Thursday, 25 April 2013
Hyundai Motor profits drop 15%
South Korea's Hyundai Motor reports a 15% drop in first quarter profit, after being hit by industrial action and the strength of the won.
Mixed Volvo earnings reveal wider trend
Swedish truckmaker underlines the fragile state of European industry in reporting its weakest sales in three years at the same time as an unexpected rise in orders
Why are religion and violence now so closely linked? | Andrew Brown
The settled world order is secular, and fanaticism thrives when people feel alienated and threatened for their beliefs
It's a commonplace that wars and religions are closely associated. Since about 1945 there has been an increasing tendency for wars to be fought along religious, as well as ethnic, economic and cultural lines, though I don't think many people realise that the most warlike religion in the modern world, measured by the proportion of countries at war where it has a significant following, is actually Buddhism.
But which comes first? Religion or violence?
I was talking in a panel discussion organised by Sussex University and International Alert at the Royal Commonwealth Society on this matter earlier in the week, and for once a new idea emerged from our exchanges. It has always seemed clear that violence recruits ideology at least as much as ideology incites violence, but why should it be religious ideologies in particular that are recruited?
I have until now supposed that it is precisely their irrational and absolute character that makes them useful in a serious conflict. This point tends to be lost on the reasonable types who suppose that all conflicts can be solved by negotiations. I think that's far too optimistic, and that Conor Cruise O'Brien was right when he distinguished between problems, which have solutions, and conflicts, which only have outcomes. There really are situations in the world when both sides cannot get anything they might reasonably settle for. One or the other must clearly lose.
In those desperate situations, the last person you want on your side is a reasonable friend acting in rational self-interest. At some stage their rational self-interest will demand that they dump you. No, in a real struggle you want friends who are tied to you not by contract, but by covenant: by blind and unconditional loyalty rather than by calculations of advantage.
But is there any necessary link with religion? Could we not just as well have blindly and fanatically loyal atheists, who will sacrifice their own lives almost as readily as they will sacrifice others? History shows that we can. The Red Army in 1945, the communist volunteers in the Spanish civil war, and the Viet Cong and their allies, all fought with exceptional bravery and savagery. In this context there is a lovely anecdote in Claud Cockburn's memoirs about a militia troop in the Spanish civil war that found itself billeted in a church and would not, could not sleep until they had shot off all the heads of the statues and icons that would otherwise have watched them.
Then there were outbursts of atheist terrorism in the 70s – the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany, the Montoneros in Argentina, the Red Brigades in Italy, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. But for the most part, and increasingly, the large-scale movements of fanatical violence in the world have since then been religious.
I'm not saying this to draw up a score card. The question isn't whether "religion" is morally better or worse than atheism. The interesting, and novel, question is whether there is any reason why nihilistic and violent ideologies should sometimes be religious and at other times atheistic.
What makes sense of this pattern is the growing and settled secularism of the dominant culture in the latter part of the 20th century. One of the things that nurtures fanaticism is a distance from the surrounding culture. That's what makes you feel alienated and threatened for your beliefs. In milder form this syndrome produces "cults", turning orthodox Hindus into Hare Krishnas. In pathological forms, it makes dangerous fanatics.
So, rebellion against the dominant culture will increasingly look for ideologies that are alien to it. When Europe was predominantly Christian, these ideologies of opposition were atheist or nationalist. Since 1980, more or less, the settled world order has been secularist and without any explicit religious framework. So if you want to rebel against it, a religious motivation may be needed to help provide the necessary distance.
As I said, this isn't a score card. Human beings are so wonderfully imaginative and creative that we will always find ways to hate and dehumanise one another, irrespective of (a)theologies. But it does seem a helpful way to think about when and why some ways of hatred are more popular and more effective.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
One fizzy drink a day may raise diabetes risk by fifth
Those who drink at least one 330ml can of pop, isotonic energy drink or other sugary soft beverage every day have a 22 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, researchers find.
Bulgarian Bodybuilder Defies Adversity
SOFIA, Bulgaria—Bogomil Yordanov’s muscular build immediately advertises his physical strength. His tenacity of spirit, however, revealed itself gradually as he sat in a club in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, to tell The Epoch Times his story.
Yordanov, 28, is a national bodybuilding champion, in spite of a car accident doctors said would cripple him for life. He is an accomplished lawyer, in spite of little time to study as he worked from a young age when his mother became too sick to support them.
His father abandoned the family before Yordanov was born. He was raised by his mother and her parents.
“My grandfather told me heroic stories from history, and my grandmother read me books and fairy tales,” recalled Yordanov. His voice was soft, and his manner warm and tranquil.
“I wanted to help the good people so they would not suffer, to beat the bad guys, to spread justice, as I believed that the good characters should always be stronger than the evil,” he said.
His love of physical training began with karate as a child. By the age of 15 he had already been training long enough to work as a fitness instructor—a necessity, as that is the year his mother was diagnosed with cancer and became too ill to work.
His grades suffered, and he was unable to go to university. He had a dream of helping others obtain justice, and in particular, of helping the poor, as a lawyer.
“I did not have the opportunity to read enough, but I did not put up with it,” he said. “I had decided on my major and nothing could stop me,” he added seriously.
Yordanov dedicated himself to academic preparation and saving money. He began his studies at a private university in 2004 and later graduated with honors from Cambridge University’s law school. Now he works for the Bulgarian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
“[It’s about] the will to believe and continue to risk, even if nobody else believes in you,” Yordanov said.
While he exercised his mind, he continued to train his body.
He was ready for the national bodybuilding competition in April 2005, when the greatest adversity yet stopped him short.
Only 11 days before the competition, a tire on Yordanov’s car burst when he hit a bump. He lost control, crashed into a light pole, and awoke a day later in the hospital unable to remember what had happened.
He had dislocated hips, internal bleeding, and other injuries. The car was demolished, and the police officers that arrived at the scene were amazed he had survived, Yordanov said.
“You know, you’re already disabled and you will never be able to work out,” a nurse told him. He told her he was determined not only to train again, but also to continue competing as a bodybuilder. Yordanov recalled the nurse’s response: “This guy has brain damage and doesn’t realize what disability is!”
“I look around and see how many people are not happy, how many people are resigned to doing just anything in their lives and have never fought for their dreams,” the young man said earnestly. “[Such people] always say that this is the situation and that nothing else can be done. They blame it on their parents, on the state system, on the place they were born, on inequality in society, on the rich, on the politicians—on the others.”
Through the adversity Yordanov faced, he decided he would not give up, not only for himself, but also because “I wish to somehow inspire people’s faith in their own abilities, to convince them not to listen to anyone but yourself, and to follow their goals and dreams, no matter how hard it is and whatever others say.”
“So I had to continue to follow my path and to show that there are no boundaries,” he said firmly.
He returned to the gym two months after his accident. In 2006, he won the Balkan Bodybuilding Championship in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, in the 85 kg (187-pound) category.
His victory was a milestone in his life. He said with a smile: “Nobody believed in me, but I believed. And when I accomplished it, everyone was speechless. When you succeed, you [gain] even greater strength to believe in yourself and in the future.”
As a chapter in his life closed, Yordanov knew that physical strength could not battle the injustices he truly cared about.
“It turns out that is not like in the books, where good overcomes evil,” Yordanov mused. “In life, it is much more complicated. You can not go out and enforce justice by being like Robin Hood, who takes from the rich and gives to the poor.”
His work for the Department of International Cooperation, part of the Bulgarian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, is very rewarding, said Yordanov. He stopped bodybuilding in 2008, and he hopes his less tangible virtues will stand out above his physique.
Yordanov ended his tale with a moral: “Even if I can get just one person to think, to follow his heart, to be better with others and to be happier, then my whole life and all my difficulties thus far will have not been in vain.”
The post Bulgarian Bodybuilder Defies Adversity appeared first on The Epoch Times.
Yordanov, 28, is a national bodybuilding champion, in spite of a car accident doctors said would cripple him for life. He is an accomplished lawyer, in spite of little time to study as he worked from a young age when his mother became too sick to support them.
His father abandoned the family before Yordanov was born. He was raised by his mother and her parents.
“My grandfather told me heroic stories from history, and my grandmother read me books and fairy tales,” recalled Yordanov. His voice was soft, and his manner warm and tranquil.
“I wanted to help the good people so they would not suffer, to beat the bad guys, to spread justice, as I believed that the good characters should always be stronger than the evil,” he said.
His love of physical training began with karate as a child. By the age of 15 he had already been training long enough to work as a fitness instructor—a necessity, as that is the year his mother was diagnosed with cancer and became too ill to work.
His grades suffered, and he was unable to go to university. He had a dream of helping others obtain justice, and in particular, of helping the poor, as a lawyer.
“I did not have the opportunity to read enough, but I did not put up with it,” he said. “I had decided on my major and nothing could stop me,” he added seriously.
Yordanov dedicated himself to academic preparation and saving money. He began his studies at a private university in 2004 and later graduated with honors from Cambridge University’s law school. Now he works for the Bulgarian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
“[It’s about] the will to believe and continue to risk, even if nobody else believes in you,” Yordanov said.
While he exercised his mind, he continued to train his body.
He was ready for the national bodybuilding competition in April 2005, when the greatest adversity yet stopped him short.
Only 11 days before the competition, a tire on Yordanov’s car burst when he hit a bump. He lost control, crashed into a light pole, and awoke a day later in the hospital unable to remember what had happened.
He had dislocated hips, internal bleeding, and other injuries. The car was demolished, and the police officers that arrived at the scene were amazed he had survived, Yordanov said.
“You know, you’re already disabled and you will never be able to work out,” a nurse told him. He told her he was determined not only to train again, but also to continue competing as a bodybuilder. Yordanov recalled the nurse’s response: “This guy has brain damage and doesn’t realize what disability is!”
“I look around and see how many people are not happy, how many people are resigned to doing just anything in their lives and have never fought for their dreams,” the young man said earnestly. “[Such people] always say that this is the situation and that nothing else can be done. They blame it on their parents, on the state system, on the place they were born, on inequality in society, on the rich, on the politicians—on the others.”
Through the adversity Yordanov faced, he decided he would not give up, not only for himself, but also because “I wish to somehow inspire people’s faith in their own abilities, to convince them not to listen to anyone but yourself, and to follow their goals and dreams, no matter how hard it is and whatever others say.”
“So I had to continue to follow my path and to show that there are no boundaries,” he said firmly.
He returned to the gym two months after his accident. In 2006, he won the Balkan Bodybuilding Championship in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, in the 85 kg (187-pound) category.
His victory was a milestone in his life. He said with a smile: “Nobody believed in me, but I believed. And when I accomplished it, everyone was speechless. When you succeed, you [gain] even greater strength to believe in yourself and in the future.”
As a chapter in his life closed, Yordanov knew that physical strength could not battle the injustices he truly cared about.
“It turns out that is not like in the books, where good overcomes evil,” Yordanov mused. “In life, it is much more complicated. You can not go out and enforce justice by being like Robin Hood, who takes from the rich and gives to the poor.”
His work for the Department of International Cooperation, part of the Bulgarian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, is very rewarding, said Yordanov. He stopped bodybuilding in 2008, and he hopes his less tangible virtues will stand out above his physique.
Yordanov ended his tale with a moral: “Even if I can get just one person to think, to follow his heart, to be better with others and to be happier, then my whole life and all my difficulties thus far will have not been in vain.”
The post Bulgarian Bodybuilder Defies Adversity appeared first on The Epoch Times.
Facebook 'must remove memorial page'
A court in Brazil has backed a mother's plea to have the Facebook profile of her deceased daughter taken offline.
Suisse: La population a augmenté d'un pourcent en 2012
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Suisse: Les produits pour bébés sont sans pesticides
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Chinese official sacked after 'citizen journalists' expose extravagant banquet
Video and pictures of lavish dinner emerge after campaigners gatecrash event hosted by Communist boss in Jiangsu provinceZhang Aihua did what he could to appease the outraged mob that burst into his private party, shocked as they were to witness tables strewn with rare Yangtze river fish and imported wine. He knelt on a table, picked up a loudhailer, and begged for forgiveness.
As the Communist party boss of an industrial zone in Taizhou City, in the south-east of Jiangsu province, Zhang probably knew that this revelation of official profligacy would cost him his job. "I was wrong tonight. Please forgive me. I'll do anything if you let me go," he pleaded, according to state media.
But his pleas went unheeded. When Zhang was fired on Monday, he became the latest victim of president Xi Jinping's frugality and anti-corruption drive – an effort fuelled in no small part by an exasperated public set on exposing the country's extreme wealth gap with mobile phone cameras and microblogs.
"I was outside and saw a lot of people, so rushed up to see what the commotion was," said Jia Hongwei, a web forum administrator in Taizhou who captured the video at the industrial park's "entertainment centre" where Zhang was hosting at least 20 colleagues and investors around three well-stocked tables.
Jia's video shows a rambunctious flow of people cascading through narrow hallways and blowing past a smattering of helpless police officers in white safety helmets. The camera hones in on plates of mostly-eaten fish – poisonous pufferfish, long-tailed anchovy and largehead hairtail, according to onlookers – as well as top-shelf bottles of Chinese rice liquor and Australian Yellowtail wine.
