard to shipping. It is the world's largest reef system, made up of more than 2,900 coral reefs and 900 islands scattered over 344,400sq km off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. Covering an area bigger than the United Kingdom, it is also a priceless and unimaginably fragile world heritage site, home to 30 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises; six species of sea turtles; 125 species of shark, stingray and skate; 5,000 species of mollusc; nine species of seahorse; 215 species of birds; 17 species of sea snake; 2,195 known plant species and more than 1,500 species of fish.
And it is still a hazard to shipping. In recent years, its pristine waters, in theory protected by the statutes of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, have become known as the "coal highway", a busy thoroughfare for foreign-owned bulk carriers bound for Asia. Laden with coal and fuel oil from Australia, thousands of ships, such as the Chinese-owned Shen Neng 1, which ran aground off the country's eastern seaboard on Saturday, continue to jeopardise the largest marine conservation site in the world. Last night, as salvage teams worked to prevent what would be the biggest environmental disaster in Australian history, environmentalists were not slow to accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the problem. ...
The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by the worst environmental disaster in Australia's history after a ship ran aground. So why are giant coal carriers allowed to use this well-known shipping hazard as a shortcut?
Ellen Connolly and Jon Henley
Tuesday 6 April 2010
On 11 June 1770, six weeks or so after becoming the first European to make landfall on the east coast of Australia, Lieutenant James Cook unexpectedly ran aground. His ship, the Endeavour, had struck a reef now known as the Endeavour Reef, within a manifestly far bigger reef system, nearly 25 miles from shore. Only the urgent jettisoning of 50 tonnes of stores and equipment (including all but four of the ship's guns), a delicate operation known as fothering (in which an old sail was drawn under the hull, effectively plugging the hole), Cook's expert seamanship and a great deal of hard pumping saved the vessel and her crew.
It would be another 30-odd years before the great Lincolnshire explorer and cartographer Matthew Flinders, having circumnavigated the entirety of Terra Australis Incognita, the Unknown Southern Land, gave the vast reef system its name. But despite his astonishing success in charting a safe passage through its treacherous waters, mainly by the expedient of sending small boats ahead to sound the depths, Flinders himself was later stranded on it while heading home for England in 1803.
For nearly 250 years, the Great Barrier Reef has been a hazard to shipping. It is the world's largest reef system, made up of more than 2,900 coral reefs and 900 islands scattered over 344,400sq km off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. Covering an area bigger than the United Kingdom, it is also a priceless and unimaginably fragile world heritage site, home to 30 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises; six species of sea turtles; 125 species of shark, stingray and skate; 5,000 species of mollusc; nine species of seahorse; 215 species of birds; 17 species of sea snake; 2,195 known plant species and more than 1,500 species of fish.
And it is still a hazard to shipping. In recent years, its pristine waters, in theory protected by the statutes of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, have become known as the "coal highway", a busy thoroughfare for foreign-owned bulk carriers bound for Asia. Laden with coal and fuel oil from Australia, thousands of ships, such as the Chinese-owned Shen Neng 1, which ran aground off the country's eastern seaboard on Saturday, continue to jeopardise the largest marine conservation site in the world. Last night, as salvage teams worked to prevent what would be the biggest environmental disaster in Australian history, environmentalists were not slow to accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the problem. ...
New nuke policy and old political idiocy
Pentagon chief Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton just announced the new US nuclear policy, which is a middle-of-the-road kind of thing in which we say we won't use nukes against non-nuke countries unless they're Iran.
On top of this of course, Obama is going to Prague Thursday to sign a new treaty with Medvedev to reduce nuclear stockpiles.
Needless to say, in Republicanland, all this means Obama is the Disarmer-in-Chief who wants the terrorists to win or whatever nonsense they're cooking up. Here, for example, is Rudy Giuliani:
President Obama's revamping of American nuclear policy is the mark of an "inept" leader intent on living a "left-wing dream," says Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, in an interview with National Review Online. "A nuclear-free world has been a 60-year dream of the Left, just like socialized health-care. This new policy, like Obama's government-run health program, is a big step in that direction."
"President Obama thinks we can all hold hands, sing songs, and have peace symbols," Giuliani says. "North Korea and Iran are not singing along with the president. Knowing that, it just doesn't make sense why we would reduce our nuclear arms when we face these threats."
Every hallmark of irresponsible right-wing posturing exists in those words, and it's this kind of thing that has driven the polarization in this country to such awful extremes.
If Giuliani -- who you'll notice tried to be president but is in fact not -- can guess the US nuclear stockpile within 1,000, I'd be surprised (it's about 5,700 in the active stockpile). He also probably conveniently forgets, if he ever knew, that just 18 or so years ago, we had about 24,000 active warheads. ...
Pentagon chief Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton just announced the new US nuclear policy, which is a middle-of-the-road kind of thing in which we say we won't use nukes against non-nuke countries unless they're Iran.
On top of this of course, Obama is going to Prague Thursday to sign a new treaty with Medvedev to reduce nuclear stockpiles.
Needless to say, in Republicanland, all this means Obama is the Disarmer-in-Chief who wants the terrorists to win or whatever nonsense they're cooking up. Here, for example, is Rudy Giuliani:
President Obama's revamping of American nuclear policy is the mark of an "inept" leader intent on living a "left-wing dream," says Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, in an interview with National Review Online. "A nuclear-free world has been a 60-year dream of the Left, just like socialized health-care. This new policy, like Obama's government-run health program, is a big step in that direction."
"President Obama thinks we can all hold hands, sing songs, and have peace symbols," Giuliani says. "North Korea and Iran are not singing along with the president. Knowing that, it just doesn't make sense why we would reduce our nuclear arms when we face these threats."
Every hallmark of irresponsible right-wing posturing exists in those words, and it's this kind of thing that has driven the polarization in this country to such awful extremes.
If Giuliani -- who you'll notice tried to be president but is in fact not -- can guess the US nuclear stockpile within 1,000, I'd be surprised (it's about 5,700 in the active stockpile). He also probably conveniently forgets, if he ever knew, that just 18 or so years ago, we had about 24,000 active warheads. ...
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Pity The Pedophile Priests, Pleads Pope.
The Pope pleaded "pity the pedophile priests;
Protect the poor padres, please pray"
They've sinned, but since Eden, we're nothing but beasts
These men--why, they're victims, I say
It's Satan, or sickness, not something they choose
When they lust after children, God knows
They're clearly as blameless as Holocaust Jews
(As the rhetoric reaches new lows)
With your staff and your ring, with your mitre and cape,
And with millions that heed your command
This is not just P.R.; this is forcible rape--
What's the part that you don't understand?
The fact that your coverup now comes to light
Has you pacing the Vatican floors--
And the grim realization must fill you with fright:
These sins are not Adam's; they're yours
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Pity The Pedophile Priests, Pleads Pope.
The Pope pleaded "pity the pedophile priests;
Protect the poor padres, please pray"
They've sinned, but since Eden, we're nothing but beasts
These men--why, they're victims, I say
It's Satan, or sickness, not something they choose
When they lust after children, God knows
They're clearly as blameless as Holocaust Jews
(As the rhetoric reaches new lows)
With your staff and your ring, with your mitre and cape,
And with millions that heed your command
This is not just P.R.; this is forcible rape--
What's the part that you don't understand?
The fact that your coverup now comes to light
Has you pacing the Vatican floors--
And the grim realization must fill you with fright:
These sins are not Adam's; they're yours
Ta much, dear Anneliese
April 4, 2010
I believe you’ve killed the church, Holy Father
Only a morally bankrupt Pope could call news of his role in a child abuse cover-up ‘petty gossip’
Andrew Sullivan
We know two things about Pope Benedict XVI this Easter that we didn’t know last Easter. We know that he was implicated in covering up two cases of multiple child rapes and molestations, one in Germany and one in the United States. His record on this makes it hard to distinguish his career from that of many other bishops and cardinals who were indirectly but clearly guilty of ignoring or covering up their underlings’ violation of the bodies and souls of the young and the vulnerable.
The Vatican has spent Holy Week fighting back against those facts, but it cannot abolish or undo them. The German case is the most clear-cut — because it was so glaring and so directly connected to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as the Pope was then known. The facts are these: a priest, Peter Hullermann, was found guilty of raping children in at least three families under Ratzinger’s authority in the late 1970s. The local priest indicated that the families would “not file charges under the current circumstances”, and the case went to Ratzinger, who decided not to report the priest to the criminal authorities, nor to strip him of his office, but to send him for therapy and retain him as an active priest, capable of molesting again. The priest subsequently raped many more children; he was found guilty in 1986 and was given a suspended sentence.
The Pope’s first defence was that he knew nothing about it and that his subordinate at the time, Gerhard Gruber, took full responsibility. We then discovered that the psychiatrist in the case had contacted Ratzinger’s office on several occasions, warning him of the “danger” the priest represented. “I said, ‘For God’s sake, he desperately has to be kept away from working with children’,” the psychiatrist told The New York Times. ...
I believe you’ve killed the church, Holy Father
Only a morally bankrupt Pope could call news of his role in a child abuse cover-up ‘petty gossip’
Andrew Sullivan
We know two things about Pope Benedict XVI this Easter that we didn’t know last Easter. We know that he was implicated in covering up two cases of multiple child rapes and molestations, one in Germany and one in the United States. His record on this makes it hard to distinguish his career from that of many other bishops and cardinals who were indirectly but clearly guilty of ignoring or covering up their underlings’ violation of the bodies and souls of the young and the vulnerable.
The Vatican has spent Holy Week fighting back against those facts, but it cannot abolish or undo them. The German case is the most clear-cut — because it was so glaring and so directly connected to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as the Pope was then known. The facts are these: a priest, Peter Hullermann, was found guilty of raping children in at least three families under Ratzinger’s authority in the late 1970s. The local priest indicated that the families would “not file charges under the current circumstances”, and the case went to Ratzinger, who decided not to report the priest to the criminal authorities, nor to strip him of his office, but to send him for therapy and retain him as an active priest, capable of molesting again. The priest subsequently raped many more children; he was found guilty in 1986 and was given a suspended sentence.
The Pope’s first defence was that he knew nothing about it and that his subordinate at the time, Gerhard Gruber, took full responsibility. We then discovered that the psychiatrist in the case had contacted Ratzinger’s office on several occasions, warning him of the “danger” the priest represented. “I said, ‘For God’s sake, he desperately has to be kept away from working with children’,” the psychiatrist told The New York Times. ...
Senior Catholics across Europe today apologised for the way the church had dealt with paedophile priests and acknowledged the damage the scandal had caused to its moral authority.
In Easter sermons that revealed penitence, shame and shortcomings, archbishops in Armagh, Dublin, Edinburgh, Vienna and Westminster asked congregations for their forgiveness and urged them not to abandon the church because of past sins.
But there was no apology from Rome, as Benedict XVI maintained a steadfast silence about the crisis in his annual Urbi et Orbi – To the City and the World – address. ...
In Easter sermons that revealed penitence, shame and shortcomings, archbishops in Armagh, Dublin, Edinburgh, Vienna and Westminster asked congregations for their forgiveness and urged them not to abandon the church because of past sins.
But there was no apology from Rome, as Benedict XVI maintained a steadfast silence about the crisis in his annual Urbi et Orbi – To the City and the World – address. ...
"We are now very worried we might see further oil discharged from this ship," Ms Bligh said. Local emergency crews were on standby to clean any oil that reached mainland beaches, she added.
It emerged today that the 755ft (230m) vessel should not have been in the area where it ran aground.
Ms Bligh said that the vessel hit the reef at full speed in a restricted zone 9 miles (15km) outside the shipping lane.
Its presence outside the shipping channel would be subject to a probing inquiry, she said.
Aircraft have been spraying chemical oil dispersant on to two small patches of oil about 2.5 miles from the ship.
The spill is within the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef but it will not be known for some days whether it is large enough to have a damaging impact on the reef.
Peter Garrett, the Environment Minister, said that it was too early to say whether there would be any lasting effect. "We don't have advice at present as to whether the oil is going to threaten any part of the ecology of the reef," he said.
"The Government is very conscious of the importance of the Great Barrier Reef environment and ensuring that impacts on its ecology are effectively managed." Conservationists said the fact that there was no legal requirement to have marine pilots on board ships in the area to guide them safely through the 1,500 mile (2,500km) reef system put it in grave danger.
Ian Herbert, the Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman, said he feared that the latest incident was a “sign of things to come". ...
It emerged today that the 755ft (230m) vessel should not have been in the area where it ran aground.
Ms Bligh said that the vessel hit the reef at full speed in a restricted zone 9 miles (15km) outside the shipping lane.
Its presence outside the shipping channel would be subject to a probing inquiry, she said.
Aircraft have been spraying chemical oil dispersant on to two small patches of oil about 2.5 miles from the ship.
The spill is within the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef but it will not be known for some days whether it is large enough to have a damaging impact on the reef.
Peter Garrett, the Environment Minister, said that it was too early to say whether there would be any lasting effect. "We don't have advice at present as to whether the oil is going to threaten any part of the ecology of the reef," he said.
"The Government is very conscious of the importance of the Great Barrier Reef environment and ensuring that impacts on its ecology are effectively managed." Conservationists said the fact that there was no legal requirement to have marine pilots on board ships in the area to guide them safely through the 1,500 mile (2,500km) reef system put it in grave danger.
Ian Herbert, the Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman, said he feared that the latest incident was a “sign of things to come". ...
Pope Benedict XVI ignored calls for a mea culpa over the growing crisis of clerical sex abuse yesterday as a senior prelate insisted the Church would not be intimidated by “petty gossip”. In his Easter Day address, Urbi et Orbi (To the city and world), made to a crowd in St Peter’s Square in Rome, the Pope insisted he would continue his “pilgrimage” and spoke of the need for “a spiritual and moral conversion” and an examination of consciences. ...
Easter became a festival of apology across the Christian world today as church leaders issued mea culpas for grievous sins committed against children and God.
The Pope was one of the few who failed to refer at all to the crisis that is tarnishing the image of the Church worldwide — and that has even embroiled the leader of the Anglican Communion, Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
In Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, acknowledged his own role in putting the reputation of the Church before justice for abused children, apologising "with all my heart" but stopped short of the resignation that many believe is inevitable.
Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, admitted that "serious sins" had been committed within the Catholic community. Preaching at Westminster Cathedral, he said: "Talk of sin is not always popular - unless we are talking about other people’s sins. In recent weeks the serious sins committed within the Catholic community have been much talked about. ..."
The Pope was one of the few who failed to refer at all to the crisis that is tarnishing the image of the Church worldwide — and that has even embroiled the leader of the Anglican Communion, Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
In Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, acknowledged his own role in putting the reputation of the Church before justice for abused children, apologising "with all my heart" but stopped short of the resignation that many believe is inevitable.
Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, admitted that "serious sins" had been committed within the Catholic community. Preaching at Westminster Cathedral, he said: "Talk of sin is not always popular - unless we are talking about other people’s sins. In recent weeks the serious sins committed within the Catholic community have been much talked about. ..."
Some of the suppressed fury of German Catholics about the handling of the child abuse scandal spilled over into an attack on a bishop during Easter Sunday High Mass.
Bishop Felix Genn had to hold aloft an incense container to fend off the blows from a broomstick wielded by an angry parishioner trying to beat him on the altar of Germany's ancient Münster Cathedral.
The attack was the first act of physical violence in a highly emotional Easter festival that has been overshadowed by months of child molestation accusations against priests.
The 44-year-old assailant ran forward at the beginning of the service and toppled the large Easter candle, then turned on the bishop. ...
Nice try.
Bishop Felix Genn had to hold aloft an incense container to fend off the blows from a broomstick wielded by an angry parishioner trying to beat him on the altar of Germany's ancient Münster Cathedral.
The attack was the first act of physical violence in a highly emotional Easter festival that has been overshadowed by months of child molestation accusations against priests.
The 44-year-old assailant ran forward at the beginning of the service and toppled the large Easter candle, then turned on the bishop. ...
Nice try.
The late Tucson Bishop Manuel D. Moreno, often characterized as a poor advocate for sexual abuse victims, struggled with both canon law and Vatican mandates in his efforts to defrock two local priests, documents obtained by the Arizona Daily Star show.
In one case, Moreno pleaded with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, for help in removing the Rev. Michael Teta, who was convicted by the church in 1997 of five crimes including sexual solicitation in the confessional.
"I make this plea to you to assist me in every way you can to expedite this case, because the accused was a priest in whom I had great confidence at one time, but who, unfortunately, worked among our former seminarians, and, terrible to say, evidently corrupted many of them," Moreno wrote in an April 1997 letter to Ratzinger.
Ratzinger's office oversaw Teta's case because the crimes allegedly occurred in the confessional. His office did not handle the case of the other priest, Monsignor Robert C. Trupia, until 2001, when jurisdiction over such cases changed.
Teta's case, Moreno wrote, had already gone on for seven years. Teta was first suspended in 1990.
Teta and Trupia were defrocked in 2004. The diocese suspended Trupia in 1992 after a Tucson mother told the diocese her young son had been sexually abused by Trupia.
The diocese did not notify police about allegations against Trupia until 2000, when mandatory- reporting policies were adopted here. ...
In one case, Moreno pleaded with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, for help in removing the Rev. Michael Teta, who was convicted by the church in 1997 of five crimes including sexual solicitation in the confessional.
"I make this plea to you to assist me in every way you can to expedite this case, because the accused was a priest in whom I had great confidence at one time, but who, unfortunately, worked among our former seminarians, and, terrible to say, evidently corrupted many of them," Moreno wrote in an April 1997 letter to Ratzinger.
Ratzinger's office oversaw Teta's case because the crimes allegedly occurred in the confessional. His office did not handle the case of the other priest, Monsignor Robert C. Trupia, until 2001, when jurisdiction over such cases changed.
Teta's case, Moreno wrote, had already gone on for seven years. Teta was first suspended in 1990.
Teta and Trupia were defrocked in 2004. The diocese suspended Trupia in 1992 after a Tucson mother told the diocese her young son had been sexually abused by Trupia.
The diocese did not notify police about allegations against Trupia until 2000, when mandatory- reporting policies were adopted here. ...
The Vatican has moved to block an attempt to force the Pope to appear in court in the United States, after a lawyer filed a motion seeking his sworn testimony on what the Vatican knew about paedophile scandals.
Giuseppe dalla Torre, head of the Vatican City Tribunal, said that Benedict XVI had diplomatic immunity as a head of state. The Vatican lawyers are also expected to argue that US bishops who oversaw priests who committed abuse were not Vatican employees.
The Kentucky action by William McMurry comes after a lawsuit filed in 2004 by three men who allege that they were abused by priests in the state.
The Vatican tried to get the case dismissed, but in 2007 a judge approved a process under which both sides can request information and documents, including the questioning of witnesses. ...
Giuseppe dalla Torre, head of the Vatican City Tribunal, said that Benedict XVI had diplomatic immunity as a head of state. The Vatican lawyers are also expected to argue that US bishops who oversaw priests who committed abuse were not Vatican employees.
The Kentucky action by William McMurry comes after a lawsuit filed in 2004 by three men who allege that they were abused by priests in the state.
The Vatican tried to get the case dismissed, but in 2007 a judge approved a process under which both sides can request information and documents, including the questioning of witnesses. ...
The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost all credibility because of the child abuse scandal, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.
In a rare breach of ecumenical protocol, Dr Rowan Williams criticised the Catholic Church over its handling of the paedophile priests crisis and made plain his anger over the Pope’s plans for a new ordinariate to tempt dissatisfied Anglicans over to Rome.
His comments will add to the cloud gathering over the Pope’s four-day visit to Britain in September, when he is expected to give an address in Westminster on moral values in society. More than 10,000 people have signed a “Protest the Pope” petition on Downing Street’s website against the £15 million cost of the visit, which is to be shared by the Government and the Church.
The Vatican’s troubles mounted when Pope Benedict XVI’s personal preacher likened criticism of the Church over the sex abuse scandal to “collective violence” suffered by the Jews. At a Good Friday ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica, Father Raniero Cantalamessa told the congregation, with the Pope listening, that a Jewish friend had said that the accusations reminded him of the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism”.
The attempt to equate criticism of the Church with the suffering of Jews is particularly controversial given the accusation that the Church failed to do enough to stop the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews perished.
The Pope later followed a candle-lit procession to commemorate Christ’s suffering amid tighter security than usual. His spokesman said that Father Cantalamessa’s remarks were not the official position of the Church. ...
Yeah, well, a C of E eejit accusing the catholics of having no credibility is the pot calling the kettle black.
In a rare breach of ecumenical protocol, Dr Rowan Williams criticised the Catholic Church over its handling of the paedophile priests crisis and made plain his anger over the Pope’s plans for a new ordinariate to tempt dissatisfied Anglicans over to Rome.
His comments will add to the cloud gathering over the Pope’s four-day visit to Britain in September, when he is expected to give an address in Westminster on moral values in society. More than 10,000 people have signed a “Protest the Pope” petition on Downing Street’s website against the £15 million cost of the visit, which is to be shared by the Government and the Church.
The Vatican’s troubles mounted when Pope Benedict XVI’s personal preacher likened criticism of the Church over the sex abuse scandal to “collective violence” suffered by the Jews. At a Good Friday ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica, Father Raniero Cantalamessa told the congregation, with the Pope listening, that a Jewish friend had said that the accusations reminded him of the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism”.
The attempt to equate criticism of the Church with the suffering of Jews is particularly controversial given the accusation that the Church failed to do enough to stop the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews perished.
The Pope later followed a candle-lit procession to commemorate Christ’s suffering amid tighter security than usual. His spokesman said that Father Cantalamessa’s remarks were not the official position of the Church. ...
Yeah, well, a C of E eejit accusing the catholics of having no credibility is the pot calling the kettle black.
German Catholic leaders openly admitted for the first time today that the Church betrayed and abused children in its care.
The admission by Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, came as Catholic priests across the country called on their congregations to pray for abused children.
But in many churches worshippers took the unusual step of expressing their unhappiness with the Church's management of the crisis.
Archbishop Zollitsch said that the Church had committed serious mistakes and done too little to help the victims of priestly abuse. “The caring responsibility towards the victims was insufficient in the past because of our own disappointment at the painful failure of the perpetrators, and out of a falsely understood concern for the standing of the church," he said. ...
The admission by Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, came as Catholic priests across the country called on their congregations to pray for abused children.
But in many churches worshippers took the unusual step of expressing their unhappiness with the Church's management of the crisis.
Archbishop Zollitsch said that the Church had committed serious mistakes and done too little to help the victims of priestly abuse. “The caring responsibility towards the victims was insufficient in the past because of our own disappointment at the painful failure of the perpetrators, and out of a falsely understood concern for the standing of the church," he said. ...
It may yet become known as the Good Friday Rebellion. Across Germany, Roman Catholic priests admitted from the pulpit that the Church had betrayed and abused children in its care — and quietly but firmly many believers let the Church know that they were deeply unhappy.
At the Jesuit-run Saint Canesius church in Berlin, worshippers were asked in the customary Good Friday High Mass to pray for Pope Benedict XVI and the bishops of the Church. The congregation duly knelt. Then the priest appealed: “Let us pray for the children who have been done great injustice within the Church community, who were abused.” The congregation made to bend their knees but the priest was not finished. “And for those who have sinned against children,” he added. Half of the congregation, perhaps 150 people, remained silently standing — a rare flash of defiance. The cause could have been a nasty outbreak of rheumatism — St Canesius has a cold stone floor — but similar scenes were reported across the country.
More than 20 out of 27 dioceses had agreed to integrate the prayers into the service. The formula had been worked out by Stephan Ackermann, Bishop of Trier, charged with investigating the abuse claims. Last week he introduced a hotline for victims and found that 20 callers said that they had been abused in his diocese.
“No, the prayer for the children wasn’t a surprise,” said one of the Berlin worshippers, “it was relief. But did you notice there were only three families in the congregation? That was unusual here but at the moment churches are not places you take children.” ...
At the Jesuit-run Saint Canesius church in Berlin, worshippers were asked in the customary Good Friday High Mass to pray for Pope Benedict XVI and the bishops of the Church. The congregation duly knelt. Then the priest appealed: “Let us pray for the children who have been done great injustice within the Church community, who were abused.” The congregation made to bend their knees but the priest was not finished. “And for those who have sinned against children,” he added. Half of the congregation, perhaps 150 people, remained silently standing — a rare flash of defiance. The cause could have been a nasty outbreak of rheumatism — St Canesius has a cold stone floor — but similar scenes were reported across the country.
More than 20 out of 27 dioceses had agreed to integrate the prayers into the service. The formula had been worked out by Stephan Ackermann, Bishop of Trier, charged with investigating the abuse claims. Last week he introduced a hotline for victims and found that 20 callers said that they had been abused in his diocese.
“No, the prayer for the children wasn’t a surprise,” said one of the Berlin worshippers, “it was relief. But did you notice there were only three families in the congregation? That was unusual here but at the moment churches are not places you take children.” ...
OOOOOOOH!
Get her!
Get her!
March 28, 2010
DPS: Scam cost $57M
FBI investigates ex-risk manager; district sues to recover money
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A former department chief at Detroit Public Schools and his assistant used secret offices and their own computer system to improperly divert more than $57 million in school funds to vendors who provided little, if anything, in return, according to sworn records reviewed by the Free Press.
Documents in a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit brought by DPS allege that Stephen Hill of Detroit -- director of DPS risk management from 2001-05 -- received luxury vehicles and other kickbacks. Some of the vendors who benefitted were friends or associates of Hill's or relatives of Hill's assistant, Christina Polk-Osumah of Detroit, court records allege.
When Hill left the district in September 2005, he received a champagne-and-tenderloin farewell bash that cost the impoverished school system $40,000, according to the suit.
The FBI now is investigating the alleged fraud scheme.
Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, said in a statement that the case is another example of how "DPS has been a place where people use the district as their personal banker and where there has been a cesspool of corruption, and in cases such as this one, both national corporations and local individuals took advantage of Detroit Public Schools."
Hill could not be reached for comment. His former attorney denied that Hill acted improperly and said he will be vindicated. ...
DPS: Scam cost $57M
FBI investigates ex-risk manager; district sues to recover money
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A former department chief at Detroit Public Schools and his assistant used secret offices and their own computer system to improperly divert more than $57 million in school funds to vendors who provided little, if anything, in return, according to sworn records reviewed by the Free Press.
Documents in a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit brought by DPS allege that Stephen Hill of Detroit -- director of DPS risk management from 2001-05 -- received luxury vehicles and other kickbacks. Some of the vendors who benefitted were friends or associates of Hill's or relatives of Hill's assistant, Christina Polk-Osumah of Detroit, court records allege.
When Hill left the district in September 2005, he received a champagne-and-tenderloin farewell bash that cost the impoverished school system $40,000, according to the suit.
The FBI now is investigating the alleged fraud scheme.
Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, said in a statement that the case is another example of how "DPS has been a place where people use the district as their personal banker and where there has been a cesspool of corruption, and in cases such as this one, both national corporations and local individuals took advantage of Detroit Public Schools."
Hill could not be reached for comment. His former attorney denied that Hill acted improperly and said he will be vindicated. ...
March 31, 2010
$57-MILLION ALLEGATIONS
Ex-official facing DPS suit loses job offer
Ill. county rescinds proposal for top spot after troubles found
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Sunday, the Free Press reported that a former Detroit schools official was accused of running a $57-million scam and accepting kickbacks while at Detroit Public Schools.
On Monday, Cook County, which covers Chicago and its environs, announced that the former official, Stephen Hill, had been offered a job as that county's director of risk management.
Oops.
When the Free Press called to inquire Tuesday, Cook County officials -- hours later -- confirmed the job offer. But they said the offer was rescinded after someone performed a Google search, which turned up the Free Press article, and other material on the DPS lawsuit against Hill, set for trial this summer. ...
$57-MILLION ALLEGATIONS
Ex-official facing DPS suit loses job offer
Ill. county rescinds proposal for top spot after troubles found
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Sunday, the Free Press reported that a former Detroit schools official was accused of running a $57-million scam and accepting kickbacks while at Detroit Public Schools.
On Monday, Cook County, which covers Chicago and its environs, announced that the former official, Stephen Hill, had been offered a job as that county's director of risk management.
Oops.
When the Free Press called to inquire Tuesday, Cook County officials -- hours later -- confirmed the job offer. But they said the offer was rescinded after someone performed a Google search, which turned up the Free Press article, and other material on the DPS lawsuit against Hill, set for trial this summer. ...
Pope faces fresh wave of child abuse scandals in Italy
The head of the Catholic church is bracing himself for a new round of allegations by victims of paedophile priests — in Italy
Tom Kington in Rome and Henry McDonald in Dublin
Sunday 28 March 2010
Pope Benedict XVI is facing growing pressure over his handling of paedophile priests as new cover-ups come to light in Italy, the country with the greatest concentration of Roman Catholic clerics.
After the latest allegations – that Benedict took no action in the US when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's enforcer – the church is now "terrified" as more victims stand up to be counted in Italy, according to Roberto Mirabile, head of La Caramella Buona, an Italian anti-abuse group. "With the scandals erupting abroad, we will see a huge growth in victims' groups in Italy in coming weeks," said Mirabile yesterday. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict handled abuse cases at the Vatican for 24 years before he became pope in 2005.
"We are likely to discover that the Vatican worked even harder in Italy with bishops than elsewhere to hide cases, simply because the contact was closer and the church is so powerful in Italy," Mirabile added.
Sergio Cavaliere, an Italian lawyer who has documented 130 cases of clerical paedophilia, also believes that the Vatican's backyard could follow Ireland, the United States and Germany in producing a wave of abuse revelations. "The cases I have found are just the tip of the iceberg given the reluctance of many victims to come forward until now," said Cavaliere. "And in no single case did the local bishop alert police to the suspected abuse."
Another startling development is how recent most of the allegations are, unlike the decades-old cases in Munich and Milwaukee that Benedict was last week accused of failing to act on.
Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who investigates abuse accusations passed on to the Vatican, denied this month that abuse had reached "dramatic proportions" in Italy, but he was concerned about "a certain culture of silence" among Italy's 50,000 priests.
In February, the Vatican opened an investigation into allegations by 67 former pupils at a school for the deaf in Verona that 24 priests, brothers and lay religious men abused pupils from the 1950s to the 1980s. Three of the accusers repeated their claims on Italian prime-time television on Friday. ...
The head of the Catholic church is bracing himself for a new round of allegations by victims of paedophile priests — in Italy
Tom Kington in Rome and Henry McDonald in Dublin
Sunday 28 March 2010
Pope Benedict XVI is facing growing pressure over his handling of paedophile priests as new cover-ups come to light in Italy, the country with the greatest concentration of Roman Catholic clerics.
After the latest allegations – that Benedict took no action in the US when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's enforcer – the church is now "terrified" as more victims stand up to be counted in Italy, according to Roberto Mirabile, head of La Caramella Buona, an Italian anti-abuse group. "With the scandals erupting abroad, we will see a huge growth in victims' groups in Italy in coming weeks," said Mirabile yesterday. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict handled abuse cases at the Vatican for 24 years before he became pope in 2005.
"We are likely to discover that the Vatican worked even harder in Italy with bishops than elsewhere to hide cases, simply because the contact was closer and the church is so powerful in Italy," Mirabile added.
Sergio Cavaliere, an Italian lawyer who has documented 130 cases of clerical paedophilia, also believes that the Vatican's backyard could follow Ireland, the United States and Germany in producing a wave of abuse revelations. "The cases I have found are just the tip of the iceberg given the reluctance of many victims to come forward until now," said Cavaliere. "And in no single case did the local bishop alert police to the suspected abuse."
Another startling development is how recent most of the allegations are, unlike the decades-old cases in Munich and Milwaukee that Benedict was last week accused of failing to act on.
Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who investigates abuse accusations passed on to the Vatican, denied this month that abuse had reached "dramatic proportions" in Italy, but he was concerned about "a certain culture of silence" among Italy's 50,000 priests.
In February, the Vatican opened an investigation into allegations by 67 former pupils at a school for the deaf in Verona that 24 priests, brothers and lay religious men abused pupils from the 1950s to the 1980s. Three of the accusers repeated their claims on Italian prime-time television on Friday. ...
March 28, 2010
Holy Father, I can stay no longer in this Church of Disgust
India Knight
... It is simply not possible, having read the papers or watched the news over the past couple of weeks, to stick with the programme. Like many of my generation, I could hardly be described as a good, or even decent, Catholic, but I’d managed to hang on in there, in the vaguest way imaginable.
Vague because it’s hard to pay lip-service to a faith that you feel hates you; a faith that would rather let you die in childbirth than have an abortion, won’t let you take the contraception necessary to prevent said abortion, hates gay people despite having many homosexual priests; a faith that talks ignorant nonsense about HIV and Aids, that would rather watch people die in Africa than let them use a condom; a faith that is unbelievably slow to say sorry about the fact that some of its members are habitual rapists of children.
I mean, you know, at some point you just give up. Not one of these things is defensible taken individually. Collectively, they are beyond comprehension.
A faith based on central authority and infallibility must understand that failure immediately to condemn the rape of children — in Ireland, in America, in Austria, in Germany, in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Brazil, so far — is essentially to allow it. ...
Holy Father, I can stay no longer in this Church of Disgust
India Knight
... It is simply not possible, having read the papers or watched the news over the past couple of weeks, to stick with the programme. Like many of my generation, I could hardly be described as a good, or even decent, Catholic, but I’d managed to hang on in there, in the vaguest way imaginable.
Vague because it’s hard to pay lip-service to a faith that you feel hates you; a faith that would rather let you die in childbirth than have an abortion, won’t let you take the contraception necessary to prevent said abortion, hates gay people despite having many homosexual priests; a faith that talks ignorant nonsense about HIV and Aids, that would rather watch people die in Africa than let them use a condom; a faith that is unbelievably slow to say sorry about the fact that some of its members are habitual rapists of children.
I mean, you know, at some point you just give up. Not one of these things is defensible taken individually. Collectively, they are beyond comprehension.
A faith based on central authority and infallibility must understand that failure immediately to condemn the rape of children — in Ireland, in America, in Austria, in Germany, in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Brazil, so far — is essentially to allow it. ...
This idiot can't even tell which is God and which is da Debbil.
A nonprofit run by Kwame Kilpatrick's family paid more than $100,000 to a consulting firm formed by Christine Beatty after she resigned as his chief of staff during the text message scandal.
State records show that Beatty incorporated Maiyen Consulting the morning of Jan. 28, 2008 -- within hours of resigning from her $142,813 a year city job.
A federal tax report filed by the Kilpatrick Civic Fund says the fund -- whose mission was voter education and community improvement -- paid at least $100,000 to Maiyen Consulting as a "publication and print consultant." The report does not list the exact amount paid to the firm.
Beatty, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in the text message scandal but refused to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Kilpatrick, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Her lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said Beatty was hired to work on publications for the civic fund and spent some of her fee on subcontractors, including printers. He said Beatty disclosed the payments to probation officials in her criminal case and declared it on her tax return.
In light of the Free Press' findings, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office plans to examine the civic fund's dealings with Maiyen Consulting.
"There was some preliminary research regarding this particular consulting contract, however, we focused on other matters connected to the civic fund," prosecutor spokeswoman Maria Miller said Wednesday. "Given this information, we will be looking into this further." ...
State records show that Beatty incorporated Maiyen Consulting the morning of Jan. 28, 2008 -- within hours of resigning from her $142,813 a year city job.
A federal tax report filed by the Kilpatrick Civic Fund says the fund -- whose mission was voter education and community improvement -- paid at least $100,000 to Maiyen Consulting as a "publication and print consultant." The report does not list the exact amount paid to the firm.
Beatty, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in the text message scandal but refused to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Kilpatrick, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Her lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said Beatty was hired to work on publications for the civic fund and spent some of her fee on subcontractors, including printers. He said Beatty disclosed the payments to probation officials in her criminal case and declared it on her tax return.
In light of the Free Press' findings, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office plans to examine the civic fund's dealings with Maiyen Consulting.
"There was some preliminary research regarding this particular consulting contract, however, we focused on other matters connected to the civic fund," prosecutor spokeswoman Maria Miller said Wednesday. "Given this information, we will be looking into this further." ...
Last Updated: March 26. 2010 1:00AM
Ex-Kilpatrick aide Beatty under scrutiny over civic fund contract
Prosecutors give her 90 days before review of her restitution
Doug Guthrie and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Detroit --Wayne County prosecutors who put Kwame Kilpatrick's personal finances under a microscope at a probation violation hearing this week are giving the former mayor's criminal co-defendant and lover Christine Beatty 90 days before also reviewing her ability to pay restitution.
Kilpatrick's high lifestyle in Texas and claims that he is unable to meet the court's demands for payment on $1 million restitution have been spotlighted in court by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Meanwhile, Beatty, who promised to pay the city $100,000, has faced no public pressure from authorities while paying just $2,302 so far. She was allowed in January to move to Georgia to search for work.
"Christine Beatty recently moved to Atlanta to begin a new job. We will review her case in 90 days," Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said about the possibility of asking her sentencing judge for a restitution hearing where Beatty's ability to start making regular payments would be established.
"Until then, she will continue being supervised by probation authorities there (in Georgia)," Miller said.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges of obstruction of justice for committing perjury during a 2007 trial. Their extramarital affair was revealed in Kilpatrick's infamous text messages. Both went to jail and both promised to pay the city hefty restitution.
Beatty, who now lives in a condominium near the heart of Atlanta, has made seven payments toward her $100,000 restitution. Her last payment of $350 was made Jan. 4, a week before she asked permission of the court to move. No more payments have been made since, according to Wayne Circuit Court records. ...
Ex-Kilpatrick aide Beatty under scrutiny over civic fund contract
Prosecutors give her 90 days before review of her restitution
Doug Guthrie and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Detroit --Wayne County prosecutors who put Kwame Kilpatrick's personal finances under a microscope at a probation violation hearing this week are giving the former mayor's criminal co-defendant and lover Christine Beatty 90 days before also reviewing her ability to pay restitution.
Kilpatrick's high lifestyle in Texas and claims that he is unable to meet the court's demands for payment on $1 million restitution have been spotlighted in court by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Meanwhile, Beatty, who promised to pay the city $100,000, has faced no public pressure from authorities while paying just $2,302 so far. She was allowed in January to move to Georgia to search for work.
"Christine Beatty recently moved to Atlanta to begin a new job. We will review her case in 90 days," Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said about the possibility of asking her sentencing judge for a restitution hearing where Beatty's ability to start making regular payments would be established.
"Until then, she will continue being supervised by probation authorities there (in Georgia)," Miller said.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges of obstruction of justice for committing perjury during a 2007 trial. Their extramarital affair was revealed in Kilpatrick's infamous text messages. Both went to jail and both promised to pay the city hefty restitution.
Beatty, who now lives in a condominium near the heart of Atlanta, has made seven payments toward her $100,000 restitution. Her last payment of $350 was made Jan. 4, a week before she asked permission of the court to move. No more payments have been made since, according to Wayne Circuit Court records. ...
Last Updated: March 26. 2010 1:00AM
Dozens allege brutality by Gang Squad
West side residents say police officers beat, harassed victims
George Hunter / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Dozens of people packed Thursday's meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners to describe what they called a night of terror last week at the hands of the Detroit Police Gang Squad.
Police officials promised to look into the allegations that on March 18 members of the Gang Squad beat a man while he was handcuffed, assaulted the man's son and harassed other neighbors on Abington Street on the city's west side.
Members of the squad also came back the next day to hassle residents, according to several people at the emotional, standing-room-only meeting.
One of the alleged beating victims, Gerald Evans, is the grandfather of an 8-year-old girl whose anguished 911 call was released by police earlier this month after two gunmen shot and killed her mother, Monica Botello, and her boyfriend.
"I was talking to my neighbor about the incident with my daughter being killed, when two officers came out of nowhere and asked me what I was doing," said Evans, 44. "Then, for no reason, they put me in handcuffs and started beating me. A man with a mask just started socking me in my face. Then another officer with steel-toed boots started kicking me."
Family members and neighbors, some in tears, told the board that when they asked the officers why they were beating a man who was in handcuffs, they also were hassled or beaten.
"I came outside and saw them beating my daddy," said Maurice Evans, 21. "I asked the officers why they were doing that and they beat me, too. Then they said I had a gun on my person, which I didn't have. I just don't understand it." At that point, Maurice Evans started sobbing.
Alice Evans, wife and mother of the alleged beating victims, said her husband's shirt was covered with blood after police were through thrashing him.
"The police threw the shirt away," she said. "I asked why they did that, but they didn't answer. I know why -- they wanted to get rid of the evidence." ...
Dozens allege brutality by Gang Squad
West side residents say police officers beat, harassed victims
George Hunter / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Dozens of people packed Thursday's meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners to describe what they called a night of terror last week at the hands of the Detroit Police Gang Squad.
Police officials promised to look into the allegations that on March 18 members of the Gang Squad beat a man while he was handcuffed, assaulted the man's son and harassed other neighbors on Abington Street on the city's west side.
Members of the squad also came back the next day to hassle residents, according to several people at the emotional, standing-room-only meeting.
One of the alleged beating victims, Gerald Evans, is the grandfather of an 8-year-old girl whose anguished 911 call was released by police earlier this month after two gunmen shot and killed her mother, Monica Botello, and her boyfriend.
"I was talking to my neighbor about the incident with my daughter being killed, when two officers came out of nowhere and asked me what I was doing," said Evans, 44. "Then, for no reason, they put me in handcuffs and started beating me. A man with a mask just started socking me in my face. Then another officer with steel-toed boots started kicking me."
Family members and neighbors, some in tears, told the board that when they asked the officers why they were beating a man who was in handcuffs, they also were hassled or beaten.
"I came outside and saw them beating my daddy," said Maurice Evans, 21. "I asked the officers why they were doing that and they beat me, too. Then they said I had a gun on my person, which I didn't have. I just don't understand it." At that point, Maurice Evans started sobbing.
Alice Evans, wife and mother of the alleged beating victims, said her husband's shirt was covered with blood after police were through thrashing him.
"The police threw the shirt away," she said. "I asked why they did that, but they didn't answer. I know why -- they wanted to get rid of the evidence." ...
The Vatican is investigating 14 cases of alleged child sex abuse committed within the Spanish Catholic Church over the past nine years it emerged today.
The incidents of abuse are alleged to take have taken place between January 2001 and March 2010. Charles Scicluna, the promoter of justice in the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said today they amounted to "less than one case every year". ...
The incidents of abuse are alleged to take have taken place between January 2001 and March 2010. Charles Scicluna, the promoter of justice in the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said today they amounted to "less than one case every year". ...
An Irish Catholic bishop who served as personal secretary to three popes has become the latest casualty in the child sex abuse scandal that is convulsing the Church in Europe.
The Vatican said that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation of Bishop John Magee of Cloyne.
Magee, 73, was accused in a 2009 investigation of mishandling reports of sexual abuse in his diocese. He quit his daily administrative duties a year ago and offered his resignation to the Pope this month.
"To those whom I have failed in any way, or through any omission of mine have made suffer, I beg forgiveness and pardon," Magee said in a statement after the Vatican announced that the Pope had accepted his resignation.
The cleric, from Newry, Co Down, faced scathing criticism after the Church's own watchdog found that he took minimal action on accusations against two of his priests and branded his child protection inadequate and dangerous. ...
The Vatican said that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation of Bishop John Magee of Cloyne.
Magee, 73, was accused in a 2009 investigation of mishandling reports of sexual abuse in his diocese. He quit his daily administrative duties a year ago and offered his resignation to the Pope this month.
"To those whom I have failed in any way, or through any omission of mine have made suffer, I beg forgiveness and pardon," Magee said in a statement after the Vatican announced that the Pope had accepted his resignation.
The cleric, from Newry, Co Down, faced scathing criticism after the Church's own watchdog found that he took minimal action on accusations against two of his priests and branded his child protection inadequate and dangerous. ...
Couldn't have happened to a righter guy.
... The Most Rev Joseph Duffy admitted that he had known about allegations of abuse against a priest in his diocese in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in 1989, but failed to tell the police or civil authorities. He had been informed that Father John McCabe had abused a young boy in his care, but he failed to report the incident to the police or social services in Northern Ireland. In spite of complaints from the boy’s mother, the Enniskillen school at which McCabe taught wrote him a reference to help him to get a job at an integrated, non-denominational school in Belfast. Six years later McCabe was jailed for 20 months on abuse charges.
Bishop Duffy said in a statement that he regretted how he handled the McCabe case and accepted that he should have told police about the family’s allegations. Bishop Duffy is the third Irish bishop in a week to admit to his role in covering up the activities of paedophile priests.
The latest admission is likely to undermine Vatican efforts to contain the scandal in Ireland. The Catholic hierarchy is trying to draw a line under similar accusations of abuse and cover-ups involving the Church in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil in a growing scandal that has even drawn in the Pope. ...
Bishop Duffy said in a statement that he regretted how he handled the McCabe case and accepted that he should have told police about the family’s allegations. Bishop Duffy is the third Irish bishop in a week to admit to his role in covering up the activities of paedophile priests.
The latest admission is likely to undermine Vatican efforts to contain the scandal in Ireland. The Catholic hierarchy is trying to draw a line under similar accusations of abuse and cover-ups involving the Church in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil in a growing scandal that has even drawn in the Pope. ...
... In Detroit, there have been no charges to date from the East Coast sting, but federal documents portray the father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a mayoral aide as front men in a deal that would have resulted in payoffs to the Detroiters in exchange for the city hiring the fake company.
The deal never went through. But documents contend that over a period of months in 2007, Bernard Kilpatrick, mayoral aide Marc Cunningham and others were eagerly courted by officials with Coastal Solutions. Cunningham allegedly had Coastal Solutions send a $3,000 Super Bowl ticket to him at City Hall.
Bernard Kilpatrick's meetings with Coastal took him from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to a championship fight in Las Vegas. Also in Vegas were Kwame Kilpatrick and Cunningham.
After the fight, the documents say, Cunningham left a voice mail with Coastal Solutions saying Kwame Kilpatrick favored the deal. The FBI interpreted that to mean the mayor and others were willing to do a deal in return for bribes.
Bernard Kilpatrick did not return messages over recent weeks. James Thomas, a criminal attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, said: "Mr. Kilpatrick has not been charged and to my knowledge, he's not been indicted. Of course, he denies the allegations. It's always been my practice that I'd rather discuss this case in court, if it comes to that."
Cunningham, the mayoral aide, could not be reached for comment. Cunningham quit his job in July 2008, on the same day the Free Press reported that a cell phone assigned to him had been tapped by federal agents. Cunningham said then that he quit to pursue other opportunities.
The FBI briefly listened in on conversations on that phone in June 2007. By then, the sting operation using Coastal Solutions was in full swing. ...
The deal never went through. But documents contend that over a period of months in 2007, Bernard Kilpatrick, mayoral aide Marc Cunningham and others were eagerly courted by officials with Coastal Solutions. Cunningham allegedly had Coastal Solutions send a $3,000 Super Bowl ticket to him at City Hall.
Bernard Kilpatrick's meetings with Coastal took him from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to a championship fight in Las Vegas. Also in Vegas were Kwame Kilpatrick and Cunningham.
After the fight, the documents say, Cunningham left a voice mail with Coastal Solutions saying Kwame Kilpatrick favored the deal. The FBI interpreted that to mean the mayor and others were willing to do a deal in return for bribes.
Bernard Kilpatrick did not return messages over recent weeks. James Thomas, a criminal attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, said: "Mr. Kilpatrick has not been charged and to my knowledge, he's not been indicted. Of course, he denies the allegations. It's always been my practice that I'd rather discuss this case in court, if it comes to that."
Cunningham, the mayoral aide, could not be reached for comment. Cunningham quit his job in July 2008, on the same day the Free Press reported that a cell phone assigned to him had been tapped by federal agents. Cunningham said then that he quit to pursue other opportunities.
The FBI briefly listened in on conversations on that phone in June 2007. By then, the sting operation using Coastal Solutions was in full swing. ...
I briefly knew the guy ferguson threatened; we were kids.
... The Free Press has learned that at least nine businesspeople have testified to a grand jury or told federal investigators in interviews that they paid Bernard Kilpatrick, who ran a consulting firm called Maestro Associates, tens of thousands of dollars to try to get contracts from the city run by his son, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
FBI agents don't believe Bernard Kilpatrick actually was consulting. They think he was paid for access to Detroit's mayor.
The revelations, from documents and interviews by the Free Press, paint the most detailed portrait yet of the slow-building, cat-and-mouse game between FBI agents and their quarry.
They detail payoffs and perks that investigators say Bernard Kilpatrick received from contractors and other people seeking city business, including tickets to a prizefight in Las Vegas, Cristal champagne and a $7,000 discount on a leased Cadillac Escalade.
The investigation, some five years old, is still ongoing. There have been no charges against either Kilpatrick in the federal corruption probe. Kwame Kilpatrick declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Friday. Bernard Kilpatrick didn't respond to requests for comment in recent weeks.
The FBI has not gone away. ...
FBI agents don't believe Bernard Kilpatrick actually was consulting. They think he was paid for access to Detroit's mayor.
The revelations, from documents and interviews by the Free Press, paint the most detailed portrait yet of the slow-building, cat-and-mouse game between FBI agents and their quarry.
They detail payoffs and perks that investigators say Bernard Kilpatrick received from contractors and other people seeking city business, including tickets to a prizefight in Las Vegas, Cristal champagne and a $7,000 discount on a leased Cadillac Escalade.
The investigation, some five years old, is still ongoing. There have been no charges against either Kilpatrick in the federal corruption probe. Kwame Kilpatrick declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Friday. Bernard Kilpatrick didn't respond to requests for comment in recent weeks.
The FBI has not gone away. ...
Last Updated: March 22. 2010 1:00AM
N.J. FBI case led to Detroit
Ex-mayor's father linked to two corruption investigations in 2007
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was a subject of not just one -- but two -- FBI public corruption investigations in 2007.
FBI agents investigating political corruption in New Jersey followed leads in late 2006 that led them to Bernard N. Kilpatrick and raising concerns about upsetting a separate probe by the FBI in Detroit, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday.
Bernard Kilpatrick had been under investigation by the FBI in Detroit for about two years when he came to the attention of FBI agents in New Jersey conducting Operation Broken Boards, a corruption probe that would lead to convictions of 14 New Jersey officials, including state assemblymen and school board officials.
The New Jersey FBI snagged corrupt politicians by setting up a dummy company called Coastal Solutions LLC and offering bribes in return for insurance-related contracts.
Those agents were put in touch with Marc Andre Cunningham, a former Kilpatrick aide, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2007. Cunningham, who was a fraternity brother of Kilpatrick and former city treasurer and pension fund official Jeff Beasley at Florida A&M University, left City Hall in 2008 after media reports said his phone had been briefly tapped by the FBI. ...
... Both Kilpatricks remain under federal investigation in Detroit, amid allegations they were involved in a "pay to play" scheme in which contractors seeking city work were pressured to hire Bernard Kilpatrick as a consultant or make other illegal payments. Former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado has told federal officials he made close to $100,000 in illegal payments to Kwame Kilpatrick and paid close to $300,000 to Kilpatrick's father, according to court records and a person familiar with the investigation.
Bernard Kilpatrick has not returned phone calls. James C. Thomas, an attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, has denied his client took illegal payments from Kado.
Also Sunday, Detroit-area contractor Andrew Housey confirmed an incident in 2003 at a political fundraiser for Kilpatrick in which contractor and close Kilpatrick friend Bobby Ferguson allegedly threatened Housey with a handgun. ...
N.J. FBI case led to Detroit
Ex-mayor's father linked to two corruption investigations in 2007
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was a subject of not just one -- but two -- FBI public corruption investigations in 2007.
FBI agents investigating political corruption in New Jersey followed leads in late 2006 that led them to Bernard N. Kilpatrick and raising concerns about upsetting a separate probe by the FBI in Detroit, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday.
Bernard Kilpatrick had been under investigation by the FBI in Detroit for about two years when he came to the attention of FBI agents in New Jersey conducting Operation Broken Boards, a corruption probe that would lead to convictions of 14 New Jersey officials, including state assemblymen and school board officials.
The New Jersey FBI snagged corrupt politicians by setting up a dummy company called Coastal Solutions LLC and offering bribes in return for insurance-related contracts.
Those agents were put in touch with Marc Andre Cunningham, a former Kilpatrick aide, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2007. Cunningham, who was a fraternity brother of Kilpatrick and former city treasurer and pension fund official Jeff Beasley at Florida A&M University, left City Hall in 2008 after media reports said his phone had been briefly tapped by the FBI. ...
... Both Kilpatricks remain under federal investigation in Detroit, amid allegations they were involved in a "pay to play" scheme in which contractors seeking city work were pressured to hire Bernard Kilpatrick as a consultant or make other illegal payments. Former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado has told federal officials he made close to $100,000 in illegal payments to Kwame Kilpatrick and paid close to $300,000 to Kilpatrick's father, according to court records and a person familiar with the investigation.
Bernard Kilpatrick has not returned phone calls. James C. Thomas, an attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, has denied his client took illegal payments from Kado.
Also Sunday, Detroit-area contractor Andrew Housey confirmed an incident in 2003 at a political fundraiser for Kilpatrick in which contractor and close Kilpatrick friend Bobby Ferguson allegedly threatened Housey with a handgun. ...
... Victims criticised Benedict XVI's letter of apology because it did not directly address the long history of concealment by Irish bishops of sexual, physical and emotional abuse by priests, nuns and Catholic orders.
The campaigning group One in Four condemned the pope for failing to acknowledge that the church hierarchy had attempted to suppress the scandal.
"Victims were hoping for an acknowledgement of the scurrilous ways in which they have been treated as they attempted to bring their experiences of abuse to the attention of the church authorities," the group's director, Maeve Lewis, said.
"Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue in the clerical sexual abuse scandal: the deliberate policy of the Catholic church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders, thereby endangering children."
Lewis also accused the Pope of dodging Vatican responsibility for failing to tackle child abuse.
"If the church cannot acknowledge this fundamental truth, it is still in denial," she added.
Andrew Madden, who in 1995 became the first person in Ireland to go public with an abuse lawsuit against the church, said he did not need to hear the pope say that clerical sex abuse was a crime and a sin.
"The apology today is not for the cover-up, it's for the abuse and for the most part they didn't commit the abuse – but they caused some because of the cover-up," he said. "That's the bit they should say sorry for." ...
The campaigning group One in Four condemned the pope for failing to acknowledge that the church hierarchy had attempted to suppress the scandal.
"Victims were hoping for an acknowledgement of the scurrilous ways in which they have been treated as they attempted to bring their experiences of abuse to the attention of the church authorities," the group's director, Maeve Lewis, said.
"Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue in the clerical sexual abuse scandal: the deliberate policy of the Catholic church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders, thereby endangering children."
Lewis also accused the Pope of dodging Vatican responsibility for failing to tackle child abuse.
"If the church cannot acknowledge this fundamental truth, it is still in denial," she added.
Andrew Madden, who in 1995 became the first person in Ireland to go public with an abuse lawsuit against the church, said he did not need to hear the pope say that clerical sex abuse was a crime and a sin.
"The apology today is not for the cover-up, it's for the abuse and for the most part they didn't commit the abuse – but they caused some because of the cover-up," he said. "That's the bit they should say sorry for." ...
Detroit -- A top city lawyer accused of keeping the public, two judges and the City Council in the dark about former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's text messages lost her copy of the agreement and forgot it existed, her attorney told a lawyers' panel Friday.
"It was not only out of sight, it is out of mind," Donald Campbell, the attorney representing Assistant Corporation Counsel Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, told the panel.
Colbert-Osamuede, whose hearing before the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board began Friday, faces penalties from reprimand to disbarment if the board determines she violated ethics rules for lawyers. ...
"It was not only out of sight, it is out of mind," Donald Campbell, the attorney representing Assistant Corporation Counsel Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, told the panel.
Colbert-Osamuede, whose hearing before the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board began Friday, faces penalties from reprimand to disbarment if the board determines she violated ethics rules for lawyers. ...
Calamity for pope as the past – and case of Peter Hullermann – returns to haunt him
Child abuse by German cleric among claims causing crisis for Vatican
Riazat Butt and John Hooper
Friday 19 March 2010
For Father Rupert Frania it seemed the best way. His parishioners in the Bavarian spa town of Bad Tölz had just learned a terrible secret.
It had been reported that one of their curates was a convicted paedophile, Peter Hullermann. The curate who had officiated at the children's mass. The one who had been with their sons and daughters the year before at a campsite in the mountains over their medieval town.
Frania decided to tackle the issue from an angle. In his sermon at the main mass last Sunday morning, he began with the parable of the prodigal son – and was stopped dead in mid-sentence.
"I cannot listen to that," shouted a man who was soon to have been married by Hullerman. "You just cannot dodge the issue any longer," he continued as other parishioners broke into applause and some began shouting "shut your mouth" at their parish priest.
It was a raucously rebellious start to a week in which the disclosure of hundreds of cases of alleged clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic church's European heartlands shook the allegiances of millions and forced their pastors to make unprecedented admissions of guilt and mortification.
In Armagh on St Patrick's Day the primate of All Ireland, Sean Brady, told the congregation in his cathedral that the clergy should admit "the full truth of our sinfulness".
Brady, who in 1975 was involved in the swearing to silence of two young victims of Ireland's most notorious clerical paedophile, was one of scores of prelates bowing their heads in disgrace in the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
So far almost 700 new cases have come to light. It was a week of unmitigated calamity for Benedict XVI, who became pope pledging to shore up Christianity in an increasingly secular Europe. ...
Child abuse by German cleric among claims causing crisis for Vatican
Riazat Butt and John Hooper
Friday 19 March 2010
For Father Rupert Frania it seemed the best way. His parishioners in the Bavarian spa town of Bad Tölz had just learned a terrible secret.
It had been reported that one of their curates was a convicted paedophile, Peter Hullermann. The curate who had officiated at the children's mass. The one who had been with their sons and daughters the year before at a campsite in the mountains over their medieval town.
Frania decided to tackle the issue from an angle. In his sermon at the main mass last Sunday morning, he began with the parable of the prodigal son – and was stopped dead in mid-sentence.
"I cannot listen to that," shouted a man who was soon to have been married by Hullerman. "You just cannot dodge the issue any longer," he continued as other parishioners broke into applause and some began shouting "shut your mouth" at their parish priest.
It was a raucously rebellious start to a week in which the disclosure of hundreds of cases of alleged clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic church's European heartlands shook the allegiances of millions and forced their pastors to make unprecedented admissions of guilt and mortification.
In Armagh on St Patrick's Day the primate of All Ireland, Sean Brady, told the congregation in his cathedral that the clergy should admit "the full truth of our sinfulness".
Brady, who in 1975 was involved in the swearing to silence of two young victims of Ireland's most notorious clerical paedophile, was one of scores of prelates bowing their heads in disgrace in the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
So far almost 700 new cases have come to light. It was a week of unmitigated calamity for Benedict XVI, who became pope pledging to shore up Christianity in an increasingly secular Europe. ...
Posted: March 6, 2010
Will Kilpatrick face jail time?
Some say it is possible, but there are defenses
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
... "It seems that Judge Groner has lost his patience with Mr. Kilpatrick," Dubin said. "Judge Groner, in his opinions, has expressed the fact that the court has been offended by the nature of Kilpatrick's testimony, or the disingenuousness of Kilpatrick's testimony. For those reasons, the possibility of sending him to jail for a period of time so that he can contemplate the seriousness of abiding by his terms of probation seems real."
The state Court of Appeals said Kilpatrick and his lawyers do have defenses.
"At the probation violation hearings, defendant can raise the issue of ability to pay," Presiding Judge Karen Fort Hood wrote.
But Kilpatrick still could be in trouble over other allegations including: that he failed to provide a complete financial accounting for himself and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick; did not surrender all tax refunds as ordered by the court, and did not disclose any gifts or benefits as ordered by the court.
Kilpatrick testified during previous restitution hearings that he received $240,000 in loans from local businessmen Peter Karmanos, Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and Jim Nicholson.
"The trial court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that the $240,000 transfer of the loan from the defendant to his wife constituted a fraudulent conveyance," the appellate judges wrote.
In 2008, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault, and resigned from office.
The plea came after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in January 2008 with a series of stories showing that Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty perjured themselves during a 2007 civil whistle-blowers trial involving police officers.
Kilpatrick served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the City of Detroit. He lives in a Dallas suburb and works at a $120,000-a-year sales job for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based Compuware. ...
Will Kilpatrick face jail time?
Some say it is possible, but there are defenses
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
... "It seems that Judge Groner has lost his patience with Mr. Kilpatrick," Dubin said. "Judge Groner, in his opinions, has expressed the fact that the court has been offended by the nature of Kilpatrick's testimony, or the disingenuousness of Kilpatrick's testimony. For those reasons, the possibility of sending him to jail for a period of time so that he can contemplate the seriousness of abiding by his terms of probation seems real."
The state Court of Appeals said Kilpatrick and his lawyers do have defenses.
"At the probation violation hearings, defendant can raise the issue of ability to pay," Presiding Judge Karen Fort Hood wrote.
But Kilpatrick still could be in trouble over other allegations including: that he failed to provide a complete financial accounting for himself and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick; did not surrender all tax refunds as ordered by the court, and did not disclose any gifts or benefits as ordered by the court.
Kilpatrick testified during previous restitution hearings that he received $240,000 in loans from local businessmen Peter Karmanos, Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and Jim Nicholson.
"The trial court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that the $240,000 transfer of the loan from the defendant to his wife constituted a fraudulent conveyance," the appellate judges wrote.
In 2008, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault, and resigned from office.
The plea came after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in January 2008 with a series of stories showing that Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty perjured themselves during a 2007 civil whistle-blowers trial involving police officers.
Kilpatrick served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the City of Detroit. He lives in a Dallas suburb and works at a $120,000-a-year sales job for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based Compuware. ...
The US Senate is known as the body where legislation goes to die, and a Republican senator from Kentucky has spent several days illustrating that point at the expense of nearly 500,000 out-of-work Americans.
Since last week Senator Jim Bunning [an ex-baseball player] has used his privilege under the chamber's parliamentary rules to hold up a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits, health insurance assistance, funding for road and infrastructure projects across the country, and other aid.
In exchange for lifting his objections he demands the senate come up with a way to pay for the $10bn extension package by reducing spending elsewhere, eliciting scoffs from Democrats who note that he voted for President Bush's $1.7tn tax cuts for the wealthy.
Nearly every major item on President Barack Obama's agenda, from health insurance reform to cap-and-trade climate regulation, has stalled in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives. ...
Since last week Senator Jim Bunning [an ex-baseball player] has used his privilege under the chamber's parliamentary rules to hold up a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits, health insurance assistance, funding for road and infrastructure projects across the country, and other aid.
In exchange for lifting his objections he demands the senate come up with a way to pay for the $10bn extension package by reducing spending elsewhere, eliciting scoffs from Democrats who note that he voted for President Bush's $1.7tn tax cuts for the wealthy.
Nearly every major item on President Barack Obama's agenda, from health insurance reform to cap-and-trade climate regulation, has stalled in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives. ...
One of the biggest bonuses seen this year for any London-based banker was revealed today as HSBC announced it had given Stuart Gulliver, its head of investment banking, a £9.8 million package.
Mr Gulliver was awarded a £9 million bonus on top of his £800,000 base pay for his "exceptional performance" in trebling the profits of his division to $10.5 billion, HSBC said.
The payment came as Michael Geoghegan, HSBC chief executive, confirmed that he will give his £4 million bonus to charity.
HSBC disappointed investors after full-year profits fell by 24 per cent to $7.1 billion (£4.7 billion) following a big write down of the value of its own bonds. Its shares lost more than 5 per cent, down 37.1p, to 682.46p. ...
Mr Gulliver was awarded a £9 million bonus on top of his £800,000 base pay for his "exceptional performance" in trebling the profits of his division to $10.5 billion, HSBC said.
The payment came as Michael Geoghegan, HSBC chief executive, confirmed that he will give his £4 million bonus to charity.
HSBC disappointed investors after full-year profits fell by 24 per cent to $7.1 billion (£4.7 billion) following a big write down of the value of its own bonds. Its shares lost more than 5 per cent, down 37.1p, to 682.46p. ...
... Buffett has been criticizing overreaching corporate managers and complaisant directors for decades. But the question of how to motivate good corporate behavior has taken on new weight as Washington debates reining in the financial giants whose missteps brought the economy to its knees two years ago.
The Obama administration last month proposed separating banks' proprietary trading activities from their federally subsidized deposit-gathering and lending ones. Other proposed rules would increase the amount of capital banks hold against losses and how much cash they carry to deal with a surge of withdrawals.
But Buffett said there's a simpler way to cap risk-taking: Forcing lavishly compensated CEOs to take responsibility for assessing the risks at their firms -- and putting their own wealth at stake, to boot.
"It is the behavior of these CEOs and directors that needs to be changed," he wrote. "They have long benefitted from oversized financial carrots; some meaningful sticks now need to be employed as well."
The comment reflects a theme that has run through Buffett's letters to investors over the years: Shareholders are best served by managers who think like owners. More often, he has said, they are ill served by executives who instead pursue value-destroying mergers or pile up debt in a bid to boost returns. ...
The Obama administration last month proposed separating banks' proprietary trading activities from their federally subsidized deposit-gathering and lending ones. Other proposed rules would increase the amount of capital banks hold against losses and how much cash they carry to deal with a surge of withdrawals.
But Buffett said there's a simpler way to cap risk-taking: Forcing lavishly compensated CEOs to take responsibility for assessing the risks at their firms -- and putting their own wealth at stake, to boot.
"It is the behavior of these CEOs and directors that needs to be changed," he wrote. "They have long benefitted from oversized financial carrots; some meaningful sticks now need to be employed as well."
The comment reflects a theme that has run through Buffett's letters to investors over the years: Shareholders are best served by managers who think like owners. More often, he has said, they are ill served by executives who instead pursue value-destroying mergers or pile up debt in a bid to boost returns. ...
Research the history of ancient Kurdistan, and you'll see why they're hated. Their country/empire was vast. They were also ahead of the times, had fabulous art, learning, and good science.
February 26. 2010 1:00AM
Prosecutors fight Michigan's freeing of violent offenders
Mike Martindale and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Hundreds of Michigan prison inmates convicted of violent crimes -- including 40 killers in Wayne County alone -- are eligible for release in the next two months as the state accelerates paroles to cut costs.
A recently compiled list of thousands of potential parolees obtained by The Detroit News provides a snapshot of who is on deck as the state seeks to trim its corrections budget by 6 percent in 2010. It includes some of the state's worst criminals, as well as hundreds of sex offenders, drug dealers, drunken drivers and bank robbers.
The list, demanded by Metro Detroit prosecutors and released only after a judge's order, provides a rare glimpse inside a process that has been going on routinely for years -- but is now under fire from law enforcement officials worried they don't have the time or resources to challenge potential parolees they believe pose a threat to public safety.
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper led the fight to sue for the information because she said her office was repeatedly denied information about planned interviews of parole candidates in sufficient time to appeal certain cases.
The state argued that names of eligible parolees were only available a month in advance, but it was later determined the Parole Board's database included information on interviews scheduled months ahead of time.
"The Michigan Department of Corrections says 'trust us' in releasing criminals on parole to save money," said Cooper, who has called the state's effort "reckless."
"If (state officials) are so trustworthy, why did we have to sue them to obtain the list of individuals they are seeking to release?" ...
Prosecutors fight Michigan's freeing of violent offenders
Mike Martindale and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Hundreds of Michigan prison inmates convicted of violent crimes -- including 40 killers in Wayne County alone -- are eligible for release in the next two months as the state accelerates paroles to cut costs.
A recently compiled list of thousands of potential parolees obtained by The Detroit News provides a snapshot of who is on deck as the state seeks to trim its corrections budget by 6 percent in 2010. It includes some of the state's worst criminals, as well as hundreds of sex offenders, drug dealers, drunken drivers and bank robbers.
The list, demanded by Metro Detroit prosecutors and released only after a judge's order, provides a rare glimpse inside a process that has been going on routinely for years -- but is now under fire from law enforcement officials worried they don't have the time or resources to challenge potential parolees they believe pose a threat to public safety.
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper led the fight to sue for the information because she said her office was repeatedly denied information about planned interviews of parole candidates in sufficient time to appeal certain cases.
The state argued that names of eligible parolees were only available a month in advance, but it was later determined the Parole Board's database included information on interviews scheduled months ahead of time.
"The Michigan Department of Corrections says 'trust us' in releasing criminals on parole to save money," said Cooper, who has called the state's effort "reckless."
"If (state officials) are so trustworthy, why did we have to sue them to obtain the list of individuals they are seeking to release?" ...
Power companies have been accused of profiteering from the coldest winter for 30 years after a surge in corporate profits.
ScottishPower, which has more than 5 million British customers, saw profits rise by 7.9% last year amid fears that many people could not afford to heat their homes during the bitter winter. Results tomorrow from British Gas, the country's biggest supplier of gas and electricity with 15.6 million customers, are expected to show that operating profits rose 46% to £554m, up from £379m in 2008.
The increases were condemned by unions, customer groups and charities representing the elderly, and follow warnings this week from the regulator Ofgem that companies boosted margins by £30 for each dual fuel customer in the last three months as wholesale costs fell.
Gary Smith, national officer at the GMB union, said: "Buying cheap and selling dear will always add up to high profits in a natural monopoly. No great managerial elan or skills are needed. It is long overdue that the government should step in and take control of the energy sector and put in place proper plans for secure supplies at reasonable prices as happens in the rest of Europe."
David Hunter of McKinnon & Clarke, which buys energy for businesses across Britain, said: "Despite wholesale prices going into freefall, ScottishPower hasn't cut domestic standard tariffs in almost a year. Failure of the big six suppliers [British Gas, EDF, npower, ScottishPower, Scottish and Southern, and E.ON] to pass on to customers the massive reductions in wholesale energy prices which they have been enjoying since 2008 is scandalous." ...
Hey, our utilities are doing the same thing to us in Yankistan - and why the fuck haven't gasoline prices plummeted either?
ScottishPower, which has more than 5 million British customers, saw profits rise by 7.9% last year amid fears that many people could not afford to heat their homes during the bitter winter. Results tomorrow from British Gas, the country's biggest supplier of gas and electricity with 15.6 million customers, are expected to show that operating profits rose 46% to £554m, up from £379m in 2008.
The increases were condemned by unions, customer groups and charities representing the elderly, and follow warnings this week from the regulator Ofgem that companies boosted margins by £30 for each dual fuel customer in the last three months as wholesale costs fell.
Gary Smith, national officer at the GMB union, said: "Buying cheap and selling dear will always add up to high profits in a natural monopoly. No great managerial elan or skills are needed. It is long overdue that the government should step in and take control of the energy sector and put in place proper plans for secure supplies at reasonable prices as happens in the rest of Europe."
David Hunter of McKinnon & Clarke, which buys energy for businesses across Britain, said: "Despite wholesale prices going into freefall, ScottishPower hasn't cut domestic standard tariffs in almost a year. Failure of the big six suppliers [British Gas, EDF, npower, ScottishPower, Scottish and Southern, and E.ON] to pass on to customers the massive reductions in wholesale energy prices which they have been enjoying since 2008 is scandalous." ...
Hey, our utilities are doing the same thing to us in Yankistan - and why the fuck haven't gasoline prices plummeted either?
David Cameron's communications director, Andy Coulson, will come under fresh pressure to defend his editorship of the News of the World and his knowledge about the illegal activities of his journalists amid new allegations about the paper's involvement with private detectives who broke the law.
The Guardian has learned that while Coulson was still editor of the tabloid, the newspaper employed a freelance private investigator even though he had been accused of corrupting police officers and had just been released from a seven-year prison sentence for blackmail.
The private eye was well known to the News of the World, having worked for the paper for several years before he was jailed, when Coulson was deputy editor. He was rehired when he was freed.
Evidence seen by the Guardian shows that Mr A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was blagging bank accounts, bribing police officers, procuring confidential data from the DVLA and phone companies, and trading sensitive material from live police inquiries.
Coulson has always insisted he knew nothing about the illegal activity which took place in the News of the World newsroom, telling MPs last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."
Mr A cannot be named now because he is facing trial for a violent crime, but his details will emerge once he has been dealt with by the courts. Coulson tonight refused to say whether he was aware of Mr A's criminal background, or of his return to the paper following his prison term. He said: "I have nothing to add to the evidence I gave to the select committee." ...
The Guardian has learned that while Coulson was still editor of the tabloid, the newspaper employed a freelance private investigator even though he had been accused of corrupting police officers and had just been released from a seven-year prison sentence for blackmail.
The private eye was well known to the News of the World, having worked for the paper for several years before he was jailed, when Coulson was deputy editor. He was rehired when he was freed.
Evidence seen by the Guardian shows that Mr A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was blagging bank accounts, bribing police officers, procuring confidential data from the DVLA and phone companies, and trading sensitive material from live police inquiries.
Coulson has always insisted he knew nothing about the illegal activity which took place in the News of the World newsroom, telling MPs last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."
Mr A cannot be named now because he is facing trial for a violent crime, but his details will emerge once he has been dealt with by the courts. Coulson tonight refused to say whether he was aware of Mr A's criminal background, or of his return to the paper following his prison term. He said: "I have nothing to add to the evidence I gave to the select committee." ...
February 24. 2010 1:00AM
Judge expected to expand charges against Kilpatrick
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit --When former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returns from Texas on Friday for arraignment on criminal probation violation charges, he will face far more accusations than missing a single restitution payment.
Wayne County prosecutors Tuesday were ordered by Circuit Judge David Groner to assist Michigan Department of Corrections authorities in expanding the single charge recommended by agents overseeing Kilpatrick's probation to include numerous alleged violations revealed during six days of recent hearings on Kilpatrick's finances.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's spokeswoman, Maria Miller, declined to provide details, but legal experts say the charges could include perjury and fraud.
"We are prepared to proceed on Friday," Miller said. "We have assisted the probation department in their preparation of the warrant. The allegations will be contained in that petition."
With the charges broadened beyond Kilpatrick's failure to meet a deadline last week to pay $79,000 toward the $1 million restitution in the text message scandal, his lawyers' efforts to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn Groner's recent restitution orders will likely have no impact on the coming proceedings, said Curt Benson, professor at Cooley School of Law. The higher court is likely to focus only on Kilpatrick's complaint that the judge overstepped his authority in ordering him to make more than $300,000 in accelerated restitution payments, because he determined Kilpatrick hid assets from the court.
The Court of Appeals agreed to consider Kilpatrick's appeal, but only after receiving transcripts of the lengthy restitution hearings. Groner's court reporter has almost a month to prepare the transcripts. The appeals court refused to delay payment deadlines. The first deadline, for $79,011, passed last Friday. The second, for $240,000, comes in April. ...
Judge expected to expand charges against Kilpatrick
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit --When former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returns from Texas on Friday for arraignment on criminal probation violation charges, he will face far more accusations than missing a single restitution payment.
Wayne County prosecutors Tuesday were ordered by Circuit Judge David Groner to assist Michigan Department of Corrections authorities in expanding the single charge recommended by agents overseeing Kilpatrick's probation to include numerous alleged violations revealed during six days of recent hearings on Kilpatrick's finances.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's spokeswoman, Maria Miller, declined to provide details, but legal experts say the charges could include perjury and fraud.
"We are prepared to proceed on Friday," Miller said. "We have assisted the probation department in their preparation of the warrant. The allegations will be contained in that petition."
With the charges broadened beyond Kilpatrick's failure to meet a deadline last week to pay $79,000 toward the $1 million restitution in the text message scandal, his lawyers' efforts to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn Groner's recent restitution orders will likely have no impact on the coming proceedings, said Curt Benson, professor at Cooley School of Law. The higher court is likely to focus only on Kilpatrick's complaint that the judge overstepped his authority in ordering him to make more than $300,000 in accelerated restitution payments, because he determined Kilpatrick hid assets from the court.
The Court of Appeals agreed to consider Kilpatrick's appeal, but only after receiving transcripts of the lengthy restitution hearings. Groner's court reporter has almost a month to prepare the transcripts. The appeals court refused to delay payment deadlines. The first deadline, for $79,011, passed last Friday. The second, for $240,000, comes in April. ...
'Terminator' carp threatens Great Lakes
Environmentalists say Asian carp, an invasive species of food-guzzling fish, could cause an ecological disaster if it enters Lake Michigan
Ed Pilkington, Chicago
Tuesday 23 February 2010
The fight looks utterly unequal. In the red corner: the combined might of North America, including the US and Canadian governments, the US army, the governors of eight American states, two Senate committees and the supreme court. In the blue corner: one fish.
The way things are looking, the fish is winning.
At stake is the health of the Great Lakes, the world's largest body of fresh water. Environmentalists warn of ecological disaster, courtesy of Asian carp, an invasive species of food-guzzling fish that is within miles of entering Lake Michigan.
If they do, they would have the potential to spread throughout the lakes, wreaking havoc to their ecosystem and with it the $7bn (£4.7bn) fishing and recreation industries on which millions of jobs depend. "This is an intense threat, and people are just waking up to how big the danger is," said David Ullrich of the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Cities Initiative, which represents 70 waterfront cities in the US and Canada with a joint population of 13 million.
Asian carp were first introduced to southern states of the US from China in the 1970s to help clean tanks in fish farms. They escaped and for more than 30 years have steadily worked their way up the Mississippi river system, devouring food and devastating native fish populations along the way. Last December, DNA of the carp was found just a few miles from the Great Lakes outside Chicago, a discovery that Ullrich described as "a major shock to everyone". ...
Environmentalists say Asian carp, an invasive species of food-guzzling fish, could cause an ecological disaster if it enters Lake Michigan
Ed Pilkington, Chicago
Tuesday 23 February 2010
The fight looks utterly unequal. In the red corner: the combined might of North America, including the US and Canadian governments, the US army, the governors of eight American states, two Senate committees and the supreme court. In the blue corner: one fish.
The way things are looking, the fish is winning.
At stake is the health of the Great Lakes, the world's largest body of fresh water. Environmentalists warn of ecological disaster, courtesy of Asian carp, an invasive species of food-guzzling fish that is within miles of entering Lake Michigan.
If they do, they would have the potential to spread throughout the lakes, wreaking havoc to their ecosystem and with it the $7bn (£4.7bn) fishing and recreation industries on which millions of jobs depend. "This is an intense threat, and people are just waking up to how big the danger is," said David Ullrich of the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Cities Initiative, which represents 70 waterfront cities in the US and Canada with a joint population of 13 million.
Asian carp were first introduced to southern states of the US from China in the 1970s to help clean tanks in fish farms. They escaped and for more than 30 years have steadily worked their way up the Mississippi river system, devouring food and devastating native fish populations along the way. Last December, DNA of the carp was found just a few miles from the Great Lakes outside Chicago, a discovery that Ullrich described as "a major shock to everyone". ...
Posted: Feb. 21, 2010
Feds have evidence ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took bribes
Contractor said Kilpatrick got up to $100K, his father up to $290K; Kilpatrick's lawyer says he knows nothing of bribery accusation
BY JENNIFER DIXON and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A contractor who pleaded guilty in an ongoing corruption probe in Detroit has told investigators that he handed as much as $100,000 in bribes to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002, according to interviews and sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press.
The contractor, Karl Kado of West Bloomfield, also told the FBI he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the mayor's father, and thousands more to a close mayoral aide, according to the records and interviews.
Kado told authorities he paid Kwame Kilpatrick in four or five installments of about $20,000 each. Kado, who is awaiting sentencing for paying bribes to protect multimillion-dollar Cobo Center contracts, said he sometimes delivered the money in envelopes to Kilpatrick's office on the 11th floor at City Hall, and sometimes Kilpatrick dropped by Cobo to get the cash.
The allegations are significant because they show, for the first time, that the government has secured the cooperation of someone who says he gave payoffs directly to Kilpatrick.
Authorities obtained the information as part of a years-long, complex and wide-ranging investigation in Detroit and Southfield that has produced a series of public corruption charges and 10 guilty pleas.
In pursuing Kilpatrick, investigators tracked cash moving in and out of bank accounts and wiretapped the phone of his father, among others, while slowly trying to build a case.
FBI agents also contend in sworn statements that they have grounds to believe Kilpatrick and his associates used the mayor's office to run a criminal enterprise, a term the FBI reserves for organized crime and racketeering cases. ...
Feds have evidence ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took bribes
Contractor said Kilpatrick got up to $100K, his father up to $290K; Kilpatrick's lawyer says he knows nothing of bribery accusation
BY JENNIFER DIXON and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A contractor who pleaded guilty in an ongoing corruption probe in Detroit has told investigators that he handed as much as $100,000 in bribes to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002, according to interviews and sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press.
The contractor, Karl Kado of West Bloomfield, also told the FBI he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the mayor's father, and thousands more to a close mayoral aide, according to the records and interviews.
