Click here to view this media [h/t Heather ] During tonight’s massive Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York, a local Fox News affiliate reporter and his crew found themselves on the wrong side of the NYPD. While covering the Occupy Wall Street protests on Wednesday night, Fox 5 photographer Roy Isen was hit in the eyes by mace from a police officer and Fox 5 reporter Dick Brennan was hit by an officer’s baton. The protests on Wall Street continued to grow all day. The rallies and their participants are showing no signs of slowing down. In the evening, crowds surged past barriers and NYPD officers moved in to contain the protesters. By many accounts, mayhem broke out. Officers, many wearing white shorts indicating supervisor rank, swatted protesters with batons and sprayed them with mace, video from the scene showed. Fox 5′s Isen and Brennan were there and witnessed the chaos. At one point, Brennan was hit in the abdomen by a police baton and Isen got irritant in his eyes. Both journalists were all right and continued to cover the protests and arrests. Note what’s missing from this story: Violence on the side of the protesters. Crossing a barricade is not violent. It is not threatening. It is simply crossing a barricade. The response of the officers left me feeling pretty shaky. Batons, pepper spray, and yes, done by the white shirts, but not only the white shirts. Evidently these policemen do not understand that beating and pepper-spraying protesters and hapless reporters in the area will do nothing but increase resolve in every person who watches to join the protests. Do they learn nothing from previous experience? No, evidently not. Check out this officer standing at a barricade bragging about what he and his little nightstick are going to do: While there’s certainly a story here in the fact of police not only attacking protesters but also reporters and their crew, I think the larger story will unfold when we see how Fox News handles this story. Will they ignore it? Will they gloss over it? Will they blame those who tried to cross the barricade? Can you imagine what their lede would be the next day if a tea party protester and news crew were pepper-sprayed and beaten? This will be a moment of truth for Roger Ailes. How will he spin an attack on reporters for a Rupert Murdoch-owned news channel? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Experts say turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic, with fall particularly sharp among under 30s Young people in England are turning their backs on the most dangerous drugs for the first time in 30 years, according to the head of the national treatment agency. New figures show that the total number of drug users entering treatment for heroin or crack cocaine has fallen by 10,000 over the past two years. The official data shows that the fall in heroin use is particularly sharp among under 30s with the number of 18-24 year olds in treatment more than halving and the 25-29 age group almost matching this fall. Drug treatment experts say that they are “cautiously optimistic” that the heroin epidemic which has gripped Britain since the 1980s may have finally passed its high water mark. Paul Hayes, NTA chief executive, said the new figures which also show an 18% rise in the number of people officially defined as “recovering from addiction” were an indication that the trend was moving in the right direction: “We’re a goal up, but it’s not half time yet. I think what it shows is that we’ve probably passed the high water mark of the impact of the epidemic of the late 80s and 90s.” Hayes said that the once popular images “heroin chic” and Trainspotting culture were no longer fashionable and young people instead see the damage heroin and crack use has done to their older siblings and, sadly, in some cases even their parents. “If you see people in your community who actually can’t cope because of heroin and crack use. If you increasingly see heroin and crack dependency concentrated among the people in society who do life least well, as that becomes apparent, it’s difficult to see it being fashionable or chic.” But he warned that the onset of the heroin epidemic that scarred the late 1980s and 1990s on the back of a sharp rise in youth employment could yet return: “We need to be vigilant that if we see a rise in youth unemployment that it doesn’t lead to a return to 1980s level of heroin use. It is not inevitable but we have to watch the situation very closely.” The latest NTA drug data for 2010/11 shows that 52,933 drug users entered treatment for heroin or crack cocaine in the past year, down from 58,016 in 2009/10 and 62,963 in 2008/09. The national drug treatment monitoring system figures show that 27,969 adults left treatment “free from dependency” last year – an 18% increase over the previous year. The figures echo estimates from Glasgow University’s drug misuse research centre which put the number of heroin and crack users in England in 2009/10 at 306,000 down from 332,000 in 2008/09. The annual budget for drug treatment has risen to £600m a year from £200m a decade ago. Harry Shapiro of the DrugScope, the independent drugs information charity, agreed that a real turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic: “Things seem to moving in the right direction. The figures are showing an absolute decline in the heroin using population in Britain for the first time since the