Jia said that locals would often witness a steady flow of luxury cars streaming in and out of the complex, alerting them to the extravagance within. They learned of Zhang's banquet from an unidentified whistleblower. "Every room in the centre had a banquet, and each banquet included abalone and other expensive dishes," Jia said.
Jia stopped recording when he left at about 8pm. Yet three hours later, he was sent a photo of Zhang kneeling on the table, face contorted in distress, a loudhailer in his right hand. He posted both the photo and video online that night, and they quickly gained traction on Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblogging service. Taizhou officials began investigating Zhang over the weekend.
Zhang paid for most of the meal, which cost more than £700, state media cited an unnamed whistleblower as saying – well over the spending limit on official banquets imposed by central authorities last year.
Since Xi launched his anti-corruption drive in November, scores of officials have been sacked for malfeasance, sales of luxury goods have plummeted nationwide and high-end restaurants have reported dismal returns. Yet some analysts say that the drive has simply pushed lavish official banquets and venal gift-giving underground.
Steve Tsang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Nottingham, said that the central government may only tolerate the breed of citizen journalism that took down Zhang as long as it dovetails with the party's priorities. "I think if and when they are seen as crossing a line, and are focused on challenging the party, or party rule, that would be a different matter," he said. "I think the clampdown would be quite tight."
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
As the Communist party boss of an industrial zone in Taizhou City, in the south-east of Jiangsu province, Zhang probably knew that this revelation of official profligacy would cost him his job. "I was wrong tonight. Please forgive me. I'll do anything if you let me go," he pleaded, according to state media.
But his pleas went unheeded. When Zhang was fired on Monday, he became the latest victim of president Xi Jinping's frugality and anti-corruption drive – an effort fuelled in no small part by an exasperated public set on exposing the country's extreme wealth gap with mobile phone cameras and microblogs.
"I was outside and saw a lot of people, so rushed up to see what the commotion was," said Jia Hongwei, a web forum administrator in Taizhou who captured the video at the industrial park's "entertainment centre" where Zhang was hosting at least 20 colleagues and investors around three well-stocked tables.
Jia's video shows a rambunctious flow of people cascading through narrow hallways and blowing past a smattering of helpless police officers in white safety helmets. The camera hones in on plates of mostly-eaten fish – poisonous pufferfish, long-tailed anchovy and largehead hairtail, according to onlookers – as well as top-shelf bottles of Chinese rice liquor and Australian Yellowtail wine.
Jia said that locals would often witness a steady flow of luxury cars streaming in and out of the complex, alerting them to the extravagance within. They learned of Zhang's banquet from an unidentified whistleblower. "Every room in the centre had a banquet, and each banquet included abalone and other expensive dishes," Jia said.
Jia stopped recording when he left at about 8pm. Yet three hours later, he was sent a photo of Zhang kneeling on the table, face contorted in distress, a loudhailer in his right hand. He posted both the photo and video online that night, and they quickly gained traction on Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblogging service. Taizhou officials began investigating Zhang over the weekend.
Zhang paid for most of the meal, which cost more than £700, state media cited an unnamed whistleblower as saying – well over the spending limit on official banquets imposed by central authorities last year.
Since Xi launched his anti-corruption drive in November, scores of officials have been sacked for malfeasance, sales of luxury goods have plummeted nationwide and high-end restaurants have reported dismal returns. Yet some analysts say that the drive has simply pushed lavish official banquets and venal gift-giving underground.
Steve Tsang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Nottingham, said that the central government may only tolerate the breed of citizen journalism that took down Zhang as long as it dovetails with the party's priorities. "I think if and when they are seen as crossing a line, and are focused on challenging the party, or party rule, that would be a different matter," he said. "I think the clampdown would be quite tight."
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Measles: British schools could face outbreaks
British schools could face outbreaks of measles, it is feared, as teenagers remain unvaccinated.
Visitors to US face summer of delays
Travellers to the US can expect long delays at major airports throughout the summer, following cuts to the country's air traffic control budget.
Islândia ordena fim de bloqueio a donativos para WikiLeaks
A Islândia ordenou na quarta-feira ao parceiro local dos gigantes dos cartões bancários Visa e MasterCard que acabe com o bloqueio aos donativos pela internet ao sítio WikiLeaks, suspensos desde 2010..
Revelan que sospechoso se encontraba desarmado durante su captura
WATERTOWN, 24 de abril.- Dos oficiales de Estados Unidos revelaron que el segundo sospechoso del atentado con bombas caseras durante el Maratón de Boston, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, se encontraba desarmado en el momento de la captura.
Las autoridades dijeron originalmente que hubo un intercambio de disparos con el checheno por más de una hora durante la tarde del viernes antes de ser detenido.
Los oficiales, que hablaron en condición de anonimato porque no estaban autorizados para difundir detalles de la investigación, dijeron que las autoridades sólo recuperaron el jueves un arma 9 milímetros que se creía pertenecía a Tamerlan Tsarnaev, el primer sospechoso muerto durante el tiroteo con los policías en el que se cree resultó herido su hermano menor Dzhokhar.
Los oficiales confirmaron que no hallaron ninguna arma en el bote en el que se escondía el sospechoso. El comisionado de la policía de Boston, Ed Davis, dijo horas antes que se realizaron disparos desde el interior del bote, contradiciendo la versión más reciente de los oficiales anónimos.
gak
Las autoridades dijeron originalmente que hubo un intercambio de disparos con el checheno por más de una hora durante la tarde del viernes antes de ser detenido.
Los oficiales, que hablaron en condición de anonimato porque no estaban autorizados para difundir detalles de la investigación, dijeron que las autoridades sólo recuperaron el jueves un arma 9 milímetros que se creía pertenecía a Tamerlan Tsarnaev, el primer sospechoso muerto durante el tiroteo con los policías en el que se cree resultó herido su hermano menor Dzhokhar.
Los oficiales confirmaron que no hallaron ninguna arma en el bote en el que se escondía el sospechoso. El comisionado de la policía de Boston, Ed Davis, dijo horas antes que se realizaron disparos desde el interior del bote, contradiciendo la versión más reciente de los oficiales anónimos.
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Swiss announce plan to limit EU immigration
The Swiss government has announced plans to limit immigration from EU countries in Western Europe. Switzerland says there is growing unease about a rising number of foreigners. The EU has criticized the decision.
Google's $1 fiber deal will cost Provo, Utah $1.7m
$500,000 just to locate all the cableGoogle's sweetheart deal to take over the city of Provo, Utah's loss-making fiber network will come with hidden costs, the city's mayor has revealed.…
New Caledonia bans shark fishing
Noumea, New Caledonia (AFP) April 24, 2013
The government of the Pacific paradise of New Caledonia said Wednesday it had decided to ban fishing of sharks, which are being decimated to feed growing demand for luxury goods.
"New Caledonia took the decision to ban the fishing, capture, detention or commercialisation of all species of sharks" in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - an area roughly the size of South Africa, authorities in
The government of the Pacific paradise of New Caledonia said Wednesday it had decided to ban fishing of sharks, which are being decimated to feed growing demand for luxury goods.
"New Caledonia took the decision to ban the fishing, capture, detention or commercialisation of all species of sharks" in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - an area roughly the size of South Africa, authorities in
Argentine farming disarray seen to affect output
Buenos Aires (UPI) Apr 24, 2013
Argentine government policies are affecting agricultural output and are blamed for creating imbalances in the sector, independent data indicated.
Farmers said they expect to plant more wheat this season in response to a government policy review but the wheat harvest is likely to be less than previously envisaged, figures suggest.
A government policy review on Argentine exports of
Argentine government policies are affecting agricultural output and are blamed for creating imbalances in the sector, independent data indicated.
Farmers said they expect to plant more wheat this season in response to a government policy review but the wheat harvest is likely to be less than previously envisaged, figures suggest.
A government policy review on Argentine exports of
H7N9 flu 'one of most lethal' says WHO as spreads to Taiwan
Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2013
International experts probing China's deadly H7N9 bird flu virus said Wednesday it was "one of the most lethal influenza viruses" seen so far as Taiwan reported the first case outside the mainland.
China has confirmed 108 cases and 22 deaths since the first infections were announced on March 31 and Taiwan Wednesday confirmed its first infection in a man who had recently returned from working
International experts probing China's deadly H7N9 bird flu virus said Wednesday it was "one of the most lethal influenza viruses" seen so far as Taiwan reported the first case outside the mainland.
China has confirmed 108 cases and 22 deaths since the first infections were announced on March 31 and Taiwan Wednesday confirmed its first infection in a man who had recently returned from working
New Bird Flu Strain Spreads Outside of China
A man in Taiwan has contracted the H7N9 virus, and officials in the region are taking precautions to prevent spread to their countries.
3 hurt as 7 massive blasts rock Mobile, Alabama shipyard
The first blast occurred on a natural gas barge on the east side of the Mobile River at around 8:30pm local time, and was followed shortly afterwards by four more blasts. Fox10 News has reported that the barges may still be carrying hundreds of gallons of gasoline.
The explosions took place on two barges in the Austal shipyard, the Mobile Fire and Rescue Department reported. The vessels were transporting natural gas, and were believed to be partially emptied, according to Steve Huffman, a Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesperson.
Photo from @lagniappemobile Chief Photographer Dan Anderson: #mobileexplosion twitter.com/LagniappeMobil…Authorities have ordered a one-mile evacuation zone around the shipyard.
— Lagniappe (@LagniappeMobile) April 25, 2013
The initial blast was triggered by a static charge after crews had been working throughout the day to empty the ship and prepare it to transport gas Thursday. Subsequent explosions have made it impossible for firefighters to board the ship and put out the blaze.
Officials said that there were no fatalities, but three victims of the explosion were in critical condition after being admitted to the University of South Alabama Medical Center for treatment.
MFRD will have crews on the scene all night monitoring the fire on the 2 barges. A total of 6 explosions have occurred. 3 people injured.The fifth explosion was reportedly the largest, coming an hour later, just moments after fire officials told reporters that a rumbling in the area was the sound of untreated gas pressurizing. The sixth explosion, about forty minutes after that, was first reported by witnesses and then confirmed by Mobile’s Fire and Rescue Department.
— Mobile Fire-Rescue(@MobileFRD) April 25, 2013
Local residents have reported hearing a seventh explosion around 2:00am local time in Mobile, according to Alabama Press-Register.
“That [seventh] explosion shook all my windows,” Mobile resident Johnny Gwin told local media.
Just heard another explosion. Listening to the scanner. They immediately started doing a roll call. Sounds bad down there #bargeexplosionAlan Waugh, the general manager of Ft. Conde Inn, told Fox10 News that the blast could be felt throughout downtown Mobile. The crew of a Carnival cruise liner, which was sitting in the water about 1,000 feet away from the blast site, has been evacuated, Channel 6 News reported. Parts of Austral, Alabama, have also been evacuated.Mobile’s Fire and Rescue Department said the tankers were carrying “raw gasoline, meaning no additives in the fuel,” and that tunnels in the area are still open and operating.
— RobertOgden (@RobertOgden) April 25, 2013
“We were up on a second floor balcony and the sky lit up in orange and yellow,” Waugh said. “My partner was on one end of the balcony and I was on the other. And you thought it was the Carnival cruise ship at first but then you realized it was a little further from the ship. It sounded like planes above you dropping bombs.”
The Coast Guard has closed the channel, and issued an order to restrict flights near the site. Red Cross volunteers are providing canteen services to hundreds of first responders and evacuees of the Mobile barge explosions.
My entire house is shaking with each explosion. #BargeExplosionRescue teams estimated that one of the ships could be carrying as much as 2,000 gallons of natural gas.
— Louisiana Belle (@LouisianaBelle_) April 25, 2013
The Coast Guard has closed the channel, and issued an order to restrict flights near the site. Red Cross volunteers are providing canteen services to hundreds of first responders and evacuees of the Mobile barge explosions.
Mobile Civic Center is packed with evacuees from #bargeexplosion - mainly #CarnivalTriumph crews, estimated at 800 twitter.com/SalArmyCoastAL…Local residents have gathered at the riverfront to take pictures and watch the flaming barge, despite warnings from officials to stay away from the fire, according to the Alabama Press-Register.
— Salvation Army AL (@SalArmyCoastAL) April 25, 2013
Another attempt to ban the far-right NPD
The second house of the German parliament wants to ban the NPD, but it's not supported by the government. The first house, the Bundestag, is due to debate the issue, but it's not likely to back a ban.
Bolivia sues Chile over access to Pacific
Bolivia has sued its neighbor Chile for access to the sea, pressing a long-standing claim to land that it lost after a 19th century war. The land-locked country has filed a suit in The Hague for the return of territory.
Le virus H7N9 plus facilement transmissible des oiseaux aux humains
La nouvelle souche du virus de la grippe aviaire H7N9, qui a émergé en Chine, est l'une des «plus létales» jamais détectées.