Kado told authorities he paid Kwame Kilpatrick in four or five installments of about $20,000 each. Kado, who is awaiting sentencing for paying bribes to protect multimillion-dollar Cobo Center contracts, said he sometimes delivered the money in envelopes to Kilpatrick's office on the 11th floor at City Hall, and sometimes Kilpatrick dropped by Cobo to get the cash.
The allegations are significant because they show, for the first time, that the government has secured the cooperation of someone who says he gave payoffs directly to Kilpatrick.
Authorities obtained the information as part of a years-long, complex and wide-ranging investigation in Detroit and Southfield that has produced a series of public corruption charges and 10 guilty pleas.
In pursuing Kilpatrick, investigators tracked cash moving in and out of bank accounts and wiretapped the phone of his father, among others, while slowly trying to build a case.
FBI agents also contend in sworn statements that they have grounds to believe Kilpatrick and his associates used the mayor's office to run a criminal enterprise, a term the FBI reserves for organized crime and racketeering cases. ...
Last Updated: February 22. 2010 1:00AM
Feds plan Kilpatrick charges
Ex-mayor, dad expected to face felonies in 'pay to play' probe
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Federal officials are preparing felony charges against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, The Detroit News has learned.
For at least five years, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have been investigating an alleged "pay to play" system at City Hall under Kilpatrick and allegations that contractors wanting City Hall business were directed to hire the former mayor's father as a consultant.
Now there are new allegations that former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado, who has been cooperating with the FBI since 2005, not only paid close to $300,000 to the mayor's father but made about $100,000 in illegal cash payments directly to the former mayor.
Those allegations are contained in sworn statements that are part of the evidence in the wide-ranging corruption probe, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday. Charges are expected against both Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, though the timing and specific nature of those charges are still being determined, the source said.
It's the first time a source close to the investigation has said corruption charges against the former mayor are planned, though there have been strong signals Kilpatrick was the ultimate target of a long-running investigation that has netted nine guilty pleas.
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records and testimony related to possible abuses in fundraising and expenditures connected with the former mayor's nonprofit foundation, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, and possible felony income tax violations are being examined, people familiar with the investigation said. ...
Feds plan Kilpatrick charges
Ex-mayor, dad expected to face felonies in 'pay to play' probe
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Federal officials are preparing felony charges against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, The Detroit News has learned.
For at least five years, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have been investigating an alleged "pay to play" system at City Hall under Kilpatrick and allegations that contractors wanting City Hall business were directed to hire the former mayor's father as a consultant.
Now there are new allegations that former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado, who has been cooperating with the FBI since 2005, not only paid close to $300,000 to the mayor's father but made about $100,000 in illegal cash payments directly to the former mayor.
Those allegations are contained in sworn statements that are part of the evidence in the wide-ranging corruption probe, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday. Charges are expected against both Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, though the timing and specific nature of those charges are still being determined, the source said.
It's the first time a source close to the investigation has said corruption charges against the former mayor are planned, though there have been strong signals Kilpatrick was the ultimate target of a long-running investigation that has netted nine guilty pleas.
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records and testimony related to possible abuses in fundraising and expenditures connected with the former mayor's nonprofit foundation, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, and possible felony income tax violations are being examined, people familiar with the investigation said. ...
Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty joined the teleprompter wing of Republican Hypocrisy Caucus during his speech at CPAC on Friday when he used a teleprompter to promulgate the hoax that Pres. Obama uses teleprompters more than other politicians. Worse, however, Pawlenty’s attack against the president was quickly determined to be a lie:
“President Obama was in a grade school classroom speaking to elementary school children and he was using a teleprompter,” Pawlenty said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he added. “That’s not a joke. That’s a real story.”
Actually, it’s not. The tale spread by bloggers over the Internet and in some media, including the Comedy Channel’s Jon Stewart, blended together two Obama appearances Jan. 19 at the Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, to make it appear he used the teleprompter when speaking to a classroom of 30 pupils.
In reality, Obama sat on a chair and spoke with the pupils without the device.
In a different classroom, he used the teleprompter to give scripted remarks on education to television cameras.
At CPAC just one day earlier, Marco Rubio, Florida’s tea bagger candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, read what was supposed to be a joke about Obama and teleprompters from a teleprompter.
But neither of these new members of the GOP Hypocrisy Caucus can hold a candle to the chairwoman, Sarah Palin, whose promotion of the Obama teleprompter hoax at the tea bagger ball in Nashville earlier this month prompted us to catalog 20 separate incidents in which she used teleprompters during her campaign for vice president in 2008.
“President Obama was in a grade school classroom speaking to elementary school children and he was using a teleprompter,” Pawlenty said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he added. “That’s not a joke. That’s a real story.”
Actually, it’s not. The tale spread by bloggers over the Internet and in some media, including the Comedy Channel’s Jon Stewart, blended together two Obama appearances Jan. 19 at the Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, to make it appear he used the teleprompter when speaking to a classroom of 30 pupils.
In reality, Obama sat on a chair and spoke with the pupils without the device.
In a different classroom, he used the teleprompter to give scripted remarks on education to television cameras.
At CPAC just one day earlier, Marco Rubio, Florida’s tea bagger candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, read what was supposed to be a joke about Obama and teleprompters from a teleprompter.
But neither of these new members of the GOP Hypocrisy Caucus can hold a candle to the chairwoman, Sarah Palin, whose promotion of the Obama teleprompter hoax at the tea bagger ball in Nashville earlier this month prompted us to catalog 20 separate incidents in which she used teleprompters during her campaign for vice president in 2008.
Tax the church into extinction, please.
dave wood needs to be transported in a caged van to yarl's wood and kept there, treated like any other immigrant there, until it changes its tune.
Metropolitan police assistant commissioner John Yates has been reprimanded by the culture select committee for what it claims was a failure to give more detailed evidence to MPs over the scale of hacking into private phone messages by former News International employees. The chairman of the culture committee, John Whittingdale, has written to Yates to deliver the reprimand.
Yates has angrily replied it had never been his intention to mislead the committee and he is most concerned that the committee believed that to be the case.
The Guardian revealed last week that a freedom of information request had disclosed that the police found News International had pin codes, which are used for accessing voicemail messages, belonging to 91 people. The phones had been accessed by the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World and the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
Knowing that the information was about to be made public, a senior police officer wrote to the select committee to inform them late last month.
At the time of giving oral evidence to the committee in September, Yates gave no indication he knew of the scale of the hacking. ...
Yates has angrily replied it had never been his intention to mislead the committee and he is most concerned that the committee believed that to be the case.
The Guardian revealed last week that a freedom of information request had disclosed that the police found News International had pin codes, which are used for accessing voicemail messages, belonging to 91 people. The phones had been accessed by the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World and the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.
Knowing that the information was about to be made public, a senior police officer wrote to the select committee to inform them late last month.
At the time of giving oral evidence to the committee in September, Yates gave no indication he knew of the scale of the hacking. ...
Couple told by BT that broadband upgrade would cost £45,000
A couple, Ray and Frei Walker, who want broadband for their home and bed and breakfast business have been told by British Telecom that the installation would cost £45,000.
By Nick Britten
07 Feb 2010
They have managed with an old “dial up” service for the last nine years at the Victorian guest house they own.
But when they looked into getting broadband installed they were hit by the huge quote because BT said for the Walkers to benefit it would need to install new equipment that would also serve others in the village.
Mr Walker, 60, said: “It’s a farce, and obviously we’re staggered. We don’t have £45,000 and if we did we wouldn’t spend it on this.”
Currently BT broadband access is available to residents of the 150-strong village of Dufton, near Appelby, Cumbria, but BT said there was no capacity for any new users.
The Walkers currently have two telephone lines going into the house – one for a phone and one for the Internet – supplied by Digital Access Carrier System, or DACS, which allows BT to deliver both lines from its exchange through one copper wire.
The DACS box also services other villagers’ telephone lines.
They believed that by getting rid of one phone line, it would free up capacity for broadband.
But BT said to install broadband it would have to remove the current box, where the lines are squeezed down into one line and which is fitted to a telephone pole in the village, and install new, larger capacity equipment and cables for others in the village as well.
They quoted for the cost of removing the box plus “40 joint bosses, 637 metres of fibre copper cable and 1,341 metres of mole ploughing cable”.
Mr Walker accused the company of abusing its network monopoly because he had switched phone supplier and had been intent on using a different broadband supplier, even though BT still owns and maintains the equipment.
He said: “They seem to be wanting us to pay for equipment which will upgrade the whole village, and that’s what makes it more galling.
“We just want the same crap broadband service as everybody else in the village but BT won’t even let us have that.” ...
A couple, Ray and Frei Walker, who want broadband for their home and bed and breakfast business have been told by British Telecom that the installation would cost £45,000.
By Nick Britten
07 Feb 2010
They have managed with an old “dial up” service for the last nine years at the Victorian guest house they own.
But when they looked into getting broadband installed they were hit by the huge quote because BT said for the Walkers to benefit it would need to install new equipment that would also serve others in the village.
Mr Walker, 60, said: “It’s a farce, and obviously we’re staggered. We don’t have £45,000 and if we did we wouldn’t spend it on this.”
Currently BT broadband access is available to residents of the 150-strong village of Dufton, near Appelby, Cumbria, but BT said there was no capacity for any new users.
The Walkers currently have two telephone lines going into the house – one for a phone and one for the Internet – supplied by Digital Access Carrier System, or DACS, which allows BT to deliver both lines from its exchange through one copper wire.
The DACS box also services other villagers’ telephone lines.
They believed that by getting rid of one phone line, it would free up capacity for broadband.
But BT said to install broadband it would have to remove the current box, where the lines are squeezed down into one line and which is fitted to a telephone pole in the village, and install new, larger capacity equipment and cables for others in the village as well.
They quoted for the cost of removing the box plus “40 joint bosses, 637 metres of fibre copper cable and 1,341 metres of mole ploughing cable”.
Mr Walker accused the company of abusing its network monopoly because he had switched phone supplier and had been intent on using a different broadband supplier, even though BT still owns and maintains the equipment.
He said: “They seem to be wanting us to pay for equipment which will upgrade the whole village, and that’s what makes it more galling.
“We just want the same crap broadband service as everybody else in the village but BT won’t even let us have that.” ...
Innocent victims of the subprime crisis
In spite of a law protecting tenants, people who rent across the US are being illegally evicted even if their finances are fine
Sasha Abramsky
6 February 2010
"What happens often is that after a foreclosure, a broker or an agent comes to the house and, as though the law didn't exist, tells renters the house has been foreclosed and they have to leave," says Judith Liben, senior housing attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
The law Liben is referencing is the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, passed in spring last year and intended to remain on the books until 2012. It was intended to mitigate the collateral damage from the foreclosure epidemic by making banks give tenants on month-to-month leases 90 days notice before evicting them following the home owners' foreclosure; and by ensuring that tenants in good standing with year, or multi-year, leases couldn't be evicted mid-lease following a foreclosure. The new owners would, according to this act, have to honour the terms of the lease, keep up repairs on the property, and repay the tenants' security deposits upon completion of the lease.
Housing advocates cheered the law as representing a signal victory for struggling tenants in an increasingly brutal real estate environment. In the months since it was passed, however, many have concluded that in practice it is a largely toothless wonder: most tenants don't know about its existence, many banks – desperate to evict tenants living in foreclosed homes so that they can more easily sell the properties – have continued sending out illegal eviction notices; some even hire bailiffs to change the locks and to throw possessions out onto the street. And the federal government has no real mechanisms to enforce the act's provisions.
It is not uncommon for tenants in these situations to come home and find intimidating, anonymous, and legally misleading, posters stuck to their doors. One such starts with "Attention!! This property has been foreclosed and is now bank-owned. The eviction process has started. The property is being monitored." The words are in bold and the text is circled for emphasis. Another begins: "To whom it may concern: We were informed this property was vacant. We have changed the locks." Another resorts to financial intimidation: "The eviction process has been started by the bank. It is in your best interest to avoid having an eviction added to your credit report. It is very difficult to rent a property with an eviction on your credit report."
That homeowners have been hammered by subprime mortgages, by the collapse of real estate value, and by the broader economic malaise, is well-documented. But, out of the spotlight, more and more rented homes go into foreclosure: many tenants continue to pay rent to delinquent landlords, only to subsequently find they have been giving their money to a person who no longer owns the property. Others have been summarily evicted, having to scurry to find new homes – or ending up homeless. Many have lost the security deposits on their old rentals to owners who have simply disappeared. Others have seen their credit records [affected] by being evicted, despite the eviction not being the result of their own financial failings. ...
In spite of a law protecting tenants, people who rent across the US are being illegally evicted even if their finances are fine
Sasha Abramsky
6 February 2010
"What happens often is that after a foreclosure, a broker or an agent comes to the house and, as though the law didn't exist, tells renters the house has been foreclosed and they have to leave," says Judith Liben, senior housing attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
The law Liben is referencing is the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, passed in spring last year and intended to remain on the books until 2012. It was intended to mitigate the collateral damage from the foreclosure epidemic by making banks give tenants on month-to-month leases 90 days notice before evicting them following the home owners' foreclosure; and by ensuring that tenants in good standing with year, or multi-year, leases couldn't be evicted mid-lease following a foreclosure. The new owners would, according to this act, have to honour the terms of the lease, keep up repairs on the property, and repay the tenants' security deposits upon completion of the lease.
Housing advocates cheered the law as representing a signal victory for struggling tenants in an increasingly brutal real estate environment. In the months since it was passed, however, many have concluded that in practice it is a largely toothless wonder: most tenants don't know about its existence, many banks – desperate to evict tenants living in foreclosed homes so that they can more easily sell the properties – have continued sending out illegal eviction notices; some even hire bailiffs to change the locks and to throw possessions out onto the street. And the federal government has no real mechanisms to enforce the act's provisions.
It is not uncommon for tenants in these situations to come home and find intimidating, anonymous, and legally misleading, posters stuck to their doors. One such starts with "Attention!! This property has been foreclosed and is now bank-owned. The eviction process has started. The property is being monitored." The words are in bold and the text is circled for emphasis. Another begins: "To whom it may concern: We were informed this property was vacant. We have changed the locks." Another resorts to financial intimidation: "The eviction process has been started by the bank. It is in your best interest to avoid having an eviction added to your credit report. It is very difficult to rent a property with an eviction on your credit report."
That homeowners have been hammered by subprime mortgages, by the collapse of real estate value, and by the broader economic malaise, is well-documented. But, out of the spotlight, more and more rented homes go into foreclosure: many tenants continue to pay rent to delinquent landlords, only to subsequently find they have been giving their money to a person who no longer owns the property. Others have been summarily evicted, having to scurry to find new homes – or ending up homeless. Many have lost the security deposits on their old rentals to owners who have simply disappeared. Others have seen their credit records [affected] by being evicted, despite the eviction not being the result of their own financial failings. ...
Perseverance and bluff – how the legal deal was done that sees BAE pay £285m fines
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Friday 5 February 2010
Since the Guardian first exposed BAE's worldwide system of undercover payments to secure contracts in 2003, the company has fought hard to deny its guilt, using every lobbying tool at its disposal and exploiting its influence within the offices of the then prime minister, Tony Blair.
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors, currently led by Richard Alderman, director of the Serious Fraud Office, and his US counterpart, Mark Mendelsohn, at the department of justice in Washington.
Alderman's predecessor, Robert Wardle, stepped down from his post at the SFO in 2008, a frustrated man, having seen BAE and its friends persuade Blair to intervene and force a halt to extensive and long running criminal inquiries into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
But that turned out to be the high-water mark of BAE's political influence. The US authorities promptly picked up the Saudi case which Blair had claimed would be so damaging to Britain's "national security".
Washington officials were vigorously attempting to enforce their own Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and were long suspicious of BAE's surprising arms deals in the Czech Republic, about which they had vainly protested at the time.
Meanwhile Alderman, when he succeeded Wardle at the SFO, insisted he was no patsy. He ordered renewed investigations into BAE's remaining suspect contracts in Tanzania, South Africa, Romania and the Czech Republic. Alderman staked much of his credibility on attempts to change the lumbering SFO style of investigation. ...
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Friday 5 February 2010
Since the Guardian first exposed BAE's worldwide system of undercover payments to secure contracts in 2003, the company has fought hard to deny its guilt, using every lobbying tool at its disposal and exploiting its influence within the offices of the then prime minister, Tony Blair.
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors, currently led by Richard Alderman, director of the Serious Fraud Office, and his US counterpart, Mark Mendelsohn, at the department of justice in Washington.
Alderman's predecessor, Robert Wardle, stepped down from his post at the SFO in 2008, a frustrated man, having seen BAE and its friends persuade Blair to intervene and force a halt to extensive and long running criminal inquiries into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
But that turned out to be the high-water mark of BAE's political influence. The US authorities promptly picked up the Saudi case which Blair had claimed would be so damaging to Britain's "national security".
Washington officials were vigorously attempting to enforce their own Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and were long suspicious of BAE's surprising arms deals in the Czech Republic, about which they had vainly protested at the time.
Meanwhile Alderman, when he succeeded Wardle at the SFO, insisted he was no patsy. He ordered renewed investigations into BAE's remaining suspect contracts in Tanzania, South Africa, Romania and the Czech Republic. Alderman staked much of his credibility on attempts to change the lumbering SFO style of investigation. ...
Too bad the site's so annoying. Adblock (enable tabs in options) and Remove It Permanently make it bearable, so visit the page and check out the scary reviews after installin' 'em.
Dirtiest Hotels - United States
(based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews)
* 1. Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, California
* 2. Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, Missouri
* 3. Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia
* 4. Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia
* 5. Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
* 6. New York Inn, New York City, New York
* 7. Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, Florida
* 8. Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, California
* 9. Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, California
* 10. Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida
See more filthy finds worldwide.
* Asia
* Canada
* Europe
* France
* Italy
* United Kingdom
Dirtiest Hotels - United States
(based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews)
* 1. Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, California
* 2. Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, Missouri
* 3. Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia
* 4. Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia
* 5. Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
* 6. New York Inn, New York City, New York
* 7. Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, Florida
* 8. Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, California
* 9. Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, California
* 10. Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida
See more filthy finds worldwide.
* Asia
* Canada
* Europe
* France
* Italy
* United Kingdom
How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power
Rumours of a link between the US first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. Now the Guardian can reveal how repercussions of events that culminated in action under the Trading with the Enemy Act are still being felt by today's president
Ben Aris in Berlin and Duncan Campbell in Washington
Saturday 25 September 2004
George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.
His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.
The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
The debate over Prescott Bush's behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the "Bush/Nazi" connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty. ...
Rumours of a link between the US first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. Now the Guardian can reveal how repercussions of events that culminated in action under the Trading with the Enemy Act are still being felt by today's president
Ben Aris in Berlin and Duncan Campbell in Washington
Saturday 25 September 2004
George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.
His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.
The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
The debate over Prescott Bush's behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the "Bush/Nazi" connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty. ...
Ministry of Justice lists eco-activists alongside terrorists
• Campaigners lumped in with al-Qaida and far right
• Government criticised for tarring peaceful protesters
Matthew Taylor and Rob Evans
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Oh, jolly good show, UK. Bra-fricken-vo.
• Campaigners lumped in with al-Qaida and far right
• Government criticised for tarring peaceful protesters
Matthew Taylor and Rob Evans
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Oh, jolly good show, UK. Bra-fricken-vo.
ACORN gotcha man among four arrested for attempting to tamper with Mary Landrieu's office phones
By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune
January 26, 2010
Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, 25, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.
Also arrested were Joseph Basel, Stan Dai and Robert Flanagan, all 24. Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, who is the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, the office confirmed. All four were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune
January 26, 2010
Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, 25, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.
Also arrested were Joseph Basel, Stan Dai and Robert Flanagan, all 24. Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, who is the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, the office confirmed. All four were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Richard Dawkins
Haiti and the hypocrisy of Christian theology
We know what caused the catastrophe in Haiti. It was the bumping and grinding of the Caribbean Plate rubbing up against the North American Plate: a force of nature, sin-free and indifferent to sin, un-premeditated, unmotivated, supremely unconcerned with human affairs or human misery.
The religious mind, however, restlessly seeks human meaning in the blind happenings of nature. As with the Indonesian tsunami, which was blamed on loose sexual morals in tourist bars; as with Hurricane Katrina, which was attributed to divine revenge on the entire city of New Orleans for harboring a lesbian comedian, and as with other disasters going back to the famous Lisbon earthquake and beyond, so Haiti's tragedy must be payback for human sin. The Rev. Pat Robertson sees the hand of God in the earthquake, wreaking terrible retribution for a pact that the long-dead ancestors of today's Haitians made with the devil, to help rid them of their French masters.
Needless to say, milder-mannered faith-heads are falling over themselves to disown Pat Robertson, just as they disowned those other pastors, evangelists, missionaries and mullahs at the time of the earlier disasters.
What hypocrisy. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Haiti and the hypocrisy of Christian theology
We know what caused the catastrophe in Haiti. It was the bumping and grinding of the Caribbean Plate rubbing up against the North American Plate: a force of nature, sin-free and indifferent to sin, un-premeditated, unmotivated, supremely unconcerned with human affairs or human misery.
The religious mind, however, restlessly seeks human meaning in the blind happenings of nature. As with the Indonesian tsunami, which was blamed on loose sexual morals in tourist bars; as with Hurricane Katrina, which was attributed to divine revenge on the entire city of New Orleans for harboring a lesbian comedian, and as with other disasters going back to the famous Lisbon earthquake and beyond, so Haiti's tragedy must be payback for human sin. The Rev. Pat Robertson sees the hand of God in the earthquake, wreaking terrible retribution for a pact that the long-dead ancestors of today's Haitians made with the devil, to help rid them of their French masters.
Needless to say, milder-mannered faith-heads are falling over themselves to disown Pat Robertson, just as they disowned those other pastors, evangelists, missionaries and mullahs at the time of the earlier disasters.
What hypocrisy. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
As those of you in the U.S. have undoubtedly heard by now, our Supreme Court just overturned over 100 years of statute and precedent by ruling that corporations can spend all the money that they want to influence elections. At a time when many of us are becoming increasingly convinced that getting big money out of politics is the only way to bring about meaningful change, this is terrible news.
Imagine what increased corporate ownership of our politicians will do to minority positions, such as atheism. It is unlikely that corporations will be interested in funneling money to anyone holding unpopular views for fear that it would reflect badly on them (assuming we knew they were behind the funding). And unlimited corporate investment may well make it impossible for all but the extremely wealthy and well-connected to compete in the political arena.
I just signed Rep. Alan Grayson's petition to support his "Save Our Democracy" platform, and I hope you'll consider joining me. The idea of having a government that is essentially owned by multinational corporations who do not necessarily have our best interests in mind is repulsive and anti-democratic. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Imagine what increased corporate ownership of our politicians will do to minority positions, such as atheism. It is unlikely that corporations will be interested in funneling money to anyone holding unpopular views for fear that it would reflect badly on them (assuming we knew they were behind the funding). And unlimited corporate investment may well make it impossible for all but the extremely wealthy and well-connected to compete in the political arena.
I just signed Rep. Alan Grayson's petition to support his "Save Our Democracy" platform, and I hope you'll consider joining me. The idea of having a government that is essentially owned by multinational corporations who do not necessarily have our best interests in mind is repulsive and anti-democratic. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Tea Partying Militia Leader Arrested for Rape, Possessing a Grenade Launcher
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 03:46 Devin Burghart
A former Marine with ties to Tea Parties and militias who talked openly about using his training “to become a domestic terrorist” has been charged in separate complaints with raping a child and possessing an unregistered grenade launcher. His arrest may signal that a wing of the Tea Parties is heading in a more militant direction.
Charles Allan Dyer, 29, of Marlow, Oklahoma was arrested on January 12 at his home by Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies on the rape charge. The arrest occurred after a 7-year-old girl told sexual-abuse experts about a January 2nd incident at Dyer's home.
While sheriff's deputies were at Dyer's home, they found several firearms and a Colt M-203, 40-millimeter grenade launcher, according to court documents. When they searched a national crime database, the deputies discovered that the grenade launcher was one of three stolen from a military base at Fort Irwin, California, in 2006. According to an affidavit, Dyer told law enforcement that he had received the grenade launcher "from his best friend who gave it to him while Dyer was stationed in California with the Marine Corps". ...
... Dyer has played a bridge role between the Tea Parties and the Oath Keepers, an organization that seeks to enlist military and law enforcement personnel to disobey orders they regard as unconstitutional. The group promotes many of the outlandish theories about gun confiscation and the rounding up of people into concentration camps. Oath Keepers founder, Stewart Rhodes, previously praised Dyer in speeches, but is now backtracking claiming that Dyer isn't a member because he never officially signed up and paid dues. Not everyone is looking to distance themselves from Dyer. Others in the movement almost immediately began calling Dyer the “1st P.O.W. of the 2nd American Revolutionary War.”
Prior to his arrest, Dryer was also busy organizing militia groups in Oklahoma. Dyer told an interviewer, “I came from California, where I was training with the SoCal militia and making liaison with active duty groups to train civilian. In February I will be traveling up North near Wyoming to assist in some cold weather training. At the moment, I am working with groups in Oklahoma to form a more cohesive militia here.”
And in another video, filmed during a militia training exercise, Dyer declared his intention to use his military training to become a domestic terrorist, "I'm going to use my training and become one of those domestic terrorists that you're so afraid of from the DHS reports." Dyer also stated, “Patriots we are not overpowered. If we united under one banner and fight for our children's liberty and the Constitution, our resolve is invincible to any standing army.” ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 03:46 Devin Burghart
A former Marine with ties to Tea Parties and militias who talked openly about using his training “to become a domestic terrorist” has been charged in separate complaints with raping a child and possessing an unregistered grenade launcher. His arrest may signal that a wing of the Tea Parties is heading in a more militant direction.
Charles Allan Dyer, 29, of Marlow, Oklahoma was arrested on January 12 at his home by Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies on the rape charge. The arrest occurred after a 7-year-old girl told sexual-abuse experts about a January 2nd incident at Dyer's home.
While sheriff's deputies were at Dyer's home, they found several firearms and a Colt M-203, 40-millimeter grenade launcher, according to court documents. When they searched a national crime database, the deputies discovered that the grenade launcher was one of three stolen from a military base at Fort Irwin, California, in 2006. According to an affidavit, Dyer told law enforcement that he had received the grenade launcher "from his best friend who gave it to him while Dyer was stationed in California with the Marine Corps". ...
... Dyer has played a bridge role between the Tea Parties and the Oath Keepers, an organization that seeks to enlist military and law enforcement personnel to disobey orders they regard as unconstitutional. The group promotes many of the outlandish theories about gun confiscation and the rounding up of people into concentration camps. Oath Keepers founder, Stewart Rhodes, previously praised Dyer in speeches, but is now backtracking claiming that Dyer isn't a member because he never officially signed up and paid dues. Not everyone is looking to distance themselves from Dyer. Others in the movement almost immediately began calling Dyer the “1st P.O.W. of the 2nd American Revolutionary War.”
Prior to his arrest, Dryer was also busy organizing militia groups in Oklahoma. Dyer told an interviewer, “I came from California, where I was training with the SoCal militia and making liaison with active duty groups to train civilian. In February I will be traveling up North near Wyoming to assist in some cold weather training. At the moment, I am working with groups in Oklahoma to form a more cohesive militia here.”
And in another video, filmed during a militia training exercise, Dyer declared his intention to use his military training to become a domestic terrorist, "I'm going to use my training and become one of those domestic terrorists that you're so afraid of from the DHS reports." Dyer also stated, “Patriots we are not overpowered. If we united under one banner and fight for our children's liberty and the Constitution, our resolve is invincible to any standing army.” ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Screw you, fbi.
January 22, 2010
Public support teenager who killed Communist Party leader Li Shiming
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Everybody hated Li Shiming. Those who got on the wrong side of the district Communist Party secretary, or challenged his bullying or arbitrary land seizures, could be beaten up or driven away by his hired thugs.
So when Zhang Xuping, 19, drove a knife into Li’s heart, killing him with a single thrust, there were few who mourned. Quite the opposite: more than 20,000 residents signed a petition appealing for leniency even though the murder had been plotted for two years.
The case, and the clamour surrounding it, illustrates one of the greatest challenges facing the regime: corruption and abuse of power.
Li lorded it over Xiashuixi, an arid mining region where farmers struggle to find water to grow vegetables to sustain themselves or corn to feed their pigs. His position as local party boss gave him the power to run the district like a fiefdom.
That came to an end when Li visited a school in September 2008 and was stabbed. The official could only muster enough strength to stagger to his Audi car before he collapsed and died.The teenager, who had made a careful study of anatomy so that could kill Mr Li with a single strike, confessed to the crime.
Zhang had been paid 1,000 yuan (£90) by Zhang Huping, 35, a farmer who had been harassed by the official for years. The farmer said that he had been detained routinely on trumped-up charges after he led a group of neighbours to seek redress from provincial authorities. They complained that Li had razed 28 acres of woodland without permission or compensation in 2003.
Many residents had a grievance with the haughty apparatchik. Xin Xiaomei, another villager, said: “I didn’t feel surprised at all when I heard that Li Shiming had been killed because people wanted to kill him a long time ago. I wanted to kill Li myself but I was too weak.” She said that Li had harassed her husband for years after a dispute. ...
Public support teenager who killed Communist Party leader Li Shiming
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Everybody hated Li Shiming. Those who got on the wrong side of the district Communist Party secretary, or challenged his bullying or arbitrary land seizures, could be beaten up or driven away by his hired thugs.
So when Zhang Xuping, 19, drove a knife into Li’s heart, killing him with a single thrust, there were few who mourned. Quite the opposite: more than 20,000 residents signed a petition appealing for leniency even though the murder had been plotted for two years.
The case, and the clamour surrounding it, illustrates one of the greatest challenges facing the regime: corruption and abuse of power.
Li lorded it over Xiashuixi, an arid mining region where farmers struggle to find water to grow vegetables to sustain themselves or corn to feed their pigs. His position as local party boss gave him the power to run the district like a fiefdom.
That came to an end when Li visited a school in September 2008 and was stabbed. The official could only muster enough strength to stagger to his Audi car before he collapsed and died.The teenager, who had made a careful study of anatomy so that could kill Mr Li with a single strike, confessed to the crime.
Zhang had been paid 1,000 yuan (£90) by Zhang Huping, 35, a farmer who had been harassed by the official for years. The farmer said that he had been detained routinely on trumped-up charges after he led a group of neighbours to seek redress from provincial authorities. They complained that Li had razed 28 acres of woodland without permission or compensation in 2003.
Many residents had a grievance with the haughty apparatchik. Xin Xiaomei, another villager, said: “I didn’t feel surprised at all when I heard that Li Shiming had been killed because people wanted to kill him a long time ago. I wanted to kill Li myself but I was too weak.” She said that Li had harassed her husband for years after a dispute. ...
... Perception that the force is out of control has exploded since April when a police major shot dead a cashier and one other person in a Moscow supermarket. The interior ministry has shown little appetite for reform. It arrested an officer who complained of corruption in a video appeal to Vladimir Putin.
"Our law enforcement bodies all share a strong sense of impunity. This includes the police, the prosecutor's office, and the courts," Konstantin Korpachev, a colleague of the dead journalist, said. "This feeling is one of the main factors that allows cases like this to happen. They like to protect their own."
Korpachev dismissed insinuations by the local prosecutor's office that Popov had died of alcohol poisoning. The journalist had been savagely beaten to death, he said, adding that local officials were suffering from an "elementary lack of tact. We have lost a very nice and positive man."
Regional officials acknowledged that the behaviour of Russia's police force is unacceptable. Surveys show that 70% of Russians do not trust the police, who frequently turn to crime and corruption to supplement their low salaries.
Tomsk's governor Viktor Kress admitted: "This once again confirms the necessity of reforming our law enforcement structures."
During the late Soviet period the police force was known for its educated recruits, high standards and reasonable salaries. Since the end of communism, however, the force has attracted lower calibre officers.
"Our law enforcement bodies all share a strong sense of impunity. This includes the police, the prosecutor's office, and the courts," Konstantin Korpachev, a colleague of the dead journalist, said. "This feeling is one of the main factors that allows cases like this to happen. They like to protect their own."
Korpachev dismissed insinuations by the local prosecutor's office that Popov had died of alcohol poisoning. The journalist had been savagely beaten to death, he said, adding that local officials were suffering from an "elementary lack of tact. We have lost a very nice and positive man."
Regional officials acknowledged that the behaviour of Russia's police force is unacceptable. Surveys show that 70% of Russians do not trust the police, who frequently turn to crime and corruption to supplement their low salaries.
Tomsk's governor Viktor Kress admitted: "This once again confirms the necessity of reforming our law enforcement structures."
During the late Soviet period the police force was known for its educated recruits, high standards and reasonable salaries. Since the end of communism, however, the force has attracted lower calibre officers.
January 21, 2010
The fault line in Haiti runs straight to France
The earthquake’s destruction has been aggravated not by a pact with the Devil, but by the crippling legacy of imperialism
Ben Macintyre
Where does the fault lie in Haiti? For geologists, it lies on the line between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. For some, the earthquake is evidence of God’s wrath: the American evangelist Pat Robertson has even suggested that the horror is recompense for some voodoo pact made with the Devil at Haiti’s birth.
More sensible voices point to the procession of despots who have plundered Haiti over the years, depriving it of an effective infrastructure and rendering it uniquely vulnerable to natural disaster. But for many Haitians, the fault lies earlier — with Haiti’s colonial experience, the slavers and extortionists of empire who crippled it with debt and permanently stunted the economy. The fault line runs back 200 years, directly to France.
In the 18th century, Haiti was France’s imperial jewel, the Pearl of the Caribbean, the largest sugar exporter in the world. Even by colonial standards, the treatment of slaves working the Haitian plantations was truly vile. They died so fast that, at times, France was importing 50,000 slaves a year to keep up the numbers and the profits.
Inspired by the principles of the French Revolution, in 1791 the slaves rebelled under the leadership of the self-educated slave Toussaint L’Ouverture. After a vicious war, Napoleon’s forces were defeated. Haiti declared independence in 1804.
As Haiti struggles with new misfortune, it is worth remembering that noble achievement — this is the only nation to gain independence by a slave-led rebellion, the first black republic, and the second oldest republic in the western hemisphere. Haiti was founded on a demand for liberty from people whose liberty had been stolen: the country itself is a tribute to human resilience and freedom.
France did not forgive the impertinence and loss of earnings: 800 destroyed sugar plantations, 3,000 lost coffee estates. A brutal trade blockade was imposed. Former plantation owners demanded that Haiti be invaded, its population enslaved once more. Instead, the French State opted to bleed the new black republic white.
In 1825, in return for recognising Haitian independence, France demanded indemnity on a staggering scale: 150 million gold francs, five times the country’s annual export revenue. The Royal Ordinance was backed up by 12 French warships with 150 cannon.
The terms were non-negotiable. The fledgeling nation acceded, since it had little choice. Haiti must pay for its freedom, and pay it did, through the nose, for the next 122 years. ...
The fault line in Haiti runs straight to France
The earthquake’s destruction has been aggravated not by a pact with the Devil, but by the crippling legacy of imperialism
Ben Macintyre
Where does the fault lie in Haiti? For geologists, it lies on the line between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. For some, the earthquake is evidence of God’s wrath: the American evangelist Pat Robertson has even suggested that the horror is recompense for some voodoo pact made with the Devil at Haiti’s birth.
More sensible voices point to the procession of despots who have plundered Haiti over the years, depriving it of an effective infrastructure and rendering it uniquely vulnerable to natural disaster. But for many Haitians, the fault lies earlier — with Haiti’s colonial experience, the slavers and extortionists of empire who crippled it with debt and permanently stunted the economy. The fault line runs back 200 years, directly to France.
In the 18th century, Haiti was France’s imperial jewel, the Pearl of the Caribbean, the largest sugar exporter in the world. Even by colonial standards, the treatment of slaves working the Haitian plantations was truly vile. They died so fast that, at times, France was importing 50,000 slaves a year to keep up the numbers and the profits.
Inspired by the principles of the French Revolution, in 1791 the slaves rebelled under the leadership of the self-educated slave Toussaint L’Ouverture. After a vicious war, Napoleon’s forces were defeated. Haiti declared independence in 1804.
As Haiti struggles with new misfortune, it is worth remembering that noble achievement — this is the only nation to gain independence by a slave-led rebellion, the first black republic, and the second oldest republic in the western hemisphere. Haiti was founded on a demand for liberty from people whose liberty had been stolen: the country itself is a tribute to human resilience and freedom.
France did not forgive the impertinence and loss of earnings: 800 destroyed sugar plantations, 3,000 lost coffee estates. A brutal trade blockade was imposed. Former plantation owners demanded that Haiti be invaded, its population enslaved once more. Instead, the French State opted to bleed the new black republic white.
In 1825, in return for recognising Haitian independence, France demanded indemnity on a staggering scale: 150 million gold francs, five times the country’s annual export revenue. The Royal Ordinance was backed up by 12 French warships with 150 cannon.
The terms were non-negotiable. The fledgeling nation acceded, since it had little choice. Haiti must pay for its freedom, and pay it did, through the nose, for the next 122 years. ...
Reports of racial and religiously motivated crime rose following the election of British National party councillors in several far- right strongholds, police statistics have revealed.
Complaints of hate crime increased in wards in the West Midlands, London and Essex after the election of a BNP member, in spite of declines in reported hate crime in the wider police areas. In other wards race crime reportedly rose in the runup to BNP election victories, according to the figures, obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.
The findings came as the party stepped up its campaign to win its first seats in the House of Commons with a "weekend of action" in Barking and Dagenham, where the culture and tourism minister, Margaret Hodge, faces a challenge for her Labour seat from BNP leader, Nick Griffin. Hodge said the new figures cast doubt on police assurances that there is no link between racially motivated crime and a BNP presence.
Yesterday, BNP member Terence Gavan was jailed for 11 years after police found nail bombs and 12 firearms at his home in the borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, where the BNP has councillors. The Old Bailey heard that Gavan harboured "a strong hostility" towards immigrants.
One of the biggest increases in hate crime came in Barking's Eastbury ward, where racially motivated violence, theft and criminal damage more than doubled in the year after Jeffrey Steed won a council seat for the BNP in May 2006. A year later, hate crime rose again and 45 racial incidents were reported in 12 months. ...
Complaints of hate crime increased in wards in the West Midlands, London and Essex after the election of a BNP member, in spite of declines in reported hate crime in the wider police areas. In other wards race crime reportedly rose in the runup to BNP election victories, according to the figures, obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.
The findings came as the party stepped up its campaign to win its first seats in the House of Commons with a "weekend of action" in Barking and Dagenham, where the culture and tourism minister, Margaret Hodge, faces a challenge for her Labour seat from BNP leader, Nick Griffin. Hodge said the new figures cast doubt on police assurances that there is no link between racially motivated crime and a BNP presence.
Yesterday, BNP member Terence Gavan was jailed for 11 years after police found nail bombs and 12 firearms at his home in the borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, where the BNP has councillors. The Old Bailey heard that Gavan harboured "a strong hostility" towards immigrants.
One of the biggest increases in hate crime came in Barking's Eastbury ward, where racially motivated violence, theft and criminal damage more than doubled in the year after Jeffrey Steed won a council seat for the BNP in May 2006. A year later, hate crime rose again and 45 racial incidents were reported in 12 months. ...
A “financial crisis responsibility fee” - I like it.
I like it very much, thank you.
I like it very much, thank you.
The grand obstructionist party is at it again, girls and boys.
VeriSign's iDefense security lab has published a report with technical details about the recent cyberattack that hit Google and over 30 other companies. The iDefense researchers traced the attack back to its origin and also identified the command-and-control servers that were used to manage the malware.
The cyber-assault came to light on Tuesday when Google disclosed to the public that the Gmail Web service was targeted in a highly-organized attack in late December. Google said that the intrusion attempt originated from China and was executed with the goal of obtaining information about political dissidents, but the company declined to speculate about the identity of the perpetrator.
Citing sources in the defense contracting and intelligence consulting community, the iDefense report unambiguously declares that the Chinese government was, in fact, behind the effort. The report also says that the malicious code was deployed in PDF files that were crafted to exploit a vulnerability in Adobe's software.
"The source IPs and drop server of the attack correspond to a single foreign entity consisting either of agents of the Chinese state or proxies thereof," the report says.
The researchers have determined that there are significant similarities between the recent attack and a seemingly related one that was carried out in July against a large number of US companies. Both attacks were apparently managed through the same command-and-control servers.
"The servers used in both attacks employ the HomeLinux DynamicDNS provider, and both are currently pointing to IP addresses owned by Linode, a US-based company that offers Virtual Private Server hosting. The IP addresses in question are within the same subnet, and they are six IP addresses apart from each other," the report says. "Considering this proximity, it is possible that the two attacks are one and the same, and that the organizations targeted in the Silicon Valley attacks have been compromised since July."
WTF, chinastan?
Ta much, dear MSiegel
The cyber-assault came to light on Tuesday when Google disclosed to the public that the Gmail Web service was targeted in a highly-organized attack in late December. Google said that the intrusion attempt originated from China and was executed with the goal of obtaining information about political dissidents, but the company declined to speculate about the identity of the perpetrator.
Citing sources in the defense contracting and intelligence consulting community, the iDefense report unambiguously declares that the Chinese government was, in fact, behind the effort. The report also says that the malicious code was deployed in PDF files that were crafted to exploit a vulnerability in Adobe's software.
"The source IPs and drop server of the attack correspond to a single foreign entity consisting either of agents of the Chinese state or proxies thereof," the report says.
The researchers have determined that there are significant similarities between the recent attack and a seemingly related one that was carried out in July against a large number of US companies. Both attacks were apparently managed through the same command-and-control servers.
"The servers used in both attacks employ the HomeLinux DynamicDNS provider, and both are currently pointing to IP addresses owned by Linode, a US-based company that offers Virtual Private Server hosting. The IP addresses in question are within the same subnet, and they are six IP addresses apart from each other," the report says. "Considering this proximity, it is possible that the two attacks are one and the same, and that the organizations targeted in the Silicon Valley attacks have been compromised since July."
WTF, chinastan?
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Accounts invaded, computers infected – human rights activists tell of cyber attacks
• Authorities blamed for hacking into Gmail users
• Phishing scams and malware used as weapons
Tania Branigan in Beijing
Thursday 14 January 2010
Well-known human rights advocates in China and a Tibetan rights activist in the United States have disclosed that their Gmail accounts have been compromised.
They came forward after Google's announcement of a sustained cyber attack on activists and other illicit accessing of accounts, but stressed that the problem goes back much further. Some in China said they had repeatedly suffered from hacking and blamed the authorities .
Ai Weiwei, one of China's best-known contemporary artists, said he detected problems with email accounts two months ago.
Teng Biao, a law professor and human rights lawyer, and Zeng Jinyan, activist and wife of the jailed dissident Hu Jia, both said their email had been hacked as long ago as 2007. They realised the issue had recurred when they checked their accounts in light of Google's statement.
However, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, told a press conference in Beijing: "Chinese laws prohibit any form of cyber attacks including hacking."
On Tuesday, Google said hackers had gained limited access to two accounts in December's attack. It is understood the firm contacted the account holders.
Tenzin Seldon, 20, a US student whose parents are Tibetan exiles, said Google had checked her computer and confirmed an intrusion. "My email account was likely hacked because I am a Tibetan activist," she said.
Google said its investigation also showed that the accounts of dozens of Gmail users in the US, China and Europe who are advocates of human rights in China had been routinely accessed by third parties. This had not happened through an intrusion into its infrastructure, but probably through phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers. ...
... Earlier last year researchers at the University of Toronto said they had discovered a vast electronic spy network which seemed to have targeted embassies, media groups, NGOs, international organisations, government foreign ministries and the offices of the Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan exile movement.
Computers were infected when users clicked on links in emails or documents attached to them.
The team said the "GhostNet", which had infiltrated hundreds of computers and stolen documents, was apparently controlled from computers in China. But they added that they could not identify who was behind it.
WTF, chinastan?
• Authorities blamed for hacking into Gmail users
• Phishing scams and malware used as weapons
Tania Branigan in Beijing
Thursday 14 January 2010
Well-known human rights advocates in China and a Tibetan rights activist in the United States have disclosed that their Gmail accounts have been compromised.
They came forward after Google's announcement of a sustained cyber attack on activists and other illicit accessing of accounts, but stressed that the problem goes back much further. Some in China said they had repeatedly suffered from hacking and blamed the authorities .
Ai Weiwei, one of China's best-known contemporary artists, said he detected problems with email accounts two months ago.
Teng Biao, a law professor and human rights lawyer, and Zeng Jinyan, activist and wife of the jailed dissident Hu Jia, both said their email had been hacked as long ago as 2007. They realised the issue had recurred when they checked their accounts in light of Google's statement.
However, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, told a press conference in Beijing: "Chinese laws prohibit any form of cyber attacks including hacking."
On Tuesday, Google said hackers had gained limited access to two accounts in December's attack. It is understood the firm contacted the account holders.
Tenzin Seldon, 20, a US student whose parents are Tibetan exiles, said Google had checked her computer and confirmed an intrusion. "My email account was likely hacked because I am a Tibetan activist," she said.
Google said its investigation also showed that the accounts of dozens of Gmail users in the US, China and Europe who are advocates of human rights in China had been routinely accessed by third parties. This had not happened through an intrusion into its infrastructure, but probably through phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers. ...
... Earlier last year researchers at the University of Toronto said they had discovered a vast electronic spy network which seemed to have targeted embassies, media groups, NGOs, international organisations, government foreign ministries and the offices of the Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan exile movement.
Computers were infected when users clicked on links in emails or documents attached to them.
The team said the "GhostNet", which had infiltrated hundreds of computers and stolen documents, was apparently controlled from computers in China. But they added that they could not identify who was behind it.
WTF, chinastan?
Metal Chinese jewelry a danger to kids: CPSC
Last Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010
CBC News
Young children should not be given any cheap metal jewelry imported from China because it could contain high levels of cadmium, the head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
"We have proof that lead in children’s jewelry is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewelry away," CPSC head Inez Tenenbaum posted Wednesday evening on the regulator's website. ...
... Observers have noted that the use of cadmium in children's jewelry comes as new U.S. regulations have severely restricted lead levels in such trinkets.
"We are moving swiftly to stop the replacement of lead with cadmium and other hazardous heavy metals in children’s products imported from China," wrote Tenenbaum.
U.S. regulators were moved to action after the March 2006 death of a four-year-old Minneapolis boy, who died four days after he swallowed a metal charm that was nearly pure lead.
Since 2004, the CPSC has conducted more than 50 recalls of more than 180 million units of metal jewelry because it contained a hazardous amount of lead. And since August 2009, it has been illegal to produce a piece of children’s metal jewelry with more than 300 parts per million of lead.
"Now we hear about cadmium in jewelry. This is unacceptable," wrote Tenenbaum.
Health Canada is in the process of conducting a routine round of testing on children's jewelry to determine cadmium levels.
In 2009, Health Canada tested 41 pieces of children’s jewelry for lead and cadmium, but it has refused CBC News requests to release the cadmium results.
WTF, chinastan?
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Last Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010
CBC News
Young children should not be given any cheap metal jewelry imported from China because it could contain high levels of cadmium, the head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
"We have proof that lead in children’s jewelry is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewelry away," CPSC head Inez Tenenbaum posted Wednesday evening on the regulator's website. ...
... Observers have noted that the use of cadmium in children's jewelry comes as new U.S. regulations have severely restricted lead levels in such trinkets.
"We are moving swiftly to stop the replacement of lead with cadmium and other hazardous heavy metals in children’s products imported from China," wrote Tenenbaum.
U.S. regulators were moved to action after the March 2006 death of a four-year-old Minneapolis boy, who died four days after he swallowed a metal charm that was nearly pure lead.
Since 2004, the CPSC has conducted more than 50 recalls of more than 180 million units of metal jewelry because it contained a hazardous amount of lead. And since August 2009, it has been illegal to produce a piece of children’s metal jewelry with more than 300 parts per million of lead.
"Now we hear about cadmium in jewelry. This is unacceptable," wrote Tenenbaum.
Health Canada is in the process of conducting a routine round of testing on children's jewelry to determine cadmium levels.
In 2009, Health Canada tested 41 pieces of children’s jewelry for lead and cadmium, but it has refused CBC News requests to release the cadmium results.
WTF, chinastan?
Ta much, dear Glenn321
The rethuglicunt party should be ashamed, exploiting such obviously mentally handicapped folks - like palin!
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Sexist morons. It's not the one couple/one child policy at fault, it's the aborting and slaughtering of female babies!
A US maker of software that helps parents to filter internet content for their children is suing the Chinese Government for allegedly stealing its technology and using it to block sites deemed politically undesirable.
Cybersitter LLC has requested damages of $2.2 billion (£1.3 billion) after filing a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles. Gregory Fayer, representing the Santa Barbara-based firm, said: “I don’t think I have ever seen such clear-cut stealing.”
The US firm’s suspicions were aroused in the middle of last year when China stirred outrage among its people with a demand that every computer should be fitted with software called Green Dam. The intention, said the Government, was to protect children by equipping all computers with a pornography filter.
Cybersitter alleges that the Chinese copied its codes and incorporated them into software used to block access to sites disliked by the Government. Sony, Lenovo and Toshiba are also being sued for distributing the Chinese program with PCs sold in the country. ...
Cybersitter LLC has requested damages of $2.2 billion (£1.3 billion) after filing a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles. Gregory Fayer, representing the Santa Barbara-based firm, said: “I don’t think I have ever seen such clear-cut stealing.”
The US firm’s suspicions were aroused in the middle of last year when China stirred outrage among its people with a demand that every computer should be fitted with software called Green Dam. The intention, said the Government, was to protect children by equipping all computers with a pornography filter.
Cybersitter alleges that the Chinese copied its codes and incorporated them into software used to block access to sites disliked by the Government. Sony, Lenovo and Toshiba are also being sued for distributing the Chinese program with PCs sold in the country. ...
DIF, more of you damn japanese whale murderers.
Here's some good news.
Copenhagen was a disaster. That much is agreed. But the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations. The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful "deal" so western leaders would walk away carrying the blame. How do I know this? Because I was in the room and saw it happen.
China's strategy was simple: block the open negotiations for two weeks, and then ensure that the closed-door deal made it look as if the west had failed the world's poor once again. And sure enough, the aid agencies, civil society movements and environmental groups all took the bait....
China's strategy was simple: block the open negotiations for two weeks, and then ensure that the closed-door deal made it look as if the west had failed the world's poor once again. And sure enough, the aid agencies, civil society movements and environmental groups all took the bait....
... I was stopped and searched twice near London City airport – for watercolouring! I was not even facing the airport. I was painting the Tate and Lyle sugar factory opposite. They said they saw me on a camera and thought that "no one would want to paint a factory". I explained that LS Lowry did loads. Then they said I could be an anarchist and I was carrying "suspicious paraphernalia" – this being a flask of coffee and an iPod. Oh, and a box of watercolours.
Once they had all my gear out, rummaged through what identity documentation I had and double-checked it on a few radios, they were satisfied I was just "weird" and left me to it. Until the next week, when I went back to finish off the picture and had to go through the same rigmarole all over again.
I have painted in Ukraine, Russia, Vietnam and plenty of other "controlled" states, and have never been questioned about watercolour anarchism.
Liam O'Farrell
London
Once they had all my gear out, rummaged through what identity documentation I had and double-checked it on a few radios, they were satisfied I was just "weird" and left me to it. Until the next week, when I went back to finish off the picture and had to go through the same rigmarole all over again.
I have painted in Ukraine, Russia, Vietnam and plenty of other "controlled" states, and have never been questioned about watercolour anarchism.
Liam O'Farrell
London
I'm posting the whole story because yahoo are such yahoos and delete stories after 5 minutes have passed.
Sun Dec 13, 1:45 pm ET
ST. LOUIS – Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found.
With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, according to a review of several Monsanto licensing agreements and dozens of interviews with seed industry participants, agriculture and legal experts.
Declining competition in the seed business could lead to price hikes that ripple out to every family's dinner table. That's because the corn flakes you had for breakfast, soda you drank at lunch and beef stew you ate for dinner likely were produced from crops grown with Monsanto's patented genes.
Monsanto's methods are spelled out in a series of confidential commercial licensing agreements obtained by the AP. The contracts, as long as 30 pages, include basic terms for the selling of engineered crops resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, along with shorter supplementary agreements that address new Monsanto traits or other contract amendments.
The company has used the agreements to spread its technology — giving some 200 smaller companies the right to insert Monsanto's genes in their separate strains of corn and soybean plants. But, the AP found, access to Monsanto's genes comes at a cost, and with plenty of strings attached.
For example, one contract provision bans independent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto's genes and the genes of any of its competitors, unless Monsanto gives prior written permission — giving Monsanto the ability to effectively lock out competitors from inserting their patented traits into the vast share of U.S. crops that already contain Monsanto's genes.
Monsanto's business strategies and licensing agreements are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state attorneys general, who are trying to determine if the practices violate U.S. antitrust laws. The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto lawsuit.
The suburban St. Louis-based agricultural giant said it's done nothing wrong.
"We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing agreement or the terms within," said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles. He said he couldn't comment on many specific provisions of the agreements because they are confidential and the subject of ongoing litigation.
"Our approach to licensing (with) many companies is pro-competitive and has enabled literally hundreds of seed companies, including all of our major direct competitors, to offer thousands of new seed products to farmers," he said.
The benefit of Monsanto's technology for farmers has been undeniable, but some of its major competitors and smaller seed firms claim the company is using strong-arm tactics to further its control.
"We now believe that Monsanto has control over as much as 90 percent of (seed genetics). This level of control is almost unbelievable," said Neil Harl, agricultural economist at Iowa State University who has studied the seed industry for decades. "The upshot of that is that it's tightening Monsanto's control, and makes it possible for them to increase their prices long term. And we've seen this happening the last five years, and the end is not in sight."
At issue is how much power one company can have over seeds, the foundation of the world's food supply. Without stiff competition, Monsanto could raise its seed prices at will, which in turn could raise the cost of everything from animal feed to wheat bread and cookies.
The price of seeds is already rising. Monsanto increased some corn seed prices last year by 25 percent, with an additional 7 percent hike planned for corn seeds in 2010. Monsanto brand soybean seeds climbed 28 percent last year and will be flat or up 6 percent in 2010, said company spokeswoman Kelli Powers.
Monsanto's broad use of licensing agreements has made its biotech traits among the most widely and rapidly adopted technologies in farming history. These days, when farmers buy bags of seed with obscure brand names like AgVenture or M-Pride Genetics, they are paying for Monsanto's licensed products.
One of the numerous provisions in the licensing agreements is a ban on mixing genes — or "stacking" in industry lingo — that enhance Monsanto's power.
One contract provision likely helped Monsanto buy 24 independent seed companies throughout the Farm Belt over the last few years: that corn seed agreement says that if a smaller company changes ownership, its inventory with Monsanto's traits "shall be destroyed immediately."
Another provision from contracts earlier this decade_ regarding rebates — also help explain Monsanto's rapid growth as it rolled out new products.
One contract gave an independent seed company deep discounts if the company ensured that Monsanto's products would make up 70 percent of its total corn seed inventory. In its 2004 lawsuit, Syngenta called the discounts part of Monsanto's "scorched earth campaign" to keep Syngenta's new traits out of the market.
Quarles said the discounts were used to entice seed companies to carry Monsanto products when the technology was new and farmers hadn't yet used it. Now that the products are widespread, Monsanto has discontinued the discounts, he said.
The Monsanto contracts reviewed by the AP prohibit seed companies from discussing terms, and Monsanto has the right to cancel deals and wipe out the inventory of a business if the confidentiality clauses are violated.
Thomas Terral, chief executive officer of Terral Seed in Louisiana, said he recently rejected a Monsanto contract because it put too many restrictions on his business. But Terral refused to provide the unsigned contract to AP or even discuss its contents because he was afraid Monsanto would retaliate and cancel the rest of his agreements.
"I would be so tied up in what I was able to do that basically I would have no value to anybody else," he said. "The only person I would have value to is Monsanto, and I would continue to pay them millions in fees."
Independent seed company owners could drop their contracts with Monsanto and return to selling conventional seed, but they say it could be financially ruinous. Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene has become the industry standard over the last decade, and small companies fear losing customers if they drop it. It also can take years of breeding and investment to mix Monsanto's genes into a seed company's product line, so dropping the genes can be costly.
Monsanto acknowledged that U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are seeking documents and interviewing company employees about its marketing practices. The DOJ wouldn't comment.
A spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said the office is examining possible antitrust violations. Additionally, two sources familiar with an investigation in Texas said state Attorney General Greg Abbott's office is considering the same issues. States have the authority to enforce federal antitrust law, and attorneys general are often involved in such cases.
Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer Hugh Grant told investment analysts during a conference call this fall that the price increases are justified by the productivity boost farmers get from the company's seeds. Farmers and seed company owners agree that Monsanto's technology has boosted yields and profits, saving farmers time they once spent weeding and money they once spent on pesticides.
But recent price hikes have still been tough to swallow on the farm.
"It's just like I got hit with bad weather and got a poor yield. It just means I've got less in the bottom line," said Markus Reinke, a corn and soybean farmer near Concordia, Mo. who took over his family's farm in 1965. "They can charge because they can do it, and get away with it. And us farmers just complain, and shake our heads and go along with it."
Any Justice Department case against Monsanto could break new ground in balancing a company's right to control its patented products while protecting competitors' right to free and open competition, said Kevin Arquit, former director of the Federal Trade Commission competition bureau and now a antitrust attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York.
"These are very interesting issues, and not just for the companies, but for the Justice Department," Arquit said. "They're in an area where there is uncertainty in the law and there are consumer welfare implications and government policy implications for whatever the result is."
Other seed companies have followed Monsanto's lead by including restrictive clauses in their licensing agreements, but their products only penetrate smaller segments of the U.S. seed market. Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene, on the other hand, is in such a wide array of crops that its licensing agreements can have a massive effect on the rules of the marketplace.
Monsanto was only a niche player in the seed business just 12 years ago. It rose to the top thanks to innovation by its scientists and aggressive use of patent law by its attorneys.
First came the science, when Monsanto in 1996 introduced the world's first commercial strain of genetically engineered soybeans. The Roundup Ready plants were resistant to the herbicide, allowing farmers to spray Roundup whenever they wanted rather than wait until the soybeans had grown enough to withstand the chemical.
The company soon released other genetically altered crops, such as corn plants that produced a natural pesticide to ward off bugs. While Monsanto had blockbuster products, it didn't yet have a big foothold in a seed industry made up of hundreds of companies that supplied farmers.
That's where the legal innovations came in, as Monsanto became among the first to widely patent its genes and gain the right to strictly control how they were used. That control let it spread its technology through licensing agreements, while shaping the marketplace around them.
Back in the 1970s, public universities developed new traits for corn and soybean seeds that made them grow hardy and resist pests. Small seed companies got the traits cheaply and could blend them to breed superior crops without restriction. But the agreements give Monsanto control over mixing multiple biotech traits into crops.
The restrictions even apply to taxpayer-funded researchers.
Roger Boerma, a research professor at the University of Georgia, is developing specialized strains of soybeans that grow well in southeastern states, but his current research is tangled up in such restrictions from Monsanto and its competitors.
"It's made one level of our life incredibly challenging and difficult," Boerma said.
The rules also can restrict research. Boerma halted research on a line of new soybean plants that contain a trait from a Monsanto competitor when he learned that the trait was ineffective unless it could be mixed with Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene.
Boerma said he hasn't considered asking Monsanto's permission to mix its traits with the competitor's trait.
"I think the co-mingling of their trait technology with another company's trait technology would likely be a serious problem for them," he said.
Quarles pointed out that Monsanto has signed agreements with several companies allowing them to stack their traits with Monsanto's. After Syngenta settled its lawsuit, for example, the companies struck a broad cross-licensing accord.
At the same time, Monsanto's patent rights give it the authority to say how independent companies use its traits, Quarles said.
"Please also keep in mind that, as the (intellectual property developer), it is our right to determine who will obtain rights to our technology and for what purpose," he said.
Monsanto's provision requiring companies to destroy seeds containing Monsanto's traits if a competitor buys them prohibited DuPont or other big firms from bidding against Monsanto when it snapped up two dozen smaller seed companies over the last five years, said David Boies, a lawyer representing DuPont who previously was a prosecutor on the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
Competitive bids from companies like DuPont could have made it far more expensive for Monsanto to bring the smaller companies into its fold. But that contract provision prevented bidding wars, according to DuPont.
"If the independent seed company is losing their license and has to destroy their seeds, they're not going to have anything, in effect, to sell," Boies said. "It requires them to destroy things — destroy things they paid for — if they go competitive. That's exactly the kind of restriction on competitive choice that the antitrust laws outlaw."
Quarles said some of the Monsanto contracts let companies sell their inventory for a period of time, rather than be required to destroy it. Seed companies also don't have to pay royalty fees on the bags of seed they destroyed.
"Simply put, it was designed to facilitate early adoption of the technology," he said.
Some independent seed company owners say they feel increasingly pinched as Monsanto cements its leadership in the industry.
"They have the capital, they have the resources, they own lots of companies, and buying more. We're small town, they're Wall Street," said Bill Cook, co-owner of M-Pride Genetics seed company in Garden City, Mo., who also declined to discuss or provide the agreements. "It's very difficult to compete in this environment against companies like Monsanto."
Sun Dec 13, 1:45 pm ET
ST. LOUIS – Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found.
With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, according to a review of several Monsanto licensing agreements and dozens of interviews with seed industry participants, agriculture and legal experts.
Declining competition in the seed business could lead to price hikes that ripple out to every family's dinner table. That's because the corn flakes you had for breakfast, soda you drank at lunch and beef stew you ate for dinner likely were produced from crops grown with Monsanto's patented genes.
Monsanto's methods are spelled out in a series of confidential commercial licensing agreements obtained by the AP. The contracts, as long as 30 pages, include basic terms for the selling of engineered crops resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, along with shorter supplementary agreements that address new Monsanto traits or other contract amendments.
The company has used the agreements to spread its technology — giving some 200 smaller companies the right to insert Monsanto's genes in their separate strains of corn and soybean plants. But, the AP found, access to Monsanto's genes comes at a cost, and with plenty of strings attached.
For example, one contract provision bans independent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto's genes and the genes of any of its competitors, unless Monsanto gives prior written permission — giving Monsanto the ability to effectively lock out competitors from inserting their patented traits into the vast share of U.S. crops that already contain Monsanto's genes.
Monsanto's business strategies and licensing agreements are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state attorneys general, who are trying to determine if the practices violate U.S. antitrust laws. The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto lawsuit.
The suburban St. Louis-based agricultural giant said it's done nothing wrong.
"We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing agreement or the terms within," said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles. He said he couldn't comment on many specific provisions of the agreements because they are confidential and the subject of ongoing litigation.
"Our approach to licensing (with) many companies is pro-competitive and has enabled literally hundreds of seed companies, including all of our major direct competitors, to offer thousands of new seed products to farmers," he said.
The benefit of Monsanto's technology for farmers has been undeniable, but some of its major competitors and smaller seed firms claim the company is using strong-arm tactics to further its control.
"We now believe that Monsanto has control over as much as 90 percent of (seed genetics). This level of control is almost unbelievable," said Neil Harl, agricultural economist at Iowa State University who has studied the seed industry for decades. "The upshot of that is that it's tightening Monsanto's control, and makes it possible for them to increase their prices long term. And we've seen this happening the last five years, and the end is not in sight."
At issue is how much power one company can have over seeds, the foundation of the world's food supply. Without stiff competition, Monsanto could raise its seed prices at will, which in turn could raise the cost of everything from animal feed to wheat bread and cookies.
The price of seeds is already rising. Monsanto increased some corn seed prices last year by 25 percent, with an additional 7 percent hike planned for corn seeds in 2010. Monsanto brand soybean seeds climbed 28 percent last year and will be flat or up 6 percent in 2010, said company spokeswoman Kelli Powers.
Monsanto's broad use of licensing agreements has made its biotech traits among the most widely and rapidly adopted technologies in farming history. These days, when farmers buy bags of seed with obscure brand names like AgVenture or M-Pride Genetics, they are paying for Monsanto's licensed products.
One of the numerous provisions in the licensing agreements is a ban on mixing genes — or "stacking" in industry lingo — that enhance Monsanto's power.
One contract provision likely helped Monsanto buy 24 independent seed companies throughout the Farm Belt over the last few years: that corn seed agreement says that if a smaller company changes ownership, its inventory with Monsanto's traits "shall be destroyed immediately."
Another provision from contracts earlier this decade_ regarding rebates — also help explain Monsanto's rapid growth as it rolled out new products.
One contract gave an independent seed company deep discounts if the company ensured that Monsanto's products would make up 70 percent of its total corn seed inventory. In its 2004 lawsuit, Syngenta called the discounts part of Monsanto's "scorched earth campaign" to keep Syngenta's new traits out of the market.
Quarles said the discounts were used to entice seed companies to carry Monsanto products when the technology was new and farmers hadn't yet used it. Now that the products are widespread, Monsanto has discontinued the discounts, he said.
The Monsanto contracts reviewed by the AP prohibit seed companies from discussing terms, and Monsanto has the right to cancel deals and wipe out the inventory of a business if the confidentiality clauses are violated.
Thomas Terral, chief executive officer of Terral Seed in Louisiana, said he recently rejected a Monsanto contract because it put too many restrictions on his business. But Terral refused to provide the unsigned contract to AP or even discuss its contents because he was afraid Monsanto would retaliate and cancel the rest of his agreements.
"I would be so tied up in what I was able to do that basically I would have no value to anybody else," he said. "The only person I would have value to is Monsanto, and I would continue to pay them millions in fees."
Independent seed company owners could drop their contracts with Monsanto and return to selling conventional seed, but they say it could be financially ruinous. Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene has become the industry standard over the last decade, and small companies fear losing customers if they drop it. It also can take years of breeding and investment to mix Monsanto's genes into a seed company's product line, so dropping the genes can be costly.
Monsanto acknowledged that U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are seeking documents and interviewing company employees about its marketing practices. The DOJ wouldn't comment.
A spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said the office is examining possible antitrust violations. Additionally, two sources familiar with an investigation in Texas said state Attorney General Greg Abbott's office is considering the same issues. States have the authority to enforce federal antitrust law, and attorneys general are often involved in such cases.
Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer Hugh Grant told investment analysts during a conference call this fall that the price increases are justified by the productivity boost farmers get from the company's seeds. Farmers and seed company owners agree that Monsanto's technology has boosted yields and profits, saving farmers time they once spent weeding and money they once spent on pesticides.
But recent price hikes have still been tough to swallow on the farm.
"It's just like I got hit with bad weather and got a poor yield. It just means I've got less in the bottom line," said Markus Reinke, a corn and soybean farmer near Concordia, Mo. who took over his family's farm in 1965. "They can charge because they can do it, and get away with it. And us farmers just complain, and shake our heads and go along with it."
Any Justice Department case against Monsanto could break new ground in balancing a company's right to control its patented products while protecting competitors' right to free and open competition, said Kevin Arquit, former director of the Federal Trade Commission competition bureau and now a antitrust attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York.
"These are very interesting issues, and not just for the companies, but for the Justice Department," Arquit said. "They're in an area where there is uncertainty in the law and there are consumer welfare implications and government policy implications for whatever the result is."
Other seed companies have followed Monsanto's lead by including restrictive clauses in their licensing agreements, but their products only penetrate smaller segments of the U.S. seed market. Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene, on the other hand, is in such a wide array of crops that its licensing agreements can have a massive effect on the rules of the marketplace.
Monsanto was only a niche player in the seed business just 12 years ago. It rose to the top thanks to innovation by its scientists and aggressive use of patent law by its attorneys.
First came the science, when Monsanto in 1996 introduced the world's first commercial strain of genetically engineered soybeans. The Roundup Ready plants were resistant to the herbicide, allowing farmers to spray Roundup whenever they wanted rather than wait until the soybeans had grown enough to withstand the chemical.
The company soon released other genetically altered crops, such as corn plants that produced a natural pesticide to ward off bugs. While Monsanto had blockbuster products, it didn't yet have a big foothold in a seed industry made up of hundreds of companies that supplied farmers.
That's where the legal innovations came in, as Monsanto became among the first to widely patent its genes and gain the right to strictly control how they were used. That control let it spread its technology through licensing agreements, while shaping the marketplace around them.
Back in the 1970s, public universities developed new traits for corn and soybean seeds that made them grow hardy and resist pests. Small seed companies got the traits cheaply and could blend them to breed superior crops without restriction. But the agreements give Monsanto control over mixing multiple biotech traits into crops.
The restrictions even apply to taxpayer-funded researchers.
Roger Boerma, a research professor at the University of Georgia, is developing specialized strains of soybeans that grow well in southeastern states, but his current research is tangled up in such restrictions from Monsanto and its competitors.
"It's made one level of our life incredibly challenging and difficult," Boerma said.
The rules also can restrict research. Boerma halted research on a line of new soybean plants that contain a trait from a Monsanto competitor when he learned that the trait was ineffective unless it could be mixed with Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene.
Boerma said he hasn't considered asking Monsanto's permission to mix its traits with the competitor's trait.
"I think the co-mingling of their trait technology with another company's trait technology would likely be a serious problem for them," he said.
Quarles pointed out that Monsanto has signed agreements with several companies allowing them to stack their traits with Monsanto's. After Syngenta settled its lawsuit, for example, the companies struck a broad cross-licensing accord.
At the same time, Monsanto's patent rights give it the authority to say how independent companies use its traits, Quarles said.
"Please also keep in mind that, as the (intellectual property developer), it is our right to determine who will obtain rights to our technology and for what purpose," he said.
Monsanto's provision requiring companies to destroy seeds containing Monsanto's traits if a competitor buys them prohibited DuPont or other big firms from bidding against Monsanto when it snapped up two dozen smaller seed companies over the last five years, said David Boies, a lawyer representing DuPont who previously was a prosecutor on the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
Competitive bids from companies like DuPont could have made it far more expensive for Monsanto to bring the smaller companies into its fold. But that contract provision prevented bidding wars, according to DuPont.
"If the independent seed company is losing their license and has to destroy their seeds, they're not going to have anything, in effect, to sell," Boies said. "It requires them to destroy things — destroy things they paid for — if they go competitive. That's exactly the kind of restriction on competitive choice that the antitrust laws outlaw."
Quarles said some of the Monsanto contracts let companies sell their inventory for a period of time, rather than be required to destroy it. Seed companies also don't have to pay royalty fees on the bags of seed they destroyed.
"Simply put, it was designed to facilitate early adoption of the technology," he said.
Some independent seed company owners say they feel increasingly pinched as Monsanto cements its leadership in the industry.
"They have the capital, they have the resources, they own lots of companies, and buying more. We're small town, they're Wall Street," said Bill Cook, co-owner of M-Pride Genetics seed company in Garden City, Mo., who also declined to discuss or provide the agreements. "It's very difficult to compete in this environment against companies like Monsanto."
The banks' defence of Fortress Bonus is starting to crumble. Their claim that unilateral action against excessive rewards by the UK would damage the City has been a key plank of their case against bonus reform, but that has been demolished by the chancellor's bank levy in the pre-budget report.
In this column I have repeatedly argued that action by the UK, where the financial sector is so dominant, would send a powerful signal to the rest of the world and embolden other countries to follow suit.
So it has proved: Nicolas Sarkozy is introducing a similar tax, with one French official saying "There is no obstacle to doing it now if it has been done in London." Angela Merkel is making warm noises; the hope is that the rest of the EU and the United States will join in.
Politically, the tax surcharge was a clever move. By sparking international action, the sting has been drawn from the Conservatives' cry of "class war"; George Osborne and David Cameron could not oppose the measure without alienating an angry public. ...
In this column I have repeatedly argued that action by the UK, where the financial sector is so dominant, would send a powerful signal to the rest of the world and embolden other countries to follow suit.
So it has proved: Nicolas Sarkozy is introducing a similar tax, with one French official saying "There is no obstacle to doing it now if it has been done in London." Angela Merkel is making warm noises; the hope is that the rest of the EU and the United States will join in.
Politically, the tax surcharge was a clever move. By sparking international action, the sting has been drawn from the Conservatives' cry of "class war"; George Osborne and David Cameron could not oppose the measure without alienating an angry public. ...
The rising power of China has been a constant theme in economic and political commentary in recent years, often accompanied by observations on the relative decline of the west. A seat at the top table is now always reserved for Beijing at global summits, whether it is climate change or financial stability under discussion. European politicians warn ruefully of the G2 – the US and China – settling world affairs between them.
But in admiring China's progress to economic superpower status, it is easy to forget how far it lags behind in political terms. Last week, there was a reminder. Liu Xiaobo, a 53-year-old former literature professor, was charged with "inciting subversion of state power", an offence that carries a potential prison term of 15 years.
Mr Liu's crime was to organise a petition last year, under the title Charter 08, calling for basic political freedom. He was first arrested for supporting the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and has spent much of the ensuing period in jail or under house arrest.
Meanwhile, the Charter 08 petition has collected thousands of signatures. For anyone in China to put their name on such a document is an act of immense courage, which is certain to draw a hostile reaction from Communist party officials. ...
But in admiring China's progress to economic superpower status, it is easy to forget how far it lags behind in political terms. Last week, there was a reminder. Liu Xiaobo, a 53-year-old former literature professor, was charged with "inciting subversion of state power", an offence that carries a potential prison term of 15 years.
Mr Liu's crime was to organise a petition last year, under the title Charter 08, calling for basic political freedom. He was first arrested for supporting the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and has spent much of the ensuing period in jail or under house arrest.
Meanwhile, the Charter 08 petition has collected thousands of signatures. For anyone in China to put their name on such a document is an act of immense courage, which is certain to draw a hostile reaction from Communist party officials. ...
Need another reason to hate diamonds? Here ya go.
This is a cult whose existence must end.
... Asked about the practice of plural wives, he replied: "Well, that's a complicated issue and very difficult to explain to someone who is not of the faith. There are probably many customs in other religions that would seem bizarre to me, but it's not for me to judge them." [Ed. Note: "...Complicated...and very difficult to explain..."? You're a dissembling arsehole, you are. Also, abuse is not a "custom," shithead.]
That is greeted with derision by Flora Jessop, a cousin of Raymond and Willie who fled the church at 16 when she was made a child bride. She has since helped dozens of others flee the movement, which she says treats its girls as concubines and boys as cheap labour.
"The egregiousness of the abuse that was uncovered in that raid on the ranch is almost impossible to listen to," she said. "I just hope that people will finally understand that polygamy is not a religious practice. It is the enslavement of women and children."
Nicked from dear BrightKnight
That is greeted with derision by Flora Jessop, a cousin of Raymond and Willie who fled the church at 16 when she was made a child bride. She has since helped dozens of others flee the movement, which she says treats its girls as concubines and boys as cheap labour.
"The egregiousness of the abuse that was uncovered in that raid on the ranch is almost impossible to listen to," she said. "I just hope that people will finally understand that polygamy is not a religious practice. It is the enslavement of women and children."
Nicked from dear BrightKnight
Patrick Stewart: the legacy of domestic violence
As a child, the actor regularly saw his father hit his mother. Here he describes how the horrors of his childhood remained with him in his adult life
Patrick Stewart
Friday 27 November 2009
... Our house was small, and when you grow up with domestic violence in a confined space you learn to gauge, very precisely, the temperature of situations. I knew exactly when the shouting was done and a hand was about to be raised – I also knew exactly when to insert a small body between the fist and her face, a skill no child should ever have to learn. Curiously, I never felt fear for myself and he never struck me, an odd moral imposition that would not allow him to strike a child. The situation was barely tolerable: I witnessed terrible things, which I knew were wrong, but there was nowhere to go for help. Worse, there were those who condoned the abuse. I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, say, "She must have provoked him," or, "Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight." They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it. ...
As a child, the actor regularly saw his father hit his mother. Here he describes how the horrors of his childhood remained with him in his adult life
Patrick Stewart
Friday 27 November 2009
... Our house was small, and when you grow up with domestic violence in a confined space you learn to gauge, very precisely, the temperature of situations. I knew exactly when the shouting was done and a hand was about to be raised – I also knew exactly when to insert a small body between the fist and her face, a skill no child should ever have to learn. Curiously, I never felt fear for myself and he never struck me, an odd moral imposition that would not allow him to strike a child. The situation was barely tolerable: I witnessed terrible things, which I knew were wrong, but there was nowhere to go for help. Worse, there were those who condoned the abuse. I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, say, "She must have provoked him," or, "Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight." They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it. ...
A university that accepted £25 million from Tesco has published a report with misleading figures to endorse the supermarket’s policy of giving away billions of single-use carrier bags.
The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute allowed senior Tesco staff to contribute to the report but failed to disclose the extent of the company’s involvement. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, joined Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, at the publication of the report at the Royal Society in London last month.
The report includes an analysis of different approaches to reducing the number of disposable bags issued annually by supermarkets. It claims that Tesco’s approach of giving customers a loyalty card point for reusing a bag is more effective than requiring shops to charge for bags, which is used in the Republic of Ireland.
The reduction in Ireland was five times greater than that achieved across Tesco shops in Britain. Ireland cut plastic bag consumption by 90 per cent when it introduced a 15 cent charge per bag in 2002. The Tesco reward method took three years to cut the number of plastic bags by less than 50 per cent. ...
The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute allowed senior Tesco staff to contribute to the report but failed to disclose the extent of the company’s involvement. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, joined Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, at the publication of the report at the Royal Society in London last month.
The report includes an analysis of different approaches to reducing the number of disposable bags issued annually by supermarkets. It claims that Tesco’s approach of giving customers a loyalty card point for reusing a bag is more effective than requiring shops to charge for bags, which is used in the Republic of Ireland.
The reduction in Ireland was five times greater than that achieved across Tesco shops in Britain. Ireland cut plastic bag consumption by 90 per cent when it introduced a 15 cent charge per bag in 2002. The Tesco reward method took three years to cut the number of plastic bags by less than 50 per cent. ...
Judge wipes out couple's mortgage after bank's 'repulsive' behaviour
A New York judge was so angry with a bank's "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" behaviour towards a financially struggling couple that he wiped out their $525,000 (£316,000) mortgage.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 12:06AM GMT 26 Nov 2009
In an unusual legal decision that may cheer ordinary homeowners but dismay lenders, Judge Jeffrey Spinner took a tough line on a California-based bank that he considered had been determined to foreclose on the couple's home in Suffolk County, Long Island.
His ruling against OneWest and its IndyMac mortgage division has relieved Greg Horoski and his wife, Diane Yano-Horoski, of the $291,000 they owed on the original loan as well as $235,000 in interest.
OneWest took $814 million in federal bailout money but has a reputation for foreclosing quickly on property owners who falls into arrears. ...
... The judge attacked the bank for repeatedly refusing to work out a deal, for misleading him about the sums in the case and for its treatment of the couple.
He wrote that OneWest's conduct was "inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious", cancelling the debt to deter it from "imposing further mortifying abuse" against the couple. ...
... Mr Horoski...told the New York Post, "I think the judge felt it was almost a personal vendetta. It was like dealing with organised crime."
A New York judge was so angry with a bank's "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" behaviour towards a financially struggling couple that he wiped out their $525,000 (£316,000) mortgage.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 12:06AM GMT 26 Nov 2009
In an unusual legal decision that may cheer ordinary homeowners but dismay lenders, Judge Jeffrey Spinner took a tough line on a California-based bank that he considered had been determined to foreclose on the couple's home in Suffolk County, Long Island.
His ruling against OneWest and its IndyMac mortgage division has relieved Greg Horoski and his wife, Diane Yano-Horoski, of the $291,000 they owed on the original loan as well as $235,000 in interest.
OneWest took $814 million in federal bailout money but has a reputation for foreclosing quickly on property owners who falls into arrears. ...
... The judge attacked the bank for repeatedly refusing to work out a deal, for misleading him about the sums in the case and for its treatment of the couple.
He wrote that OneWest's conduct was "inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious", cancelling the debt to deter it from "imposing further mortifying abuse" against the couple. ...
... Mr Horoski...told the New York Post, "I think the judge felt it was almost a personal vendetta. It was like dealing with organised crime."
They are more savage and uncivilised than any Native tribe whom any "great white explorer" ever encountered - headhunters included - and we buy their oil.
A Roman Catholic group at the centre of an inquiry into child abuse in Ireland today offered €161m (£145m; $244m) in cash and land to make amends to its victims.
The Christian Brothers, which ran the Republic's notorious Industrial Schools and orphanages, said they will hand over up to €30m to an Irish government trust fund, and will also give €4m for abuse victims' counselling services.
In their statement the Christian Brothers said they will also transfer land valued at €127m to joint ownership of the government and the Edmund Rice Schools Trust.
They said their decision had been taken in the light of the publication this May of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, known as the Ryan report. ...