late 1960s.” He said that was confirmed by the ageing nature of the heroin using population and the fact that young people’s treatment services were now dealing with many more people with alcohol and cannabis problems than heroin. Shapiro said significant successes by the Turkish authorities in disrupting the traditional flow of heroin into Europe from Afghanistan via Iran had also played a role. Drugs Health Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Experts say turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic, with fall particularly sharp among under 30s Young people in England are turning their backs on the most dangerous drugs for the first time in 30 years, according to the head of the national treatment agency. New figures show that the total number of drug users entering treatment for heroin or crack cocaine has fallen by 10,000 over the past two years. The official data shows that the fall in heroin use is particularly sharp among under 30s with the number of 18-24 year olds in treatment more than halving and the 25-29 age group almost matching this fall. Drug treatment experts say that they are “cautiously optimistic” that the heroin epidemic which has gripped Britain since the 1980s may have finally passed its high water mark. Paul Hayes, NTA chief executive, said the new figures which also show an 18% rise in the number of people officially defined as “recovering from addiction” were an indication that the trend was moving in the right direction: “We’re a goal up, but it’s not half time yet. I think what it shows is that we’ve probably passed the high water mark of the impact of the epidemic of the late 80s and 90s.” Hayes said that the once popular images “heroin chic” and Trainspotting culture were no longer fashionable and young people instead see the damage heroin and crack use has done to their older siblings and, sadly, in some cases even their parents. “If you see people in your community who actually can’t cope because of heroin and crack use. If you increasingly see heroin and crack dependency concentrated among the people in society who do life least well, as that becomes apparent, it’s difficult to see it being fashionable or chic.” But he warned that the onset of the heroin epidemic that scarred the late 1980s and 1990s on the back of a sharp rise in youth employment could yet return: “We need to be vigilant that if we see a rise in youth unemployment that it doesn’t lead to a return to 1980s level of heroin use. It is not inevitable but we have to watch the situation very closely.” The latest NTA drug data for 2010/11 shows that 52,933 drug users entered treatment for heroin or crack cocaine in the past year, down from 58,016 in 2009/10 and 62,963 in 2008/09. The national drug treatment monitoring system figures show that 27,969 adults left treatment “free from dependency” last year – an 18% increase over the previous year. The figures echo estimates from Glasgow University’s drug misuse research centre which put the number of heroin and crack users in England in 2009/10 at 306,000 down from 332,000 in 2008/09. The annual budget for drug treatment has risen to £600m a year from £200m a decade ago. Harry Shapiro of the DrugScope, the independent drugs information charity, agreed that a real turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic: “Things seem to moving in the right direction. The figures are showing an absolute decline in the heroin using population in Britain for the first time since the late 1960s.” He said that was confirmed by the ageing nature of the heroin using population and the fact that young people’s treatment services were now dealing with many more people with alcohol and cannabis problems than heroin. Shapiro said significant successes by the Turkish authorities in disrupting the traditional flow of heroin into Europe from Afghanistan via Iran had also played a role. Drugs Health Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Experts say turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic, with fall particularly sharp among under 30s Young people in England are turning their backs on the most dangerous drugs for the first time in 30 years, according to the head of the national treatment agency. New figures show that the total number of drug users entering treatment for heroin or crack cocaine has fallen by 10,000 over the past two years. The official data shows that the fall in heroin use is particularly sharp among under 30s with the number of 18-24 year olds in treatment more than halving and the 25-29 age group almost matching this fall. Drug treatment experts say that they are “cautiously optimistic” that the heroin epidemic which has gripped Britain since the 1980s may have finally passed its high water mark. Paul Hayes, NTA chief executive, said the new figures which also show an 18% rise in the number of people officially defined as “recovering from addiction” were an indication that the trend was moving in the right direction: “We’re a goal up, but it’s not half time yet. I think what it shows is that we’ve probably passed the high water mark of the impact of the epidemic of the late 80s and 90s.” Hayes said that the once popular images “heroin chic” and Trainspotting culture were no longer fashionable and young people instead see the damage heroin and crack use has done to their older siblings and, sadly, in some cases even their parents. “If you see people in your