Venezuela's parliament launches probe into Capriles
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government-controlled parliament set up an inquiry on Wednesday into violence over a disputed election that authorities blame on opposition leader Henrique Capriles
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Baby Sold on Facebook in India for $15,000
Baby sold on Facebook: A kidnapped baby in India was sold via Facebook and was found in New Delhi, according to reports this week.Feroz Khan, 47, is accused of kidnapping his grandson after it was born in the city of Ludhiana, according to AFP. He told his daughter that the infant was stillborn.
He reportedly sold the child to a nurse for $830, who later sold him for around $5,500 to a lab assistant. The boy was then sold for nearly $15,000 to a businessman in New Delhi, reported the Hindu Business Live.
NDTV reported that the baby was sold on Facebook by the hospital staff members.
The child was eventually located by police based on the mother’s complaint, police told the broadcaster.
“So he thought he should get rid off the child of her daughter from her first husband by selling him off,” Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said in elaborating on the case.
The grandfather and the others who sold the baby were arrested. Police are now searching for the businessman.
“All three people who conspired to sell the child have been arrested and we will be interrogating the businessman who paid the money to buy the baby,” Satish Malhotra, an officer in Ludhiana, told AFP.
Police have rescued the child and returned it to his mother, Noori Khan.
Indian police in 2011 admitted that there were more than 850 criminal gangs who specialize in kidnapping children for begging and prostitution. Such kidnappings were made famous in the Danny Boyle film “Slumdog Millionaire,” where the main character and his love interest are forced to beg for the leader of a gang.
The post Baby Sold on Facebook in India for $15,000 appeared first on The Epoch Times.
He reportedly sold the child to a nurse for $830, who later sold him for around $5,500 to a lab assistant. The boy was then sold for nearly $15,000 to a businessman in New Delhi, reported the Hindu Business Live.
NDTV reported that the baby was sold on Facebook by the hospital staff members.
The child was eventually located by police based on the mother’s complaint, police told the broadcaster.
“So he thought he should get rid off the child of her daughter from her first husband by selling him off,” Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said in elaborating on the case.
The grandfather and the others who sold the baby were arrested. Police are now searching for the businessman.
“All three people who conspired to sell the child have been arrested and we will be interrogating the businessman who paid the money to buy the baby,” Satish Malhotra, an officer in Ludhiana, told AFP.
Police have rescued the child and returned it to his mother, Noori Khan.
Indian police in 2011 admitted that there were more than 850 criminal gangs who specialize in kidnapping children for begging and prostitution. Such kidnappings were made famous in the Danny Boyle film “Slumdog Millionaire,” where the main character and his love interest are forced to beg for the leader of a gang.
The post Baby Sold on Facebook in India for $15,000 appeared first on The Epoch Times.
DealBook: Credit Suisse Posts Higher Profit
The bank reported first-quarter earnings of $1.4 billion, a large increase from the period a year earlier when it booked large charges on its own debt
Top German court wants database amendments
Germany's top court has told lawmakers to amend unconstitutional elements of an anti-terror database listing 17,000 individuals, but declared it permissible. The list created in 2007 mainly focuses on Islamist suspects.
Police 'amnesia' over Milly hacking
Senior Surrey police officers had "collective amnesia" over why claims Milly Dowler's phone was hacked were not investigated, a watchdog says.
Alfredo Jalife-Rahme: Bajo la Lupa
En su polémico libro Sobre China, Heinz Alfred ( Henry) Kissinger consagra su epílogo (“¿Se volverá a repetir la historia?”) al célebre Memorándum Crowe–inevitabilidad de la Guerra entre Gran Bretaña y Alemania–para sopesar los alcances de la confrontación entre Estados Unidos y China.
Ligan a yerno del rey de España con negocios en México
De acuerdo con el abogado de Diego Torres, ex socio de Iñaki Urdangarin, el esposo de la infanta Cristina veía como puerta de entrada para hacer negocios en México al expresidente Calderón con quien la Casa Real tiene muy buenas relaciones
Eligen control natal tras abortar
De las 98 mil 780 mujeres que han abortado en el DF en los últimos 6 años, 88 mil 902 han usado un método anticonceptivo tras interrumpir el embarazo.
Your phone may not be spying on you now - BUT it soon will be
Smash it with a hammer now, it's the only way to be sureInfosec 2013 Tibetan political campaigners targeted by mysterious smartphone-spying software. Eastern European governments' mobiles allegedly snooped on by state-sponsored hackers. Malware feared injected into gadgets during customs inspections.…
Most expensive airport transfers revealed
Thrifty travellers would do well to avoid taxis from Tokyo's Narita Airport, new research suggests
Flota china expulsa buques japoneses
Pekín. Buques de vigilancia marítima de China expulsaron ayer ocho embarcaciones pesqueras japonesas de aguas cercanas a las islas Diaoyu, informó la Administración Estatal de Oceanografía (AEO). La isla Diaoyu y sus islotes han sido parte inherente del territorio chino desde la antigüedad, pero las tensiones aumentaron entre China y Japón después de que Tokio dispuso “nacionalizar” la isla a la que llama Senkaku y algunos de sus islotes el año pasado. La nacionalización se realizó después de que el gobierno japonés compró tres de las cinco islas del archipiélago a un particular japonés. Poco antes, unos 170 parlamentarios japoneses visitaron el santuario shintoísta de Yasuhuni, que honra a 2 millones y medio de soldados caídos en combate y es visto por China y las dos Coreas como símbolo del pasado militarista japonés
Aprueban venta de playas a extranjeros
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 24 de abril.- Con la oposición de algunos diputados del PRD y de las bancadas de Movimiento Ciudadano y Partido del Trabajo, el pleno aprobó ayer la reforma impulsada por PRI y PRD para que los extranjeros puedan adquirir tierras cuando éstas sean exclusivamente para uso de vivienda sin fines comerciales, en una faja de cien kilómetros a lo largo de las fronteras y de 50 en las playas.
Para revirar a los señalamientos de los legisladores de izquierda radical que consideraron el cambio como una aberración, el panismo alegó en voz de Ricardo Villarreal García que en el país hay más de 50 mil fideicomisos con los cuales los extranjeros poseen bienes en los litorales.
“Tenemos que legislar por el bien de los mexicanos. No podemos seguir legislando solamente por el bien de unos cuantos abogados, gestores y de los bancos que generan estos fideicomisos”, planteó el diputado blanquiazul.
Presentada hace un mes, con la firma del coordinador de los priistas, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, entre los diputados proponentes, la reforma al artículo 27 constitucional fue aprobada por 356 votos a favor, 119 en contra y dos abstenciones.
La minuta enviada al Senado para continuar con el proceso legislativo prevé que las adquisiciones de los extranjeros deberán convenirse ante la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE).
En la exposición de motivos se afirma que en la actualidad la suscripción de tratados internacionales y la pertenencia de México a organismos como del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, dan al país las garantías de que la inversión extranjera en las zonas referidas no representará un riesgo para la soberanía nacional.
Para documentar la importancia del cambio, en el dictamen se detalla que de 2000 a 2012 fueron autorizados 48 mil 559 permisos para constituir fideicomisos en zona restringida.
El presidente de la Comisión de Puntos Constitucionales, diputado perredista Julio César Moreno Rivera, expuso que era necesario actualizar a la realidad social el texto de la Constitución, porque han sido superadas las circunstancias históricas que llevaron a limitar que los extranjeros adquieran tierras y aguas en las fronteras y playas.
Aclaró, sin embargo, que habría cuatro condicionamientos: “1) Que el uso de las tierras sea destinado para vivienda única y exclusivamente; 2) Que no tenga un uso comercial, industrial, agrícola o cualquier otro que implique explotación económica directa o indirecta, que derive en un uso distinto a la vivienda o casa habitación; 3) El extranjero deberá convenir con la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, en los términos de la fracción I, del párrafo noveno, del artículo 27 constitucional, y 4) En caso de que las tierras sean destinadas a un uso distinto a la vivienda, la ley establecerá los procedimientos para que el extranjero pierda los bienes adquiridos en beneficio de la nación”
"Terrorist" axe, knife and arson attack kills 21 in China's Xinjiang
BEIJING (Reuters) - A confrontation involving axes, knives, at least one gun and ending with the burning down of a house left 21 people dead in China's troubled far-west region of Xinjiang, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday, calling it a "terrorist attack"
‘US miscalculated just how much North Korea would react to war games’
Corbett is certain that right now all the parties are more inclined to negotiations.
RT: The so-called nuclear club is an exclusive group. There are only seven nations in it. Will North Korea be allowed to join it?
James Corbett: The question is whether or not anyone has the right to say if they are allowed to be the part of this exclusive club. But I think what we have to understand right now is that North Korea is calling out these other nations on the nuclear hypocrisy that’s been hard-wired into international relations for a long time now. If you look at the actual statement that was made, they said for example that their position is clear, that one shouldn’t dream of de-nuclearization on the Korean peninsular before de-nuclearization of the world is realized.
RT: China says in no way will it accept a nuclear armed Pyongyang. Is that authentic, do you think?
JC: I think what China is doing is trying to defuse the situation that could spill over into military conflict that would obviously be disastrous for China’s policies in the region. In the event the North Korean government is toppled there will be an incredible influx of refugees to China. China has its own stake in the game. But I think it really has to be seen as a poke in the eye at the community that assembled in Seoul last year at the Nuclear Security Summit to talk about de-nuclearization of the world but that was of course specifically directed to countries like North Korea and Iran, which were invited to the summit.
RT: The U.S. has cancelled war games, missile tests all to cool tension. It doesn't seem to have worked so what's next?
JC: I think it’s important to put that in the context of the fact that those war games were taking place in accordance with a plan that was developed by the Obama administration. It was reported on by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month called the Playbook, which was specifically designed to provoke North Korea in the latest Korean war games simulations, which happen every year. These war games taking place with B52 and B2 nuclear capable bombers dropping ammunition on the Korean peninsular and F22 advanced fighter-jets – it was specifically part of the provocation to get North Korea to react and perhaps they miscalculated just how much North Korea would react. In any way right now what we have is Guam seeing more missile defense, Japan seeing more missile defense, contractors throughout the region receiving more money. North Korea is getting at least overtures from the US and South Korea that they will play more on the negotiating table and China has so far managed to maintain North Korea stopping it from tattling. Everyone got what they wanted out of this latest ploy. So I think from here we could see at least some sort of attempt at some sort of talks, but how fruitful they will be is another matter entirely.
RT: China is warning a fourth nuclear bomb test in North Korea may be imminent. What's the North trying to prove at this point?
JC: Those promises aren’t worth the paper. We’ve heard this rhetoric before. So far nothing is materialized so I don’t think we should believe it until we see it. It should be seen as part of the game that’s been played and it has succeeded so far in getting the US and South Korea to at least contemplate talks.
FBI investigating armed attack at Tennessee nuclear plant
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the reigns of the probe, but so far authorities say they have yet to identify the mysterious man who fired at least two shots at a security guard early Sunday morning next to a facility on the property of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar nuclear power plant, about 60 miles southwest of Knoxville.
The FBI is being joined in the investigation by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
According to investigators, a Tennessee Valley Authority security officer was routinely patrolling the nuclear plant at around 2 a.m. Sunday when he located a suspicious person in a restricted area, only a few hundred yards from the protected area that houses the nuclear reactor and power production facilities.
“They spoke for a few seconds. The officer didn't believe there was any danger," TVA spokesman Jim Hopson tells reporters.
In a manner of only seconds, though, things quickly changed. The suspect successfully fled the scene seconds later, says Hopson, but not before exchanging gunfire with the security guard.
Hopson says that amid the confrontation, the suspect pulled a handgun and fired at least two shots at the officer and then fled in a nearby flat-bottomed boat docked at a concrete ramp on the shore of the Tennessee River.
“The individual fired on the officer, striking the officer’s vehicle,” Hopson says. “The officer returned fire, and as the officer was calling for backup, the individual fled the scene.”
The security guard was not harmed in the incident, and authorities believe the suspect got away without being hit as well. More than 48 hours later, though, investigators are still not sure what to make of the event.
"To protect the health and safety of the general public, is to ensure those who may want to interfere with our safety system or the reactor itself, don't have that opportunity," Hopson says. “But anytime you have shots taken at a security officer at a nuclear plant, that’s a big issue.”
In the immediate aftermath, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission put the Watts Bar facility on “unusual event” alert, the lowest of the agencies four emergency classifications, but removed that warning after a search of the property later in the afternoon.
Enrico Letta expected to become youngest Italian prime minister in 25 years
Enrico Letta, a 46-year-old career politician, looks likely to become the youngest Italian prime minister in a generation, bringing an end to a two-month deadlock on forming a government.
UK to claim over 2,900kg of foreign waste plutonium
Britain is home to more spent civilian plutonium than any other country in the world. The Office for Nuclear Regulation said that as of December 2011 Britain was storing 118.2 tons of plutonium, of which 27.9 tons is owned by foreign entities.
Now London wants to recycle some of the stored substance into mixed oxide fuel (MOX), to be used for a new generation of nuclear power stations, which are currently under discussion.