No offer is suitable which doesn't completely bankrupt them.
The Christian Brothers, which ran the Republic's notorious Industrial Schools and orphanages, said they will hand over up to €30m to an Irish government trust fund, and will also give €4m for abuse victims' counselling services.
In their statement the Christian Brothers said they will also transfer land valued at €127m to joint ownership of the government and the Edmund Rice Schools Trust.
They said their decision had been taken in the light of the publication this May of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, known as the Ryan report. ...
No offer is suitable which doesn't completely bankrupt them.
A Scotland Yard commander was accused of misleading parliament tonight after an inquiry found that undercover police were secretly deployed at the G20 protests to spy on activists, contrary to the police chief's denials.
Commander Bob Broadhurst, who had overall command of the G20 policing operation, told the home affairs select committee in May that "no plain clothes officers [were] deployed at all" during the demonstrations in the City of London.
It has emerged that 25 undercover City of London police were stationed around the Bank of England to gather "intelligence" on protesters on 1 and 2 April. Broadhurst stands by the evidence he gave to MPs, claiming the deployment of undercover officers was unknown to him.
The disclosure will add to pressure on the Metropolitan police, who will tomorrow be forced to react to the findings of a long-awaited government inquiry into the policing of protest. This inquiry, by Denis O'Connor, head of the government's policing inspectorate, was set up after criticism of the Met's handling of the protests, at which Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, died after being attacked by police.
The inquiry's report is expected to call for a radical overhaul of public order policing, and to suggest that the heavy-handed way that forces handle protest threatens a broader breakdown in trust in the police. ...
Commander Bob Broadhurst, who had overall command of the G20 policing operation, told the home affairs select committee in May that "no plain clothes officers [were] deployed at all" during the demonstrations in the City of London.
It has emerged that 25 undercover City of London police were stationed around the Bank of England to gather "intelligence" on protesters on 1 and 2 April. Broadhurst stands by the evidence he gave to MPs, claiming the deployment of undercover officers was unknown to him.
The disclosure will add to pressure on the Metropolitan police, who will tomorrow be forced to react to the findings of a long-awaited government inquiry into the policing of protest. This inquiry, by Denis O'Connor, head of the government's policing inspectorate, was set up after criticism of the Met's handling of the protests, at which Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, died after being attacked by police.
The inquiry's report is expected to call for a radical overhaul of public order policing, and to suggest that the heavy-handed way that forces handle protest threatens a broader breakdown in trust in the police. ...
Police officers are now routinely arresting people in order to add their DNA sample to the national police database, an inquiry will allege tomorrow.
The review of the national DNA database by the government's human genetics commission also raises the possibility that the DNA profiles of three-quarters of young black males, aged 18 to 35, are now on the database.
The human genetics commission report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, says the national DNA database for England and Wales is already the largest in the world, at 5 million profiles and growing, yet has no clear statutory basis or independent oversight.
The highly critical report from the government's advisory body on the development of human genetics is published as the number of innocent people on the database is disclosed to be far higher than previously thought ‑ nearing 1 million.
The commission says the policy of routinely adding the DNA profiles of all those arrested has led to a highly disproportionate impact on different ethnic groups and the stigmatisation of young black men, with the danger of their being seen as "an 'alien wedge' of criminality". ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
The review of the national DNA database by the government's human genetics commission also raises the possibility that the DNA profiles of three-quarters of young black males, aged 18 to 35, are now on the database.
The human genetics commission report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, says the national DNA database for England and Wales is already the largest in the world, at 5 million profiles and growing, yet has no clear statutory basis or independent oversight.
The highly critical report from the government's advisory body on the development of human genetics is published as the number of innocent people on the database is disclosed to be far higher than previously thought ‑ nearing 1 million.
The commission says the policy of routinely adding the DNA profiles of all those arrested has led to a highly disproportionate impact on different ethnic groups and the stigmatisation of young black men, with the danger of their being seen as "an 'alien wedge' of criminality". ...
Ta much, dear Glenn321
Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.
The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born.
Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.
A group of Iraqi and British officials, including the former Iraqi minister for women's affairs, Dr Nawal Majeed a-Sammarai, and the British doctors David Halpin and Chris Burns-Cox, have petitioned the UN general assembly to ask that an independent committee fully investigate the defects and help clean up toxic materials left over decades of war – including the six years since Saddam Hussein was ousted.
"We are seeing a very significant increase in central nervous system anomalies," said Falluja general hospital's director and senior specialist, Dr Ayman Qais. "Before 2003 [the start of the war] I was seeing sporadic numbers of deformities in babies. Now the frequency of deformities has increased dramatically." ...
Can you say, "Depleted uranium"?
I knew you could.
The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born.
Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.
A group of Iraqi and British officials, including the former Iraqi minister for women's affairs, Dr Nawal Majeed a-Sammarai, and the British doctors David Halpin and Chris Burns-Cox, have petitioned the UN general assembly to ask that an independent committee fully investigate the defects and help clean up toxic materials left over decades of war – including the six years since Saddam Hussein was ousted.
"We are seeing a very significant increase in central nervous system anomalies," said Falluja general hospital's director and senior specialist, Dr Ayman Qais. "Before 2003 [the start of the war] I was seeing sporadic numbers of deformities in babies. Now the frequency of deformities has increased dramatically." ...
Can you say, "Depleted uranium"?
I knew you could.
GOP Gone Wild: Unruly Republicans Silence Women Lawmakers With Screams, Shouts, And Delay Tactics
This morning, the House began consideration of the rule for debate of the House health care bill. As the Democratic Women’s Caucus took to the microphone on the House floor to offer their arguments for how the bill would benefit women, House Republicans — led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — repeatedly talked over, screamed, and shouted objections. “I object, I object, I object, I object, I object,” Price interjected as Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) tried to hold the floor.
In an effort to delay and derail the proceedings, the Republicans continually talked over the Democratic women for half an hour. They sought to prevent the debate by calling for unnecessary “parliamentary inquiries” and requests for “expanding the debate” by an hour.
After being repeatedly interrupted by Republican shouts, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) observed:
Do I not have the right to be able to continue my sentence without objections that are trying to censor my remarks here on the floor that I have a right to make as a member of this House?
...
The goddam rethuglicunts musta been wearing these their entire repulsive lives.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
This morning, the House began consideration of the rule for debate of the House health care bill. As the Democratic Women’s Caucus took to the microphone on the House floor to offer their arguments for how the bill would benefit women, House Republicans — led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — repeatedly talked over, screamed, and shouted objections. “I object, I object, I object, I object, I object,” Price interjected as Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) tried to hold the floor.
In an effort to delay and derail the proceedings, the Republicans continually talked over the Democratic women for half an hour. They sought to prevent the debate by calling for unnecessary “parliamentary inquiries” and requests for “expanding the debate” by an hour.
After being repeatedly interrupted by Republican shouts, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) observed:
Do I not have the right to be able to continue my sentence without objections that are trying to censor my remarks here on the floor that I have a right to make as a member of this House?
...
The goddam rethuglicunts musta been wearing these their entire repulsive lives.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Scotland Yard faced calls for an "ethical audit" of all officers in its controversial riot squad tonight after figures revealed that they had received more than 5,000 complaint allegations, mostly for "oppressive behaviour".
Details of all allegations lodged against the Metropolitan police territorial support group (TSG) over the last four years reveal that only nine – less than 0.18% – were "substantiated" after an investigation by the force's complaints department.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, were described as evidence of a "culture of impunity" that makes it almost impossible for members of the public to lodge successful complaints against the Met's 730 TSG officers.
The TSG is a specialist squad that responds to outbreaks of disorder anywhere in the capital. It is under investigation for the most high-profile cases of alleged brutality at the G20 protests, including the death of Ian Tomlinson.
The unit came under renewed criticism this week after one of its officers was identified as a member of a team implicated in a "serious, gratuitous and prolonged" attack on a Muslim man. ...
Details of all allegations lodged against the Metropolitan police territorial support group (TSG) over the last four years reveal that only nine – less than 0.18% – were "substantiated" after an investigation by the force's complaints department.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, were described as evidence of a "culture of impunity" that makes it almost impossible for members of the public to lodge successful complaints against the Met's 730 TSG officers.
The TSG is a specialist squad that responds to outbreaks of disorder anywhere in the capital. It is under investigation for the most high-profile cases of alleged brutality at the G20 protests, including the death of Ian Tomlinson.
The unit came under renewed criticism this week after one of its officers was identified as a member of a team implicated in a "serious, gratuitous and prolonged" attack on a Muslim man. ...
The local mcdonald's should be getting some new applicants soon - from the soon-to-be former staff members (and I use the term advisedly) of the Sun City West retirement community, and several soon-to-be-ex-ahem-members of the 'police' department.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Ta much, dear Anneliese
A pot of £30m compensation due to be paid to thousands of African victims of toxic waste may end up being stolen thanks to the Ivory Coast regime's corruption, their lawyers said today.
The money was handed over by oil traders Trafigura in an out-of-court settlement in London and deposited in a bank in the west African state's capital, Abidjan, ready to be shared out in cash to each of the 30,000 victims. But the entire sum has been frozen in a sudden move backed by the local state prosecutor, according to Martyn Day, the senior partner at Leigh Day, the London lawyers who won the landmark settlement.
Moves are now in train, he said, to order all the cash to be handed over to a local group claiming to represent the victims. At the same time, Day has received a request to meet representatives of a senior Ivorian figure in Paris, to agree to come to an "arrangement".
"Blatant corruption" could be occurring, Day, who has flown back to London from Ivory Coast, said today. "There is a very serious risk that the compensation monies will simply disappear and our clients will see none of it." ...
The money was handed over by oil traders Trafigura in an out-of-court settlement in London and deposited in a bank in the west African state's capital, Abidjan, ready to be shared out in cash to each of the 30,000 victims. But the entire sum has been frozen in a sudden move backed by the local state prosecutor, according to Martyn Day, the senior partner at Leigh Day, the London lawyers who won the landmark settlement.
Moves are now in train, he said, to order all the cash to be handed over to a local group claiming to represent the victims. At the same time, Day has received a request to meet representatives of a senior Ivorian figure in Paris, to agree to come to an "arrangement".
"Blatant corruption" could be occurring, Day, who has flown back to London from Ivory Coast, said today. "There is a very serious risk that the compensation monies will simply disappear and our clients will see none of it." ...
... The 'satanic abuse' hysteria was particularly appalling, but year after year in America prudery exacts a terrible toll – as witness the unfortunate female schoolteachers packed often to prison with hefty sentences for having affairs with boys in their mid to late teens.
Is America permanently lodged in the 17th century so far as moral policing is concerned? The answer is Not exactly, since gay marriage wasn’t a big item on the legislative agenda of the colonies at that time. But regulation of sexual behaviour is the preferred route to wider social control.
The control of sex and pornography is a major part of promulgating a puritanical political culture without ever imposing overt political censorship. Sexual repression, often through the allegation of 'deviant' fantasy crimes, is the designated stand-in for violations of the social order that are hard to crush in a courtroom. As Williamson is now ruefully aware, the state not only has a long arm, it has a long gaze.
Moral: the eyes of the law are on you at all times, even at 8.30 am in the supposed privacy of your own kitchen.
What did you expect from a cuntry founded by folks so uptight the Brits threw them out?
Is America permanently lodged in the 17th century so far as moral policing is concerned? The answer is Not exactly, since gay marriage wasn’t a big item on the legislative agenda of the colonies at that time. But regulation of sexual behaviour is the preferred route to wider social control.
The control of sex and pornography is a major part of promulgating a puritanical political culture without ever imposing overt political censorship. Sexual repression, often through the allegation of 'deviant' fantasy crimes, is the designated stand-in for violations of the social order that are hard to crush in a courtroom. As Williamson is now ruefully aware, the state not only has a long arm, it has a long gaze.
Moral: the eyes of the law are on you at all times, even at 8.30 am in the supposed privacy of your own kitchen.
What did you expect from a cuntry founded by folks so uptight the Brits threw them out?
... The phone taps record Mr Karadzic saying: "They have to know that there are 20,000 armed Serbs around Sarajevo.... it will be a black cauldron where 300,000 Muslims will die. They will disappear. That people will disappear from the face of the earth."
Mr Tieger said that Mr Karadzic showed nothing but contempt for the views of the international community for the Bosnian Serb programme of ethnic cleansing - the euphemism invented during the conflict to sanitise the killing of thousands of Muslims.
"As he said in October 1991 in anticipation of what he had planned: 'Europe will be told to go f*** itself, and not to come back until the job is finished'."
Mr Tieger concluded: "This case is about that Supreme Commander, a man who harnessed the forces of nationalism, hatred and fear to implement his vision of an ethnic Bosnia. That Supreme Commander was Radovan Karadzic."
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia decided to push ahead with proceedings today, even though Mr Karadzic refused to attend for a second day.
Judge O-Gon Kwon, the chief judge, issued a second warning that Mr Karadzic would have a legal representative imposed upon him if he continued to remain in his cell, and ruled that the prosecution could begin to outline the case against him.
Mr Tieger said that Mr Karadzic showed nothing but contempt for the views of the international community for the Bosnian Serb programme of ethnic cleansing - the euphemism invented during the conflict to sanitise the killing of thousands of Muslims.
"As he said in October 1991 in anticipation of what he had planned: 'Europe will be told to go f*** itself, and not to come back until the job is finished'."
Mr Tieger concluded: "This case is about that Supreme Commander, a man who harnessed the forces of nationalism, hatred and fear to implement his vision of an ethnic Bosnia. That Supreme Commander was Radovan Karadzic."
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia decided to push ahead with proceedings today, even though Mr Karadzic refused to attend for a second day.
Judge O-Gon Kwon, the chief judge, issued a second warning that Mr Karadzic would have a legal representative imposed upon him if he continued to remain in his cell, and ruled that the prosecution could begin to outline the case against him.
Well done, texass.
Scotland Yard's most senior officer in charge of policing protests saidtoday that he would support a government inspectorate which has proposed a radical overhaul of public order policing.
Assistant commissioner Chris Allison said police would in the future be "far more explicit" about their commitment to facilitating peaceful protest, the main proposal made in an inquiry headed by Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of the constabulary.
O'Connor's inquiry was launched in the aftermath of the Metropolitan police's controversial handling of the G20 protests, which saw several thousand protesters contained by officers in so-called "kettles" near the Bank of England. A newspaper-vendor, Ian Tomlinson, died after being pushed by a member of the Met's territorial support group.
The full report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), outlining major reform for policing protests, will be published next month. However, the Guardian understands the Met hired lawyers to object to a central recommendation made in its interim findings.
HMIC sources said the Met instigated a "huge battle" with inspectors, who were attempting to bring the force's approach in line with human rights obligations to facilitate peaceful assembly. The HMIC was forced to pay for its own senior barrister, whose legal advice found in their favour.
A Home Office source said the Met was still resistant to change, and "the battle is far from won" over the right approach to demonstrations....
Assistant commissioner Chris Allison said police would in the future be "far more explicit" about their commitment to facilitating peaceful protest, the main proposal made in an inquiry headed by Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of the constabulary.
O'Connor's inquiry was launched in the aftermath of the Metropolitan police's controversial handling of the G20 protests, which saw several thousand protesters contained by officers in so-called "kettles" near the Bank of England. A newspaper-vendor, Ian Tomlinson, died after being pushed by a member of the Met's territorial support group.
The full report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), outlining major reform for policing protests, will be published next month. However, the Guardian understands the Met hired lawyers to object to a central recommendation made in its interim findings.
HMIC sources said the Met instigated a "huge battle" with inspectors, who were attempting to bring the force's approach in line with human rights obligations to facilitate peaceful assembly. The HMIC was forced to pay for its own senior barrister, whose legal advice found in their favour.
A Home Office source said the Met was still resistant to change, and "the battle is far from won" over the right approach to demonstrations....
Police were in no mood for a "softly-softly" approach when climate change campaigners began their demonstration outside Kingsnorth power station in Kent last year. Their response was harsh and expensive – and has been roundly criticised. The £5m operation involved putting demonstrators, including children, through a total of 8,000 searches at airport-style checkpoints.
Loud music was blasted out to spoil protesters' sleep during the week-long camp, and more than 2,000 possessions were confiscated, including party poppers, a clown costume and camping equipment. Protesters were aghast; they were staging a piece of political theatre to publicise the dangers of global warming. The police looked on them, it seems, as a far graver threat, bent on putting out the nation's lights.
Without perhaps many of the activists realising it, their demonstration was colliding with an established official mindset focused on potential terrorists or saboteurs. It is a culture that conforms with a change in the way political activists have become viewed by the UK authorities. ...
Loud music was blasted out to spoil protesters' sleep during the week-long camp, and more than 2,000 possessions were confiscated, including party poppers, a clown costume and camping equipment. Protesters were aghast; they were staging a piece of political theatre to publicise the dangers of global warming. The police looked on them, it seems, as a far graver threat, bent on putting out the nation's lights.
Without perhaps many of the activists realising it, their demonstration was colliding with an established official mindset focused on potential terrorists or saboteurs. It is a culture that conforms with a change in the way political activists have become viewed by the UK authorities. ...
Chief constables will be forced to justify the legality of recording thousands of law-abiding protesters on secret nationwide databases, the government's privacy watchdog announced today.
Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, said he had "genuine concerns about the ever increasing amount" of personal data held by police.
Graham's move came after the Guardian revealed how police have developed a covert apparatus to monitor people they consider are, or could be, "domestic extremists", a term which has no legal basis.
Photographs and personal details of thousands of activists who attend demonstrations, rallies and political meetings are being stored on the databases. Surveillance officers are given so-called "spotter cards" to identify individuals who may "instigate offences or disorder" at demonstrations. ...
Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, said he had "genuine concerns about the ever increasing amount" of personal data held by police.
Graham's move came after the Guardian revealed how police have developed a covert apparatus to monitor people they consider are, or could be, "domestic extremists", a term which has no legal basis.
Photographs and personal details of thousands of activists who attend demonstrations, rallies and political meetings are being stored on the databases. Surveillance officers are given so-called "spotter cards" to identify individuals who may "instigate offences or disorder" at demonstrations. ...
Britain's retail banks should be banned from paying out "significant" cash bonuses as part of a drive to plough profits back into new lending, the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, will declare tomorrow.
In the strongest attack by the Tories on banks, Osborne will say that bonuses should be paid in shares, which cannot be cashed in for at least three years, as he warns that billions of pounds in "subsidised profits" are threatening to worsen the credit crunch.
In a speech to Thomson Reuters in Canary Wharf, east London, Osborne will tell financiers: "We cannot wait for the promised land of a new responsible bonus culture which looks more remote than ever. We need to take emergency steps to support bank lending and move the economy forward.
"I am today calling on the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority to combine forces and stop retail banks paying out profits in significant cash bonuses. Full stop. Then the cash that would have been paid out should be put on to banks' balance sheets explicitly to support new lending. This should be a condition of continuing to receive taxpayer guarantees and liquidity support." ...
In the strongest attack by the Tories on banks, Osborne will say that bonuses should be paid in shares, which cannot be cashed in for at least three years, as he warns that billions of pounds in "subsidised profits" are threatening to worsen the credit crunch.
In a speech to Thomson Reuters in Canary Wharf, east London, Osborne will tell financiers: "We cannot wait for the promised land of a new responsible bonus culture which looks more remote than ever. We need to take emergency steps to support bank lending and move the economy forward.
"I am today calling on the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority to combine forces and stop retail banks paying out profits in significant cash bonuses. Full stop. Then the cash that would have been paid out should be put on to banks' balance sheets explicitly to support new lending. This should be a condition of continuing to receive taxpayer guarantees and liquidity support." ...
... Clearly "news" is not what Fox is about. Republican media strategist Roger Ailes, the network's founder and architect, has run a brilliant rhetorical game from the start: Fox adopts the outward forms of the establishment US media and pretends to hew to its standards – in order to undermine those very things. Fox claims to give its viewers the straight story, while proclaiming it's the New York Times and CBS that are really biased.
Of course, CBS and the NYT have their problems. But to believe Fox tells it like it is is to conclude that a basic idea of journalism – that what's happening in the world can be understood and fair-mindedly explained – is a sham.
"Political" attacks are inherently unfair. But the White House is simply stating the obvious about Fox. Obama promised to be reality-based, right? And the criticism seems, for the first time in a while, to have started a real debate on the issue. The Washington news media has simply accepted Fox as one of their own – after all, it has money, cameras, anchors and an audience. Jacob Weisberg argues that journalists who value their credibility should stop appearing on Fox, as they only help perpetuate the network's misleading premise. ...
Of course, CBS and the NYT have their problems. But to believe Fox tells it like it is is to conclude that a basic idea of journalism – that what's happening in the world can be understood and fair-mindedly explained – is a sham.
"Political" attacks are inherently unfair. But the White House is simply stating the obvious about Fox. Obama promised to be reality-based, right? And the criticism seems, for the first time in a while, to have started a real debate on the issue. The Washington news media has simply accepted Fox as one of their own – after all, it has money, cameras, anchors and an audience. Jacob Weisberg argues that journalists who value their credibility should stop appearing on Fox, as they only help perpetuate the network's misleading premise. ...
Assaults and drunken attacks on the street have been ignored by the police rather than recorded and investigated as violent crime, an inspection report disclosed today.
One in three decisions to record a violent incident that has occurred as a “no crime” was wrong, the police inspectorate said.
If the findings, based on a small sample, are repeated across all forces in England and Wales an estimated 5,000 violent offences a year are not being treated as a crime by officers.
Today’s report will raise concerns that officers are dismissing violent offences in order to make their forces’ figures look better. ...
Ya think?
One in three decisions to record a violent incident that has occurred as a “no crime” was wrong, the police inspectorate said.
If the findings, based on a small sample, are repeated across all forces in England and Wales an estimated 5,000 violent offences a year are not being treated as a crime by officers.
Today’s report will raise concerns that officers are dismissing violent offences in order to make their forces’ figures look better. ...
Ya think?
Alistair Darling has openly criticised Goldman Sachs over its plan to pay huge staff bonuses so soon after the financial crisis nearly crushed the banking sector.
Speaking at an event in London this lunchtime, the chancellor cited the Wall Street giant as an example of a bank that "manifestly" failed to appreciate how the City landscape had changed.
"What happened with Goldman Sachs last week sends the wrong signals," said Darling, who was attending an event at Canary Wharf. "I've spoken to all our banks and none of them would be standing here today if the taxpayer hadn't put their hand into their pocket."
Goldman Sachs itself does not appear to share Darling's concerns. Last night, Lord Griffiths, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International, claimed that huge salaries were a price worth paying.
"I believe that we should be thinking about the medium-term common good, not the short-term common good ... we should not, therefore, be ashamed of offering compensation in an internationally competitive market which ensures the bank businesses here and employs British people," said Griffiths. ...
I think you should fuck off, mr griffiths. I don't think any boss anywhere deserves pay that's more than 100 times what the lowest paid employees receive. I very much like the Japanese idea of bosses' getting no more than up to ten times what the lowest paid employees get.
Speaking at an event in London this lunchtime, the chancellor cited the Wall Street giant as an example of a bank that "manifestly" failed to appreciate how the City landscape had changed.
"What happened with Goldman Sachs last week sends the wrong signals," said Darling, who was attending an event at Canary Wharf. "I've spoken to all our banks and none of them would be standing here today if the taxpayer hadn't put their hand into their pocket."
Goldman Sachs itself does not appear to share Darling's concerns. Last night, Lord Griffiths, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International, claimed that huge salaries were a price worth paying.
"I believe that we should be thinking about the medium-term common good, not the short-term common good ... we should not, therefore, be ashamed of offering compensation in an internationally competitive market which ensures the bank businesses here and employs British people," said Griffiths. ...
I think you should fuck off, mr griffiths. I don't think any boss anywhere deserves pay that's more than 100 times what the lowest paid employees receive. I very much like the Japanese idea of bosses' getting no more than up to ten times what the lowest paid employees get.
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Two newlyweds are fighting for the dismissal of the justice of the peace who refused them a marriage license because they are of different races. ...
Um, what century is this again?
Um, what century is this again?
If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one to hear it, can Carter-Ruck ban all mention of the sound?
Charlie Brooker
Monday 19 October 2009
... That's effectively what the Guardian did last week, except that there was no beloved actor, but rather a whopping great multinational company accused of dumping toxic waste off the Ivory Coast, following which a lot of people got rather sick and more than a little upset. In an apparent bid to save face, the company instructed its lawyers (Carter-Ruck) to sail up and down the media coastline, knowingly dumping toxic injunctions. Eventually they went completely berserk and issued a super-injunction preventing the Guardian from reporting a parliamentary question about one of their previous super-injunctions. This was too much for common sense or modern technology to bear. Private Eye printed the question, the Twittersphere went bonkers; soon everyone knew about it, and Trafigura's name was toxic mud. In terms of corporate PR, it was about as effective as appearing on the GMTV sofa to carve your brand name on to the face of a live baby. Anyway, the Trafigura debacle is one of the very few occasions where the cloaking device of the super-injunction has actually malfunctioned, leaving the hovering mothership visible, which raises a worrying question: what else don't we know about? Literally anything could be going on. Like the mysterious "dark matter" that scientists believe makes up a huge percentage of the universe, an entire alternative reality could be thriving just over our shoulders. Dean Gaffney might be made of staples. Hitler could be alive and well and currently in negotiations to present the Radio 1 breakfast show. Kellogg's could be raising an army of the damned and declaring war on Norwich. How many other "invisible" stories are out there, shrouded by thick legal mist?
God knows. But he's not allowed to tell you. ...
Charlie Brooker
Monday 19 October 2009
... That's effectively what the Guardian did last week, except that there was no beloved actor, but rather a whopping great multinational company accused of dumping toxic waste off the Ivory Coast, following which a lot of people got rather sick and more than a little upset. In an apparent bid to save face, the company instructed its lawyers (Carter-Ruck) to sail up and down the media coastline, knowingly dumping toxic injunctions. Eventually they went completely berserk and issued a super-injunction preventing the Guardian from reporting a parliamentary question about one of their previous super-injunctions. This was too much for common sense or modern technology to bear. Private Eye printed the question, the Twittersphere went bonkers; soon everyone knew about it, and Trafigura's name was toxic mud. In terms of corporate PR, it was about as effective as appearing on the GMTV sofa to carve your brand name on to the face of a live baby. Anyway, the Trafigura debacle is one of the very few occasions where the cloaking device of the super-injunction has actually malfunctioned, leaving the hovering mothership visible, which raises a worrying question: what else don't we know about? Literally anything could be going on. Like the mysterious "dark matter" that scientists believe makes up a huge percentage of the universe, an entire alternative reality could be thriving just over our shoulders. Dean Gaffney might be made of staples. Hitler could be alive and well and currently in negotiations to present the Radio 1 breakfast show. Kellogg's could be raising an army of the damned and declaring war on Norwich. How many other "invisible" stories are out there, shrouded by thick legal mist?
God knows. But he's not allowed to tell you. ...
THE state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to hand out record bonuses of up to £5m each in a snub to struggling taxpayers.
The move would see the average employee in its high-risk investment banking arm take home £240,000, with the top 20 staff in line for payments of between £1m and £5m.
The payouts by the investment banking division — from a total pay and bonus pot of £4 billion — would top the deals awarded at the peak of the financial boom in 2007 and are 66% higher than those paid last year.
RBS, then headed by Sir Fred Goodwin, had to be rescued from collapse by the Treasury last October with an initial injection of £20 billion. The taxpayer now has a 70% stake in the bank. ...
The move would see the average employee in its high-risk investment banking arm take home £240,000, with the top 20 staff in line for payments of between £1m and £5m.
The payouts by the investment banking division — from a total pay and bonus pot of £4 billion — would top the deals awarded at the peak of the financial boom in 2007 and are 66% higher than those paid last year.
RBS, then headed by Sir Fred Goodwin, had to be rescued from collapse by the Treasury last October with an initial injection of £20 billion. The taxpayer now has a 70% stake in the bank. ...
A police officer has been airlifted to hospital after being hurt during violent scuffles with activists at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire.
Witnesses said one protester was also treated by ambulance crews at the site following a volatile stand-off with authorities.
A total of 21 people have been arrested after sections of the fence surrounding the station were torn down by protesters.
The violence broke out as lines of police attempted to push back the activists outside the fence.
Muray Smith, a spokesman for Camp for Climate Action, one of the groups that organised the demonstration, said: "Protesters pulled down two sections of fence and police are trying to restrict them getting through and are trying to move people back."
Some activists managed to enter the site and were arrested, he added.
Earlier, 10 people were held by police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass. Nine were from Manchester and one from West Yorkshire. They were aged between 19 and 53.
About 1,000 protesters are understood to have gathered at the site. Groups including Camp for Climate Action are demanding that coal-fired stations be decommissioned in favour of more environmentally friendly options. ...
Witnesses said one protester was also treated by ambulance crews at the site following a volatile stand-off with authorities.
A total of 21 people have been arrested after sections of the fence surrounding the station were torn down by protesters.
The violence broke out as lines of police attempted to push back the activists outside the fence.
Muray Smith, a spokesman for Camp for Climate Action, one of the groups that organised the demonstration, said: "Protesters pulled down two sections of fence and police are trying to restrict them getting through and are trying to move people back."
Some activists managed to enter the site and were arrested, he added.
Earlier, 10 people were held by police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass. Nine were from Manchester and one from West Yorkshire. They were aged between 19 and 53.
About 1,000 protesters are understood to have gathered at the site. Groups including Camp for Climate Action are demanding that coal-fired stations be decommissioned in favour of more environmentally friendly options. ...
Minton report: Carter-Ruck give up bid to keep Trafigura study secret
• Guardian 'released from restrictions forthwith'
• Report called firm's oil waste 'potentially toxic'
• Read the Trafigura study: the Minton report (pdf)
* David Leigh
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 October 2009 22.19 BST
Lawyers for oil traders Trafigura finally abandoned attempts to keep secret a scientific report about toxic waste dumping in west Africa, that was shown to the Guardian.
Just after 7.30pm Carter-Ruck, libel lawyers for Trafigura, wrote a letter to the Guardian which said the newspaper should regard itself as "released forthwith" from any reporting restrictions. An MP revealed the report's existence to parliament this week, after the Guardian was hit with a "super-injunction" banning all mention of it and other UK media were then subsequently notified of, and therefore bound by it.
The Minton report, commissioned in 2006 from the London-based firm's scientific consultants, said that based on the "limited" information they had been given Trafigura's oil waste, dumped cheaply the month before in a city in Ivory Coast, was potentially toxic, and "capable of causing severe human health effects".
The study said early reports of large scale medical problems among the inhabitants of Abidjan, were consistent with a release of a cloud of potentially lethal hydrogen sulphide gas over the city. The effects could have included severe burns to the skin and lungs, eye damage, permanent ulceration, coma and death.
The author of this initial draft study, John Minton, of consultants Minton, Treharne & Davies, said dumping the waste would have been illegal in Europe and the proper method of disposal should have been a specialist chemical treatment called wet air oxidation. ...
• Guardian 'released from restrictions forthwith'
• Report called firm's oil waste 'potentially toxic'
• Read the Trafigura study: the Minton report (pdf)
* David Leigh
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 October 2009 22.19 BST
Lawyers for oil traders Trafigura finally abandoned attempts to keep secret a scientific report about toxic waste dumping in west Africa, that was shown to the Guardian.
Just after 7.30pm Carter-Ruck, libel lawyers for Trafigura, wrote a letter to the Guardian which said the newspaper should regard itself as "released forthwith" from any reporting restrictions. An MP revealed the report's existence to parliament this week, after the Guardian was hit with a "super-injunction" banning all mention of it and other UK media were then subsequently notified of, and therefore bound by it.
The Minton report, commissioned in 2006 from the London-based firm's scientific consultants, said that based on the "limited" information they had been given Trafigura's oil waste, dumped cheaply the month before in a city in Ivory Coast, was potentially toxic, and "capable of causing severe human health effects".
The study said early reports of large scale medical problems among the inhabitants of Abidjan, were consistent with a release of a cloud of potentially lethal hydrogen sulphide gas over the city. The effects could have included severe burns to the skin and lungs, eye damage, permanent ulceration, coma and death.
The author of this initial draft study, John Minton, of consultants Minton, Treharne & Davies, said dumping the waste would have been illegal in Europe and the proper method of disposal should have been a specialist chemical treatment called wet air oxidation. ...
The law firm Carter-Ruck has made a fresh move that could stop an MPs' debate next week by claiming a controversial injunction it has obtained is "sub judice".
The move follows the revelation of the existence of a secret "super-injunction" obtained by the firm on behalf of the London-based oil traders Trafigura.
The injunction not only bans disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, but also banned disclosure of the injunction's very existence, until it was revealed by an MP this week under parliamentary privilege.
Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor today sent a letter to the Speaker, John Bercow, and also circulated it to every single MP and peer, saying they believed the case was "sub judice".
If correct, it would mean that, under Westminster rules to prevent clashes between parliament and the courts, a debate planned for next Wednesday could not go ahead.
Earlier this week, the Labour MP Paul Farrelly said Carter-Ruck might be in contempt of parliament for seeking to stop the Guardian reporting questions he had put down on the order paper revealing the existence of the "super-injunction".
The Conservative MP Peter Bottomley went on to tell Gordon Brown at prime minister's questions that he would report Carter-Ruck to the Law Society for obtaining an injunction that purported to ban parliamentary reporting. ...
The move follows the revelation of the existence of a secret "super-injunction" obtained by the firm on behalf of the London-based oil traders Trafigura.
The injunction not only bans disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, but also banned disclosure of the injunction's very existence, until it was revealed by an MP this week under parliamentary privilege.
Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor today sent a letter to the Speaker, John Bercow, and also circulated it to every single MP and peer, saying they believed the case was "sub judice".
If correct, it would mean that, under Westminster rules to prevent clashes between parliament and the courts, a debate planned for next Wednesday could not go ahead.
Earlier this week, the Labour MP Paul Farrelly said Carter-Ruck might be in contempt of parliament for seeking to stop the Guardian reporting questions he had put down on the order paper revealing the existence of the "super-injunction".
The Conservative MP Peter Bottomley went on to tell Gordon Brown at prime minister's questions that he would report Carter-Ruck to the Law Society for obtaining an injunction that purported to ban parliamentary reporting. ...
MPs from all parties protested at Westminster this afternoon at attempts by lawyers acting for the oil trader Trafigura to stop reports of parliamentary proceedings.
The Labour MP Paul Farrelly told the speaker, John Bercow, attempts by lawyers Carter-Ruck to gag the media could be a "potential contempt of parliament".
The Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris said there was a need to "control the habit of law firms" of obtaining secrecy injunctions, and his colleague David Heath told the Commons a "fundamental principle" was being threatened: that MPs should be able to speak freely and have their words reported freely.
On the Conservative side, David Davies criticised the rising use of "super-injunctions", in which the fact of the injunction is itself kept secret. He said courts should not be allowed to grant injunctions forbidding the reporting of parliament. ...
... Farrelly, who tabled a parliamentary question yesterday that the Guardian had been forbidden from reporting, told the Commons: "I want to raise a point of order regarding a chain of events which may be of concern to the House.
"Today, the Guardian reported that it had been prevented from reporting a written question tabled by a member of parliament. This morning, I telephoned the Guardian to ask whether the MP was myself.
"The question was printed on the order paper yesterday and relates to the activities of Trafigura, an international oil trader at the centre of a controversy regarding toxic waste-dumping in the Ivory Coast, and to the role of its solicitors, Carter-Ruck.
"Yesterday, I understand, Carter-Ruck, quite astonishingly, warned of legal action if the Guardian reported my question. In view of the seriousness of this, will you accept representations from me over this matter and consider whether Carter-Ruck's behaviour constitutes a potential contempt of parliament?"
Earlier, Trafigura's law firm had refused to alter an existing blanket court order banning the Guardian from mentioning Trafigura's recourse to the courts. This refusal was despite the publication on parliament's official website of Farrelly's questions revealing the facts.
The result of Carter-Ruck's intransigence was an avalanche of online publication, as well as...in the magazine Private Eye...Bloggers who posted Farrelly's questions in full included the political website Guido Fawkes and the Spectator magazine website.
Large numbers of messages were posted on Twitter, to the extent that "Trafigura" and "Carter-Ruck" became the most viewed keywords in London throughout the morning.
Shortly before the case was due to come to court, Carter-Ruck announced that its clients would no longer oppose reporting of what was said in parliament about them. ...
Real genius, but the last five paras posted here are by far the funniest.
The Labour MP Paul Farrelly told the speaker, John Bercow, attempts by lawyers Carter-Ruck to gag the media could be a "potential contempt of parliament".
The Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris said there was a need to "control the habit of law firms" of obtaining secrecy injunctions, and his colleague David Heath told the Commons a "fundamental principle" was being threatened: that MPs should be able to speak freely and have their words reported freely.
On the Conservative side, David Davies criticised the rising use of "super-injunctions", in which the fact of the injunction is itself kept secret. He said courts should not be allowed to grant injunctions forbidding the reporting of parliament. ...
... Farrelly, who tabled a parliamentary question yesterday that the Guardian had been forbidden from reporting, told the Commons: "I want to raise a point of order regarding a chain of events which may be of concern to the House.
"Today, the Guardian reported that it had been prevented from reporting a written question tabled by a member of parliament. This morning, I telephoned the Guardian to ask whether the MP was myself.
"The question was printed on the order paper yesterday and relates to the activities of Trafigura, an international oil trader at the centre of a controversy regarding toxic waste-dumping in the Ivory Coast, and to the role of its solicitors, Carter-Ruck.
"Yesterday, I understand, Carter-Ruck, quite astonishingly, warned of legal action if the Guardian reported my question. In view of the seriousness of this, will you accept representations from me over this matter and consider whether Carter-Ruck's behaviour constitutes a potential contempt of parliament?"
Earlier, Trafigura's law firm had refused to alter an existing blanket court order banning the Guardian from mentioning Trafigura's recourse to the courts. This refusal was despite the publication on parliament's official website of Farrelly's questions revealing the facts.
The result of Carter-Ruck's intransigence was an avalanche of online publication, as well as...in the magazine Private Eye...Bloggers who posted Farrelly's questions in full included the political website Guido Fawkes and the Spectator magazine website.
Large numbers of messages were posted on Twitter, to the extent that "Trafigura" and "Carter-Ruck" became the most viewed keywords in London throughout the morning.
Shortly before the case was due to come to court, Carter-Ruck announced that its clients would no longer oppose reporting of what was said in parliament about them. ...
Real genius, but the last five paras posted here are by far the funniest.
Her collaborator isn’t just a creationist. There’s the white supremacy issue, too ...
... The Palin book, moreover, is clearly being styled as a work of polemic, appealing to the Christianist base, thereby fanning homophobia, and empowering those who would like nothing more than to push gay people back into the closet, out of marriage, out of the military, and out of the workplace. Burnham is now directly party to this effort.
It's not possible to accuse Jonathan Burnham of hypocrisy because that would imply he has any convictions or principles at all. Here, for example, is his quote about a 400-page book written in two months:
“Governor Palin has been unbelievably conscientious and hands-on at every stage, investing herself deeply and passionately in this project…. It’s her words...”
Hey, if it makes a buck, and advances his career, Burnham will do it. As gay people prepare to march for their civil rights, Burnham, one of the more powerful gay men in New York, is preparing to capitalize on their avowed enemies. It's just money, after all. And buzz. Always buzz.
It's not possible to accuse Jonathan Burnham of hypocrisy because that would imply he has any convictions or principles at all. Here, for example, is his quote about a 400-page book written in two months:
“Governor Palin has been unbelievably conscientious and hands-on at every stage, investing herself deeply and passionately in this project…. It’s her words...”
Hey, if it makes a buck, and advances his career, Burnham will do it. As gay people prepare to march for their civil rights, Burnham, one of the more powerful gay men in New York, is preparing to capitalize on their avowed enemies. It's just money, after all. And buzz. Always buzz.
October 10, 2009
The barcode is nothing to celebrate
It killed off the traditional shop and gave us the checkout girl. And what’s with a 57th anniversary anyway?
Giles Coren
... It seems a rum thing to celebrate, though. Because what, after all, have we gained by the invention of the barcode (which, in the end, was first employed in a supermarket in Troy, Ohio, in 1974)?
As far as I can tell, the main thing that the barcode has achieved is to have brought an end to the old-fashioned scenario in one’s local shop, where the little man in the white overalls smiles as he takes down the flour tin from the shelf to weigh out your half-pound, and says: “Baking today, is it, Mrs Foskett? Not your famous fairy cakes? Hope there’s one left over for me!”
Good work, barcode. You’ve certainly seen off that nosey old bastard.
Yup, the barcode killed the shop. Nice one. Like all modernising inventions, it came along with a brief to speed things up and, where possible, eradicate people. A bit like the industrialised Nazi death camps (happy birthday, Heinrich!). And while that may be great as a model for business or genocide, it rather runs counter to the instinctive will of humanity.
I tell a lie. The barcode did give us something useful. It gave us the phrase “supermarket checkout girl” as a convenient shorthand for a girl of low status and minimal intellect — the sort of girl you don’t want to end up settling for, or, if you are a girl, end up being. Whichever it is, she’s waiting for you if you don’t get on with your homework.
Swipe, swipe, blip. Swipe, swipe, blip. It’s the sound of the end of the world. The final, total automation of the need to eat. The digitisation of the life instinct. Indeed, there are now supermarkets with no checkout staff at all, where you just swipe, swipe, blip the barcodes yourself and go home without speaking a word. Such places are generally full of lonely singletons buying frozen lasagne and soft porn, rapists and teenage muggers helping themselves to the booze. Good on you, Norman Joe! Hats off, Bernie!
And even if you are on the side of corporate rapine, and celebrate the bypassing of the human in all commercial transactions, wouldn’t you have been more excited about October 7 if barcodes actually worked? If it wasn’t always a case of some illiterate till popsy being unable to find the barcode on the egg box and turning it over and over and then banging it huffily down on the counter so that the omelette that you were going to have for lunch starts making itself right there in the shop, and then spending the next ten minutes trying to type in the numbers manually — tutting and sighing all the time — until she eventually hits “enter” and the display screen charges up a gross of Brussels sprout trees at £456? ...
Well done, Giles.
The barcode is nothing to celebrate
It killed off the traditional shop and gave us the checkout girl. And what’s with a 57th anniversary anyway?
Giles Coren
... It seems a rum thing to celebrate, though. Because what, after all, have we gained by the invention of the barcode (which, in the end, was first employed in a supermarket in Troy, Ohio, in 1974)?
As far as I can tell, the main thing that the barcode has achieved is to have brought an end to the old-fashioned scenario in one’s local shop, where the little man in the white overalls smiles as he takes down the flour tin from the shelf to weigh out your half-pound, and says: “Baking today, is it, Mrs Foskett? Not your famous fairy cakes? Hope there’s one left over for me!”
Good work, barcode. You’ve certainly seen off that nosey old bastard.
Yup, the barcode killed the shop. Nice one. Like all modernising inventions, it came along with a brief to speed things up and, where possible, eradicate people. A bit like the industrialised Nazi death camps (happy birthday, Heinrich!). And while that may be great as a model for business or genocide, it rather runs counter to the instinctive will of humanity.
I tell a lie. The barcode did give us something useful. It gave us the phrase “supermarket checkout girl” as a convenient shorthand for a girl of low status and minimal intellect — the sort of girl you don’t want to end up settling for, or, if you are a girl, end up being. Whichever it is, she’s waiting for you if you don’t get on with your homework.
Swipe, swipe, blip. Swipe, swipe, blip. It’s the sound of the end of the world. The final, total automation of the need to eat. The digitisation of the life instinct. Indeed, there are now supermarkets with no checkout staff at all, where you just swipe, swipe, blip the barcodes yourself and go home without speaking a word. Such places are generally full of lonely singletons buying frozen lasagne and soft porn, rapists and teenage muggers helping themselves to the booze. Good on you, Norman Joe! Hats off, Bernie!
And even if you are on the side of corporate rapine, and celebrate the bypassing of the human in all commercial transactions, wouldn’t you have been more excited about October 7 if barcodes actually worked? If it wasn’t always a case of some illiterate till popsy being unable to find the barcode on the egg box and turning it over and over and then banging it huffily down on the counter so that the omelette that you were going to have for lunch starts making itself right there in the shop, and then spending the next ten minutes trying to type in the numbers manually — tutting and sighing all the time — until she eventually hits “enter” and the display screen charges up a gross of Brussels sprout trees at £456? ...
Well done, Giles.
This asshole needs to lose its law license, its Merc, all of its books, and as Mom said, "And get his house burned down."
Ta much, dear Foxy
Ta much, dear Foxy
... For one thing, we learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old.
But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.
To be sure, while celebrating America’s rebuff by the Olympic Committee was puerile, it didn’t do any real harm. But the same principle of spite has determined Republican positions on more serious matters, with potentially serious consequences — in particular, in the debate over health care reform.
Now, it’s understandable that many Republicans oppose Democratic plans to extend insurance coverage — just as most Democrats opposed President Bush’s attempt to convert Social Security into a sort of giant 401(k). The two parties do, after all, have different philosophies about the appropriate role of government.
But the tactics of the two parties have been different. In 2005, when Democrats campaigned against Social Security privatization, their arguments were consistent with their underlying ideology: they argued that replacing guaranteed benefits with private accounts would expose retirees to too much risk.
The Republican campaign against health care reform, by contrast, has shown no such consistency. For the main G.O.P. line of attack is the claim — based mainly on lies about death panels and so on — that reform will undermine Medicare. And this line of attack is utterly at odds both with the party’s traditions and with what conservatives claim to believe.
Think about just how bizarre it is for Republicans to position themselves as the defenders of unrestricted Medicare spending. First of all, the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan — and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare’s creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.) In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich tried to force drastic cuts in Medicare financing. And in recent years, Republicans have repeatedly decried the growth in entitlement spending — growth that is largely driven by rising health care costs. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.
To be sure, while celebrating America’s rebuff by the Olympic Committee was puerile, it didn’t do any real harm. But the same principle of spite has determined Republican positions on more serious matters, with potentially serious consequences — in particular, in the debate over health care reform.
Now, it’s understandable that many Republicans oppose Democratic plans to extend insurance coverage — just as most Democrats opposed President Bush’s attempt to convert Social Security into a sort of giant 401(k). The two parties do, after all, have different philosophies about the appropriate role of government.
But the tactics of the two parties have been different. In 2005, when Democrats campaigned against Social Security privatization, their arguments were consistent with their underlying ideology: they argued that replacing guaranteed benefits with private accounts would expose retirees to too much risk.
The Republican campaign against health care reform, by contrast, has shown no such consistency. For the main G.O.P. line of attack is the claim — based mainly on lies about death panels and so on — that reform will undermine Medicare. And this line of attack is utterly at odds both with the party’s traditions and with what conservatives claim to believe.
Think about just how bizarre it is for Republicans to position themselves as the defenders of unrestricted Medicare spending. First of all, the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan — and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare’s creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.) In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich tried to force drastic cuts in Medicare financing. And in recent years, Republicans have repeatedly decried the growth in entitlement spending — growth that is largely driven by rising health care costs. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Well done, Waitrose, et al...but why hasn't sky network dumped faux news?
The International Monetary Fund today threw its weight behind a new tax on the global financial sector designed to limit risky speculative behaviour and help the world's poorest countries.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF's managing director, said banks and other big financial institutions were responsible for systemic risk and it was only right that they provided resources to mitigate those threats to the world economy.
While ruling out a so-called Tobin tax – a levy on foreign currency transactions proposed by the American economist James Tobin in the early 1970s – Strauss-Kahn said a high-level IMF team would work on proposals in the coming months.
"The very simple idea of putting a tax on transactions won't work for many technical reasons," Strauss-Kahn said at a press conference held in the run-up to the IMF's annual meeting in Istanbul next week.
"On the other hand, considering the financial sector is creating a lot of systemic risks for the global economy, it is fair that the sector pay some part of its resources to mitigate risks it is creating itself." ...
Hmmm. This is a lot like seeing Lucifer giving orders to Beelzebub, innit.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF's managing director, said banks and other big financial institutions were responsible for systemic risk and it was only right that they provided resources to mitigate those threats to the world economy.
While ruling out a so-called Tobin tax – a levy on foreign currency transactions proposed by the American economist James Tobin in the early 1970s – Strauss-Kahn said a high-level IMF team would work on proposals in the coming months.
"The very simple idea of putting a tax on transactions won't work for many technical reasons," Strauss-Kahn said at a press conference held in the run-up to the IMF's annual meeting in Istanbul next week.
"On the other hand, considering the financial sector is creating a lot of systemic risks for the global economy, it is fair that the sector pay some part of its resources to mitigate risks it is creating itself." ...
Hmmm. This is a lot like seeing Lucifer giving orders to Beelzebub, innit.
Brown intervenes in bank charges standoff
PM tells bankers to settle long-running court battle over refunds for excessive charges 'without further delay' ...
PM tells bankers to settle long-running court battle over refunds for excessive charges 'without further delay' ...
DETROIT (WXYZ) - The man who is suspected of firebombing a home causing serious injuries to two small children turned himself into police Friday morning. ...
Horrid story; amusing mistake. Since he's turned himself into police, he'll now be defending the law 'stead of breaking it.
Horrid story; amusing mistake. Since he's turned himself into police, he'll now be defending the law 'stead of breaking it.
Britain’s big six energy companies have rebuffed calls for them to cut prices, despite a halving in the wholesale cost of gas and electricity over the past year.
Ofgem, the industry regulator, has been pressing the companies to reduce prices for consumers after it was revealed that the companies will be earning £170 from each dual fuel customer over the next year. Over the past three years they have earned an average of £110 per customer per year.
Alistair Buchanan, the regulator’s chief executive, wrote to the six companies last month telling them that “they owe it to their customers to better explain their pricing position to them”.
But replies to Mr Buchanan’s letter published yesterday showed that the companies - British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power, Scottish & Southern Energy, EDF Energy - have no plans to trim prices for 26 million households this year. ...
Ofgem, the industry regulator, has been pressing the companies to reduce prices for consumers after it was revealed that the companies will be earning £170 from each dual fuel customer over the next year. Over the past three years they have earned an average of £110 per customer per year.
Alistair Buchanan, the regulator’s chief executive, wrote to the six companies last month telling them that “they owe it to their customers to better explain their pricing position to them”.
But replies to Mr Buchanan’s letter published yesterday showed that the companies - British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power, Scottish & Southern Energy, EDF Energy - have no plans to trim prices for 26 million households this year. ...
Evil, insecure, ignorant, bastards! I'm with dear Anneliese, who sent me this via her review which reads, "For this our troops are dying?"
If Obama can't defeat the Republican headbangers, our planet is doomed
One year on, the world still looks to the US and holds its breath. The fate of a global climate treaty rests in American hands
The British oil trader Trafigura has offered to pay out in a historic damages claim from 31,000 Africans injured by the dumping of toxic waste in one of the worst pollution disasters in recent history, the Guardian can reveal.
The compensation deal for the victims of toxic oil waste dumping in west Africa – likely to be confirmed imminently – means the full extent of attempts to cover up what really happened can be spelled out for the first time.
The truth is laid bare in Trafigura's hitherto secret documents, published by the Guardian today.
The company's internal emails show the true nature of the toxic waste dumped around Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. Trafigura had publicly claimed the waste was harmless.
The exposure of the company files has contributed to Trafigura's climbdown after three years of bitterly contested legal battles. We are publishing them online today. ...
How evil will solar power companies become?
The compensation deal for the victims of toxic oil waste dumping in west Africa – likely to be confirmed imminently – means the full extent of attempts to cover up what really happened can be spelled out for the first time.
The truth is laid bare in Trafigura's hitherto secret documents, published by the Guardian today.
The company's internal emails show the true nature of the toxic waste dumped around Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. Trafigura had publicly claimed the waste was harmless.
The exposure of the company files has contributed to Trafigura's climbdown after three years of bitterly contested legal battles. We are publishing them online today. ...
How evil will solar power companies become?
Thank God/dess someone has the balls to speak truthfully here in Yankistan!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation's caseload for mortgage fraud has continued to grow as homeowners cope with the shattered housing market, FBI Director Robert Mueller told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
"The schemes have evolved with the changing economy, targeting vulnerable individuals, victimizing them even as they are about to lose their homes," he said in prepared remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He told the panel that the FBI has more than 2,600 cases open with most of them involving losses of over $1 million. That is more than triple the number three years ago and up from 2,400 cases Mueller said were open in May.
The FBI has shifted its investigative resources to focus on mortgage fraud and assigned about 300 special agents to the task, Mueller said, adding that their focus has centered on what he described as "industry insiders."
Economists have cited the housing bust that left banks holding souring mortgage securities as the primary cause of the deep recession that has swamped the U.S. economy since December 2007. ...
Sic 'em!!
"The schemes have evolved with the changing economy, targeting vulnerable individuals, victimizing them even as they are about to lose their homes," he said in prepared remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He told the panel that the FBI has more than 2,600 cases open with most of them involving losses of over $1 million. That is more than triple the number three years ago and up from 2,400 cases Mueller said were open in May.
The FBI has shifted its investigative resources to focus on mortgage fraud and assigned about 300 special agents to the task, Mueller said, adding that their focus has centered on what he described as "industry insiders."
Economists have cited the housing bust that left banks holding souring mortgage securities as the primary cause of the deep recession that has swamped the U.S. economy since December 2007. ...
Sic 'em!!
The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. The bank, which has a goal of reducing poverty and is funded by Britain and other developed countries, calls on all nations in a report today to “act differently on climate change”.
It says that the world must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but it is funding several giant coal-burning plants that will each emit millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year for the next 40 to 50 years.
Britain is contributing £400million to a World Bank fund that claims to support “clean technology” but is financing coal power plants.
The bank’s World Development Report says: “Developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change — a crisis that is not of their making and for which they are the least prepared. Increasing access to energy and other services using high-carbon technologies will produce more greenhouse gases, hence more climate change.” ...
I really didn't need more proof the world bank is thoroughly evil, but thanks anyways.
It says that the world must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but it is funding several giant coal-burning plants that will each emit millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year for the next 40 to 50 years.
Britain is contributing £400million to a World Bank fund that claims to support “clean technology” but is financing coal power plants.
The bank’s World Development Report says: “Developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change — a crisis that is not of their making and for which they are the least prepared. Increasing access to energy and other services using high-carbon technologies will produce more greenhouse gases, hence more climate change.” ...
I really didn't need more proof the world bank is thoroughly evil, but thanks anyways.
Getcher karma, rethuglicunts.
What's the difference between religion and mental illness?
No, there's no punchline.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
No, there's no punchline.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
The only people who can understand loonies are other loonies. I don't even try unravelling twisted psyches and learning how they tick - that's no language I wish to learn, nosireebob.
...their tests found that the Ribena contained a tiny amount of vitamin C, while another brand's orange juice drink contained almost four times more.
"We thought we were doing it wrong. We thought we must have made a mistake," Anna told New Zealand's Weekend Herald. The girls were both 14 and students at Pakuranga College in Auckland when they did the experiment in 2004.
Given Ribena's advertising claims that "the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges", they were astonished and wrote to the manufacturers, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). When they got no response, they phoned the company, but were given short shrift. "They didn't even really answer our questions. They just said it's the blackcurrants that have it, then they hung up," Jenny said.
But then the girls' claims were picked up by a TV consumer affairs programme, Fair Go, which suggested they take their findings to the commerce commission, a government watchdog.
GSK said the girls had tested the wrong product, and it was concentrated syrup which had four times the vitamin C of oranges. But when the commerce commission investigated, it found that although blackcurrants have more vitamin C than oranges, the same was not true of Ribena. It also said ready-to-drink Ribena contained no detectable level of vitamin C.
GSK is in court in Auckland today facing 15 charges relating to misleading advertising, risking fines of up to NZ$3m (£1.1m). ...
"We thought we were doing it wrong. We thought we must have made a mistake," Anna told New Zealand's Weekend Herald. The girls were both 14 and students at Pakuranga College in Auckland when they did the experiment in 2004.
Given Ribena's advertising claims that "the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges", they were astonished and wrote to the manufacturers, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). When they got no response, they phoned the company, but were given short shrift. "They didn't even really answer our questions. They just said it's the blackcurrants that have it, then they hung up," Jenny said.
But then the girls' claims were picked up by a TV consumer affairs programme, Fair Go, which suggested they take their findings to the commerce commission, a government watchdog.
GSK said the girls had tested the wrong product, and it was concentrated syrup which had four times the vitamin C of oranges. But when the commerce commission investigated, it found that although blackcurrants have more vitamin C than oranges, the same was not true of Ribena. It also said ready-to-drink Ribena contained no detectable level of vitamin C.
GSK is in court in Auckland today facing 15 charges relating to misleading advertising, risking fines of up to NZ$3m (£1.1m). ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman for making me ask the classic question, What in holy hell is going on here?!
The Pope blames atheists for global warming. Pope Benedict is claiming atheists are responsible for the destruction of the environment. The Pope made the claims in a recent speech given at the Vatican. The claim is a puzzling attack on atheism that frankly makes little sense.
Excerpt from the Pope's speech:
“Is it not true that inconsiderate use of creation begins where God is marginalized or also where his existence is denied? If the human creature's relationship with the Creator weakens, matter is reduced to egoistic possession, man becomes the ‘final authority,’ and the objective of existence is reduced to a feverish race to possess the most possible.”
The irony is that any historical evaluation places the blame for global warming and the degradation of the planet firmly in the lap of Christians and the Catholic church. The Holy Bible, a book atheists firmly reject for good reason, claims that God gave man dominion over the earth. Christians, including Catholics, took these words to heart. They used those words as carte blanche, a justification for all manners of planetary abuse.
Christianity, and Catholicism, are historically anti-environmental. In fact, if blame is to be placed for the current global environmental crisis, it is to be placed squarely upon the Judeo-Christian tradition. The fact that Christianity is anti-environmental is no secret. Indeed, many Christians have taken a perverse pride in claiming their dominion. For example, James Watt, who became U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s, wrote an influential and damning article entitled "Ours Is the Earth". Watt, speaking for countless Christians, made it abundantly clear that for believers the earth is "merely a temporary way station on the road to eternal life...The earth was put here by the Lord for His people to subdue and to use for profitable purposes on their way to the hereafter."
For those of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the earth is, for all intents and purposes, disposable, nothing but a waiting room for eternity. As such the waiting room can be plundered in any fashion. After all, the earth is but a temporary and transient thing of no consequence when compared to the promise of eternity (pie in the sky, yum yum!). ...
Ta much for the afternoon's boggle o_0, dear Glenn321
Excerpt from the Pope's speech:
“Is it not true that inconsiderate use of creation begins where God is marginalized or also where his existence is denied? If the human creature's relationship with the Creator weakens, matter is reduced to egoistic possession, man becomes the ‘final authority,’ and the objective of existence is reduced to a feverish race to possess the most possible.”
The irony is that any historical evaluation places the blame for global warming and the degradation of the planet firmly in the lap of Christians and the Catholic church. The Holy Bible, a book atheists firmly reject for good reason, claims that God gave man dominion over the earth. Christians, including Catholics, took these words to heart. They used those words as carte blanche, a justification for all manners of planetary abuse.
Christianity, and Catholicism, are historically anti-environmental. In fact, if blame is to be placed for the current global environmental crisis, it is to be placed squarely upon the Judeo-Christian tradition. The fact that Christianity is anti-environmental is no secret. Indeed, many Christians have taken a perverse pride in claiming their dominion. For example, James Watt, who became U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s, wrote an influential and damning article entitled "Ours Is the Earth". Watt, speaking for countless Christians, made it abundantly clear that for believers the earth is "merely a temporary way station on the road to eternal life...The earth was put here by the Lord for His people to subdue and to use for profitable purposes on their way to the hereafter."
For those of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the earth is, for all intents and purposes, disposable, nothing but a waiting room for eternity. As such the waiting room can be plundered in any fashion. After all, the earth is but a temporary and transient thing of no consequence when compared to the promise of eternity (pie in the sky, yum yum!). ...
Ta much for the afternoon's boggle o_0, dear Glenn321
CIA threats to detainees' families exposed
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Monday 24 August 2009
An internal CIA report published yesterday reveals a host of incidents in which its interrogators went far beyond acceptable bounds, including threatening an al-Qaida leader that his children would be killed and hinting to another suspect that his mother would be raped in front of him.
The CIA document, which the agency fought for years to keep secret, was released after a court action by a civil rights group. It described interrogation techniques that were "unauthorised, improvised, inhumane and undocumented".
Interrogators, questioning al-Qaida and other suspects at Guantánamo and secret prisons round the world, took a power drill and a handgun into an interrogation room and also staged a mock execution in a cell next door.
The report says interrogators threatened Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, that if there was another attack on the US, "we're going to kill your children".
In a separate incident, an interrogator told a suspected al-Qaida leader, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, that if he did not talk "we could get your mother in here. We can bring your family in here". The report added that the interrogator wanted Nashiri to infer that the "interrogation technique involves sexually abusing female relatives in front of the detainee". ...
Go, usa. Rah rah fucking rah. Yippee. I'm so proud. Hooray.
/me vomits
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Monday 24 August 2009
An internal CIA report published yesterday reveals a host of incidents in which its interrogators went far beyond acceptable bounds, including threatening an al-Qaida leader that his children would be killed and hinting to another suspect that his mother would be raped in front of him.
The CIA document, which the agency fought for years to keep secret, was released after a court action by a civil rights group. It described interrogation techniques that were "unauthorised, improvised, inhumane and undocumented".
Interrogators, questioning al-Qaida and other suspects at Guantánamo and secret prisons round the world, took a power drill and a handgun into an interrogation room and also staged a mock execution in a cell next door.
The report says interrogators threatened Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, that if there was another attack on the US, "we're going to kill your children".
In a separate incident, an interrogator told a suspected al-Qaida leader, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, that if he did not talk "we could get your mother in here. We can bring your family in here". The report added that the interrogator wanted Nashiri to infer that the "interrogation technique involves sexually abusing female relatives in front of the detainee". ...
Go, usa. Rah rah fucking rah. Yippee. I'm so proud. Hooray.
/me vomits
The CIA's post-torture profits
Architects of a shameful chapter in the agency's history now reap rich rewards in the private sector. They must be held to account
o Tim Shorrock
o Tuesday 25 August 2009
Monday's release of the long-awaited CIA report on the agency's role in torture and interrogation brought me back to 1967, when I was a high school student opposed to the Vietnam war. Angry that my history teacher was only presenting the official story, I persuaded her to allow my class to read Vietnam! Vietnam!, a powerful indictment of the war by the British reporter Felix Greene. It was filled with disturbing images, including a haunting photograph of a Vietnamese fighter being waterboarded while American soldiers looked on. But my teacher and fellow students dismissed the book as propaganda, preferring instead the sanitised version of the war provided by the US government.
The CIA report, however, is the official word on the Bush-Cheney "war on terror". In gruesome detail, it shows how untrained CIA interrogators and private contractors, blessed by their superiors, inflicted detainees captured in the Middle East with "enhanced interrogation techniques" that ran the gamut from mock executions to threats to kill family members to waterboarding. While the intelligence provided important details about al-Qaida and some information about possible attacks, the report concluded that the interrogations violated US commitments to human rights and showed that the CIA "failed to provide adequate staffing, guidance and support" to those involved.
CIA director Leon Panetta attempted to downplay those findings by saying that "the challenge is not the battles of yesterday, but those of today and tomorrow". But we know from the American experience that is not true: as in Vietnam, we must come to grips with the fact that using the ends to justify the means has destroyed thousands of lives and stirred deep hatred for the US.
Curiously, there is a reference to the American cold war past in the CIA report. After Vietnam, it said, US interest in interrogation faded, only to re-emerge with US intervention in Central America as a way to "foster foreign liaison relationships" – presumably with the anti-communist governments such as El Salvador and Guatemala. But in the mid-1980s, after two CIA officers were investigated for killing a detainee – in a country blacked out in the report – the agency said it ended its so-called "human resource exploitation" programme. ...
Architects of a shameful chapter in the agency's history now reap rich rewards in the private sector. They must be held to account
o Tim Shorrock
o Tuesday 25 August 2009
Monday's release of the long-awaited CIA report on the agency's role in torture and interrogation brought me back to 1967, when I was a high school student opposed to the Vietnam war. Angry that my history teacher was only presenting the official story, I persuaded her to allow my class to read Vietnam! Vietnam!, a powerful indictment of the war by the British reporter Felix Greene. It was filled with disturbing images, including a haunting photograph of a Vietnamese fighter being waterboarded while American soldiers looked on. But my teacher and fellow students dismissed the book as propaganda, preferring instead the sanitised version of the war provided by the US government.
The CIA report, however, is the official word on the Bush-Cheney "war on terror". In gruesome detail, it shows how untrained CIA interrogators and private contractors, blessed by their superiors, inflicted detainees captured in the Middle East with "enhanced interrogation techniques" that ran the gamut from mock executions to threats to kill family members to waterboarding. While the intelligence provided important details about al-Qaida and some information about possible attacks, the report concluded that the interrogations violated US commitments to human rights and showed that the CIA "failed to provide adequate staffing, guidance and support" to those involved.
CIA director Leon Panetta attempted to downplay those findings by saying that "the challenge is not the battles of yesterday, but those of today and tomorrow". But we know from the American experience that is not true: as in Vietnam, we must come to grips with the fact that using the ends to justify the means has destroyed thousands of lives and stirred deep hatred for the US.
Curiously, there is a reference to the American cold war past in the CIA report. After Vietnam, it said, US interest in interrogation faded, only to re-emerge with US intervention in Central America as a way to "foster foreign liaison relationships" – presumably with the anti-communist governments such as El Salvador and Guatemala. But in the mid-1980s, after two CIA officers were investigated for killing a detainee – in a country blacked out in the report – the agency said it ended its so-called "human resource exploitation" programme. ...
There's nothing higher or more important than truth - unless you're a conservative.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Ta much, dear Anneliese
... In 1981, Alexander built a 200sq ft home for lab rats. Rat Park, as it became known, was kept clean and temperate, while the rats were supplied with plenty of food and toys, along with places to dig, rest and mate. Alexander even painted the walls with a soothing natural backdrop of lakes and trees. He then installed two drips, one containing a morphine solution, the other plain water. This was rat heaven: but would happy rats develop morphine habits?
Try as he might, Alexander could not make junkies out of his rats. Even after being force-fed morphine for two months, when given the option, they chose plain water, despite experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms. He laced the morphine with sugar, but still they ignored it. Only when he added Naloxone, an opiate inhibitor, to the sugared morphine water, did they drink it.
Alexander simultaneously monitored rats kept in "normal" lab conditions: they consistently chose the morphine drip over plain water, sometimes consuming 16-20 times more than the Rat Parkers.
Alexander's findings - that deprived rats seek solace in opiates, while contented rats avoid them - dramatically contradict our currently held beliefs about addiction. So, how might society benefit if his results were applied to human addicts? Nobody seemed to care. ...
Ta much, dear DontheFox
Try as he might, Alexander could not make junkies out of his rats. Even after being force-fed morphine for two months, when given the option, they chose plain water, despite experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms. He laced the morphine with sugar, but still they ignored it. Only when he added Naloxone, an opiate inhibitor, to the sugared morphine water, did they drink it.
Alexander simultaneously monitored rats kept in "normal" lab conditions: they consistently chose the morphine drip over plain water, sometimes consuming 16-20 times more than the Rat Parkers.
Alexander's findings - that deprived rats seek solace in opiates, while contented rats avoid them - dramatically contradict our currently held beliefs about addiction. So, how might society benefit if his results were applied to human addicts? Nobody seemed to care. ...
Ta much, dear DontheFox
August 6, 2009
Secret mission to expose L. Ron Hubbard as a fake
Dominic Kennedy, Investigations Editor
The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was exposed as a fraud 30 years ago by British diplomats who were investigating his qualifications.
The science-fiction writer, who invented a religion now followed by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, awarded himself a PhD from a sham “diploma mill” college that he had acquired, the diplomats found.
Such was the climate of fear and paranoia surrounding Scientology that the US believed the sect had sent bogus doctors to declare a high-ranking legal investigator mad and then taken his papers relating to the case.
Scientologists threatened to sue the British Government for libel after it acted in 1968 to ban followers from entering the country to visit the sect’s world headquarters in East Grinstead, West Sussex.
To defend itself, Britain needed to establish whether Lafayette Ron Hubbard was a charlatan. ...
Secret mission to expose L. Ron Hubbard as a fake
Dominic Kennedy, Investigations Editor
The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was exposed as a fraud 30 years ago by British diplomats who were investigating his qualifications.
The science-fiction writer, who invented a religion now followed by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, awarded himself a PhD from a sham “diploma mill” college that he had acquired, the diplomats found.
Such was the climate of fear and paranoia surrounding Scientology that the US believed the sect had sent bogus doctors to declare a high-ranking legal investigator mad and then taken his papers relating to the case.
Scientologists threatened to sue the British Government for libel after it acted in 1968 to ban followers from entering the country to visit the sect’s world headquarters in East Grinstead, West Sussex.
To defend itself, Britain needed to establish whether Lafayette Ron Hubbard was a charlatan. ...
Cockrel goes to cops on Conyers' missing stuff
BY NAOMI R. PATTON AND BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • August 7, 2009
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. today asked police to investigate the disappearance of more than $21,000 worth of city-owned equipment from the office of former Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers.
A Cockrel staffer hand-delivered to police a package that included the inventory of equipment found missing after she resigned, plus correspondence with Cockrel and her attorney.
Cockrel said he has not yet spoken to Police Chief Warren Evans or Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy since the package was delivered.
“We just got to a point where it became very clear we were not getting cooperation from either her or her attorney,” Cockrel said. “We’ve been promised, on a couple of occasions, a written response.”
He said attorneys with the council’s Research and Analysis Division have been the primary contact with Conyers' lawyer, Steve Fishman.
Fishman laughed today when informed of Cockrel’s report to police.
“I don’t have anything to add to what I said before,” Fishman said, before hanging up the phone.
Last month, Fishman said of the allegations: “"Monica Conyers did not take any property belonging to the City of Detroit, nor did she authorize anyone else to do so."
Cockrel initially sent Conyers a letter, dated July 23, telling her her that 29 items, valued at $21,300, were missing from her council offices. He asked her to arrange for the items – including, desktop computers, printers, a camcorder; and two digital cameras – to be returned, or “the items will be deemed stolen property and I will forward this documentation to the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office."
Since then two of the laptops -- an Apple MacBook and a Hewlett Packard PC -- and a computer carrying case have been returned, reportedly on Conyers behalf, by a former staffer. ...
She's just an evil, lyin,' t'iefin' bitch.
BY NAOMI R. PATTON AND BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • August 7, 2009
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. today asked police to investigate the disappearance of more than $21,000 worth of city-owned equipment from the office of former Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers.
A Cockrel staffer hand-delivered to police a package that included the inventory of equipment found missing after she resigned, plus correspondence with Cockrel and her attorney.
Cockrel said he has not yet spoken to Police Chief Warren Evans or Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy since the package was delivered.
“We just got to a point where it became very clear we were not getting cooperation from either her or her attorney,” Cockrel said. “We’ve been promised, on a couple of occasions, a written response.”
He said attorneys with the council’s Research and Analysis Division have been the primary contact with Conyers' lawyer, Steve Fishman.
Fishman laughed today when informed of Cockrel’s report to police.
“I don’t have anything to add to what I said before,” Fishman said, before hanging up the phone.
Last month, Fishman said of the allegations: “"Monica Conyers did not take any property belonging to the City of Detroit, nor did she authorize anyone else to do so."
Cockrel initially sent Conyers a letter, dated July 23, telling her her that 29 items, valued at $21,300, were missing from her council offices. He asked her to arrange for the items – including, desktop computers, printers, a camcorder; and two digital cameras – to be returned, or “the items will be deemed stolen property and I will forward this documentation to the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office."
Since then two of the laptops -- an Apple MacBook and a Hewlett Packard PC -- and a computer carrying case have been returned, reportedly on Conyers behalf, by a former staffer. ...
She's just an evil, lyin,' t'iefin' bitch.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? indeed, Juvenal.
Lubna Hussein: justice deferred
Lubna Hussein's trial for 'indecent dressing' has been postponed. But whatever the result she has struck a blow for women's rights
Nesrine Malik
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Lubna Hussein's trial for 'indecent dressing' has been postponed. But whatever the result she has struck a blow for women's rights
Nesrine Malik
Wednesday 5 August 2009
August 5, 2009
Blackwater boss and guards accused of murder and 'killing Iraqis for fun'
Founder of security firm saw himself as a Christian Crusader whose task was to eliminate Muslims, former employees allege
Deborah Haynes, Defence Correspondent
Two former employees of Blackwater have accused the private US security firm and its founder of killing Iraqis for fun, smuggling weapons and deceiving the State Department.
The men, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation — one claimed that Blackwater management threatened to kill him — also claimed they had learnt that at least one person who has or planned to speak out against the US firm and its founder Erik Prince was “killed in mysterious circumstances”.
The claims were made in sworn statements filed in a court in Virginia earlier this week as part of a civil lawsuit by families of several Iraqis allegedly killed by Blackwater guards.
The ex-Blackwater workers, a former Marine identified as John Doe No 1 and another man identified as John Doe No 2, are American citizens.
John Doe No 2 makes a series of accusations against Mr Prince. He says the Blackwater Worldwide boss “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe”, according to his declaration posted, along with a series of other legal documents, on the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) website.
“To that end, Mr Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.”
He adds that "on several occasions after my departure from Mr Prince's employ, Mr Prince's management has personally threatened me with death or violence. In addition, based on information provided to me by former colleagues it appears that Mr Prince and his employees murdered or had murdered one or more persons who have provided information or were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." ...
Well done the commenter who tosses prince into the same barrel as the other terrorists.
Blackwater boss and guards accused of murder and 'killing Iraqis for fun'
Founder of security firm saw himself as a Christian Crusader whose task was to eliminate Muslims, former employees allege
Deborah Haynes, Defence Correspondent
Two former employees of Blackwater have accused the private US security firm and its founder of killing Iraqis for fun, smuggling weapons and deceiving the State Department.
The men, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation — one claimed that Blackwater management threatened to kill him — also claimed they had learnt that at least one person who has or planned to speak out against the US firm and its founder Erik Prince was “killed in mysterious circumstances”.
The claims were made in sworn statements filed in a court in Virginia earlier this week as part of a civil lawsuit by families of several Iraqis allegedly killed by Blackwater guards.
The ex-Blackwater workers, a former Marine identified as John Doe No 1 and another man identified as John Doe No 2, are American citizens.
John Doe No 2 makes a series of accusations against Mr Prince. He says the Blackwater Worldwide boss “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe”, according to his declaration posted, along with a series of other legal documents, on the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) website.
“To that end, Mr Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.”
He adds that "on several occasions after my departure from Mr Prince's employ, Mr Prince's management has personally threatened me with death or violence. In addition, based on information provided to me by former colleagues it appears that Mr Prince and his employees murdered or had murdered one or more persons who have provided information or were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." ...
Well done the commenter who tosses prince into the same barrel as the other terrorists.
Sudan police beat protesters as woman goes on trial for wearing trousers
Case against former UN worker Lubna Hussein, who faces 40 lashes for 'indecent dressing', is adjourned
* Xan Rice in Nairobi and agencies
* Tuesday 4 August 2009 11.31 BST
Police fired teargas and beat supporters of a Sudanese woman facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public shortly before her trial was adjourned this morning.
Police in Khartoum moved in swiftly and dispersed about 50 protesters, mostly women, who were supporting Lubna Hussein, a former UN worker charged with "indecent dressing" in violation of the country's Islamic laws.
Some of the women demonstrators wore trousers in solidarity with Hussein. "We are here to protest against this law that oppresses women and debases them," said Amal Habani, a female columnist for the daily newspaper Ajraa al-Hurria (Bells of Freedom).
Hussein's trial was later adjourned until September by a judge to seek clarification from Sudan's foreign ministry over her status.
At the time of her arrest, Hussein was working for the media department of the UN mission in Sudan, which gives her immunity from prosecution. She submitted her resignation after her trial began last week because she wanted to go on trial to challenge the dress code law. ...
Have these idiots never heard of salwar kameez, FFS?!
Case against former UN worker Lubna Hussein, who faces 40 lashes for 'indecent dressing', is adjourned
* Xan Rice in Nairobi and agencies
* Tuesday 4 August 2009 11.31 BST
Police fired teargas and beat supporters of a Sudanese woman facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public shortly before her trial was adjourned this morning.
Police in Khartoum moved in swiftly and dispersed about 50 protesters, mostly women, who were supporting Lubna Hussein, a former UN worker charged with "indecent dressing" in violation of the country's Islamic laws.
Some of the women demonstrators wore trousers in solidarity with Hussein. "We are here to protest against this law that oppresses women and debases them," said Amal Habani, a female columnist for the daily newspaper Ajraa al-Hurria (Bells of Freedom).
Hussein's trial was later adjourned until September by a judge to seek clarification from Sudan's foreign ministry over her status.
At the time of her arrest, Hussein was working for the media department of the UN mission in Sudan, which gives her immunity from prosecution. She submitted her resignation after her trial began last week because she wanted to go on trial to challenge the dress code law. ...
Have these idiots never heard of salwar kameez, FFS?!
... “At any given time, someone might be filming you,” said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel, whose department passed along to the feds a case against a man accused of spying on his neighbor’s 10-year-old daughter by hiding a camera in her bathroom.
“These things are very small and very inexpensive,” Hackel said. “And with the good comes the bad.” ...
“These things are very small and very inexpensive,” Hackel said. “And with the good comes the bad.” ...
After Tenenbaum, who will take back the music industry from the RIAA?
By Angela Gunn | Published July 31, 2009
Because the Joel Tenenbaum trial hasn't been maddening enough, Engadget yesterday had a little item on how the RIAA is claiming that customers ought to just suck it up and accept that DRMed tracks will go poof even if they've been paid for, since no other products or service providers are expected to "provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works." That's interesting coming from a group that claims that alone of all industries, copyright holders somehow deserve to get paid in perpetuity for their output. I guess forever looks a lot longer when it includes server-maintenance duties. ...
... I think the recording industry is a culture-gutting abomination, and that the entire outfit ought to be torched like Rome during a Nero violin recital. Whatever figure the jury arrives at, the artists Mr. Tenenbaum loves will never see a cent of it; after over a century of treating most artists like sharecroppers, "the industry" takes the droit de seigneur approach to windfall profit.
Music is so much more than the music industry, and for the sake of music -- the transmission of it, the longevity of the worthwhile stuff -- I hope the industry which treats one of humankind's most powerful communication devices and repositories of memory like so much chattel withers and dies.
Now that distribution is a non-issue, A&R guys, vice-presidents of promotion, global distribution managers -- to all of the ranks that stand between us and the artists...
Buh-bye, hope an honest day's work happens to you someday. ...
By Angela Gunn | Published July 31, 2009
Because the Joel Tenenbaum trial hasn't been maddening enough, Engadget yesterday had a little item on how the RIAA is claiming that customers ought to just suck it up and accept that DRMed tracks will go poof even if they've been paid for, since no other products or service providers are expected to "provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works." That's interesting coming from a group that claims that alone of all industries, copyright holders somehow deserve to get paid in perpetuity for their output. I guess forever looks a lot longer when it includes server-maintenance duties. ...
... I think the recording industry is a culture-gutting abomination, and that the entire outfit ought to be torched like Rome during a Nero violin recital. Whatever figure the jury arrives at, the artists Mr. Tenenbaum loves will never see a cent of it; after over a century of treating most artists like sharecroppers, "the industry" takes the droit de seigneur approach to windfall profit.
Music is so much more than the music industry, and for the sake of music -- the transmission of it, the longevity of the worthwhile stuff -- I hope the industry which treats one of humankind's most powerful communication devices and repositories of memory like so much chattel withers and dies.
Now that distribution is a non-issue, A&R guys, vice-presidents of promotion, global distribution managers -- to all of the ranks that stand between us and the artists...
Buh-bye, hope an honest day's work happens to you someday. ...
"Baboons are evil."
-- Graham Norton
-- Graham Norton
The race row that has inflamed the US took a bizarre twist last night when a Boston police officer was suspended for abusing Harvard scholar Professor Henry Louis Gates and calling him "a banana eating jungle monkey".
Hours before President Barack Obama was to sit down at the White House for a beer with Professor Gates and Sergeant James Crowley to calm tensions over the academic's arrest, it emerged that another police officer, Justin Barrett, was accused of sending an insulting email about Professor Gates to a local newspaper.
In a furious and at times ungrammatical rant at a reporter on the Boston Globe newspaper, the anonymous email, allegedly written by Officer Barrett said: "If I were the officer he (Professor Gates) verbally assaulted like a banana eating jungle monkey I would have sprayed him in the face with OC (capsicum spray)."