community who actually can’t cope because of heroin and crack use. If you increasingly see heroin and crack dependency concentrated among the people in society who do life least well, as that becomes apparent, it’s difficult to see it being fashionable or chic.” But he warned that the onset of the heroin epidemic that scarred the late 1980s and 1990s on the back of a sharp rise in youth employment could yet return: “We need to be vigilant that if we see a rise in youth unemployment that it doesn’t lead to a return to 1980s level of heroin use. It is not inevitable but we have to watch the situation very closely.” The latest NTA drug data for 2010/11 shows that 52,933 drug users entered treatment for heroin or crack cocaine in the past year, down from 58,016 in 2009/10 and 62,963 in 2008/09. The national drug treatment monitoring system figures show that 27,969 adults left treatment “free from dependency” last year – an 18% increase over the previous year. The figures echo estimates from Glasgow University’s drug misuse research centre which put the number of heroin and crack users in England in 2009/10 at 306,000 down from 332,000 in 2008/09. The annual budget for drug treatment has risen to £600m a year from £200m a decade ago. Harry Shapiro of the DrugScope, the independent drugs information charity, agreed that a real turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic: “Things seem to moving in the right direction. The figures are showing an absolute decline in the heroin using population in Britain for the first time since the late 1960s.” He said that was confirmed by the ageing nature of the heroin using population and the fact that young people’s treatment services were now dealing with many more people with alcohol and cannabis problems than heroin. Shapiro said significant successes by the Turkish authorities in disrupting the traditional flow of heroin into Europe from Afghanistan via Iran had also played a role. Drugs Health Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Experts say turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic, with fall particularly sharp among under 30s Young people in England are turning their backs on the most dangerous drugs for the first time in 30 years, according to the head of the national treatment agency. New figures show that the total number of drug users entering treatment for heroin or crack cocaine has fallen by 10,000 over the past two years. The official data shows that the fall in heroin use is particularly sharp among under 30s with the number of 18-24 year olds in treatment more than halving and the 25-29 age group almost matching this fall. Drug treatment experts say that they are “cautiously optimistic” that the heroin epidemic which has gripped Britain since the 1980s may have finally passed its high water mark. Paul Hayes, NTA chief executive, said the new figures which also show an 18% rise in the number of people officially defined as “recovering from addiction” were an indication that the trend was moving in the right direction: “We’re a goal up, but it’s not half time yet. I think what it shows is that we’ve probably passed the high water mark of the impact of the epidemic of the late 80s and 90s.” Hayes said that the once popular images “heroin chic” and Trainspotting culture were no longer fashionable and young people instead see the damage heroin and crack use has done to their older siblings and, sadly, in some cases even their parents. “If you see people in your community who actually can’t cope because of heroin and crack use. If you increasingly see heroin and crack dependency concentrated among the people in society who do life least well, as that becomes apparent, it’s difficult to see it being fashionable or chic.” But he warned that the onset of the heroin epidemic that scarred the late 1980s and 1990s on the back of a sharp rise in youth employment could yet return: “We need to be vigilant that if we see a rise in youth unemployment that it doesn’t lead to a return to 1980s level of heroin use. It is not inevitable but we have to watch the situation very closely.” The latest NTA drug data for 2010/11 shows that 52,933 drug users entered treatment for heroin or crack cocaine in the past year, down from 58,016 in 2009/10 and 62,963 in 2008/09. The national drug treatment monitoring system figures show that 27,969 adults left treatment “free from dependency” last year – an 18% increase over the previous year. The figures echo estimates from Glasgow University’s drug misuse research centre which put the number of heroin and crack users in England in 2009/10 at 306,000 down from 332,000 in 2008/09. The annual budget for drug treatment has risen to £600m a year from £200m a decade ago. Harry Shapiro of the DrugScope, the independent drugs information charity, agreed that a real turning point had been reached in England’s heroin epidemic: “Things seem to moving in the right direction. The figures are showing an absolute decline in the heroin using population in Britain for the first time since the late 1960s.” He said that was confirmed by the ageing nature of the heroin using population and the fact that young people’s treatment services were now dealing with many more people with alcohol and cannabis problems than heroin. Shapiro said significant successes by the Turkish authorities in disrupting the traditional flow of heroin into Europe from Afghanistan via Iran had