Tuesday, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced the UK will take control of 1,850 kg of plutonium which was previously earmarked to repay France. In a series of complex swaps, Sellafield will assume control of 750 kg of German-owned plutonium and 350 kg of Dutch owned material.
The deal has been approved by Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the DECC insists that the change of ownership does not mean more nuclear fuel will be stored in the country.
“There are advantages to having national control over more of the civil plutonium in the UK as this gives us greater influence over how we ultimately manage it,” Michael Fallon, Britain’s minister of state for energy, said in statement.
The DECC declined to say to what extent the ownership transfers benefited British taxpayers.
The UK government currently spends 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) a year on managing its growing plutonium mountain. These expenses are not expected to be alleviated soon. None of the new nuclear power stations are due to become operational until the 2020’s, and it is still unclear how many of them are going to be built. Even the MOX plant constructed by the French is not expected to be finished by 2015.
Plutonium is a radioactive by-product found in spent nuclear fuel when it is removed from a nuclear reactor. It can be recycled, although the process is expensive and technologically difficult It is used to make MOX fuel, which is an alternative to low-enriched uranium and usually comes as a blend of plutonium and uranium.
Some of the plutonium stored in Britain comes from the country’s own nuclear weapons program of the 1950’s and 1960’s and was created by the UK’s first generation of nuclear reactors – the Magnox reactor.
Magnox reactors ended up producing far more plutonium than the UK needed, partly because they were operated for longer than envisaged and partly because during the miners’ strike of 1972 and 1974 and the three day week of 1973 they were run at full tilt just to keep the lights on.
ExxonMobil claims in dispute as spill reaches Arkansas lake
The new findings, provided to the media by Opflex Solutions, shows that the bitumen heavy crude oil (or tar sands) has now contaminated the lake, a revelation which directly contradicts ExxonMobil’s most recent cleanup update, which categorically denied that any oil had reached the body of water.
According to Opflex CEO Scott Smith, there is only one way to interpret the results.
"Yes, there's oil in Lake Conway and there's oil downstream flowing into the Arkansas River," said Smith.
"I have found methylene chloride and barium in concentrations indicative of tar sands oil," he added.
Residents interviewed by KATV described corroborating details, such as ducks emerging from the lake with oil tainted feet. As RT America also reported, other residents in the area witnessed unexplained behavior by ExxonMobil’s cleanup crew, such as night-time boat operations which seemed to be netting dead fish.
According to local KATV, which initially shed light on the conflicting information, Opflex believes there is a “discrepancy” in ExxonMobil’s method of water testing, which evidently tests surface soil and samples at the bottom of the lake, while Opflex has focused on the water in between the two.
According to ExxonMobil’s April 19 report on cleanup operations, the company does not acknowledge any contamination at Lake Conway, and likewise into the Arkansas River.
"Water sampling confirms that the main body of Lake Conway and Palarm Creek remain oil-free. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and ExxonMobil are continuing to monitor water samples,"
a statement from the oil giant read.
Meanwhile, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who also spoke to KATV, expressed no doubt that oil had made its way into the lake.
"Of course there's oil in Lake Conway. I don't understand where this distinction is coming from, from the cove and Lake Conway. The cove is part of Lake Conway…The water is all part of one body of water,” stated McDaniel.
Earlier this month, McDaniel had announced that the damage to the Pegasus pipeline -- which had sustained a 22-foot-long and 2-inchwide gash and flooded the residential community with thousands of gallons of tar sands -- was “substantially larger” than initially thought. Mid-April estimates of cleanup results per ExxonMobil filings revealed “28,200 barrels of oily water and about 2,000 cubic yards of oiled soil and debris” had been identified.
A subpoena submitted by the Arkansas Attorney’s office resulted in 12,500 pages worth of documents delivered by ExxonMobil, though what exact information these documents held remained unclear.
Cosmetic Fillers ‘a Crisis Waiting to Happen’
Injections of dermal fillers to enhance lips, and to smooth out wrinkles and acne scars are a “crisis waiting to happen” according to a new report on cosmetic procedures in England.
The report, commissioned by the government in the wake of the PIP scandal, called for a crackdown on the industry.
The report highlighted the lack of regulation around the increasingly popular non-surgical cosmetic techniques which it says have been increasingly trivialized by reality television.
“Having a non-surgical cosmetic intervention has no more protection and redress than someone buying a ballpoint pen or a toothbrush,” said Professor Sir Bruce Keogh in the foreword to the report.
“Cosmetic interventions are a booming business in the UK, worth £2.3 billion in 2010, and estimated to rise to £3.6 billion by 2015. They can either be surgical—such as face-lifts, tummy tucks and breast implants— or non-surgical—typically dermal fillers, Botox, or the use of laser or intense pulsed light (IPL). The latter methods account for nine out of ten procedures and 75 percent of the market value.”
The report was commissioned by the government following the health scare over breast implants manufactured by the French firm PIP. In 2010 PIP products were banned after it was revealed they were filled with low-grade silicon which was more prone to rupturing.
The recommendations were welcomed by the department of health and by the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS).
Health Minister for England Daniel Poulter said in a statement: “While there are some responsible clinics which do take proper care of their patients, Sir Bruce Keogh’s review makes clear that there is a significant risk of people falling into the hands of cowboy firms or individuals whose only aim is to make a quick profit. These people simply don’t care about the welfare of the people they are taking money from.”
Tim Goodacre, BAPRAS Chair of Professional Standards, said in a statement: “The range of cosmetic interventions that are available has increased exponentially over the last few years and, as rightly identified by the review process, the current regulatory framework is not protecting individuals, particularly vulnerable groups, from bad and often inappropriate practice.”
The report highlighted the shift in attitude towards cosmetic procedures, saying that they have become ‘trivialised.’
“Cosmetic interventions have been normalised. Previously undertaken discreetly, now people will admit to having had procedures and even celebrate them,” the report says.
The authors of the report say that the notion of physical perfection has grown in the national pysche, with young girls in particular becoming increasingly image conscious and vulnerable to the impacts of marketing and the normalising influence of television shows that feature cosmetic procedures.
The review called for tighter controls over “highly misleading” advertising and marketing practices
“Of particular concern are TV reality drama shows in which its young stars glamorise cosmetic procedures. It is not always made clear that these celebrities have contracts with particular providers,” states the report.
The report’s recommendations included classifying fillers as prescription only, formal qualifications for those who inject fillers or Botox, a register of those performing cosmetic procedures, compulsory insurance, and a ban on special offers (such as buy one get one free) for surgery.
The post Cosmetic Fillers ‘a Crisis Waiting to Happen’ appeared first on The Epoch Times.
New bird flu strain 'one of most lethal' flu viruses
A new type of bird flu that has killed 22 people in China since March is one of the most deadly strains of influenza known, international health experts said.
Israel never stopped pirating in Palestinian waters
Despite pledges of restraint, the Israeli navy’s attacks have continued since the November 2012 ceasefire between Israeli authorities and the Palestinian resistance. The Mezan Centre for Human Rights noted on March 24, 2013, that “Since the ceasefire agreement, Israeli occupying forces have carried out 44 attacks against fishermen in Gaza’s waters, injuring four fishermen. Israeli forces arrested 44 fishermen, confiscated nine boats, and damaged fishing equipment on five separate occasions.”
The 2010 Israeli navy brutality against the Freedom Flotilla, in which Israeli commandos shot dead nine unarmed internationals (many of them point blank) and wounded more than 50 made headlines briefly, then faded. But the preceding attacks on solidarity boats, and those that followed, were at best scarcely covered in the media.
Likewise, the near-daily attacks on Palestinian fishers, although well documented by Palestinian and international human rights organizations and observers, get virtually no coverage. Israel’s gunboats in Gaza's waters routinely machine-gun, shell, and water-cannon Palestinian fishers, in addition to seizing their boats.
Before abducting Palestinian fishers, the Israeli navy orders them at gunpoint to strip to their underwear, dive into freezing waters and often to swim or tread water for up to a half hour or more, after which they are then hauled aboard the Israeli gunboat, handcuffed and blindfolded (usually still only in their underwear) and abducted to Israel.
Many fishers report that their interrogations center on information gathering: The Israeli interrogators ask questions about fishers' salaries, who their neighbors are, and attempt to coerce the fishers to work as collaborators with Israel. Their abductions and interrogations thus have nothing to do with the routine Israeli explanation of “self-defense.”
In their 2002 report, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) notes that in addition to the attacks on Palestinian fishers, the Israeli navy damages their fishing equipment and sinks their boats.
Israel further imposes fines on Palestinian fishers, who must pay for the storage of their stolen boats in Israel, and the return of their boats, often destroyed or badly damaged, and almost always stripped of equipment.
It's Old News
The history of Israeli attacks and unilateral restrictions on Palestinian fishers goes back as far as the mid-1990s, just after the signing of the Oslo “Peace” Accords. Under the 1994 Interim Agreement signed by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, Palestinian fishing waters extend 20 nautical miles from Gaza's coast.
The PCHR notes that in March 1996, “Israeli occupying forces imposed a marine siege on the Gaza Strip. When they eased the siege on March 22, 2002, they decreased the area where fishing is allowed to 12 nautical miles, preventing fishermen from moving further, which had an adverse effect on their production and income.”
In late 2008, before waging 23 days of bombing attacks on the Gaza Strip and killing 1,455 Palestinians, Israeli authorities again illegally downsized the fishing area to 3 miles, meaning that Palestinian fishers are banned from accessing roughly 85 percent of their fishing waters.
After waging eight days of war on Gaza in November 2012, killing over 170 Palestinians, Israeli authorities benevolently extended their unilaterally imposed limits to 6 miles. In March 2013, they once again reduced the area to three miles. But many fishers have testified that the Israeli navy attacks them even when they’re just one or two miles off of Gaza's coast.
Palestinian fishers say that the difference between a 3- or 6-mile limit is negligible. The UN points out that “the majority of high value fish are found beyond 12 NM [nautical miles] from shore, where the sea bed descends and becomes rocky,” and, without offering any means to ensure it be implemented, suggests that “an expansion of the accessible area to 12 NM would allow fishermen to further increase their catch, exploit high value bottom-fish, and enjoy higher economic returns.”
Who Will Police the Israeli Pirates?
Israeli authorities routinely claim their occupying army's actions are in “self-defence,” including their piracy and lethal attacks on Palestinian fishers. But these, along with the collectively punitive 3-mile limit, are aspects of Israel's strategy of decimating Gaza's fishing tradition, means of existence, and economy, and are part of Israel's overall scheme to render as many Palestinians as possible impoverished and without hope.
According to a United Nations report, from the start of 2009 until the report's publication in November 2011, “four fishermen have been killed and 17 others have been injured by Israeli gunfire.” The number of fishers killed in the last decade is not clear, but reports from human rights organizations and local news put the total at over 10 fishers. The number of injured and abducted fishers runs in the hundreds.
Israel continues to hold 36 Palestinian fishing boats pirated from Palestinian waters, some from 2008. Without their boats, 144 fishers are out of work. The vast majority of fishers are already some of Gaza's poorest. Their boats and equipment stolen or destroyed, fishers fall further into manufactured poverty.
The Israeli siege, imposed shortly after Hamas' 2006 democratic election, has done what the Israeli closures since the ‘90s began: Destroyed the Strip's economy, causing the manufactured poverty that prevails today, and left 80 percent of the population dependent on food aid.
The siege-engineered wastewater crisis, in which 90 million liters of raw or partially treated sewage are pumped into the sea on a daily basis, adds another level of danger to Gaza's fishing industry. Stock fish living in these toxic waters are the only catch that Palestinian fishers are able to bring in within three miles. In August 2010, the UN noted that “microbiologically contaminated seawater found along the Gaza Strip coast poses a serious health hazard not only to people using beaches for recreation, but also to the entire population, through potentially contaminated seafood.”
In 2007, the UN was warning about over-fishing juvenile stock: “Fishermen have been forced to drop their nets in waters that contain young fish and spawning species meaning that the fish caught are typically small, not to mention the long-term damage that is being done to marine habitats.”
By 2011, the UN noted that “future fishing stocks will be threatened,” if the over-fishing continues, and reported the impact on that year's catches. “Over-fishing in confined spaces causes sardine catch to decrease by 90 percent since 2008... This year’s sardine catch was the lowest recorded in the past 12 years... 2011 will likely also have the lowest records for all fish caught.”
Historically, this would not have been a problem, with fishers going out 10-plus miles to catch the migrating fish, including sardines.
A fishing sector which once provided both employment and affordable nutrition to a sizeable segment of Gaza's 1.7 million Palestinians is now merely a dangerous risk and farce of its former self. The PCHR reported in March 2013 that Gaza’s fishing industry is on “the brink of collapse, bringing the number of working fishermen from approximately 10,000 in 1999 to less than 3,200 today.”
Also in March, PCHR and rights groups Al Mezan and Al Dameer called on the UN to take action over Israel's attacks and restrictions on Gaza's fishers. In a joint letter, the groups urged the UN Security Council to “publically recognize and condemn the punitive measures imposed by the Israeli authorities as a form of collective punishment of the civilians of the Gaza Strip.”