Later in the email, quoted in full on the website MyFoxBoston.com. the 36-year-old former English teacher suggested the headline for the newspaper's article on Professor Gates' arrest should read: "Conduct Unbecoming a Jungle Monkey - back to one's roots."
The Boston Police Department suspended Mr Barrett when the existence of the email became known. A spokesman for the police force said in a statement: "Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis placed Officer Justin Barrett, 36, on administrative leave pending the outcome of a termination hearing.
"Commissioner Davis was made aware of a correspondence with racist remarks and yesterday re[lie]ved the officer of his gun and badge." ...
Hours before President Barack Obama was to sit down at the White House for a beer with Professor Gates and Sergeant James Crowley to calm tensions over the academic's arrest, it emerged that another police officer, Justin Barrett, was accused of sending an insulting email about Professor Gates to a local newspaper.
In a furious and at times ungrammatical rant at a reporter on the Boston Globe newspaper, the anonymous email, allegedly written by Officer Barrett said: "If I were the officer he (Professor Gates) verbally assaulted like a banana eating jungle monkey I would have sprayed him in the face with OC (capsicum spray)."
Later in the email, quoted in full on the website MyFoxBoston.com. the 36-year-old former English teacher suggested the headline for the newspaper's article on Professor Gates' arrest should read: "Conduct Unbecoming a Jungle Monkey - back to one's roots."
The Boston Police Department suspended Mr Barrett when the existence of the email became known. A spokesman for the police force said in a statement: "Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis placed Officer Justin Barrett, 36, on administrative leave pending the outcome of a termination hearing.
"Commissioner Davis was made aware of a correspondence with racist remarks and yesterday re[lie]ved the officer of his gun and badge." ...
... In most countries, you have two major political parties or broad factions. They disagree on many things. But both begin by accepting certain suppositions. I would imagine that in Britain, for instance, both Labour and the Tories think healthcare for all or at least most people is a good idea. They have different notions about how to do it, but the goal is agreed upon. I gather also that the Tories accept the basic idea that global warming exists and that man's actions have contributed to it.
But American conservatism does not believe healthcare for all or most is a desired outcome at all. Conservatives believe people are responsible for their own healthcare, and that people who don't have it just aren't showing enough pluck and initiative. Last Thursday, one Republican congressman announced that the party wouldn't even offer its own version of healthcare legislation – and this man runs the party's so-called Solutions Group! And on climate change, of course, most deny its existence, and all deny that human activity has played any role in it whatsoever. ...
gop = grand obstructionist party
But American conservatism does not believe healthcare for all or most is a desired outcome at all. Conservatives believe people are responsible for their own healthcare, and that people who don't have it just aren't showing enough pluck and initiative. Last Thursday, one Republican congressman announced that the party wouldn't even offer its own version of healthcare legislation – and this man runs the party's so-called Solutions Group! And on climate change, of course, most deny its existence, and all deny that human activity has played any role in it whatsoever. ...
gop = grand obstructionist party
Fuck you, riaa.
How very puerile of you, chinastan.
... Eastern Kentucky University professor Peter Kraska told the Washington Post that SWAT teams are currently sent out 40,000 times a year in the U.S. During the 1980's, SWAT teams were only used 3,000 times a year. Most of the time, SWAT teams are being sent out to simply serve warrants on non-violent drug offenders.
Many municipalities are using Homeland Security grants to even purchase large armored vehicles. The Pittsburgh Police Department now uses their 20-ton armored truck complete with rotating turret and gun ports to deliver many of their warrants. Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Barry Budd recently told the Associate Press: "We live on being prepared for 'what if'."
The training being given at many police academies appears to be the type of tactics one would use in Baghdad, rather than Baltimore. It would seem that our police officers are being readied for war, with the American public as the enemy. In the last several years, there has been a transformation from community policing to pre-emptive assaults
On January 24, 2006, Dr. Salvatore Culosi was shot and killed outside his house by a Fairfax County SWAT officer. Police used the SWAT team to serve a documents search warrant, after Dr. Culosi came under suspicion for taking sports bets. The investigation began after Fairfax Detective David Baucom solicited a bet with Dr. Culosi at a local sports bar.
Dr. Culosi was standing outside his home while talking with Det. Baucom, when SWAT Officer Deval Bullock quickly approached with his gun drawn and fatally shot Dr. Culosi in the chest. Court documents report that Culosi never made any threatening movements and made no attempt to run as he watched the SWAT team move in around him.
Dr. Culosi had no history of violence nor any criminal history whatsoever. He operated two successful optometry clinics at Wal-Marts in Manassas and Warrenton, Va. His parents have filed a $12 million lawsuit against the county of Fairfax, Va. ...
Land of the free and home of the brave, huh?
Many municipalities are using Homeland Security grants to even purchase large armored vehicles. The Pittsburgh Police Department now uses their 20-ton armored truck complete with rotating turret and gun ports to deliver many of their warrants. Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Barry Budd recently told the Associate Press: "We live on being prepared for 'what if'."
The training being given at many police academies appears to be the type of tactics one would use in Baghdad, rather than Baltimore. It would seem that our police officers are being readied for war, with the American public as the enemy. In the last several years, there has been a transformation from community policing to pre-emptive assaults
On January 24, 2006, Dr. Salvatore Culosi was shot and killed outside his house by a Fairfax County SWAT officer. Police used the SWAT team to serve a documents search warrant, after Dr. Culosi came under suspicion for taking sports bets. The investigation began after Fairfax Detective David Baucom solicited a bet with Dr. Culosi at a local sports bar.
Dr. Culosi was standing outside his home while talking with Det. Baucom, when SWAT Officer Deval Bullock quickly approached with his gun drawn and fatally shot Dr. Culosi in the chest. Court documents report that Culosi never made any threatening movements and made no attempt to run as he watched the SWAT team move in around him.
Dr. Culosi had no history of violence nor any criminal history whatsoever. He operated two successful optometry clinics at Wal-Marts in Manassas and Warrenton, Va. His parents have filed a $12 million lawsuit against the county of Fairfax, Va. ...
Land of the free and home of the brave, huh?
Monica Conyers' wrist slap is wrong message
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 16, 2009
Someone in the local U.S. Attorney's Office may have some 'splainin to do.
They have it all backward in the ongoing city hall corruption probe.
Here's why.
Based on the indictment handed down Wednesday of political consultant Sam Riddle, it seems prosecutors believe Riddle and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers were running a pretty robust shakedown operation.
The documents say they hit up a strip club owner for $25,000, extorted $20,000 each from a technology company and a restaurant, and tried to put the arm on a real estate developer.
Riddle's facing a slew of charges related to each of those acts, as well as his involvement with Conyers on the rotten Synagro sludge deal and some other stuff. By statute, he could face a sentence in excess of 100 (yes, one hundred) years.
But Conyers, if you'll remember, copped a plea a few weeks ago to one count of conspiracy in the Synagro deal. And even though she's mentioned about as often as Riddle in his indictment, she isn't being charged for any of the non-Synagro schemes they allegedly hatched. She faces 5 years max in federal prison -- one-twentieth of the time Riddle could get.
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense.
Conyers was the public official involved here, the one who took an oath to serve the public faithfully, and the one who had the power to deliver on any favors she and Riddle concocted to sell. ...
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 16, 2009
Someone in the local U.S. Attorney's Office may have some 'splainin to do.
They have it all backward in the ongoing city hall corruption probe.
Here's why.
Based on the indictment handed down Wednesday of political consultant Sam Riddle, it seems prosecutors believe Riddle and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers were running a pretty robust shakedown operation.
The documents say they hit up a strip club owner for $25,000, extorted $20,000 each from a technology company and a restaurant, and tried to put the arm on a real estate developer.
Riddle's facing a slew of charges related to each of those acts, as well as his involvement with Conyers on the rotten Synagro sludge deal and some other stuff. By statute, he could face a sentence in excess of 100 (yes, one hundred) years.
But Conyers, if you'll remember, copped a plea a few weeks ago to one count of conspiracy in the Synagro deal. And even though she's mentioned about as often as Riddle in his indictment, she isn't being charged for any of the non-Synagro schemes they allegedly hatched. She faces 5 years max in federal prison -- one-twentieth of the time Riddle could get.
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense.
Conyers was the public official involved here, the one who took an oath to serve the public faithfully, and the one who had the power to deliver on any favors she and Riddle concocted to sell. ...
... “You’d better get my loot, that’s all I know,” Conyers is quoted as telling Riddle regarding a payment from a restaurant owner.
Riddle passed her $10,000 in that caper, the indictment says. ...
... Conyers first took office in January 2006. Just 15 months later, according to the indictment, Conyers and Riddle began their extortion racket.
The indictment charges:
• Conyers conspired with Riddle to hit up the owner of a technology company for $20,000 to make Riddle a bogus “consultant.”
• Conyers and Riddle pressured a Detroit restaurant owner to pay Riddle $20,000 for another “consulting job” that didn’t exist.
• Conyers and Riddle received $25,000 from the owner of a strip club with an issue before the city council.
• Conyers and Riddle attempted to receive money in another faux “consulting contract” for Riddle, this time with a real estate developer.
Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, became notorious for her bad temper in public. In private, she appears to be equally difficult. The indictment portrays her as nagging Riddle and ordering him to carry out her orders in their various schemes.
“This bitch is a trip,” Riddle told an owner of the technology company, explaining Conyers was eager to receive the owner’s final $5,000 payment.
“Work on the, uh, five thing,” Riddle advised, “so I can keep her chilled out and stuff.”
Riddle passed her $10,000 in that caper, the indictment says. ...
... Conyers first took office in January 2006. Just 15 months later, according to the indictment, Conyers and Riddle began their extortion racket.
The indictment charges:
• Conyers conspired with Riddle to hit up the owner of a technology company for $20,000 to make Riddle a bogus “consultant.”
• Conyers and Riddle pressured a Detroit restaurant owner to pay Riddle $20,000 for another “consulting job” that didn’t exist.
• Conyers and Riddle received $25,000 from the owner of a strip club with an issue before the city council.
• Conyers and Riddle attempted to receive money in another faux “consulting contract” for Riddle, this time with a real estate developer.
Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, became notorious for her bad temper in public. In private, she appears to be equally difficult. The indictment portrays her as nagging Riddle and ordering him to carry out her orders in their various schemes.
“This bitch is a trip,” Riddle told an owner of the technology company, explaining Conyers was eager to receive the owner’s final $5,000 payment.
“Work on the, uh, five thing,” Riddle advised, “so I can keep her chilled out and stuff.”
News of the World phone hacking: CPS to undertake urgent review of evidence | Media | guardian.co.uk
News of the World phone hacking: CPS to undertake urgent review of evidence
• Metropolitan Police rules out new investigation
• News International: 'Confidentiality obligations' prevent comment on 'certain' Guardian allegations
• Andy Coulson may face Commons culture select committee
• David Cameron defends his communications chief
• Gordon Brown: 'This raises serious questions'
* James Robinson, Andrew Sparrow and Leigh Holmwood
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009
The Crown Prosecution Service today said it would undertake an urgent review of evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case, after the Metropolitan Police revealed it did not plan a further investigation of the allegations.
However, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor, now the Tory communications chief, could be grilled by MPs for a Commons inquiry into the affair.
Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, said he had ordered an "urgent examination" of material provided by the police in the News of the World case three years ago. He added that the process will take time but he hopes to make a further statement in coming days. ...
• Metropolitan Police rules out new investigation
• News International: 'Confidentiality obligations' prevent comment on 'certain' Guardian allegations
• Andy Coulson may face Commons culture select committee
• David Cameron defends his communications chief
• Gordon Brown: 'This raises serious questions'
* James Robinson, Andrew Sparrow and Leigh Holmwood
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009
The Crown Prosecution Service today said it would undertake an urgent review of evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case, after the Metropolitan Police revealed it did not plan a further investigation of the allegations.
However, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor, now the Tory communications chief, could be grilled by MPs for a Commons inquiry into the affair.
Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, said he had ordered an "urgent examination" of material provided by the police in the News of the World case three years ago. He added that the process will take time but he hopes to make a further statement in coming days. ...
Just think: 2-3 thousand £million lawsuits. That'd take the wind outta ol' rupee's sails, what what?
rupee should know better than to fuck with rich people.
Idiot.
You know damn well he'd sue hell outta anyone who tapped/hacked his phone, FFS!!
rupee should know better than to fuck with rich people.
Idiot.
You know damn well he'd sue hell outta anyone who tapped/hacked his phone, FFS!!
News of the World phone-hacking affair 'very serious', says Gordon Brown | Politics | guardian.co.uk
... Chris Huhne, the Lib Dems' home affairs spokesman, said: "It is extraordinary that the leader of the opposition, who wants to be a prime minister, employs Andy Coulson, who at best was responsible for a newspaper that was out of control and at worst was personally [involved] with criminal activity. The exact parallel is surely with Damian McBride. If the prime minister was right to sack Damian McBride, should the leader of the opposition not sack Andy Coulson?"
Hanson told MPs that phone-hacking without authority was a criminal offence punishable with a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, prompted laughter as he urged everyone in the house to give a "measured response" to the issues raised and leave it to the police to decide whether there was "any new information that warrants further action".
Hanson told MPs that phone-hacking without authority was a criminal offence punishable with a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, prompted laughter as he urged everyone in the house to give a "measured response" to the issues raised and leave it to the police to decide whether there was "any new information that warrants further action".
... "If you imagine there was something of real major importance, you could have a public interest defence. But breaking into Gwyneth Paltrow's voicemail after she's just had a baby is not in the public interest. I'm at a loss to know what the public interest might be."
He also said the police had to explain why they failed to tell top politicians that their phones had been hacked into.
Neil said the story raised serious questions for Scotland Yard, top prosecutors and for judges: "It's not just a media story, it raises serious questions about the police.
"The police learn that the deputy prime minister has had his mobile phone compromised and they don't tell him. I just don't understand that.
"The police investigation unearthed evidence of clear wrongdoing and the Crown Prosecution Service does nothing."
He added: "The court is faced with evidence of conspiracy and systemic illegal actions and agrees to seal the evidence. All that is completely wrong, I just don't understand it."
Speaking earlier, on the BBC's Newsnight programme: "This is our criminal justice system in the dock."
Neil also said News International may face legal action from those who were victims of the phone hacking, a so called class action: "News International could face a class action by people who want to mount a class action to unseal those documents. There could be the most almighty class action, you're talking about multimillion pound losses. That gets scary.
"If this was in the US, shares in News International would collapse tonight." ...
Shares in "news" international should collapse tonight!
He also said the police had to explain why they failed to tell top politicians that their phones had been hacked into.
Neil said the story raised serious questions for Scotland Yard, top prosecutors and for judges: "It's not just a media story, it raises serious questions about the police.
"The police learn that the deputy prime minister has had his mobile phone compromised and they don't tell him. I just don't understand that.
"The police investigation unearthed evidence of clear wrongdoing and the Crown Prosecution Service does nothing."
He added: "The court is faced with evidence of conspiracy and systemic illegal actions and agrees to seal the evidence. All that is completely wrong, I just don't understand it."
Speaking earlier, on the BBC's Newsnight programme: "This is our criminal justice system in the dock."
Neil also said News International may face legal action from those who were victims of the phone hacking, a so called class action: "News International could face a class action by people who want to mount a class action to unseal those documents. There could be the most almighty class action, you're talking about multimillion pound losses. That gets scary.
"If this was in the US, shares in News International would collapse tonight." ...
Shares in "news" international should collapse tonight!
Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims
• News of the World bugging led to £700,000 payout to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor
• Sun editor Rebekah Wade and Conservative communications chief Andy Coulson – both ex-NoW editors – involved
• News International chairman Les Hinton told MPs reporter jailed for phone-hacking was one-off case
Nick Davies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 July 2009
... The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.
Today, the Guardian reveals details of the suppressed evidence which may open the door to hundreds more legal actions by victims of News Group, the Murdoch company that publishes the News of the World and the Sun, as well as provoking police inquiries into reporters who were involved and the senior executives responsible for them.
The evidence also poses difficult questions for:
• Conservative leader David Cameron's director of communications, Andy Coulson, who was deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World when, the suppressed evidence shows, journalists for whom he was responsible were engaging in hundreds of apparently illegal acts
• Murdoch executives who, albeit in good faith, have misled a parliamentary select committee, the Press Complaints Commission and the public
• The Metropolitan police, who did not alert all those whose phones were targeted, and the Crown Prosecution Service, which did not pursue all possible charges against News Group personnel
• The Press Complaints Commission, which claimed to have conducted an investigation but failed to uncover any evidence of illegal activity.
The suppressed legal cases are linked to the jailing in January 2007 of News of the World reporter Clive Goodman for hacking into the mobile phones of three royal staff, an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. At the time, News International said it knew of no other journalist who was involved in hacking phones and that Goodman had been acting without their knowledge.
However, one senior source at the Metropolitan police told the Guardian that during the Goodman inquiry, officers had found evidence of News Group staff using private investigators who hacked into "thousands" of mobile phones. Another source with direct knowledge of the police findings put the figure at "two or three thousand" mobiles. They suggest that MPs from all three parties and cabinet ministers, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, were among the targets. News International has always maintained that it has no knowledge of phone hacking by anybody acting on its behalf.
A private investigator who had been working on contract for News Group, Glenn Mulcaire, was also jailed in January 2007. He admitted hacking into the phones of five other targets, including Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association. Among those phones Mulcaire hacked into were the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, celebrity PR Max Clifford, model Elle MacPherson and football agent Sky Andrew. News Group denied all knowledge of the hacking, but Taylor last year sued them on the basis that they must have known about it. ...
Won't see this story at faux news, you betcha.
• News of the World bugging led to £700,000 payout to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor
• Sun editor Rebekah Wade and Conservative communications chief Andy Coulson – both ex-NoW editors – involved
• News International chairman Les Hinton told MPs reporter jailed for phone-hacking was one-off case
Nick Davies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 July 2009
... The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.
Today, the Guardian reveals details of the suppressed evidence which may open the door to hundreds more legal actions by victims of News Group, the Murdoch company that publishes the News of the World and the Sun, as well as provoking police inquiries into reporters who were involved and the senior executives responsible for them.
The evidence also poses difficult questions for:
• Conservative leader David Cameron's director of communications, Andy Coulson, who was deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World when, the suppressed evidence shows, journalists for whom he was responsible were engaging in hundreds of apparently illegal acts
• Murdoch executives who, albeit in good faith, have misled a parliamentary select committee, the Press Complaints Commission and the public
• The Metropolitan police, who did not alert all those whose phones were targeted, and the Crown Prosecution Service, which did not pursue all possible charges against News Group personnel
• The Press Complaints Commission, which claimed to have conducted an investigation but failed to uncover any evidence of illegal activity.
The suppressed legal cases are linked to the jailing in January 2007 of News of the World reporter Clive Goodman for hacking into the mobile phones of three royal staff, an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. At the time, News International said it knew of no other journalist who was involved in hacking phones and that Goodman had been acting without their knowledge.
However, one senior source at the Metropolitan police told the Guardian that during the Goodman inquiry, officers had found evidence of News Group staff using private investigators who hacked into "thousands" of mobile phones. Another source with direct knowledge of the police findings put the figure at "two or three thousand" mobiles. They suggest that MPs from all three parties and cabinet ministers, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, were among the targets. News International has always maintained that it has no knowledge of phone hacking by anybody acting on its behalf.
A private investigator who had been working on contract for News Group, Glenn Mulcaire, was also jailed in January 2007. He admitted hacking into the phones of five other targets, including Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association. Among those phones Mulcaire hacked into were the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, celebrity PR Max Clifford, model Elle MacPherson and football agent Sky Andrew. News Group denied all knowledge of the hacking, but Taylor last year sued them on the basis that they must have known about it. ...
Won't see this story at faux news, you betcha.
July 8, 2009
Bankers to face draconian pay veto
Suzy Jagger, Politics and Business Correspondent
City regulators will be able to veto the pay deals of bank executives under new proposals set out today by Alistair Darling.
Addressing MPs in the House of Commons, the Chancellor said that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will monitor the structure of bankers' remuneration packages and produce a report on them every year.
Should the City watchdog find that an executive's pay encourages the financier to take risky investment decisions, it can order the lender to put aside more capital in reserve. Any such requirement would reduce a bank's profitability and, the Treasury believes, act as an effective veto.
"We need a change of culture in the banks and their boardrooms, with pay practices that are focused on long-term stability and not short-term profit," Mr Darling said. ...
Bankers to face draconian pay veto
Suzy Jagger, Politics and Business Correspondent
City regulators will be able to veto the pay deals of bank executives under new proposals set out today by Alistair Darling.
Addressing MPs in the House of Commons, the Chancellor said that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will monitor the structure of bankers' remuneration packages and produce a report on them every year.
Should the City watchdog find that an executive's pay encourages the financier to take risky investment decisions, it can order the lender to put aside more capital in reserve. Any such requirement would reduce a bank's profitability and, the Treasury believes, act as an effective veto.
"We need a change of culture in the banks and their boardrooms, with pay practices that are focused on long-term stability and not short-term profit," Mr Darling said. ...
Stupid; don't wanna insult cows; etc
Fuck you, chinastan. When the hell are you gonna stop acting like your founder and start treating people like human beings?
June 23, 2009
BNP faces legal challenge to whites-only membership
Fiona Hamilton, London Correspondent
The British National Party was today accused of operating illegally and threatened with an injunction over its whites-only membership policy.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission threatened the legal action over what it claimed were “potential breaches” of race discrimination law by the far-right nationalist party.
The commission has set a July 20 deadline for the party to address the issues, or face court action.
It said that the BNP needed to reassess its constitution and membership criteria, employment practices and provision of services to the public and constituents.
It believes that the party may discriminate on the grounds of race and colour, contrary to the Race Relations Act, because it restricts members to those regarded as particular “ethnic groups”.
In a statement the commission said: “This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act, which the party is legally obliged to comply with. The commission therefore thinks that the BNP may have acted, and be acting, illegally.
“The commission has required the BNP to provide a written undertaking that it will not discriminate contrary to the Race Relations Act in its employment and recruitment policies, procedures and practices.
“The BNP’s website states that the party is looking to recruit people and states that any applicants should supply a membership number. The commission thinks that this requirement is contrary to the Race Relations Act, which outlaws the refusal or deliberate omission to offer employment on the basis of non-membership of an organisation.” ...
BNP faces legal challenge to whites-only membership
Fiona Hamilton, London Correspondent
The British National Party was today accused of operating illegally and threatened with an injunction over its whites-only membership policy.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission threatened the legal action over what it claimed were “potential breaches” of race discrimination law by the far-right nationalist party.
The commission has set a July 20 deadline for the party to address the issues, or face court action.
It said that the BNP needed to reassess its constitution and membership criteria, employment practices and provision of services to the public and constituents.
It believes that the party may discriminate on the grounds of race and colour, contrary to the Race Relations Act, because it restricts members to those regarded as particular “ethnic groups”.
In a statement the commission said: “This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act, which the party is legally obliged to comply with. The commission therefore thinks that the BNP may have acted, and be acting, illegally.
“The commission has required the BNP to provide a written undertaking that it will not discriminate contrary to the Race Relations Act in its employment and recruitment policies, procedures and practices.
“The BNP’s website states that the party is looking to recruit people and states that any applicants should supply a membership number. The commission thinks that this requirement is contrary to the Race Relations Act, which outlaws the refusal or deliberate omission to offer employment on the basis of non-membership of an organisation.” ...
I wonder whether these evil idiots have Yankistani relatives who are kkk members.
OMFG, what century is it again?
... It has been almost 20 years since a royal commission raised the alarm of the widespread lack of care for Australian indigenous prisoners. The 1987 commission noted the disproportionately high number of Aboriginal Australians who were incarcerated and recommended measures to address the problem.
Yet in 2005 a government survey revealed that, while Aborigines comprised 2-3% of the population, they accounted for 20% of prisoners.
There's no racism like Strine racism.
Assholes.
Yet in 2005 a government survey revealed that, while Aborigines comprised 2-3% of the population, they accounted for 20% of prisoners.
There's no racism like Strine racism.
Assholes.
Suspect's Son Says He Is Sorry It Was Holocaust Museum Guard, Not Dad, Who Died - washingtonpost.com
... Erik von Brunn declined to say when he last spoke with his father or whether they were estranged. Still, he said, he never imagined that his father's rage would consume him to the point that he might take another life.
"I never had any inclination to think that. The man is 88 years old. I never would have thought he could do this," he said. "It really hasn't sunk in yet. It's a shock."
In the statement, von Brunn directly addresses white supremacists. "For the extremists who believe my father is a hero: it is imperative you understand what he did was an act of cowardice," he writes. "His actions have undermined your 'movement,' and strengthened the resistance against your cause. He should not be remembered as a brave man or a hero, but a coward unable to come to grips with the fact he threw his and his families lives away for an ideology that fostered sadness and anguish."
Larger-than-usual crowds have been visiting the museum since the incident, officials said. A little more than 8,573 people visited Friday, surpassing the June daily average of 7,320. ...
"I never had any inclination to think that. The man is 88 years old. I never would have thought he could do this," he said. "It really hasn't sunk in yet. It's a shock."
In the statement, von Brunn directly addresses white supremacists. "For the extremists who believe my father is a hero: it is imperative you understand what he did was an act of cowardice," he writes. "His actions have undermined your 'movement,' and strengthened the resistance against your cause. He should not be remembered as a brave man or a hero, but a coward unable to come to grips with the fact he threw his and his families lives away for an ideology that fostered sadness and anguish."
Larger-than-usual crowds have been visiting the museum since the incident, officials said. A little more than 8,573 people visited Friday, surpassing the June daily average of 7,320. ...
Racist rants of elected BNP man, Andrew Brons, revealed
Yorkshire MEP Andrew Brons drew up some of the National Front's most inflammatory policies
Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
The Observer, Sunday 14 June 2009
One of the British National party's first MEPs' attempts to play down his past links to the extreme right as "silly" teenage posturing are today exposed as a sham after it emerged that for many years he played a crucial role in shaping the National Front's most overtly racist policies.
In 1983, when he was in his late twenties, Andrew Brons edited the National Front's general election manifesto that called for a global apartheid to prevent the "extinction" of whites everywhere.
The Let Britain Live! manifesto was prepared by the party's policy department, chaired by Brons. It outlined a series of hugely controversial positions, crystallised in one of its opening statements: "The National Front rejects the whole concept of multiracialism. We recognise inherent racial differences in Man. The races of Man are profoundly unequal in their characteristics, potential and abilities."
The manifesto claimed the UK had been "swamped" by "racially incompatible Afro-Asians" and that "Black muggings of White people, especially elderly ladies, occurs regularly".
It continued: "The eruptions in Bristol in 1980 and Brixton in 1981 were just two examples of the 'cultural enrichment' promised to us by the multiracialists." And it claimed: "We believe the gradual dismantlement of the Apartheid system over the last 17 years to be retrograde ... The alternative to Apartheid, multiracialism, envisages an extinction of the White man."
Brons was also an enthusiastic contributor in the 1970s and 1980s to Spearhead, a far-right magazine considered so extreme even the BNP tried to distance itself from it. In two lengthy polemics for the magazine, Brons outlined the supposed importance of nationalism and interpreted genetic studies to suggest Europeans had a "greater cognitive ability" than non-whites. He attacked the influence of "people of Jewish ethnic origin" and peddled the myth that a number of predominantly Zionist organisations were controlling the world. ...
The little green donuts are callin' ya, andy boy!
Yorkshire MEP Andrew Brons drew up some of the National Front's most inflammatory policies
Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
The Observer, Sunday 14 June 2009
One of the British National party's first MEPs' attempts to play down his past links to the extreme right as "silly" teenage posturing are today exposed as a sham after it emerged that for many years he played a crucial role in shaping the National Front's most overtly racist policies.
In 1983, when he was in his late twenties, Andrew Brons edited the National Front's general election manifesto that called for a global apartheid to prevent the "extinction" of whites everywhere.
The Let Britain Live! manifesto was prepared by the party's policy department, chaired by Brons. It outlined a series of hugely controversial positions, crystallised in one of its opening statements: "The National Front rejects the whole concept of multiracialism. We recognise inherent racial differences in Man. The races of Man are profoundly unequal in their characteristics, potential and abilities."
The manifesto claimed the UK had been "swamped" by "racially incompatible Afro-Asians" and that "Black muggings of White people, especially elderly ladies, occurs regularly".
It continued: "The eruptions in Bristol in 1980 and Brixton in 1981 were just two examples of the 'cultural enrichment' promised to us by the multiracialists." And it claimed: "We believe the gradual dismantlement of the Apartheid system over the last 17 years to be retrograde ... The alternative to Apartheid, multiracialism, envisages an extinction of the White man."
Brons was also an enthusiastic contributor in the 1970s and 1980s to Spearhead, a far-right magazine considered so extreme even the BNP tried to distance itself from it. In two lengthy polemics for the magazine, Brons outlined the supposed importance of nationalism and interpreted genetic studies to suggest Europeans had a "greater cognitive ability" than non-whites. He attacked the influence of "people of Jewish ethnic origin" and peddled the myth that a number of predominantly Zionist organisations were controlling the world. ...
The little green donuts are callin' ya, andy boy!
chinastan, you just suck.
Shell pays £9.7m to families of executed activist
Royal Dutch Shell sought to draw a line under one of the most damaging episodes in its history on Tuesday by agreeing to pay £9.7 million to Nigerians who accused the company of complicity in their relations' execution by a military regime.
By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 4:45PM BST 09 Jun 2009
The out-of-court settlement comes 14 years after nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright and prominent campaigner against Shell's presence in the Niger delta, were hanged by the country's military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
Their relations took legal action against Shell in America, intending to press their allegation of complicity, which the company denies. But an eleventh-hour agreement means the case will not come before the court in New York.
Shell said it was innocent of the charges, including the suggestion that it supported Nigeria's former military government when it arrested and executed the nine men.
But the company faces separate legal action in New York brought by another man from Mr Saro-Wiwa's Ogoni tribe, and in Amsterdam by a group of environmental activists.
"Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger delta crises and puts an end to its environmental devastation," said Elizabeth Bast of Friends of the Earth US.
In Nigeria, there was broad support for the agreement, reached late on Monday in New York. But there were also angry claims that Shell is still polluting the creeks of the delta, which produces more than 650,000 barrels of oil a day for the company.
Bari-Ara Kpalap, a spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people, the organisation co-founded by Mr Saro-Wiwa, said that Shell continued to exploit Nigerian oil without giving proper compensation to the country's people. ...
Royal Dutch Shell sought to draw a line under one of the most damaging episodes in its history on Tuesday by agreeing to pay £9.7 million to Nigerians who accused the company of complicity in their relations' execution by a military regime.
By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 4:45PM BST 09 Jun 2009
The out-of-court settlement comes 14 years after nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright and prominent campaigner against Shell's presence in the Niger delta, were hanged by the country's military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
Their relations took legal action against Shell in America, intending to press their allegation of complicity, which the company denies. But an eleventh-hour agreement means the case will not come before the court in New York.
Shell said it was innocent of the charges, including the suggestion that it supported Nigeria's former military government when it arrested and executed the nine men.
But the company faces separate legal action in New York brought by another man from Mr Saro-Wiwa's Ogoni tribe, and in Amsterdam by a group of environmental activists.
"Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger delta crises and puts an end to its environmental devastation," said Elizabeth Bast of Friends of the Earth US.
In Nigeria, there was broad support for the agreement, reached late on Monday in New York. But there were also angry claims that Shell is still polluting the creeks of the delta, which produces more than 650,000 barrels of oil a day for the company.
Bari-Ara Kpalap, a spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people, the organisation co-founded by Mr Saro-Wiwa, said that Shell continued to exploit Nigerian oil without giving proper compensation to the country's people. ...
Good on 'em, and I hope they win.
In the four newly released memos from the Bush Administration’s Office of Legal Counsel, the argument for using psychological torture tactics against al-Qaeda detainees is made in scientific terms
But the science underlying the decision was dubious at best.
In the memos, Justice Department lawyers Jay S. Bybee and Steven Bradbury conclude that tactics such as slamming detainees against walls, confining them in coffin-like boxes, denying them sleep for up to 11 days, and even inducing a drowning sensation through waterboarding do not legally qualify as torture, because the tactics don’t create severe pain and suffering or lasting medical or mental harm.
That conclusion relied heavily on the advice of two psychologists, James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen.My July 2007 article, “Rorschach and Awe,” gave the first detailed account of the two psychologists’ role as the architects and teachers of the coercive interrogation methods used by the C.I.A. and, later, the Department of Defense. “Based on your research into the use of these methods at the SERE school and consultation with others with expertise in the field of psychology and interrogation, you do not anticipate that any prolonged harm would result from the use of the waterboard,” Bybee writes in a memo dated August 1, 2002
But what, if anything, did Mitchell and Jessen—both devout Mormons—know about real-world interrogations and the art of eliciting accurate, actionable intelligence from hostile foreign fighters? Absolutely nothing, according to Steve Kleinman, an Air Force Reserve Colonel and expert in human-intelligence operations. In 2007, Kleinman told Vanity Fair he found it astonishing that the C.I.A. “chose two clinical psychologists who had no intelligence background whatsoever, who had never conducted an interrogation … to do something that had never been proven in the real world.”
Others called their methods a “voodoo science.”In fact, their techniques were simply reverse-engineered versions of those believed to be used by the Soviet Union, North Korea, and China. ...
But the science underlying the decision was dubious at best.
In the memos, Justice Department lawyers Jay S. Bybee and Steven Bradbury conclude that tactics such as slamming detainees against walls, confining them in coffin-like boxes, denying them sleep for up to 11 days, and even inducing a drowning sensation through waterboarding do not legally qualify as torture, because the tactics don’t create severe pain and suffering or lasting medical or mental harm.
That conclusion relied heavily on the advice of two psychologists, James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen.My July 2007 article, “Rorschach and Awe,” gave the first detailed account of the two psychologists’ role as the architects and teachers of the coercive interrogation methods used by the C.I.A. and, later, the Department of Defense. “Based on your research into the use of these methods at the SERE school and consultation with others with expertise in the field of psychology and interrogation, you do not anticipate that any prolonged harm would result from the use of the waterboard,” Bybee writes in a memo dated August 1, 2002
But what, if anything, did Mitchell and Jessen—both devout Mormons—know about real-world interrogations and the art of eliciting accurate, actionable intelligence from hostile foreign fighters? Absolutely nothing, according to Steve Kleinman, an Air Force Reserve Colonel and expert in human-intelligence operations. In 2007, Kleinman told Vanity Fair he found it astonishing that the C.I.A. “chose two clinical psychologists who had no intelligence background whatsoever, who had never conducted an interrogation … to do something that had never been proven in the real world.”
Others called their methods a “voodoo science.”In fact, their techniques were simply reverse-engineered versions of those believed to be used by the Soviet Union, North Korea, and China. ...
That's easy: they slaughtered an entire generation.
Bastards.
Bastards.
My comment to billo:
You are not a journalist. You are a rabble-rouser, and the rabble you rouse is our country's lowest denominator. You should be ashamed of yourself but that would require a functioning mind and heart, neither of which you possess.
Hit 'im, kids. Hit 'im as hard and as intelligently as you can.
You are not a journalist. You are a rabble-rouser, and the rabble you rouse is our country's lowest denominator. You should be ashamed of yourself but that would require a functioning mind and heart, neither of which you possess.
Hit 'im, kids. Hit 'im as hard and as intelligently as you can.
... While individuals who self-identify as pro-life may be well-meaning and against violence, mainstream pro-life groups and the people who run them do not care about life, before or after birth. And while today anti-choice groups are half-heartedly condemning Tiller's murder, they continue to use the same outlandish and inflammatory rhetoric that inspired and enabled it.
Words mean things. Anti-choicers should certainly have every right to express their views, but they must also realise that actions have consequences and their rhetoric is not harmless. If you yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, it's reasonably foreseeable that people will panic and someone will be injured. And if you yell "Murderer!" "Baby-Killer!" and "Holocaust!" long enough, it's reasonably foreseeable that someone will take it upon themselves to make sure that vigilante justice is done (especially if you provide the name and address of the person who you claim is committing "genocide").
This was not the act of a lone extremist. It is one more act of violence to add to a long, long list of crimes committed by anti-choice terrorists, and it is the logical outcome of years of increasingly violent, dehumanising and threatening rhetoric and action on the part of supposedly mainstream pro-life groups. The responsibility for George Tiller's death surely falls on the shoulders of the person who actually pulled the trigger. But when pro-life groups did everything but give him a gun, their hands are hardly clean.
Words mean things. Anti-choicers should certainly have every right to express their views, but they must also realise that actions have consequences and their rhetoric is not harmless. If you yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, it's reasonably foreseeable that people will panic and someone will be injured. And if you yell "Murderer!" "Baby-Killer!" and "Holocaust!" long enough, it's reasonably foreseeable that someone will take it upon themselves to make sure that vigilante justice is done (especially if you provide the name and address of the person who you claim is committing "genocide").
This was not the act of a lone extremist. It is one more act of violence to add to a long, long list of crimes committed by anti-choice terrorists, and it is the logical outcome of years of increasingly violent, dehumanising and threatening rhetoric and action on the part of supposedly mainstream pro-life groups. The responsibility for George Tiller's death surely falls on the shoulders of the person who actually pulled the trigger. But when pro-life groups did everything but give him a gun, their hands are hardly clean.
"Pro-life" as the self-description of the anti-abortion movement has a fundamental flaw at its heart. The moral absolute of "life" is not applied consistently, in my view, by the majority of those in this movement. Many in the "pro-life" anti-abortion movement seem to me to only be pro-life in the case of abortion -- unlike those who hold an ethic of life across a range of moral issues, not only abortion but also war and the death penalty, This makes "pro-life" in regard to abortion not only an inconsistent ethic, but an unstable one.
Nothing exposes this fundamental inconsistency and instability in the ethic of life as a description of the anti-abortion movement more than "pro-life" murder. ...
... Violence has been a part of the anti-abortion movement from the beginning, from the overt violence of the murder of other abortion providers to the covert violence of harassing women trying to get to clinics for reproductive services.
Violence is a logical outcome of the extreme self-righteousness of those who claim the "pro-life" label as an absolute and yet who do not have an actual, consistent ethic of life such as the views held by pacifists. Dr. Charles Kimball, a Baptist minister and professor of religion at Wake Forest University, well explains this logical connection in his book When Religion Becomes Evil. According to Kimball, two warning signs that indicate a religious viewpoint is becoming evil are "absolute truth claims" and "the end justifies any means." Violence, in Kimball's view, is an evil. ...
Nothing exposes this fundamental inconsistency and instability in the ethic of life as a description of the anti-abortion movement more than "pro-life" murder. ...
... Violence has been a part of the anti-abortion movement from the beginning, from the overt violence of the murder of other abortion providers to the covert violence of harassing women trying to get to clinics for reproductive services.
Violence is a logical outcome of the extreme self-righteousness of those who claim the "pro-life" label as an absolute and yet who do not have an actual, consistent ethic of life such as the views held by pacifists. Dr. Charles Kimball, a Baptist minister and professor of religion at Wake Forest University, well explains this logical connection in his book When Religion Becomes Evil. According to Kimball, two warning signs that indicate a religious viewpoint is becoming evil are "absolute truth claims" and "the end justifies any means." Violence, in Kimball's view, is an evil. ...
Atheism ‘is the greatest of all evils’, says outgoing Archbishop of Westminster
21 May 2009
TAKE a deep breathe … you are about to be annoyed. Very annoyed indeed. [Ed. Note: May I take a deep breath instead? I get even more annoyed when I take a deep breathe.]
In the same week in which the unremitting cruelty of Catholic institutions towards vulnerable youngsters in Ireland was exposed, the outgoing Archbishop of Westminster had the sheer gall to identify “lack of faith” as “the greatest of all evils.”
According to The Times, the rancid Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor – who recently said that secularists and atheists were “not fully human” – blamed atheism for war and destruction, and suggested it was a greater evil even than sin itself. ...
Oh, so athiests started the crusades? I learned something new. I can go home.
21 May 2009
TAKE a deep breathe … you are about to be annoyed. Very annoyed indeed. [Ed. Note: May I take a deep breath instead? I get even more annoyed when I take a deep breathe.]
In the same week in which the unremitting cruelty of Catholic institutions towards vulnerable youngsters in Ireland was exposed, the outgoing Archbishop of Westminster had the sheer gall to identify “lack of faith” as “the greatest of all evils.”
According to The Times, the rancid Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor – who recently said that secularists and atheists were “not fully human” – blamed atheism for war and destruction, and suggested it was a greater evil even than sin itself. ...
Oh, so athiests started the crusades? I learned something new. I can go home.
£500,000 Government report: commuters want trains to run on time
A two-year-long, 178-page report that cost taxpayers £500,000 has arrived at the unsurprising conclusion that commuters want trains to run on time.
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 3:10PM BST 24 May 2009
... Tony Ambrose, of the passenger campaign group More Train Less Strain, said: "It beggars belief. It's bad enough having the highest fares and worst overcrowding in Europe without the added unpleasantness of finding out you have been filmed without your permission.
"The report is astonishing. It's a rehash, in consultant-speak, of what is blindingly obvious to every traveller."
The RSSB defended its study, however, insisting it was a "practical appraisal of real-life situations".
A spokesman added: "In total, about one hour of filming was undertaken, based on one person travelling for four to five days."
The report comes just a week after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was attacked for spending £300,000 on a three-year study that proved ducks liked rainy weather.
A two-year-long, 178-page report that cost taxpayers £500,000 has arrived at the unsurprising conclusion that commuters want trains to run on time.
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 3:10PM BST 24 May 2009
... Tony Ambrose, of the passenger campaign group More Train Less Strain, said: "It beggars belief. It's bad enough having the highest fares and worst overcrowding in Europe without the added unpleasantness of finding out you have been filmed without your permission.
"The report is astonishing. It's a rehash, in consultant-speak, of what is blindingly obvious to every traveller."
The RSSB defended its study, however, insisting it was a "practical appraisal of real-life situations".
A spokesman added: "In total, about one hour of filming was undertaken, based on one person travelling for four to five days."
The report comes just a week after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was attacked for spending £300,000 on a three-year study that proved ducks liked rainy weather.
... I don't want to start any libellous rumours here, but it's hard not to wonder if someone (Rush Limbaugh? Rahm Emanuel? It could work either way) has been putting cocaine in Cheney's morning coffee. The man just will not shut the hell up. Cheney was once the Republican party's mysterious Thomas Pynchon, but in the past two weeks he has become a media slut of Ulrika Jonsson-type proportions, with an accompanying sense of cringing embarrassment, and I would not be surprised if he turned up in the Big Brother house this summer, railing about the benefits of Abu Ghraib to fellow housemates Vanessa Feltz and Marcus Brigstocke.
On Thursday the all new Chatty Cheney gave a talk at the American Enterprise Institute on his favourite subject – Torture: it's Super! – while, as chance would have it, Obama happened to be giving a talk at almost exactly the same time on the proposed closure of Guantánamo Bay.
The American media billed this, bizarrely, as a "Clash of the Titans", which says a lot more about the lack of any viable figureheads in the Republican party than it does about this alleged "clash". The idea that an out-of-office former vice-president is a "titan" on a level with the current in-office president is about as plausible as pitching Halifax Town as a threat to Manchester United. ...
On Thursday the all new Chatty Cheney gave a talk at the American Enterprise Institute on his favourite subject – Torture: it's Super! – while, as chance would have it, Obama happened to be giving a talk at almost exactly the same time on the proposed closure of Guantánamo Bay.
The American media billed this, bizarrely, as a "Clash of the Titans", which says a lot more about the lack of any viable figureheads in the Republican party than it does about this alleged "clash". The idea that an out-of-office former vice-president is a "titan" on a level with the current in-office president is about as plausible as pitching Halifax Town as a threat to Manchester United. ...
Go die, monsteranto.
BNP London assembly member could be banned from Buckingham Palace party
Deputy chief executive of Greater London Authority tells Richard Barnbrook he will be barred from garden party unless he agrees to take guest other than BNP leader Nick Griffin
Hélène Mulholland and Rachel Williams
Friday 22 May 2009
A BNP assembly member who planned to take the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, to a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by the Queen was today told he would be barred from attending unless he agreed to take another guest.
In a letter to Richard Barnbrook, Jeff Jacobs, the deputy chief executive of the Greater London Authority, also warned him to "desist" from creating any further adverse publicity.
Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London assembly, yesterday said he had no intention of changing his choice of companion for the garden party, which takes place in June and is being held to recognise community service.
Boris Johnson, the London mayor, intervened after learning of Barnbrook's intention to take the BNP leader with him.
Six London assembly members have been nominated to receive some of the 25 pairs of tickets offered to the GLA by Buckingham Palace.
Johnson accused Barnbrook of turning a "happy event" into a political stunt. The mayor wrote to the chairman of the London assembly, Darren Johnson, to see whether the invitation could be rescinded. ...
Deputy chief executive of Greater London Authority tells Richard Barnbrook he will be barred from garden party unless he agrees to take guest other than BNP leader Nick Griffin
Hélène Mulholland and Rachel Williams
Friday 22 May 2009
A BNP assembly member who planned to take the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, to a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by the Queen was today told he would be barred from attending unless he agreed to take another guest.
In a letter to Richard Barnbrook, Jeff Jacobs, the deputy chief executive of the Greater London Authority, also warned him to "desist" from creating any further adverse publicity.
Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London assembly, yesterday said he had no intention of changing his choice of companion for the garden party, which takes place in June and is being held to recognise community service.
Boris Johnson, the London mayor, intervened after learning of Barnbrook's intention to take the BNP leader with him.
Six London assembly members have been nominated to receive some of the 25 pairs of tickets offered to the GLA by Buckingham Palace.
Johnson accused Barnbrook of turning a "happy event" into a political stunt. The mayor wrote to the chairman of the London assembly, Darren Johnson, to see whether the invitation could be rescinded. ...
I’M NOT A RACIST, SAYS ‘W*GS OUT’ BNP BIGOT
22nd May 2009
By Tom Hutchison
A BNP candidate is facing suspension for setting up a vile Facebook page demanding all blacks “go home”.
But Eddy O’Sullivan, 49, who is standing in the Euro elections, has denied being racist.
He set his web status on the site to “W*gs go home, Gurkhas very welcome”.
Mr O’Sullivan thought he had set his Facebook profile to private. But he accidentally made it public, exposing his sick beliefs.
The Salford party organiser, a driving instructor, is now facing suspension after admitting the comments.
In one he said of black people: “They are nice people oh yeah but can they not be nice people in the f***ing Congo or… Bongoland or whatever?” ...
File under "More bnp Brilliance."
22nd May 2009
By Tom Hutchison
A BNP candidate is facing suspension for setting up a vile Facebook page demanding all blacks “go home”.
But Eddy O’Sullivan, 49, who is standing in the Euro elections, has denied being racist.
He set his web status on the site to “W*gs go home, Gurkhas very welcome”.
Mr O’Sullivan thought he had set his Facebook profile to private. But he accidentally made it public, exposing his sick beliefs.
The Salford party organiser, a driving instructor, is now facing suspension after admitting the comments.
In one he said of black people: “They are nice people oh yeah but can they not be nice people in the f***ing Congo or… Bongoland or whatever?” ...
File under "More bnp Brilliance."
Disturbed 19-year-old was seen as victim so risk to carer family was not assessed, Vale of Glamorgan inquiry finds
Nice one, idiots.
Nice one, idiots.
As frightening as it is disgusting. Exile the folks responsible for this to Chernobyl and see how they like it.
Why have humans consistently throughout history put idiots in charge of the most important things?
Why have humans consistently throughout history put idiots in charge of the most important things?
It's fiction, stupid!
Getcher Karma, pal, and good luck with it.
STAFF at a government-backed fund supposed to help some of the poorest people in the world have been awarded £65m in bonuses – equivalent to an annual £350,000 per employee.
The bonuses have largely come from investments intended to tackle poverty in the developing world. The fund was part of the Department for International Development (DFID) until it was part-privatised in 2004.
Charity workers say the government has allowed the fund, Actis, to skew Britain’s priorities overseas in its pursuit of high returns by depriving poor rural communities of investment. Actis manages funds for DFID’s investment body, CDC, tasked with reducing poverty, and has been praised for its success. But it has been awarding staff bonuses of up to £3m out of investments built up over years in developing countries.
Average pay for employees in 2007 was on a par with those at Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank. ...
The bonuses have largely come from investments intended to tackle poverty in the developing world. The fund was part of the Department for International Development (DFID) until it was part-privatised in 2004.
Charity workers say the government has allowed the fund, Actis, to skew Britain’s priorities overseas in its pursuit of high returns by depriving poor rural communities of investment. Actis manages funds for DFID’s investment body, CDC, tasked with reducing poverty, and has been praised for its success. But it has been awarding staff bonuses of up to £3m out of investments built up over years in developing countries.
Average pay for employees in 2007 was on a par with those at Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank. ...
Old reagan-in-a-dress has always been an evil cow.
Sellafield: the most hazardous place in Europe
Last week the government announced plans for a new generation of nuclear plants. But Britain is still dealing with the legacy of its first atomic installation at Sellafield - a toxic waste dump in one of the most contaminated buildings in Europe. As a multi-billion-pound clean-up is planned, can we avoid making the same mistakes again? ...
In a word, No.
Last week the government announced plans for a new generation of nuclear plants. But Britain is still dealing with the legacy of its first atomic installation at Sellafield - a toxic waste dump in one of the most contaminated buildings in Europe. As a multi-billion-pound clean-up is planned, can we avoid making the same mistakes again? ...
In a word, No.
I hope they rot in jail for the rest of their lives.
"Compensation?" How in fuck do you compensate for this?
There are many ways to spell evil, and one of them is m-o-n-s-a-n-t-o.
There are many ways to spell evil, and one of them is m-o-n-s-a-n-t-o.
Brian Paddick is a God among slugs.
IPCC orders new post-mortem on G20 victim Ian Tomlinson
Philippe Naughton and Adam Fresco
April 8, 2009
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is to carry out a second post-mortem on the body of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper vendor who died after collapsing at last week's anti-capitalist protests in London.
The IPCC also announced tonight that its own investigators are to take over the inquiry into Mr Tomlinson's death after video footage emerged that showed him being struck by an officer and pushed roughly to the floor shortly before his death.
The organisation had previously been directing an investigation by City of London Police but the video footage, and testimony from witnesses at the scene, appeared to call [into question] the official police version of events. ...
Philippe Naughton and Adam Fresco
April 8, 2009
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is to carry out a second post-mortem on the body of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper vendor who died after collapsing at last week's anti-capitalist protests in London.
The IPCC also announced tonight that its own investigators are to take over the inquiry into Mr Tomlinson's death after video footage emerged that showed him being struck by an officer and pushed roughly to the floor shortly before his death.
The organisation had previously been directing an investigation by City of London Police but the video footage, and testimony from witnesses at the scene, appeared to call [into question] the official police version of events. ...
What's this 'may' crap, pal?
Priests shoudn't be required to be celebate nor exclusively male - it's not natural. All priests should be well-adjusted folks who are happily married and don't abuse their/others' kids.
How on Earth can someone who does not live in the modren world give helpful advice or information to those who do?
How on Earth can someone who does not live in the modren world give helpful advice or information to those who do?
Anyone who'd take seriously the spoutings of an old nazi in a dress, funny hat, and Prada shoes needs medication.
MSU to limit student credit solicitations
Colleges under fire for selling contact data to Bank of America; U-M to continue practice.
Marisa Schultz
The Detroit News
February 9, 2009
Amid growing national scrutiny over credit card companies aggressively marketing to financially naive college students, Michigan State University will no longer provide student information to Bank of America to solicit undergraduates for credit cards.
Under a seven-year contract worth at least $8.4 million, MSU gives the bank contact lists of students, alumni, ticket holders and employees as well as permission to use university logos and set up promotional displays on campus. In return, the university makes $1 for each new account and 0.5 percent of all retail purchases, among other payments.
"You get bombarded as soon as you enroll as a freshman -- credit card offers, loan consolidation," said MSU senior Whitney Gronski, 21. "You are trying to establish credit, but maybe opening a credit card and maxing it out is not the best solution to that. It seems ridiculous to target us." ...
Colleges under fire for selling contact data to Bank of America; U-M to continue practice.
Marisa Schultz
The Detroit News
February 9, 2009
Amid growing national scrutiny over credit card companies aggressively marketing to financially naive college students, Michigan State University will no longer provide student information to Bank of America to solicit undergraduates for credit cards.
Under a seven-year contract worth at least $8.4 million, MSU gives the bank contact lists of students, alumni, ticket holders and employees as well as permission to use university logos and set up promotional displays on campus. In return, the university makes $1 for each new account and 0.5 percent of all retail purchases, among other payments.
"You get bombarded as soon as you enroll as a freshman -- credit card offers, loan consolidation," said MSU senior Whitney Gronski, 21. "You are trying to establish credit, but maybe opening a credit card and maxing it out is not the best solution to that. It seems ridiculous to target us." ...
RESCUING OUR CHILDREN
Seven Massive Porn Rings Dismantled
02/09/09
What started as a tip from Australian authorities in 2006 regarding a sexually explicit video has turned into one of the largest global child pornography investigations on record—and a model for how law enforcement cooperation can cast a powerful light into the darkest reaches of the Internet to bring child predators to justice.
Operation Joint Hammer has resulted in the rescue of 14 girls—some as young as 3 years old—who were being sexually abused by pornographers. Approximately 170 people have been arrested, more than 60 of them U.S. citizens. Seven major child pornography rings, hosting the worst of the worst, have been dismantled. And the investigation is far from complete. ...
Seven Massive Porn Rings Dismantled
02/09/09
What started as a tip from Australian authorities in 2006 regarding a sexually explicit video has turned into one of the largest global child pornography investigations on record—and a model for how law enforcement cooperation can cast a powerful light into the darkest reaches of the Internet to bring child predators to justice.
Operation Joint Hammer has resulted in the rescue of 14 girls—some as young as 3 years old—who were being sexually abused by pornographers. Approximately 170 people have been arrested, more than 60 of them U.S. citizens. Seven major child pornography rings, hosting the worst of the worst, have been dismantled. And the investigation is far from complete. ...
The rethuglicunts are so clueless and evil. Let's send them to Afghanistan, shall we?
Detroit woman sues police for $15 million
BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
January 30, 2009
A Detroit woman and her seven children ages 9-18 are suing the Detroit Police Department for $15 million, because they allege officers attacked them without provocation in their home earlier this month.
Tasha Flowers said Thursday that approximately 14 police officers barged into her home in the 19000 block of Shrewsbury about 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 without a search warrant, demanding to know where drugs and guns were. After she explained she didn't have any, she said they twisted her arm and tried to handcuff her, while her children and two of their friends were there.
The following day, a police officer came back with $25 gift certificates to Wal-Mart and Target, $100 in cash and the promise to bring a cashmere coat because he felt bad about the alleged attack, Flowers said. ...
BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
January 30, 2009
A Detroit woman and her seven children ages 9-18 are suing the Detroit Police Department for $15 million, because they allege officers attacked them without provocation in their home earlier this month.
Tasha Flowers said Thursday that approximately 14 police officers barged into her home in the 19000 block of Shrewsbury about 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 without a search warrant, demanding to know where drugs and guns were. After she explained she didn't have any, she said they twisted her arm and tried to handcuff her, while her children and two of their friends were there.
The following day, a police officer came back with $25 gift certificates to Wal-Mart and Target, $100 in cash and the promise to bring a cashmere coat because he felt bad about the alleged attack, Flowers said. ...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Lawsuit: Cops beat mom, gave gift cards as bribe
Woman claims she and her children were assaulted by officers and offered a bribe to be quiet about the incident.
George Hunter / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Cash and gift cards from Walmart and Target stores were allegedly offered as bribes to a 36-year-old woman if she agreed to keep quiet about a group of officers who broke into her home and assaulted her and her children, the woman claims in a lawsuit.
Attorneys for Tasha Flowers filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking $15 million in damages stemming from the alleged Jan. 3 incident.
Flowers claims in the lawsuit that several Detroit police officers from the department's Western District responded to a neighbor's complaint that she was selling drugs in her home on Shrewsbury. The police rushed into Flowers' home without her permission and without a search warrant.
"They showed up at my door and pointed a gun at me," Flowers said. "Then the officers pushed past me into my house and started asking me about drugs and guns. They pushed my daughter, and threw me to the ground and twisted my arm. Then the lieutenant grabbed my 14-year-old son in a chokehold until he was unconscious."
Flowers said the group of about 10 officers began assaulting her other six children, ages 8 to 17, who she said suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises.
Then, the next day, Flowers said the lieutenant in charge of the officers paid a second visit to her home.
"He said he felt bad about what he'd done, and asked if there was anything he could do to make up for it," Flowers said. "Then he offered me two gift cards: One from Walmart and Target; and $100." ...
Lawsuit: Cops beat mom, gave gift cards as bribe
Woman claims she and her children were assaulted by officers and offered a bribe to be quiet about the incident.
George Hunter / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Cash and gift cards from Walmart and Target stores were allegedly offered as bribes to a 36-year-old woman if she agreed to keep quiet about a group of officers who broke into her home and assaulted her and her children, the woman claims in a lawsuit.
Attorneys for Tasha Flowers filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking $15 million in damages stemming from the alleged Jan. 3 incident.
Flowers claims in the lawsuit that several Detroit police officers from the department's Western District responded to a neighbor's complaint that she was selling drugs in her home on Shrewsbury. The police rushed into Flowers' home without her permission and without a search warrant.
"They showed up at my door and pointed a gun at me," Flowers said. "Then the officers pushed past me into my house and started asking me about drugs and guns. They pushed my daughter, and threw me to the ground and twisted my arm. Then the lieutenant grabbed my 14-year-old son in a chokehold until he was unconscious."
Flowers said the group of about 10 officers began assaulting her other six children, ages 8 to 17, who she said suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises.
Then, the next day, Flowers said the lieutenant in charge of the officers paid a second visit to her home.
"He said he felt bad about what he'd done, and asked if there was anything he could do to make up for it," Flowers said. "Then he offered me two gift cards: One from Walmart and Target; and $100." ...
ATLANTA -- CBS Atlanta News learned Wednesday that health officials were forced to use a federal anti-terrorism act to get a south Georgia plant to reveal the results of internal food safety inspections.
Those inspections found salmonella bacteria at the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. The bacteria has sicked hundreds of people across the country.
The records weren't shared with inspectors. The plant was directly linked to the outbreak.
Meanwhile, a Connecticut lawmaker is calling for a federal probe of possible criminal violations at the plant. ...
Those inspections found salmonella bacteria at the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. The bacteria has sicked hundreds of people across the country.
The records weren't shared with inspectors. The plant was directly linked to the outbreak.
Meanwhile, a Connecticut lawmaker is calling for a federal probe of possible criminal violations at the plant. ...
Levin livid over reported Citigroup jet purchase
By TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
January 26, 2009
WASHINGTON – Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan is beside himself over a report that Citigroup is buying a $50-million corporate jet considering that when the heads of Detroit’s automakers came to Washington in private jets to ask for aid they got blasted for it.
The federal government, after all, is into Citigroup for $50 billion under its package to rescue financial firms. Eventually — thanks to President George W. Bush — General Motors and Chrysler got a line on $17.4 billion, but only after agreeing to give up their corporate jets. (Chrysler didn’t own one, but now doesn’t even charter or lease one.)
No such requirement for Citigroup — or the other financial institutions getting money under the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan — exists.
The New York Post, citing “a source familiar with the deal,” reported today that Citigroup executives authorized the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, which, according to the Dassault’s sales literature, seats 12 in leather seats and sofas and includes a custom entertainment center.
Citigroup decline to speak to the Post and didn’t immediately return a call to the Free Press today either. ...
By TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
January 26, 2009
WASHINGTON – Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan is beside himself over a report that Citigroup is buying a $50-million corporate jet considering that when the heads of Detroit’s automakers came to Washington in private jets to ask for aid they got blasted for it.
The federal government, after all, is into Citigroup for $50 billion under its package to rescue financial firms. Eventually — thanks to President George W. Bush — General Motors and Chrysler got a line on $17.4 billion, but only after agreeing to give up their corporate jets. (Chrysler didn’t own one, but now doesn’t even charter or lease one.)
No such requirement for Citigroup — or the other financial institutions getting money under the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan — exists.
The New York Post, citing “a source familiar with the deal,” reported today that Citigroup executives authorized the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, which, according to the Dassault’s sales literature, seats 12 in leather seats and sofas and includes a custom entertainment center.
Citigroup decline to speak to the Post and didn’t immediately return a call to the Free Press today either. ...
The highly publicised paedophilia scandals which have rocked Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States, Europe and Australia over the past two decades are still hurting public perception of the priesthood, a senior Jamaican church official has said. ...
GOOD! That's how it should be! Paedos are evil!
GOOD! That's how it should be! Paedos are evil!
Conyers Subpoenas Rove: ‘It’s Time to Talk’
By Kate Klonick 1/26/09 6:28 PM
Karl Rove, who previously refused to testify to his involvement in the politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney firing scandal as former President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, was subpoenaed today by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.).
From the Committee’s press release, which is posted on The Huffington Post:
“I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today’s action is an important step along the way,” said Mr. Conyers. Noting that the change in administration may impact the legal arguments available to Mr. Rove in this long-running dispute, Mr. Conyers added “Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it’s time for him to talk.”
Rove’s prior refusals to testify were based on claims of “absolute immunity” through executive privilege — the idea that even former presidential advisers cannot be compelled to testify before Congress. But the legality of that claim was rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates as part of the ongoing suit over executive privilege, House Judiciary Committee v. Harriet Miers.
The onset of the new administration creates a lot of new questions as to how Rove will answer this subpoena. Rove is relying on an interpretation of executive privilege that is no longer backed by the administration, so it’s unclear how, or if, he will still be protected. While it looks likely that this new Congress’ subpoena will finally wrest “privileged” documents from the White House, its still unclear as to whether Rove will testify before the committee. ...
By Kate Klonick 1/26/09 6:28 PM
Karl Rove, who previously refused to testify to his involvement in the politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney firing scandal as former President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, was subpoenaed today by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.).
From the Committee’s press release, which is posted on The Huffington Post:
“I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today’s action is an important step along the way,” said Mr. Conyers. Noting that the change in administration may impact the legal arguments available to Mr. Rove in this long-running dispute, Mr. Conyers added “Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it’s time for him to talk.”
Rove’s prior refusals to testify were based on claims of “absolute immunity” through executive privilege — the idea that even former presidential advisers cannot be compelled to testify before Congress. But the legality of that claim was rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates as part of the ongoing suit over executive privilege, House Judiciary Committee v. Harriet Miers.
The onset of the new administration creates a lot of new questions as to how Rove will answer this subpoena. Rove is relying on an interpretation of executive privilege that is no longer backed by the administration, so it’s unclear how, or if, he will still be protected. While it looks likely that this new Congress’ subpoena will finally wrest “privileged” documents from the White House, its still unclear as to whether Rove will testify before the committee. ...
On Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) issued a subpoena to Karl Rove, requiring him to testify regarding his role in the Bush Administration's politicization of the Department of Justice, including the US Attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The subpoena calls for Rove to appear at deposition on Monday, February 2, 2009. ...
... Burkholder pleaded no contest in Michigan in 2002 on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct dating to 1986, when he brought a 13-year-old Detroit boy to Hawaii.
“We’re always saddened when we hear any of these stories,” Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said on Sunday. “Whoever the person is who is making the claim did not call our victim assistance coordinator. We’ll proceed accordingly.”
McGrath encouraged other victims of abuse at the hands of church officials to call the victim assistance hotline at 866-343-8055.
And they'll ignore you, or send The Church Police to threaten you and tell you to STFU or else, and move the priest to another diocese - without informing said new diocese.
“We’re always saddened when we hear any of these stories,” Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said on Sunday. “Whoever the person is who is making the claim did not call our victim assistance coordinator. We’ll proceed accordingly.”
McGrath encouraged other victims of abuse at the hands of church officials to call the victim assistance hotline at 866-343-8055.
And they'll ignore you, or send The Church Police to threaten you and tell you to STFU or else, and move the priest to another diocese - without informing said new diocese.
Offshore tax shelters much too inviting
American companies, especially those receiving federal aid, should be expected to pay a fair share of U.S. taxes
BY RON DZWONKOWSKI
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
January 25, 2009
Pretty well buried under all the hoopla of President Barack Obama's inaugural was a report last week that could help the U.S. Treasury tame its way-out-of-whack balance sheet. The Government Accountability Office report looked at U.S. companies that stash money in foreign countries to shelter them from U.S. taxes.
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who requested the report along with fellow Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, estimates that such companies are avoiding $100 billion in U.S. taxes. And many of them -- including Bank of America and Citigroup -- have lately been on the receiving end of billions of dollars in federal bailout money or fat federal government contracts.
Now, $100 billion may seem like pocket change when you're running a trillion-dollar budget deficit and carrying a $10.4-trillion national debt. But you know, every billion counts when you are trying to spend your way out of a recession. Unfortunately, this offshoring of taxable assets is entirely legal, which Levin and Dorgan hope to do something about.
Common sense, not to mention common decency, would seem to dictate that if you take tax dollars you also pay your full share of tax bills.
According to the report by the GAO, which is the congressional watchdog agency on government programs and spending, 83 of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations and 63 of the 100 largest publicly traded companies with government contracts have subsidiaries in places that are regarded as tax havens. There is no official definition of such places, but they have common characteristics, such as no or low local taxes, political stability, laws that keep financial dealings secret, and a tendency to promote themselves in the right circles as great places to keep your money out of reach of Uncle Sam or other tax-grabbing governments. ...
American companies, especially those receiving federal aid, should be expected to pay a fair share of U.S. taxes
BY RON DZWONKOWSKI
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
January 25, 2009
Pretty well buried under all the hoopla of President Barack Obama's inaugural was a report last week that could help the U.S. Treasury tame its way-out-of-whack balance sheet. The Government Accountability Office report looked at U.S. companies that stash money in foreign countries to shelter them from U.S. taxes.
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who requested the report along with fellow Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, estimates that such companies are avoiding $100 billion in U.S. taxes. And many of them -- including Bank of America and Citigroup -- have lately been on the receiving end of billions of dollars in federal bailout money or fat federal government contracts.
Now, $100 billion may seem like pocket change when you're running a trillion-dollar budget deficit and carrying a $10.4-trillion national debt. But you know, every billion counts when you are trying to spend your way out of a recession. Unfortunately, this offshoring of taxable assets is entirely legal, which Levin and Dorgan hope to do something about.
Common sense, not to mention common decency, would seem to dictate that if you take tax dollars you also pay your full share of tax bills.
According to the report by the GAO, which is the congressional watchdog agency on government programs and spending, 83 of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations and 63 of the 100 largest publicly traded companies with government contracts have subsidiaries in places that are regarded as tax havens. There is no official definition of such places, but they have common characteristics, such as no or low local taxes, political stability, laws that keep financial dealings secret, and a tendency to promote themselves in the right circles as great places to keep your money out of reach of Uncle Sam or other tax-grabbing governments. ...
Lehman's Fuld sold Florida mansion to wife for $100
Mon Jan 26, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fallen Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld sold his $13.3 million (£9.8 million) mansion to his wife for just $100 (£73) last November, according to Florida real estate records.
The 62-year old executive, who could face civil lawsuits after overseeing the storied investment bank's collapse into Chapter 11 proceedings last September, transferred ownership of the 3.3 acres seaside home to Kathleen Fuld on November 10, records show.
The couple had jointly bought the home for $13.75 million in March 2004, as first reported by Cityfile.com.
Fuld has been blamed for Lehman's collapse on September 15 after it was weighed down by bad assets leading to the largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy when it was unable to find a buyer to come to its rescue.
He was widely criticized for not acting quickly enough to save the 158-year old bank. ...
Mon Jan 26, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fallen Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld sold his $13.3 million (£9.8 million) mansion to his wife for just $100 (£73) last November, according to Florida real estate records.
The 62-year old executive, who could face civil lawsuits after overseeing the storied investment bank's collapse into Chapter 11 proceedings last September, transferred ownership of the 3.3 acres seaside home to Kathleen Fuld on November 10, records show.
The couple had jointly bought the home for $13.75 million in March 2004, as first reported by Cityfile.com.
Fuld has been blamed for Lehman's collapse on September 15 after it was weighed down by bad assets leading to the largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy when it was unable to find a buyer to come to its rescue.
He was widely criticized for not acting quickly enough to save the 158-year old bank. ...
January 25, 2009
Madoff’s UK investors set to sue
Robert Watts
UK investors are planning legal action against HSBC, UBS, Barclays and Nicola Horlick’s Bramdean fund over advice received before the Bernard Madoff $50 billion (£36.8 billion) investment scandal.
One of the British victims had £36m invested in Madoff funds, according to a lawyer acting for the claimants.
Ten wealthy investors have approached the law firm Edwin Coe with a view to suing bankers, fund managers and other intermediaries for the full value of the money they have lost in the Madoff collapse.
The 10 claimants are said to include some of Britain’s richest people, with combined losses of about £87m. While their identities remain shrouded in secrecy, it is understood that most are entrepreneurs who amassed their fortunes by selling their businesses. ...
Madoff’s UK investors set to sue
Robert Watts
UK investors are planning legal action against HSBC, UBS, Barclays and Nicola Horlick’s Bramdean fund over advice received before the Bernard Madoff $50 billion (£36.8 billion) investment scandal.
One of the British victims had £36m invested in Madoff funds, according to a lawyer acting for the claimants.
Ten wealthy investors have approached the law firm Edwin Coe with a view to suing bankers, fund managers and other intermediaries for the full value of the money they have lost in the Madoff collapse.
The 10 claimants are said to include some of Britain’s richest people, with combined losses of about £87m. While their identities remain shrouded in secrecy, it is understood that most are entrepreneurs who amassed their fortunes by selling their businesses. ...
U-M med school should stop traumatizing dogs
BY EDWARD J. LINKNER, M.D.
January 24, 2009
As a physician who has supported the University of Michigan School of Medicine for decades, as a student in the 1970s to teaching medical students today, I am disappointed that U-M refuses to modernize its Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course by replacing live animals with high-tech simulators that accurately replicate human anatomy.
Instead, U-M continues to use and kill dogs from Michigan animal shelters in a course designed to teach procedures to be performed on human patients.
Don't get me wrong. U-M has many wonderful research and education programs. The school generally does an excellent job of educating students. But in this particular case, administrators are making a serious mistake. ...
BY EDWARD J. LINKNER, M.D.
January 24, 2009
As a physician who has supported the University of Michigan School of Medicine for decades, as a student in the 1970s to teaching medical students today, I am disappointed that U-M refuses to modernize its Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course by replacing live animals with high-tech simulators that accurately replicate human anatomy.
Instead, U-M continues to use and kill dogs from Michigan animal shelters in a course designed to teach procedures to be performed on human patients.
Don't get me wrong. U-M has many wonderful research and education programs. The school generally does an excellent job of educating students. But in this particular case, administrators are making a serious mistake. ...
Oh, boy. More proof that the catholic church is completely fucked.
Well, what else could we expect from a pope what's an ex-nazi?
Well, what else could we expect from a pope what's an ex-nazi?
... The details are still dribbling out, but it appears that for at least three recent years, the state police antiterrorism unit spied upon, infiltrated and documented groups of Marylanders who had the nerve to disagree with the policies of their government. The police acknowledge that at least 53 individuals made their terrorist-watch list but the real number could be much higher.
The troopers zeroed in on Roman Catholic nuns, human rights activists and church groups. They monitored animal rights advocates and cyclists pushing for more bicycle lanes. They opened a dossier on Amnesty International. (That group's crime was listed as "human rights.")
The troopers created files with titles like: "Terrorism: Anti-War Protesters," and "Terrorism: Anti-Govern," and "Terrorism: Environmental Extremists," and "Terrorism: Pro-Life."
To Maryland's finest, even Quakers, the ultimate pacifists, constituted a "security threat group." ...
The only real terrorists mentioned are pro-lifers.
Oh, and go fuck yrself, maryland.
The troopers zeroed in on Roman Catholic nuns, human rights activists and church groups. They monitored animal rights advocates and cyclists pushing for more bicycle lanes. They opened a dossier on Amnesty International. (That group's crime was listed as "human rights.")
The troopers created files with titles like: "Terrorism: Anti-War Protesters," and "Terrorism: Anti-Govern," and "Terrorism: Environmental Extremists," and "Terrorism: Pro-Life."
To Maryland's finest, even Quakers, the ultimate pacifists, constituted a "security threat group." ...
The only real terrorists mentioned are pro-lifers.
Oh, and go fuck yrself, maryland.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Editorial: Conyers must account for her travel expenses
The Detroit News
Restoring confidence in city government should be the top priority of everyone connected to Detroit's City Hall. That's why the city's General Retirement System should demand that Council President Monica Conyers make a full and complete accounting of her travel expense account.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent far too much of his first term in office dealing with the fallout from his abuses of his expense account. The lesson taken from that sorry episode in the city's history should have made every elected official laser focused on accountability and ethical behavior.
But when it comes to expense account issues, Conyers seems to have decided to take up where Kilpatrick left off.
As a member of the pension board for a little more than two years, she has traveled to Portugal, London, Philadelphia, Washington and San Francisco to attend conferences on the retirement system's dime.
Treating the pension system as a travel club is bad enough. But Conyers has refused repeated requests to account for the money she spent on many of those trips.
In one example, Conyers requested nearly $8,400 for business class airfare to London for a June pension conference. Records later revealed that the plane ticket cost less than $2,700, leaving about $5,700 unaccounted for.
We'll leave aside for now the question of why Conyers or any city official is traveling first class. Taxpayers and the retirees who funded the system have a right to know how the rest of the money was spent.
Since taking over the council presidency after Kenneth Cockrel Jr. became interim mayor last fall, Conyers has doubled overtime spending for her city-paid bodyguards and added her teenage son to her payroll, paying him $15 an hour for occasional work. ...
Editorial: Conyers must account for her travel expenses
The Detroit News
Restoring confidence in city government should be the top priority of everyone connected to Detroit's City Hall. That's why the city's General Retirement System should demand that Council President Monica Conyers make a full and complete accounting of her travel expense account.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent far too much of his first term in office dealing with the fallout from his abuses of his expense account. The lesson taken from that sorry episode in the city's history should have made every elected official laser focused on accountability and ethical behavior.
But when it comes to expense account issues, Conyers seems to have decided to take up where Kilpatrick left off.
As a member of the pension board for a little more than two years, she has traveled to Portugal, London, Philadelphia, Washington and San Francisco to attend conferences on the retirement system's dime.
Treating the pension system as a travel club is bad enough. But Conyers has refused repeated requests to account for the money she spent on many of those trips.
In one example, Conyers requested nearly $8,400 for business class airfare to London for a June pension conference. Records later revealed that the plane ticket cost less than $2,700, leaving about $5,700 unaccounted for.
We'll leave aside for now the question of why Conyers or any city official is traveling first class. Taxpayers and the retirees who funded the system have a right to know how the rest of the money was spent.
Since taking over the council presidency after Kenneth Cockrel Jr. became interim mayor last fall, Conyers has doubled overtime spending for her city-paid bodyguards and added her teenage son to her payroll, paying him $15 an hour for occasional work. ...
I'd hope lush windbag has heart failure, but it hasn't got a heart.
Conyers given 2 weeks to resolve bill with board
By Jennifer Dixon
Free Press staff writer
January 22, 2009
Detroit’s General Retirement System today demanded that City Council President Monica Conyers resolve more than $5,600 in travel advances it says she never used while she was on the pension board.
In a letter sent today, Conyers was asked to repay the money or produce receipts for the expenses within two weeks. A copy of the pension system’s travel policy accompanied the letter.
A spokeswoman for Conyers said today the office would have no comment.
Pension board trustees get cash advances before they travel and must provide receipts showing how the money was spent. Money that is unaccounted for must be repaid.
Pension board records show Conyers did not provide receipts for hotel stays on Grand Cayman Island and in Philadelphia. In addition, Conyers provided a June 3 Northwest Airlines printout before she traveled to London showing an $8,392.23 airfare. Her receipt showed the ticket cost $2,652.56.
Conyers initially owed the board $7,371.25 but repaid $1,700 with two checks earlier this week, according to the board. ...
By Jennifer Dixon
Free Press staff writer
January 22, 2009
Detroit’s General Retirement System today demanded that City Council President Monica Conyers resolve more than $5,600 in travel advances it says she never used while she was on the pension board.
In a letter sent today, Conyers was asked to repay the money or produce receipts for the expenses within two weeks. A copy of the pension system’s travel policy accompanied the letter.
A spokeswoman for Conyers said today the office would have no comment.
Pension board trustees get cash advances before they travel and must provide receipts showing how the money was spent. Money that is unaccounted for must be repaid.
Pension board records show Conyers did not provide receipts for hotel stays on Grand Cayman Island and in Philadelphia. In addition, Conyers provided a June 3 Northwest Airlines printout before she traveled to London showing an $8,392.23 airfare. Her receipt showed the ticket cost $2,652.56.
Conyers initially owed the board $7,371.25 but repaid $1,700 with two checks earlier this week, according to the board. ...
Charge it with terrorism! Anneliese is absolutely correct.
New witness in dancer's death
Imprisoned drug kingpin linked to Greene through Detroit strip club owner, family says.
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
DETROIT -- Imprisoned drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones might be able to shed light on the killing of exotic dancer Tamara "Strawberry" Greene because they're linked through former state legislator and strip club owner Keith Stallworth, a lawyer for Greene's family said Monday.
That's why Jones, 53, now serving a federal prison sentence at Milan, was added Friday as a possible witness in a federal lawsuit brought by Greene's family against the city of Detroit, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and several top city and police officials, said Robert Zawideh, one of the attorneys representing Greene's family.
Greene, linked to a long-rumored but never substantiated party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in fall 2002, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003. Her family's lawsuit alleges top police and city officials obstructed the investigation of her still unsolved killing for political reasons. Kilpatrick and the other defendants deny the allegations. The case could go to trial this year.
Stallworth, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to a felony financial transaction, was indicted along with Jones in 2001 and accused of using his Detroit strip joint, Tiger's Lounge, to launder money for the Young Boys Inc. heroin-dealing gang that Jones founded. Stallworth, a friend and former Democratic state House colleague of Kilpatrick, also is on the Greene witness list.
He could not be reached for comment Monday. ...
Imprisoned drug kingpin linked to Greene through Detroit strip club owner, family says.
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
DETROIT -- Imprisoned drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones might be able to shed light on the killing of exotic dancer Tamara "Strawberry" Greene because they're linked through former state legislator and strip club owner Keith Stallworth, a lawyer for Greene's family said Monday.
That's why Jones, 53, now serving a federal prison sentence at Milan, was added Friday as a possible witness in a federal lawsuit brought by Greene's family against the city of Detroit, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and several top city and police officials, said Robert Zawideh, one of the attorneys representing Greene's family.
Greene, linked to a long-rumored but never substantiated party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in fall 2002, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003. Her family's lawsuit alleges top police and city officials obstructed the investigation of her still unsolved killing for political reasons. Kilpatrick and the other defendants deny the allegations. The case could go to trial this year.
Stallworth, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to a felony financial transaction, was indicted along with Jones in 2001 and accused of using his Detroit strip joint, Tiger's Lounge, to launder money for the Young Boys Inc. heroin-dealing gang that Jones founded. Stallworth, a friend and former Democratic state House colleague of Kilpatrick, also is on the Greene witness list.
He could not be reached for comment Monday. ...
Photographer says Mugabe's wife beat him
Mon Jan 19, 2009
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong-based photographer who said Robert Mugabe's wife assaulted him last week was undecided Monday about whether to press charges against Zimbabwe's first lady.
Known as the "First Shopper" in Zimbabwe for her luxury shopping sprees, Grace Mugabe was on a low-key visit to the former British colony, known for its gleaming luxury malls, with members of her family when she was photographed by Richard Jones.
Jones who was working for the Sunday Times at the time, said she erupted into a "wild rage" and ordered her bodyguard to hold him down while she attacked and punched his face.
"When I heard what the assignment was, of course it's not a regular assignment to try and tail Grace Mugabe," Jones told Reuters.
"Everybody knows the reputation her husband has, but of course it was completely shocking when it happened. It came out of the blue," Jones said of the attack which took place outside a luxury hotel on Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula.
"There were a lot of cuts and abrasions and they're still visible," said Jones who needed medical attention at the time.
A Hong Kong police spokeswoman would only say an "assault occasioning actual bodily harm" had occurred last Thursday. No arrests were made and the case is still under investigation. ...
Mon Jan 19, 2009
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong-based photographer who said Robert Mugabe's wife assaulted him last week was undecided Monday about whether to press charges against Zimbabwe's first lady.
Known as the "First Shopper" in Zimbabwe for her luxury shopping sprees, Grace Mugabe was on a low-key visit to the former British colony, known for its gleaming luxury malls, with members of her family when she was photographed by Richard Jones.