also played a role. Drugs Health Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Home secretary should challenge researchers after claiming man avoided deportation because he owned pet cat, justice secretary says Kenneth Clarke has raised the stakes in his confrontation with the home secretary, Theresa May, accusing her of using a “laughable, child-like” example to criticise the Human Rights Act. In an intervention that will infuriate Downing Street, the justice secretary said May should challenge her researchers after claiming that a man had been able to avoid deportation because he owned a pet cat. Speaking to the Nottingham Post, he said: “I sat and listened to Theresa’s speech, and I’ll have to be very polite to Theresa when I meet her – but in my opinion she should really address her researchers and advisers very severely for assuring her that a complete nonsense example in her speech was true. “I’m not going to stand there and say in my private opinion this is a terrible thing and we ought to get rid of the Human Rights Act. “It’s not only the judges that all get furious when the home secretary makes a parody of a court judgement – our commission who are helping us form our view on this are not going to be entertained by laughable, child-like examples being given. “We have a policy and, in my old-fashioned way, when you serve in a government you express a collective policy of the government – you don’t go round telling everyone your personal opinion is different.” Downing Street will be furious with Clarke after No 10 said it was delighted with the announcement in May’s conference speech that illegal immigrants were abusing the Human Rights Act to fight deportation from Britain. The home secretary illustrated her case by citing the example of a Bolivian national who resisted deportation on the grounds he owned a cat, called Maya. May, who wants to abolish the Human Rights Act, told the Manchester conference about “the illegal immigrant who cannot be deported because – I am not making this up – he had a pet cat”. Speaking an hour later at a fringe meeting hosted by the Daily Telegraph, Clarke ridiculed May’s remarks. Clarke, a strong defender of the European convention on human rights, which provided the basis for the Human Rights Act, said: “I’ve never had a conversation on the subject with Theresa, so I’d have to find out about these strange cases she is throwing out. “They are British cases and British judges she is complaining about. I cannot believe anybody has ever had deportation refused on the basis of owning a cat. I’ll have a small bet with her that nobody has ever been refused deportation on the grounds of the ownership of a cat.” Kenneth Clarke Theresa May Conservative conference 2011 Conservative conference Human Rights Act Human rights Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
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Most economists had expected the monetary policy committee (MPC) to delay a decision on more QE until next month The Bank of England has taken action to kickstart Britain’s flatlined economy by pumping another £75bn into the banking system, more than economists had expected. Faced with growing warnings of a double-dip recession and a eurozone crisis, the Bank is setting aside fears about high inflation to increase its programme of quantitative easing (QE). Most economists had expected the monetary policy committee (MPC) to delay a decision on more QE until next month when it will have its newest forecasts for growth and inflation. But market players had said the decision would be very finely balanced given the latest downbeat economic data , including news this week that the economy virtually ground to a halt in the second quarter. MPC members themselves had also indicated they could act sooner rather than later if there were fresh signs of growth tailing off. The Bank also left interest rates on hold at their record low of 0.5%. The latest move raises QE programme to £275bn. QE effectively puts money into the markets through asset purchases, mainly of UK government bonds, made by the Bank of England. Between March 2009 and January 2010 it bought £200bn of assets, equivalent to about 14% of GDP to help breathe life into the UK economy following the credit crunch. More details soon Quantitative easing Economics Interest rates Bank of England Katie Allen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MSNBC VP Already Jazzed: 2012 Is America’s ‘Second Most Historic Election’
October 6, 2011 No Comment
David Barrington, MSNBC’s vice president for advertising sales, is bullish about his network’s financial picture, telling Broadcasting & Cable magazine that MSNBC’s revenue for advanced “upfront” ad revenue was up fifty percent. But the way the MSNBC VP characterized the election stood out. “To grow revenue by 50% will give you an indication as to the recognition among clients, planners and buyers that this is going to be the second most historic election in our country’s history ,” Barrington says. “There are a lot of interesting debates to be had, and this is the content you want to be around.” Is it “most historic” because it will the first re-election of a black president? Or the first defeat of a black president? It sounds like MSNBC is hyping (A). Or does Barrington believe it could be a Cain vs. Obama race? I highly doubt they think dumping Obama deserves the positive-sounding word “historic.”