But, as they note in their letter, the UN has previously called for the end of the siege, and stated – in 2012 – that it “amounts to a collective punishment of all those living in Gaza and is a denial of basic human rights in contravention of international law.”
And what has this condemnation actually achieved? When it comes to Israel, no international body will stop it from violating international law, and committing war crimes and collective punishment.
Only in March, nearly three years after Israel slaughtered nine solidarity activists in the Mavi Marmara massacre, did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (following a visit by Obama) issue a lackluster apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, apologizing for “operational mistakes” made during the raid. And although Erdogan voiced public contentment with the scarcely apologetic apology, relatives of the murdered Turks and global supporters of the Flotilla are hardly appeased.
But the apology, thus an admission of guilt, is as far as accountability went: The only inquiry held was an Israeli-led investigation which concluded Israeli commandos were not in the wrong. No international body subjected Israeli authorities to one, nor will any. And of the pre-conditions that Erdogan laid out in order to resume relations with Israel, the Zionist state wriggled out of the most major condition: Lifting its siege on Gaza.
This means that Israel will continue to confine Palestinian fishers to less than three miles, shooting and shelling them at will, and no one will stop them. Gaza's fishers are left to their own, in their very limited fishing waters. It is a sad certainty that the Israeli piracy will continue uninhibited, with the complicity of the media and international bodies.
Solar-powered plane soars over San Francisco
Solar-powered plane completes groundbreaking test-flight over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
UK may withdraw from European rights convention over Abu Qatada
Downing Street confirms prime minister is exploring temporary withdrawal from European convention on human rightsDavid Cameron is examining the possibility of withdrawing on a temporary basis from the European convention on human rights as the government seeks to deport the radical Islamist preacher Abu Qatada, Downing Street has confirmed.
As the home secretary, Theresa May, prepares to make a statement to MPs, the prime minister's spokesman said that the possibility of a temporary withdrawal was discussed by the prime minister and senior ministers on Tuesday.
Asked whether the prime minister would rule out withdrawing from the convention on a temporary basis, the spokesman said: "The prime minister met with the home secretary, the justice secretary and the attorney general yesterday to discuss the case. I am not going to get into specifics on the details of what the government is considering. We are going to explore every option."
The Conservatives have used the Abu Qatada case to raise the possibility of withdrawing from the convention. But they have no support from the Liberal Democrats, which means this would have to be delayed until 2015 at the earliest. The remarks by the No 10 spokesman suggest that a temporary withdrawal, as a response to the Abu Qatada case, is now under active consideration.
May is to detail renewed diplomatic attempts to secure fresh assurances from Jordan that Abu Qatada will not face a trial based on torture-obtained evidence if he is deported from Britain.
The disclosure of new moves will come in her Commons statement to be made in the face of accusations that her legal strategy to deport the key figure in al-Qaida-related terror activity in Britain lies in ruins 12 months after she promised MPs he would soon be on a plane back to Amman.
The renewed row broke after the Judicial Office confirmed that she had suffered a further setback with the court of appeal turning down her attempt to take the Abu Qatada case to the supreme court.
The home secretary is now expected to try the last remaining legal avenue open to her – a direct appeal to the highest court in the land – in her move to overturn last month's appeal court ruling that Abu Qatada could not be sent back to Jordan when there was a real risk he would face a trial based on evidence obtained by torture. A spokesman for the Judicial Office said on Tuesday that the court of appeal had confirmed it had refused permission for the home secretary to appeal to the supreme court. Appeals have to be based on a fresh point of law.
A Home Office spokesman reacted to the decision by saying: "We are disappointed with the court of appeal's decision but will now request permission to appeal directly from the supreme court.
"The government remains committed to deporting this dangerous man and we continue to work with the Jordanians to address the outstanding legal issues preventing deportation."
The home secretary confirmed last week that Abu Qatada, who is being held in Belmarsh prison for breaching bail conditions, could still face prosecution in Britain. "He was arrested for breaching his bail conditions, and obviously consideration is being given in looking at the material that was discovered to see whether that leads to prosecution," May told MPs.
She is rapidly running out of legal options and May is likely to be anxious to reassure MPs that progress is being made on the second, diplomatic, strand of her twin-track strategy. She is expected to give further details to the Commons of the attempts to secure even stronger assurances from the Jordanians that he will face a fair trial on bombing conspiracy charges should he be returned.
The security minister, James Brokenshire, went back to Jordan last month for a further meeting with the prime minister, Abdullah Ensour.
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted that the appeal court decision meant that May's legal strategy had now completely failed 12 months after the home secretary had promised he would soon be on a plane.
"Theresa May failed to appeal against the European court decision last year. It is no good the home secretary blaming the court when she didn't appeal when she had the chance," said Cooper.
"Instead the home secretary went back to square one in the British courts, insisting with great fanfare that her legal strategy would work. But she also failed to get sufficient assurances from Jordan to convince the British courts. What is she going to do now?"
Her anger was echoed on the Tory backbenches. Dominic Raab said Abu Qatada had been running rings around the British criminal justice system. "This case shows we urgently need to overhaul the law on deportation, scrap the Human Rights Act and start standing up for British democracy rather than kowtowing to the European court in Strasbourg," he said.
The three appeal court judges, who unanimously dismissed May's last legal attempt to deport Abu Qatada in March, reminded her in their ruling that "torture is universally abhorred as an evil", and states cannot expel someone where there is a real risk that they will face a trial based on evidence obtained by torture.
The appeal court ruling by the master of the rolls, Lord Dyson, with Lord Justice Richards and Lord Justice Elias, threw out the home secretary's attempt to overturn a ruling last November by the special immigrations appeals commission (Siac) in London blocking Abu Qatada's return to Jordan to stand trial because "there was a real risk he would be subject to a flagrant denial of justice".
The appeal court judges said they recognised, however, that Abu Qatada was "regarded as a very dangerous person" and that the British government considered him to be a danger to national security, adding: "It is entirely understandable that there is a general feeling that his deportation to Jordan to face trial is long overdue."
But the judges said the fact that he was considered a dangerous terrorist was irrelevant to their decision.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
As the home secretary, Theresa May, prepares to make a statement to MPs, the prime minister's spokesman said that the possibility of a temporary withdrawal was discussed by the prime minister and senior ministers on Tuesday.
Asked whether the prime minister would rule out withdrawing from the convention on a temporary basis, the spokesman said: "The prime minister met with the home secretary, the justice secretary and the attorney general yesterday to discuss the case. I am not going to get into specifics on the details of what the government is considering. We are going to explore every option."
The Conservatives have used the Abu Qatada case to raise the possibility of withdrawing from the convention. But they have no support from the Liberal Democrats, which means this would have to be delayed until 2015 at the earliest. The remarks by the No 10 spokesman suggest that a temporary withdrawal, as a response to the Abu Qatada case, is now under active consideration.
May is to detail renewed diplomatic attempts to secure fresh assurances from Jordan that Abu Qatada will not face a trial based on torture-obtained evidence if he is deported from Britain.
The disclosure of new moves will come in her Commons statement to be made in the face of accusations that her legal strategy to deport the key figure in al-Qaida-related terror activity in Britain lies in ruins 12 months after she promised MPs he would soon be on a plane back to Amman.
The renewed row broke after the Judicial Office confirmed that she had suffered a further setback with the court of appeal turning down her attempt to take the Abu Qatada case to the supreme court.
The home secretary is now expected to try the last remaining legal avenue open to her – a direct appeal to the highest court in the land – in her move to overturn last month's appeal court ruling that Abu Qatada could not be sent back to Jordan when there was a real risk he would face a trial based on evidence obtained by torture. A spokesman for the Judicial Office said on Tuesday that the court of appeal had confirmed it had refused permission for the home secretary to appeal to the supreme court. Appeals have to be based on a fresh point of law.
A Home Office spokesman reacted to the decision by saying: "We are disappointed with the court of appeal's decision but will now request permission to appeal directly from the supreme court.
"The government remains committed to deporting this dangerous man and we continue to work with the Jordanians to address the outstanding legal issues preventing deportation."
The home secretary confirmed last week that Abu Qatada, who is being held in Belmarsh prison for breaching bail conditions, could still face prosecution in Britain. "He was arrested for breaching his bail conditions, and obviously consideration is being given in looking at the material that was discovered to see whether that leads to prosecution," May told MPs.
She is rapidly running out of legal options and May is likely to be anxious to reassure MPs that progress is being made on the second, diplomatic, strand of her twin-track strategy. She is expected to give further details to the Commons of the attempts to secure even stronger assurances from the Jordanians that he will face a fair trial on bombing conspiracy charges should he be returned.
The security minister, James Brokenshire, went back to Jordan last month for a further meeting with the prime minister, Abdullah Ensour.
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted that the appeal court decision meant that May's legal strategy had now completely failed 12 months after the home secretary had promised he would soon be on a plane.
"Theresa May failed to appeal against the European court decision last year. It is no good the home secretary blaming the court when she didn't appeal when she had the chance," said Cooper.
"Instead the home secretary went back to square one in the British courts, insisting with great fanfare that her legal strategy would work. But she also failed to get sufficient assurances from Jordan to convince the British courts. What is she going to do now?"
Her anger was echoed on the Tory backbenches. Dominic Raab said Abu Qatada had been running rings around the British criminal justice system. "This case shows we urgently need to overhaul the law on deportation, scrap the Human Rights Act and start standing up for British democracy rather than kowtowing to the European court in Strasbourg," he said.
The three appeal court judges, who unanimously dismissed May's last legal attempt to deport Abu Qatada in March, reminded her in their ruling that "torture is universally abhorred as an evil", and states cannot expel someone where there is a real risk that they will face a trial based on evidence obtained by torture.
The appeal court ruling by the master of the rolls, Lord Dyson, with Lord Justice Richards and Lord Justice Elias, threw out the home secretary's attempt to overturn a ruling last November by the special immigrations appeals commission (Siac) in London blocking Abu Qatada's return to Jordan to stand trial because "there was a real risk he would be subject to a flagrant denial of justice".
The appeal court judges said they recognised, however, that Abu Qatada was "regarded as a very dangerous person" and that the British government considered him to be a danger to national security, adding: "It is entirely understandable that there is a general feeling that his deportation to Jordan to face trial is long overdue."
But the judges said the fact that he was considered a dangerous terrorist was irrelevant to their decision.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Greece to push claim for German war reparations: foreign minister
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece is planning to pursue a long-dormant claim for reparations from Germany over World War Two, a further strain on relations with Berlin, which foots most of the bill for its 240-billion euro rescue
‘Growing hatred of US’: Yemeni testifies to Senate on drone program fallout
Yemeni writer Farea Al-Muslimi has revealed the shock and hatred felt towards the US after a drone bombed his home, the village of Wessab: “The attack terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers,” Muslimi told the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights in its hearing titled ‘Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.’
"The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine," he added. “What radicals had previously failed to achieve in my village… one drone strike accomplished in an instant: There is now an intense anger and growing hatred of America.”
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is using US drone strikes to “promote its agenda and try to recruit more terrorists,” Muslimi explained.
The drone attack on Muslimi’s village killed an Al-Qaeda leader and four militants, according to Reuters. But Muslimi argued that the target was already known to many in Wessab, and Yemeni officials could have easily arrested him if the US had made the request.
US assistance to Yemen often goes unnoticed by most of the local population, as they are completely preoccupied by the drones flying overhead. “The drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis,” Muslimi said.
Peter Bergen, director of the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation, testified that in 2012, Obama authorized at least 46 drone strikes in Yemen, while former President George W. Bush had launched only one.
Lawmakers have demanded that the Obama administration provide more transparency in the increasingly secret US drone war. The public hearing was previously postponed, as the panel was hoping that the administration would send an official to testify, but it did not.
US drone strikes have proven controversial: A UN team investigating casualties in Pakistan said that US drone strikes violated the country’s sovereignty. The Pakistani government claimed that at least 400 civilians have been killed by US drones.
Also, leaked classified reports have confirmed that US drone attacks in Pakistan are not always precision strikes against top-level Al-Qaeda terrorists, as claimed by the Obama administration. Rather, many of these attacks are aimed at suspected low-level tribal militants, who may not pose a direct danger to the US.
The Obama administration’s drone war undermines the rule of law, Rosa Brooks, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center argued in her testimony: “When a government claims for itself the unreviewable power to kill anyone, anywhere on earth, at any time, based on secret criteria and secret information discussed in a secret process by largely unnamed individuals, it undermines the rule of law.”
Brooks also recalled the Justice Department’s leaked memo on targeted killings, and how the Obama administration’s novel conception of an ‘imminent’ threat of attack – a requirement for the use of force abroad – “seems, in itself, like a substantial departure from accepted international law definitions of imminence.”
“That concept of imminence has been called Orwellian, and although that is an overused epithet, in this context it seems fairly appropriate,” Brooks added.
After the 9/11 terror attack, the US began to launch drones from bases in Pakistan and Uzbekistan for combat missions inside Afghanistan. More than a decade later, after killing almost 5,000 people – many of whom are believed to civilians, including women and children – Washington has expanded the use of the remotely controlled aircraft into Yemen, Somalia and especially Pakistan.