Jones who was working for the Sunday Times at the time, said she erupted into a "wild rage" and ordered her bodyguard to hold him down while she attacked and punched his face.
"When I heard what the assignment was, of course it's not a regular assignment to try and tail Grace Mugabe," Jones told Reuters.
"Everybody knows the reputation her husband has, but of course it was completely shocking when it happened. It came out of the blue," Jones said of the attack which took place outside a luxury hotel on Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula.
"There were a lot of cuts and abrasions and they're still visible," said Jones who needed medical attention at the time.
A Hong Kong police spokeswoman would only say an "assault occasioning actual bodily harm" had occurred last Thursday. No arrests were made and the case is still under investigation. ...
Fascinating, frightening, and occasionally very amusing.
Unfair Park has learned that Glazer's Distributors -- owners of 508 Park Avenue, the building in which Robert Johnson recorded 13 songs that changed the music world -- has filed with the city a permit that would allow them to tear down one of the most historic structures in the city of Dallas. As mentioned in October, that building is among some three dozen singled out by Mayor Tom Leppert and City Attorney Tom Perkins, who are trying to bring vacant downtown buildings up to code. ...
Nice one, dallas.
Nice one, dallas.
Anyone who convinces their children to strap bombs to themselves is evil.
Anyone who deliberately kills children - and those who try to save them (or remove their bodies) - is evil.
Anyone who deliberately kills children - and those who try to save them (or remove their bodies) - is evil.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hit man, drug king among witnesses in Detroit stripper lawsuit
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Confessed city "hit man" Vincent Smothers and notorious drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones are among the names on a beefed-up witness list filed by relatives of a slain exotic dancer in their federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham lawyer representing the family of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene, filed the new witness list late Friday. It contains the names of 343 witnesses and classes of witnesses, up from 193 names on an earlier witness list filed in October.
Other names on the expanded witness list include John Bebow, a former reporter for The Detroit News; Matt Allen, a former spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; and exotic dancers described only as "Mia;" Charlotte, also known as "Netta;" and Kelly, also known as "Lucky."
Greene, who was linked to a long-rumored party involving strippers at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside her Detroit home on April 30, 2003. The killing remains unsolved.
Greene's family is suing the city, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and other top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation of Greene's killing for political reasons.
The defendants deny the charges. The case could go to trial this year.
Among the allegations is that Greene sought hospital treatment in the fall of 2002 because she was assaulted at the party by Carlita Kilpatrick, the wife of the former mayor. Witnesses have signed affidavits saying they had evidence a dancer was treated for injuries at a Detroit hospital at about the time of the rumored party. ...
Hit man, drug king among witnesses in Detroit stripper lawsuit
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Confessed city "hit man" Vincent Smothers and notorious drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones are among the names on a beefed-up witness list filed by relatives of a slain exotic dancer in their federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham lawyer representing the family of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene, filed the new witness list late Friday. It contains the names of 343 witnesses and classes of witnesses, up from 193 names on an earlier witness list filed in October.
Other names on the expanded witness list include John Bebow, a former reporter for The Detroit News; Matt Allen, a former spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; and exotic dancers described only as "Mia;" Charlotte, also known as "Netta;" and Kelly, also known as "Lucky."
Greene, who was linked to a long-rumored party involving strippers at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside her Detroit home on April 30, 2003. The killing remains unsolved.
Greene's family is suing the city, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and other top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation of Greene's killing for political reasons.
The defendants deny the charges. The case could go to trial this year.
Among the allegations is that Greene sought hospital treatment in the fall of 2002 because she was assaulted at the party by Carlita Kilpatrick, the wife of the former mayor. Witnesses have signed affidavits saying they had evidence a dancer was treated for injuries at a Detroit hospital at about the time of the rumored party. ...
Beatty lists Carlita Kilpatrick as witness in Greene suit
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 17, 2009
Christine Beatty, onetime mistress to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, signaled Friday she would take help where she could find it in a lawsuit against her. In a list of witnesses she might call at trial, the name of Carlita Kilpatrick, the ex-mayor's wife, stood out.
Beatty's lawyer Mayer Morganroth declined to say how Detroit's former first lady could bolster his client's defense in a lawsuit by the family of a slain stripper.
Beatty is one of several city officials named in the suit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, who was rumored to have danced at a Manoogian Mansion party in 2002. According to the rumor, which remains unproven and is denied by the Kilpatricks, Carlita Kilpatrick walked in on the party and assaulted Greene. Greene died in a shooting the following spring. ...
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 17, 2009
Christine Beatty, onetime mistress to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, signaled Friday she would take help where she could find it in a lawsuit against her. In a list of witnesses she might call at trial, the name of Carlita Kilpatrick, the ex-mayor's wife, stood out.
Beatty's lawyer Mayer Morganroth declined to say how Detroit's former first lady could bolster his client's defense in a lawsuit by the family of a slain stripper.
Beatty is one of several city officials named in the suit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, who was rumored to have danced at a Manoogian Mansion party in 2002. According to the rumor, which remains unproven and is denied by the Kilpatricks, Carlita Kilpatrick walked in on the party and assaulted Greene. Greene died in a shooting the following spring. ...
LEONARD PITTS JR.
May Bush live to see history's judgment
BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
January 17, 2009
"History. We don't know. We'll all be dead."
-- George W. Bush
Dear President Bush,
I am glad you are, at 62, still a relatively young man. I am glad you are in robust health. This means there is a good likelihood of your being with us for decades yet to come, and I dearly want that. You see, history's verdict is on the way, and I want you to see it for yourself.
We've been hearing the "h" word a lot from your surrogates, your supporters, and you as you make your final rounds before handing over the keys to the new team. History, we are told, will render the truest verdict on your time in office. History, it is implied, will say you were a far better president than we ever gave you credit for.
You said it again Monday in your farewell news conference. History will have the final say.
It is a curious position for someone who has been, as the quot[ation] above suggests, rather dismissive of history's judgment. It occurs to me that, as patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, so history is the last refuge of the failed president. ...
Once that git is out of office I want to hear nothing more about it, except its obituary.
May Bush live to see history's judgment
BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
January 17, 2009
"History. We don't know. We'll all be dead."
-- George W. Bush
Dear President Bush,
I am glad you are, at 62, still a relatively young man. I am glad you are in robust health. This means there is a good likelihood of your being with us for decades yet to come, and I dearly want that. You see, history's verdict is on the way, and I want you to see it for yourself.
We've been hearing the "h" word a lot from your surrogates, your supporters, and you as you make your final rounds before handing over the keys to the new team. History, we are told, will render the truest verdict on your time in office. History, it is implied, will say you were a far better president than we ever gave you credit for.
You said it again Monday in your farewell news conference. History will have the final say.
It is a curious position for someone who has been, as the quot[ation] above suggests, rather dismissive of history's judgment. It occurs to me that, as patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, so history is the last refuge of the failed president. ...
Once that git is out of office I want to hear nothing more about it, except its obituary.
Good.
Now take away its pension.
Now take away its pension.
scientology + money = the root of all you-know-what
UnitedHealth settles payment suits for $350 million
Thu Jan 15, 2009
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) agreed on Thursday to pay $350 million to resolve class action lawsuits over reimbursing patients for out-of-network medical services.
The settlement comes two days after UnitedHealth struck an agreement with the New York state attorney general following a probe into the independence of the company database used to set reimbursement rates for patients' medical bills.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo also reached agreement on Thursday with another health insurer, Aetna Inc (AET.N), which will pay $20 million to help establish an independent database used for calculating rates.
Aetna's payment adds to the $50 million UnitedHealth agreed to pay earlier this week to fund the database. UnitedHealth is also shutting its Ingenix medical billing information service, which has been at the center of the probe. ...
Thu Jan 15, 2009
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) agreed on Thursday to pay $350 million to resolve class action lawsuits over reimbursing patients for out-of-network medical services.
The settlement comes two days after UnitedHealth struck an agreement with the New York state attorney general following a probe into the independence of the company database used to set reimbursement rates for patients' medical bills.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo also reached agreement on Thursday with another health insurer, Aetna Inc (AET.N), which will pay $20 million to help establish an independent database used for calculating rates.
Aetna's payment adds to the $50 million UnitedHealth agreed to pay earlier this week to fund the database. UnitedHealth is also shutting its Ingenix medical billing information service, which has been at the center of the probe. ...
TVA Disaster Spreads Far and Wide
Erin Brockovich and Robin Greenwald
Posted January 13, 2009
... Hindsight always shows how these tragedies could have been prevented. If history teaches us anything, it shows us that yesterday is our "crystal ball." In the now famous case, Pacific Gas and Electric knew that their contamination was affecting innocent people yet did nothing but try to convince people that the poison was good for them.
If TVA knew of leaks years before this disaster and sat and waited, is "oops" we're sorry" going to be enough?
The infrastructure handling coal fly ash in the U.S. is old and needs to be replaced. Can we worry about the cost of replacing the old with the new when health and safety and the environment depends on it? We can see that contamination moves through air, land and water. Can we sit back and wait for communities to get sick when we can prevent it now?
Science usually lags behind the law. But in this case, law lags behind science because coal fly ash handling is not regulated as it should be. And we have a pretty good grasp on the fact that Coal Fly Ash is not healthy.
A poison is a poison. It certainly can't be good for you. Does anyone believe that the arsenic in the fly ash along with other heavy metals won't leech into the groundwater? 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic compounds unleashed into the garden. We don't need a crystal ball to see the rough road ahead.
Erin Brockovich and Robin Greenwald
Posted January 13, 2009
... Hindsight always shows how these tragedies could have been prevented. If history teaches us anything, it shows us that yesterday is our "crystal ball." In the now famous case, Pacific Gas and Electric knew that their contamination was affecting innocent people yet did nothing but try to convince people that the poison was good for them.
If TVA knew of leaks years before this disaster and sat and waited, is "oops" we're sorry" going to be enough?
The infrastructure handling coal fly ash in the U.S. is old and needs to be replaced. Can we worry about the cost of replacing the old with the new when health and safety and the environment depends on it? We can see that contamination moves through air, land and water. Can we sit back and wait for communities to get sick when we can prevent it now?
Science usually lags behind the law. But in this case, law lags behind science because coal fly ash handling is not regulated as it should be. And we have a pretty good grasp on the fact that Coal Fly Ash is not healthy.
A poison is a poison. It certainly can't be good for you. Does anyone believe that the arsenic in the fly ash along with other heavy metals won't leech into the groundwater? 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic compounds unleashed into the garden. We don't need a crystal ball to see the rough road ahead.
There's now one fewer evil rat in our world: how very nice.
Texts may shed light on Tamara Greene slaying
Magistrates ID 13 messages
By BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 14, 2009
Federal magistrates have identified 13 text messages from city-issued pagers that might shed light on the 2003 killing of stripper Tamara Greene, who was said to have danced at a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion, the Free Press has learned.
It's unclear what the text messages say, who exchanged them or why the magistrate judges singled them out from the hundreds that were exchanged April 30, 2003 — the day Greene was fatally shot — on pagers the city leased from Mississippi-based SkyTel Inc.
Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's teenage son and other family members, sought Wednesday to obtain access to the messages as part of his lawsuit against the city, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his top aide Christine Beatty, police executives and others, lawyers in the case said.
The suit claims that city officials sabotaged the investigation into Greene's death, preventing the family from filing a wrongful death suit against her killers. ...
Magistrates ID 13 messages
By BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 14, 2009
Federal magistrates have identified 13 text messages from city-issued pagers that might shed light on the 2003 killing of stripper Tamara Greene, who was said to have danced at a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion, the Free Press has learned.
It's unclear what the text messages say, who exchanged them or why the magistrate judges singled them out from the hundreds that were exchanged April 30, 2003 — the day Greene was fatally shot — on pagers the city leased from Mississippi-based SkyTel Inc.
Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's teenage son and other family members, sought Wednesday to obtain access to the messages as part of his lawsuit against the city, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his top aide Christine Beatty, police executives and others, lawyers in the case said.
The suit claims that city officials sabotaged the investigation into Greene's death, preventing the family from filing a wrongful death suit against her killers. ...
US accused of abdicating role as human rights defender
Human Rights Watch condemns Bush government, along with criticism of Afghanistan, Israel, Sudan, India, Afghanistan and Palestinian security forces
Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Governments indulging in abuse and repression, including the US, are avoiding human rights legislation and international justice by hiding behind the principle of national sovereignty, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns in a report today.
Abusive practices throughout the world, including Afghanistan, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, has got worse as governments cling to the concept of non-interference . The US, specifically by secretly rendering prisoners to Guantánamo Bay, has abdicated its traditional role as defender of human rights, it adds. ...
Human Rights Watch condemns Bush government, along with criticism of Afghanistan, Israel, Sudan, India, Afghanistan and Palestinian security forces
Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Governments indulging in abuse and repression, including the US, are avoiding human rights legislation and international justice by hiding behind the principle of national sovereignty, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns in a report today.
Abusive practices throughout the world, including Afghanistan, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, has got worse as governments cling to the concept of non-interference . The US, specifically by secretly rendering prisoners to Guantánamo Bay, has abdicated its traditional role as defender of human rights, it adds. ...
Detainee tortured, Bush official admits
January 14, 2009
The U.S. military indeed tortured at least one man held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring detainees to trial says.
Susan Crawford told the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward that interrogation techniques used against Mohammed al-Qahtani left him in a “life-threatening position.”
“His treatment met the legal definition of torture,” she said, explaining why she decided in May to dismiss the charges against him. It’s the first time a senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo has publicly said a detainee was tortured, the Post says.
Al-Qahtani is a Saudi who allegedly planned to participate in the 9/11 attacks. He had to be hospitalized twice because of abusive interrogation. ...
Okay, um, please tell me again which ones are the good guys and which ones are the bad guys.
January 14, 2009
The U.S. military indeed tortured at least one man held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring detainees to trial says.
Susan Crawford told the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward that interrogation techniques used against Mohammed al-Qahtani left him in a “life-threatening position.”
“His treatment met the legal definition of torture,” she said, explaining why she decided in May to dismiss the charges against him. It’s the first time a senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo has publicly said a detainee was tortured, the Post says.
Al-Qahtani is a Saudi who allegedly planned to participate in the 9/11 attacks. He had to be hospitalized twice because of abusive interrogation. ...
Okay, um, please tell me again which ones are the good guys and which ones are the bad guys.
... consider the strange story of Harry Markopolos. Mr. Markopolos is the former investment officer with Rampart Investment Management in Boston who, for nine years, tried to explain to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Bernard L. Madoff couldn’t be anything other than a fraud. Mr. Madoff’s investment performance, given his stated strategy, was not merely improbable but mathematically impossible. And so, Mr. Markopolos reasoned, Bernard Madoff must be doing something other than what he said he was doing.
In his devastatingly persuasive 17-page letter to the S.E.C., Mr. Markopolos saw two possible scenarios. In the “Unlikely” scenario: Mr. Madoff, who acted as a broker as well as an investor, was “front-running” his brokerage customers. A customer might submit an order to Madoff Securities to buy shares in I.B.M. at a certain price, for example, and Madoff Securities instantly would buy I.B.M. shares for its own portfolio ahead of the customer order. If I.B.M.’s shares rose, Mr. Madoff kept them; if they fell he fobbed them off onto the poor customer.
In the “Highly Likely” scenario, wrote Mr. Markopolos, “Madoff Securities is the world’s largest Ponzi Scheme.” Which, as we now know, it was.
Harry Markopolos sent his report to the S.E.C. on Nov. 7, 2005 — more than three years before Mr. Madoff was finally exposed — but he had been trying to explain the fraud to them since 1999. He had no direct financial interest in exposing Mr. Madoff — he wasn’t an unhappy investor or a disgruntled employee. There was no way to short shares in Madoff Securities, and so Mr. Markopolos could not have made money directly from Mr. Madoff’s failure. To judge from his letter, Harry Markopolos anticipated mainly downsides for himself: he declined to put his name on it for fear of what might happen to him and his family if anyone found out he had written it. And yet the S.E.C.’s cursory investigation of Mr. Madoff pronounced him free of fraud. ...
In his devastatingly persuasive 17-page letter to the S.E.C., Mr. Markopolos saw two possible scenarios. In the “Unlikely” scenario: Mr. Madoff, who acted as a broker as well as an investor, was “front-running” his brokerage customers. A customer might submit an order to Madoff Securities to buy shares in I.B.M. at a certain price, for example, and Madoff Securities instantly would buy I.B.M. shares for its own portfolio ahead of the customer order. If I.B.M.’s shares rose, Mr. Madoff kept them; if they fell he fobbed them off onto the poor customer.
In the “Highly Likely” scenario, wrote Mr. Markopolos, “Madoff Securities is the world’s largest Ponzi Scheme.” Which, as we now know, it was.
Harry Markopolos sent his report to the S.E.C. on Nov. 7, 2005 — more than three years before Mr. Madoff was finally exposed — but he had been trying to explain the fraud to them since 1999. He had no direct financial interest in exposing Mr. Madoff — he wasn’t an unhappy investor or a disgruntled employee. There was no way to short shares in Madoff Securities, and so Mr. Markopolos could not have made money directly from Mr. Madoff’s failure. To judge from his letter, Harry Markopolos anticipated mainly downsides for himself: he declined to put his name on it for fear of what might happen to him and his family if anyone found out he had written it. And yet the S.E.C.’s cursory investigation of Mr. Madoff pronounced him free of fraud. ...
If pat robertson's a good christian, I'm a millionaire whom scrabble adores.
Dontcha just love it that the racists themselves invariably prove their theories faulty?
More than 170 people around the globe, including at least 61 in the United States, have been arrested in a major operation targeting international child pornographers, officials said Friday. ...
epa = evil polluters' advocate
There are more people in slavery now than at any other time in human history....
M'tags say it all, girls and boys.
The bastards threatened him so much he dumped the list. My review still stands.
Listen: it's the nazis whining.
Ha!
I have no sympathy for this lot either. No one with a functioning brain and heart joins the bnp (or kkk!), especially those who can remember mosely's day.
CAPTION: 'SIR OSWALD ERNALD MOSLEY (1896 - 1980)'
HUGE SWASTIKA FILLS THE SCREEN. PULL BACK TO REVEAL OVERLAYED MEL SMITH, GRIFF RHYS-JONES AND PAMELA STEPHENSON COSTUMED AS SKINHEADS. THEY SING:
ALL
They didn't understand him
Some people called him mad
But any friend of Hitler's
Can't have been all bad.
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
SMITH
He was popular and handsome
As Richard Burton
'Cos I seen him on the box once
With his black shirt on
And though I cannot claim to be
Any great authority
As far as I'm concerned
The sun shone out of his oratory
ALL
He could have been a great dictator,
Given half a chance
But they treated him like a traitor
So he went to live in France
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
STEPHENSON
And when they heard he was dead...
ALL
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
RHYS-JONES
...this is what the papers all said:
"Genuinely eager to champion the unemployed and other underdogs... dynamic and handsome, popular... gifted and a natural leader"
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Guardian'
STEPHENSON
"Brilliant man in the Commons... compassionate and humane... a man of genuine courage and inspiring leadership"
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Daily Telegraph'
SMITH
"Thought to have been the most handsome and gifted British political leader of the twentieth century ...brilliant debater, gifted, lucid and compassionate..."
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Times'
Not The Nine O'Clock News
Series 3, Show 7 (08/12/80)
1980 BBC - EMI Music Ltd
PS: SU claims the site's unavailable, which isn't true.
PPS: Someone needs to do the same thing with Yankistan's kkk membership.
Listen: it's the nazis whining.
Ha!
I have no sympathy for this lot either. No one with a functioning brain and heart joins the bnp (or kkk!), especially those who can remember mosely's day.
CAPTION: 'SIR OSWALD ERNALD MOSLEY (1896 - 1980)'
HUGE SWASTIKA FILLS THE SCREEN. PULL BACK TO REVEAL OVERLAYED MEL SMITH, GRIFF RHYS-JONES AND PAMELA STEPHENSON COSTUMED AS SKINHEADS. THEY SING:
ALL
They didn't understand him
Some people called him mad
But any friend of Hitler's
Can't have been all bad.
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
SMITH
He was popular and handsome
As Richard Burton
'Cos I seen him on the box once
With his black shirt on
And though I cannot claim to be
Any great authority
As far as I'm concerned
The sun shone out of his oratory
ALL
He could have been a great dictator,
Given half a chance
But they treated him like a traitor
So he went to live in France
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
STEPHENSON
And when they heard he was dead...
ALL
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley
RHYS-JONES
...this is what the papers all said:
"Genuinely eager to champion the unemployed and other underdogs... dynamic and handsome, popular... gifted and a natural leader"
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Guardian'
STEPHENSON
"Brilliant man in the Commons... compassionate and humane... a man of genuine courage and inspiring leadership"
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Daily Telegraph'
SMITH
"Thought to have been the most handsome and gifted British political leader of the twentieth century ...brilliant debater, gifted, lucid and compassionate..."
CAPTION ADDS FOOTNOTE 'The Times'
Not The Nine O'Clock News
Series 3, Show 7 (08/12/80)
1980 BBC - EMI Music Ltd
PS: SU claims the site's unavailable, which isn't true.
PPS: Someone needs to do the same thing with Yankistan's kkk membership.
Hanging's too good for this rich prick.
clinton twp, MI is one of the world's least pleasant places.
All too often birth control isn't used by the people who need it the most, like this evil bitch.
... What kind of monsters would force a teen to prematurely birth her child (who was subsequently thrown into a canal since he/she was deemed illegitimate by a killer father-in-law) and then based on some asinine rodent's "wisdom" would throw her to a pack of rabid canines?
While this epic torture drama ensued, hitmen were sent after Taslim's absconding mother to snuff out her life too. However, if all of this doesn't inspire serious fear and fury in you, then take heart in the knowledge that a government official - a top level assistant commissioner, no less - was at the helm of these vile proceedings. Yes, officially signed, sealed and delivered...
These "men" are not human, and no animal is that cruel. I don't know what they are, but they sure as hell ain't members of my species.
While this epic torture drama ensued, hitmen were sent after Taslim's absconding mother to snuff out her life too. However, if all of this doesn't inspire serious fear and fury in you, then take heart in the knowledge that a government official - a top level assistant commissioner, no less - was at the helm of these vile proceedings. Yes, officially signed, sealed and delivered...
These "men" are not human, and no animal is that cruel. I don't know what they are, but they sure as hell ain't members of my species.
shrub jr isn't just stupid: he's stupid and evil.
...I do not believe in teaching children self esteem or that they should feel good about themselves, because they should not..... ...We are born with a desire to sin. We are all born God hating and evil. ...
That says it all. Must really suck being its kid, and getting fed daily loads of this black magic bullshit.
That says it all. Must really suck being its kid, and getting fed daily loads of this black magic bullshit.
Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama
Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.
By Tim Shipman in Washington
08 Nov 2008
The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.
The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.
But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.
The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.
Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"
The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.
Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."
Irate John McCain aides, who blame Mrs Palin for losing the election, claim Mrs Palin took it upon herself to question Mr Obama's patriotism, before the line of attack had been cleared by Mr McCain. ...
Remember, girls and boys: such tactics are only used by the bad guys, so stay away from all those who do.
Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.
By Tim Shipman in Washington
08 Nov 2008
The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.
The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.
But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.
The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.
Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"
The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.
Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."
Irate John McCain aides, who blame Mrs Palin for losing the election, claim Mrs Palin took it upon herself to question Mr Obama's patriotism, before the line of attack had been cleared by Mr McCain. ...
Remember, girls and boys: such tactics are only used by the bad guys, so stay away from all those who do.
M'tags say it all, kids.
Hate-filled men with rocks murdered a child because she was raped. This is the 21st century?! Why didn't they stone the rapist instead?
This is a perfect example of why I have a pathological fear of "organis/zed" religion.
This is a perfect example of why I have a pathological fear of "organis/zed" religion.
Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case
Mark Jacoby, who owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state laws with his own registration, authorities say.
By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 20, 2008
SACRAMENTO -- The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.
State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.
Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters.
The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP. ...
Mark Jacoby, who owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state laws with his own registration, authorities say.
By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 20, 2008
SACRAMENTO -- The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.
State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.
Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters.
The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP. ...
Spam sender pleads guilty
Man admits he manipulated stock market through e-mail; will testify against alleged spam 'king.'
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Saturday, October 18, 2008
DETROIT -- A stock manipulator pleaded guilty Friday to federal fraud and money laundering charges and agreed to testify against alleged Michigan "spam king" Alan Ralsky.
Francis "Frankie" Tribble, 41, of Los Angeles, who is already in prison for murder, pleaded guilty from a wheelchair in what prosecutors have called the largest criminal spam and Internet fraud case in American history.
Tribble, who is to be sentenced Feb. 5, admitted he made more than $2 million through the scheme, which involved sending tens of millions of unsolicited e-mail messages to pump up the prices of Chinese stocks held by Tribble and his co-conspirators. ...
... Of 11 defendants indicted in the spam case, Tribble is the second to plead guilty and agree to testify against the lead defendant, Ralsky of West Bloomfield.
Judy Devenow, 56, of East Lansing, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges on Tuesday and is also to be sentenced Feb. 5.
Prosecutors allege Ralsky made $3 million in the summer of 2005 alone as a result of the illegal spamming. ...
ralsky's a real ass.
"This is the greatest business in the world," Ralsky told Free Press columnist Mike Wendland in 2002, adding that spamming had made him a millionaire. "I'll never quit. I like what I do."
Man admits he manipulated stock market through e-mail; will testify against alleged spam 'king.'
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Saturday, October 18, 2008
DETROIT -- A stock manipulator pleaded guilty Friday to federal fraud and money laundering charges and agreed to testify against alleged Michigan "spam king" Alan Ralsky.
Francis "Frankie" Tribble, 41, of Los Angeles, who is already in prison for murder, pleaded guilty from a wheelchair in what prosecutors have called the largest criminal spam and Internet fraud case in American history.
Tribble, who is to be sentenced Feb. 5, admitted he made more than $2 million through the scheme, which involved sending tens of millions of unsolicited e-mail messages to pump up the prices of Chinese stocks held by Tribble and his co-conspirators. ...
... Of 11 defendants indicted in the spam case, Tribble is the second to plead guilty and agree to testify against the lead defendant, Ralsky of West Bloomfield.
Judy Devenow, 56, of East Lansing, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges on Tuesday and is also to be sentenced Feb. 5.
Prosecutors allege Ralsky made $3 million in the summer of 2005 alone as a result of the illegal spamming. ...
ralsky's a real ass.
"This is the greatest business in the world," Ralsky told Free Press columnist Mike Wendland in 2002, adding that spamming had made him a millionaire. "I'll never quit. I like what I do."
Either they're aliens or I am - that sure as hell ain't my species talkin'!
Can you say, "Vasectomy?" I knew you could.
ms sutton-smith? A Mr Darwin on the telephone for you, madame.
"Worrying?" How about "disgusting" or "shocking" or "horrifying"?
M'tags say it all.
Permalink
Permalink
A former top Justice Department prosecutor now working for John McCain's presidential campaign has been helping to direct an aggressive legal strategy aimed at shutting down a pre-election ethics investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The growing role of Edward O'Callaghan, who until six weeks ago served as co-chief of the terrorism and national security unit of the U.S. attorney's office in New York, illustrates just how seriously the McCain campaign is taking the so-called "troopergate" inquiry into Palin's firing last summer of Walt Monegan, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. ...
The growing role of Edward O'Callaghan, who until six weeks ago served as co-chief of the terrorism and national security unit of the U.S. attorney's office in New York, illustrates just how seriously the McCain campaign is taking the so-called "troopergate" inquiry into Palin's firing last summer of Walt Monegan, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. ...
Let the record show McCain's cheating past
Voters entitled to know the good, bad and ugly
September 16, 2008
BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist
Suppose Barack Obama had dumped a crippled wife and married a beer heiress one month after the divorce.
Do you really think he wouldn't have been tripped up by such a scandalous past?
The Republicans would have had a field day mocking his character.
But John McCain's tawdry personal history is rarely mentioned.
Carol, McCain's first wife, wasn't even a comma in the video presentation about McCain's life that was shown to millions of viewers during the Republican convention.
But it was Carol who was left behind to take care of the couple's three children while McCain served his country.
And it was Carol who stuck with McCain during his long incarceration in a Vietnam prison camp.
If McCain is a war hero, then Carol is a war heroine.
Yet she was written off when McCain fell in love with a younger woman.
When McCain returned from Vietnam, he discovered that his wife, a former swimsuit model, had been seriously injured in an automobile accident.
"My accident is well recorded," Carol said in a rare interview with the Daily Mail. ..."
Voters entitled to know the good, bad and ugly
September 16, 2008
BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist
Suppose Barack Obama had dumped a crippled wife and married a beer heiress one month after the divorce.
Do you really think he wouldn't have been tripped up by such a scandalous past?
The Republicans would have had a field day mocking his character.
But John McCain's tawdry personal history is rarely mentioned.
Carol, McCain's first wife, wasn't even a comma in the video presentation about McCain's life that was shown to millions of viewers during the Republican convention.
But it was Carol who was left behind to take care of the couple's three children while McCain served his country.
And it was Carol who stuck with McCain during his long incarceration in a Vietnam prison camp.
If McCain is a war hero, then Carol is a war heroine.
Yet she was written off when McCain fell in love with a younger woman.
When McCain returned from Vietnam, he discovered that his wife, a former swimsuit model, had been seriously injured in an automobile accident.
"My accident is well recorded," Carol said in a rare interview with the Daily Mail. ..."
Government workers in oil industry sex and drug scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Department employees who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business, an internal government report said on Wednesday.
Employees at the department's Minerals Management Service "socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies," according to the department's inspector general, Earl Devaney.
"When confronted by our investigators, none of the employees involved displayed remorse," Devaney said.
The alleged activities occurred between 2002 and 2006 and involved 19 former and current workers at the Minerals Management Service's offices in Denver and Washington. Devaney recommended that those still on the job be fired.
The workers were involved in the "royalty-in-kind" program that collects and sells oil and gas turned over by energy companies as royalties for drilling on federal lands. About $4 billion a year in royalty-in-kind oil and gas is collected and sold by the department.
The oil companies named in the report were Chevron, Shell Oil, Hess Corp and Gary Williams Energy Corp. ...
1st Update:
Interior Secretary "outraged" by oil-sex scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Thursday said he was "outraged" by department workers who had sex, used drugs and took gifts from employees at regulated oil companies, while one senator called for a Bush administration official to resign over the scandal.
The Interior Department's inspector general issued a scathing report on Wednesday that found "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at the department's Minerals Management Service, whose employees handled billions of dollars in oil and natural gas supplies that were turned over by companies as in-kind royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
"I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service's royalty-in-kind program," Kempthorne said. "We will take swift action to restore the public trust."
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida called for the agency's top head, MMS director Randall Luthi, to resign. ...
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Department employees who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business, an internal government report said on Wednesday.
Employees at the department's Minerals Management Service "socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies," according to the department's inspector general, Earl Devaney.
"When confronted by our investigators, none of the employees involved displayed remorse," Devaney said.
The alleged activities occurred between 2002 and 2006 and involved 19 former and current workers at the Minerals Management Service's offices in Denver and Washington. Devaney recommended that those still on the job be fired.
The workers were involved in the "royalty-in-kind" program that collects and sells oil and gas turned over by energy companies as royalties for drilling on federal lands. About $4 billion a year in royalty-in-kind oil and gas is collected and sold by the department.
The oil companies named in the report were Chevron, Shell Oil, Hess Corp and Gary Williams Energy Corp. ...
1st Update:
Interior Secretary "outraged" by oil-sex scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Thursday said he was "outraged" by department workers who had sex, used drugs and took gifts from employees at regulated oil companies, while one senator called for a Bush administration official to resign over the scandal.
The Interior Department's inspector general issued a scathing report on Wednesday that found "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at the department's Minerals Management Service, whose employees handled billions of dollars in oil and natural gas supplies that were turned over by companies as in-kind royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
"I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service's royalty-in-kind program," Kempthorne said. "We will take swift action to restore the public trust."
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida called for the agency's top head, MMS director Randall Luthi, to resign. ...
This isn't what we mean when we tell the oil companies "Go get fucked!"
Remember, girls and boys: Evil is always stupid and/or insane.
Land of the free and home of the brave, girls and boys.
bush, stay out of mine!
Anyone who thinks sexism is a myth is sound asleep.
Evil, stupid, vile cow. I'd expect nothing less from its chosen running mate.
Wonder how long it will be before it's cheating on its wife with this, unless of course it already has done.
Wonder how long it will be before it's cheating on its wife with this, unless of course it already has done.
August 10, 2008
Why Microsoft and Intel tried to kill the XO $100 laptop
Nicholas Negroponte had a vision: to build a $100 laptop and give away millions to educate the world's poorest children. And then the fat-cat multinationals got scared and broke it...
..."I had wildly underestimated," says Negroponte, "the degree to which commercial entities will go to disrupt a humanitarian project." ...
The Powers What Am have never wanted the masses to be educated, especially women and children.
Why Microsoft and Intel tried to kill the XO $100 laptop
Nicholas Negroponte had a vision: to build a $100 laptop and give away millions to educate the world's poorest children. And then the fat-cat multinationals got scared and broke it...
..."I had wildly underestimated," says Negroponte, "the degree to which commercial entities will go to disrupt a humanitarian project." ...
The Powers What Am have never wanted the masses to be educated, especially women and children.
This man should be banned for life from keeping any animals.
Geld this monster; keeping horses tethered w/o access to water is certainly a geldable crime.
Skip the ana/esthetic.
Skip the ana/esthetic.
'Spam king' commits suicide after killing wife, daughter
25 July 2006
LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- An escaped convict who had been jailed for sending huge numbers of junk emails has been found dead with his wife and daughter in an apparent murder-suicide, Colorado police said Friday.
Edward Davidson, 35, dubbed the "spam king" after being sentenced to 21 months in prison in May, was found dead by his car on Thursday, four days after he escaped from a minimum security prison in Florence, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Denver. ...
25 July 2006
LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- An escaped convict who had been jailed for sending huge numbers of junk emails has been found dead with his wife and daughter in an apparent murder-suicide, Colorado police said Friday.
Edward Davidson, 35, dubbed the "spam king" after being sentenced to 21 months in prison in May, was found dead by his car on Thursday, four days after he escaped from a minimum security prison in Florence, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Denver. ...
DIG!
George Bush Asks Congress For Latest Capitulation, On Drilling
President George Bush Jr. today lifted the executive ban on domestic offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, the same ban that his liberal father instituted 20-ish years ago. Take that, old retreating hack! But before the oil companies can start drilling off of your dock, Congress must lift its ban. Well that should be tough! We predict that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will whine about this for a good week, maybe 10 days, but should have a piece of drilling legislation ready for Bush's Rose Garden signin' desk by next Friday.
Tonashideska says at 3:22 pm, July 14th, 2008
Just as long as the first well is drilled in Kennebunkport Harbor.
Couldna put it better myself, Tonashideska.
George Bush Asks Congress For Latest Capitulation, On Drilling
President George Bush Jr. today lifted the executive ban on domestic offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, the same ban that his liberal father instituted 20-ish years ago. Take that, old retreating hack! But before the oil companies can start drilling off of your dock, Congress must lift its ban. Well that should be tough! We predict that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will whine about this for a good week, maybe 10 days, but should have a piece of drilling legislation ready for Bush's Rose Garden signin' desk by next Friday.
Tonashideska says at 3:22 pm, July 14th, 2008
Just as long as the first well is drilled in Kennebunkport Harbor.
Couldna put it better myself, Tonashideska.
This is about as disgusting and sickening as a comparison between the vatican and Rio's slums.
... The high volume of charges has prompted the Ohio Civil Rights Commission to launch a broad investigation into the possibility of an abusive environment at the Jeep complex, the Free Press has learned.
In the past four years, nine federal lawsuits have been filed in Toledo against Chrysler regarding sexual harassment at the Jeep plant. Seventy-three charges of civil rights violations have been filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, with more than 40 coming within the past 18 months, records show.
The 45 civil rights complaints in the last 18 months is more than five times the number of charges leveled against General Motors Corp.'s comparably sized operations in and around Toledo.
Some of the Jeep plant cases highlight Chrysler's requirement that job applicants waive the full amount of time they have under the law to file a legal claim, a provision allowed by the courts that one Michigan judge has called "unconscionable."
The lawsuits and claims together portray an assembly plant where certain supervisors and union leaders used their power to demand sex from female workers in exchange for letting the women keep their jobs or favorable assignments. Workers say UAW and company officials turned a blind eye -- and a federal judge and investigators have affirmed that officials failed to protect employees. ...
In the past four years, nine federal lawsuits have been filed in Toledo against Chrysler regarding sexual harassment at the Jeep plant. Seventy-three charges of civil rights violations have been filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, with more than 40 coming within the past 18 months, records show.
The 45 civil rights complaints in the last 18 months is more than five times the number of charges leveled against General Motors Corp.'s comparably sized operations in and around Toledo.
Some of the Jeep plant cases highlight Chrysler's requirement that job applicants waive the full amount of time they have under the law to file a legal claim, a provision allowed by the courts that one Michigan judge has called "unconscionable."
The lawsuits and claims together portray an assembly plant where certain supervisors and union leaders used their power to demand sex from female workers in exchange for letting the women keep their jobs or favorable assignments. Workers say UAW and company officials turned a blind eye -- and a federal judge and investigators have affirmed that officials failed to protect employees. ...
I want my country back. I don't like the "o" in its being superfluous.
GOP donates offending button vendor money
June 19, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas, June 19 (UPI) -- The Republican Party of Texas said the $1,500 paid by a convention vendor whose button was decried as racist will be given to charity. ...
... The Texas GOP said the money Alcox paid to rent space at the party's Houston convention will be donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to benefit the victims of flooding in the Midwest.
"This vendor need not apply to another Texas GOP state convention," spokesman Hans Klingler said. "We will not tolerate nor profit from bigotry." ...
... "I thought what we were doing was clever and funny," [alcox] said. "We've never had a black president. ... It was just a mistake."
Only a white man would call it "just a mistake," and only a white man could think that feeble apology sufficient.
June 19, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas, June 19 (UPI) -- The Republican Party of Texas said the $1,500 paid by a convention vendor whose button was decried as racist will be given to charity. ...
... The Texas GOP said the money Alcox paid to rent space at the party's Houston convention will be donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to benefit the victims of flooding in the Midwest.
"This vendor need not apply to another Texas GOP state convention," spokesman Hans Klingler said. "We will not tolerate nor profit from bigotry." ...
... "I thought what we were doing was clever and funny," [alcox] said. "We've never had a black president. ... It was just a mistake."
Only a white man would call it "just a mistake," and only a white man could think that feeble apology sufficient.
These are the ignorant addlepates who created that racist Obama button which makes me question my species. Folks like them keep the bleach companies in business - gotta keep them sheets and hoods nice 'n' white, you know.
PS: How is racism patriotic? Although the rethuglicans have given this prick's booth rental money to the Red Cross and are attempting to "distance themselves" from his ass, I'm still so angry I'm all verklempt. Discuss amongst yourselves. You can call and/or email them and ask them: Phone: 407-333-2983 Email: sales@republicanmarket.com
PS: How is racism patriotic? Although the rethuglicans have given this prick's booth rental money to the Red Cross and are attempting to "distance themselves" from his ass, I'm still so angry I'm all verklempt. Discuss amongst yourselves. You can call and/or email them and ask them: Phone: 407-333-2983 Email: sales@republicanmarket.com
School board member's kids now wards of court
By PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
June 18, 2008
Detroit school board member Reverend David Murray's six children were made wards of the court on Wednesday, pending an evaluation into both the parents and the children.
Judge Mark Slavens set an Aug. 4 date to for another hearing on the investigation's results. Of the couple's children -- ages 2 to 16 -- four are now living with relatives, one is in juvenile custody on an unrelated matter and a sixth is reported missing, Slavens said.
The petition against Murray and his wife, Tanisha Murray, stated the couple had a history with Child Protective Services dating back to 1996, Slavens said. One child is the couple's natural child, four are adopted and one is Tanisha Murray's child from a previous marriage.
The current complaint documents problems such as broken windows, a hole in the roof and no electricity in the couple's two west-side homes.
Tanisha Murray said she and the children were living in a different house than Reverend Murray.
She also admitted that the couple's two-year-old daughter, who weighs 23 pounds, is underweight because she is unable to feed her enough. ...
I think she means that "she is unwilling to feed her enough," and that's more than a paddlin.'
By PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
June 18, 2008
Detroit school board member Reverend David Murray's six children were made wards of the court on Wednesday, pending an evaluation into both the parents and the children.
Judge Mark Slavens set an Aug. 4 date to for another hearing on the investigation's results. Of the couple's children -- ages 2 to 16 -- four are now living with relatives, one is in juvenile custody on an unrelated matter and a sixth is reported missing, Slavens said.
The petition against Murray and his wife, Tanisha Murray, stated the couple had a history with Child Protective Services dating back to 1996, Slavens said. One child is the couple's natural child, four are adopted and one is Tanisha Murray's child from a previous marriage.
The current complaint documents problems such as broken windows, a hole in the roof and no electricity in the couple's two west-side homes.
Tanisha Murray said she and the children were living in a different house than Reverend Murray.
She also admitted that the couple's two-year-old daughter, who weighs 23 pounds, is underweight because she is unable to feed her enough. ...
I think she means that "she is unwilling to feed her enough," and that's more than a paddlin.'
If we must have them, let's build all 45 nuke plants in WALNUTS!' backyard and then see how he likes them.
I have rarely been more embarassed and disgusted by my fellow Yankistanis....I can't possibly be the same species as these creatures.
Yes, Virginia, there are very evil people in this world; some of them rule entire countries.
Simple.
Neuter 'em. Sans l'anesthsique.
Neuter 'em. Sans l'anesthsique.
Senate Republicans block windfall taxes on Big Oil
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
Jun 11, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.
GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. High prices at the pump are threatening everything from summer vacations to Meals on Wheels deliveries to the elderly.
The Democratic energy package would have imposed a 25 percent tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies, which together made $36 billion during the first three months of the year. It also would have given the government more power to address oil market speculation, opened the way for antitrust actions against countries belonging to the OPEC oil cartel, and made energy price gouging a federal crime.
"Americans are furious about what's going on," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. He said they want Congress to do something about oil company profits and the "orgy of speculation" on oil markets.
But Republican leaders said the Democrats' plan would do harm rather than good - and they kept the legislation from being brought up for debate and amendments. ...
... Shortly after the oil tax vote, Republicans blocked a second proposal that would extend tax breaks that have either expired or are scheduled to end this year for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. Again Democrats couldn't get the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster. ...
"This was politics at its worst," complained Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "This was a refusal to debate the biggest problem confronting the American people. ... That takes nerve."
That's not nerve, it's evil.
WTF couldn't the democrats get a filibuster going? WTF is wrong with these people?
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
Jun 11, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.
GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. High prices at the pump are threatening everything from summer vacations to Meals on Wheels deliveries to the elderly.
The Democratic energy package would have imposed a 25 percent tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies, which together made $36 billion during the first three months of the year. It also would have given the government more power to address oil market speculation, opened the way for antitrust actions against countries belonging to the OPEC oil cartel, and made energy price gouging a federal crime.
"Americans are furious about what's going on," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. He said they want Congress to do something about oil company profits and the "orgy of speculation" on oil markets.
But Republican leaders said the Democrats' plan would do harm rather than good - and they kept the legislation from being brought up for debate and amendments. ...
... Shortly after the oil tax vote, Republicans blocked a second proposal that would extend tax breaks that have either expired or are scheduled to end this year for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. Again Democrats couldn't get the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster. ...
"This was politics at its worst," complained Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "This was a refusal to debate the biggest problem confronting the American people. ... That takes nerve."
That's not nerve, it's evil.
WTF couldn't the democrats get a filibuster going? WTF is wrong with these people?
[German accent]Your papahs, please.[/German accent]
Thumbs up for increasing awareness only.
Thumbs up for increasing awareness only.
Anyone who'd vote for this creature needs heavy-duty therapy.
Oh, that's right! We don't elect our own president - th' electoral college does.
Oh, that's right! We don't elect our own president - th' electoral college does.
...the puff pastries with corn and mozzarella, pasta with pumpkin and shrimp, and rolls of thinly sliced veal served up Tuesday at a U.N. conference on fighting hunger were a contrast to bleak accounts of starving people around the world. ...
Women in 10th-century societies like this are nothing but baby-machines and completely disposable. Their religious leaders claim that women have no souls.
How is this possible?
Thumbs up for awareness only.
How is this possible?
Thumbs up for awareness only.
Screw you, washington dc.
Join a seed-swapping community and use only (preferably heirloom) seeds from real people, not monsanto-suckers.
May 16, 2008
Texas officials sue US over border fence
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Texas mayors and business leaders filed a class-action lawsuit Friday alleging Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hoodwinked landowners into waiving their property rights for construction of a fence along the Mexican border.
Members of the Texas Border Coalition said Chertoff did not fairly negotiate compensation with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys to choose fence sites. The coalition of mayors and business and community leaders is seeking an injunction to block work on the fence.
They also want a federal judge to rescind all the agreements with landowners and to order Chertoff to start again. The department has sought and won access from hundreds of landowners to determine where to build the fence and other barriers to illegal border crossings. ...
... Landowners were visited by officials from Homeland Security, Army Corps of Engineers and Customs and Border Patrol. But the government didn't send anyone to advise the owners' of their property rights, Schey said. Some landowners accepted offers of $100 for access to their land.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly denied allegations of unfair negotiations, saying it has bent over backward to work with landowners. ...
That last paragraph I quoted was poorly written. It should say, "...it bent landowners backward..."
Texas officials sue US over border fence
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Texas mayors and business leaders filed a class-action lawsuit Friday alleging Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hoodwinked landowners into waiving their property rights for construction of a fence along the Mexican border.
Members of the Texas Border Coalition said Chertoff did not fairly negotiate compensation with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys to choose fence sites. The coalition of mayors and business and community leaders is seeking an injunction to block work on the fence.
They also want a federal judge to rescind all the agreements with landowners and to order Chertoff to start again. The department has sought and won access from hundreds of landowners to determine where to build the fence and other barriers to illegal border crossings. ...
... Landowners were visited by officials from Homeland Security, Army Corps of Engineers and Customs and Border Patrol. But the government didn't send anyone to advise the owners' of their property rights, Schey said. Some landowners accepted offers of $100 for access to their land.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly denied allegations of unfair negotiations, saying it has bent over backward to work with landowners. ...
That last paragraph I quoted was poorly written. It should say, "...it bent landowners backward..."
It's not a religion, it's a CULT.
Why are white supremists* breathing the same oxygen I am? It makes me feel like my lungs need a bath.
*Not a typo: has anyone ever heard a white supremist correctly pronounce that word?
*Not a typo: has anyone ever heard a white supremist correctly pronounce that word?
Hobo Jim McGreevey Cannot Afford Alimony
Poor sad ex-TGI Friday's gay romancer and New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey is so poor that he lives on cat food and canned beans, so he cannot spare any wooden nickles from his bindle for his betrayed former wife who "should have known he was gay" when she married him.
McGreevey earned a mere $429,000 in 2006 and $185,000 in 2007. This is why he is too poor to pay alimony to Dina Matos McGreevey or his other ex-wife, with whom he also fathered a child.
The former governor is expected to take his hobo act on the road, singing "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" from the backs of freight trains in order to cover his extensive legal fees. He will also perform sex acts at middlebrow chain restaurants for money. ...
Poor sad ex-TGI Friday's gay romancer and New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey is so poor that he lives on cat food and canned beans, so he cannot spare any wooden nickles from his bindle for his betrayed former wife who "should have known he was gay" when she married him.
McGreevey earned a mere $429,000 in 2006 and $185,000 in 2007. This is why he is too poor to pay alimony to Dina Matos McGreevey or his other ex-wife, with whom he also fathered a child.
The former governor is expected to take his hobo act on the road, singing "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" from the backs of freight trains in order to cover his extensive legal fees. He will also perform sex acts at middlebrow chain restaurants for money. ...
Firefighters get upper hand on Florida wildfire
By TRAVIS REED
Associated Press Writer
May 15, 1:58 PM EDT
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) -- A man accused of lobbing a Molotov cocktail into woods that are among the thousands of acres that have burned along Florida's Atlantic coast conceded Thursday that he may have accidentally sparked a fire.
But Brian Crowder, 31, said he tossed a cigarette, not a bottle full of flammable liquid, out of his car.
"I believe that I accidentally may have - may have - started by tossing a cigarette out the door," Crowder told a horde of reporters as he was being led in shackles by police early Thursday. ...
... A resident alerted police after allegedly seeing Crowder throw an object from his car that sparked a small fire in the woods, Palm Bay Detective Ernie Diebel said. The object was a glass bottle containing an accelerant, Berger said.
Crowder was stopped a short time later and apprehended after fleeing from police. During the chase, Berger said Crowder set a few small fires with a long-stemmed lighter trying to throw police off, but those too were insignificant. He was found hiding under a pile of leaves in the woods.
Berger said Crowder's mother told police he had a juvenile fascination with fire. ...
He's still juvenile then, eh Mum?
By TRAVIS REED
Associated Press Writer
May 15, 1:58 PM EDT
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) -- A man accused of lobbing a Molotov cocktail into woods that are among the thousands of acres that have burned along Florida's Atlantic coast conceded Thursday that he may have accidentally sparked a fire.
But Brian Crowder, 31, said he tossed a cigarette, not a bottle full of flammable liquid, out of his car.
"I believe that I accidentally may have - may have - started by tossing a cigarette out the door," Crowder told a horde of reporters as he was being led in shackles by police early Thursday. ...
... A resident alerted police after allegedly seeing Crowder throw an object from his car that sparked a small fire in the woods, Palm Bay Detective Ernie Diebel said. The object was a glass bottle containing an accelerant, Berger said.
Crowder was stopped a short time later and apprehended after fleeing from police. During the chase, Berger said Crowder set a few small fires with a long-stemmed lighter trying to throw police off, but those too were insignificant. He was found hiding under a pile of leaves in the woods.
Berger said Crowder's mother told police he had a juvenile fascination with fire. ...
He's still juvenile then, eh Mum?
"Men" after shrub's own "heart."
Doubtless their legal team will reincarnate as cockroaches - again.
Texas authorities investigate more polygamy charges
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
CLYDE, Texas (AP) -- Behind guarded, ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed prophet warns his followers about the end of time and rails against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas compound.
The women are covered in long skirts and long-sleeve shirts. Many of the children have different mothers and share the same father.
But this isn't the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' ranch, which authorities raided last month in Eldorado after receiving reports that underage girls were being forced to marry much older men.
This is the House of Yahweh: a different, even darker sect that the state has been investigating for years. Authorities in February charged the group's 73-year-old leader with performing polygamous weddings and forcing about 40 children - some as young as 11 - to work jobs at his 44-acre compound.
"If a bunch of adults want to get together and follow some con man and throw their lives away, that's their right in this country," said Callahan County District Attorney Shane Deel. "But to me, when you do that to children and they don't have a chance, that's where the biggest concern is."
If convicted on the most serious charges, Yisrayl Hawkins faces up to 20 years in prison.
Another sect leader, Yedidiyah Hawkins, goes to court this summer on charges of sexually abusing a teenager, bigamy and welfare fraud.
Questions have also been raised about at least two deaths within the sect.
A 7-year-old died in 2003 after her mother and another member performed home surgery on her infected leg. Both women were convicted of injury to a child.
And in 2006, a woman bled to death after giving birth because she was prevented from going to the hospital, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her husband.
Although members deny they practice polygamy, former members say Yisrayl Hawkins has at least two dozen wives - and state records show he fathered two babies last year with women ages 19 and 22. ...
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer
CLYDE, Texas (AP) -- Behind guarded, ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed prophet warns his followers about the end of time and rails against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas compound.
The women are covered in long skirts and long-sleeve shirts. Many of the children have different mothers and share the same father.
But this isn't the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' ranch, which authorities raided last month in Eldorado after receiving reports that underage girls were being forced to marry much older men.
This is the House of Yahweh: a different, even darker sect that the state has been investigating for years. Authorities in February charged the group's 73-year-old leader with performing polygamous weddings and forcing about 40 children - some as young as 11 - to work jobs at his 44-acre compound.
"If a bunch of adults want to get together and follow some con man and throw their lives away, that's their right in this country," said Callahan County District Attorney Shane Deel. "But to me, when you do that to children and they don't have a chance, that's where the biggest concern is."
If convicted on the most serious charges, Yisrayl Hawkins faces up to 20 years in prison.
Another sect leader, Yedidiyah Hawkins, goes to court this summer on charges of sexually abusing a teenager, bigamy and welfare fraud.
Questions have also been raised about at least two deaths within the sect.
A 7-year-old died in 2003 after her mother and another member performed home surgery on her infected leg. Both women were convicted of injury to a child.
And in 2006, a woman bled to death after giving birth because she was prevented from going to the hospital, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her husband.
Although members deny they practice polygamy, former members say Yisrayl Hawkins has at least two dozen wives - and state records show he fathered two babies last year with women ages 19 and 22. ...
Thumbs up for awareness only.
[Mister Rogers]Can you say, "Miscarriage of Justice?"
I knew you could.[/Mister Rogers]
I knew you could.[/Mister Rogers]
Family Stuck With House Possibly Built On Dump
Massachusetts Family Demands Answers From Town, Builder
April 23, 2008
MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA, Mass. -- A Massachusetts homeowner said she cannot live or sell her new $850,000 home because it may have been built on an old dump.
Julie Gesner and her family did not know about the land's history until they tried to sell the Manchester-By-The-Sea home last year and potential buyers walked away just before making an offer on the property.
"They walked away the day that they were going to put in the offer, saying, 'We heard a rumor that your house was built on the old town dump,'" Julie Gesner said. "I was horrified."
That is when the Gesners had the soil tested.
"The lead, at least, is six times the prescribed limit from the (Department of Environmental Protection) for pregnancy and children. There are other things out in the yard -- mercury and arsenic, chromium," Gesner said.
Two weeks away from having a baby, the family immediately moved out.
They began investigating the property and found a letter from November 2000 from the Board of Health to the builder, ordering him to cease and desist construction of the home. There was no follow-up.
"Do we think there was something there? I think it was probably there, but I can't prove what it was," town administrator Wayne Melville said. "So, it is a big step to shut down a project. You are going to cost people money."
Melville said he was unaware of the Board of Health letter until Tuesday. He maintains there is no hard evidence that the land was a dump or landfill. ...
melville and the builder should have to clean up that place themselves before starting their new jobs - bussing tables down the local.
Massachusetts Family Demands Answers From Town, Builder
April 23, 2008
MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA, Mass. -- A Massachusetts homeowner said she cannot live or sell her new $850,000 home because it may have been built on an old dump.
Julie Gesner and her family did not know about the land's history until they tried to sell the Manchester-By-The-Sea home last year and potential buyers walked away just before making an offer on the property.
"They walked away the day that they were going to put in the offer, saying, 'We heard a rumor that your house was built on the old town dump,'" Julie Gesner said. "I was horrified."
That is when the Gesners had the soil tested.
"The lead, at least, is six times the prescribed limit from the (Department of Environmental Protection) for pregnancy and children. There are other things out in the yard -- mercury and arsenic, chromium," Gesner said.
Two weeks away from having a baby, the family immediately moved out.
They began investigating the property and found a letter from November 2000 from the Board of Health to the builder, ordering him to cease and desist construction of the home. There was no follow-up.
"Do we think there was something there? I think it was probably there, but I can't prove what it was," town administrator Wayne Melville said. "So, it is a big step to shut down a project. You are going to cost people money."
Melville said he was unaware of the Board of Health letter until Tuesday. He maintains there is no hard evidence that the land was a dump or landfill. ...
melville and the builder should have to clean up that place themselves before starting their new jobs - bussing tables down the local.
Oklahoma sheriff charged with using inmates as sex slaves
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS - 5 days ago
ARAPAHO, Okla. (AP) -- Authorities have charged a western Oklahoma sheriff with coercing and bribing female inmates so he could use them in a sex-slave operation run out of his jail.
Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official.
Burgess, the top officer in the county of 26,000 since 1994, appeared in court Wednesday was released after posting $50,000 bail. ...
Why is this sick bastard out on bail, and why such low bail?
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS - 5 days ago
ARAPAHO, Okla. (AP) -- Authorities have charged a western Oklahoma sheriff with coercing and bribing female inmates so he could use them in a sex-slave operation run out of his jail.
Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official.
Burgess, the top officer in the county of 26,000 since 1994, appeared in court Wednesday was released after posting $50,000 bail. ...
Why is this sick bastard out on bail, and why such low bail?
Screw you, washington dc.
Mayor, wife get jail in theft of $20K from little league
Saturday, April 19, 2008
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) -- A former mayor of a California high desert town and his wife have been sentenced to 6 months in jail for the theft of more than $20,000 from Little League coffers. ...
... The former mayor was president of the Adelanto Little League, and his wife was a board member during the years the money from the league's annual fireworks sales went missing. The money was taken over three years starting in 2004. ...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) -- A former mayor of a California high desert town and his wife have been sentenced to 6 months in jail for the theft of more than $20,000 from Little League coffers. ...
... The former mayor was president of the Adelanto Little League, and his wife was a board member during the years the money from the league's annual fireworks sales went missing. The money was taken over three years starting in 2004. ...
Polygamous-sect children ordered to stay in Texas custody
By MICHELLE ROBERTS
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 19, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Texas -- A chaotic two-day hearing ended with dropped heads and silence when a judge ordered that the 416 children taken from a ranch run by a polygamous sect will stay in state custody for the time being.
State District Judge Barbara Walther heard 21 hours of testimony over two days before ruling Friday that the children would be kept in custody while the state continues to investigate allegations of abuse stemming from the teachings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
"This is but the beginning," Walther said.
She also ordered genetic testing to sort out family relationships that have confounded welfare authorities. ...
I'm sure the geneticists will have a hell of a time with the results, which will doubtless look rather like this (click last pic):
DNA view - Jane Doe 1
DNA view - John Doe 1
DNA view - Jane Doe 2...etc etc etc, et en avant dans l'horreur.
By MICHELLE ROBERTS
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 19, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Texas -- A chaotic two-day hearing ended with dropped heads and silence when a judge ordered that the 416 children taken from a ranch run by a polygamous sect will stay in state custody for the time being.
State District Judge Barbara Walther heard 21 hours of testimony over two days before ruling Friday that the children would be kept in custody while the state continues to investigate allegations of abuse stemming from the teachings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
"This is but the beginning," Walther said.
She also ordered genetic testing to sort out family relationships that have confounded welfare authorities. ...
I'm sure the geneticists will have a hell of a time with the results, which will doubtless look rather like this (click last pic):
DNA view - Jane Doe 1
DNA view - John Doe 1
DNA view - Jane Doe 2...etc etc etc, et en avant dans l'horreur.
It should have always been called the political-military-industrial complex, and other non-g-rated words.
Authorities in Belgium raid Church of Scientology
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The reports state that the Church in Belgium is being investigated for extortion and fraud for allegedly posting false job openings in newspapers and then attempting to get those who applied to join the Church. Several ex-members of the Church have also reportedly approached authorities with accusations of intimidation and extortion.
Police in Belgium have been investigating the Church for nearly ten years which resulted in the raid on Thursday. ...
Well done, dear Monsieur Hercule Poirot! I betcha the Belgians would never have allowed psychotic polygamous mor(m)ons free rein - M. Poirot would've busted them too.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The reports state that the Church in Belgium is being investigated for extortion and fraud for allegedly posting false job openings in newspapers and then attempting to get those who applied to join the Church. Several ex-members of the Church have also reportedly approached authorities with accusations of intimidation and extortion.
Police in Belgium have been investigating the Church for nearly ten years which resulted in the raid on Thursday. ...
Well done, dear Monsieur Hercule Poirot! I betcha the Belgians would never have allowed psychotic polygamous mor(m)ons free rein - M. Poirot would've busted them too.
China says firearms found in Tibetan temple
Mon Apr 14, 2008
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Chinese forces found firearms hidden throughout a Tibetan temple in an ethnic Tibetan area of southwestern China which has been the scene of anti-Chinese riots in recent weeks, state television said. ...
Any firearms found in that temple were planted.
Mon Apr 14, 2008
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Chinese forces found firearms hidden throughout a Tibetan temple in an ethnic Tibetan area of southwestern China which has been the scene of anti-Chinese riots in recent weeks, state television said. ...
Any firearms found in that temple were planted.
Bernardino and Jamie Gomez should be neutered and spayed, respectively, and sans l'anesthsique.
Wikileaks Rocks. Share this site with every politically-minded and -aware friend you've got.
Saudi woman killed for chatting on Facebook
By Damien McElroy Foreign Affairs Correspondent
01/04/2008
A young Saudi Arabian woman was murdered by her father for chatting on the social network site Facebook, it has emerged.
The unnamed woman from Riyadh was beaten and shot after she was discovered in the middle of an online conversation with a man, the al-Arabiya website reported.
The case was reported on a Saudi Arabian news site as an example of the "strife" the social networking site is causing in the Islamic nation. ...
No, you've got it wrong and you ended that sentence with a prepositional phrase, you wanker. facebook isn't causing any damn strife: saudi arabia's 6th-century mode of "thinking" and refusal to become part of the modren world is causing strife.
By Damien McElroy Foreign Affairs Correspondent
01/04/2008
A young Saudi Arabian woman was murdered by her father for chatting on the social network site Facebook, it has emerged.
The unnamed woman from Riyadh was beaten and shot after she was discovered in the middle of an online conversation with a man, the al-Arabiya website reported.
The case was reported on a Saudi Arabian news site as an example of the "strife" the social networking site is causing in the Islamic nation. ...
No, you've got it wrong and you ended that sentence with a prepositional phrase, you wanker. facebook isn't causing any damn strife: saudi arabia's 6th-century mode of "thinking" and refusal to become part of the modren world is causing strife.
China denounces European parliament over Tibet
Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:38pm
By Simon Rabinovitch
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has denounced the European Parliament's call to boycott the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics if Beijing does not start talks with the Dalai Lama about Tibet.
The denunciation was China's latest unyielding response to foreign criticism after unrest in Tibet, and used language very similar to Beijing's condemnation a day earlier of a resolution by U.S. lawmakers that urged an end to a crackdown in Tibet.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the European parliamentarians had "rudely interfered in China's internal affairs", "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" and "confounded black and white", Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. ...
Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:38pm
By Simon Rabinovitch
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has denounced the European Parliament's call to boycott the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics if Beijing does not start talks with the Dalai Lama about Tibet.
The denunciation was China's latest unyielding response to foreign criticism after unrest in Tibet, and used language very similar to Beijing's condemnation a day earlier of a resolution by U.S. lawmakers that urged an end to a crackdown in Tibet.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the European parliamentarians had "rudely interfered in China's internal affairs", "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" and "confounded black and white", Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. ...
Is Texas group a religious sect or clear-cut cult?
Opinions differ on how to characterize alleged polygamists
By Jeanna Bryner
April 9, 2008
... While the media and some sociologists call the group a religious sect, other experts see it as a clear-cut cult, defined by charismatic leadership and abuse. According to news accounts of the FLDS, pubescent girls were forced into "spiritual marriages" to older men. Inside the compound's walls, researchers say, a new reality was born, with members indoctrinated so fully they had no concept of reality outside the walls.
"In the case of the FLDS, we're talking about basically believing that women are there to be baby factories, and you have extreme patriarchal control of that group," said Janja Lalich, a sociologist at California State University, Chico.
Lalich told LiveScience she definitely thinks the Texas compound should be called a cult. "If you've got a group that's abusing hundreds and hundreds of women and children, let's call it what it is," she said.
Another scientist weighed in on the cult-or-not question. "From what I can understand of this movement in Texas and other places, is that it would probably fall under new religious movement or cult movement," said John Barnshaw of the University of Delaware, who studies collective behaviors such as social movements and cultish behaviors. ...
Opinions differ on how to characterize alleged polygamists
By Jeanna Bryner
April 9, 2008
... While the media and some sociologists call the group a religious sect, other experts see it as a clear-cut cult, defined by charismatic leadership and abuse. According to news accounts of the FLDS, pubescent girls were forced into "spiritual marriages" to older men. Inside the compound's walls, researchers say, a new reality was born, with members indoctrinated so fully they had no concept of reality outside the walls.
"In the case of the FLDS, we're talking about basically believing that women are there to be baby factories, and you have extreme patriarchal control of that group," said Janja Lalich, a sociologist at California State University, Chico.
Lalich told LiveScience she definitely thinks the Texas compound should be called a cult. "If you've got a group that's abusing hundreds and hundreds of women and children, let's call it what it is," she said.
Another scientist weighed in on the cult-or-not question. "From what I can understand of this movement in Texas and other places, is that it would probably fall under new religious movement or cult movement," said John Barnshaw of the University of Delaware, who studies collective behaviors such as social movements and cultish behaviors. ...
Late-Night Call Revealed Secret World
Sect Had Moved to Compound After Fleeing Utah, Colorado
By Sylvia Moreno and Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Tex., April 8 -- The cry for help came late at night -- at 11:32 p.m. -- and it came in a whisper.
Speaking in a low voice to avoid being overheard, the 16-year-old girl -- mother of an 8-month-old baby and pregnant with a second child -- sketched out chilling tales. She spoke of teenage girls, some as young as 13, being forced to have sex with older men for the purpose of bearing their children. She said she was the seventh "spiritual" wife of a 49-year-old man. She described beatings by him as so vicious that one time several of her ribs had been broken.
The March 29 phone call, and one the next day from the compound run by an insular and secretive splinter sect of the Mormon Church, prompted raids by authorities; they took 416 children into protective custody, the largest child removal in Texas history. The children, mostly girls, ranged in age from infants to 17. Several have babies or are pregnant.
The girl's harrowing tale and the subsequent investigation provided for the first time a glimpse of life inside the compound. It was an existence so removed from mainstream society that many female inhabitants did not know how to spell their last name and many children could not state their birth date. ...
Sect Had Moved to Compound After Fleeing Utah, Colorado
By Sylvia Moreno and Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Tex., April 8 -- The cry for help came late at night -- at 11:32 p.m. -- and it came in a whisper.
Speaking in a low voice to avoid being overheard, the 16-year-old girl -- mother of an 8-month-old baby and pregnant with a second child -- sketched out chilling tales. She spoke of teenage girls, some as young as 13, being forced to have sex with older men for the purpose of bearing their children. She said she was the seventh "spiritual" wife of a 49-year-old man. She described beatings by him as so vicious that one time several of her ribs had been broken.
The March 29 phone call, and one the next day from the compound run by an insular and secretive splinter sect of the Mormon Church, prompted raids by authorities; they took 416 children into protective custody, the largest child removal in Texas history. The children, mostly girls, ranged in age from infants to 17. Several have babies or are pregnant.
The girl's harrowing tale and the subsequent investigation provided for the first time a glimpse of life inside the compound. It was an existence so removed from mainstream society that many female inhabitants did not know how to spell their last name and many children could not state their birth date. ...
Court Files Detail Claims of Sect's `Pattern' of Abuse
By GRETEL C. KOVACH
The New York Times
Published: April 9, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Tex. -- Texas authorities released court documents on Tuesday detailing accusations of a "widespread pattern" of physical and sexual abuse of children by a polygamous sect. ...
... An affidavit released on Tuesday says the 16-year-old repeatedly called a local family violence shelter asking for help to leave the ranch. She said that she had been taken to the ranch three years before by her parents and that when she was 15 she was forced into a marriage with a man who was then about 49, becoming his seventh wife.
The girl said the abuse began shortly after she moved to the ranch, the court papers say. She added that the man would force her to have sex with him and beat her when he became angry. The last time he beat her was on Easter, she said in the papers.
The girl, whispering into someone else's cellphone, told the authorities that she thought she was several weeks pregnant, the papers say. She said that she was not allowed to leave the ranch other than to receive medical care, but that the man had left the ranch for a while to go to "the outsiders' world." ...
By GRETEL C. KOVACH
The New York Times
Published: April 9, 2008
SAN ANGELO, Tex. -- Texas authorities released court documents on Tuesday detailing accusations of a "widespread pattern" of physical and sexual abuse of children by a polygamous sect. ...
... An affidavit released on Tuesday says the 16-year-old repeatedly called a local family violence shelter asking for help to leave the ranch. She said that she had been taken to the ranch three years before by her parents and that when she was 15 she was forced into a marriage with a man who was then about 49, becoming his seventh wife.
The girl said the abuse began shortly after she moved to the ranch, the court papers say. She added that the man would force her to have sex with him and beat her when he became angry. The last time he beat her was on Easter, she said in the papers.
The girl, whispering into someone else's cellphone, told the authorities that she thought she was several weeks pregnant, the papers say. She said that she was not allowed to leave the ranch other than to receive medical care, but that the man had left the ranch for a while to go to "the outsiders' world." ...
Documents: Sect Married Girls at Puberty
By MICHELLE ROBERTS - 2 hours ago
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- A polygamist compound with hundreds of children was rife with sexual abuse, child welfare officials allege in court documents, with girls spiritually married to much older men as soon as they reached puberty and boys groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
The documents released Tuesday also gave details about the hushed phone calls that triggered the raid, by a 16-year-old girl at the West Texas ranch who said her 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. Days after raiding the compound, officials still aren't sure where the girl is.
Officials have completed removing all 416 children from the ranch and have won custody of all of them, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner told reporters in San Angelo, about 40 miles from the compound in Eldorado.
Court documents said a number of teen girls at the 1,700-acre compound were pregnant, and that all the children were removed on the grounds that they were in danger of "emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse." Another 139 women left on their own.
"Investigators determined that there is a widespread pattern and practice of the YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch in which young, minor female residents are conditioned to expect and accept sexual activity with adult men at the ranch upon being spiritually married to them," read the affidavit signed by Lynn McFadden, a Department of Family and Protective Services investigative supervisor.
McFadden said the girls were spiritually married to the men as soon as they reached puberty and were required to produce children. ...
By MICHELLE ROBERTS - 2 hours ago
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- A polygamist compound with hundreds of children was rife with sexual abuse, child welfare officials allege in court documents, with girls spiritually married to much older men as soon as they reached puberty and boys groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
The documents released Tuesday also gave details about the hushed phone calls that triggered the raid, by a 16-year-old girl at the West Texas ranch who said her 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. Days after raiding the compound, officials still aren't sure where the girl is.
Officials have completed removing all 416 children from the ranch and have won custody of all of them, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner told reporters in San Angelo, about 40 miles from the compound in Eldorado.
Court documents said a number of teen girls at the 1,700-acre compound were pregnant, and that all the children were removed on the grounds that they were in danger of "emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse." Another 139 women left on their own.
"Investigators determined that there is a widespread pattern and practice of the YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch in which young, minor female residents are conditioned to expect and accept sexual activity with adult men at the ranch upon being spiritually married to them," read the affidavit signed by Lynn McFadden, a Department of Family and Protective Services investigative supervisor.
McFadden said the girls were spiritually married to the men as soon as they reached puberty and were required to produce children. ...
I nicked this from Patoloco and begged him to help me find the good guys.
My God, are there any?
Thumbs up for increasing awareness only.
My God, are there any?
Thumbs up for increasing awareness only.
What a great, stinking, fly-ridden pile of horse pucky. Goddamned mercenaries.
Texas removes 183 women and girls from sect ranch
Sat Apr 5, 2008
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas officials investigating a potential child abuse case said on Saturday 183 girls and women had been removed from a ranch that is home to a breakaway Mormon sect linked to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.
Texas Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said the 183 consisted of 137 girls and 46 women, but she could not discuss why they were taken from the ranch or whether they had left voluntarily.
Only 18 members of the group had been placed in the legal custody of the state agency, she said in a telephone interview.
Buses and vans were seen on Friday driving some of the women and children from the ranch, located near the small western Texas town of Eldorado, and more were taken out overnight, Meisner said.
Local news reports said temporary shelters had been set up in churches and government buildings to house them.
Texas authorities descended on the ranch this week in response to allegations a 50-year-old man there had married and fathered a child with an underage girl.
The ranch is a compound for the renegade Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamist group led by Jeffs until last year. ...
Sat Apr 5, 2008
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas officials investigating a potential child abuse case said on Saturday 183 girls and women had been removed from a ranch that is home to a breakaway Mormon sect linked to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.
Texas Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said the 183 consisted of 137 girls and 46 women, but she could not discuss why they were taken from the ranch or whether they had left voluntarily.
Only 18 members of the group had been placed in the legal custody of the state agency, she said in a telephone interview.
Buses and vans were seen on Friday driving some of the women and children from the ranch, located near the small western Texas town of Eldorado, and more were taken out overnight, Meisner said.
Local news reports said temporary shelters had been set up in churches and government buildings to house them.
Texas authorities descended on the ranch this week in response to allegations a 50-year-old man there had married and fathered a child with an underage girl.
The ranch is a compound for the renegade Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamist group led by Jeffs until last year. ...
Conflict Escalates at Polygamist Retreat
47 minutes ago
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- Sect leaders at a polygamist compound in West Texas refused Saturday to let authorities search a temple for a teenage girl whose report of abuse led to the raid, and authorities said they were preparing "for the worst."
If no agreement is reached with sect leaders, authorities will forcibly remove the sect's followers "as peaceably as possible," Allison Palmer, a prosecutor in Tom Green County, told the San Angelo Standard-Times.
Medical workers are being sent "in case this were to a go in a way that no one wants," Palmer said. Law enforcers are "preparing for the worst," she said.
"Within the religion that we have encountered, their place of worship is very special to them," Palmer said. "It appears to be of great concern to them if a person from outside their congregation even attempts to step inside their place of worship."
A search warrant authorized troopers to enter the retreat, run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are looking for evidence of a marriage between the girl and a 50-year-old man.
Court documents the girl had a baby eight months ago, when she was 15.
State welfare officials on Friday removed 52 girls from the compound. Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, said another 131 residents were removed overnight. By Saturday afternoon, 137 children and 46 women were being housed and interviewed at local community centers.
"They seem to be doing fine," Meisner told The Associated Press.
The whereabouts of the 16-year-old mother who sparked the investigation are unknown, Meisner said. State troopers who raided the religious retreat were looking for the girl, her baby girl and 50-year-old Dale Barlow.
Under Texas law, girls younger than 16 cannot marry, even with parental approval. ...
47 minutes ago
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- Sect leaders at a polygamist compound in West Texas refused Saturday to let authorities search a temple for a teenage girl whose report of abuse led to the raid, and authorities said they were preparing "for the worst."
If no agreement is reached with sect leaders, authorities will forcibly remove the sect's followers "as peaceably as possible," Allison Palmer, a prosecutor in Tom Green County, told the San Angelo Standard-Times.
Medical workers are being sent "in case this were to a go in a way that no one wants," Palmer said. Law enforcers are "preparing for the worst," she said.
"Within the religion that we have encountered, their place of worship is very special to them," Palmer said. "It appears to be of great concern to them if a person from outside their congregation even attempts to step inside their place of worship."
A search warrant authorized troopers to enter the retreat, run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are looking for evidence of a marriage between the girl and a 50-year-old man.
Court documents the girl had a baby eight months ago, when she was 15.
State welfare officials on Friday removed 52 girls from the compound. Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, said another 131 residents were removed overnight. By Saturday afternoon, 137 children and 46 women were being housed and interviewed at local community centers.
"They seem to be doing fine," Meisner told The Associated Press.
The whereabouts of the 16-year-old mother who sparked the investigation are unknown, Meisner said. State troopers who raided the religious retreat were looking for the girl, her baby girl and 50-year-old Dale Barlow.
Under Texas law, girls younger than 16 cannot marry, even with parental approval. ...
There are many evil, multi-death corporations but mons(ter)anto's one of the all-time worst.
My stomach's churning, and it's really hard to type with clenched fists, but thumbs up so awareness increases.
WTF, Michigan?!
WTF, Michigan?!
Memo: Laws Didn't Apply to Interrogators
Justice Dept. Official in 2003 Said President's Wartime Authority Trumped Many Statutes
By Dan Eggen and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.
The 81-page memo, which was declassified and released publicly yesterday, argues that poking, slapping or shoving detainees would not give rise to criminal liability. The document also appears to defend the use of mind-altering drugs that do not produce "an extreme effect" calculated to "cause a profound disruption of the senses or personality."
Although the existence of the memo has long been known, its contents had not been previously disclosed.
Nine months after it was issued, Justice Department officials told the Defense Department to stop relying on it. But its reasoning provided the legal foundation for the Defense Department's use of aggressive interrogation practices at a crucial time, as captives poured into military jails from Afghanistan and U.S. forces prepared to invade Iraq.
Sent to the Pentagon's general counsel on March 14, 2003, by John C. Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, the memo provides an expansive argument for nearly unfettered presidential power in a time of war. It contends that numerous laws and treaties forbidding torture or cruel treatment should not apply to U.S. interrogations in foreign lands because of the president's inherent wartime powers. ...
Justice Dept. Official in 2003 Said President's Wartime Authority Trumped Many Statutes
By Dan Eggen and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.
The 81-page memo, which was declassified and released publicly yesterday, argues that poking, slapping or shoving detainees would not give rise to criminal liability. The document also appears to defend the use of mind-altering drugs that do not produce "an extreme effect" calculated to "cause a profound disruption of the senses or personality."
Although the existence of the memo has long been known, its contents had not been previously disclosed.
Nine months after it was issued, Justice Department officials told the Defense Department to stop relying on it. But its reasoning provided the legal foundation for the Defense Department's use of aggressive interrogation practices at a crucial time, as captives poured into military jails from Afghanistan and U.S. forces prepared to invade Iraq.
Sent to the Pentagon's general counsel on March 14, 2003, by John C. Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, the memo provides an expansive argument for nearly unfettered presidential power in a time of war. It contends that numerous laws and treaties forbidding torture or cruel treatment should not apply to U.S. interrogations in foreign lands because of the president's inherent wartime powers. ...
China Issues Most Wanted List of Rioters
By TINI TRAN
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 22, 2008
BEIJING -- China issued a "Most Wanted" list of 21 rioters Friday - shown in grainy photos waving knives and fighting during last week's violence over Chinese rule in Tibet. Thousands of troops continued to push into western China to contain unrest. ...
That's odd: I thought they caused unrest.
By TINI TRAN
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 22, 2008
BEIJING -- China issued a "Most Wanted" list of 21 rioters Friday - shown in grainy photos waving knives and fighting during last week's violence over Chinese rule in Tibet. Thousands of troops continued to push into western China to contain unrest. ...
That's odd: I thought they caused unrest.
China Orders Video Web Sites to Close
By MIN LEE
The Associated Press
Friday, March 21, 2008
HONG KONG -- China will shut down or punish dozens of video-sharing Web sites for carrying content deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security under rules that tighten Internet controls, a regulator said Friday.
The announcement came as Chinese Web surfers were blocked from seeing foreign sites with video about protests in Tibet. The new order did not mention the anti-government demonstrations or China's resulting crackdown. ...
By MIN LEE
The Associated Press
Friday, March 21, 2008
HONG KONG -- China will shut down or punish dozens of video-sharing Web sites for carrying content deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security under rules that tighten Internet controls, a regulator said Friday.
The announcement came as Chinese Web surfers were blocked from seeing foreign sites with video about protests in Tibet. The new order did not mention the anti-government demonstrations or China's resulting crackdown. ...
Last Foreign Reporters Forced From Tibet
By LILY HINDY
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NEW YORK -- China forced the last remaining foreign journalists out of Tibet on Thursday, and stepped up restrictions on Internet and radio reports from people within the country, a media watchdog said.
Georg Blume, a correspondent for German newspapers Die Zeit and taz, and Kristin Kupfer of the German EPD news agency, left Thursday after being confronted by an official who threatened to cancel their Chinese visas, Reporters Without Borders said.
Earlier this week, Economist correspondent James Miles and a group of 15 Hong Kong reporters also were forced out.
"If they don't have anything to hide, then why are they making foreign journalists leave? It's clear that they don't want any witnesses," said Vincent Brossel, who heads Reporters Without Borders' Asia desk. ...
By LILY HINDY
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NEW YORK -- China forced the last remaining foreign journalists out of Tibet on Thursday, and stepped up restrictions on Internet and radio reports from people within the country, a media watchdog said.
Georg Blume, a correspondent for German newspapers Die Zeit and taz, and Kristin Kupfer of the German EPD news agency, left Thursday after being confronted by an official who threatened to cancel their Chinese visas, Reporters Without Borders said.
Earlier this week, Economist correspondent James Miles and a group of 15 Hong Kong reporters also were forced out.
"If they don't have anything to hide, then why are they making foreign journalists leave? It's clear that they don't want any witnesses," said Vincent Brossel, who heads Reporters Without Borders' Asia desk. ...