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Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann tells newspaper the acquittal was based on ‘truth created in the proceedings’ The judge who presided at the trial of Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, has reportedly said they may be guilty after all. Speaking just two days after he and his fellow judges handed down a full acquittal on appeal, Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, said the court’s verdict “is the result of the truth that was created in the proceedings. But the real truth may be different. They may be responsible, but the evidence is not there.” The 69 year-old judge was speaking to the Corriere della Sera newspaper in the latest of several interviews he has given to media organisations since reading out the verdict on Monday night. On Wednesday, he had already begun to muddy the waters, telling another interviewer: “This will remain an unsolved truth. No one can say how things went.” Hellmann’s remarks were all the more unexpected because he and the other judges could have reached a less clear-cut acquittal. Italian courts have ruling options in which the appellants are acquitted for lack of evidence – a verdict similar to “not proven” in Scottish law. Monday night’s decision was the climax of a dramatic and at times searingly acrimonious appeal that attracted global attention. It was reached by Judge Hellmann and a second professional judge sitting alongside six lay judges drawn by ballot from among the public. The acquittal of Knox and Sollecito meant that the only person left in jail for the 2007 murder of the British student Meredith Kercher is Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast-born drugs peddler. He admitted he was in the house on the night she died, but denied he killed her. Guede is serving a 16-year sentence after opting for a fast-track trial. Hellmann said: “I cannot affirm that Rudy Guede is the only one who knows what happened that night.” But he added: “He certainly knows and hasn’t said. Perhaps the two [other] accused, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, also know.” Commenting on protests outside the court in Perugia after the verdict was announced, the judge observed that many Italians had already decided on Knox’s guilt. “I think it stems from [her] American nationality,” he said. Hellmann added that he was sorry to see the prosecutors had taken the outcome as a defeat. “If I had been in their place, with the elements they had, I would have done the same,” he said. The prosecutor who led the investigation, Giuliano Mignini, has indicated that he wants to contest the court’s decision in Italy’s highest appeals tribunal. But the court, in Rome, normally deals only with points of law and procedure. Amanda Knox Raffaele Sollecito Italy Europe United States John Hooper guardian.co.uk
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More repeats on BBC2, fewer entertainment shows and smaller BBC3 and BBC4 as corporation seeks to save £67m The BBC will axe nearly 2,000 jobs as it looks to save £670m a year in long-awaited cost-cutting plans announced on Thursday morning. The changes will see more repeats on BBC2, fewer entertainment shows, less money spent on sports rights and a shrunken BBC3 and BBC4. BBC3 will be moved to the BBC’s new northern base in Salford, which will become home to “at least” another 1,000 jobs, taking its total workforce to 3,300, while the BBC prepares to vacate its west London headquarters. There will also be wide-ranging cuts to the BBC’s radio output, with the exception of Radio 4. The BBC said today’s proposals – the result of its nine-month Delivering Quality First review – would lead to a “smaller and radically reshaped BBC”. It follows last year’s licence fee settlement which frozen the BBC’s funding – and the £145.50 fee – until 2017 and saw the corporation take on extra responsibilities including the BBC World Service. As anticipated, BBC director general Mark Thompson has avoided the wholesale axing of one of its digital channels or services. But Thompson warned the changes would mean “stretching efficiencies and significant job losses. It’s my judgment that this is the last time the BBC will be able to make this level of savings without a substantial loss of services or quality or both”. Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, said: “The BBC is far from perfect but it is a great institution and, at its best, a great broadcaster. We have a tough and challenging new licence fee settlement, but it should still be possible to run an outstanding broadcaster on £3.5bn a year.” The proposals outlined by the BBC today will save £670m a year by 2016/17 which, along with extra efficiency savings of £30m a year, will result in total savings of 20% of the BBC’s budget. About 4% of the savings will be reinvested into programming. BBC2′s existing daytime schedule will be scrapped, replaced by international news and current affairs at lunchtime and repeats in the afternoon. Both BBC3 and BBC4 will be “refocussed” to play a “supporting role” to BBC1 and BBC2 respectively. There will also be fewer entertainment programmes and overseas acquisitions. It is also proposing that children’s programmes such as Blue Peter will be dropped from BBC1, airing exclusively on its two dedicated digital channels, CBBC and CBeebies, sometime after the whole country has moved switched over to digital television in 2012. On radio, there will be greater sharing of news bulletins across networks with Radio 5 Live, which has recently been expanding its entertainment programmes, refocussed on a “core output of news and sport”. Radio 3′s lunchtime original drama, live music and concerts will be cut, and the BBC’s orchestras and singers will be “reviewed”. The Proms will not be affected. Local radio will also be hit, with a focus on peaktime programmes and more syndicated programmes across neighbouring stations. The BBC will continue with plans to reduce senior management numbers and cut BBC Online’s budget by 25%. In total, £400m of the savings by 2016/17 will come from productivity savings, with £205m from “scope” – that is programmes and services. The BBC will also quit its various west London properties, including TV Centre. Thompson said: “This is a plan which puts quality and creativity first. It’s a plan for a smaller BBC, but a BBC which uses its resources more effectively and collaboratively to deliver a full range of services to the public. The plan meets the savings target we agreed in last year’s licence-fee settlement, but also identifies nearly £150m per year to invest in high quality output and in the platforms and services of the future.” The BBC Trust has now launched a public consultation on the proposals. Lord Patten said: “The Trust’s view has been clear from the start of this process – the BBC must look to run itself as efficiently as possible before we consider cutting services. Over half of the savings announced today will come from changes to operations, but there will need to be some changes to services and we now need to test BBC management’s proposals for this. We agree with the direction that the director general has taken, but we want to hear what the public think, as it is ultimately their BBC.” The sports’ rights budgets will be cut by 15%, with a reduction in the amount of money it spends on overseas drama and films. The entertainment budget will also be cut, focused on “programmes which have lower impact that the big events on BBC1, as well as some entertainment on BBC2″. All new first-run daytime programming will be run on BBC1, with BBC2′s daytime schedule given over to repeats of “outstanding” shows which have already run in peak. Overnight programming on TV and radio will be reduced, while regional current affairs shows on television will be shared across larger region. The BBC HD channel will be closed, replaced with a high definition broadcast of BBC2. The BBC News budget will be cut by £24m, with “limited reductions” in current affairs across TV and Radio 4. Non-news programmes on the BBC News channel will be scaled down with more repeats in off-peak. BBC1′s Sunday lunchtime strand, the Politics Show, will be axed, replaced by a weekend version of Daily Politics. Regional current affairs show Inside Out will survive but be shared across wider regions. But the BBC said it would “sustain its commitment to core journalistic output” with an increased investigations budget for Panorama and more international current affairs on BBC TV. Running through all today’s proposals were a focus on peaktime output, sharing and repeating more content on TV and radio. The number of repeats on BBC1 and Radio 4 will increase by one percentage point, while BBC2′s entire daytime schedule outside of lunchtime will consist of repeats. •
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