Northern and western Africa have rapidly become new frontiers in the drone war. The US has set up a drone base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, and flies unarmed Reaper drones out of Ethiopia. Washington has also carried out surveillance flights over East Africa from the island nation of the Seychelles.
In the US, protest has raged over the use of the robotic killing machines to assassinate thousands around the world. Recently, hundreds gathered in front of the White House to demonstrate against drone strikes on foreign soil.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Spermine and Citrate as Metabolic Biomarkers for Assessing Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness
Spermine and Citrate as Metabolic Biomarkers for Assessing Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness
by Guro F. Giskeødegård, Helena Bertilsson, Kirsten M. Selnæs, Alan J. Wright, Tone F. Bathen, Trond Viset, Jostein Halgunset, Anders Angelsen, Ingrid S. Gribbestad, May-Britt Tessem
Separating indolent from aggressive prostate cancer is an important clinical challenge for identifying patients eligible for active surveillance, thereby reducing the risk of overtreatment. The purpose of this study was to assess prostate cancer aggressiveness by metabolic profiling of prostatectomy tissue and to identify specific metabolites as biomarkers for aggressiveness. Prostate tissue samples (n = 158, 48 patients) with a high cancer content (mean: 61.8%) were obtained using a new harvesting method, and metabolic profiles of samples representing different Gleason scores (GS) were acquired by high resolution magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HR-MAS). Multivariate analysis (PLS, PLS-DA) and absolute quantification (LCModel) were used to examine the ability to predict cancer aggressiveness by comparing low grade (GS = 6, n = 30) and high grade (GS≥7, n = 81) cancer with normal adjacent tissue (n = 47). High grade cancer tissue was distinguished from low grade cancer tissue by decreased concentrations of spermine (p = 0.0044) and citrate (p = 7.73·10−4), and an increase in the clinically applied (total choline+creatine+polyamines)/citrate (CCP/C) ratio (p = 2.17·10−4). The metabolic profiles were significantly correlated to the GS obtained from each tissue sample (r = 0.71), and cancer tissue could be distinguished from normal tissue with sensitivity 86.9% and specificity 85.2%. Overall, our findings show that metabolic profiling can separate aggressive from indolent prostate cancer. This holds promise for the benefit of applying in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) within clinical MR imaging investigations, and HR-MAS analysis of transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies has a potential as an additional diagnostic tool.
Impact of Vitamin D on Chronic Kidney Diseases in Non-Dialysis Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Impact of Vitamin D on Chronic Kidney Diseases in Non-Dialysis Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
by Lijuan Xu, Xuesi Wan, Zhimin Huang, Fangfang Zeng, Guohong Wei, Donghong Fang, Wanping Deng, Yanbing Li
Background and Objectives
Recent studies have supported a role for both newer and more established vitamin D compounds in improving proteinuria, although systematic evaluation is lacking. Furthermore, concerns remain regarding the influence of vitamin D on the progression of renal function. We analyzed the efficacy and safety of vitamin D in non-dialysis patients and compared the use of newer versus established vitamin D compounds by performing a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
DesignA literature search of PubMed (1975 to September, 2012), EMBASE.com (1966 to September, 2012) and Ovid EBM Reviews (through September, 2012) was conducted.
ResultsEighteen studies were eligible for final inclusion; of these, six explored the effects of vitamin D on proteinuria, twelve studied the effects of supplementation on renal function, and fifteen discussed the incidence of hypercalcemia. Compared to the placebo or no interference, both the newer and established vitamin D sterols reduced proteinuria to a similar extent (RR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.42 to 2.81). No decrease in the glomerular filter rate was observed (SMD, −0.10; 95%CI, −0.24 to 0.03), and the risk for dialysis initiation was 1.48 (95% CI, 0.54 to 4.03) with vitamin D treatment. Additionally, there was an increased risk of hypercalcemia for patients treated with either newer or established vitamin D compounds as compared with the controls (RR, 4.78; 95% CI, 2.20 to 10.37). The head-to-head studies showed no differences in the effects of either newer or established compounds on proteinuria or the risk of hypercalcemia. No serious adverse events were associated with the administration of vitamin D.
ConclusionsVitamin D therapy appears to decrease proteinuria and have no negative influence on renal function in non-dialysis patients. But the occurrence of hypercalcemia should be evaluated when vitamin D is provided. No superiority for newer versus established vitamin D analogue is found.
Fake tweet reveals a nation on edge
Fake tweet reveals a nation on edge
A stock market and a nation already on edge was temporarily knocked off its axis on Tuesday by a single fake tweet.
At least two injured as blast rocks downtown Moscow - reports
"The blast ripped through a metal container near Novy Arbat Street 7 in Moscow's center," a law enforcement source told Itar-Tass news agency.
Police are investigating the blast, which took place in the middle of one of the city’s main avenues, in a district full of tourist attractions.
“The nature of the explosion is now being investigated,” police said. The site of the blast has been cordoned off.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Wal-Mart board get pay boost for bribery report work
Members of the audit committee were paid an additional $60,000 (£39,000) fee, while the committee's chairman, Christopher Williams, received an $85,000 fee, the company saidWal-Mart Stores said on Monday that members of its board's audit committee were paid more for the latest year because of extra work they had to take on to handle an ongoing investigation into alleged foreign bribery.
The world's largest retailer also said in its annual proxy statement that the cash incentives for its top executives in 2014 would be partly based on meeting certain compliance objectives.
While incentives for senior executives will still be based on financial and growth targets, there will be compliance goals that executives will have to meet as part of the new plan. Executives who do not meet these goals could see their annual cash incentives reduced or eliminated, according to the regulatory filing.
Back in November 2011, Wal-Mart began its own probe into matters including alleged violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and whether such matters were appropriately handled by the company.
The issue was brought into the public spotlight one year ago, when the New York Times published a report that described how Wal-Mart had intentionally stifled an early internal probe into allegations that Wal-Mart de Mexico officials had paid bribes to help build stores in Mexico.
Wal-Mart said on Monday that it was "implementing enhancements to how we report and investigate allegations of wrongdoing worldwide."
During the 2013 financial year, which ended in January, the audit committee met 15 times while other committees met five times or seven times, and the full board met six times, Wal-Mart said.
Members of the audit committee were paid an additional $60,000 (£39,000) fee, while the committee's chairman, Christopher Williams, received an $85,000 fee, the company said.
Wal-Mart said that because of the audit committee's extra work, it decided to double the cash portion of the annual retainer for audit committee members, and doubled the chair fee for the chair of the audit committee.
Williams earned $189,000 in fees for fiscal 2013, the most of any of the 15 board members who are not part of Wal-Mart's management team. Williams, who is chairman and CEO of investment bank Williams Capital Group, has been on Wal-Mart's board since 2004. In last year's board elections, when some shareholders voted against certain board members due to the foreign bribery allegation issue, 13.3% of votes were cast against him.
Wal-Mart spent $157m last year on its probe of alleged bribery allegations in Mexico, Brazil, China and India, and on improvements to its compliance programs.
Separately, three board members will not stand for re-election at the company's 7 June annual meeting. In addition, chief executive Mike Duke and some other executives were paid more last year as sales and profit grew.
The company said that James Breyer, the board's presiding director, and M. Michele Burns are each leaving the board after more than 10 years of service. Meanwhile, Arne Sorenson has decided to focus on his role as chief executive of Marriott International Inc. Sorenson is one of the members of the audit committee.
Duke earned $20.7m last year, up from $18.1m a year earlier, as the retailer continued to grow despite a sluggish US economy and concerns over the alleged international bribery. Wal-Mart noted that Duke will earn a significant majority of his overall compensation only if the company meets certain performance goals.
Wal-Mart's total sales rose 5% to $466.11bn in the fiscal year that ended in January, while earnings per share rose 10.6% to $5.02 per share. Sales at Wal-Mart US, the company's largest unit, rose 3.9% to $264.19bn.
Meanwhile, groups that often complain about Wal-Mart's business practices on Monday asked for the removal of Duke and Chairman Rob Walton, a son of deceased founder Sam Walton, from the board. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and its OUR Walmart subsidiary said that letters were sent to Wal-Mart's global ethics office calling for Wal-Mart's board to remove Duke and Rob Walton "for their failure in leadership in preventing the alleged bribery, trying to cover it up" and not taking meaningful action to fix internal problems.
The letters were dated 22 April which coincided with the anniversary of the publication of the New York Times report. The story was published online on 21 April, 2012, and appeared in the 22 April, 2012, print edition of the newspaper.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
The world's largest retailer also said in its annual proxy statement that the cash incentives for its top executives in 2014 would be partly based on meeting certain compliance objectives.
While incentives for senior executives will still be based on financial and growth targets, there will be compliance goals that executives will have to meet as part of the new plan. Executives who do not meet these goals could see their annual cash incentives reduced or eliminated, according to the regulatory filing.
Back in November 2011, Wal-Mart began its own probe into matters including alleged violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and whether such matters were appropriately handled by the company.
The issue was brought into the public spotlight one year ago, when the New York Times published a report that described how Wal-Mart had intentionally stifled an early internal probe into allegations that Wal-Mart de Mexico officials had paid bribes to help build stores in Mexico.
Wal-Mart said on Monday that it was "implementing enhancements to how we report and investigate allegations of wrongdoing worldwide."
During the 2013 financial year, which ended in January, the audit committee met 15 times while other committees met five times or seven times, and the full board met six times, Wal-Mart said.
Members of the audit committee were paid an additional $60,000 (£39,000) fee, while the committee's chairman, Christopher Williams, received an $85,000 fee, the company said.
Wal-Mart said that because of the audit committee's extra work, it decided to double the cash portion of the annual retainer for audit committee members, and doubled the chair fee for the chair of the audit committee.
Williams earned $189,000 in fees for fiscal 2013, the most of any of the 15 board members who are not part of Wal-Mart's management team. Williams, who is chairman and CEO of investment bank Williams Capital Group, has been on Wal-Mart's board since 2004. In last year's board elections, when some shareholders voted against certain board members due to the foreign bribery allegation issue, 13.3% of votes were cast against him.
Wal-Mart spent $157m last year on its probe of alleged bribery allegations in Mexico, Brazil, China and India, and on improvements to its compliance programs.
Separately, three board members will not stand for re-election at the company's 7 June annual meeting. In addition, chief executive Mike Duke and some other executives were paid more last year as sales and profit grew.
The company said that James Breyer, the board's presiding director, and M. Michele Burns are each leaving the board after more than 10 years of service. Meanwhile, Arne Sorenson has decided to focus on his role as chief executive of Marriott International Inc. Sorenson is one of the members of the audit committee.
Duke earned $20.7m last year, up from $18.1m a year earlier, as the retailer continued to grow despite a sluggish US economy and concerns over the alleged international bribery. Wal-Mart noted that Duke will earn a significant majority of his overall compensation only if the company meets certain performance goals.
Wal-Mart's total sales rose 5% to $466.11bn in the fiscal year that ended in January, while earnings per share rose 10.6% to $5.02 per share. Sales at Wal-Mart US, the company's largest unit, rose 3.9% to $264.19bn.
Meanwhile, groups that often complain about Wal-Mart's business practices on Monday asked for the removal of Duke and Chairman Rob Walton, a son of deceased founder Sam Walton, from the board. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and its OUR Walmart subsidiary said that letters were sent to Wal-Mart's global ethics office calling for Wal-Mart's board to remove Duke and Rob Walton "for their failure in leadership in preventing the alleged bribery, trying to cover it up" and not taking meaningful action to fix internal problems.
The letters were dated 22 April which coincided with the anniversary of the publication of the New York Times report. The story was published online on 21 April, 2012, and appeared in the 22 April, 2012, print edition of the newspaper.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Stockholm fastest growing capital by 2030
The Stockholm region will grow by half a million inhabitants by 2030, an historic expansion which sees it outstripping London and Paris in terms of growth, to become the fasting growing capital in western Europe, writes newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
Former defence minister questioned on Saudi weapons affair
Sweden's former defence minister Sten Tolgfors will sit before the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution (KU) today to provide his version of events involving secret plans for the illegal financing and construction of an advanced weapons factory in the Saudi Arabian desert.Previously, Peter Eriksson, the chair of the Parliament's constitutional committee, complained it was extremely difficult to investigate the government's role in setting up a weapon's plant in Saudi Arabia.
Pedro Salmerón Sanginés: La heroica defensa de Puebla
Hace 150 años, entre el 16 de marzo y el 17 de mayo de 1863, en el valle de Puebla se libró la mayor batalla en defensa de la soberanía nacional, cuando un ejército de 34 mil franceses llegó dispuesto a vengar la derrota del 5 de mayo de 1862 para –con un año de retraso– imponernos un príncipe austriaco y hacer de nuestro país un protectorado francés.
Cancer patients could have treatment chosen by computer rather than a doctor
Scientists have devised mathematical formulas that are better than doctors at predicting how sufferers will respond to chemotherapy.
Earth's current warmth not seen in the last 1,400 years or more
New York NY (SPX) Apr 23, 2013
Fueled by industrial greenhouse gas emissions, Earth's climate warmed more between 1971 and 2000 than during any other three-decade interval in the last 1,400 years, according to new regional temperature reconstructions covering all seven continents.