Nobel Laureates Condemn China on Tibet
By CARLEY PETESCH
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NEW YORK -- Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and 25 other Nobel laureates on Thursday condemned the Chinese government's violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters and called on Beijing to exercise restraint.
"We protest the unwarranted campaign waged by the Chinese government against our fellow Nobel laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the group said in a statement released by Wiesel.
Wiesel told The Associated Press that the group wanted renewed negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
"The latest events are dramatic and the main thing is to stop the present oppression, persecution and violence," Wiesel said. ...
By CARLEY PETESCH
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NEW YORK -- Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and 25 other Nobel laureates on Thursday condemned the Chinese government's violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters and called on Beijing to exercise restraint.
"We protest the unwarranted campaign waged by the Chinese government against our fellow Nobel laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the group said in a statement released by Wiesel.
Wiesel told The Associated Press that the group wanted renewed negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
"The latest events are dramatic and the main thing is to stop the present oppression, persecution and violence," Wiesel said. ...
This is one of those times I find myself absolutely disgusted by my own species, horrified, too.
Screw you, washington dc.
Authorities bust global online child porn ring
22 arrests, more than 400,000 pieces of porn seized
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 5, 2008
WASHINGTON -- After James Freeman was vetted and approved for membership in what police describe as a highly sophisticated child porn network, he expressed his appreciation by posting two folders online: one labeled "mild," the other "wild."
"All I can say is that they are worth the download," wrote Freeman, 47, known in the global porn ring as "Mystikal," according to court documents. "My thanks to you and all the others that together make this the greatest group of pedos ever to gather in one place."
Freeman, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., was one of 12 Americans indicted last week in a worldwide investigation that ultimately charged 22 people with participating in the porn ring -- and intentionally blocking police from investigating it.
In all, more than 400,000 pictures, video files and other images showing children engaged in sexual behavior were produced, advertised, traded and distributed globally in the online pornography ring, according to U.S. and international authorities. The sting, which started in Australia, also netted accused pornographers in England, Canada and Germany. ...
The Yankistani bastards are:
Michael Berger, 33, of Mechanicsville, Va.
James Freeman, 47, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
Ruble Keys, 55, of Medford, Ore.
Gary Lakey, 54, of Anderson, Ind.
Marvin Lambert, 33, of Indianapolis.
Neville McGarity, 40, of Medina, Texas.
John Mosman, 46, of Waterbury, Conn.
Warren Mumpower, 63, of Spokane, Wash.
Raymond Roy, 54, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Erik Wayerski, 46, of Round Rock, Texas.
Warren Weber, 56, of Boise, Idaho.
Ronald White, 59, of Burlington, N.C.
22 arrests, more than 400,000 pieces of porn seized
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 5, 2008
WASHINGTON -- After James Freeman was vetted and approved for membership in what police describe as a highly sophisticated child porn network, he expressed his appreciation by posting two folders online: one labeled "mild," the other "wild."
"All I can say is that they are worth the download," wrote Freeman, 47, known in the global porn ring as "Mystikal," according to court documents. "My thanks to you and all the others that together make this the greatest group of pedos ever to gather in one place."
Freeman, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., was one of 12 Americans indicted last week in a worldwide investigation that ultimately charged 22 people with participating in the porn ring -- and intentionally blocking police from investigating it.
In all, more than 400,000 pictures, video files and other images showing children engaged in sexual behavior were produced, advertised, traded and distributed globally in the online pornography ring, according to U.S. and international authorities. The sting, which started in Australia, also netted accused pornographers in England, Canada and Germany. ...
The Yankistani bastards are:
Michael Berger, 33, of Mechanicsville, Va.
James Freeman, 47, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
Ruble Keys, 55, of Medford, Ore.
Gary Lakey, 54, of Anderson, Ind.
Marvin Lambert, 33, of Indianapolis.
Neville McGarity, 40, of Medina, Texas.
John Mosman, 46, of Waterbury, Conn.
Warren Mumpower, 63, of Spokane, Wash.
Raymond Roy, 54, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Erik Wayerski, 46, of Round Rock, Texas.
Warren Weber, 56, of Boise, Idaho.
Ronald White, 59, of Burlington, N.C.
Neuter this breeder. Sans l'anesthsique.
'chinastan' - it's another way to spell 'evil.'
The RIAA always claims that its looking out for the livelihood of artists when it sues the hell out of alleged pirates, but in reality it's really fighting to keep record industry executives rich by defending an outdated and unsustainable business model. While before the PR team at least made an attempt to make it seem like artists were priority #1, they seem to have given up: the RIAA is now trying to cut down artists' royalties on digital downloads.
Yes, the RIAA doesn't think the record companies are making enough and that musicians are clearly making too much. I mean, they get 13% now. Like they deserve 13% for writing and creating the music that people are paying for. Hogwash! Someone had to, you know, encode it. That's worth at least 40%. And hey, these shoes don't shine themselves! So they're pushing to get that rate cut down to a shameful 9%, giving artists even less of a slice of the pie than before.
Of course, Apple, Napster and other large online retailers make the RIAA look like a charity in comparison, with Apple pushing to cut the royalty rate down to an insulting 4%. Yes, Apple wants artists to get a 4% of wholesale royalty rate. Really looking out for those artists, aren't you Steve? ...
Yes, the RIAA doesn't think the record companies are making enough and that musicians are clearly making too much. I mean, they get 13% now. Like they deserve 13% for writing and creating the music that people are paying for. Hogwash! Someone had to, you know, encode it. That's worth at least 40%. And hey, these shoes don't shine themselves! So they're pushing to get that rate cut down to a shameful 9%, giving artists even less of a slice of the pie than before.
Of course, Apple, Napster and other large online retailers make the RIAA look like a charity in comparison, with Apple pushing to cut the royalty rate down to an insulting 4%. Yes, Apple wants artists to get a 4% of wholesale royalty rate. Really looking out for those artists, aren't you Steve? ...
Tornado Victim Billed for Cable Devices
Thursday, January 31, 2008
WHEATLAND, Wis. (AP) -- Having a tornado demolish her home was bad enough. But when Ann Beam received a $2,000 cable bill a few weeks later, she was floored. "I just couldn't believe it," Beam said. "I was like, 'What are they thinking?'"
Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland residents for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 twister that struck the southeast corner of the state. Beam's bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls.
She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do.
"They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company," Beam said.
But her cable equipment was nine years old, and the insurance company would pay only a depreciated value that wouldn't cover her bill, she said. ...
Is there a cable/scatterlight company that doesn't suck?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
WHEATLAND, Wis. (AP) -- Having a tornado demolish her home was bad enough. But when Ann Beam received a $2,000 cable bill a few weeks later, she was floored. "I just couldn't believe it," Beam said. "I was like, 'What are they thinking?'"
Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland residents for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 twister that struck the southeast corner of the state. Beam's bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls.
She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do.
"They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company," Beam said.
But her cable equipment was nine years old, and the insurance company would pay only a depreciated value that wouldn't cover her bill, she said. ...
Is there a cable/scatterlight company that doesn't suck?
May all those who "think" this way reach complete and total enlightenment, and on all levels. They're an embarassment to the species.
Mukasey Refuses to Judge Waterboarding
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey told skeptical senators today that it is "not an easy question' to determine whether waterboarding constitutes illegal torture under U.S. law, but he said there is no need to provide a clear answer because the tactic is no longer employed by the CIA. ...
Well, glad that's sorted and everything's allright now. I mean, the attorney general of Yankistan wouldn't lie - he's The King Of All Lawyers.
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey told skeptical senators today that it is "not an easy question' to determine whether waterboarding constitutes illegal torture under U.S. law, but he said there is no need to provide a clear answer because the tactic is no longer employed by the CIA. ...
Well, glad that's sorted and everything's allright now. I mean, the attorney general of Yankistan wouldn't lie - he's The King Of All Lawyers.
Pagan Arabia worshipped a fun-loving, cheerful, joyous Sun Goddess who was much beloved. She was anciently called Suwa, and later Shams.
Their sullen, straight-laced, uptight, jealous-as-hell-of-the-Sun-Goddess Moon God was nowhere near as popular among the people.
That sullen Moon God's name is Allah.
This explains much.
What excuse have the xian god-botherers got? They didn't elevate an unpleasant character - although His Dad sure reads like a thug gangster boss - so what's their problem?
Their sullen, straight-laced, uptight, jealous-as-hell-of-the-Sun-Goddess Moon God was nowhere near as popular among the people.
That sullen Moon God's name is Allah.
This explains much.
What excuse have the xian god-botherers got? They didn't elevate an unpleasant character - although His Dad sure reads like a thug gangster boss - so what's their problem?
mr phelps is in for a big shock: one beautiful day he's gonna find himself getting poked in the bum with a pitchfork instead of being measured for wings.
chertoff is the devil. Just look at him.
Oh, boy, do I have a curse for this author's ignorant, evil arse:
May you reincarnate as a woman until all beings in all Universes have reached complete enlightenment.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed stupid based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed thoroughly inferior, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed obsessed with your own looks based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed physically and otherwise weak, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed hysterical when what you truly are is opinionated, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn the importance of birth control, and that it should not be only the woman's responsibility.
May you learn what it is like to have your ideas discounted based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is to be assumed a slut, when you are simply out on the town with friends.
May you come back at least a few times as a Black woman, so you can learn all this and that skin colo/ur is merely a surface.
May you learn that the truly inferior are those who assume others are inferior based solely on their plumbing/skin colour/income.
May you learn that the truly weak are those who abuse those physically smaller and weaker than themselves.
I've learned all this, and more. WTF is the author's problem?
Oh, well. They say the insane are under the protection of Allah, so our author must be mighty safe.
May you reincarnate as a woman until all beings in all Universes have reached complete enlightenment.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed stupid based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed thoroughly inferior, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed obsessed with your own looks based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed physically and otherwise weak, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is like to be assumed hysterical when what you truly are is opinionated, based only on your plumbing.
May you learn the importance of birth control, and that it should not be only the woman's responsibility.
May you learn what it is like to have your ideas discounted based only on your plumbing.
May you learn what it is to be assumed a slut, when you are simply out on the town with friends.
May you come back at least a few times as a Black woman, so you can learn all this and that skin colo/ur is merely a surface.
May you learn that the truly inferior are those who assume others are inferior based solely on their plumbing/skin colour/income.
May you learn that the truly weak are those who abuse those physically smaller and weaker than themselves.
I've learned all this, and more. WTF is the author's problem?
Oh, well. They say the insane are under the protection of Allah, so our author must be mighty safe.
Five From Md. Family Dead in Ohio Crash
By David P. Marino-Nachison
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, December 31, 2007
Five people, including three members of a Maryland family, died late yesterday when their minivan was hit head-on by a pickup truck going the wrong way on a Toledo, Ohio-area interstate, according to the Toledo Blade. ...
Don't drive like an arse/asshole anytime, anywhere. This includes drunken/otherwise impaired driving.
My other thoughts are even less fit for family reading.
Hungary jails people who drive with a blood alcohol level of more than 0%.
By David P. Marino-Nachison
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, December 31, 2007
Five people, including three members of a Maryland family, died late yesterday when their minivan was hit head-on by a pickup truck going the wrong way on a Toledo, Ohio-area interstate, according to the Toledo Blade. ...
Don't drive like an arse/asshole anytime, anywhere. This includes drunken/otherwise impaired driving.
My other thoughts are even less fit for family reading.
Hungary jails people who drive with a blood alcohol level of more than 0%.
The Earth has lost another strong and beautiful soul.
My God/dess, I hope this woman's next set of parents are old friends rather than enemies!
May she have great and fortunate rebirths, and receive all the healing she needs.
May men's tyranny over women - in all forms - come to a swift end, and may all sexist morons reach complete and total enlightenment on all levels.
"Eat steel, sexist pig!"
Girlfriend here'll help you along your path of learning.
May she have great and fortunate rebirths, and receive all the healing she needs.
May men's tyranny over women - in all forms - come to a swift end, and may all sexist morons reach complete and total enlightenment on all levels.
"Eat steel, sexist pig!"
Girlfriend here'll help you along your path of learning.
Child Shot Protecting Mom Hailed a Hero
By COREY WILLIAMS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
DETROIT -- As the gunman was about to open fire, 7-year-old Alexis Goggins lunged from the back seat of the SUV and threw herself across her mom, crying, "Don't hurt my mother!"
Six bullets from the 9 mm handgun slammed into Alexis, one piercing her right eye. Two slugs hit her mother.
Alexis' mother pulled through. But two weeks later, Alexis lies in critical condition, blind in one eye. And to her classmates and many people in this city so depressingly familiar with violence, the little girl is a hero. ...
By COREY WILLIAMS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
DETROIT -- As the gunman was about to open fire, 7-year-old Alexis Goggins lunged from the back seat of the SUV and threw herself across her mom, crying, "Don't hurt my mother!"
Six bullets from the 9 mm handgun slammed into Alexis, one piercing her right eye. Two slugs hit her mother.
Alexis' mother pulled through. But two weeks later, Alexis lies in critical condition, blind in one eye. And to her classmates and many people in this city so depressingly familiar with violence, the little girl is a hero. ...
Remember kids: only the bad guys stab you if you don't "think" the way they do. You'll also notice all the folks who don't 'believe' in evolution are rather unevolved.
Shame on that judge! He shoulda thrown the book at him - Darwin's book.
Shame on that judge! He shoulda thrown the book at him - Darwin's book.
Impasse Deepens at International Climate Talks
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
December 13, 2007
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 13 -- An international impasse deepened here Thursday over U.S. refusal to accept specific targets in a "road map" toward reaching a worldwide climate agreement by 2009, as European leaders threatened to boycott the parallel process that President Bush launched with great fanfare a month and a half ago.
Throughout a week of negotiations on the island of Bali, Bush administration officials have steadily resisted a United Nations proposal calling on industrialized countries to accept a goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020. In retaliation, several European officials said they may not attend the next installment of the White House-sponsored "major economies meeting" on global warming, which is set to resume next month in Honolulu.
In an interview Thursday, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it would not make sense for Bush to continue those talks unless negotiators make significant progress here in defining the range of emissions cuts they need to consider.
"If we will not find a solution here in Bali, I cannot see what we should negotiate in the major economies meetings," Gabriel said. "If you want to organize a road map, you should know where is the destination."
In a sign of how badly relations have deteriorated between the United States and other nations over the climate issue, delegates to the U.N.-sponsored talks in Bali burst into applause Thursday night when former vice president Al Gore blamed the Bush administration for jeopardizing the negotiations and alluded to the end of Bush's term in office in just over a year. ...
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
December 13, 2007
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 13 -- An international impasse deepened here Thursday over U.S. refusal to accept specific targets in a "road map" toward reaching a worldwide climate agreement by 2009, as European leaders threatened to boycott the parallel process that President Bush launched with great fanfare a month and a half ago.
Throughout a week of negotiations on the island of Bali, Bush administration officials have steadily resisted a United Nations proposal calling on industrialized countries to accept a goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020. In retaliation, several European officials said they may not attend the next installment of the White House-sponsored "major economies meeting" on global warming, which is set to resume next month in Honolulu.
In an interview Thursday, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it would not make sense for Bush to continue those talks unless negotiators make significant progress here in defining the range of emissions cuts they need to consider.
"If we will not find a solution here in Bali, I cannot see what we should negotiate in the major economies meetings," Gabriel said. "If you want to organize a road map, you should know where is the destination."
In a sign of how badly relations have deteriorated between the United States and other nations over the climate issue, delegates to the U.N.-sponsored talks in Bali burst into applause Thursday night when former vice president Al Gore blamed the Bush administration for jeopardizing the negotiations and alluded to the end of Bush's term in office in just over a year. ...
FLASHBACK: Conservatives Tried To Kill The Senate `Minority's Right To Filibuster' Three Years Ago
Good thing they didn't succeed, or they themselves couldn't filibuster everything - which is what they are now doing.
Morons.
Good thing they didn't succeed, or they themselves couldn't filibuster everything - which is what they are now doing.
Morons.
Settlement for Torture of 4 Men by Police
By MONICA DAVEY and CATRIN EINHORN
Published: December 8, 2007
CHICAGO, Dec. 7 -- The City of Chicago is preparing to pay nearly $20 million to four men who were once sent to death row after interrogations that they say amounted to torture by the Chicago police, the city's law department said on Friday.
If the legal settlement is approved next week by the city's aldermen, it will be a crucial first effort to put a painful, notorious chapter in the city's history behind it, some officials here said.
The four men were among scores of black men who reported being tortured, beaten with telephone books, and even suffocated with plastic typewriter covers during police interrogations in the 1970s and 1980s, special prosecutors found last year. The four men were pardoned by Gov. George Ryan in 2003.
Of the proposed settlement, Flint Taylor, a lawyer for one of the men, Leroy Orange, said, "It speaks volumes about the seriousness of the systematic torture, abuse and cover-up that went on in the city of Chicago for decades."
The settlement comes at a time of tense relations between the Chicago Police Department and the city's residents, following a string of incidents -- the beatings of civilians caught on videotape, a report showing a high rate of brutality complaints, a corruption investigation into an elite police unit. Only last month, officials announced they had selected a new police superintendent from outside the city ranks. ...
Gosh, Chicago, you really changed after the '68 riots, didn't you?
By MONICA DAVEY and CATRIN EINHORN
Published: December 8, 2007
CHICAGO, Dec. 7 -- The City of Chicago is preparing to pay nearly $20 million to four men who were once sent to death row after interrogations that they say amounted to torture by the Chicago police, the city's law department said on Friday.
If the legal settlement is approved next week by the city's aldermen, it will be a crucial first effort to put a painful, notorious chapter in the city's history behind it, some officials here said.
The four men were among scores of black men who reported being tortured, beaten with telephone books, and even suffocated with plastic typewriter covers during police interrogations in the 1970s and 1980s, special prosecutors found last year. The four men were pardoned by Gov. George Ryan in 2003.
Of the proposed settlement, Flint Taylor, a lawyer for one of the men, Leroy Orange, said, "It speaks volumes about the seriousness of the systematic torture, abuse and cover-up that went on in the city of Chicago for decades."
The settlement comes at a time of tense relations between the Chicago Police Department and the city's residents, following a string of incidents -- the beatings of civilians caught on videotape, a report showing a high rate of brutality complaints, a corruption investigation into an elite police unit. Only last month, officials announced they had selected a new police superintendent from outside the city ranks. ...
Gosh, Chicago, you really changed after the '68 riots, didn't you?
Oh, Boy!
BREAKING NEWS! GOP operative going to prison for sex crimes
By R. SCOTT MOXLEY
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Jeffrey Ray Nielsen -- the well-connected Orange County conservative activist who claimed the so-called liberal media, specifically the Weekly, was out to get him by publishing a series of exposs on his pedophile activities--finally admitted on Dec. 5 that he used two boys for sex since the early 1990s.
In open court, a somber Nielsen, who has extensive personal ties to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh, gave Superior Court Judge David Thompson signed guilty pleas acknowledging two felonies: committing lewd acts on a 12-year-old Virginia boy and 14-year-old Orange County boy.
In exchange, Nielsen, 37, received a three-year prison sentence, which is relatively mild considering he faced more than a decade in state prison if convicted of the 16 charged crimes. On Jan. 14, Nielsen must enter Del Amo, a Los Angeles County sex-offender facility, for a maximum of 12 weeks. Shortly after he completes that program, he will be transferred to an unknown state prison. State law requires that he complete at least 80 percent of his sentence before being released back into society. He must also register as a sex offender for life. ...
BREAKING NEWS! GOP operative going to prison for sex crimes
By R. SCOTT MOXLEY
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Jeffrey Ray Nielsen -- the well-connected Orange County conservative activist who claimed the so-called liberal media, specifically the Weekly, was out to get him by publishing a series of exposs on his pedophile activities--finally admitted on Dec. 5 that he used two boys for sex since the early 1990s.
In open court, a somber Nielsen, who has extensive personal ties to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh, gave Superior Court Judge David Thompson signed guilty pleas acknowledging two felonies: committing lewd acts on a 12-year-old Virginia boy and 14-year-old Orange County boy.
In exchange, Nielsen, 37, received a three-year prison sentence, which is relatively mild considering he faced more than a decade in state prison if convicted of the 16 charged crimes. On Jan. 14, Nielsen must enter Del Amo, a Los Angeles County sex-offender facility, for a maximum of 12 weeks. Shortly after he completes that program, he will be transferred to an unknown state prison. State law requires that he complete at least 80 percent of his sentence before being released back into society. He must also register as a sex offender for life. ...
CIA Destroyed Videos Showing Interrogations
Harsh Techniques Seen in 2002 Tapes
By Dan Eggen and Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 7, 2007
The CIA made videotapes in 2002 of its officers administering harsh interrogation techniques to two al-Qaeda suspects but destroyed the tapes three years later, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said yesterday.
Captured on tape were interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, and a second high-level al-Qaeda member who was not identified, according to two intelligence officials. Zubaydah has been identified by U.S. officials familiar with the interrogations as one of three al-Qaeda suspects who were subjected to "waterboarding," a technique that simulates drowning, while in CIA custody.
All the tapes were destroyed in November 2005 on the order of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the CIA's director of clandestine operations, officials said. The destruction came after the Justice Department had told a federal judge in the case of al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui that the CIA did not possess videotapes of a specific set of interrogations sought by his attorneys. A CIA spokesman said yesterday that the request would not have covered the destroyed tapes.
The tapes also were not provided to the Sept. 11 commission, the independent panel that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which demanded a wide array of material and relied heavily on classified interrogation transcripts in piecing together its narrative of events. ...
Harsh Techniques Seen in 2002 Tapes
By Dan Eggen and Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 7, 2007
The CIA made videotapes in 2002 of its officers administering harsh interrogation techniques to two al-Qaeda suspects but destroyed the tapes three years later, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said yesterday.
Captured on tape were interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, and a second high-level al-Qaeda member who was not identified, according to two intelligence officials. Zubaydah has been identified by U.S. officials familiar with the interrogations as one of three al-Qaeda suspects who were subjected to "waterboarding," a technique that simulates drowning, while in CIA custody.
All the tapes were destroyed in November 2005 on the order of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the CIA's director of clandestine operations, officials said. The destruction came after the Justice Department had told a federal judge in the case of al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui that the CIA did not possess videotapes of a specific set of interrogations sought by his attorneys. A CIA spokesman said yesterday that the request would not have covered the destroyed tapes.
The tapes also were not provided to the Sept. 11 commission, the independent panel that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which demanded a wide array of material and relied heavily on classified interrogation transcripts in piecing together its narrative of events. ...
Preacher Rebuffs Senate Spending Inquiry
By ERIC GORSKI and RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
One of six Christian ministries under investigation by a Senate committee is rebuffing inquiries into its spending, challenging the panel's watchdog role over religious groups, The Associated Press has learned.
A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta has asked Sen. Charles Grassley to either refer the matter to the IRS or get a subpoena, according to a letter from Dollar's attorney obtained Wednesday by the AP. ...
Subpoena the bitch!
He tells his sheep that giving him their money will get them rich.
How's that again, and how many people actually believe that crap?
By ERIC GORSKI and RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
One of six Christian ministries under investigation by a Senate committee is rebuffing inquiries into its spending, challenging the panel's watchdog role over religious groups, The Associated Press has learned.
A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta has asked Sen. Charles Grassley to either refer the matter to the IRS or get a subpoena, according to a letter from Dollar's attorney obtained Wednesday by the AP. ...
Subpoena the bitch!
He tells his sheep that giving him their money will get them rich.
How's that again, and how many people actually believe that crap?
Grinches Rob Boy Scouts Selling Trees
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio (AP) -- Two Boy Scouts and their fathers selling Christmas trees were knocked to the ground by three men with sawed-off shotguns who took about $350, police in this Cincinnati suburb said. Both adults and one boy also were punched.
"At first I thought it was just a little joke, but then, when I saw the gun, I was terrified," said John Hancock Jr., 13, of Troop 393. "And after I saw the gun this guy just punched me right here and it knocked me down," the boy said, pointing to his face. ...
... "They were gutsy enough to not have masks and stupid enough to hit a kid," said police Sgt. Robert Kidd. "What kind of man hits a kid?" ...
...or a woman, or an animal, or...
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio (AP) -- Two Boy Scouts and their fathers selling Christmas trees were knocked to the ground by three men with sawed-off shotguns who took about $350, police in this Cincinnati suburb said. Both adults and one boy also were punched.
"At first I thought it was just a little joke, but then, when I saw the gun, I was terrified," said John Hancock Jr., 13, of Troop 393. "And after I saw the gun this guy just punched me right here and it knocked me down," the boy said, pointing to his face. ...
... "They were gutsy enough to not have masks and stupid enough to hit a kid," said police Sgt. Robert Kidd. "What kind of man hits a kid?" ...
...or a woman, or an animal, or...
Saudi Rape Ruling Puts Govt on Defensive
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 1, 2007
CAIRO, Egypt -- Saudi Arabia is bristling at international criticism over the sentencing of a rape victim to prison and 200 lashes, insisting the West should stay out of its legal system. But the case could empower voices for change in the kingdom's Islamic courts. ...
Separation of church and state has rarely been a bad idea; and treating women like human beings is always a good idea.
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 1, 2007
CAIRO, Egypt -- Saudi Arabia is bristling at international criticism over the sentencing of a rape victim to prison and 200 lashes, insisting the West should stay out of its legal system. But the case could empower voices for change in the kingdom's Islamic courts. ...
Separation of church and state has rarely been a bad idea; and treating women like human beings is always a good idea.
Teen suicide spurs war on child prostitution
Wed Nov 28, 2007
By Mickey Goodman
ATLANTA (Reuters) - At the age of 15, Samantha Walker was lured into prostitution on the streets of Toledo, Ohio, then taken against her will to Atlanta.
What makes her story different from thousands of others is that she testified against one of the men who paid for sex with her, helping to send him to prison.
But just weeks after the trial she took an overdose of drugs she was taking for depression and died at the age of 18.
More than 300,000 children are being sexually exploited in the United States, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania. ...
As long as men are willing to pay to screw little girls and boys, child prostitution will exist. Simple as.
Wed Nov 28, 2007
By Mickey Goodman
ATLANTA (Reuters) - At the age of 15, Samantha Walker was lured into prostitution on the streets of Toledo, Ohio, then taken against her will to Atlanta.
What makes her story different from thousands of others is that she testified against one of the men who paid for sex with her, helping to send him to prison.
But just weeks after the trial she took an overdose of drugs she was taking for depression and died at the age of 18.
More than 300,000 children are being sexually exploited in the United States, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania. ...
As long as men are willing to pay to screw little girls and boys, child prostitution will exist. Simple as.
Raid Yields A Treasure Trove, FBI List Shows
Chanel, Gucci, Rolex Among Goods at Home Of D.C. Tax Manager
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007
FBI agents who descended on the Northwest Washington home of D.C. tax manager Harriette Walters found a nondescript brick rambler, but just inside was the wardrobe of a princess.
The investigators hauled out more than 100 pieces of jewelry, a mink coat and 90 purses -- many of them such designer brands as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, according to an FBI inventory that was released late yesterday. ...
... The day of the arrests and searches, federal prosecutors said they had confirmed that Walters, Gustus, three of Walters's relatives and another friend had stolen $16 million in 42 phony refunds dating from 2004. The next day, prosecutors said they had found evidence that the group stole a total of at least $20 million using 58 fraudulent checks.
A subsequent Washington Post analysis found $31.7 million in 92 suspicious property tax refund checks from 2000 to 2007, all issued to fictitious companies or for properties that do not exist in the city. ...
Chanel, Gucci, Rolex Among Goods at Home Of D.C. Tax Manager
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007
FBI agents who descended on the Northwest Washington home of D.C. tax manager Harriette Walters found a nondescript brick rambler, but just inside was the wardrobe of a princess.
The investigators hauled out more than 100 pieces of jewelry, a mink coat and 90 purses -- many of them such designer brands as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, according to an FBI inventory that was released late yesterday. ...
... The day of the arrests and searches, federal prosecutors said they had confirmed that Walters, Gustus, three of Walters's relatives and another friend had stolen $16 million in 42 phony refunds dating from 2004. The next day, prosecutors said they had found evidence that the group stole a total of at least $20 million using 58 fraudulent checks.
A subsequent Washington Post analysis found $31.7 million in 92 suspicious property tax refund checks from 2000 to 2007, all issued to fictitious companies or for properties that do not exist in the city. ...
Report: Court Sentences Rape Victim
Friday, November 16, 2007
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Saudi court sentenced a woman who had been gang raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes - more than doubling her initial penalty for being in the car of a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported Thursday. ...
This bullshit must end. When in hell are these people going to realize that women are human beings?
Friday, November 16, 2007
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Saudi court sentenced a woman who had been gang raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes - more than doubling her initial penalty for being in the car of a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported Thursday. ...
This bullshit must end. When in hell are these people going to realize that women are human beings?
Consumers unwittingly eating GMO food
Fri Nov 16, 2007
LONDON (Reuters) - Consumers are unwittingly eating food produced from genetically modified crops with nearly all milk, dairy products and pork produced from GMO-fed animals, the country's largest organic certification body said on Friday.
The Soil Association, which opposes GMO crops, said that a survey estimated about 60 percent of maize and 30 percent of soya fed to dairy cattle and pigs is genetically modified.
"Biotechnology companies have clearly used imported animal feed as a Trojan Horse to introduce GM into the UK food chain," Soil Association director Patrick Holden said in a statement.
There has been significant opposition to GMO crops among British consumers. ...
Fuck frankenfood!
Fri Nov 16, 2007
LONDON (Reuters) - Consumers are unwittingly eating food produced from genetically modified crops with nearly all milk, dairy products and pork produced from GMO-fed animals, the country's largest organic certification body said on Friday.
The Soil Association, which opposes GMO crops, said that a survey estimated about 60 percent of maize and 30 percent of soya fed to dairy cattle and pigs is genetically modified.
"Biotechnology companies have clearly used imported animal feed as a Trojan Horse to introduce GM into the UK food chain," Soil Association director Patrick Holden said in a statement.
There has been significant opposition to GMO crops among British consumers. ...
Fuck frankenfood!
SITE IS AVAILABLE
Report: Muslim Women Face Worse Struggles
By FRANK JORDANS
The Associated Press
Thursday, November 8, 2007
GENEVA -- Women in predominantly Muslim countries are struggling to compete for jobs, win equal pay and hold political office, falling behind the rest of the world in eliminating discrimination, a report said Thursday.
Nordic nations, by contrast, received the best overall grades for gender parity in education, employment, health and politics, according to the review of 128 countries compiled by the World Economic Forum.
The United States received mixed marks.
"The purpose of the rankings is to bring out where a country stands in terms of dividing the resources that are available between women and men," said Saadia Zahidi, one of the report's three co-authors.
Sweden, which has more women than men holding high political office, topped the list, followed by fellow Nordics Norway, Finland and Iceland. New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain round out the top 10.
Zahidi said religious and cultural reasons are important in understanding why men have economic, political, education and health advantages over women in much of the world. ...
Yup - most religions say women are inferior/are useful only for breeding/have no souls. The cultural reasons are simple and simpleminded, too: men tell their sons/nephews etc that women are inferior/useful only for breeding/have no souls, and then they create 'laws' which force women to wear burkas/have unwanted pregnancies/put raped women in prison/remain subjugated. These men seem to forget their mothers are women! What is there to 'understand'? - bigotry is insanity. I don't see articles calling for 'understanding' racism by way of studying religion and 'culture.'
Eat steel, sexist pig!
Report: Muslim Women Face Worse Struggles
By FRANK JORDANS
The Associated Press
Thursday, November 8, 2007
GENEVA -- Women in predominantly Muslim countries are struggling to compete for jobs, win equal pay and hold political office, falling behind the rest of the world in eliminating discrimination, a report said Thursday.
Nordic nations, by contrast, received the best overall grades for gender parity in education, employment, health and politics, according to the review of 128 countries compiled by the World Economic Forum.
The United States received mixed marks.
"The purpose of the rankings is to bring out where a country stands in terms of dividing the resources that are available between women and men," said Saadia Zahidi, one of the report's three co-authors.
Sweden, which has more women than men holding high political office, topped the list, followed by fellow Nordics Norway, Finland and Iceland. New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain round out the top 10.
Zahidi said religious and cultural reasons are important in understanding why men have economic, political, education and health advantages over women in much of the world. ...
Yup - most religions say women are inferior/are useful only for breeding/have no souls. The cultural reasons are simple and simpleminded, too: men tell their sons/nephews etc that women are inferior/useful only for breeding/have no souls, and then they create 'laws' which force women to wear burkas/have unwanted pregnancies/put raped women in prison/remain subjugated. These men seem to forget their mothers are women! What is there to 'understand'? - bigotry is insanity. I don't see articles calling for 'understanding' racism by way of studying religion and 'culture.'
Eat steel, sexist pig!
SITE IS AVAILABLE
D.C. Tax Workers Charged In Scam
2 Accused of Taking $16 Million Worth Of Illegal Refunds
By Carol D. Leonnig, Clarence Williams and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Two mid-level D.C. government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam, prosecutors said yesterday.
By day, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus worked at the District's Office of Tax and Revenue. In their free time, prosecutors said, they worked with others to raid the city's treasury to stock up on luxury items including fancy cars, homes, furs, precious jewelry, designer handbags and clothing. Walters alone spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus, according to charging papers.
Authorities called it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. Four top officials in the tax office resigned yesterday amid criticism that they did not spot what was going on. About $4 million of the money has been found, authorities said.
Walters, a 25-year D.C. employee, was a mid-level manager in charge of property tax refunds, with a salary of $81,000 a year. Gustus, a tax specialist, was paid about $55,000. Both were arrested yesterday and jailed overnight pending appearances today at U.S. District Court in Washington.
A bank employee raised questions this summer, refusing to cash a $410,000 refund check and triggering a federal investigation. Raids yesterday, conducted by at least 100 law enforcement officials, turned up a $160,000 Bentley in the garage of Walters's brother Richard Walters and designer purses and shoes bearing the labels of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes at Harriette Walters's home, law enforcement officials said. Authorities also found records tying Walters to the purchase of a $26,000 handbag, but the purse itself did not turn up. ...
A lowly bank teller caught them.
Go figure.
D.C. Tax Workers Charged In Scam
2 Accused of Taking $16 Million Worth Of Illegal Refunds
By Carol D. Leonnig, Clarence Williams and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Two mid-level D.C. government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam, prosecutors said yesterday.
By day, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus worked at the District's Office of Tax and Revenue. In their free time, prosecutors said, they worked with others to raid the city's treasury to stock up on luxury items including fancy cars, homes, furs, precious jewelry, designer handbags and clothing. Walters alone spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus, according to charging papers.
Authorities called it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. Four top officials in the tax office resigned yesterday amid criticism that they did not spot what was going on. About $4 million of the money has been found, authorities said.
Walters, a 25-year D.C. employee, was a mid-level manager in charge of property tax refunds, with a salary of $81,000 a year. Gustus, a tax specialist, was paid about $55,000. Both were arrested yesterday and jailed overnight pending appearances today at U.S. District Court in Washington.
A bank employee raised questions this summer, refusing to cash a $410,000 refund check and triggering a federal investigation. Raids yesterday, conducted by at least 100 law enforcement officials, turned up a $160,000 Bentley in the garage of Walters's brother Richard Walters and designer purses and shoes bearing the labels of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes at Harriette Walters's home, law enforcement officials said. Authorities also found records tying Walters to the purchase of a $26,000 handbag, but the purse itself did not turn up. ...
A lowly bank teller caught them.
Go figure.
Industries Paid for Top Regulators' Travel
Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.
The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C. ...
Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.
The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C. ...
Cheney: Being Darth Vader Not So Bad
Thursday November 1, 2007
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The joke's on Vice President Dick Cheney. Apparently, around the White House, they're OK with that. As he launched into a health-care speech Wednesday, President Bush warmed up his audience with a nod to Halloween, at Cheney's expense.
"This morning I was with the vice president," Bush told a gathering of grocery manufacturers. "I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, 'Well, I'm already wearing it.' Then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force." ...
The emphasis here should be on 'dick' and 'vice.'
If this bastard has a sense of humo/ur, I am a six-and-half-foot tall basketball player.
And I'm not.
Let's hope one of these nights this lot uses one of shrub's graddaddy's many rituals that lacks important protective elements in the magic circle and features an incomplete banishing. 'Twould be a scene similar to the ending of Robert Bloch's tale The Shambler From the Stars.
Thursday November 1, 2007
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The joke's on Vice President Dick Cheney. Apparently, around the White House, they're OK with that. As he launched into a health-care speech Wednesday, President Bush warmed up his audience with a nod to Halloween, at Cheney's expense.
"This morning I was with the vice president," Bush told a gathering of grocery manufacturers. "I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, 'Well, I'm already wearing it.' Then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force." ...
The emphasis here should be on 'dick' and 'vice.'
If this bastard has a sense of humo/ur, I am a six-and-half-foot tall basketball player.
And I'm not.
Let's hope one of these nights this lot uses one of shrub's graddaddy's many rituals that lacks important protective elements in the magic circle and features an incomplete banishing. 'Twould be a scene similar to the ending of Robert Bloch's tale The Shambler From the Stars.
THIS SITE IS AVAILABLE
From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld . . .
In Sometimes-Brusque 'Snowflakes,' He Shared Worldview, Shaped Policy
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007
In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war. ...
From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld . . .
In Sometimes-Brusque 'Snowflakes,' He Shared Worldview, Shaped Policy
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007
In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war. ...
... Frank Kakopa has been paid 7,500 after the Immigration Service wrongly held him in prison for two days.
Mr Kakopa, originally from Zimbabwe, was on a short break with his wife and young children in 2005, when he was stopped at Belfast City Airport.
He had proof he lives in England but was still strip-searched and jailed.
His work manager had also confirmed both his legal residency and employment position.
Eileen Lavery from the Equality Commission said she had concerns over why Mr Kakopa was singled out and held in Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, as he had "an enormous amount of documentation".
"Why pick on him? Other than I think because he is black," she said. ...
This man should have got a fuckload more than 7 and a half grand!
Mr Kakopa, originally from Zimbabwe, was on a short break with his wife and young children in 2005, when he was stopped at Belfast City Airport.
He had proof he lives in England but was still strip-searched and jailed.
His work manager had also confirmed both his legal residency and employment position.
Eileen Lavery from the Equality Commission said she had concerns over why Mr Kakopa was singled out and held in Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, as he had "an enormous amount of documentation".
"Why pick on him? Other than I think because he is black," she said. ...
This man should have got a fuckload more than 7 and a half grand!
UN Expert to Probe Killings by US Troops
By EDITH M. LEDERER
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 27, 2007
UNITED NATIONS -- A United Nations expert said Friday he plans to study whether members of the U.S. military or government contractors such as Blackwater USA violate international law when they kill civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
Well, that should be a no-brainer.
By EDITH M. LEDERER
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 27, 2007
UNITED NATIONS -- A United Nations expert said Friday he plans to study whether members of the U.S. military or government contractors such as Blackwater USA violate international law when they kill civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
Well, that should be a no-brainer.
Our current "administration" is thoroughly corrupt and thoroughly evil.
GOPers That Ducked Black Debate Took Money From Firms Accused Of Racism
Posted October 21, 2007
Written by Tim Frasca, with additional reporting by Nancy Watzman, Denise Wheeler, and Aaron Williamson.
While the four top Republican presidential contenders missed the Sept 27 debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore organized to address minority issues, they were busy raking in cash from dozens of business and professional elites, including a top Wall Street banking firm that was sued that same week for racial discrimination.
All in all, it was a grand and enriching week for the four white males most likely to represent the Republicans in the 2008 presidential race. Among them, they amassed over $9 million while they were too "busy" to attend the debate at Morgan State.
The most egregious case is that of the banking house of Morgan Stanley that gave money to the three top Republican contenders during the same week of the minority debate. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a civil rights complaint against Morgan Stanley and its mortgage lender subsidiary Saxon Capital three days before the debate. It was the first challenge against a Wall Street mortgage bundler that alleges redlining in minority communities throughout the United States under the Federal Fair Housing Act.
But Romney, McCain, Thompson and Giuliani weren't a bit inhibited from passing the hat at a company that saddled the gullible with sure-fail housing loans while bypassing qualified minority borrowers. While they didn't feel up to engaging black and Latino questioners at the debate, all but McCain eagerly vacuumed up a total of at least $40,000 that week from Morgan Stanley employees, according to campaign finance reports filed with the FEC (Morgan Stanley executives have given to McCain on other occasions.) ...
Posted October 21, 2007
Written by Tim Frasca, with additional reporting by Nancy Watzman, Denise Wheeler, and Aaron Williamson.
While the four top Republican presidential contenders missed the Sept 27 debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore organized to address minority issues, they were busy raking in cash from dozens of business and professional elites, including a top Wall Street banking firm that was sued that same week for racial discrimination.
All in all, it was a grand and enriching week for the four white males most likely to represent the Republicans in the 2008 presidential race. Among them, they amassed over $9 million while they were too "busy" to attend the debate at Morgan State.
The most egregious case is that of the banking house of Morgan Stanley that gave money to the three top Republican contenders during the same week of the minority debate. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a civil rights complaint against Morgan Stanley and its mortgage lender subsidiary Saxon Capital three days before the debate. It was the first challenge against a Wall Street mortgage bundler that alleges redlining in minority communities throughout the United States under the Federal Fair Housing Act.
But Romney, McCain, Thompson and Giuliani weren't a bit inhibited from passing the hat at a company that saddled the gullible with sure-fail housing loans while bypassing qualified minority borrowers. While they didn't feel up to engaging black and Latino questioners at the debate, all but McCain eagerly vacuumed up a total of at least $40,000 that week from Morgan Stanley employees, according to campaign finance reports filed with the FEC (Morgan Stanley executives have given to McCain on other occasions.) ...
FDA, industry insiders derail approval of new cancer treatments
By Evelyn Pringle
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Oct 10, 2007
George W Bush's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stacked with insiders from the industry that literally carried him to Washington, has stooped to a new low to protect the obscene profits of the multi-billion dollar cancer industry by blocking the approval of a new class of immunotherapies that can extend the lives of dying cancer patients with minimal side effects.
In the May 14 Wall Street Journal, a former medical officer in the FDA Office of Oncology Products, Dr. Mark Thornton, denounced the FDA's decisions, and stated, "May 9, 2007, should be cited in the annals of cancer immunotherapy as Black Wednesday."
"Within an eight-hour period that day," he wrote, "the FDA succeeded in killing not one but two safe, promising therapies designed and developed to act by stimulating a patient's immune system against cancer."
Experts say the new immunotherapies hold promise for many forms of cancer. "FDA's hubris will affect the lives and possibly the life spans of cancer patients from nearly every demographic, from elderly men with prostate cancer to young children with the rarest of bone cancers," according to Dr. Thornton.
With the approval of the new therapies, the profits, along with the horrendous side effects of the only treatments now available, could become a thing of the past. "One day current treatment approaches such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, which often kill most but not all of a cancer, could be made obsolete by a potent immune response that eradicates the cancer cells and provides subsequent protection against return and relapse," Dr. Thornton wrote.
As such, the new therapies pose a grave threat to the cancer industry as a whole, and the lost profits would not be limited to the sale of products. ...
By Evelyn Pringle
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Oct 10, 2007
George W Bush's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stacked with insiders from the industry that literally carried him to Washington, has stooped to a new low to protect the obscene profits of the multi-billion dollar cancer industry by blocking the approval of a new class of immunotherapies that can extend the lives of dying cancer patients with minimal side effects.
In the May 14 Wall Street Journal, a former medical officer in the FDA Office of Oncology Products, Dr. Mark Thornton, denounced the FDA's decisions, and stated, "May 9, 2007, should be cited in the annals of cancer immunotherapy as Black Wednesday."
"Within an eight-hour period that day," he wrote, "the FDA succeeded in killing not one but two safe, promising therapies designed and developed to act by stimulating a patient's immune system against cancer."
Experts say the new immunotherapies hold promise for many forms of cancer. "FDA's hubris will affect the lives and possibly the life spans of cancer patients from nearly every demographic, from elderly men with prostate cancer to young children with the rarest of bone cancers," according to Dr. Thornton.
With the approval of the new therapies, the profits, along with the horrendous side effects of the only treatments now available, could become a thing of the past. "One day current treatment approaches such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, which often kill most but not all of a cancer, could be made obsolete by a potent immune response that eradicates the cancer cells and provides subsequent protection against return and relapse," Dr. Thornton wrote.
As such, the new therapies pose a grave threat to the cancer industry as a whole, and the lost profits would not be limited to the sale of products. ...
Don't taze me, bro!
Former CEO Says U.S. Punished Phone Firm
Qwest Feared NSA Plan Was Illegal, Filing Says
By Ellen Nakashima and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A former Qwest Communications International executive, appealing a conviction for insider trading, has alleged that the government withdrew opportunities for contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after Qwest refused to participate in an unidentified National Security Agency program that the company thought might be illegal.
Former chief executive Joseph P. Nacchio, convicted in April of 19 counts of insider trading, said the NSA approached Qwest more than six months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks according to court documents unsealed in Denver this week. ...
Qwest Feared NSA Plan Was Illegal, Filing Says
By Ellen Nakashima and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A former Qwest Communications International executive, appealing a conviction for insider trading, has alleged that the government withdrew opportunities for contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after Qwest refused to participate in an unidentified National Security Agency program that the company thought might be illegal.
Former chief executive Joseph P. Nacchio, convicted in April of 19 counts of insider trading, said the NSA approached Qwest more than six months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks according to court documents unsealed in Denver this week. ...
Blackwater Likely to Be Out of Iraq
By ANNE GEARAN
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 18, 2007
... They gave admiring appraisals of Blackwater's work overall, noting that no diplomats have died while riding in Blackwater's heavily armed convoys. ...
No, no diplomats - just regular folks.
By ANNE GEARAN
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 18, 2007
... They gave admiring appraisals of Blackwater's work overall, noting that no diplomats have died while riding in Blackwater's heavily armed convoys. ...
No, no diplomats - just regular folks.
Ex-Commander Says Iraq Effort Is 'a Nightmare'
By DAVID S. CLOUD
Published: October 13, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 -- In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top commander of American forces there called the Bush administration's handling of the war "incompetent" and said the result was "a nightmare with no end in sight." ...
By DAVID S. CLOUD
Published: October 13, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 -- In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top commander of American forces there called the Bush administration's handling of the war "incompetent" and said the result was "a nightmare with no end in sight." ...
Rescue of Miniature Horses at Kansas Farm
by Rebecca Gannon
More than a hundred miniature horses, all crammed into a pasture with no grass to eat, and filled with scrap metal.
Uniontown in Bourbon County is now on the minds of horse lovers across the nation. Ronni Folden is one of those horse lovers.
"Some of them even have pasture rot all over their backs," she said, "some of them are there was one little one that was bleeding. This last time I went out, one of them was missing an eye. It's pitiful."
The mini horses' owner, Vernon Trembly says he loves his animals. "I've had them for so many years, they're part of me. it's that simple." But at 71, a herd of a hundred is too much to handle.
That's where Victor McMullen man comes in. He runs a horse rescue farm in Wellington, and he's now the coordinator for the nationwide rescue mission.
"We're working with horse clubs from all over the United States, trying to get these horses out of of there, and into homes," he said. "People are offering money, they're offering feed, they're offering transportation, and that's what we're looking for. Those four things." ...
Folks who truly love their animals properly care for them.
Many thanks to dear Slipped
by Rebecca Gannon
More than a hundred miniature horses, all crammed into a pasture with no grass to eat, and filled with scrap metal.
Uniontown in Bourbon County is now on the minds of horse lovers across the nation. Ronni Folden is one of those horse lovers.
"Some of them even have pasture rot all over their backs," she said, "some of them are there was one little one that was bleeding. This last time I went out, one of them was missing an eye. It's pitiful."
The mini horses' owner, Vernon Trembly says he loves his animals. "I've had them for so many years, they're part of me. it's that simple." But at 71, a herd of a hundred is too much to handle.
That's where Victor McMullen man comes in. He runs a horse rescue farm in Wellington, and he's now the coordinator for the nationwide rescue mission.
"We're working with horse clubs from all over the United States, trying to get these horses out of of there, and into homes," he said. "People are offering money, they're offering feed, they're offering transportation, and that's what we're looking for. Those four things." ...
Folks who truly love their animals properly care for them.
Many thanks to dear Slipped
GI to her family: Ask many questions if I die; 'I made some enemies,' Durkin said
By DIANA SCHOBERG and SUE SCHEIBLE
The Patriot Ledger
October 03, 2007
QUINCY - Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don't let it go without an investigation.
Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.
Fiona Canavan, Durkin's older sister, said today that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told family members that she had come across some things that concerned her and had raised objections to others at the base.
"She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.' Then she said, in her light-hearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,'" Canavan said. "But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke."
The family did not know what she was referring to, said Canavan, who lives in Quincy. ...
By DIANA SCHOBERG and SUE SCHEIBLE
The Patriot Ledger
October 03, 2007
QUINCY - Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don't let it go without an investigation.
Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.
Fiona Canavan, Durkin's older sister, said today that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told family members that she had come across some things that concerned her and had raised objections to others at the base.
"She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.' Then she said, in her light-hearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,'" Canavan said. "But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke."
The family did not know what she was referring to, said Canavan, who lives in Quincy. ...
Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations
By SCOTT SHANE, DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN
Published: October 4, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 -- When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.
But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales's arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.
Mr. Gonzales approved the legal memorandum on "combined effects" over the objections of James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, who was leaving his job after bruising clashes with the White House. Disagreeing with what he viewed as the opinion's overreaching legal reasoning, Mr. Comey told colleagues at the department that they would all be "ashamed" when the world eventually learned of it. ...
By SCOTT SHANE, DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN
Published: October 4, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 -- When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.
But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales's arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.
Mr. Gonzales approved the legal memorandum on "combined effects" over the objections of James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, who was leaving his job after bruising clashes with the White House. Disagreeing with what he viewed as the opinion's overreaching legal reasoning, Mr. Comey told colleagues at the department that they would all be "ashamed" when the world eventually learned of it. ...
"We have 1,000 guys out in the field. People make mistakes, they do stupid things sometimes."
- ERIK D. PRINCE, chief executive of Blackwater USA, which is under scrutiny for shootings by its employees in Iraq.
- ERIK D. PRINCE, chief executive of Blackwater USA, which is under scrutiny for shootings by its employees in Iraq.
North Korea's Kim gets perfect gift: illegal films
Wed Oct 3, 2007
SEOUL (Reuters) - In communist North Korea, it is a crime to watch films from the South. But they make an ideal gift for its revered leader and film buff, Kim Jong-il.
A stack of DVD films were among the presents South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun handed Kim -- reputedly also a film director in his youth -- on Wednesday at the start of only the second summit between leaders of the divided Koreas.
Among the dozens of discs was one of South Korea's most popular TV dramas, "Jewel in the Palace", about a cook for the royal family in the days when Korea was unified and starring Lee Yong-ae, widely thought to be Kim's favourite actress.
Nervous of illustrating the stark difference between the impoverished hermit North and its very wealthy, democratic neighbour, analysts say Pyongyang prohibits the import of films from the South. ...
A slight misquotation of leona helmsley:
"Laws are for the little people."
Wed Oct 3, 2007
SEOUL (Reuters) - In communist North Korea, it is a crime to watch films from the South. But they make an ideal gift for its revered leader and film buff, Kim Jong-il.
A stack of DVD films were among the presents South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun handed Kim -- reputedly also a film director in his youth -- on Wednesday at the start of only the second summit between leaders of the divided Koreas.
Among the dozens of discs was one of South Korea's most popular TV dramas, "Jewel in the Palace", about a cook for the royal family in the days when Korea was unified and starring Lee Yong-ae, widely thought to be Kim's favourite actress.
Nervous of illustrating the stark difference between the impoverished hermit North and its very wealthy, democratic neighbour, analysts say Pyongyang prohibits the import of films from the South. ...
A slight misquotation of leona helmsley:
"Laws are for the little people."
I thought Brooklyn shoulda offed this bastard somehow, but then I remembered that assassination is only the bad guys' tool.
Iraq aims to end immunity of security firms
Fri Sep 21, 2007
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Paul Tait
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants to tighten control over security contractors after a deadly shooting incident involving the U.S. firm Blackwater, ending their long immunity from Iraqi prosecution, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. ...
... Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the ministry had drafted legislation giving it wider powers over the contractors and calling for "severe punishment for those who fail to adhere to the ... guidelines."
Iraq has said it would review the status of all security firms after what it called a flagrant assault by Blackwater contractors in which 11 people were killed while the firm was escorting a U.S. Embassy convoy through Baghdad on Sunday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy should stop using Blackwater...
Wait - there's more!
US investigates Blackwater arms smuggling - report
Sat Sep 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are looking into whether private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA has shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods into Iraq, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the investigation, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported.
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are handling the case, the News & Observer reported.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, North Carolina, employs around 1,000 contractors to protect the U.S. mission in Iraq and its diplomats from attack.
The newspaper quoted two unnamed sources as saying prosecutors are probing whether Blackwater was shipping weapons, night-vision scopes, armor, gun kits and other military goods to Iraq without the required permits. ...
Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press....
Blackwater denies making illegal weapons exports
Sat Sep 22, 2007
By James Vicini and Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA denied on Saturday it was involved in illegally shipping automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq.
The statement by the company, whose contractors were accused by the Iraqi government of killing 11 people in Baghdad this week, came after a newspaper report that federal officials are investigating whether Blackwater exported unlicensed military hardware into Iraq.
"Allegations that Blackwater was in any way associated or complicit in unlawful arms activities are baseless. The company has no knowledge of any employee improperly exporting weapons," the company said in a statement.
"This issue is completely unrelated" to Blackwater's U.S. government programs in Iraq, said the company...
Fri Sep 21, 2007
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Paul Tait
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants to tighten control over security contractors after a deadly shooting incident involving the U.S. firm Blackwater, ending their long immunity from Iraqi prosecution, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. ...
... Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the ministry had drafted legislation giving it wider powers over the contractors and calling for "severe punishment for those who fail to adhere to the ... guidelines."
Iraq has said it would review the status of all security firms after what it called a flagrant assault by Blackwater contractors in which 11 people were killed while the firm was escorting a U.S. Embassy convoy through Baghdad on Sunday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy should stop using Blackwater...
Wait - there's more!
US investigates Blackwater arms smuggling - report
Sat Sep 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are looking into whether private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA has shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods into Iraq, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the investigation, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported.
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are handling the case, the News & Observer reported.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, North Carolina, employs around 1,000 contractors to protect the U.S. mission in Iraq and its diplomats from attack.
The newspaper quoted two unnamed sources as saying prosecutors are probing whether Blackwater was shipping weapons, night-vision scopes, armor, gun kits and other military goods to Iraq without the required permits. ...
Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press....
Blackwater denies making illegal weapons exports
Sat Sep 22, 2007
By James Vicini and Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA denied on Saturday it was involved in illegally shipping automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq.
The statement by the company, whose contractors were accused by the Iraqi government of killing 11 people in Baghdad this week, came after a newspaper report that federal officials are investigating whether Blackwater exported unlicensed military hardware into Iraq.
"Allegations that Blackwater was in any way associated or complicit in unlawful arms activities are baseless. The company has no knowledge of any employee improperly exporting weapons," the company said in a statement.
"This issue is completely unrelated" to Blackwater's U.S. government programs in Iraq, said the company...
Iraq Probe of U.S. Security Firm Grows
Blackwater, Accused of Killing 11 on Sunday, Cited in Earlier Deaths
By Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Iraq's probe into a deadly shooting by Blackwater USA in Baghdad last weekend has expanded to include allegations about the security firm's involvement in six other violent episodes this year that left at least 10 Iraqis dead.
The incidents include the killing of three guards at a state-run media complex and the shooting death of an Iraqi journalist outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, chief spokesman for the Interior Ministry. ...
Iraq: Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked
By ROBERT H. REID
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.
Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. ...
Blackwater, Accused of Killing 11 on Sunday, Cited in Earlier Deaths
By Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Iraq's probe into a deadly shooting by Blackwater USA in Baghdad last weekend has expanded to include allegations about the security firm's involvement in six other violent episodes this year that left at least 10 Iraqis dead.
The incidents include the killing of three guards at a state-run media complex and the shooting death of an Iraqi journalist outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, chief spokesman for the Interior Ministry. ...
Iraq: Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked
By ROBERT H. REID
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.
Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. ...
In Egypt, a Rising Push Against Genital Cutting
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: September 20, 2007
KAFR AL MANSHI ABOU HAMAR, Egypt -- The men in this poor farming community were seething. A 13-year-old girl was brought to a doctor's office to have her clitoris removed, a surgery considered necessary here to preserve chastity and honor.
The girl died, but that was not the source of the outrage. After her death, the government shut down the clinic, and that got everyone stirred up.
"They will not stop us," shouted Saad Yehia, a tea shop owner along the main street. "We support circumcision!" he shouted over and over.
"Even if the state doesn't like it, we will circumcise the girls," shouted Fahmy Ezzeddin Shaweesh, an elder in the village. ...
You'll notice it's men shouting their approval of such brutality. Let's cut off their tenderest bits and find out if their opinion changes. Let's try the same with anyone who suggests stopping it interferes with cultural expression.
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: September 20, 2007
KAFR AL MANSHI ABOU HAMAR, Egypt -- The men in this poor farming community were seething. A 13-year-old girl was brought to a doctor's office to have her clitoris removed, a surgery considered necessary here to preserve chastity and honor.
The girl died, but that was not the source of the outrage. After her death, the government shut down the clinic, and that got everyone stirred up.
"They will not stop us," shouted Saad Yehia, a tea shop owner along the main street. "We support circumcision!" he shouted over and over.
"Even if the state doesn't like it, we will circumcise the girls," shouted Fahmy Ezzeddin Shaweesh, an elder in the village. ...
You'll notice it's men shouting their approval of such brutality. Let's cut off their tenderest bits and find out if their opinion changes. Let's try the same with anyone who suggests stopping it interferes with cultural expression.
Michigan GOP activist gets 5 years for sex assault
Friday, September 14, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
A Michigan lawyer who sexually attacked a 21-year-old woman at a Young Republicans convention here said Thursday that he disgraced himself, his family and his political party.
Michael Flory, 33, of Jackson, Mich., told a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge that his humiliation and self-destruction should be pun ishment enough for his guilty plea to a sexual- battery charge.
Judge Peter Corrigan couldn't have disagreed more.
Corrigan sentenced Flory, the longtime head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans, to five years in prison. That's the maximum term for the offense.
"I'm sickened that he is an attorney," Corrigan told the victim and a packed courtroom. ...
Friday, September 14, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
A Michigan lawyer who sexually attacked a 21-year-old woman at a Young Republicans convention here said Thursday that he disgraced himself, his family and his political party.
Michael Flory, 33, of Jackson, Mich., told a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge that his humiliation and self-destruction should be pun ishment enough for his guilty plea to a sexual- battery charge.
Judge Peter Corrigan couldn't have disagreed more.
Corrigan sentenced Flory, the longtime head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans, to five years in prison. That's the maximum term for the offense.
"I'm sickened that he is an attorney," Corrigan told the victim and a packed courtroom. ...
Barnes & Noble to sell Simpson book in stores
Fri Aug 31, 2007
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble, the world's largest book retailer, has decided to sell O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" in its stores, reversing an earlier decision to offer the controversial title only on the Web.
"Our customers are asking for it. We have been monitoring pre-orders and decided we had enough" to put the book on retail shelves, company spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said on Thursday. ...
Not surprising behavio/ur from such hardcore profit-minded bastards. I had to accept a 50 per hour pay cut when I was hired there - even though I'd worked in another bookstore for a year; many of my co-workers and I worked 60 hours a week, but were 'officially' part-time (biznesses don't have to provide health insurance for part-timers) and never got paid overtime; we had to work much longer between breaks than the law specifies.
barnes and ignoble is more like it.
Fri Aug 31, 2007
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble, the world's largest book retailer, has decided to sell O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" in its stores, reversing an earlier decision to offer the controversial title only on the Web.
"Our customers are asking for it. We have been monitoring pre-orders and decided we had enough" to put the book on retail shelves, company spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said on Thursday. ...
Not surprising behavio/ur from such hardcore profit-minded bastards. I had to accept a 50 per hour pay cut when I was hired there - even though I'd worked in another bookstore for a year; many of my co-workers and I worked 60 hours a week, but were 'officially' part-time (biznesses don't have to provide health insurance for part-timers) and never got paid overtime; we had to work much longer between breaks than the law specifies.
barnes and ignoble is more like it.
Gonzales: 'There Is No Express Grant of Habeas Corpus In The Constitution'
Yesterday, during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed there is no express right to habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution. Gonzales was debating Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) about whether the Supreme Court's ruling on Guantanamo detainees last year cited the constitutional right to habeas corpus. Gonzales claimed the Court did not cite such a right, then added, "There is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution."
Specter pushed back. "Wait a minute. The constitution says you can't take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?" Specter told Gonzales, "You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General." ...
Don't let the door slam you on your arse on the way out, alfredo. We'll all miss you so much!
Yesterday, during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed there is no express right to habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution. Gonzales was debating Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) about whether the Supreme Court's ruling on Guantanamo detainees last year cited the constitutional right to habeas corpus. Gonzales claimed the Court did not cite such a right, then added, "There is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution."
Specter pushed back. "Wait a minute. The constitution says you can't take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?" Specter told Gonzales, "You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General." ...
Don't let the door slam you on your arse on the way out, alfredo. We'll all miss you so much!
Mugabe vows to win 2008 elections
Wed Aug 29, 2007
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vowed on Wednesday to win next year's elections...
He'd have to purchase said election with beaucoup bucks.
Wed Aug 29, 2007
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vowed on Wednesday to win next year's elections...
He'd have to purchase said election with beaucoup bucks.
14111 reasons to keep or make all forms of contraception legal and safe.
20 million risky condoms recalled
Tue Aug 28, 2007
By Bate Felix
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's health department said Tuesday it has recalled 20 million potentially defective condoms approved by an official accused of taking bribes from a manufacturer.
There are up to 1,000 AIDS-related deaths in South Africa every day and free condom distribution is a crucial part of the government's efforts to combat the spread of the epidemic.
"An official of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), has put millions of people at risk by illegally passing millions of condoms, which had not met the quality assurance requirements," said health department spokesman Sibani Mngadi. ...
If they did this they're guilty of murder as well as corruption. I'm of two minds re: an apt punishment...either they should be executed, or they should have to work in aids hospitals - preferably the childrens' wards - for a year before life imprisonment.
Tue Aug 28, 2007
By Bate Felix
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's health department said Tuesday it has recalled 20 million potentially defective condoms approved by an official accused of taking bribes from a manufacturer.
There are up to 1,000 AIDS-related deaths in South Africa every day and free condom distribution is a crucial part of the government's efforts to combat the spread of the epidemic.
"An official of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), has put millions of people at risk by illegally passing millions of condoms, which had not met the quality assurance requirements," said health department spokesman Sibani Mngadi. ...
If they did this they're guilty of murder as well as corruption. I'm of two minds re: an apt punishment...either they should be executed, or they should have to work in aids hospitals - preferably the childrens' wards - for a year before life imprisonment.
Rabbi: Non-Believing Soldiers Die
Aug 27, 2007
By ARON HELLER
JERUSALEM (AP) - An influential and outspoken Israeli rabbi has said Israeli soldiers died in battle because they were not ritually observant Jews, sparking outrage in Israel.
Ovadia Yosef, a highly respected religious scholar among Jews of Middle Eastern descent and the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political movement, made the remarks on Saturday night during his weekly televised sermon.
"Is it any wonder if, heaven forbid, soldiers are killed in a war?" he said, "when they don't observe the Sabbath, they don't observe the Torah, they don't pray every day, they don't put on phylacteries every day. Is it any wonder that they're killed? It's no wonder."
His remarks were quickly denounced by bereaved parents of fallen Israeli soldiers, both observant and secular, and by lawmakers across the political spectrum.
"I think all the citizens of the country understand that these words are outrageous," said Zevulun Orlev, a lawmaker from an Orthodox Jewish hardline National Religious Party. "Any attempt to harm the bereaved families and the soldiers of Israel is unacceptable and unforgivable."
Ran Cohen, a lawmaker from the dovish Meretz party called Yosef's speech "foolish words" by a "primitive man." ...
There are black-magic practitioners in all religions, girls and boys. Evil, cruelty, lack of compassion, and stupidity are their most notable features.
Aug 27, 2007
By ARON HELLER
JERUSALEM (AP) - An influential and outspoken Israeli rabbi has said Israeli soldiers died in battle because they were not ritually observant Jews, sparking outrage in Israel.
Ovadia Yosef, a highly respected religious scholar among Jews of Middle Eastern descent and the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political movement, made the remarks on Saturday night during his weekly televised sermon.
"Is it any wonder if, heaven forbid, soldiers are killed in a war?" he said, "when they don't observe the Sabbath, they don't observe the Torah, they don't pray every day, they don't put on phylacteries every day. Is it any wonder that they're killed? It's no wonder."
His remarks were quickly denounced by bereaved parents of fallen Israeli soldiers, both observant and secular, and by lawmakers across the political spectrum.
"I think all the citizens of the country understand that these words are outrageous," said Zevulun Orlev, a lawmaker from an Orthodox Jewish hardline National Religious Party. "Any attempt to harm the bereaved families and the soldiers of Israel is unacceptable and unforgivable."
Ran Cohen, a lawmaker from the dovish Meretz party called Yosef's speech "foolish words" by a "primitive man." ...
There are black-magic practitioners in all religions, girls and boys. Evil, cruelty, lack of compassion, and stupidity are their most notable features.
Eat steel, sexist pig!
China's Local Censors Muffle an Explosion
Media Forbidden To Probe Deaths At Popular Bar
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
TIAN SHIFU, China -- ... The party's vast propaganda and censorship bureaucracy, although best known for curbing national media, has long exercised its most drastic controls in the newsrooms of China's provincial papers and television stations, such as those that serve the people of Tian Shifu. Unfavorable news -- information that could put local leaders in a bad light in Beijing -- is routinely suppressed by multiple layers of party propaganda officials in towns, counties, cities and provinces.
As a result, Chinese who live in towns or in the countryside -- the majority of China's 1.3 billion inhabitants -- have grown used to living largely in ignorance of what goes on around them, settling for half-truths and daring not to ask for more. This tight control of information has long been an effective tool for the Communist Party to maintain its monopoly on power. It has become even more important in the last two decades as corruption has spread through the party hierarchy, with many city, county and provincial officials eager to hide their association with local entrepreneurs.
"We ordinary people don't know what happened," said a woman who works at Tian Shifu's outdoor food market just behind the destroyed Tianying entertainment complex. "They haven't told us."
In Beijing, officials in the central government of President Hu Jintao have suggested repeatedly that a more open attitude is necessary in the age of cellphones and the Internet. Wang Guoqing, vice minister of the government's national Information Office, told China Central Television last month that local attempts to block coverage of negative news are "naive" given the new technology.
Whether Wang was sincere or not in his call for more openness, the message has not gotten through in China's provincial propaganda offices. At those levels, senior propaganda officials often are on close terms with local newspaper and television editors; they attend the same party meetings and follow similar career paths. Coverage of Tian Shifu's explosion was a case in point.
"The Liaoning Propaganda Department director knows how to control the media," a local reporter said. "He is a former newspaper editor." ...
WTF, Chinastan?
Media Forbidden To Probe Deaths At Popular Bar
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
TIAN SHIFU, China -- ... The party's vast propaganda and censorship bureaucracy, although best known for curbing national media, has long exercised its most drastic controls in the newsrooms of China's provincial papers and television stations, such as those that serve the people of Tian Shifu. Unfavorable news -- information that could put local leaders in a bad light in Beijing -- is routinely suppressed by multiple layers of party propaganda officials in towns, counties, cities and provinces.
As a result, Chinese who live in towns or in the countryside -- the majority of China's 1.3 billion inhabitants -- have grown used to living largely in ignorance of what goes on around them, settling for half-truths and daring not to ask for more. This tight control of information has long been an effective tool for the Communist Party to maintain its monopoly on power. It has become even more important in the last two decades as corruption has spread through the party hierarchy, with many city, county and provincial officials eager to hide their association with local entrepreneurs.
"We ordinary people don't know what happened," said a woman who works at Tian Shifu's outdoor food market just behind the destroyed Tianying entertainment complex. "They haven't told us."
In Beijing, officials in the central government of President Hu Jintao have suggested repeatedly that a more open attitude is necessary in the age of cellphones and the Internet. Wang Guoqing, vice minister of the government's national Information Office, told China Central Television last month that local attempts to block coverage of negative news are "naive" given the new technology.
Whether Wang was sincere or not in his call for more openness, the message has not gotten through in China's provincial propaganda offices. At those levels, senior propaganda officials often are on close terms with local newspaper and television editors; they attend the same party meetings and follow similar career paths. Coverage of Tian Shifu's explosion was a case in point.
"The Liaoning Propaganda Department director knows how to control the media," a local reporter said. "He is a former newspaper editor." ...
WTF, Chinastan?
Patriot missile found in scrapyard
A Patriot surface-to-air missile has been found in a Florida scrapyard. ...
What could I possibly add to that, no matter how clever I may ever feel?
Oh, yes. I can think of something.
Mr Wizard, get me the hell out of here!
A Patriot surface-to-air missile has been found in a Florida scrapyard. ...
What could I possibly add to that, no matter how clever I may ever feel?
Oh, yes. I can think of something.
Mr Wizard, get me the hell out of here!
The Whitehouse Coup
Monday 23 July 2007
Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen
The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush's grandfather Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression.
Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.
Many thanks to dear Redway420
Monday 23 July 2007
Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen
The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush's grandfather Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression.
Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.
Many thanks to dear Redway420
July 25, 2007
Russia's not your colony, says Putin
Marcus Leroux
President Putin of Russia accused Britain yesterday of behaving like a colonial power in demanding the extradition of the former KGB officer suspected of murdering Alexander Litvenenko.
Mr Putin said that it was insulting for Britain to demand that Russia amend its constitution to extradite Andrei Lugovoy. "They are making proposals to change our constitution that are insulting for our nation and our people," he told a rally of pro-Kremlin youth activists. "It's their brains, not our constitution, which need to be changed."
He added: "They forget that Britain is no longer a colonial power and that Russia was never their colony." ...
Well, mr putin, you seem to be operating under the mistaken assumption that Britainistan is your back alley where you can murder anyone you please.
Russia's not your colony, says Putin
Marcus Leroux
President Putin of Russia accused Britain yesterday of behaving like a colonial power in demanding the extradition of the former KGB officer suspected of murdering Alexander Litvenenko.
Mr Putin said that it was insulting for Britain to demand that Russia amend its constitution to extradite Andrei Lugovoy. "They are making proposals to change our constitution that are insulting for our nation and our people," he told a rally of pro-Kremlin youth activists. "It's their brains, not our constitution, which need to be changed."
He added: "They forget that Britain is no longer a colonial power and that Russia was never their colony." ...
Well, mr putin, you seem to be operating under the mistaken assumption that Britainistan is your back alley where you can murder anyone you please.
A BBC Radio 4 investigation sheds new light on a major subject that has received little historical attention, the conspiracy on behalf of a group of influential powerbrokers, led by Prescott Bush, to overthrow FDR and implement a fascist dictatorship in the U.S. based around the ideology of Mussolini and Hitler.
In 1933, Marine Corps Maj.-Gen. Smedley Butler was approached by a wealthy and secretive group of industrialists and bankers, including Prescott Bush the current President's grandfather, who asked him to command a 500,000 strong rogue army of veterans that would help stage a coup to topple then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
According to the BBC, the plotters intended to impose a fascist takeover and "Adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression."
The conspirators were operating under the umbrella of a front group called the American Liberty League, which included many families that are still household names today, including Heinz, Colgate, Birds Eye and General Motors. ...
In 1933, Marine Corps Maj.-Gen. Smedley Butler was approached by a wealthy and secretive group of industrialists and bankers, including Prescott Bush the current President's grandfather, who asked him to command a 500,000 strong rogue army of veterans that would help stage a coup to topple then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
According to the BBC, the plotters intended to impose a fascist takeover and "Adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression."
The conspirators were operating under the umbrella of a front group called the American Liberty League, which included many families that are still household names today, including Heinz, Colgate, Birds Eye and General Motors. ...
FEMA Suppressed Health Warnings for Workers, Katrina Victims
Agency Rejected Environmental Testing on Formaldehyde Gas Levels
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has suppressed warnings from its own Gulf coast field workers since the middle of 2006 about suspected health problems that may be linked to elevated levels of formaldehyde gas released in FEMA-provided trailers, lawmakers said today.
At a hearing this morning of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, investigators released internal e-mails indicating that FEMA lawyers rejected environmental testing out of fear that the agency would then become legally liable if health problems emerged among as many as 120,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who lived in trailers.
FEMA's Office of General Counsel "has advised that we do not do testing," because this "would imply FEMA's ownership of this issue," wrote a FEMA logistics specialist on June 16, 2006, three months after news reports surfaced about the possible effects of the invisible cancer-causing compound and one month after the agency was sued.
Another FEMA attorney on June 15 advised, "[d]o not initiate any testing until we give the OK. . . . Once you get results and should they indicate some problem, the clock is running on our duty to respond to them." ...
Agency Rejected Environmental Testing on Formaldehyde Gas Levels
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has suppressed warnings from its own Gulf coast field workers since the middle of 2006 about suspected health problems that may be linked to elevated levels of formaldehyde gas released in FEMA-provided trailers, lawmakers said today.
At a hearing this morning of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, investigators released internal e-mails indicating that FEMA lawyers rejected environmental testing out of fear that the agency would then become legally liable if health problems emerged among as many as 120,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who lived in trailers.
FEMA's Office of General Counsel "has advised that we do not do testing," because this "would imply FEMA's ownership of this issue," wrote a FEMA logistics specialist on June 16, 2006, three months after news reports surfaced about the possible effects of the invisible cancer-causing compound and one month after the agency was sued.
Another FEMA attorney on June 15 advised, "[d]o not initiate any testing until we give the OK. . . . Once you get results and should they indicate some problem, the clock is running on our duty to respond to them." ...
Hitman at the Hilton hotel
By ONLINE REPORTERS
July 18, 2007
A MAN has been arrested in connection with an alleged attempt to assassinate Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.
The man, who was arrested in central London on June 21, was handed over to immigration officials two days later, Scotland Yard said.
Police seized the suspect on suspicion of conspiracy to murder after a plot was uncovered for a hitman to kill an outspoken "enemy of Moscow" at the Hilton Hotel on London's Park Lane.
The assassin was accompanied by a child in a cold-blooded attempt to avoid raising suspicion.
But MI5 and MI6 intercepted intelligence about the plot -- due to have been carried out within the last fortnight.
And the hitman was seized before he could open fire.
The murderous mission was revealed 24 hours after Britain ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats.
And its disclosure will plunge the cold relations between London and Moscow into the deep freeze. ...
Владимир - вонючая ласка.
Spaseeba balshoya to tovareesh Redway420
By ONLINE REPORTERS
July 18, 2007
A MAN has been arrested in connection with an alleged attempt to assassinate Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.
The man, who was arrested in central London on June 21, was handed over to immigration officials two days later, Scotland Yard said.
Police seized the suspect on suspicion of conspiracy to murder after a plot was uncovered for a hitman to kill an outspoken "enemy of Moscow" at the Hilton Hotel on London's Park Lane.
The assassin was accompanied by a child in a cold-blooded attempt to avoid raising suspicion.
But MI5 and MI6 intercepted intelligence about the plot -- due to have been carried out within the last fortnight.
And the hitman was seized before he could open fire.
The murderous mission was revealed 24 hours after Britain ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats.
And its disclosure will plunge the cold relations between London and Moscow into the deep freeze. ...
Владимир - вонючая ласка.
Spaseeba balshoya to tovareesh Redway420
L.A. Archdiocese to Pay $660M for Abuse
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
07.15.07, 1:05 AM ET
LOS ANGELES - (AP) The nation's largest Catholic archdiocese has settled its abuse cases for $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, The Associated Press has learned.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the plaintiffs reached the deal Saturday, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney. The archdiocese and the plaintiffs will release a statement Sunday morning and hold a news conference Monday, he said.
An anonymous source with knowledge of the deal placed its value at $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced.
The amount, which would average a little more than $1.3 million per plaintiff, exceeded earlier reports that the settlement would be between $600 million and $650 million.
Some Roman Catholic orders - the Servites, Claretians and Oblates - will be carved out of the agreement because they refused to participate, the source said. The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, Boucher said.
The settlements push the total amount paid out by the U.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese. ...
More - from Guardian Unlt'd
LA Cardinal Apologizes to Plaintiffs
... Vivian Viscarra, 50, who attends Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels three times a month, said the victims deserve the payout even though it could hurt the church's ability to deliver important services. The amount would average a little more than $1.3 million per plaintiff.
"I am disappointed," Viscarra said. "And it's making me reevaluate my views of whether people in the ministry should be married. People do have needs." [Ed. Note: Too bad the pope hasn't figured this out. The old ex-nazi even recently publicly proclaimed the catholic church is the only true church.]
The deal, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney. He said the documents could show whether archdiocesan leaders were involved in covering up for abusive priests.
Chris Parra, 40, attends Mass every Sunday, said she couldn't help thinking about the settlement when she shook Cardinal Roger Mahony's hand on the way out of the cathedral.
"Even when I was standing there, shaking his hand, I was thinking about how he's finally going to release the priests' personnel records and I wondered to myself why didn't he do that sooner," she said, holding her baby Tomas. ...
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
07.15.07, 1:05 AM ET
LOS ANGELES - (AP) The nation's largest Catholic archdiocese has settled its abuse cases for $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, The Associated Press has learned.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the plaintiffs reached the deal Saturday, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney. The archdiocese and the plaintiffs will release a statement Sunday morning and hold a news conference Monday, he said.
An anonymous source with knowledge of the deal placed its value at $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced.
The amount, which would average a little more than $1.3 million per plaintiff, exceeded earlier reports that the settlement would be between $600 million and $650 million.
Some Roman Catholic orders - the Servites, Claretians and Oblates - will be carved out of the agreement because they refused to participate, the source said. The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, Boucher said.
The settlements push the total amount paid out by the U.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese. ...
More - from Guardian Unlt'd
LA Cardinal Apologizes to Plaintiffs
... Vivian Viscarra, 50, who attends Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels three times a month, said the victims deserve the payout even though it could hurt the church's ability to deliver important services. The amount would average a little more than $1.3 million per plaintiff.
"I am disappointed," Viscarra said. "And it's making me reevaluate my views of whether people in the ministry should be married. People do have needs." [Ed. Note: Too bad the pope hasn't figured this out. The old ex-nazi even recently publicly proclaimed the catholic church is the only true church.]
The deal, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney. He said the documents could show whether archdiocesan leaders were involved in covering up for abusive priests.
Chris Parra, 40, attends Mass every Sunday, said she couldn't help thinking about the settlement when she shook Cardinal Roger Mahony's hand on the way out of the cathedral.
"Even when I was standing there, shaking his hand, I was thinking about how he's finally going to release the priests' personnel records and I wondered to myself why didn't he do that sooner," she said, holding her baby Tomas. ...
Gonzales Was Told of FBI Violations
After Bureau Sent Reports, Attorney General Said He Knew of No Wrongdoing
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The acts recounted in the FBI reports included unauthorized surveillance, an illegal property search and a case in which an Internet firm improperly turned over a compact disc with data that the FBI was not entitled to collect, the documents show. Gonzales was [given copies of] each report that said administrative rules or laws protecting civil liberties and privacy had been violated. ...
"I don't recall."
After Bureau Sent Reports, Attorney General Said He Knew of No Wrongdoing
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The acts recounted in the FBI reports included unauthorized surveillance, an illegal property search and a case in which an Internet firm improperly turned over a compact disc with data that the FBI was not entitled to collect, the documents show. Gonzales was [given copies of] each report that said administrative rules or laws protecting civil liberties and privacy had been violated. ...
"I don't recall."
Woman jailed for 'neglected' lawn
8 July 2007
A 70-year-old US woman has been left bruised and bloody after an unexpected clash with police who came to arrest her because her lawn was dry and brown.
Trouble flared when Utah pensioner Betty Perry, 70, refused to give her name to an officer trying to caution her for not watering her lawn.
She says the officer hit her with handcuffs, cutting her nose, although police insist she slipped and fell.
Ms Perry said she was "distraught" after the incident.
She denied that she was resisting arrest, maintaining that she turned to go inside to call her son to fix the confusing dispute.
"I tried to sit down and get away from him," she told Utah newspaper the Daily Herald.
"I don't know what he's doing. I said: 'What are you doing?' And he hit me with those handcuffs in my face," she said.
"He's just trying to cover his tracks, as far as I'm concerned." ...
Why did the asshole have handcuffs out if all he was going to do was give her a 'caution?' Why is the asshole going unnamed? His name should be shouted from the rooftops.
How much you wanna bet that pig is a mor(m)on and Ms Perry isn't?
8 July 2007
A 70-year-old US woman has been left bruised and bloody after an unexpected clash with police who came to arrest her because her lawn was dry and brown.
Trouble flared when Utah pensioner Betty Perry, 70, refused to give her name to an officer trying to caution her for not watering her lawn.
She says the officer hit her with handcuffs, cutting her nose, although police insist she slipped and fell.
Ms Perry said she was "distraught" after the incident.
She denied that she was resisting arrest, maintaining that she turned to go inside to call her son to fix the confusing dispute.
"I tried to sit down and get away from him," she told Utah newspaper the Daily Herald.
"I don't know what he's doing. I said: 'What are you doing?' And he hit me with those handcuffs in my face," she said.
"He's just trying to cover his tracks, as far as I'm concerned." ...
Why did the asshole have handcuffs out if all he was going to do was give her a 'caution?' Why is the asshole going unnamed? His name should be shouted from the rooftops.
How much you wanna bet that pig is a mor(m)on and Ms Perry isn't?
Gaza's female journalists targeted.
Last Modified: 04 Jun 2007
By: Helene Cacace
An Islamist group in Gaza has threatened to behead female news reporters who don't wear full Islamic head covering. ...
How in hell are the people watching them on tv s'posed to be able to hear what swaddled-up women are saying? Hello?!
If living in the modern world is so difficult and horrifying for your narrow, ignorant 'minds' then just check out on your own. Why in hell do you want to send others ahead to th' afterlife or take them along with your suicide bombs?
PS: Why do you hateful perverts hate women so much, anyway? Don't you realize every last one of you came out of a woman? You didn't pop outta your Pop, nor are you sui generis.
Last Modified: 04 Jun 2007
By: Helene Cacace
An Islamist group in Gaza has threatened to behead female news reporters who don't wear full Islamic head covering. ...
How in hell are the people watching them on tv s'posed to be able to hear what swaddled-up women are saying? Hello?!
If living in the modern world is so difficult and horrifying for your narrow, ignorant 'minds' then just check out on your own. Why in hell do you want to send others ahead to th' afterlife or take them along with your suicide bombs?
PS: Why do you hateful perverts hate women so much, anyway? Don't you realize every last one of you came out of a woman? You didn't pop outta your Pop, nor are you sui generis.
Explosives-Packed Car Defused in London
By DAVID STRINGER
The Associated Press
Friday, June 29, 2007
LONDON -- Police in London's bustling nightclub and theater district on Friday defused a bomb that could have killed hundreds after an ambulance crew spotted smoke coming from a Mercedes filled with a lethal mix of gasoline, propane and nails, authorities said.
The bomb near Piccadilly Circus was powerful enough to have caused "significant injury or loss of life" - possibly killing hundreds, British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said. ...
By DAVID STRINGER
The Associated Press
Friday, June 29, 2007
LONDON -- Police in London's bustling nightclub and theater district on Friday defused a bomb that could have killed hundreds after an ambulance crew spotted smoke coming from a Mercedes filled with a lethal mix of gasoline, propane and nails, authorities said.
The bomb near Piccadilly Circus was powerful enough to have caused "significant injury or loss of life" - possibly killing hundreds, British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said. ...
Senators Subpoena The White House
Panel Demands Papers On NSA Wiretapping
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 28, 2007
A Senate committee investigating the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program issued subpoenas yesterday ordering the White House to turn over documents related to the eavesdropping effort, escalating a legal showdown between Congress and the Bush administration.
The Judiciary Committee's subpoenas were delivered to the offices of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the national security adviser and to the Justice Department. They demanded copies of internal documents about the program's legality and agreements with telecommunications companies that participated in the program.
Lawmakers said their aim is to understand and reconstruct the administration's internal debate about the program's legality, an aim White House officials have resisted.
"This committee has made no fewer than nine formal requests to the Department of Justice and to the White House, seeking information and documents about the authorization of and legal justification for this program," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in letters delivered with the subpoenas. "All requests have been rebuffed." ...
Panel Demands Papers On NSA Wiretapping
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 28, 2007
A Senate committee investigating the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program issued subpoenas yesterday ordering the White House to turn over documents related to the eavesdropping effort, escalating a legal showdown between Congress and the Bush administration.
The Judiciary Committee's subpoenas were delivered to the offices of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the national security adviser and to the Justice Department. They demanded copies of internal documents about the program's legality and agreements with telecommunications companies that participated in the program.
Lawmakers said their aim is to understand and reconstruct the administration's internal debate about the program's legality, an aim White House officials have resisted.
"This committee has made no fewer than nine formal requests to the Department of Justice and to the White House, seeking information and documents about the authorization of and legal justification for this program," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in letters delivered with the subpoenas. "All requests have been rebuffed." ...
White House Is Subpoenaed on Wiretapping
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, June 27 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the Justice Department after what the panel's chairman called "stonewalling of the worst kind" of efforts to investigate the National Security Agency's policy of wiretapping without warrants.
The move put Senate Democrats squarely on a course they had until now avoided, setting the stage for a showdown with the Bush administration over one of the most contentious issues arising from the White House's campaign against terrorism.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said the subpoenas seek documents that could shed light on the administration's legal justification for the wiretapping and on disputes within the government over its legality.
In addition, the panel is seeking materials on related issues, including the relationship between the Bush administration and several unidentified telecommunications companies that aided the N.S.A. eavesdropping program. ...
... Mr. Leahy said Wednesday at a news conference that the committee had issued the subpoenas because the administration had followed a "consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection" in dealing with Congressional efforts to scrutinize the program.
"It's unacceptable," Mr. Leahy said. "It is stonewalling of the worst kind." ...
Also here.
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, June 27 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the Justice Department after what the panel's chairman called "stonewalling of the worst kind" of efforts to investigate the National Security Agency's policy of wiretapping without warrants.
The move put Senate Democrats squarely on a course they had until now avoided, setting the stage for a showdown with the Bush administration over one of the most contentious issues arising from the White House's campaign against terrorism.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said the subpoenas seek documents that could shed light on the administration's legal justification for the wiretapping and on disputes within the government over its legality.
In addition, the panel is seeking materials on related issues, including the relationship between the Bush administration and several unidentified telecommunications companies that aided the N.S.A. eavesdropping program. ...
... Mr. Leahy said Wednesday at a news conference that the committee had issued the subpoenas because the administration had followed a "consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection" in dealing with Congressional efforts to scrutinize the program.
"It's unacceptable," Mr. Leahy said. "It is stonewalling of the worst kind." ...
Also here.
CIA to release details on decades of secrets
Fri Jun 22, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency is declassifying hundreds of pages of documents on secret operations from over three decades ago, CIA Director Michael Hayden said.
The so-called "Family Jewels" document overseas assassination attempts, domestic spying, kidnapping and infiltration of leftist groups from the 1950s to the 1970s, according to a summary posted on the Web site of the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
The documents to be released next week also include accounts of break-ins and theft, surveillance of U.S. journalists, the agency's opening of private mail to and from China and the Soviet Union, and "behavior modification" experiments on "unwitting" U.S. civilians.
"Much of it has been in the press before, and most of it is unflattering, but it's the CIA's history," Hayden said in a speech on Thursday to the American Foreign Relations Conference.
"This is about telling the American people what we have done in their name," Hayden said.
The CIA chief said the documents provide a glimpse of "a very different time and a very difference [sic] agency." ...
I see very little difference.
Fri Jun 22, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency is declassifying hundreds of pages of documents on secret operations from over three decades ago, CIA Director Michael Hayden said.
The so-called "Family Jewels" document overseas assassination attempts, domestic spying, kidnapping and infiltration of leftist groups from the 1950s to the 1970s, according to a summary posted on the Web site of the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
The documents to be released next week also include accounts of break-ins and theft, surveillance of U.S. journalists, the agency's opening of private mail to and from China and the Soviet Union, and "behavior modification" experiments on "unwitting" U.S. civilians.
"Much of it has been in the press before, and most of it is unflattering, but it's the CIA's history," Hayden said in a speech on Thursday to the American Foreign Relations Conference.
"This is about telling the American people what we have done in their name," Hayden said.
The CIA chief said the documents provide a glimpse of "a very different time and a very difference [sic] agency." ...
I see very little difference.
Inbreeding among polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border is producing a caste of severely retarded and deformed children
By John Dougherty
Article Published Dec 29, 2005
... Nearly everyone in Colorado City, Arizona, and the adjacent town of Hildale, Utah, is a member of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy and had long encouraged multiple marriages between close relatives.
By the late 1990s, Tarby and his team had discovered fumarase deficiency was occurring in the greatest concentration in the world among the fundamentalist Mormon polygamists of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Of even greater concern was the fact that the recessive gene that triggers the disease was rapidly spreading to thousands of individuals living in the community because of decades of inbreeding. ...
... For more than 70 years, all marriages in the isolated towns have been arranged by the leader of the FLDS, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based Mormon Church.
Marriages among first and second cousins have been common for decades in the community, where religious doctrine requires men to have at least three wives to gain eternal salvation. Only the FLDS prophet can arrange and perform polygamous marriages, and those marriages are taking place in a community in which almost everybody is related.
The current FLDS prophet is 50-year-old Warren Jeffs, who has not been seen publicly since August 2003. Last June, Jeffs was charged with seven felonies by Mohave County, Arizona, in connection with his performance of "spiritual" marriages of three underage girls to already married men. He was placed on the FBI's most wanted list last August. Eight other Colorado City polygamists have been indicted by a Mohave County grand jury for having unlawful sex with underage girls who were their plural wives.
The indictments have come amid a three-year investigation by New Times of the FLDS community. That probe has uncovered widespread sexual abuse of young girls forced into polygamous marriages that, until recently, was downplayed by Arizona political leaders and law enforcement.
The state not only ignored the crimes for decades, it helped facilitate them by allowing the FLDS polygamists to set up a town government, a public school district and a police department that have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds despite the fact that polygamy violates Arizona's Constitution. The FLDS has had an iron grip on the local governments, because it has been impossible to get elected or hired to a taxpayer-funded post without the church's blessing.
The fundamentalist community has also benefited immensely from state health-care services for the poor and indigent by receiving more than $12 million a year in state assistance in Arizona to pay for health-insurance premiums.
It turns out that taxpayers also have been footing the bill for the fumarase deficiency children born to polygamists who insist that plural marriage involving close relatives is their divine right.
There is no doubt in the mind of any expert interviewed by New Times that the practice of polygamy combined with inbreeding has fostered the spread of fumarase deficiency. ...
By John Dougherty
Article Published Dec 29, 2005
... Nearly everyone in Colorado City, Arizona, and the adjacent town of Hildale, Utah, is a member of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy and had long encouraged multiple marriages between close relatives.
By the late 1990s, Tarby and his team had discovered fumarase deficiency was occurring in the greatest concentration in the world among the fundamentalist Mormon polygamists of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Of even greater concern was the fact that the recessive gene that triggers the disease was rapidly spreading to thousands of individuals living in the community because of decades of inbreeding. ...
... For more than 70 years, all marriages in the isolated towns have been arranged by the leader of the FLDS, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based Mormon Church.
Marriages among first and second cousins have been common for decades in the community, where religious doctrine requires men to have at least three wives to gain eternal salvation. Only the FLDS prophet can arrange and perform polygamous marriages, and those marriages are taking place in a community in which almost everybody is related.
The current FLDS prophet is 50-year-old Warren Jeffs, who has not been seen publicly since August 2003. Last June, Jeffs was charged with seven felonies by Mohave County, Arizona, in connection with his performance of "spiritual" marriages of three underage girls to already married men. He was placed on the FBI's most wanted list last August. Eight other Colorado City polygamists have been indicted by a Mohave County grand jury for having unlawful sex with underage girls who were their plural wives.
The indictments have come amid a three-year investigation by New Times of the FLDS community. That probe has uncovered widespread sexual abuse of young girls forced into polygamous marriages that, until recently, was downplayed by Arizona political leaders and law enforcement.
The state not only ignored the crimes for decades, it helped facilitate them by allowing the FLDS polygamists to set up a town government, a public school district and a police department that have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds despite the fact that polygamy violates Arizona's Constitution. The FLDS has had an iron grip on the local governments, because it has been impossible to get elected or hired to a taxpayer-funded post without the church's blessing.
The fundamentalist community has also benefited immensely from state health-care services for the poor and indigent by receiving more than $12 million a year in state assistance in Arizona to pay for health-insurance premiums.
It turns out that taxpayers also have been footing the bill for the fumarase deficiency children born to polygamists who insist that plural marriage involving close relatives is their divine right.
There is no doubt in the mind of any expert interviewed by New Times that the practice of polygamy combined with inbreeding has fostered the spread of fumarase deficiency. ...
It's about time Big Media finally decided to mention this story.
This story: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/full was published December 29, 2005, and I originally blogged it September 2006. What took Big Media and all its resources so long?
Is this being pressed now because the presidential game show features a mormon contestant?
Those poor kids! They don't deserve such lives!
What are these people thinking? Are they thinking? Why are our tax dollars supporting them while they continue to break the law?
The story also inspires a potentially great Lovecraft pastiche, innit.
Rabidly-inbreeding, kiddy-fiddling fundamentalist cousin-marrying mor(m)on polygamist weirdos in Yankistani Southwest = "HP Lovecraft in the Desert," anyone?
/me dashes off to see whether there's an Arkham, Arizona/Utah
Update two minutes later: No such animal.
This story: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/full was published December 29, 2005, and I originally blogged it September 2006. What took Big Media and all its resources so long?
Is this being pressed now because the presidential game show features a mormon contestant?
Those poor kids! They don't deserve such lives!
What are these people thinking? Are they thinking? Why are our tax dollars supporting them while they continue to break the law?
The story also inspires a potentially great Lovecraft pastiche, innit.
Rabidly-inbreeding, kiddy-fiddling fundamentalist cousin-marrying mor(m)on polygamist weirdos in Yankistani Southwest = "HP Lovecraft in the Desert," anyone?
/me dashes off to see whether there's an Arkham, Arizona/Utah
Update two minutes later: No such animal.
LA Hospital Faces New Threat of Closure
L.A. Hospital Faces New Threat of Closure After 911 Tapes Reveal Dying Woman Denied Help
By ROBERT JABLON Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES Jun 13, 2007
An inner-city hospital struggled to survive Wednesday amid a new report of breakdowns in patient care, the replacement of its chief medical officer and an ultimatum to correct long-running problems or close.
Newly released tapes of 911 calls reveal that a woman who lay bleeding on the floor of the emergency room died last month after dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility.
The woman's treatment was "callous, it was a horrible thing," Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke said Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the county Board of Supervisors grilled health officials about conditions at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. It ordered them to return in two weeks with a plan to deal with a hospital shutdown if it is unable to correct deficiencies laid out in a federal inspection that concluded emergency room patients were in "immediate jeopardy."
The federal review was based, in part, on a report that a man with a brain tumor waited four days in the emergency room when he needed to be transferred to another facility for lifesaving brain surgery. ...
More:
911 Dispatch Ignores Dying Woman
Edith Rodriguez Had Been to the E.R. on Several Occasions
L.A. Hospital Faces New Threat of Closure After 911 Tapes Reveal Dying Woman Denied Help
By ROBERT JABLON Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES Jun 13, 2007
An inner-city hospital struggled to survive Wednesday amid a new report of breakdowns in patient care, the replacement of its chief medical officer and an ultimatum to correct long-running problems or close.
Newly released tapes of 911 calls reveal that a woman who lay bleeding on the floor of the emergency room died last month after dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility.
The woman's treatment was "callous, it was a horrible thing," Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke said Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the county Board of Supervisors grilled health officials about conditions at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. It ordered them to return in two weeks with a plan to deal with a hospital shutdown if it is unable to correct deficiencies laid out in a federal inspection that concluded emergency room patients were in "immediate jeopardy."
The federal review was based, in part, on a report that a man with a brain tumor waited four days in the emergency room when he needed to be transferred to another facility for lifesaving brain surgery. ...
More:
911 Dispatch Ignores Dying Woman
Edith Rodriguez Had Been to the E.R. on Several Occasions
FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 14, 2007
An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism.
The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling. ...
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 14, 2007
An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism.
The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling. ...
'Slaves' rescued from China firm
By Michael Bristow
8 June 2007
Thirty-one dirty and disorientated workers have been rescued from a brickwork factory in China, where they were being held as virtual slaves. [NB: 'Virtual'?]
Eight workers were so traumatised by their experiences that they were only able to remember their names.
The labourers had to work unpaid for 20 hours at a time, and were only given bread and water in return.
The brickworks, in the poor inland province of Shanxi, is owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary.
Local police told the BBC that the owner, Wang Binbin, had been arrested, and that his father, Wang Dongji, was under investigation.
Several other people have also been arrested, although the foreman is still on the run.
According to a report in the Beijing News, citing the Shanxi Evening News, the rescued workers had been duped into working at the factory.
Once there, they faced a harsh regime. One man was even reported to have been beaten to death with a hammer, because he did not work fast enough. ...
... Police are now arranging for the workers to get the wages they should have been paid, and then they will send them home, although the eight disorientated workers cannot remember where that is. ...
WTF, Chinastan?
I gave this a thumbs up because they were rescued, and because people need to know the production methods of the cheap Chinese goods they buy.
This is of course an extreme example, but it appears most Chinese factories offer a very few pleasant jobs and a lot of intolerable ones.
Consider buying items which are not made in Chinese prison-like factories, even though they're more expensive. A little research on Chinese labo/ur practices will ease your pocket's anxiety.
By Michael Bristow
8 June 2007
Thirty-one dirty and disorientated workers have been rescued from a brickwork factory in China, where they were being held as virtual slaves. [NB: 'Virtual'?]
Eight workers were so traumatised by their experiences that they were only able to remember their names.
The labourers had to work unpaid for 20 hours at a time, and were only given bread and water in return.
The brickworks, in the poor inland province of Shanxi, is owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary.
Local police told the BBC that the owner, Wang Binbin, had been arrested, and that his father, Wang Dongji, was under investigation.
Several other people have also been arrested, although the foreman is still on the run.
According to a report in the Beijing News, citing the Shanxi Evening News, the rescued workers had been duped into working at the factory.
Once there, they faced a harsh regime. One man was even reported to have been beaten to death with a hammer, because he did not work fast enough. ...
... Police are now arranging for the workers to get the wages they should have been paid, and then they will send them home, although the eight disorientated workers cannot remember where that is. ...
WTF, Chinastan?
I gave this a thumbs up because they were rescued, and because people need to know the production methods of the cheap Chinese goods they buy.
This is of course an extreme example, but it appears most Chinese factories offer a very few pleasant jobs and a lot of intolerable ones.
Consider buying items which are not made in Chinese prison-like factories, even though they're more expensive. A little research on Chinese labo/ur practices will ease your pocket's anxiety.
No jobs for US citizens without Homeland Security approval
Submitted by Canada IFP on Sat, 2007-05-26
US citizens who apply for a job will need prior approval from Department of Homeland Security under the terms immigration bill passed by the Senate this week.
American Civil Liberties Union pointed out that the DHS's Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) is error plagued and if the department makes a mistake in determining work eligibility, there will be virtually no way to challenge the error or recover lost wages due to the bill's prohibitions on judicial review.
Even current employees will need to obtain eligibility approval from the DHS Within 60 days of the Immigration Reform Act of 2006 becoming law. ...
You fucking assholes, give me my country back!
Submitted by Canada IFP on Sat, 2007-05-26
US citizens who apply for a job will need prior approval from Department of Homeland Security under the terms immigration bill passed by the Senate this week.
American Civil Liberties Union pointed out that the DHS's Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) is error plagued and if the department makes a mistake in determining work eligibility, there will be virtually no way to challenge the error or recover lost wages due to the bill's prohibitions on judicial review.
Even current employees will need to obtain eligibility approval from the DHS Within 60 days of the Immigration Reform Act of 2006 becoming law. ...
You fucking assholes, give me my country back!
Illegal mining threatens China Qing dynasty tombs
Monday, June 4, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - Imperial Qing dynasty tombs near Beijing which date back more than 300 years are under threat from illegal mining, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Eastern Tombs form the largest preserved imperial mausoleum complex in China, housing the remains of 161 members of the Qing Dynasty royal family, including emperors, empresses and imperial concubines.
They were listed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2000.
But the tombs are located at the foot of a mountain in Hebei province, about 125 km (75 miles) east of Beijing, in an area rich in iron ore.
"Illegal mining started two years ago with mining reaching a depth of 50 to 80 meters," Xinhua quoted a villager as saying.
"The night reverberates with the sound of explosions from within the mines and the iron ore is shipped out during the daytime. The windows of the nearby houses have been damaged by the violent explosions." ...
... China's cultural heritage protection law says no explosions, mining or drilling are allowed near protected areas.
Hebei, which produces a fifth of China's steel, was ordered last year by China's top planning body to shut down many of its small steel mills which were causing pollution and affecting water supplies.
A village elder said that the illegal mine owners in the Eastern Tombs area had a wide network of connections.
"Illegal mining stopped during an investigation and resumed after the inspection had been completed," he was quoted as saying.
WTF, China?
Monday, June 4, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - Imperial Qing dynasty tombs near Beijing which date back more than 300 years are under threat from illegal mining, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Eastern Tombs form the largest preserved imperial mausoleum complex in China, housing the remains of 161 members of the Qing Dynasty royal family, including emperors, empresses and imperial concubines.
They were listed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2000.
But the tombs are located at the foot of a mountain in Hebei province, about 125 km (75 miles) east of Beijing, in an area rich in iron ore.
"Illegal mining started two years ago with mining reaching a depth of 50 to 80 meters," Xinhua quoted a villager as saying.
"The night reverberates with the sound of explosions from within the mines and the iron ore is shipped out during the daytime. The windows of the nearby houses have been damaged by the violent explosions." ...
... China's cultural heritage protection law says no explosions, mining or drilling are allowed near protected areas.
Hebei, which produces a fifth of China's steel, was ordered last year by China's top planning body to shut down many of its small steel mills which were causing pollution and affecting water supplies.
A village elder said that the illegal mine owners in the Eastern Tombs area had a wide network of connections.
"Illegal mining stopped during an investigation and resumed after the inspection had been completed," he was quoted as saying.
WTF, China?
U.S. Rebuffs Germany on Greenhouse Gas Cuts
By HELENE COOPER and ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: May 26, 2007
WASHINGTON, May 25 -- The United States has rejected Germany's proposal for deep long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, setting the stage for a battle that will pit President Bush against his European allies at next month's meeting of the world's richest countries.
In unusually harsh language, Bush administration negotiators took issue with the German draft of the communiqu for the meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations, complaining that the proposal "crosses multiple red lines in terms of what we simply cannot agree to."
"We have tried to tread lightly, but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position," the American response said.
Germany, backed by Britain and now Japan, has proposed cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who will be the host of the meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm next month, has been pushing hard to get the Group of 8 to take significant action on climate change.
It had been a foregone conclusion that the Western European members of the Group of 8 -- Germany, Italy, France and Britain -- would back the reductions. But on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan threw his lot in with the Europeans, and proposed cutting carbon emissions as part of a new framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose mandatory caps on gases end in 2012. ...
'Twould be far more accurate if the headline read, "shrub and Other Yankistani Oil Companies Rebuff Germanistan on Greenhouse Gas Cuts."
By HELENE COOPER and ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: May 26, 2007
WASHINGTON, May 25 -- The United States has rejected Germany's proposal for deep long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, setting the stage for a battle that will pit President Bush against his European allies at next month's meeting of the world's richest countries.
In unusually harsh language, Bush administration negotiators took issue with the German draft of the communiqu for the meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations, complaining that the proposal "crosses multiple red lines in terms of what we simply cannot agree to."
"We have tried to tread lightly, but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position," the American response said.
Germany, backed by Britain and now Japan, has proposed cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who will be the host of the meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm next month, has been pushing hard to get the Group of 8 to take significant action on climate change.
It had been a foregone conclusion that the Western European members of the Group of 8 -- Germany, Italy, France and Britain -- would back the reductions. But on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan threw his lot in with the Europeans, and proposed cutting carbon emissions as part of a new framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose mandatory caps on gases end in 2012. ...
'Twould be far more accurate if the headline read, "shrub and Other Yankistani Oil Companies Rebuff Germanistan on Greenhouse Gas Cuts."
There are times I am ashamed of my species.
Whenever a religion dictates rather than counsels, it becomes politics instead.
Graphic, shocking and obscene (in the slaughterhouse, not x-rated sense of the term).
Whenever a religion dictates rather than counsels, it becomes politics instead.
Graphic, shocking and obscene (in the slaughterhouse, not x-rated sense of the term).
Teaching children to hate really improves your image, dudes. Really effing brilliant; ethical, too. Next you'll be warning kids of the Western and Zionist plot to sap and impurify all of their precious bodily fluids.
Man wants electoral voice for "living dead"
Tue May 8, 2007
By Sharat Pradhan
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - A villager is campaigning in northern India for the rights of people declared legally dead by cheating relatives seeking to steal their assets.
Lal Bihari, a lower caste villager who lost his father's inheritance due to an unscrupulous uncle, formed the "Union of the Dead" in 1980 to fight for the rights of thousands he says have fallen victim to scams by relatives.
He is contesting as an independent in a month-long election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which ends on Tuesday.
In 1976, an uncle allegedly connived with corrupt local officials to fudge village records and declare Bihari dead. The uncle then won the inheritance of Bihari's father.
"It was only as late as in 1994 that I succeeded in proving myself alive," Bihari, 52, said. ...
I can never help wondering what it must be like to have a family that's nice. It must be fantastic.
Tue May 8, 2007
By Sharat Pradhan
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - A villager is campaigning in northern India for the rights of people declared legally dead by cheating relatives seeking to steal their assets.
Lal Bihari, a lower caste villager who lost his father's inheritance due to an unscrupulous uncle, formed the "Union of the Dead" in 1980 to fight for the rights of thousands he says have fallen victim to scams by relatives.
He is contesting as an independent in a month-long election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which ends on Tuesday.
In 1976, an uncle allegedly connived with corrupt local officials to fudge village records and declare Bihari dead. The uncle then won the inheritance of Bihari's father.
"It was only as late as in 1994 that I succeeded in proving myself alive," Bihari, 52, said. ...
I can never help wondering what it must be like to have a family that's nice. It must be fantastic.
Bomb found in Texas abortion clinic parking lot
Police safely detonate explosive device; area providers urged to be vigilant
April 27, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - A bomb was left in a duffel bag in the parking lot of a clinic where abortions are performed, but a bomb squad safely detonated it.
An employee found the package Wednesday in the parking lot of the Austin Women's Health Center, authorities said. The immediate area, including nearby Interstate 35, was evacuated briefly.
The device "was configured in such a way to cause serious bodily injury or death," said David Carter, assistant chief of the Austin Police Department. ...
Okay, let's see if I can get this straight.
Aborting zygotes is murder, and evil.
Killing adults is not murder, and good.
My head hurts! I guess it's true: only another psycho can understand a psycho.
Nicked from dear IrishYankee, whose review of this story is spot on.
Police safely detonate explosive device; area providers urged to be vigilant
April 27, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - A bomb was left in a duffel bag in the parking lot of a clinic where abortions are performed, but a bomb squad safely detonated it.
An employee found the package Wednesday in the parking lot of the Austin Women's Health Center, authorities said. The immediate area, including nearby Interstate 35, was evacuated briefly.
The device "was configured in such a way to cause serious bodily injury or death," said David Carter, assistant chief of the Austin Police Department. ...
Okay, let's see if I can get this straight.
Aborting zygotes is murder, and evil.
Killing adults is not murder, and good.
My head hurts! I guess it's true: only another psycho can understand a psycho.
Nicked from dear IrishYankee, whose review of this story is spot on.
Colombian Prosecutor Probing U.S. Firms
By TOBY MUSE
The Associated Press
Monday, April 30, 2007
BOGOTA, Colombia -- ... President Alvaro Uribe, a firm U.S. ally, has cracked down hard on the left-wing guerrillas, while negotiating a peace pact with the paramilitaries in 2003. Ex-paramilitary fighters seeking to benefit from reduced sentences under a government amnesty have led authorities to clandestine graves in vast areas they once controlled.
With thousands of victims still to be unearthed, Iguaran is now going after the businesses that he alleges helped pay the bills.
Fruit giant Chiquita agreed in March to pay $25 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice after acknowledging that its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, secretly funneled $1.7 million to the death squads operating in zones where it had banana plantations.
In 2001, a Banadex ship was used to unload 3,000 rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition for the paramilitaries. At the time, the paramilitaries were consolidating control of the Uraba banana region through massacres and assassinations. Chiquita later sold Banadex but still buys Colombian bananas. ...
By TOBY MUSE
The Associated Press
Monday, April 30, 2007
BOGOTA, Colombia -- ... President Alvaro Uribe, a firm U.S. ally, has cracked down hard on the left-wing guerrillas, while negotiating a peace pact with the paramilitaries in 2003. Ex-paramilitary fighters seeking to benefit from reduced sentences under a government amnesty have led authorities to clandestine graves in vast areas they once controlled.
With thousands of victims still to be unearthed, Iguaran is now going after the businesses that he alleges helped pay the bills.
Fruit giant Chiquita agreed in March to pay $25 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice after acknowledging that its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, secretly funneled $1.7 million to the death squads operating in zones where it had banana plantations.
In 2001, a Banadex ship was used to unload 3,000 rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition for the paramilitaries. At the time, the paramilitaries were consolidating control of the Uraba banana region through massacres and assassinations. Chiquita later sold Banadex but still buys Colombian bananas. ...
82 Inmates Cleared but Still Held at Guantanamo
U.S. Cites Difficulty Deporting Detainees
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, April 29, 2007
LONDON -- More than a fifth of the approximately 385 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been cleared for release but may have to wait months or years for their freedom because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to line up places to send them, according to Bush administration officials and defense lawyers.
Since February, the Pentagon has notified about 85 inmates or their attorneys that they are eligible to leave after being cleared by military review panels. But only a handful have gone home, including a Moroccan and an Afghan who were released Tuesday. Eighty-two remain at Guantanamo and face indefinite waits as U.S. officials struggle to figure out when and where to deport them, and under what conditions. ...
U.S. Cites Difficulty Deporting Detainees
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, April 29, 2007
LONDON -- More than a fifth of the approximately 385 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been cleared for release but may have to wait months or years for their freedom because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to line up places to send them, according to Bush administration officials and defense lawyers.
Since February, the Pentagon has notified about 85 inmates or their attorneys that they are eligible to leave after being cleared by military review panels. But only a handful have gone home, including a Moroccan and an Afghan who were released Tuesday. Eighty-two remain at Guantanamo and face indefinite waits as U.S. officials struggle to figure out when and where to deport them, and under what conditions. ...
How scary is it when you find yourself siding with the tories against labour? We all know by now, of course that tony bliar (not a typo) is about as liberal as that ratbag reagan-in-a-dress, er maggie thatcher.
Many thanks to dear Pattenicus
Many thanks to dear Pattenicus
Attack Linked to Macedonian Official
By MIKE CORDER
Monday, April 16, 2007
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Macedonia's interior minister watched from a distance as police under his control rampaged through a village in 2001, killing seven ethnic Albanian men and torching and blowing up houses, U.N. prosecutors said Monday.
A video played on the opening day of the war crimes trial of former Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski and a top police official showed what prosecutors described as Boskovski witnessing the attack on the village of Ljuboten from several hundred yards away. ...
By MIKE CORDER
Monday, April 16, 2007
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Macedonia's interior minister watched from a distance as police under his control rampaged through a village in 2001, killing seven ethnic Albanian men and torching and blowing up houses, U.N. prosecutors said Monday.
A video played on the opening day of the war crimes trial of former Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski and a top police official showed what prosecutors described as Boskovski witnessing the attack on the village of Ljuboten from several hundred yards away. ...
Russian Police Break Up Protest in St. Petersburg
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: April 15, 2007
... The weekend's events involved some of the largest displays of police force used against the political opposition since President Vladimir V. Putin took office seven years ago. The marches have become a test both of the determination of the opposition and the willingness of the government to use force to suppress it, imbuing the marches with more weight in Russian politics than the small numbers of demonstrators imply.
By Sunday, the police in the two cities estimated that they had arrested 370 people. Human Rights Watch said that at just one hospital in Moscow, 54 people had sought medical attention after being beaten by the police.
"This police violence is only the latest example of the growing government hostility toward peaceful dissent in Russia," Holly Cartner, the executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "It has to be viewed in the context of intensifying harassment of the political opposition, human rights defenders and independent media in Russia."
Critics of the Kremlin and political analysts said that the abundance of Interior Ministry troops on the streets over the weekend -- and their use of force -- reflected concern by Mr. Putin and his advisers that street protests could snowball ahead of parliamentary elections planned for the fall. They point to the large rallies in Ukraine that came to be known as the Orange Revolution, which forced a change of government in 2004. ...
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: April 15, 2007
... The weekend's events involved some of the largest displays of police force used against the political opposition since President Vladimir V. Putin took office seven years ago. The marches have become a test both of the determination of the opposition and the willingness of the government to use force to suppress it, imbuing the marches with more weight in Russian politics than the small numbers of demonstrators imply.
By Sunday, the police in the two cities estimated that they had arrested 370 people. Human Rights Watch said that at just one hospital in Moscow, 54 people had sought medical attention after being beaten by the police.
"This police violence is only the latest example of the growing government hostility toward peaceful dissent in Russia," Holly Cartner, the executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "It has to be viewed in the context of intensifying harassment of the political opposition, human rights defenders and independent media in Russia."
Critics of the Kremlin and political analysts said that the abundance of Interior Ministry troops on the streets over the weekend -- and their use of force -- reflected concern by Mr. Putin and his advisers that street protests could snowball ahead of parliamentary elections planned for the fall. They point to the large rallies in Ukraine that came to be known as the Orange Revolution, which forced a change of government in 2004. ...
Outrage at army training video
Kate Connolly in Berlin
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A video depicting a German army trainer telling a soldier to imagine he was firing on three black men in the Bronx has provoked outrage in the New York district and led to calls in Germany for an investigation.
The 90-second video, which was posted on the website myvideo.de, shows the trainer standing next to the soldier, who is poised with a machine gun.
The trainer tells him: "You are in the Bronx. A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst of ways."
The soldier is heard to snigger, before the trainer continues: "Before each shot I want to hear a loud 'motherf*cker'." The soldier sniggers again, and after the order to "act" fires his machine gun and shouts "motherf*cker".
The trainer tells him to repeat the action and to speak up. The soldier responds by firing several more rounds and repeating the obscenity.
New York City officials were quick to condemn the video. "It really saddens me," said Adolfo Carrion Jr, the Bronx borough president. "The German government obviously has work to do to correct something that is insidious ... clearly these folks don't know anything about African Americans or the Bronx." ...
Let's get all the violent religious freaks, neocons and nazis, white 'supremists' and racists of all stripes, sexists, animal and child abusers shipped to Antartica.
Middle of August, say, and equip them with Bermuda shorts and coors light.
Kate Connolly in Berlin
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A video depicting a German army trainer telling a soldier to imagine he was firing on three black men in the Bronx has provoked outrage in the New York district and led to calls in Germany for an investigation.
The 90-second video, which was posted on the website myvideo.de, shows the trainer standing next to the soldier, who is poised with a machine gun.
The trainer tells him: "You are in the Bronx. A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst of ways."
The soldier is heard to snigger, before the trainer continues: "Before each shot I want to hear a loud 'motherf*cker'." The soldier sniggers again, and after the order to "act" fires his machine gun and shouts "motherf*cker".
The trainer tells him to repeat the action and to speak up. The soldier responds by firing several more rounds and repeating the obscenity.
New York City officials were quick to condemn the video. "It really saddens me," said Adolfo Carrion Jr, the Bronx borough president. "The German government obviously has work to do to correct something that is insidious ... clearly these folks don't know anything about African Americans or the Bronx." ...
Let's get all the violent religious freaks, neocons and nazis, white 'supremists' and racists of all stripes, sexists, animal and child abusers shipped to Antartica.
Middle of August, say, and equip them with Bermuda shorts and coors light.
Wolfowitz defiant as nations seek to push him out over job scandal
Larry Elliott in Washington
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A defiant Paul Wolfowitz was last night clinging to his job as president of the World Bank in the face of attempts by European countries to force his resignation over the scandal involving a promotion for his girlfriend.
Britain and Germany showed their anger when they insisted development ministers should discuss Mr Wolfowitz's conduct at the World Bank's annual spring meeting yesterday.
With no sign of the row abating over the transfer of Shaha Riza from the Bank to the state department, Mr Wolfowitz was still insisting yesterday that he had done nothing that required him to resign and was relying on support from the White House and African leaders to see him through the crisis. ...
The White House and African goverments have no problem with obvious and massive corruption, since to them it is a Way Of Life. It's akin to a killer's saying, "Charles Manson said I haven't committed a heinous crime!"
Larry Elliott in Washington
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A defiant Paul Wolfowitz was last night clinging to his job as president of the World Bank in the face of attempts by European countries to force his resignation over the scandal involving a promotion for his girlfriend.
Britain and Germany showed their anger when they insisted development ministers should discuss Mr Wolfowitz's conduct at the World Bank's annual spring meeting yesterday.
With no sign of the row abating over the transfer of Shaha Riza from the Bank to the state department, Mr Wolfowitz was still insisting yesterday that he had done nothing that required him to resign and was relying on support from the White House and African leaders to see him through the crisis. ...
The White House and African goverments have no problem with obvious and massive corruption, since to them it is a Way Of Life. It's akin to a killer's saying, "Charles Manson said I haven't committed a heinous crime!"
Delayed Benefits Frustrate Veterans
Hundreds of Thousands of Disability Claims Pending at VA; Current Wars Likely to Strain System Further
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007
In his last years, World War II veteran Seymour D. Lewis would stand at the door of his home in Savannah, Ga., waiting for a letter that never arrived.
The family of the former Army private, who lost the hearing in his right ear to a grenade explosion in basic training in 1944, spent years wrestling with the federal bureaucracy for his disability benefits, at one point waiting more than a year just to be told to fill out more forms.
In 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs started sending Lewis a monthly check for $200, an amount he appealed as too little and too late for the lasting physical sacrifice he made for his country, his family said. The appeal was still pending when Lewis died last year at age 80.
"Every time I would call, they would send me a new form to fill out, with exactly the same information that they already had," said his son Frank A. Lewis, 61, a Navy veteran. "They run you around. They keep you dangling. . . . My father was elderly. He would wait at the front door for the mailman, waiting for something from the VA. When he would get a letter, he would anxiously open it, and when it said nothing, the depression he would go into was unreal. I have a feeling they were just waiting for my father to drop dead so they wouldn't have to pay any money. It's been one big nightmare." ...
... Nearly 400,000 disability claims were pending as of February, including 135,741 that exceeded VA's 160-day goal for processing them. The department takes six months, on average, to process a claim, and the waiting time for appeals averages nearly two years. ...
The phrase "Support our troops," especially in Washington DC, has so many shades of meaning.
Hundreds of Thousands of Disability Claims Pending at VA; Current Wars Likely to Strain System Further
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007
In his last years, World War II veteran Seymour D. Lewis would stand at the door of his home in Savannah, Ga., waiting for a letter that never arrived.
The family of the former Army private, who lost the hearing in his right ear to a grenade explosion in basic training in 1944, spent years wrestling with the federal bureaucracy for his disability benefits, at one point waiting more than a year just to be told to fill out more forms.
In 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs started sending Lewis a monthly check for $200, an amount he appealed as too little and too late for the lasting physical sacrifice he made for his country, his family said. The appeal was still pending when Lewis died last year at age 80.
"Every time I would call, they would send me a new form to fill out, with exactly the same information that they already had," said his son Frank A. Lewis, 61, a Navy veteran. "They run you around. They keep you dangling. . . . My father was elderly. He would wait at the front door for the mailman, waiting for something from the VA. When he would get a letter, he would anxiously open it, and when it said nothing, the depression he would go into was unreal. I have a feeling they were just waiting for my father to drop dead so they wouldn't have to pay any money. It's been one big nightmare." ...
... Nearly 400,000 disability claims were pending as of February, including 135,741 that exceeded VA's 160-day goal for processing them. The department takes six months, on average, to process a claim, and the waiting time for appeals averages nearly two years. ...
The phrase "Support our troops," especially in Washington DC, has so many shades of meaning.
Bigger than you think: The story behind the pet food recall
By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
...the timeline of the recall raised a number of concerns. Although there have been some media reports that Menu Foods started getting complaints as early as December 2006, FDA records state the company received their first report of a food-related pet death on February 20.
One week later, on February 27, Menu started testing the suspect foods. Three days later, on March 3, the first cat in the trial died of acute kidney failure. Three days after that, Menu switched wheat gluten suppliers, and 10 days later, on March 16, recalled the 91 products that contained gluten from their previous source.
Nearly one month passed from the date Menu got its first report of a death to the date it issued the recall. During that time, no veterinarians were warned to be on the lookout for unusual numbers of kidney failure in their patients. No pet owners were warned to watch their pets for its symptoms. And thousands and thousands of pet owners kept buying those foods and giving them to their dogs and cats.
At that point, Menu had seen a 35 percent death rate in their test-lab cats, with another 45 percent suffering kidney damage. The overall death rate for animals in Menu's tests was around 20 percent. How many pets, eating those recalled foods, had died, become ill or suffered kidney damage in the time leading up to the recall and in the days since? The answer to that hasn't changed since the day the recall was issued: We don't know.
We at Pet Connection knew the 10-15 deaths being reported by the media did not reflect an accurate count. We wanted to get an idea of the real scope of the problem, so we started a database for people to report their dead or sick pets. On March 21, two days after opening the database, we had over 600 reported cases and more than 200 reported deaths. As of March 31, the number of deaths alone was at 2,797.
There are all kinds of problems with self-reported cases, and while we did correct for a couple of them, our numbers are not considered "confirmed." But USA Today reported on March 25 that data from Banfield, a nationwide chain of over 600 veterinary hospitals, "suggests [the number of cases of kidney failure] is as high as hundreds a week during the three months the food was on the market." ...
Many thanks to dear Anneliese
By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
...the timeline of the recall raised a number of concerns. Although there have been some media reports that Menu Foods started getting complaints as early as December 2006, FDA records state the company received their first report of a food-related pet death on February 20.
One week later, on February 27, Menu started testing the suspect foods. Three days later, on March 3, the first cat in the trial died of acute kidney failure. Three days after that, Menu switched wheat gluten suppliers, and 10 days later, on March 16, recalled the 91 products that contained gluten from their previous source.
Nearly one month passed from the date Menu got its first report of a death to the date it issued the recall. During that time, no veterinarians were warned to be on the lookout for unusual numbers of kidney failure in their patients. No pet owners were warned to watch their pets for its symptoms. And thousands and thousands of pet owners kept buying those foods and giving them to their dogs and cats.
At that point, Menu had seen a 35 percent death rate in their test-lab cats, with another 45 percent suffering kidney damage. The overall death rate for animals in Menu's tests was around 20 percent. How many pets, eating those recalled foods, had died, become ill or suffered kidney damage in the time leading up to the recall and in the days since? The answer to that hasn't changed since the day the recall was issued: We don't know.
We at Pet Connection knew the 10-15 deaths being reported by the media did not reflect an accurate count. We wanted to get an idea of the real scope of the problem, so we started a database for people to report their dead or sick pets. On March 21, two days after opening the database, we had over 600 reported cases and more than 200 reported deaths. As of March 31, the number of deaths alone was at 2,797.
There are all kinds of problems with self-reported cases, and while we did correct for a couple of them, our numbers are not considered "confirmed." But USA Today reported on March 25 that data from Banfield, a nationwide chain of over 600 veterinary hospitals, "suggests [the number of cases of kidney failure] is as high as hundreds a week during the three months the food was on the market." ...
Many thanks to dear Anneliese
N.J. Pension Fund Endangered by Diverted Billions
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: April 4, 2007
In 2005, New Jersey put either $551 million, $56 million or nothing into its pension fund for teachers. All three figures appeared in various state documents -- though the state now says that the actual amount was zero.
The phantom contribution is just one indication that New Jersey has been diverting billions of dollars from its pension fund for state and local workers into other government purposes over the last 15 years, using a variety of unorthodox transactions authorized by the Legislature and by governors from both political parties.
The state has long acknowledged that it has been putting less money into the pension fund than it should. But an analysis of its records by The New York Times shows that in many cases, New Jersey has overstated even what it has claimed to be contributing, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars. ...
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: April 4, 2007
In 2005, New Jersey put either $551 million, $56 million or nothing into its pension fund for teachers. All three figures appeared in various state documents -- though the state now says that the actual amount was zero.
The phantom contribution is just one indication that New Jersey has been diverting billions of dollars from its pension fund for state and local workers into other government purposes over the last 15 years, using a variety of unorthodox transactions authorized by the Legislature and by governors from both political parties.
The state has long acknowledged that it has been putting less money into the pension fund than it should. But an analysis of its records by The New York Times shows that in many cases, New Jersey has overstated even what it has claimed to be contributing, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars. ...
How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War
Intelligence Failures Surrounded Inquiry on Iraq-Niger Uranium Claim
By Peter Eisner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
It was 3 a.m. in Italy on Jan. 29, 2003, when President Bush in Washington began reading his State of the Union address that included the now famous -- later retracted -- 16 words: "The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Like most Europeans, Elisabetta Burba, an investigative reporter for the Italian newsweekly Panorama, waited until the next day to read the newspaper accounts of Bush's remarks. But when she came to the 16 words, she recalled, she got a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. She wondered: How could the American president have mentioned a uranium sale from Africa?
Burba felt uneasy because more than three months earlier, she had turned over to the U.S. Embassy in Rome documents about an alleged uranium sale by the central African nation of Niger. And she knew now that the documents were fraudulent and the 16 words wrong.
Nonetheless, the uranium claim would become a crucial justification for the invasion of Iraq that began less than two months later. When occupying troops found no nuclear program, the 16 words and how they came to be in the speech became a focus for critics in Washington and foreign capitals to press the case that the White House manipulated facts to take the United States to war. ...
Intelligence Failures Surrounded Inquiry on Iraq-Niger Uranium Claim
By Peter Eisner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
It was 3 a.m. in Italy on Jan. 29, 2003, when President Bush in Washington began reading his State of the Union address that included the now famous -- later retracted -- 16 words: "The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Like most Europeans, Elisabetta Burba, an investigative reporter for the Italian newsweekly Panorama, waited until the next day to read the newspaper accounts of Bush's remarks. But when she came to the 16 words, she recalled, she got a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. She wondered: How could the American president have mentioned a uranium sale from Africa?
Burba felt uneasy because more than three months earlier, she had turned over to the U.S. Embassy in Rome documents about an alleged uranium sale by the central African nation of Niger. And she knew now that the documents were fraudulent and the 16 words wrong.
Nonetheless, the uranium claim would become a crucial justification for the invasion of Iraq that began less than two months later. When occupying troops found no nuclear program, the 16 words and how they came to be in the speech became a focus for critics in Washington and foreign capitals to press the case that the White House manipulated facts to take the United States to war. ...
This woman has absolutely gorgeous shoes for sale and absolutely no sense of fair play. She took $50 from me, and sent me a pair of shoes that are two and a half sizes too big. I sent her my real size; and she sent me two really pretty, black and gold embroidered leather boats with curled-up bows.
She refused to allow me to return them and suggested I try some insoles.
They were too big for everyone I know, until a very tall and very pregnant friend tried them on. She really needed some attractive and comfortable shoes, and now she's got them. I love her, and I don't mind having spent $50 on a present for her.
I do mind losing $50 to a thieving bitch.
She refused to allow me to return them and suggested I try some insoles.
They were too big for everyone I know, until a very tall and very pregnant friend tried them on. She really needed some attractive and comfortable shoes, and now she's got them. I love her, and I don't mind having spent $50 on a present for her.
I do mind losing $50 to a thieving bitch.
A prophet no more? Jeffs called himself a 'sinner' in jailhouse conversation
March 27, 2007
By Ben Winslow
ST. GEORGE -- Warren Jeffs has reportedly renounced his title as "prophet" of the Fundamentalist LDS Church in a jailhouse conversation with one of his brothers.
"He said he is the greatest of all sinners and, in so many words, worked his way to be the leader and prophet when he knew he wasn't called of God to be a prophet," a law enforcement source familiar with the conversation told the Deseret Morning News.
Jeffs, 51, made the comments during a January conversation with his brother, Nephi Jeffs, who has visited him in the Purgatory Jail in Hurricane. The conversation was recorded by jail officials, who monitor most of the FLDS leader's phone calls and visits.
A tape is reportedly in the hands of the Washington County attorney, who is prosecuting Jeffs on charges of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her older cousin. ...
March 27, 2007
By Ben Winslow
ST. GEORGE -- Warren Jeffs has reportedly renounced his title as "prophet" of the Fundamentalist LDS Church in a jailhouse conversation with one of his brothers.
"He said he is the greatest of all sinners and, in so many words, worked his way to be the leader and prophet when he knew he wasn't called of God to be a prophet," a law enforcement source familiar with the conversation told the Deseret Morning News.
Jeffs, 51, made the comments during a January conversation with his brother, Nephi Jeffs, who has visited him in the Purgatory Jail in Hurricane. The conversation was recorded by jail officials, who monitor most of the FLDS leader's phone calls and visits.
A tape is reportedly in the hands of the Washington County attorney, who is prosecuting Jeffs on charges of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her older cousin. ...
Shaquanda Cotton
Paris, Texas, US
I am a 14-year-old black freshman who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. I have no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor--a 58-year-old teacher's aide--was not seriously injured. I was tried in March 2006 in the town's juvenile court, convicted of "assault on a public servant" and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until I turn 21. Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family's house, to probation. ...
Paris, Texas, US
I am a 14-year-old black freshman who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. I have no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor--a 58-year-old teacher's aide--was not seriously injured. I was tried in March 2006 in the town's juvenile court, convicted of "assault on a public servant" and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until I turn 21. Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family's house, to probation. ...
This site is available!
Man charged in arson of 6 million wine bottles
Tue Mar 20, 2007
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors charged a California man Monday with stealing fine wine he stored for upscale clients and then burning down a warehouse holding 6 million bottles worth $200 million to $250 million to hide the scam.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California charged Mark Anderson with 19 criminal counts including arson, transporting fraudulently obtained property, mail fraud and tax evasion following the 2005 fire of the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo.
The warehouse was south of Napa, one of the nation's best known and most expensive wine-growing regions, and the crime shocked the area where wine is big business.
Anderson, 58, of Sausalito, California, owned a business called Sausalito Cellars which leased a small part of a massive climate-controlled warehouse and charged clients to store bottles of wine there.
"As high as it sounds, a conservative estimate is $200 to $250 million and insurance estimates put it even higher than that," prosecutor Steven Lapham, who is leading the case, said in an interview. "It does seem staggering, but that's a lot of wine." ...
Man charged in arson of 6 million wine bottles
Tue Mar 20, 2007
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors charged a California man Monday with stealing fine wine he stored for upscale clients and then burning down a warehouse holding 6 million bottles worth $200 million to $250 million to hide the scam.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California charged Mark Anderson with 19 criminal counts including arson, transporting fraudulently obtained property, mail fraud and tax evasion following the 2005 fire of the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo.
The warehouse was south of Napa, one of the nation's best known and most expensive wine-growing regions, and the crime shocked the area where wine is big business.
Anderson, 58, of Sausalito, California, owned a business called Sausalito Cellars which leased a small part of a massive climate-controlled warehouse and charged clients to store bottles of wine there.
"As high as it sounds, a conservative estimate is $200 to $250 million and insurance estimates put it even higher than that," prosecutor Steven Lapham, who is leading the case, said in an interview. "It does seem staggering, but that's a lot of wine." ...
This site is available!
Pentagon Is Probing Veterans Home
Increased Deaths, Grim Conditions Reported by GAO
By Steve Vogel and Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 22, 2007; Page A01
Reports of a rising death rate and rooms spattered with blood, urine and feces at the Armed Forces Retirement Home prompted the Pentagon yesterday to begin investigating conditions at the veterans facility in Northwest Washington.
The Government Accountability Office warned the Pentagon this week that residents of the home "may be at risk" in light of allegations of severe health-care problems. Residents have been admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center with "the most serious type of pressure sores" and, in one case, with maggots in a wound, according to a GAO letter sent to the Defense Department. ...
Pentagon Is Probing Veterans Home
Increased Deaths, Grim Conditions Reported by GAO
By Steve Vogel and Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 22, 2007; Page A01
Reports of a rising death rate and rooms spattered with blood, urine and feces at the Armed Forces Retirement Home prompted the Pentagon yesterday to begin investigating conditions at the veterans facility in Northwest Washington.
The Government Accountability Office warned the Pentagon this week that residents of the home "may be at risk" in light of allegations of severe health-care problems. Residents have been admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center with "the most serious type of pressure sores" and, in one case, with maggots in a wound, according to a GAO letter sent to the Defense Department. ...
FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Justice Department's inspector general told a committee of angry House members yesterday that the FBI may have violated the law or government policies as many as 3,000 times since 2003 as agents secretly collected the telephone, bank and credit card records of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals residing here.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that according to the FBI's own estimate, as many as 600 of these violations could be "cases of serious misconduct" involving the improper use of "national security letters" to compel telephone companies, banks and credit institutions to produce records. ...
Many thanks to dear Leiaxe
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Justice Department's inspector general told a committee of angry House members yesterday that the FBI may have violated the law or government policies as many as 3,000 times since 2003 as agents secretly collected the telephone, bank and credit card records of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals residing here.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that according to the FBI's own estimate, as many as 600 of these violations could be "cases of serious misconduct" involving the improper use of "national security letters" to compel telephone companies, banks and credit institutions to produce records. ...
Many thanks to dear Leiaxe
Why is this guy in prison and lush windbag goes free?
This site is available!
Frequent Errors In FBI's Secret Records Requests
Audit Finds Possible Rule Violations
By John Solomon and Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 9, 2007
A Justice Department investigation has found pervasive errors in the FBI's use of its power to secretly demand telephone, e-mail and financial records in national security cases, officials with access to the report said yesterday.
The inspector general's audit found 22 possible breaches of internal FBI and Justice Department regulations -- some of which were potential violations of law -- in a sampling of 293 "national security letters." The letters were used by the FBI to obtain the personal records of U.S. residents or visitors between 2003 and 2005. The FBI identified 26 potential violations in other cases. ...
Frequent Errors In FBI's Secret Records Requests
Audit Finds Possible Rule Violations
By John Solomon and Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 9, 2007
A Justice Department investigation has found pervasive errors in the FBI's use of its power to secretly demand telephone, e-mail and financial records in national security cases, officials with access to the report said yesterday.
The inspector general's audit found 22 possible breaches of internal FBI and Justice Department regulations -- some of which were potential violations of law -- in a sampling of 293 "national security letters." The letters were used by the FBI to obtain the personal records of U.S. residents or visitors between 2003 and 2005. The FBI identified 26 potential violations in other cases. ...
Memos Tell Officials How to Discuss Climate
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: March 8, 2007
Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they are not designated to do so.
Over the past week, biologists and wildlife officials received a cover note and two sample memorandums to be used as a guide in preparing travel requests. Under the heading "Foreign Travel -- New Requirement -- Please Review and Comply, Importance: High," the cover note said:
"Please be advised that all foreign travel requests (SF 1175 requests) and any future travel requests involving or potentially involving climate change, sea ice and/or polar bears will also require a memorandum from the regional director to the director indicating who'll be the official spokesman on the trip and the one responding to questions on these issues, particularly polar bears."
The sample memorandums, described as to be used in writing travel requests, indicate that the employee seeking permission to travel "understands the administration's position on climate change, polar bears, and sea ice and will not be speaking on or responding to these issues."
"This sure sounds like a Soviet-style directive to me," Ms. Williams said. ...
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: March 8, 2007
Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they are not designated to do so.
Over the past week, biologists and wildlife officials received a cover note and two sample memorandums to be used as a guide in preparing travel requests. Under the heading "Foreign Travel -- New Requirement -- Please Review and Comply, Importance: High," the cover note said:
"Please be advised that all foreign travel requests (SF 1175 requests) and any future travel requests involving or potentially involving climate change, sea ice and/or polar bears will also require a memorandum from the regional director to the director indicating who'll be the official spokesman on the trip and the one responding to questions on these issues, particularly polar bears."
The sample memorandums, described as to be used in writing travel requests, indicate that the employee seeking permission to travel "understands the administration's position on climate change, polar bears, and sea ice and will not be speaking on or responding to these issues."
"This sure sounds like a Soviet-style directive to me," Ms. Williams said. ...
This site is available!
Lawmaker Looks Beyond Walter Reed Fix
By JOHN HEILPRIN
Monday, March 5, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Substandard living conditions found at the Army's flagship veterans hospital likely exist throughout the military health care system, the head of a House panel investigating Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Monday.
"We need a sustained focus here, and much more needs to be done," Rep. John Tierney said of a scandal enveloping Walter Reed. Charges of bureaucratic delays and poor treatment there have produced calls in Congress for quick reform.
Tierney said he is afraid "these problems go well beyond the walls of Walter Reed," adding that "as we send more and more troops into Iraq and Afghanistan, these problems are only going to get worse, not better."
A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing Monday at the hospital brought a wide range of apologies from top-level Army officers and the Army's No. 2 civilian. "We have let some soldiers down," said Peter Geren, the undersecretary of the Army. ...
You let all our soldiers down, pal. Don't kid yrself.
Lawmaker Looks Beyond Walter Reed Fix
By JOHN HEILPRIN
Monday, March 5, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Substandard living conditions found at the Army's flagship veterans hospital likely exist throughout the military health care system, the head of a House panel investigating Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Monday.
"We need a sustained focus here, and much more needs to be done," Rep. John Tierney said of a scandal enveloping Walter Reed. Charges of bureaucratic delays and poor treatment there have produced calls in Congress for quick reform.
Tierney said he is afraid "these problems go well beyond the walls of Walter Reed," adding that "as we send more and more troops into Iraq and Afghanistan, these problems are only going to get worse, not better."
A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing Monday at the hospital brought a wide range of apologies from top-level Army officers and the Army's No. 2 civilian. "We have let some soldiers down," said Peter Geren, the undersecretary of the Army. ...
You let all our soldiers down, pal. Don't kid yrself.
This site is available!
Communist Party Cautions Reformers in China
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BEIJING, Feb. 27 -- The Communist Party cautioned China's increasingly impatient reformers and intellectuals Tuesday that political liberalization and democracy are still a long way off despite the rapid pace of economic change during the past two decades.
The warning, in an article attributed to Premier Wen Jiabao in the official People's Daily, constituted the party's first-known response to a bubbling up of political debate as China prepares for an annual session of its legislature and an important Communist Party congress -- held every five years -- that is scheduled for this fall. ...
More succinctly put, "We ain't takin' the boot off your neck anytime soon, so sit down and shut the hell up or we'll torture you."
Why don't they face reality and change the name to the Brutal Fascist Torturing Party?
The 'Communist' Party's ignorant attempts at dabbling in economics is screwing up their stock exchange: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6400789.stm and messing about with worldwide stock markets
Communist Party Cautions Reformers in China
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BEIJING, Feb. 27 -- The Communist Party cautioned China's increasingly impatient reformers and intellectuals Tuesday that political liberalization and democracy are still a long way off despite the rapid pace of economic change during the past two decades.
The warning, in an article attributed to Premier Wen Jiabao in the official People's Daily, constituted the party's first-known response to a bubbling up of political debate as China prepares for an annual session of its legislature and an important Communist Party congress -- held every five years -- that is scheduled for this fall. ...
More succinctly put, "We ain't takin' the boot off your neck anytime soon, so sit down and shut the hell up or we'll torture you."
Why don't they face reality and change the name to the Brutal Fascist Torturing Party?
The 'Communist' Party's ignorant attempts at dabbling in economics is screwing up their stock exchange: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6400789.stm and messing about with worldwide stock markets
Compassionate conservatism at its finest, girls and boys.
This site is available, btw.
This site is available, btw.
...Iran does not manufacture 81mm mortar shells. According to a report offered by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, connected to the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the neocon Brookings Institute, the smallest mortar produced by Iran is the 107mm M-30. This information is included in the JCSS's "Middle East Military Balance," updated last February. It can be read in this PDF file on page 15. According to JCSS, "The Middle East Military Balance has been the most authoritative source on Middle Eastern Armies since 1983." It is quite fortunate for us the hubris-filled neocons care not to double check their engineered lies--erroneously described as a "machining process"--before unleashing them on an unwitting public.
As Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the Associated Press, the "United States has a long history in fabricating evidence," an undisputed fact more than underscored by the lead-up to the Iraq invasion when the neocons claimed Iraqi weather balloon trailers doubled as biological weapon labs and clumsily recycled a student's homework as evidence Saddam was dabbling in weapons of mass destruction. ...
Neocons ain't filled only with hubris, sugarplum.
Many thanks to dear Saline
As Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the Associated Press, the "United States has a long history in fabricating evidence," an undisputed fact more than underscored by the lead-up to the Iraq invasion when the neocons claimed Iraqi weather balloon trailers doubled as biological weapon labs and clumsily recycled a student's homework as evidence Saddam was dabbling in weapons of mass destruction. ...
Neocons ain't filled only with hubris, sugarplum.
Many thanks to dear Saline
Cops Punished For Pregnant Woman Arrest
Kansas City Officers Denied Request To Go To Hospital, She Had Miscarriage Following Day
Feb. 2, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Two police officers were suspended indefinitely with pay Thursday as an investigation continued into their arrest of a pregnant woman who had a miscarriage a day after she was thrown in jail.
The suspensions came two days after police released a videotape showing Sofia Salva telling officers during her arrest last year that she was three months pregnant, bleeding and needed to go to a hospital. The tape shows officers ignoring her pleas.
After the ninth request, the tape shows, a female officer asked: "How is that my problem?" ...
Kansas City Officers Denied Request To Go To Hospital, She Had Miscarriage Following Day
Feb. 2, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Two police officers were suspended indefinitely with pay Thursday as an investigation continued into their arrest of a pregnant woman who had a miscarriage a day after she was thrown in jail.
The suspensions came two days after police released a videotape showing Sofia Salva telling officers during her arrest last year that she was three months pregnant, bleeding and needed to go to a hospital. The tape shows officers ignoring her pleas.
After the ninth request, the tape shows, a female officer asked: "How is that my problem?" ...
'Adulterers' are stoned to death
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
31/01/2007
A Pakistani man and a woman were tied to a tree and stoned to death after they were suspected of committing adultery.
The couple, from the village of Donga Bonga in Bahawalnagar district in southern Punjab, apparently pleaded their innocence but died in an "honour killing" at the weekend in a hail of bricks.
Elahi Hussain, a divorcee in her forties, had angered her family by allegedly conducting an affair with a fellow villager, Hafiz Shah, 45. ...
Many thanks to dear CharlesHB
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
31/01/2007
A Pakistani man and a woman were tied to a tree and stoned to death after they were suspected of committing adultery.
The couple, from the village of Donga Bonga in Bahawalnagar district in southern Punjab, apparently pleaded their innocence but died in an "honour killing" at the weekend in a hail of bricks.
Elahi Hussain, a divorcee in her forties, had angered her family by allegedly conducting an affair with a fellow villager, Hafiz Shah, 45. ...
Many thanks to dear CharlesHB
This story is a perfect example of why I will never trust cops or religious freaks.
Another thought: how can someone be so 'religious' they refuse emergency birth control to a rape victim, but have no problem at all with keeping their fellow humans under lock and key? Wanna bet that so-called person can't spell 'hypocrisy'?
Another thought: how can someone be so 'religious' they refuse emergency birth control to a rape victim, but have no problem at all with keeping their fellow humans under lock and key? Wanna bet that so-called person can't spell 'hypocrisy'?
FTC: Delays in Generic Drugs on the Rise
By ANDREW BRIDGES
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drug companies increasingly are reaching legal settlements that delay the introduction of cheaper generic medicines and cheat Americans of billions of dollars in savings, regulators on Wednesday told lawmakers seeking to ban the agreements.
The Federal Trade Commission and others allege the settlements allow brand-name pharmaceutical companies to pay off would-be generic competitors, which then agree to delay introduction of their less costly but otherwise identical versions of the original medicines. ...
Bastards.
By ANDREW BRIDGES
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drug companies increasingly are reaching legal settlements that delay the introduction of cheaper generic medicines and cheat Americans of billions of dollars in savings, regulators on Wednesday told lawmakers seeking to ban the agreements.
The Federal Trade Commission and others allege the settlements allow brand-name pharmaceutical companies to pay off would-be generic competitors, which then agree to delay introduction of their less costly but otherwise identical versions of the original medicines. ...
Bastards.
16 December 2006 20:19
Walter Litvinenko: 'Putin murdered my son'
Father says dissident's death was 'a calculated act of intimidation'
By Andy McSmith
Published: 16 December 2006
The father of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, claiming that no one else in Russia would have the authority to sanction an assassination on foreign soil.
In his first interview since his son's death, Walter Litvinenko, who served as a doctor in the Gulag during the Communist years, said he was convinced that Alexander was poisoned by the FSB - the successor to the KGB. "The cynical murder of my son was a calculated act of intimidation," he said. "I have no doubt that he was killed by the FSB, and that the order came from that former KGB spy President Putin. He was the only person who could give that order. I haven't a shadow of a doubt that this was done by Putin's men."
The comments will infuriate the Kremlin, which is still trying to ride out the political storm that followed Mr Litvinenko's death on 23 November, after being poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 in London on 1 November.
Mr Litvinenko also accused Russia's President of running an "authoritarian" regime, and claimed: "Bush and Blair have trusted him too much. They shouldn't have trusted him." ...
How anyone who's looked at him is able to trust him is beyond yr humble narrator's ken.
More good stuff from dear Zilcho
Walter Litvinenko: 'Putin murdered my son'
Father says dissident's death was 'a calculated act of intimidation'
By Andy McSmith
Published: 16 December 2006
The father of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, claiming that no one else in Russia would have the authority to sanction an assassination on foreign soil.
In his first interview since his son's death, Walter Litvinenko, who served as a doctor in the Gulag during the Communist years, said he was convinced that Alexander was poisoned by the FSB - the successor to the KGB. "The cynical murder of my son was a calculated act of intimidation," he said. "I have no doubt that he was killed by the FSB, and that the order came from that former KGB spy President Putin. He was the only person who could give that order. I haven't a shadow of a doubt that this was done by Putin's men."
The comments will infuriate the Kremlin, which is still trying to ride out the political storm that followed Mr Litvinenko's death on 23 November, after being poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 in London on 1 November.
Mr Litvinenko also accused Russia's President of running an "authoritarian" regime, and claimed: "Bush and Blair have trusted him too much. They shouldn't have trusted him." ...
How anyone who's looked at him is able to trust him is beyond yr humble narrator's ken.
More good stuff from dear Zilcho
Friday, 15 December 2006
Family convicted for bully deaths
A teenage bully has been convicted of manslaughter after the parents of a girl she taunted in the playground were killed in an arson attack.
Natalie Connor, 18, and her parents Michael and Jane, both 40, plotted to pour petrol through the letterbox of Lucy Cochrane's house in Manchester.
Her father set the home alight, killing Maureen and Alex Cochrane and severely injuring their daughter.
Mrs Cochrane died in the fire and her husband, Alex, died in hospital. Lucy survived the arson attack despite suffering severe burns. She now lives with an uncle in London, the court heard.
Connor and his wife were both convicted of murder at Manchester Crown Court.
Their daughter was cleared of murder, but was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and arson.
They will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on 20 December.
Family branded "evil scum"
Michael and Jane Connor were both cleared of the attempted murder of Lucy Cochrane - a special needs pupil at Newall Green High School, who was 16 at the time of the attack.
The deaths of Maureen Cochrane, 45, and her 54-year-old husband, Alex, were described in court as a "tragedy of epic proportions" motivated by "such a trivial and nonsensical cause".
The jury heard the Connors had carried out an 18-month "campaign of harassment" on the Cochranes. ...
Family convicted for bully deaths
A teenage bully has been convicted of manslaughter after the parents of a girl she taunted in the playground were killed in an arson attack.
Natalie Connor, 18, and her parents Michael and Jane, both 40, plotted to pour petrol through the letterbox of Lucy Cochrane's house in Manchester.
Her father set the home alight, killing Maureen and Alex Cochrane and severely injuring their daughter.
Mrs Cochrane died in the fire and her husband, Alex, died in hospital. Lucy survived the arson attack despite suffering severe burns. She now lives with an uncle in London, the court heard.
Connor and his wife were both convicted of murder at Manchester Crown Court.
Their daughter was cleared of murder, but was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and arson.
They will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on 20 December.
Family branded "evil scum"
Michael and Jane Connor were both cleared of the attempted murder of Lucy Cochrane - a special needs pupil at Newall Green High School, who was 16 at the time of the attack.
The deaths of Maureen Cochrane, 45, and her 54-year-old husband, Alex, were described in court as a "tragedy of epic proportions" motivated by "such a trivial and nonsensical cause".
The jury heard the Connors had carried out an 18-month "campaign of harassment" on the Cochranes. ...
... The scandal at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) just keeps getting worse.
Since the Washington Post published an op-ed I wrote asking if NSTA's puzzling decision to reject 50,000 free DVDs of Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth might - just might - have had anything to do with more than six million dollars the organization has accepted from ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute, the muck keeps piling up.
ExxonMobil, of course, remains the standout among a large group of fossil fuel companies that have done everything in their considerable power to delay, deflect, and derail any serious effort to cut global warming emissions. Funding scientific disinformation has long been one of their favorite tactics.
New evidence flatly contradicts statements NSTA has made in defense of its suspect partnerships, and efforts appear to be underway to wipe out online evidence showing that what the oil industry got in exchange was the group's imprimatur on classroom videos, teaching guides, and other "educational" materials that play down threats like global warming and play up the glories of continued oil dependence. ...
Since the Washington Post published an op-ed I wrote asking if NSTA's puzzling decision to reject 50,000 free DVDs of Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth might - just might - have had anything to do with more than six million dollars the organization has accepted from ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute, the muck keeps piling up.
ExxonMobil, of course, remains the standout among a large group of fossil fuel companies that have done everything in their considerable power to delay, deflect, and derail any serious effort to cut global warming emissions. Funding scientific disinformation has long been one of their favorite tactics.
New evidence flatly contradicts statements NSTA has made in defense of its suspect partnerships, and efforts appear to be underway to wipe out online evidence showing that what the oil industry got in exchange was the group's imprimatur on classroom videos, teaching guides, and other "educational" materials that play down threats like global warming and play up the glories of continued oil dependence. ...
Academic's radiation test positive
Press Association
Friday December 1, 2006 3:33 PM
The Italian academic who met former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned has tested positive for radiation.
As the post mortem examination started on the body of Mr Litvinenko, it was revealed Mario Scaramella had tested positive for a significant quantity of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium 210, sources said.
He is the first person to test positive since Mr Litvinenko's death sparked a radiation alert. ...
Press Association
Friday December 1, 2006 3:33 PM
The Italian academic who met former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned has tested positive for radiation.
As the post mortem examination started on the body of Mr Litvinenko, it was revealed Mario Scaramella had tested positive for a significant quantity of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium 210, sources said.
He is the first person to test positive since Mr Litvinenko's death sparked a radiation alert. ...
Trafigura Beheer under probe
published: Tuesday | November 14, 2006
Police have visited the London and Amsterdam offices of Trafigura Beheer in connection with the dumping of toxic oil waste which killed 10 people in the Ivory Coast.
The Dutch oil company, which trades Nigerian oil for the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, has been at the centre of controversy locally since it was revealed it made a political donation of $31 million to the governing People's National Party (PNP). Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the president of the PNP, has since ordered her party to return the money.
The oil waste was dumped at 17 mostly open-air sites in the Ivory Coast, which made thousands ill.
British lawyer Martin Day has started court proceedings against Trafigura to compensate relatives of the victims and for those made ill. He is reportedly claiming 100 million. ...
published: Tuesday | November 14, 2006
Police have visited the London and Amsterdam offices of Trafigura Beheer in connection with the dumping of toxic oil waste which killed 10 people in the Ivory Coast.
The Dutch oil company, which trades Nigerian oil for the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, has been at the centre of controversy locally since it was revealed it made a political donation of $31 million to the governing People's National Party (PNP). Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the president of the PNP, has since ordered her party to return the money.
The oil waste was dumped at 17 mostly open-air sites in the Ivory Coast, which made thousands ill.
British lawyer Martin Day has started court proceedings against Trafigura to compensate relatives of the victims and for those made ill. He is reportedly claiming 100 million. ...
The 2006 so-called world championship class at the celebration was cancelled.
Too many horses were obviously 'sored' and so the class was not held. There was almost a riot, because people wanted to see those poor damn-near-lame horses perform.
I'll take low-key hunter-jumpers, thanks very much. To hell with scary people who hurt their horses as a matter of course.
Too many horses were obviously 'sored' and so the class was not held. There was almost a riot, because people wanted to see those poor damn-near-lame horses perform.
I'll take low-key hunter-jumpers, thanks very much. To hell with scary people who hurt their horses as a matter of course.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
President Sidesteps Question About Offensive Rape Remark
By Anna Smolchenko
Staff Writer
President Vladimir Putin, known for his coarse, KGB-style humor, steered clear of off-color remarks Wednesday in his three-hour question-and-answer session.
Instead, the former spy chose to chide reporters for eavesdropping on a conversation last week between him and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"Not nice," the president said of journalists who reported him telling the prime minister that "we all envy" Israeli President Moshev Katsav, suspected of raping female subordinates.
"They have been sent to take a peek," Putin said Wednesday, "not to eavesdrop." He offered no explanation for his rape remarks.
Responding to a question from a Moscow woman seeking a clarification from the president about his rape remarks, Putin said Katsav was under fire because Israelis disapproved of the government's handling of the situation in Lebanon. ...
Slimier and slimier, that effing weasel putin.
President Sidesteps Question About Offensive Rape Remark
By Anna Smolchenko
Staff Writer
President Vladimir Putin, known for his coarse, KGB-style humor, steered clear of off-color remarks Wednesday in his three-hour question-and-answer session.
Instead, the former spy chose to chide reporters for eavesdropping on a conversation last week between him and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"Not nice," the president said of journalists who reported him telling the prime minister that "we all envy" Israeli President Moshev Katsav, suspected of raping female subordinates.
"They have been sent to take a peek," Putin said Wednesday, "not to eavesdrop." He offered no explanation for his rape remarks.
Responding to a question from a Moscow woman seeking a clarification from the president about his rape remarks, Putin said Katsav was under fire because Israelis disapproved of the government's handling of the situation in Lebanon. ...
Slimier and slimier, that effing weasel putin.
Enron's Skilling gets 24 years
Mon Oct 23, 2006
By Bruce Nichols
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeff Skilling was sentenced on Monday to more than 24 years in prison for his part in the financial scandal that brought down the company and came to symbolize a dark era in U.S. business.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said Skilling, 52, would remain free with an electronic monitor on his ankle until he is ordered to report to prison.
Skilling, who has said he would appeal his conviction on 19 criminal counts, also was ordered to pay $45 million in restitution to Enron investors.
In May, Skilling and Enron founder Ken Lay were found guilty of defrauding investors by using off-the-books deals to hide debt and inflate profits. ...
Mon Oct 23, 2006
By Bruce Nichols
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeff Skilling was sentenced on Monday to more than 24 years in prison for his part in the financial scandal that brought down the company and came to symbolize a dark era in U.S. business.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said Skilling, 52, would remain free with an electronic monitor on his ankle until he is ordered to report to prison.
Skilling, who has said he would appeal his conviction on 19 criminal counts, also was ordered to pay $45 million in restitution to Enron investors.
In May, Skilling and Enron founder Ken Lay were found guilty of defrauding investors by using off-the-books deals to hide debt and inflate profits. ...
Russian Police Break up Rally in Memory of Politkovskaya
Created: 16.10.2006
Associated Press Writer Musa Sadulayev contributed to this report from Grozny.
Police in the troubled North Caucasus region of Ingushetia on Monday arrested rights activists and violently broke up a rally in memory of slain reporter Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Russian policy toward neighboring Chechnya, an activist said.
Security forces cordoned off a site in the center of Ingushetia's main city of Nazran as some 40 rights activists and others tried to gather, Natasha Estemirova, a Chechnya-based worker with the organization Memorial, told The Associated Press by telephone.
Police tore photographs of Politkovskaya from demonstrators' hands and beat at least one person.
At least three people were detained, including the head of the Ingush Red Cross, she said. ...
Created: 16.10.2006
Associated Press Writer Musa Sadulayev contributed to this report from Grozny.
Police in the troubled North Caucasus region of Ingushetia on Monday arrested rights activists and violently broke up a rally in memory of slain reporter Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Russian policy toward neighboring Chechnya, an activist said.
Security forces cordoned off a site in the center of Ingushetia's main city of Nazran as some 40 rights activists and others tried to gather, Natasha Estemirova, a Chechnya-based worker with the organization Memorial, told The Associated Press by telephone.
Police tore photographs of Politkovskaya from demonstrators' hands and beat at least one person.
At least three people were detained, including the head of the Ingush Red Cross, she said. ...
Credit Cards' Hidden Costs
GAO Study Finds Confusing, Sometimes Misleading, Practices
By Kathleen Day
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Credit card companies don't clearly disclose penalties, variable interest rates and other fees, leaving consumers confused about the true cost of using plastic to pay for everyday transactions.
That's the conclusion of a new congressional study that looked at the lending agreements and marketing brochures of the six largest U.S. credit card issuers, which account for 80 percent of the nation's outstanding credit card debt: Citibank; Chase Bank USA; Bank of America; MBNA America, which is now part of Bank of America; Capital One Bank; and Discover Financial Services.
The report by the Government Accountability Office found many consumers do not understand that if a borrower is late on one payment, companies will not only impose a late fee, which can reach nearly $40, almost triple that of a decade ago, but also significantly raise the interest rate on past and future charges, possibly to as high as 30 percent.
Half of the companies surveyed charge interest on debt consumers have already paid. For example, if a consumer charges $500 and pays off $450 before the billing cycle ends, these companies will charge monthly interest for the entire $500, not just the remaining $50. ...
GAO Study Finds Confusing, Sometimes Misleading, Practices
By Kathleen Day
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Credit card companies don't clearly disclose penalties, variable interest rates and other fees, leaving consumers confused about the true cost of using plastic to pay for everyday transactions.
That's the conclusion of a new congressional study that looked at the lending agreements and marketing brochures of the six largest U.S. credit card issuers, which account for 80 percent of the nation's outstanding credit card debt: Citibank; Chase Bank USA; Bank of America; MBNA America, which is now part of Bank of America; Capital One Bank; and Discover Financial Services.
The report by the Government Accountability Office found many consumers do not understand that if a borrower is late on one payment, companies will not only impose a late fee, which can reach nearly $40, almost triple that of a decade ago, but also significantly raise the interest rate on past and future charges, possibly to as high as 30 percent.
Half of the companies surveyed charge interest on debt consumers have already paid. For example, if a consumer charges $500 and pays off $450 before the billing cycle ends, these companies will charge monthly interest for the entire $500, not just the remaining $50. ...
Gunman Said He Molested Girls Long Ago
By MARK SCOLFORO
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; 5:23 PM
QUARRYVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- The gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolroom confided to his wife during the siege that he molested two relatives 20 years ago when he was [a] boy and was tormented by dreams of doing it again, authorities said Tuesday. ...
By MARK SCOLFORO
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; 5:23 PM
QUARRYVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- The gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolroom confided to his wife during the siege that he molested two relatives 20 years ago when he was [a] boy and was tormented by dreams of doing it again, authorities said Tuesday. ...
Milk Man Kills Girls at Pa. Amish School
Monday October 2, 2006 8:01 PM
By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press Writer
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) - A 32-year-old milk truck driver took about a dozen girls hostage in a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, barricaded the doors with boards and shot several people, killing at least three of the girls and apparently himself, authorities said.
It was the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week, and similar to an attack just days earlier at [a] school in Colorado.
Lancaster County Coroner G. Gary Kirchner initially said six people were killed, but later said he wasn't certain. Police said they found four people, including the gunman, dead when they got inside.
Nice place we got here, huh?
Update: 3 Oct
Fifth girl dead after Amish school shooting
That is the psycho responsible for this incomprehensible tragedy
Monday October 2, 2006 8:01 PM
By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press Writer
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) - A 32-year-old milk truck driver took about a dozen girls hostage in a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, barricaded the doors with boards and shot several people, killing at least three of the girls and apparently himself, authorities said.