This period of manmade global warming, which continues today, reversed a natural cooling trend that lasted several hundred years, according t
Fueled by industrial greenhouse gas emissions, Earth's climate warmed more between 1971 and 2000 than during any other three-decade interval in the last 1,400 years, according to new regional temperature reconstructions covering all seven continents.
This period of manmade global warming, which continues today, reversed a natural cooling trend that lasted several hundred years, according t
Geochemical method finds links between terrestrial climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide
Storrs CT (SPX) Apr 23, 2013
Nearly thirty-four million years ago, the Earth underwent a transformation from a warm and high-carbon dioxide "greenhouse" state to a lower-CO2, variable climate of the modern "icehouse" world. Massive ice sheets grew across the Antarctic continent, major animal groups shifted, and ocean temperatures decreased by up to 5 degrees.
But studies of how this drastic change affected temperature
Nearly thirty-four million years ago, the Earth underwent a transformation from a warm and high-carbon dioxide "greenhouse" state to a lower-CO2, variable climate of the modern "icehouse" world. Massive ice sheets grew across the Antarctic continent, major animal groups shifted, and ocean temperatures decreased by up to 5 degrees.
But studies of how this drastic change affected temperature
Beppe Grillo sugere que a Alemanha invada a Itália
Numa entrevista hoje publicada pelo jornal alemão 'Bild, Beppe Grillo, humorista italiano e lídder do Movimento 5 Estrelas (M5E), defendeu uma invasão alemã da Itália para que o seu país possa ter, finalmente...
Getting Rid Of Deposit Insurance Entirely Is The Best Plan For Europe — Here's How To Do It
This crisis has taken its toll on the livelihoods of many people. But it’s also making otherwise reasonable and balanced investors lose the plot and move from investing to preaching.
I have found myself in a surprising situation lately – I inadvertently became the only person on my Twitter feed who does not condemn Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Now, I like being controversial like the next man (anyone who ever tried to talk to me about Hungary can testify that) but this time around I have had to endure more abuses than normally.
I am sure many of you still have in mind "the Cyprus debacle". If not, please start with an excellent piece from Joseph Cotterill entitled "A stupid idea whose time had to come" and work your way through links. The title of Joe’s piece has stuck in my mind ever since and I finally have a few moments to explain why.
To be sure, I do not contest the fact that the EU outdid itself and managed to make their communication even muddier than usual. But this is now behind us and we should focus on the essence rather than on the way the package was announced.
I may have mentioned that in the old days I was quite involved in Iceland’s banking crisis of 2008. And I have always claimed that – despite a few minor hiccups on the way – letting the big banks default and closing the capital account was the right thing to do.
I think there are many similarities between Iceland and Cyprus and that’s why I believe that bailing-in the (foreign to a large extent) depositors was the correct course of action. I mean of course the final solution, not the initial idea of not sparing smaller deposits, which was plain ridiculous.
Yet, ever since the announcement, I had to argue with people who were throwing all sorts of populist arguments and who went into great length in finding ways to insult Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is a politician trying – like all of them – to get re-elected, and who understands that top priority in a support package for any country must include ways to prevent citizens of core European nations from revolting.
But instead of spending time explaining why I think the Cyprus solution was a correct one*, I thought I would touch on a somewhat more medium term issue, which is deposit insurance. This is because I think the debate in Europe whether to centralise the deposit insurance scheme or keep it on the national level is a wrong kind of discussion.
I think that we should begin to discuss whether one of the lessons from the crisis shouldn’t be to cancel deposit insurance altogether.
Please bear with me before you click the unsubscribe/unfollow button.
Deposit insurance was introduced in the U.S. in 1933 (earlier it was created in Czechoslovakia). The idea was to restore faith in the financial system and get banks to lend more. This was the idea whose time had to come. And it wasn’t stupid at the time but rather necessary.
Since then a lot of things have changed, though. For starters, the world has seen a remarkable ascent of investment banks, which have benefited quite a bit from deposit insurance. This was at times coupled by quite a bit of recklessness in the way banks’ balance sheets were used and this is now widely recognised. Perhaps all-too widely.
Think about it – we just witnessed a full-blown bank holiday in a country which is relatively small but which was in the spotlight for at least a fortnight. During that time I even recall one of the macro
tourists hedge fund guys who said that the best thing to do at the moment was to put live cameras in front of banks in Milan and Madrid because “the end is nigh”. Of course, none of that happened, and we probably need to entertain the idea that people in the street are not completely dumb, as difficult as it may sound…
But why didn’t we have a run on other European banks? I think most of the Europeans understood that the bail-in in Cyprus was due to the fact that there was a lot of foreign and most probably dirty money there. Heck, even the average person in Cyprus seems to have comprehended that problems at Laiki were pretty specific to Laiki. True, the capital account remains shut and it will probably stay like that for a while, but it’s really not a big deal in the greater scheme of things.
When I first tweeted about the idea of abolishing deposit insurance, the replies I received pointed out that it could topple the whole financial system. There is some truth in it. After all, if the deposit insurance was to be abolished as of tomorrow, many people would probably go to ATMs "just in case".
But let’s try and work out the logistics of the issue.
First of all, most European countries guarantee deposits up to €100k in full. This seems to be working even though there are quite a few governments who could not possibly meet this obligation if required, just like Cyprus. So it’s one of those barrier-type option hedging products that stops working precisely when you need it.
Another question is why 100k? It’s a round number and nothing else, because the average deposit is way below that level. And if that’s the case then would it change much if we reduced the limit to 99,999.99€?
With the exception of the holier-than-thou folk in the media who would immolate over the concept, probably not much.
Let’s take it a step further. What if Europe announced the following:
What would be far more interesting is the reaction of banks. After all, even in core countries like Germany, the Netherlands, or France, "some banks are better than others". There’s no need to point them out – they are perfectly aware of their own situation. After such a change in the system they would know they have several years to build up the sufficient capital buffer and to improve their books, or else…
In other words, Europe wouldn’t place those institutions under an imminent threat of a rapid deposit withdrawal but would send a strong signal that the clock is (slowly) ticking. Sure, there would probably be some turbulence in the cost of bank funding, but I don’t believe that would be fatal.
Simultaneously, the banks would have to voluntarily cut their riskiest and most balance sheet consuming operations in trading. No need for financial transaction tax, bonus caps or short-sale bans.
I know that what I described may sound a bit like science fiction, but we have just gone through something that was seemingly unthinkable only a few months ago; i.e., haircutting deposits and shutting the capital account within the Eurozone.
And guess what – not much has happened. So instead of throwing calumnies at Jeroen Dijsselbloem, consider that if we stop here then it will mean that we (Europe) have just sent a signal to people that they can keep money in however crappy bank they want as long as it’s less than 100,000€.
Alternatively, we could give the banks’ customers and the banks themselves a friendly nudge with a not-too-close deadline and let the market forces work their magic. Remember, systemic ain’t what it used to be. Let’s take advantage of that.
* By the way, don’t even try to assume that I think every single country in trouble should be dealt with in the same way as Cyprus.
I have found myself in a surprising situation lately – I inadvertently became the only person on my Twitter feed who does not condemn Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Now, I like being controversial like the next man (anyone who ever tried to talk to me about Hungary can testify that) but this time around I have had to endure more abuses than normally.
I am sure many of you still have in mind "the Cyprus debacle". If not, please start with an excellent piece from Joseph Cotterill entitled "A stupid idea whose time had to come" and work your way through links. The title of Joe’s piece has stuck in my mind ever since and I finally have a few moments to explain why.
To be sure, I do not contest the fact that the EU outdid itself and managed to make their communication even muddier than usual. But this is now behind us and we should focus on the essence rather than on the way the package was announced.
I may have mentioned that in the old days I was quite involved in Iceland’s banking crisis of 2008. And I have always claimed that – despite a few minor hiccups on the way – letting the big banks default and closing the capital account was the right thing to do.
I think there are many similarities between Iceland and Cyprus and that’s why I believe that bailing-in the (foreign to a large extent) depositors was the correct course of action. I mean of course the final solution, not the initial idea of not sparing smaller deposits, which was plain ridiculous.
Yet, ever since the announcement, I had to argue with people who were throwing all sorts of populist arguments and who went into great length in finding ways to insult Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is a politician trying – like all of them – to get re-elected, and who understands that top priority in a support package for any country must include ways to prevent citizens of core European nations from revolting.
But instead of spending time explaining why I think the Cyprus solution was a correct one*, I thought I would touch on a somewhat more medium term issue, which is deposit insurance. This is because I think the debate in Europe whether to centralise the deposit insurance scheme or keep it on the national level is a wrong kind of discussion.
I think that we should begin to discuss whether one of the lessons from the crisis shouldn’t be to cancel deposit insurance altogether.
Please bear with me before you click the unsubscribe/unfollow button.
Deposit insurance was introduced in the U.S. in 1933 (earlier it was created in Czechoslovakia). The idea was to restore faith in the financial system and get banks to lend more. This was the idea whose time had to come. And it wasn’t stupid at the time but rather necessary.
Since then a lot of things have changed, though. For starters, the world has seen a remarkable ascent of investment banks, which have benefited quite a bit from deposit insurance. This was at times coupled by quite a bit of recklessness in the way banks’ balance sheets were used and this is now widely recognised. Perhaps all-too widely.
Think about it – we just witnessed a full-blown bank holiday in a country which is relatively small but which was in the spotlight for at least a fortnight. During that time I even recall one of the macro
But why didn’t we have a run on other European banks? I think most of the Europeans understood that the bail-in in Cyprus was due to the fact that there was a lot of foreign and most probably dirty money there. Heck, even the average person in Cyprus seems to have comprehended that problems at Laiki were pretty specific to Laiki. True, the capital account remains shut and it will probably stay like that for a while, but it’s really not a big deal in the greater scheme of things.
When I first tweeted about the idea of abolishing deposit insurance, the replies I received pointed out that it could topple the whole financial system. There is some truth in it. After all, if the deposit insurance was to be abolished as of tomorrow, many people would probably go to ATMs "just in case".
But let’s try and work out the logistics of the issue.
First of all, most European countries guarantee deposits up to €100k in full. This seems to be working even though there are quite a few governments who could not possibly meet this obligation if required, just like Cyprus. So it’s one of those barrier-type option hedging products that stops working precisely when you need it.
Another question is why 100k? It’s a round number and nothing else, because the average deposit is way below that level. And if that’s the case then would it change much if we reduced the limit to 99,999.99€?
With the exception of the holier-than-thou folk in the media who would immolate over the concept, probably not much.
Let’s take it a step further. What if Europe announced the following:
- As of January 1, 2014, all the countries within the Eurozone will be jointly responsible for insuring any deposit up to 100,000€.
- Starting from January 1, 2015 the limit will go down by 10,000€ every year until it goes down to zero on January 1, 2024, after which no deposit will be guaranteed by any Member State.
- (repetition) Governments and national central banks of Member States will irrevocably guarantee the insurance with their full faith and credit until January 1, 2024.
What would be far more interesting is the reaction of banks. After all, even in core countries like Germany, the Netherlands, or France, "some banks are better than others". There’s no need to point them out – they are perfectly aware of their own situation. After such a change in the system they would know they have several years to build up the sufficient capital buffer and to improve their books, or else…
In other words, Europe wouldn’t place those institutions under an imminent threat of a rapid deposit withdrawal but would send a strong signal that the clock is (slowly) ticking. Sure, there would probably be some turbulence in the cost of bank funding, but I don’t believe that would be fatal.
Simultaneously, the banks would have to voluntarily cut their riskiest and most balance sheet consuming operations in trading. No need for financial transaction tax, bonus caps or short-sale bans.
I know that what I described may sound a bit like science fiction, but we have just gone through something that was seemingly unthinkable only a few months ago; i.e., haircutting deposits and shutting the capital account within the Eurozone.
And guess what – not much has happened. So instead of throwing calumnies at Jeroen Dijsselbloem, consider that if we stop here then it will mean that we (Europe) have just sent a signal to people that they can keep money in however crappy bank they want as long as it’s less than 100,000€.
Alternatively, we could give the banks’ customers and the banks themselves a friendly nudge with a not-too-close deadline and let the market forces work their magic. Remember, systemic ain’t what it used to be. Let’s take advantage of that.
* By the way, don’t even try to assume that I think every single country in trouble should be dealt with in the same way as Cyprus.
Vienna tries to cling on to bank secrecy
Austria is under increasing pressure from the EU to share data on foreign depositors but it may fight to preserve secrecy rules for its own citizens
Israel accuses Syria of using nerve gas
Israel’s top military analyst tells a conference that Syrian regime forces have ‘probably’ used the nerve gas sarin in several attacks
Epoch Times Reporter Wins Prestigious Journalism Award
An Epoch Times reporter is the winner of a prestigious annual award for his reporting on organ harvesting in China. Matthew Robertson, who specializes in reporting on China and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, wrote a series of articles on forced, live organ harvesting published in The Epoch Times in 2012.
Robertson and the articles won the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Sigma Delta Chi award for professional journalism. The SPJ, founded in 1909 under the name Sigma Delta Chi, promotes freedom of information, educates and advocates for journalists, and protects First Amendment guarantees of the freedoms of speech and press.
Winners for the 10 categories of the 2012 Sigma Delta Chi awards came from a pool of more than 1,700 entries in categories including print, radio, television, and online. The awards are in recognition of outstanding work published or broadcast in 2012.
In the nomination letter from The Epoch Times, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gregory said that the topic of the articles—forced, live organ harvesting in China—is important and under-reported.
“Hospitals are working hand in glove with the Chinese regime’s repressive security apparatus, and doctors, using the skills meant to heal, are killing helpless prisoners of conscience by removing their organs,” stated Gregory in the letter. He added that the four articles by Robertson submitted on the topic “are a sample of a larger body of work and are the fruit of over two years of consistent effort.”
In praising Robertson’s work on the extremely complicated and sensitive issue, Gregory pointed to his professionalism and dedicated focus.
“Matt [Robertson] has developed contacts with all of the major investigators and human rights organizations in the West concerned with organ harvesting in China and has proven adept at digging important stories out of information publicly available on the Chinese web,” wrote Gregory.
The award-winning articles include “Would Be China Defector, Once Bo Xilai’s Right Hand, Oversaw Organ Harvesting,” about a high-ranking Chinese security official’s forced organ techniques; “After Bo Xilai’s Purge, Searches For ‘Organ Harvest’ Suddenly Allowed,” which analyzes Internet traffic to examine the struggle within the Chinese leadership over accountability for these crimes; “Accused Chinese Organ Harvester Lurks in Transplant Community,” about a Chinese doctor who was head of the organ transplantation unit at a hospital implicated in organ harvesting; and “Friendly Ties Come With Award, But Ethicists Object,” on how a major university may have sacrificed ethics for the chance to develop closer ties with China.
In an interview about winning the award, Robertson said he found it gratifying.
“I think it’s awesome that SPJ gave this award because China is a controversial topic to some degree,” said Robertson. “Journalists in China—if they report on this—would probably have their visas denied, so it’s being pushed aside.”
Robertson began learning Chinese in 2007. He lived in Taiwan for eight months of immersion study. Learning aids included the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, listening to NTD Television and Voice of America, and reading the books of Falun Dafa.
To produce the articles, Robertson noted that he made all the phone calls and checked all the available sources, as good journalists do, but had to go well beyond.
“It’s much harder than reporting on subjects in the Western world, because the information is so much harder to get. You cross-check many sources and make some inferences.
He said that he is “standing on the shoulders of the awesome research done by others, including my Chinese colleagues at The Epoch Times, and also the great work of other Chinese researchers.”
“Through my investigation I found not only gross abuses of human rights, evil things, really, that the Chinese regime has done, but also lack of fortitude in the West in the face of those things.”
“Tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience may have been killed from organ harvesting,” said Robertson. “In Mainland China, military hospitals and labor camps have worked together to carry this out.”
The winners of the Sigma Delta Chi awards were announced on April 23, 2013 and can be found at http://www.spj.org/sdxa12.asp#online.
The post Epoch Times Reporter Wins Prestigious Journalism Award appeared first on The Epoch Times.
Robertson and the articles won the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Sigma Delta Chi award for professional journalism. The SPJ, founded in 1909 under the name Sigma Delta Chi, promotes freedom of information, educates and advocates for journalists, and protects First Amendment guarantees of the freedoms of speech and press.
Winners for the 10 categories of the 2012 Sigma Delta Chi awards came from a pool of more than 1,700 entries in categories including print, radio, television, and online. The awards are in recognition of outstanding work published or broadcast in 2012.
In the nomination letter from The Epoch Times, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gregory said that the topic of the articles—forced, live organ harvesting in China—is important and under-reported.
“Hospitals are working hand in glove with the Chinese regime’s repressive security apparatus, and doctors, using the skills meant to heal, are killing helpless prisoners of conscience by removing their organs,” stated Gregory in the letter. He added that the four articles by Robertson submitted on the topic “are a sample of a larger body of work and are the fruit of over two years of consistent effort.”
In praising Robertson’s work on the extremely complicated and sensitive issue, Gregory pointed to his professionalism and dedicated focus.
“Matt [Robertson] has developed contacts with all of the major investigators and human rights organizations in the West concerned with organ harvesting in China and has proven adept at digging important stories out of information publicly available on the Chinese web,” wrote Gregory.
The award-winning articles include “Would Be China Defector, Once Bo Xilai’s Right Hand, Oversaw Organ Harvesting,” about a high-ranking Chinese security official’s forced organ techniques; “After Bo Xilai’s Purge, Searches For ‘Organ Harvest’ Suddenly Allowed,” which analyzes Internet traffic to examine the struggle within the Chinese leadership over accountability for these crimes; “Accused Chinese Organ Harvester Lurks in Transplant Community,” about a Chinese doctor who was head of the organ transplantation unit at a hospital implicated in organ harvesting; and “Friendly Ties Come With Award, But Ethicists Object,” on how a major university may have sacrificed ethics for the chance to develop closer ties with China.
In an interview about winning the award, Robertson said he found it gratifying.
“I think it’s awesome that SPJ gave this award because China is a controversial topic to some degree,” said Robertson. “Journalists in China—if they report on this—would probably have their visas denied, so it’s being pushed aside.”
Robertson began learning Chinese in 2007. He lived in Taiwan for eight months of immersion study. Learning aids included the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, listening to NTD Television and Voice of America, and reading the books of Falun Dafa.
To produce the articles, Robertson noted that he made all the phone calls and checked all the available sources, as good journalists do, but had to go well beyond.
“It’s much harder than reporting on subjects in the Western world, because the information is so much harder to get. You cross-check many sources and make some inferences.
He said that he is “standing on the shoulders of the awesome research done by others, including my Chinese colleagues at The Epoch Times, and also the great work of other Chinese researchers.”
“Through my investigation I found not only gross abuses of human rights, evil things, really, that the Chinese regime has done, but also lack of fortitude in the West in the face of those things.”
“Tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience may have been killed from organ harvesting,” said Robertson. “In Mainland China, military hospitals and labor camps have worked together to carry this out.”
The winners of the Sigma Delta Chi awards were announced on April 23, 2013 and can be found at http://www.spj.org/sdxa12.asp#online.
The post Epoch Times Reporter Wins Prestigious Journalism Award appeared first on The Epoch Times.
OECD in fresh warning on Japan debt
The priority for the Abe government should be dealing with the country’s vast debt, says Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Researcher's Serial Port Scans Find More Than 100,000 Hackable Devices, Including Traffic Lights And Fuel Pumps
You probably remember serial ports as the ancient nine-pin plug you once used to hook up your mouse or joystick to your computer in the pre-USB dark ages. But tracking down devices that still use serial port connections isn't so hard, it seems. In fact, according to H.D. Moore, any hacker can find--and tamper with--more than 100,000 of them over the Internet, including critical systems ranging from traffic lights to fuel pumps to building heating and cooling systems to retail point-of-sale devices.
North Korea rejects US conditions for talks
Pyongyang says any dialogue must be between nuclear states, 'not one side forcing the other to dismantle weapons'Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough on the Korean peninsula have dimmed after North Korea dismissed US conditions for talks as "totally unacceptable" and demanded to be recognised as a nuclear state.
After weeks of tension in the region, including North Korean threats of nuclear war, Pyongyang had appeared willing to consider negotiations. But on Tuesday, the state-controlled Rodong Sinmun newspaper rejected the condition that the North must first begin to demonstrate a willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and suspend missile launches.
"If the DPRK sits at a table with the US it has to be a dialogue between nuclear weapons states, not one side forcing the other to dismantle nuclear weapons," the newspaper said, referring to the North by the abbreviation of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
This month, a White House spokesman said North Korea needed to show it was serious about abandoning its nuclear ambitions for any talks to be meaningful.
North Korea signed a denuclearisation-for-aid deal in 2005 but later backed out. It conducted its third nuclear test in February and says its nuclear arms are a "treasured sword" that it will never give up. February's test triggered new UN sanctions that were answered by more North Korean threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US.
On Tuesday, China's chief of general staff said the possibility of a fourth nuclear test underlined the need for urgent talks between North Korea and other parties in the region.
"We ask all sides to work actively to work on the North Koreans to stop nuclear tests and stop producing nuclear weapons," General Fang Fenghui said in Beijing. "We believe that dialogue should be the right solution." Fang did not indicate whether Beijing believed a test was imminent.
Last Thursday, in a sign that the hostility of recent weeks was easing, North Korea offered the US and South Korea a list of conditions for talks, including the lifting of UN sanctions. The US responded by saying it awaited "clear signals" that North Korea would halt its nuclear weapons activities.
While it has left the door open to dialogue, Washington has said it will not enter into "talks for talks' sake" or reward the regime for toning down threats to start a war or conduct nuclear and missile tests. The US says it wants to put an end to the long-established pattern of responding to North Korean provocations with concessions, only for the regime to renege on agreements and raise tensions again.
The North is thought to have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for at least six nuclear bombs and has an established uranium-enrichment capability that would give it another route to building weapons of mass destruction. But analysts and intelligence officials say the regime is not yet able to mount a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a missile, despite its recent threats to conduct nuclear strikes.
During a recent visit to the South Korean capital, Seoul, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, urged the North to "move towards a serious negotiation about denuclearising the peninsula".
In comments reported by Kyodo news, the Rodong Sinmun said the US "should understand that a dialogue will begin only when the DPRK's demand for the withdrawal of strategic offensive means in the vicinity of the peninsula aimed at realizing the US world domination strategy is met. The US is sadly mistaken if it calculates it can deceive and mock at the international community and disarm the DPRK with calls for 'dialogue'."
It accused Washington of having the "sinister intention to force the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear programme and make a preemptive nuclear strike at it".
Fears that South Korea's defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, had been the target of an attempted poisoning turned out to be a false alarm after a white powder found inside a package delivered to his office on Tuesday was found to be flour, Yonhap news agency said.
The ministry initially treated the delivery as an attempted "act of terror" and formed a team to analyse the substance, which was reportedly accompanied by a threatening letter, and trace the sender.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
After weeks of tension in the region, including North Korean threats of nuclear war, Pyongyang had appeared willing to consider negotiations. But on Tuesday, the state-controlled Rodong Sinmun newspaper rejected the condition that the North must first begin to demonstrate a willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and suspend missile launches.
"If the DPRK sits at a table with the US it has to be a dialogue between nuclear weapons states, not one side forcing the other to dismantle nuclear weapons," the newspaper said, referring to the North by the abbreviation of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
This month, a White House spokesman said North Korea needed to show it was serious about abandoning its nuclear ambitions for any talks to be meaningful.
North Korea signed a denuclearisation-for-aid deal in 2005 but later backed out. It conducted its third nuclear test in February and says its nuclear arms are a "treasured sword" that it will never give up. February's test triggered new UN sanctions that were answered by more North Korean threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US.
On Tuesday, China's chief of general staff said the possibility of a fourth nuclear test underlined the need for urgent talks between North Korea and other parties in the region.
"We ask all sides to work actively to work on the North Koreans to stop nuclear tests and stop producing nuclear weapons," General Fang Fenghui said in Beijing. "We believe that dialogue should be the right solution." Fang did not indicate whether Beijing believed a test was imminent.
Last Thursday, in a sign that the hostility of recent weeks was easing, North Korea offered the US and South Korea a list of conditions for talks, including the lifting of UN sanctions. The US responded by saying it awaited "clear signals" that North Korea would halt its nuclear weapons activities.
While it has left the door open to dialogue, Washington has said it will not enter into "talks for talks' sake" or reward the regime for toning down threats to start a war or conduct nuclear and missile tests. The US says it wants to put an end to the long-established pattern of responding to North Korean provocations with concessions, only for the regime to renege on agreements and raise tensions again.
The North is thought to have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for at least six nuclear bombs and has an established uranium-enrichment capability that would give it another route to building weapons of mass destruction. But analysts and intelligence officials say the regime is not yet able to mount a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a missile, despite its recent threats to conduct nuclear strikes.
During a recent visit to the South Korean capital, Seoul, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, urged the North to "move towards a serious negotiation about denuclearising the peninsula".
In comments reported by Kyodo news, the Rodong Sinmun said the US "should understand that a dialogue will begin only when the DPRK's demand for the withdrawal of strategic offensive means in the vicinity of the peninsula aimed at realizing the US world domination strategy is met. The US is sadly mistaken if it calculates it can deceive and mock at the international community and disarm the DPRK with calls for 'dialogue'."
It accused Washington of having the "sinister intention to force the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear programme and make a preemptive nuclear strike at it".
Fears that South Korea's defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, had been the target of an attempted poisoning turned out to be a false alarm after a white powder found inside a package delivered to his office on Tuesday was found to be flour, Yonhap news agency said.
The ministry initially treated the delivery as an attempted "act of terror" and formed a team to analyse the substance, which was reportedly accompanied by a threatening letter, and trace the sender.
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
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