It was the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week, and similar to an attack just days earlier at [a] school in Colorado.
Lancaster County Coroner G. Gary Kirchner initially said six people were killed, but later said he wasn't certain. Police said they found four people, including the gunman, dead when they got inside.
Nice place we got here, huh?
Update: 3 Oct
Fifth girl dead after Amish school shooting
That is the psycho responsible for this incomprehensible tragedy
S.D. Man Pleads Guilty to Harassing Deer
Friday, September 22, 2006; 5:17 AM
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Chasing a herd of mule deer with a helicopter might seem less than sporting, but it's also a violation of federal law.
A South Dakota man was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation for chopper-chasing a herd in a Nebraska national forest.
Troy Link, 34, pleaded guilty to airborne harassment of wildlife.
Witnesses say that in November 2004, they saw the helicopter flying less than 100 feet above the ground, chasing the small herd in the McKelvie National Forest southwest of Valentine.
Using any kind of aircraft to harass or disturb wildlife is a crime punishable in federal court by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the state attorney general's office. ...
Friday, September 22, 2006; 5:17 AM
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Chasing a herd of mule deer with a helicopter might seem less than sporting, but it's also a violation of federal law.
A South Dakota man was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation for chopper-chasing a herd in a Nebraska national forest.
Troy Link, 34, pleaded guilty to airborne harassment of wildlife.
Witnesses say that in November 2004, they saw the helicopter flying less than 100 feet above the ground, chasing the small herd in the McKelvie National Forest southwest of Valentine.
Using any kind of aircraft to harass or disturb wildlife is a crime punishable in federal court by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the state attorney general's office. ...
Oh, bitch, please!
Bush Admits the CIA Runs Secret Prisons
Wednesday September 6, 2006
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that the CIA runs secret prisons overseas and said tough interrogation forced terrorist leaders to reveal plots to attack the United States and its allies. ...
Shall we play Spot The Terrorist?
I do not want to know his definition of 'tough interrogation.' The man is sick, diseased.
Wednesday September 6, 2006
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that the CIA runs secret prisons overseas and said tough interrogation forced terrorist leaders to reveal plots to attack the United States and its allies. ...
Shall we play Spot The Terrorist?
I do not want to know his definition of 'tough interrogation.' The man is sick, diseased.
Inbreeding among polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border is producing a caste of severely retarded and deformed children
By John Dougherty
Article Published Dec 29, 2005
... Nearly everyone in Colorado City, Arizona, and the adjacent town of Hildale, Utah, is a member of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy and had long encouraged multiple marriages between close relatives.
By the late 1990s, Tarby and his team had discovered fumarase deficiency was occurring in the greatest concentration in the world among the fundamentalist Mormon polygamists of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Of even greater concern was the fact that the recessive gene that triggers the disease was rapidly spreading to thousands of individuals living in the community because of decades of inbreeding. ...
... For more than 70 years, all marriages in the isolated towns have been arranged by the leader of the FLDS, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based Mormon Church.
Marriages among first and second cousins have been common for decades in the community, where religious doctrine requires men to have at least three wives to gain eternal salvation. Only the FLDS prophet can arrange and perform polygamous marriages, and those marriages are taking place in a community in which almost everybody is related.
The current FLDS prophet is 50-year-old Warren Jeffs, who has not been seen publicly since August 2003. Last June, Jeffs was charged with seven felonies by Mohave County, Arizona, in connection with his performance of "spiritual" marriages of three underage girls to already married men. He was placed on the FBI's most wanted list last August. Eight other Colorado City polygamists have been indicted by a Mohave County grand jury for having unlawful sex with underage girls who were their plural wives.
The indictments have come amid a three-year investigation by New Times of the FLDS community. That probe has uncovered widespread sexual abuse of young girls forced into polygamous marriages that, until recently, was downplayed by Arizona political leaders and law enforcement.
The state not only ignored the crimes for decades, it helped facilitate them by allowing the FLDS polygamists to set up a town government, a public school district and a police department that have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds despite the fact that polygamy violates Arizona's Constitution. The FLDS has had an iron grip on the local governments, because it has been impossible to get elected or hired to a taxpayer-funded post without the church's blessing.
The fundamentalist community has also benefited immensely from state health-care services for the poor and indigent by receiving more than $12 million a year in state assistance in Arizona to pay for health-insurance premiums.
It turns out that taxpayers also have been footing the bill for the fumarase deficiency children born to polygamists who insist that plural marriage involving close relatives is their divine right.
There is no doubt in the mind of any expert interviewed by New Times that the practice of polygamy combined with inbreeding has fostered the spread of fumarase deficiency. ...
By John Dougherty
Article Published Dec 29, 2005
... Nearly everyone in Colorado City, Arizona, and the adjacent town of Hildale, Utah, is a member of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy and had long encouraged multiple marriages between close relatives.
By the late 1990s, Tarby and his team had discovered fumarase deficiency was occurring in the greatest concentration in the world among the fundamentalist Mormon polygamists of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Of even greater concern was the fact that the recessive gene that triggers the disease was rapidly spreading to thousands of individuals living in the community because of decades of inbreeding. ...
... For more than 70 years, all marriages in the isolated towns have been arranged by the leader of the FLDS, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based Mormon Church.
Marriages among first and second cousins have been common for decades in the community, where religious doctrine requires men to have at least three wives to gain eternal salvation. Only the FLDS prophet can arrange and perform polygamous marriages, and those marriages are taking place in a community in which almost everybody is related.
The current FLDS prophet is 50-year-old Warren Jeffs, who has not been seen publicly since August 2003. Last June, Jeffs was charged with seven felonies by Mohave County, Arizona, in connection with his performance of "spiritual" marriages of three underage girls to already married men. He was placed on the FBI's most wanted list last August. Eight other Colorado City polygamists have been indicted by a Mohave County grand jury for having unlawful sex with underage girls who were their plural wives.
The indictments have come amid a three-year investigation by New Times of the FLDS community. That probe has uncovered widespread sexual abuse of young girls forced into polygamous marriages that, until recently, was downplayed by Arizona political leaders and law enforcement.
The state not only ignored the crimes for decades, it helped facilitate them by allowing the FLDS polygamists to set up a town government, a public school district and a police department that have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds despite the fact that polygamy violates Arizona's Constitution. The FLDS has had an iron grip on the local governments, because it has been impossible to get elected or hired to a taxpayer-funded post without the church's blessing.
The fundamentalist community has also benefited immensely from state health-care services for the poor and indigent by receiving more than $12 million a year in state assistance in Arizona to pay for health-insurance premiums.
It turns out that taxpayers also have been footing the bill for the fumarase deficiency children born to polygamists who insist that plural marriage involving close relatives is their divine right.
There is no doubt in the mind of any expert interviewed by New Times that the practice of polygamy combined with inbreeding has fostered the spread of fumarase deficiency. ...
Unions Say E.P.A. Bends to Political Pressure
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
Published: August 2, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Unions representing thousands of staff scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is bending to political pressure and ignoring sound science in allowing a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides.
Leaders of several federal employee unions say the chemicals pose serious risks for fetuses, pregnant women, young children and the elderly through food and exposure and should not be approved by Thursday, the Congressional deadline for completing an agency review of thousands of substances in pesticides.
"We are concerned that the agency has not, consistent with its principles of scientific integrity and sound science, adequately summarized or drawn conclusions" about the chemicals, union leaders told the agency administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, in a newly disclosed letter sent May 25. ...
Everyone who pays attention knows EPA stands for Evil Polluters' Advocate.
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
Published: August 2, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Unions representing thousands of staff scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is bending to political pressure and ignoring sound science in allowing a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides.
Leaders of several federal employee unions say the chemicals pose serious risks for fetuses, pregnant women, young children and the elderly through food and exposure and should not be approved by Thursday, the Congressional deadline for completing an agency review of thousands of substances in pesticides.
"We are concerned that the agency has not, consistent with its principles of scientific integrity and sound science, adequately summarized or drawn conclusions" about the chemicals, union leaders told the agency administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, in a newly disclosed letter sent May 25. ...
Everyone who pays attention knows EPA stands for Evil Polluters' Advocate.
Bush Administration launches new battle in the war on women
New York City: This week the Bush Administration sought to reverse historic agreements that have significantly contributed to advancing the rights, economic status and health of the world's women. The United States was the only country to reverse long-standing support of the historic agreements reached in Cairo in 1994 and Beijing in 1995.
"This is a devastating blow to women around the world. The actions of the Bush Administration means more women will continue to die because of inadequate reproductive rights and health programs," noted June Zeitlin, Executive Director of WEDO, the Women's Environment and Development Organization. ...
How can anyone - male or female - fail to find this completely intolerable?
New York City: This week the Bush Administration sought to reverse historic agreements that have significantly contributed to advancing the rights, economic status and health of the world's women. The United States was the only country to reverse long-standing support of the historic agreements reached in Cairo in 1994 and Beijing in 1995.
"This is a devastating blow to women around the world. The actions of the Bush Administration means more women will continue to die because of inadequate reproductive rights and health programs," noted June Zeitlin, Executive Director of WEDO, the Women's Environment and Development Organization. ...
How can anyone - male or female - fail to find this completely intolerable?
Man saves dog thrown from window
Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:30am ET168
WARSAW (Reuters) - A man was bruised but alive on Wednesday after a Saint Bernard dog thrown out a two-story window landed on him as he was walking down the street in the southern-Polish city of Sosnowiec.
The 110-pound dog was pushed out of the window by its drunken owner Monday, police said.
"The dog had a soft landing because it fell on a man," said police spokesman Grzegorz Wierzbicki. "The dog escaped with just a few scratches."
"The man was also more in a psychological state of shock than physically hurt," Wierzbicki added.
The one-year-old dog, named Oskar, was placed in an animal shelter while police investigate its owners for animal abuse.
Excuse me, but what is there to investigate?
Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:30am ET168
WARSAW (Reuters) - A man was bruised but alive on Wednesday after a Saint Bernard dog thrown out a two-story window landed on him as he was walking down the street in the southern-Polish city of Sosnowiec.
The 110-pound dog was pushed out of the window by its drunken owner Monday, police said.
"The dog had a soft landing because it fell on a man," said police spokesman Grzegorz Wierzbicki. "The dog escaped with just a few scratches."
"The man was also more in a psychological state of shock than physically hurt," Wierzbicki added.
The one-year-old dog, named Oskar, was placed in an animal shelter while police investigate its owners for animal abuse.
Excuse me, but what is there to investigate?
They'll be bottling tears in Medoc
Wine-growers are fighting a huge new road scheme, says margaret rand
The world-renowned vineyards of Bordeaux's Medoc region are some of France's proudest assets. So why is the French government proposing to drive a six-lane motorway - plus a TGV railway line - through some of its great wine estates?
The road is intended to take a wide sweep to the west of Bordeaux, joining the A10 and A63 autoroutes; along with the new railway line, it will improve the journey between northern Europe and Spain.
There are several proposed routes. One would wipe Chateau Cantemerle off the map. Another goes straight through the world-famous appellation of Margaux. ...
WTF, Frogistan?!
Wine-growers are fighting a huge new road scheme, says margaret rand
The world-renowned vineyards of Bordeaux's Medoc region are some of France's proudest assets. So why is the French government proposing to drive a six-lane motorway - plus a TGV railway line - through some of its great wine estates?
The road is intended to take a wide sweep to the west of Bordeaux, joining the A10 and A63 autoroutes; along with the new railway line, it will improve the journey between northern Europe and Spain.
There are several proposed routes. One would wipe Chateau Cantemerle off the map. Another goes straight through the world-famous appellation of Margaux. ...
WTF, Frogistan?!
Hawking criticises EU states trying to ban stem cell research
By Steve Connor, Science Editor, and Stephen Castle in Brussels
Published: 24 July 2006
Stephen Hawking, the world's best-known living scientist, has attacked "reactionary" forces in Europe and America which are trying to ban research into stem cells from human embryos.
Professor Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, has criticised President George Bush and European governments who want to stop the funding of research with embryonic stem cells, which promises to revolutionise the treatment of many incurable conditions.
His attack comes on the day that an attempt will be made in Brussels to prevent any money from the European Union's 54bn (37bn) science budget being spent over the next seven years on research into human embryonic stem cells. ...
"I strongly oppose the move to ban stem-cell research funding from the European Union," said Professor Hawking, who holds the chair in mathematics at Cambridge University that was once held by Sir Isaac Newton in 1663.
"Europe should not follow the reactionary lead of President Bush, who recently vetoed a bill passed by Congress and supported by a majority of the American people that would have allowed federal funding for stem cell research," he said in a statement to The Independent. "Stem cell research is the key to developing cures for degenerative conditions like Parkinson's and motor neurone disease from which I and many others suffer," he said. ...
If the cleverest man on the planet calls you a donkey, you should shut the hell up and watch out for kids trying to pin a tail on you.
Many thanks to dear Edosan
By Steve Connor, Science Editor, and Stephen Castle in Brussels
Published: 24 July 2006
Stephen Hawking, the world's best-known living scientist, has attacked "reactionary" forces in Europe and America which are trying to ban research into stem cells from human embryos.
Professor Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, has criticised President George Bush and European governments who want to stop the funding of research with embryonic stem cells, which promises to revolutionise the treatment of many incurable conditions.
His attack comes on the day that an attempt will be made in Brussels to prevent any money from the European Union's 54bn (37bn) science budget being spent over the next seven years on research into human embryonic stem cells. ...
"I strongly oppose the move to ban stem-cell research funding from the European Union," said Professor Hawking, who holds the chair in mathematics at Cambridge University that was once held by Sir Isaac Newton in 1663.
"Europe should not follow the reactionary lead of President Bush, who recently vetoed a bill passed by Congress and supported by a majority of the American people that would have allowed federal funding for stem cell research," he said in a statement to The Independent. "Stem cell research is the key to developing cures for degenerative conditions like Parkinson's and motor neurone disease from which I and many others suffer," he said. ...
If the cleverest man on the planet calls you a donkey, you should shut the hell up and watch out for kids trying to pin a tail on you.
Many thanks to dear Edosan
Abramoff and 4 Others Sued by Tribe Over Casino Closing
By RICK LYMAN
Published: July 13, 2006
HOUSTON, July 12 -- An Indian tribe sued the former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, on Wednesday, seeking millions of dollars in lost revenues from a casino that the Texas tribe said had been fraudulently closed.
The suit, in Federal District Court in Austin, says Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Reed and three other men mounted a fake religiously themed moral crusade in 2001 to defeat a bill in the Texas Legislature that would have legalized gambling in Indian casinos.
Their real motive, the suit adds, was to promote the gambling interests of a tribe in Louisiana that was paying them to represent its interest in a competing casino.
Two former Congressional aides who pleaded guilty to corruption charges along with Mr. Abramoff were also named in the suit: Michael Scanlon, who worked for the former House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas; and Neil Volz, formerly on the staff of Representative Bob Ney of Ohio.
Jon Van Horne, who worked with Mr. Abramoff at his lobbying firm in Washington, was also named.
"This case chronicles Jack Abramoff and his associates' greed, corruption and deceit and their devastating impact on Texas's oldest recognized Indian tribe," said the suit, filed by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
The tribe, whose 4,594-acre reservation is 75 miles northeast of here, was forced to close its sole casino in 2002 by a federal court order. Lawyers for the tribe said the closing had devastating economic effects on the community, including the loss of several hundred jobs. ...
By RICK LYMAN
Published: July 13, 2006
HOUSTON, July 12 -- An Indian tribe sued the former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, on Wednesday, seeking millions of dollars in lost revenues from a casino that the Texas tribe said had been fraudulently closed.
The suit, in Federal District Court in Austin, says Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Reed and three other men mounted a fake religiously themed moral crusade in 2001 to defeat a bill in the Texas Legislature that would have legalized gambling in Indian casinos.
Their real motive, the suit adds, was to promote the gambling interests of a tribe in Louisiana that was paying them to represent its interest in a competing casino.
Two former Congressional aides who pleaded guilty to corruption charges along with Mr. Abramoff were also named in the suit: Michael Scanlon, who worked for the former House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas; and Neil Volz, formerly on the staff of Representative Bob Ney of Ohio.
Jon Van Horne, who worked with Mr. Abramoff at his lobbying firm in Washington, was also named.
"This case chronicles Jack Abramoff and his associates' greed, corruption and deceit and their devastating impact on Texas's oldest recognized Indian tribe," said the suit, filed by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
The tribe, whose 4,594-acre reservation is 75 miles northeast of here, was forced to close its sole casino in 2002 by a federal court order. Lawyers for the tribe said the closing had devastating economic effects on the community, including the loss of several hundred jobs. ...
I find myself wondering whether this guy is one of our current world leaders.
Mumbai bombs kill over 160
Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:17 PM BST170
By Krittivas Mukherjee
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bombs exploded on packed commuter trains and stations in India's financial hub, Mumbai, on Tuesday, killing over 160 people and wounding hundreds, officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the seven bomb explosions that took place within about 10 minutes during evening rush hour. ...
Oh, India, I'm so very very sorry.
Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:17 PM BST170
By Krittivas Mukherjee
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bombs exploded on packed commuter trains and stations in India's financial hub, Mumbai, on Tuesday, killing over 160 people and wounding hundreds, officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the seven bomb explosions that took place within about 10 minutes during evening rush hour. ...
Oh, India, I'm so very very sorry.
Democrats Cite Report On Troop Cuts in Iraq
Pentagon Plan Like Theirs, Senators Say
By Michael Abramowitz and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, June 26, 2006; Page A01
Senate Democrats reacted angrily yesterday to a report that the U.S. commander in Iraq had privately presented a plan for significant troop reductions in the same week they came under attack by Republicans for trying to set a timetable for withdrawal.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that the plan attributed to Gen. George W. Casey resembles the thinking of many Democrats who voted for a nonbinding resolution to begin a troop drawdown in December. That resolution was defeated Thursday on a largely party-line vote in the Senate.
"That means the only people who have fought us and fought us against the timetable, the only ones still saying there shouldn't be a timetable really are the Republicans in the United States Senate and in the Congress," Boxer said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Now it turns out we're in sync with General Casey."
Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), one of the two sponsors of the nonbinding resolution, which offered no pace or completion date for a withdrawal, said the report is another sign of what he termed one of the "worst-kept secrets in town" -- that the administration intends to pull out troops before the midterm elections in November.
"It shouldn't be a political decision, but it is going to be with this administration," Levin said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's as clear as your face, which is mighty clear, that before this election, this November, there's going to be troop reductions in Iraq, and the president will then claim some kind of progress or victory." ...
Pentagon Plan Like Theirs, Senators Say
By Michael Abramowitz and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, June 26, 2006; Page A01
Senate Democrats reacted angrily yesterday to a report that the U.S. commander in Iraq had privately presented a plan for significant troop reductions in the same week they came under attack by Republicans for trying to set a timetable for withdrawal.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that the plan attributed to Gen. George W. Casey resembles the thinking of many Democrats who voted for a nonbinding resolution to begin a troop drawdown in December. That resolution was defeated Thursday on a largely party-line vote in the Senate.
"That means the only people who have fought us and fought us against the timetable, the only ones still saying there shouldn't be a timetable really are the Republicans in the United States Senate and in the Congress," Boxer said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Now it turns out we're in sync with General Casey."
Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), one of the two sponsors of the nonbinding resolution, which offered no pace or completion date for a withdrawal, said the report is another sign of what he termed one of the "worst-kept secrets in town" -- that the administration intends to pull out troops before the midterm elections in November.
"It shouldn't be a political decision, but it is going to be with this administration," Levin said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's as clear as your face, which is mighty clear, that before this election, this November, there's going to be troop reductions in Iraq, and the president will then claim some kind of progress or victory." ...
China Had Bird Flu Case in '03, Letter Says
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: June 22, 2006
Editors at The New England Journal of Medicine say they are investigating a letter about avian flu that its Chinese authors apparently tried to withdraw before publication.
The letter, signed by eight Beijing scientists, reports that the country's first avian flu case appeared in 2003 -- two years before the Chinese government admitted having any cases -- and that it was misdiagnosed as SARS.
The journal editors said that yesterday morning they received an e-mail message that appeared to be from the letter's authors, asking to withdraw the letter. But it was too late to do so, and the authors could not be contacted by phone or by e-mail message, a journal spokeswoman said yesterday. It appears in today's issue.
"We do not yet have an explanation from the authors," the journal's editor in chief, Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, said in an e-mail message to the news media. The authors did not respond to messages from The New York Times.
In the letter, which detailed the genetics of the flu virus, the scientists said that a 24-year-old man who died in November 2003 and was thought to have severe acute respiratory syndrome actually had A(H5N1) viruses similar to those found circulating in chickens in China in 2004.
China did not announce that it had any avian flu deaths until last November. ...
Nothing in the world like being open, honest, frank and forthright - especially when billions of lives worldwide are at stake.
All the Chinese folks I've met have been wonderful, sweet people. Are their politicos all evil space aliens or something?
I'd better shut up now before I generate a mile-long list of China's gov't's evils.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: June 22, 2006
Editors at The New England Journal of Medicine say they are investigating a letter about avian flu that its Chinese authors apparently tried to withdraw before publication.
The letter, signed by eight Beijing scientists, reports that the country's first avian flu case appeared in 2003 -- two years before the Chinese government admitted having any cases -- and that it was misdiagnosed as SARS.
The journal editors said that yesterday morning they received an e-mail message that appeared to be from the letter's authors, asking to withdraw the letter. But it was too late to do so, and the authors could not be contacted by phone or by e-mail message, a journal spokeswoman said yesterday. It appears in today's issue.
"We do not yet have an explanation from the authors," the journal's editor in chief, Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, said in an e-mail message to the news media. The authors did not respond to messages from The New York Times.
In the letter, which detailed the genetics of the flu virus, the scientists said that a 24-year-old man who died in November 2003 and was thought to have severe acute respiratory syndrome actually had A(H5N1) viruses similar to those found circulating in chickens in China in 2004.
China did not announce that it had any avian flu deaths until last November. ...
Nothing in the world like being open, honest, frank and forthright - especially when billions of lives worldwide are at stake.
All the Chinese folks I've met have been wonderful, sweet people. Are their politicos all evil space aliens or something?
I'd better shut up now before I generate a mile-long list of China's gov't's evils.
Bulldozer Used for Destructive Joyrides
The Associated Press
Friday, June 16, 2006; 7:54 AM
GLENDALE, Ore. -- A vandal has twice taken a bulldozer for a joyride at a logging site, tearing up roads and destroying newly planted trees.
The first incident happened about two week ago, said Don Robinson, the assistant district law enforcement ranger working in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Grants Pass and Glendale resource areas.
Robinson said there was five hours worth of fuel in the bulldozer and the driver operated it until it was empty. The driver tore up the road, causing $1,800 in damage, and ripped up a half-acre of newly planted Douglas fir and incense cedar trees. The cost of replacing the trees is an estimated $1,200.
The culprit returned last week.
"That time they took it up the road a little ways," Robinson said. "It seemed to be another joyride." ...
Great karma there, pal. Must be wonderful, living with yourself.
The Associated Press
Friday, June 16, 2006; 7:54 AM
GLENDALE, Ore. -- A vandal has twice taken a bulldozer for a joyride at a logging site, tearing up roads and destroying newly planted trees.
The first incident happened about two week ago, said Don Robinson, the assistant district law enforcement ranger working in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Grants Pass and Glendale resource areas.
Robinson said there was five hours worth of fuel in the bulldozer and the driver operated it until it was empty. The driver tore up the road, causing $1,800 in damage, and ripped up a half-acre of newly planted Douglas fir and incense cedar trees. The cost of replacing the trees is an estimated $1,200.
The culprit returned last week.
"That time they took it up the road a little ways," Robinson said. "It seemed to be another joyride." ...
Great karma there, pal. Must be wonderful, living with yourself.
Senate Rejects U.S. Troop Pullout in Iraq
Jun 16, 1:10 AM (ET)
By LIZ SIDOTI
... "When our freedom is challenged, Americans do not run," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in remarks laden with references to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"This is a war that is a grotesque mistake," countered House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. She called for a fresh strategy - "one that will make us safer, strengthen our military, and restore our reputation in the world."
House Republicans moved toward a vote on a nonbinding resolution Friday morning to reject any timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.
Democrats, for their part, seized on reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants, as part of a national reconciliation plan, to pardon insurgents who had attacked U.S. troops. In both the House and Senate, Democrats urged Republicans and the president to denounce the plan.
Congress roared into debate on the three-year conflict four months before midterm elections that will decide the control of both the House and Senate - and as Bush was trying to rebuild waning public support for the conflict. ...
Good luck, [expletive deleted].
Jun 16, 1:10 AM (ET)
By LIZ SIDOTI
... "When our freedom is challenged, Americans do not run," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in remarks laden with references to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"This is a war that is a grotesque mistake," countered House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. She called for a fresh strategy - "one that will make us safer, strengthen our military, and restore our reputation in the world."
House Republicans moved toward a vote on a nonbinding resolution Friday morning to reject any timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.
Democrats, for their part, seized on reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants, as part of a national reconciliation plan, to pardon insurgents who had attacked U.S. troops. In both the House and Senate, Democrats urged Republicans and the president to denounce the plan.
Congress roared into debate on the three-year conflict four months before midterm elections that will decide the control of both the House and Senate - and as Bush was trying to rebuild waning public support for the conflict. ...
Good luck, [expletive deleted].
The end of net neutrality will end sites like this.
Well, unless the owners are willing to channel $$ into their websites which they usually spend on erectile dysfunction medication and prostitutes.
Remember girls, Just Say No to Sex with Pro-Lifers. You won't get any help of any sort from them if they knock you up - and they will do since they also hate birth control - they'll just run.
They are, however, quite willing to execute your semi-grown kid if found guilty of certain crimes by a jury of his/her "peers."
Well, unless the owners are willing to channel $$ into their websites which they usually spend on erectile dysfunction medication and prostitutes.
Remember girls, Just Say No to Sex with Pro-Lifers. You won't get any help of any sort from them if they knock you up - and they will do since they also hate birth control - they'll just run.
They are, however, quite willing to execute your semi-grown kid if found guilty of certain crimes by a jury of his/her "peers."
By SEAN POULTER, Daily Mail 17:30pm 9th June 2006
The push for a drought order will renew calls to create some kind of national water grid to bring supplies to the parched south from the north and west of Britain.
It could threaten major sporting events such as the cricket test match between England and Pakistan at the Oval in August.
It would also create huge problems for Premier League football as teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Charlton will not be able to prepare pitches for the new season.
Golf courses and public parks would also be banned from watering by hosepipe or sprinkler.
Thames Water's decision to apply for a drought order is highly controversial. It has been lambasted as Britain's most wasteful water company, losing 915 megalitres (201 million gallons) through leaks every day.
That is enough to supply 2.8 million homes or fill 366 Olympic swimming pools.
The company, owned by RWE of Germany, has missed its leak reduction targets for two years in a row.
At the same time, it is expected to unveil a 40 per cent surge in profits for the last financial year, taking the figure up to 360 million. ...
The push for a drought order will renew calls to create some kind of national water grid to bring supplies to the parched south from the north and west of Britain.
It could threaten major sporting events such as the cricket test match between England and Pakistan at the Oval in August.
It would also create huge problems for Premier League football as teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Charlton will not be able to prepare pitches for the new season.
Golf courses and public parks would also be banned from watering by hosepipe or sprinkler.
Thames Water's decision to apply for a drought order is highly controversial. It has been lambasted as Britain's most wasteful water company, losing 915 megalitres (201 million gallons) through leaks every day.
That is enough to supply 2.8 million homes or fill 366 Olympic swimming pools.
The company, owned by RWE of Germany, has missed its leak reduction targets for two years in a row.
At the same time, it is expected to unveil a 40 per cent surge in profits for the last financial year, taking the figure up to 360 million. ...
Friday June 2, 2006 2:46 AM
HURST, Texas (AP) - A teenager accused of spiking a fellow theater student's drink with bleach because she wanted the lead role in a school play surrendered to authorities.
Katherine A. Smith, 18, turned herself in Wednesday, more than a week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was charged with tampering with a consumer product, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was released on $2,500 bail.
A message left Thursday at Smith's home seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Smith is accused of putting bleach in Mountain Dew and then handing the drink to a 15-year-old in February, a day after the opening of L.D. Bell High School's production of "Ha!" - a trio of one-act comedies. Test results confirmed that the drink contained components of bleach, according to police reports. ...
HURST, Texas (AP) - A teenager accused of spiking a fellow theater student's drink with bleach because she wanted the lead role in a school play surrendered to authorities.
Katherine A. Smith, 18, turned herself in Wednesday, more than a week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was charged with tampering with a consumer product, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was released on $2,500 bail.
A message left Thursday at Smith's home seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Smith is accused of putting bleach in Mountain Dew and then handing the drink to a 15-year-old in February, a day after the opening of L.D. Bell High School's production of "Ha!" - a trio of one-act comedies. Test results confirmed that the drink contained components of bleach, according to police reports. ...
School Bus Crushed Second-Grader After 8-Year-Old Allegedly Released Break (SIC)
NEW YORK, May 23, 2006
(CBS/AP) An 8-year-old boy was arrested after he sneaked onto a school bus and released its parking brake, causing it to roll forward and fatally strike a second-grader, police said Tuesday.
The boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide, Officer Doris Garcia said. Police were withholding his name because of his age, she said.
Amber Sadiq was holding hands with her brother, crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Police believe the boy was alone on the bus, Garcia said. ...
This kid's name Damian? With what will they charge his parents?
NEW YORK, May 23, 2006
(CBS/AP) An 8-year-old boy was arrested after he sneaked onto a school bus and released its parking brake, causing it to roll forward and fatally strike a second-grader, police said Tuesday.
The boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide, Officer Doris Garcia said. Police were withholding his name because of his age, she said.
Amber Sadiq was holding hands with her brother, crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Police believe the boy was alone on the bus, Garcia said. ...
This kid's name Damian? With what will they charge his parents?
It's a Man's World at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart infamously refused to sell T-shirts that bore the slogan "Someday a Woman Will be President!," citing complaints that the mere idea was offensive. Ann Moliver Ruben, the 70-year-old psychologist who designed the shirt, said Sharon Higginbotham, a buyer for women's clothes at Wal-Mart's national office in Bentonville, Ark., told her the store would not carry the shirt nationwide because the message "goes against Wal-Mart's family values."
[See below for their "family values"]
Have a Family? Leave!
When it comes to the federal Family Medical Leave Act, Wal-Mart has a long history of noncompliance. While the Act requires employers to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for themselves or a loved one without losing their jobs, there are countless cases of Wal-Mart's failing to follow the law and reinstate employees. In one case in 2005, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission fined Wal-Mart $188,000 for refusing to reinstate an employee of six years after she finished her maternity leave.
Bet she didn't make $188,000 in the six years she'd wasted working at wallyworld.
Shamelessly stolen from abbynormal92243
Wal-Mart infamously refused to sell T-shirts that bore the slogan "Someday a Woman Will be President!," citing complaints that the mere idea was offensive. Ann Moliver Ruben, the 70-year-old psychologist who designed the shirt, said Sharon Higginbotham, a buyer for women's clothes at Wal-Mart's national office in Bentonville, Ark., told her the store would not carry the shirt nationwide because the message "goes against Wal-Mart's family values."
[See below for their "family values"]
Have a Family? Leave!
When it comes to the federal Family Medical Leave Act, Wal-Mart has a long history of noncompliance. While the Act requires employers to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for themselves or a loved one without losing their jobs, there are countless cases of Wal-Mart's failing to follow the law and reinstate employees. In one case in 2005, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission fined Wal-Mart $188,000 for refusing to reinstate an employee of six years after she finished her maternity leave.
Bet she didn't make $188,000 in the six years she'd wasted working at wallyworld.
Shamelessly stolen from abbynormal92243
Four women sought in bingo hall death
Man beaten, robbed of his winnings
Apr. 9, 2006. 01:00 AM
RAJU MUDHAR
STAFF REPORTER
Yousif Youkhana walked out of the Finch Bingo Country hall $1,000 richer on Friday night. He never got the chance to enjoy his winnings.
Police say four female bingo-hall regulars who wanted his jackpot mugged and killed Youkhana, 58, of Brampton, in the parking lot of the Islington-and-Finch area parlour.
As he walked to his vehicle around 10 p.m., he was approached by four women who demanded his winnings. He refused, and an attack occurred that left him badly beaten.
Despite being repeatedly punched and kicked, he managed to escape back into the hall where he collapsed, mortally wounded.
He is Toronto's 16th homicide of the year.
"He's a regular player in the Finch Bingo Country hall who played about three to four times a week. He was a good man," says Lucy Szinegh, hall manager for Finch Bingo Country.
"Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I arrived just as the ambulance took him away. I'm told by employees that there was some confusion ....
"I'm not too sure what happened outside of the bingo hall, but he ended up back inside where we did our best to take care of him, but it wasn't enough."
An autopsy was scheduled for today.
The $1,000 that Youkhana won was not recovered and the four suspects are believed to have fled on foot. None of the four women has been arrested.
The suspects are described as: a woman 5'7", 250 lbs, with short black hair; another woman, 5 foot, 150 lbs, with straight black hair in a pony tail; a third woman, 150 lbs, black baseball hat, with hair hanging out of the back of her hat.
Police don't have a detailed description of the fourth woman. ...
Stupid, evil, greedy bitches. They'd do well in Yankistani politics.
Thanks, dear AngelClare
Man beaten, robbed of his winnings
Apr. 9, 2006. 01:00 AM
RAJU MUDHAR
STAFF REPORTER
Yousif Youkhana walked out of the Finch Bingo Country hall $1,000 richer on Friday night. He never got the chance to enjoy his winnings.
Police say four female bingo-hall regulars who wanted his jackpot mugged and killed Youkhana, 58, of Brampton, in the parking lot of the Islington-and-Finch area parlour.
As he walked to his vehicle around 10 p.m., he was approached by four women who demanded his winnings. He refused, and an attack occurred that left him badly beaten.
Despite being repeatedly punched and kicked, he managed to escape back into the hall where he collapsed, mortally wounded.
He is Toronto's 16th homicide of the year.
"He's a regular player in the Finch Bingo Country hall who played about three to four times a week. He was a good man," says Lucy Szinegh, hall manager for Finch Bingo Country.
"Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I arrived just as the ambulance took him away. I'm told by employees that there was some confusion ....
"I'm not too sure what happened outside of the bingo hall, but he ended up back inside where we did our best to take care of him, but it wasn't enough."
An autopsy was scheduled for today.
The $1,000 that Youkhana won was not recovered and the four suspects are believed to have fled on foot. None of the four women has been arrested.
The suspects are described as: a woman 5'7", 250 lbs, with short black hair; another woman, 5 foot, 150 lbs, with straight black hair in a pony tail; a third woman, 150 lbs, black baseball hat, with hair hanging out of the back of her hat.
Police don't have a detailed description of the fourth woman. ...
Stupid, evil, greedy bitches. They'd do well in Yankistani politics.
Thanks, dear AngelClare
Meatpacker sues feds for the right to test its own herd for mad cow disease
by Libby Quaid, Associated Press
March 22, 2006
WASHINGTON -- A Kansas meatpacker has sparked an industry fight by proposing testing all the company's cattle for mad cow disease.
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to look for the disease in every animal it processes. The Agriculture Department has said no. Creekstone says it intends to sue the department.
"Our customers, particularly our Asian customers, have requested it over and over again," chief executive John Stewart said in an interview Wednesday. "We feel strongly that if customers are asking for tested beef, we should be allowed to provide that."
Creekstone planned a news conference Thursday in Washington to discuss the lawsuit.
The department and larger meat companies oppose comprehensive testing, saying it cannot assure food safety. Testing rarely detects the disease in younger animals, the source of most meat.
"There isn't any nation in the world that requires 100 percent testing," department spokesman Ed Loyd said Wednesday.
Larger companies worry that Japanese buyers would insist on costly testing and that a suspect result might scare consumers away from eating beef.
Japan was the most lucrative foreign market for American beef until the first U.S. case of mad cow disease prompted a ban in 2003. The ban cost Creekstone nearly one-third of its sales and led the company to slash production and lay off about 150 people, Stewart said. ...
Thanks to dear Redway420
by Libby Quaid, Associated Press
March 22, 2006
WASHINGTON -- A Kansas meatpacker has sparked an industry fight by proposing testing all the company's cattle for mad cow disease.
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to look for the disease in every animal it processes. The Agriculture Department has said no. Creekstone says it intends to sue the department.
"Our customers, particularly our Asian customers, have requested it over and over again," chief executive John Stewart said in an interview Wednesday. "We feel strongly that if customers are asking for tested beef, we should be allowed to provide that."
Creekstone planned a news conference Thursday in Washington to discuss the lawsuit.
The department and larger meat companies oppose comprehensive testing, saying it cannot assure food safety. Testing rarely detects the disease in younger animals, the source of most meat.
"There isn't any nation in the world that requires 100 percent testing," department spokesman Ed Loyd said Wednesday.
Larger companies worry that Japanese buyers would insist on costly testing and that a suspect result might scare consumers away from eating beef.
Japan was the most lucrative foreign market for American beef until the first U.S. case of mad cow disease prompted a ban in 2003. The ban cost Creekstone nearly one-third of its sales and led the company to slash production and lay off about 150 people, Stewart said. ...
Thanks to dear Redway420
FTP: Monday, March 20, 2006
This Essay Breaks the Law By Michael Crichton
Here is a very interesting and amusing essay at the current state of Patents in the US:
* The Earth revolves around the Sun.
* The speed of light is a constant.
* Apples fall to earth because of gravity.
* Elevated blood sugar is linked to diabetes.
* Elevated uric acid is linked to gout.
* Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease.
* Elevated homocysteine is linked to B-12 deficiency, so doctors should test homocysteine levels to see whether the patient needs vitamins.
Actually, I can't make that last statement. A corporation has patented that fact, and demands a royalty for its use. Anyone who makes the fact public and encourages doctors to test for the condition and treat it can be sued for royalty fees. Any doctor who reads a patient's test results and even thinks of vitamin deficiency infringes the patent. A federal circuit court held that mere thinking violates the patent.
All this may sound absurd, but it is the heart of a case that will be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. In 1986 researchers filed a patent application for a method of testing the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood. They went one step further and asked for a patent on the basic biological relationship between homocysteine and vitamin deficiency. A patent was granted that covered both the test and the scientific fact. Eventually, a company called Metabolite took over the license for the patent. ...
Many thanks to dear Grayem
This Essay Breaks the Law By Michael Crichton
Here is a very interesting and amusing essay at the current state of Patents in the US:
* The Earth revolves around the Sun.
* The speed of light is a constant.
* Apples fall to earth because of gravity.
* Elevated blood sugar is linked to diabetes.
* Elevated uric acid is linked to gout.
* Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease.
* Elevated homocysteine is linked to B-12 deficiency, so doctors should test homocysteine levels to see whether the patient needs vitamins.
Actually, I can't make that last statement. A corporation has patented that fact, and demands a royalty for its use. Anyone who makes the fact public and encourages doctors to test for the condition and treat it can be sued for royalty fees. Any doctor who reads a patient's test results and even thinks of vitamin deficiency infringes the patent. A federal circuit court held that mere thinking violates the patent.
All this may sound absurd, but it is the heart of a case that will be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. In 1986 researchers filed a patent application for a method of testing the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood. They went one step further and asked for a patent on the basic biological relationship between homocysteine and vitamin deficiency. A patent was granted that covered both the test and the scientific fact. Eventually, a company called Metabolite took over the license for the patent. ...
Many thanks to dear Grayem
FTP: ... How is it possible that after three years of occupation and billions of dollars of spending, hospitals are still short of basic supplies? Part of the cause is ideological tunnel-vision. For months before the war the US state department had been drawing up plans for the postwar reconstruction, but those plans were junked when the Pentagon took over.
To supervise the reconstruction of the Iraqi health service, the Pentagon appointed James Haveman, a former health administrator from Michigan. He was also a loyal Bush supporter, who had campaigned for Jeb Bush, and a committed evangelical Christian. But he had virtually no experience in international health work.
The coalition's health programme was by any standards a failure. Basic equipment and drugs should have been distributed within months - the coalition wouldn't even have had to pay for it. But they missed that chance, not just in health, but in every other area of life in Iraq. As disgruntled Iraqis will often point out, despite far greater devastation and crushing sanctions, Saddam did more to rebuild Iraq in six months after the first Gulf war than the coalition has managed in three years.
Kees Reitfield, a health professional with 20 years' experience in post-conflict health care from Kosovo to Somalia, was in Iraq from the very beginning of the war and looked on in astonishment at the US management in its aftermath. "Everybody in Iraq was ready for three months' chaos," he says. "They had water for three months, they had food for three months, they were ready to wait for three months. I said, we've got until early August to show an improvement, some drugs in the health centres, some improvement of electricity in the grid, some fuel prices going down. Failure to deliver will mean civil unrest." He was right.
Of course, no one can say that if the Americans had got the reconstruction right it would have been enough. There were too many other mistakes as well, such as a policy of crude "deBa'athification" that saw Iraqi expertise marginalised, the creation of a sectarian government and the Americans attempting to foster friendship with Iraqis who themselves had no friends among other Iraqis.
Another experienced health worker, Mary Patterson - who was eventually asked to leave Iraq by James Haveman - characterises the Coalition's approach thus: "I believe it had a lot to do with showing that the US was in control," she says. "I believe that it had to do with rewarding people that were politically loyal. So rather than being a technical agenda, I believe it was largely a politically motivated reward-and-punishment kind of agenda."
Which sounds like the way Saddam used to run the country. "If you were to interview Iraqis today about what they see day to day," she says, "I think they will tell you that they don't see a lot of difference".
Thanks to dear Grayem
To supervise the reconstruction of the Iraqi health service, the Pentagon appointed James Haveman, a former health administrator from Michigan. He was also a loyal Bush supporter, who had campaigned for Jeb Bush, and a committed evangelical Christian. But he had virtually no experience in international health work.
The coalition's health programme was by any standards a failure. Basic equipment and drugs should have been distributed within months - the coalition wouldn't even have had to pay for it. But they missed that chance, not just in health, but in every other area of life in Iraq. As disgruntled Iraqis will often point out, despite far greater devastation and crushing sanctions, Saddam did more to rebuild Iraq in six months after the first Gulf war than the coalition has managed in three years.
Kees Reitfield, a health professional with 20 years' experience in post-conflict health care from Kosovo to Somalia, was in Iraq from the very beginning of the war and looked on in astonishment at the US management in its aftermath. "Everybody in Iraq was ready for three months' chaos," he says. "They had water for three months, they had food for three months, they were ready to wait for three months. I said, we've got until early August to show an improvement, some drugs in the health centres, some improvement of electricity in the grid, some fuel prices going down. Failure to deliver will mean civil unrest." He was right.
Of course, no one can say that if the Americans had got the reconstruction right it would have been enough. There were too many other mistakes as well, such as a policy of crude "deBa'athification" that saw Iraqi expertise marginalised, the creation of a sectarian government and the Americans attempting to foster friendship with Iraqis who themselves had no friends among other Iraqis.
Another experienced health worker, Mary Patterson - who was eventually asked to leave Iraq by James Haveman - characterises the Coalition's approach thus: "I believe it had a lot to do with showing that the US was in control," she says. "I believe that it had to do with rewarding people that were politically loyal. So rather than being a technical agenda, I believe it was largely a politically motivated reward-and-punishment kind of agenda."
Which sounds like the way Saddam used to run the country. "If you were to interview Iraqis today about what they see day to day," she says, "I think they will tell you that they don't see a lot of difference".
Thanks to dear Grayem
FTP: Posted on Sun, Mar. 19, 2006
Iraqi police report details civilians' deaths at hands of U.S. troops
By Matthew Schofield
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi police have accused American troops of executing 11 people, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old infant, in the aftermath of a raid last Wednesday on a house about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The villagers were killed after American troops herded them into a single room of the house, according to a police document obtained by Knight Ridder Newspapers. The soldiers also burned three vehicles, killed the villagers' animals and blew up the house, the document said.
A U.S. military spokesman, Major Tim Keefe, said that the U.S. military has no information to support the allegations and that he had not heard of them before a reporter brought them to his attention Sunday.
"We're concerned to hear accusations like that, but it's also highly unlikely that they're true," he said. He added that U.S. forces "take every precaution to keep civilians out of harms' way. The loss of innocent life, especially children, is regrettable."
Accusations that U.S. troops have killed civilians are commonplace in Iraq, though most are judged later to be unfounded or exaggerated. Navy investigators announced last week that they were looking into whether Marines intentionally killed 15 Iraqi civilians - four of them women and five of them children - during fighting last November.
But the report of the killings in the Abu Sifa area of Ishaqi, eight miles north of the city of Balad, is unusual because it originated with Iraqi police and because Iraqi police were willing to attach their names to it. ...
Iraqi police report details civilians' deaths at hands of U.S. troops
By Matthew Schofield
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi police have accused American troops of executing 11 people, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old infant, in the aftermath of a raid last Wednesday on a house about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The villagers were killed after American troops herded them into a single room of the house, according to a police document obtained by Knight Ridder Newspapers. The soldiers also burned three vehicles, killed the villagers' animals and blew up the house, the document said.
A U.S. military spokesman, Major Tim Keefe, said that the U.S. military has no information to support the allegations and that he had not heard of them before a reporter brought them to his attention Sunday.
"We're concerned to hear accusations like that, but it's also highly unlikely that they're true," he said. He added that U.S. forces "take every precaution to keep civilians out of harms' way. The loss of innocent life, especially children, is regrettable."
Accusations that U.S. troops have killed civilians are commonplace in Iraq, though most are judged later to be unfounded or exaggerated. Navy investigators announced last week that they were looking into whether Marines intentionally killed 15 Iraqi civilians - four of them women and five of them children - during fighting last November.
But the report of the killings in the Abu Sifa area of Ishaqi, eight miles north of the city of Balad, is unusual because it originated with Iraqi police and because Iraqi police were willing to attach their names to it. ...
House Moves to Strip Food Warning Labels
By LIBBY QUAID (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 08, 2006 11:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON - The House voted Wednesday to strip many warnings from food labels, potentially affecting alerts about arsenic in bottled water, lead in candy and allergy-causing sulfites, among others.
Pushed by food companies seeking uniform labels across state lines, the bill would prevent states from adding food warnings that go beyond federal law. States could petition the Food and Drug Administration to add extra warnings, under the bill.
Lawmakers approved the bill on a 283-139 vote. Supporters expect a Senate version of the bill to be introduced soon.
"This bill is going to overturn 200 state laws that protect our food supply," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "Why are we doing that? What's wrong with our system of federalism?"
...Nationwide, as many as 200 state laws or regulations could be affected, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They include warnings about lead and alcohol in candy, arsenic in bottled water and many others.
The government would spend at least $100 million to answer petitions for tougher state rules, according to CBO.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. noted the bill's supporters have personal ties to food industry lobbyists.
"This is not about consumers. This is about special interests," she said.
California is a primary target of the legislation. There, the voter-passed Proposition 65 requires companies to warn the public of potentially dangerous toxins in food. California has filed lawsuits seeking an array of warnings, including the mercury content of canned tuna and the presence of lead in Mexican candy.
Why is there lead and alcohol in candy? Why is arsenic in bottled water? Where and what do these politicians eat?
By LIBBY QUAID (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 08, 2006 11:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON - The House voted Wednesday to strip many warnings from food labels, potentially affecting alerts about arsenic in bottled water, lead in candy and allergy-causing sulfites, among others.
Pushed by food companies seeking uniform labels across state lines, the bill would prevent states from adding food warnings that go beyond federal law. States could petition the Food and Drug Administration to add extra warnings, under the bill.
Lawmakers approved the bill on a 283-139 vote. Supporters expect a Senate version of the bill to be introduced soon.
"This bill is going to overturn 200 state laws that protect our food supply," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "Why are we doing that? What's wrong with our system of federalism?"
...Nationwide, as many as 200 state laws or regulations could be affected, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They include warnings about lead and alcohol in candy, arsenic in bottled water and many others.
The government would spend at least $100 million to answer petitions for tougher state rules, according to CBO.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. noted the bill's supporters have personal ties to food industry lobbyists.
"This is not about consumers. This is about special interests," she said.
California is a primary target of the legislation. There, the voter-passed Proposition 65 requires companies to warn the public of potentially dangerous toxins in food. California has filed lawsuits seeking an array of warnings, including the mercury content of canned tuna and the presence of lead in Mexican candy.
Why is there lead and alcohol in candy? Why is arsenic in bottled water? Where and what do these politicians eat?
The Dire Problem of Dildos in Tennessee
Lawmakers (R) Seek to Outlaw Dildos
Apparently, lawmakers in this impoverished red state can't find enough serious problems to address, so they've turned their minds to sex, specifically sex toys.
For unknown reasons, State Senator Charlotte Burks (DINO) and State Rep. Eric Swafford (R) have been thinking a lot about the activities going on your bedroom. They have come to the conclusion that Tennessee will be a better place to live if the state regulates your bedroom by outlawing dildos.
Dildos today, mandatory missionary position tomorrow. We think it's high time the Republican party considers a name change. We suggest the Victorian Party, along with a campaign slogan of: Vote for a Victorian, and Say Hello to the Peeping Tom State in Your Bedroom.
It's true that Burks calls herself a Democrat, but in this state the Democratic party is over-run with Republicans.
If the Victorians have their way, it will soon become a crime to sell, advertise, publish, or exhibit dildos in this red state. Presumably "exhibit" is what happens when more than one person is caught in the vicinity of a dildo. The lawmakers are willing to permit some exceptions, such as the study of dildos by college students and professors. Were you looking for a subject for your Master's thesis? Interviewing lawmakers on this touchy subject could prove highly stimulating.
This is a nation founded by puritans so uptight the Britainistanis kicked them out. How anyone can be surprised (disgusted, repelled, yes) by this is beyond me.
Here in the untied states (not a typo) sex and the human body are looked at the way frat rats look through peepholes into the girls' locker room. The men in charge here are overweight, old, "need" viagra, and are so repressed the only way they can get off is through profound perversion. Since they are also ignorant, they assume everyone else is as perverse as they. Wonder what thoughts run through the "minds" of these lawmakers when they see a dildo. Mayhap they'll get even more turned on by their own dildos if owning them is made illegal.
Thanks to dear Redway420
Lawmakers (R) Seek to Outlaw Dildos
Apparently, lawmakers in this impoverished red state can't find enough serious problems to address, so they've turned their minds to sex, specifically sex toys.
For unknown reasons, State Senator Charlotte Burks (DINO) and State Rep. Eric Swafford (R) have been thinking a lot about the activities going on your bedroom. They have come to the conclusion that Tennessee will be a better place to live if the state regulates your bedroom by outlawing dildos.
Dildos today, mandatory missionary position tomorrow. We think it's high time the Republican party considers a name change. We suggest the Victorian Party, along with a campaign slogan of: Vote for a Victorian, and Say Hello to the Peeping Tom State in Your Bedroom.
It's true that Burks calls herself a Democrat, but in this state the Democratic party is over-run with Republicans.
If the Victorians have their way, it will soon become a crime to sell, advertise, publish, or exhibit dildos in this red state. Presumably "exhibit" is what happens when more than one person is caught in the vicinity of a dildo. The lawmakers are willing to permit some exceptions, such as the study of dildos by college students and professors. Were you looking for a subject for your Master's thesis? Interviewing lawmakers on this touchy subject could prove highly stimulating.
This is a nation founded by puritans so uptight the Britainistanis kicked them out. How anyone can be surprised (disgusted, repelled, yes) by this is beyond me.
Here in the untied states (not a typo) sex and the human body are looked at the way frat rats look through peepholes into the girls' locker room. The men in charge here are overweight, old, "need" viagra, and are so repressed the only way they can get off is through profound perversion. Since they are also ignorant, they assume everyone else is as perverse as they. Wonder what thoughts run through the "minds" of these lawmakers when they see a dildo. Mayhap they'll get even more turned on by their own dildos if owning them is made illegal.
Thanks to dear Redway420
FTP: Alito Thank-You Letter To Religious Right Leader Is Grossly Inappropriate, Says Americans United
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
New High Court Justice Should Follow Command Of Constitution, Not Dobson, Asserts Church-State Watchdog Group
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito has sent a cloying thank-you note to Focus on the Family head James C. Dobson, a move Americans United for Separation of Church and State says is further evidence the new justice is firmly in the pocket of the Religious Right.
"Justice Alito should follow the commands of the Constitution, not the orders of Dobson and the Religious Right," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all.
"This is grossly inappropriate," said Lynn. "Alito sounds like a political candidate doing a victory lap and thanking his backers rather than being a fair and independent judge."
The Associated Press reported today Dobson received a six-paragraph personal note from Alito. In the letter, Alito thanked Dobson for backing his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Read the note, "This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support during the past few challenging months. I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell me that they were praying for me and for my family during this period."
Alito went on to write, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me" and expressed his desire for a personal meeting with Dobson.
Dobson and other Religious Right leaders enthusiastically backed Alito's confirmation because they think he will restrict civil rights and civil liberties and rule against church-state separation. {Emphasis mine}
These people ain't worshippin' no God that enjoys Sunlight I tell you what.
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
New High Court Justice Should Follow Command Of Constitution, Not Dobson, Asserts Church-State Watchdog Group
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito has sent a cloying thank-you note to Focus on the Family head James C. Dobson, a move Americans United for Separation of Church and State says is further evidence the new justice is firmly in the pocket of the Religious Right.
"Justice Alito should follow the commands of the Constitution, not the orders of Dobson and the Religious Right," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all.
"This is grossly inappropriate," said Lynn. "Alito sounds like a political candidate doing a victory lap and thanking his backers rather than being a fair and independent judge."
The Associated Press reported today Dobson received a six-paragraph personal note from Alito. In the letter, Alito thanked Dobson for backing his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Read the note, "This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support during the past few challenging months. I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell me that they were praying for me and for my family during this period."
Alito went on to write, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me" and expressed his desire for a personal meeting with Dobson.
Dobson and other Religious Right leaders enthusiastically backed Alito's confirmation because they think he will restrict civil rights and civil liberties and rule against church-state separation. {Emphasis mine}
These people ain't worshippin' no God that enjoys Sunlight I tell you what.
The Impeach Bush Referendum
I want my representative in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to impeach President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for high crimes and misdemeanors, and to have the case prosecuted and tried in the U.S. Senate.
AMEN. His handling (sic) of the New Orleans disaster is reason enough to impeach this insult to human DNA.
I want my representative in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to impeach President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for high crimes and misdemeanors, and to have the case prosecuted and tried in the U.S. Senate.
AMEN. His handling (sic) of the New Orleans disaster is reason enough to impeach this insult to human DNA.
Don't read this, sign it and send it on!
FTP: The state Division of Elections has refused to turn over its electronic voting files to the Democrats, arguing that the data format belongs to a private company and can't be made public.
The Alaska Democratic Party says the information is a public record essential for verifying the accuracy of the 2004 general election and must be provided.
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of, the Democrats said Monday. A detailed analysis of the underlying data could answer lingering questions about an election many thought was over more than a year ago, they say.
"Basically what they say is they want to give us a printout from the (electronic) file. They don't want to give us the file itself. It doesn't enable us to get to the bottom of what we need to know," said Kay Brown, spokeswoman for the party.
Die, die, diebold!
Thanks, mu-tiger
The Alaska Democratic Party says the information is a public record essential for verifying the accuracy of the 2004 general election and must be provided.
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of, the Democrats said Monday. A detailed analysis of the underlying data could answer lingering questions about an election many thought was over more than a year ago, they say.
"Basically what they say is they want to give us a printout from the (electronic) file. They don't want to give us the file itself. It doesn't enable us to get to the bottom of what we need to know," said Kay Brown, spokeswoman for the party.
Die, die, diebold!
Thanks, mu-tiger
FTP: Cash meant for Iraqis 'misused'
Large bundles of cash meant for Iraq's reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, handed over without receipts and gambled away, a report has found.
The audit, by US-appointed inspectors, paints a picture of the chaotic misuse of millions of dollars of funds.
The lack of oversight had a tragic outcome in one case, when a hospital lift, supposed to have been fixed, crashed killing three people.
...One official kept $2m (1.1m) in a bathroom safe, while another allegedly stole $100,000 from a colleague's unsecured stash to balance his own books, investigators found. Payment was handed over for projects without any official contract being drawn up or checks on the work carried out. More than 2,000 contracts were found to be at fault. In one case a contractor was paid $100,000 to refurbish an Olympic swimming pool. US officials certified the work was complete, but it later turned out that the contractor had just polished the equipment, which was found to be defective. The pool has not been used since. One US military assistant is said to have gambled away up to $60,000 while accompanying the Iraqi Olympic team to the Philippines. "What's sad about it is that, considering the destruction in the country, with looting and so on, we needed every dollar for reconstruction," Wayne White, a former US state department official, told the New York Times. Correspondents say the authorities are struggling to make Iraq's infrastructure reliable. Previous findings by SIGIR have resulted in corruption charges against four Americans.
Thanks to dear Grayem
Large bundles of cash meant for Iraq's reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, handed over without receipts and gambled away, a report has found.
The audit, by US-appointed inspectors, paints a picture of the chaotic misuse of millions of dollars of funds.
The lack of oversight had a tragic outcome in one case, when a hospital lift, supposed to have been fixed, crashed killing three people.
...One official kept $2m (1.1m) in a bathroom safe, while another allegedly stole $100,000 from a colleague's unsecured stash to balance his own books, investigators found. Payment was handed over for projects without any official contract being drawn up or checks on the work carried out. More than 2,000 contracts were found to be at fault. In one case a contractor was paid $100,000 to refurbish an Olympic swimming pool. US officials certified the work was complete, but it later turned out that the contractor had just polished the equipment, which was found to be defective. The pool has not been used since. One US military assistant is said to have gambled away up to $60,000 while accompanying the Iraqi Olympic team to the Philippines. "What's sad about it is that, considering the destruction in the country, with looting and so on, we needed every dollar for reconstruction," Wayne White, a former US state department official, told the New York Times. Correspondents say the authorities are struggling to make Iraq's infrastructure reliable. Previous findings by SIGIR have resulted in corruption charges against four Americans.
Thanks to dear Grayem
FTP: WASHINGTON --Troops and civilians at a U.S. military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last year and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton, couldn't get their company to inform camp residents, according to interviews and internal company documents.
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, disputes the allegations about water problems at Camp Junction City, in Ramadi, even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.
"We exposed a base camp population (military and civilian) to a water source that was not treated," said a July 15, 2005, memo written by William Granger, the official for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary who was in charge of water quality in Iraq and Kuwait.
"The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River," Granger wrote in one of several documents. The Associated Press obtained the documents from Senate Democrats who are holding a public inquiry into the allegations Monday.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who will chair the session, held a number of similar inquiries last year on contracting abuses in Iraq. He said Democrats were acting on their own because they had not been able to persuade Republican committee chairmen to investigate.
Okay. We're gonna send you to Iraq to secure the oil there. We won't give you decent body armor, your vehicles will also lack suffient armor, and we're going to poison you into the bargain. We'll expose you (and Iraqi civilians) to all kinds of horrible new and (banned) old chemicals.
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, disputes the allegations about water problems at Camp Junction City, in Ramadi, even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.
"We exposed a base camp population (military and civilian) to a water source that was not treated," said a July 15, 2005, memo written by William Granger, the official for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary who was in charge of water quality in Iraq and Kuwait.
"The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River," Granger wrote in one of several documents. The Associated Press obtained the documents from Senate Democrats who are holding a public inquiry into the allegations Monday.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who will chair the session, held a number of similar inquiries last year on contracting abuses in Iraq. He said Democrats were acting on their own because they had not been able to persuade Republican committee chairmen to investigate.
Okay. We're gonna send you to Iraq to secure the oil there. We won't give you decent body armor, your vehicles will also lack suffient armor, and we're going to poison you into the bargain. We'll expose you (and Iraqi civilians) to all kinds of horrible new and (banned) old chemicals.
FTP: Some of Tony Blair's remarks in the row over so-called extraordinary rendition have already raised a few eyebrows.
Both in the Commons and during his monthly press conference in December he appeared to suggest he knew nothing about the alleged practice, or that he had no evidence one way or the other, so was not going to launch an investigation into it.
On 7 December, he told then Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who led demands for an explanation: "I don't know what he's referring to."
And at his press conference on 21 December, he declared: "I am not going to start ordering inquiries into this, that or the next thing when I have got no evidence to show whether this is right or not."
That led to some rather puzzled questions from observers that, if he truly had no idea what was going on, should he not be finding out.
It was also remarked that he appeared to be unusually reluctant to get into the issue at all.
Gotta love ol' bliar.
Both in the Commons and during his monthly press conference in December he appeared to suggest he knew nothing about the alleged practice, or that he had no evidence one way or the other, so was not going to launch an investigation into it.
On 7 December, he told then Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who led demands for an explanation: "I don't know what he's referring to."
And at his press conference on 21 December, he declared: "I am not going to start ordering inquiries into this, that or the next thing when I have got no evidence to show whether this is right or not."
That led to some rather puzzled questions from observers that, if he truly had no idea what was going on, should he not be finding out.
It was also remarked that he appeared to be unusually reluctant to get into the issue at all.
Gotta love ol' bliar.
From the page: "The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data. NEDA's analysis provides virtually irrefutable evidence of vote miscount.
(PRWEB) January 17, 2006 -- There is significant controversy about whether the 2004 presidential election was conducted fairly and its votes counted correctly. According to results of the major national election exit poll conducted for the National Election Pool by Edison/Mitofsky (E/M), Kerry won Ohio's pivotal vote, though the official tally gave the state, and thus the presidency, to Bush. The conduct of Ohio's election was formally debated by Congress in January 2005.
The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data "The Gun is Smoking: 2004 Ohio Precinct-level Exit Poll Data Show Virtually Irrefutable Evidence of Vote Miscount" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/OH/Ohio-Exit-Polls-2004.pdf. NEDA's analysis provides significant evidence of an outcome-altering vote miscount.
The analysis is based on the most accurate statistical method yet devised for determining whether exit poll error, random variations, or vote count manipulation cause the discrepancies between exit polls and official vote tallies. This analysis method was made public recently by NEDA in "Vote Miscounts or Exit Poll Error? New Mathematical Function for Analyzing Exit Poll Discrepancy" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Exit-Poll-Analysis.pdf"
Thanks, Voyyaghar
(PRWEB) January 17, 2006 -- There is significant controversy about whether the 2004 presidential election was conducted fairly and its votes counted correctly. According to results of the major national election exit poll conducted for the National Election Pool by Edison/Mitofsky (E/M), Kerry won Ohio's pivotal vote, though the official tally gave the state, and thus the presidency, to Bush. The conduct of Ohio's election was formally debated by Congress in January 2005.
The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data "The Gun is Smoking: 2004 Ohio Precinct-level Exit Poll Data Show Virtually Irrefutable Evidence of Vote Miscount" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/OH/Ohio-Exit-Polls-2004.pdf. NEDA's analysis provides significant evidence of an outcome-altering vote miscount.
The analysis is based on the most accurate statistical method yet devised for determining whether exit poll error, random variations, or vote count manipulation cause the discrepancies between exit polls and official vote tallies. This analysis method was made public recently by NEDA in "Vote Miscounts or Exit Poll Error? New Mathematical Function for Analyzing Exit Poll Discrepancy" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Exit-Poll-Analysis.pdf"
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "Defiant Bush defends spying
Legal experts say action is worthy of impeachment
December 20, 2005
BY RON HUTCHESON
WASHINGTON -- A defiant President George W. Bush said Monday that he didn't need explicit permission from Congress or the courts to establish a secret domestic surveillance program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.
He even asserted: "The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.""
shrub, you're not king of the untied states by divine right, you psycho.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
Legal experts say action is worthy of impeachment
December 20, 2005
BY RON HUTCHESON
WASHINGTON -- A defiant President George W. Bush said Monday that he didn't need explicit permission from Congress or the courts to establish a secret domestic surveillance program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.
He even asserted: "The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.""
shrub, you're not king of the untied states by divine right, you psycho.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "Police Hit Grandmother With Taser Gun Five Times
Officer Said Woman Resisted Arrest
POSTED: 1:30 pm EST December 8, 2005
UPDATED: 1:51 pm EST December 8, 2005
FRANKLIN, Ohio -- A 68-year-old woman was hit with a Taser gun by police in an Ohio city five times.
The police officer in the case, a lieutenant with the Franklin Police Department, claimed that he is the victim in the case, Columbus, Ohio, television station WCMH reported.
Beverly Kidwell, 68, was in the waiting room of the police department in suburban Dayton when the incident occurred. According to police, she came into the station to be arrested for hitting her granddaughter.
Kidwell said she waited a long time in the lobby and, when she got up to leave, the officer hit her with the Taser gun.
"I don't know if he thought I was going to get up and leave or what, but he pulled his gun. I thought it was a gun. I'd never seen a Taser gun in my life and I thought, 'Oh my God. He's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me,'" Kidwell said.
The police lieutenant said she was resisting arrest, WCMH reported.
Kidwell said she was in a fetal position and unable to move when the lieutenant ordered her to get up and continued to shock her. The woman survived five jolts and had to be taken to an area hospital."
She better sue the f*ck outta that bastard and the police department and live like a king the rest of her life!
Nicked from dear IrishYankee
{I had to bump this to coincide with the 'non-lethal weapons' story}
Officer Said Woman Resisted Arrest
POSTED: 1:30 pm EST December 8, 2005
UPDATED: 1:51 pm EST December 8, 2005
FRANKLIN, Ohio -- A 68-year-old woman was hit with a Taser gun by police in an Ohio city five times.
The police officer in the case, a lieutenant with the Franklin Police Department, claimed that he is the victim in the case, Columbus, Ohio, television station WCMH reported.
Beverly Kidwell, 68, was in the waiting room of the police department in suburban Dayton when the incident occurred. According to police, she came into the station to be arrested for hitting her granddaughter.
Kidwell said she waited a long time in the lobby and, when she got up to leave, the officer hit her with the Taser gun.
"I don't know if he thought I was going to get up and leave or what, but he pulled his gun. I thought it was a gun. I'd never seen a Taser gun in my life and I thought, 'Oh my God. He's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me,'" Kidwell said.
The police lieutenant said she was resisting arrest, WCMH reported.
Kidwell said she was in a fetal position and unable to move when the lieutenant ordered her to get up and continued to shock her. The woman survived five jolts and had to be taken to an area hospital."
She better sue the f*ck outta that bastard and the police department and live like a king the rest of her life!
Nicked from dear IrishYankee
{I had to bump this to coincide with the 'non-lethal weapons' story}
FTP: "Bloodshed Casts Doubt on Mubarak Promises
Dec 8, 2:41 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The bloody election violence that marred Egypt's parliamentary vote has called into question the sincerity of President Hosni Mubarak's vow, under U.S. pressure, to open up the country's autocratic political system.
The violence was an apparent effort to blunt the startling gains made by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. If so, it did not work: The banned Brotherhood, the country's main Islamic fundamentalist group, comes out of the vote with at least 88 seats in the new 454-member parliament, up from only 15 before.
At least 10 people died in violence over the three stages of voting that began Nov. 9. The final vote on Wednesday was especially bloody - eight people, including a 14-year-old boy, dead from gunshots.
Washington said the violent conduct by security forces raises concerns over Egypt's "commitment to democracy and freedom," tacitly acknowledging a setback in the Bush administration policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. The comments, issued by the State Department, were a rare and harsh critique of Mubarak, Washington's strongest regional ally."
Washington has a hell of a lotta nerve to question anyone's commitment to freedom and democracy!
Dec 8, 2:41 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The bloody election violence that marred Egypt's parliamentary vote has called into question the sincerity of President Hosni Mubarak's vow, under U.S. pressure, to open up the country's autocratic political system.
The violence was an apparent effort to blunt the startling gains made by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. If so, it did not work: The banned Brotherhood, the country's main Islamic fundamentalist group, comes out of the vote with at least 88 seats in the new 454-member parliament, up from only 15 before.
At least 10 people died in violence over the three stages of voting that began Nov. 9. The final vote on Wednesday was especially bloody - eight people, including a 14-year-old boy, dead from gunshots.
Washington said the violent conduct by security forces raises concerns over Egypt's "commitment to democracy and freedom," tacitly acknowledging a setback in the Bush administration policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. The comments, issued by the State Department, were a rare and harsh critique of Mubarak, Washington's strongest regional ally."
Washington has a hell of a lotta nerve to question anyone's commitment to freedom and democracy!
U.S. Resists New Targets for Curbing Emissions
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: December 8, 2005
MONTREAL, Dec. 7 - The Bush administration, facing fresh criticism on several fronts in climate talks here, maintained its opposition on Wednesday not only to new targets for cutting emissions linked to global warming but also to any informal discussions that might even touch on the subject.
Environmental groups set-up exhibits in the hallway outside the main meeting hall at the climate talks.
In an unusually direct rebuke, Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada singled out the United States at a news conference for not joining international efforts to require curbs on carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience," Mr. Martin said. "And now is the time to listen to it."
Separately, representatives from the Eskimo native culture of the Arctic, which for 5,000 years has used sea ice as a platform for hunting and transportation, announced that they had filed a petition against the United States on Wednesday in the Washington offices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body examining claims of rights abuses in the Americas.
The petition asserts that unabated American emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are threatening Eskimo traditions and presses the United States to curb the gases.
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: December 8, 2005
MONTREAL, Dec. 7 - The Bush administration, facing fresh criticism on several fronts in climate talks here, maintained its opposition on Wednesday not only to new targets for cutting emissions linked to global warming but also to any informal discussions that might even touch on the subject.
Environmental groups set-up exhibits in the hallway outside the main meeting hall at the climate talks.
In an unusually direct rebuke, Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada singled out the United States at a news conference for not joining international efforts to require curbs on carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience," Mr. Martin said. "And now is the time to listen to it."
Separately, representatives from the Eskimo native culture of the Arctic, which for 5,000 years has used sea ice as a platform for hunting and transportation, announced that they had filed a petition against the United States on Wednesday in the Washington offices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body examining claims of rights abuses in the Americas.
The petition asserts that unabated American emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are threatening Eskimo traditions and presses the United States to curb the gases.
FTP: "The US-based NGO Human Rights Watch said that based on flight records and other evidence, it believed Poland and Romania had cooperated with the CIA to set up secret prisons.
Flight records and other evidence points to Poland and Romania as countries that allowed their territory to be used by the the United States' Central Intelligence Agency to hold top al Qaeda suspects captives, a Human Rights Watch director said.
Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of the human rights group, said the evidence, though circumstantial, strongly pointed to Poland and Romania as being among the unidentified eastern European countries referred to in a Washington Post report Wednesday on secret CIA-run prisons.
Malinowski said sources in Afghanistan told the human rights organization that top al Qaeda suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were moved out of Afghanistan in September 2003.
The same month, a Boeing 737, leased by the CIA to transport prisoners, departed from Kabul and made stops at a remote rural airfield at Szynany, near a Polish intelligence facility at the town of Szczytno in northeastern Poland and later at a military airfield in Romania known as Mihail Kogalniceaneu before continuing on to Morocco and then to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said."
Land of the free and the home of the brave, huh?
Thanks, Zaxy
Flight records and other evidence points to Poland and Romania as countries that allowed their territory to be used by the the United States' Central Intelligence Agency to hold top al Qaeda suspects captives, a Human Rights Watch director said.
Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of the human rights group, said the evidence, though circumstantial, strongly pointed to Poland and Romania as being among the unidentified eastern European countries referred to in a Washington Post report Wednesday on secret CIA-run prisons.
Malinowski said sources in Afghanistan told the human rights organization that top al Qaeda suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were moved out of Afghanistan in September 2003.
The same month, a Boeing 737, leased by the CIA to transport prisoners, departed from Kabul and made stops at a remote rural airfield at Szynany, near a Polish intelligence facility at the town of Szczytno in northeastern Poland and later at a military airfield in Romania known as Mihail Kogalniceaneu before continuing on to Morocco and then to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said."
Land of the free and the home of the brave, huh?
Thanks, Zaxy
FTP: Have you heard about that bird flu? The threatened pandemic, should it occur, will kill in a worst-case scenario 150 million people, including 7 million Americans. The resulting mountain of skulls would dwarf those piled up in all the wars of the 20th Century.
To date, only one known drug can ward off death, and that is Tamiflu.
With all of this now widely known, one might expect the Bush administration--having failed to stop the 9/11 hijackers and having just eked through the post-Katrina debacle--to mobilize national resources to ensure that enough Tamiflu was on hand to treat every man, woman and child in the United States.
But it can't. It doesn't own the intellectual property rights to Tamiflu. Those rights are controlled by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG, which is only able to produce limited quantities of the medicine.
So when the pandemic hits, should you or yours be among the millions who drown in their own blood, take comfort in the fact that the sacred rights of private property survived.
...Poor countries have attempted to find ways around drug patents, though at every step of the way they have met fierce resistance from both the pharmaceutical corporations and the Bush administration. Brazil, which was paying 70 percent of the national AIDS budget to buy antiretroviral medicines from three drug companies, had to threaten to violate patent law in order to negotiate a lower price. And India, where companies were breaking international property rights law and manufacturing generic anti-retroviral drugs, shut down such factories as part of its agreement to join the WTO.
...The chairman of Cipla, the Bombay company whose production of generic anti-AIDS drugs was stopped when India joined the WTO, told the New York Times, "Right or wrong, we're going to commercialize and make oseltamivir [generic Tamiflu]." And in Tawain, which is not a member of the WTO, the National Health Research Institute has already begun manufacturing a generic Tamiflu.
"It's lives or patents," Institute president Cheng-en Wun told the New Zealand Herald. "We value intellectual property, but we have chosen life."
When will we?
That's a damn good question.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
To date, only one known drug can ward off death, and that is Tamiflu.
With all of this now widely known, one might expect the Bush administration--having failed to stop the 9/11 hijackers and having just eked through the post-Katrina debacle--to mobilize national resources to ensure that enough Tamiflu was on hand to treat every man, woman and child in the United States.
But it can't. It doesn't own the intellectual property rights to Tamiflu. Those rights are controlled by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG, which is only able to produce limited quantities of the medicine.
So when the pandemic hits, should you or yours be among the millions who drown in their own blood, take comfort in the fact that the sacred rights of private property survived.
...Poor countries have attempted to find ways around drug patents, though at every step of the way they have met fierce resistance from both the pharmaceutical corporations and the Bush administration. Brazil, which was paying 70 percent of the national AIDS budget to buy antiretroviral medicines from three drug companies, had to threaten to violate patent law in order to negotiate a lower price. And India, where companies were breaking international property rights law and manufacturing generic anti-retroviral drugs, shut down such factories as part of its agreement to join the WTO.
...The chairman of Cipla, the Bombay company whose production of generic anti-AIDS drugs was stopped when India joined the WTO, told the New York Times, "Right or wrong, we're going to commercialize and make oseltamivir [generic Tamiflu]." And in Tawain, which is not a member of the WTO, the National Health Research Institute has already begun manufacturing a generic Tamiflu.
"It's lives or patents," Institute president Cheng-en Wun told the New Zealand Herald. "We value intellectual property, but we have chosen life."
When will we?
That's a damn good question.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
The chemical bisphenol A (BPA), widely used in products such as food cans, milk container linings, water pipes and even dental sealants, has now been found to disrupt important effects of estrogen in the developing brain.
A University of Cincinnati (UC) research team, headed by Scott Belcher, PhD, reports in two articles in the December 2005 edition of the journal Endocrinology that BPA shows negative effects in brain tissue "at surprisingly low doses."
...BPA has often been implicated in disease or developmental problems.
Long known to act as an artificial estrogen, the primary hormone involved in female sexual development, BPA has already been shown to increase breast Cancer cell growth, and in the January 2005 edition of the journal Cancer Research, another UC research team reported that it increased the growth of some prostate cancer cells as well. Warnings about other possible long-term health risks associated with fetal exposures to BPA have also been discussed in recent scientific literature.
..."BPA molecules are linked into polymers used to create polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are widely used in many products," said Dr. Belcher, an associate professor in the pharmacology and cell biophysics department at UC College of Medicine. "While plastics are typically thought of as being stable, scientists have known for many years that the chemical linkage between BPA molecules was unstable, and that BPA leaches into food or beverages in contact with the plastics."
In the face of more than 100 studies published in peer-reviewed journals showing the detrimental effects of BPA, Dr. Belcher said, the chemical industry and federal regulatory agencies have resisted banning BPA from plastics used as food and beverage containers, despite the fact that plastics free of BPA and other toxic chemicals are available.
Well, since it messes with men, not merely unimportant children we'll see a change.
There are links to similar frightening stories on this page.
Thanks to dear redway420!
A University of Cincinnati (UC) research team, headed by Scott Belcher, PhD, reports in two articles in the December 2005 edition of the journal Endocrinology that BPA shows negative effects in brain tissue "at surprisingly low doses."
...BPA has often been implicated in disease or developmental problems.
Long known to act as an artificial estrogen, the primary hormone involved in female sexual development, BPA has already been shown to increase breast Cancer cell growth, and in the January 2005 edition of the journal Cancer Research, another UC research team reported that it increased the growth of some prostate cancer cells as well. Warnings about other possible long-term health risks associated with fetal exposures to BPA have also been discussed in recent scientific literature.
..."BPA molecules are linked into polymers used to create polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are widely used in many products," said Dr. Belcher, an associate professor in the pharmacology and cell biophysics department at UC College of Medicine. "While plastics are typically thought of as being stable, scientists have known for many years that the chemical linkage between BPA molecules was unstable, and that BPA leaches into food or beverages in contact with the plastics."
In the face of more than 100 studies published in peer-reviewed journals showing the detrimental effects of BPA, Dr. Belcher said, the chemical industry and federal regulatory agencies have resisted banning BPA from plastics used as food and beverage containers, despite the fact that plastics free of BPA and other toxic chemicals are available.
Well, since it messes with men, not merely unimportant children we'll see a change.
There are links to similar frightening stories on this page.
Thanks to dear redway420!
From the page: "The U.N. has received a significant number of complaints that political dissidents, human rights defenders, practitioners of Falun Gong, members of unofficial church groups and Tibetans and Uighurs have been victims of "a consistent and systematic pattern of torture," the statement said.
Those groups have all been branded as subversive by China's ruling Communist Party and are frequently detained, imprisoned and sent to "re-education" labor camps.
"Re-education through labor and similar measures of forced re-education in prisons, pretrial detention centers and psychiatric hospitals should ... be abolished," Nowak's statement said.
Human rights groups say many people from those groups are tortured to death. Authorities usually tell relatives they died of natural causes or committed suicide.
Nowak urged China to further develop its criminal system to encourage fair trials and ensure that dissidents and other groups are not imprisoned under vaguely worded state security laws.
"Many steps need to be taken to build up a system that respects the rule of law," he said."
[sarcasm]But China's one of our big business partners! Surely President Bush wouldn't deal with torturers![/sarcasm]
Stolen from dear Voyyaghar
Those groups have all been branded as subversive by China's ruling Communist Party and are frequently detained, imprisoned and sent to "re-education" labor camps.
"Re-education through labor and similar measures of forced re-education in prisons, pretrial detention centers and psychiatric hospitals should ... be abolished," Nowak's statement said.
Human rights groups say many people from those groups are tortured to death. Authorities usually tell relatives they died of natural causes or committed suicide.
Nowak urged China to further develop its criminal system to encourage fair trials and ensure that dissidents and other groups are not imprisoned under vaguely worded state security laws.
"Many steps need to be taken to build up a system that respects the rule of law," he said."
[sarcasm]But China's one of our big business partners! Surely President Bush wouldn't deal with torturers![/sarcasm]
Stolen from dear Voyyaghar
From the page: "LITITZ, Pa. - Police seized 54 guns from the home of an 18-year-old man charged with killing his girlfriend's parents and fleeing the state with her, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Warwick Township police removed the collection of rifles, shotguns, handguns and ammunition Sunday from the home where suspect David Ludwig lived with his parents. The search occurred as police were still trying to find him and 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden.
Ludwig was being held without bail on murder and kidnapping charges after being flown back to Pennsylvania on Tuesday from Indiana, where police captured him following a chase."
OMFG.
Kinell! Who needs 54 guns and why??
Is this guy the same species as the rest of us humans?
This is so bad the world needs a punk band called "54 Guns."
Thanks, Silentlucidty
Warwick Township police removed the collection of rifles, shotguns, handguns and ammunition Sunday from the home where suspect David Ludwig lived with his parents. The search occurred as police were still trying to find him and 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden.
Ludwig was being held without bail on murder and kidnapping charges after being flown back to Pennsylvania on Tuesday from Indiana, where police captured him following a chase."
OMFG.
Kinell! Who needs 54 guns and why??
Is this guy the same species as the rest of us humans?
This is so bad the world needs a punk band called "54 Guns."
Thanks, Silentlucidty