French Socialists project ‘caring and sharing’ in bid to beat Nicolas Sarkozy
August 28, 2011 No Comment
Candidates seeks to buck Europe-wide trend away from left and reassure voters of party’s economic nous ahead of 2012 election They are riding high in the polls, sensing a chance to win their first presidential vote since 1988 and buck a trend across Europe in which the left is in retreat. But France’s Socialists are gearing up for a bruising battle against Nicolas Sarkozy in next spring’s presidential election, worried that voters do not trust them to handle the financial crisis. With the 2012 presidential race wide open, the Socialists’ first hurdle is to find a candidate both charismatic and ruthless enough to defeat the genius of Sarkozy on the campaign trail and in the televised debates. François Hollande, the wise-cracking, self-styled “ordinary guy” of French politics, is the early frontrunner, deploying humour and economic nous in equal measure at this weekend’s conference in La Rochelle. A former Socialist party leader and MP in rural central France, Hollande, 57, has gone on a crash diet and smartened up his suits after splitting from his partner, the former presidential runner Ségolène Royal. Famous for his jokes – which charmed audiences at the party conference – Hollande is seen as the most presidential candidate and the most trusted on economic matters. He has an economics background and has positioned himself on the centre-left. “If we don’t dominate money, money will dominate us,” Hollande said in his conference speech, arguing that his priorities were tax reform, helping France’s desolate and largely unemployed youth, and kick-starting growth through careful state investment. Against him is Martine Aubry, 60, the mayor of Lille and the first woman to lead the Socialist party. An architect of the 35-hour week, she is seen as a defender of leftwing values and a “caring” society. One T-shirt slogan among supporters read: “Yes we care”. She told the party conference that austerity alone would not work and French economic woes must be resolved by tackling root issues of “education, employment and sustainable development”. She is seen as austere, less charismatic and less hungry for power. She jumped into the race late to replace the favourite Dominique Strauss-Kahn, viewed as dead politically after the alleged attempted rape of a New York hotel-maid. Royal is still in the race, in third position. The left may be in decline across Europe and are likely to lose in Spain this autumn, but all recent polls show that the Socialists would win if the election were to take place now. And yet party activists are extremely cautious. After the euro zone debt crisis raised investor doubts about France’s prized triple-A credit rating and unemployment last week soared to the highest level since Sarkozy’s election, the economy is at the heart of the presidential race. Sarkozy’s latest initiative for a temporary tax on the mega-wealthy was an attempt to steal the left’s clothes and ditch his “president of the rich” label. But it was attacked by the Socialists as a smokescreen to mask an unfair tax system which affords the rich tax breaks and loopholes while everyday people face new taxes on items such as fizzy drinks, cigarettes and visits to theme parks. The Socialists are aiming to convince France that a caring, sharing left can maintain a strong welfare state while kick-starting growth, cutting debt and creating jobs. For the first time, the Socialists are holding an open primary race allowing not just party members but the whole electorate to choose the candidate. The 9 October vote is open to anyone on the electoral register if they sign a declaration that they adhere to the values of the left and pay one euro. Many party members said the Socialist lead in the polls was down to the left-leaning spirit of French society – with the republican ideals of the strong state, social welfare protection and a general anti-capitalist feeling. Often opinion polls favour the left long before an election, but then voters swing right on concrete policy issues at the ballot box. “The French have their hearts on their left and wallets on their right,” said one Socialist activist from the south. “The individualism of Sarkozyism is winning out and our challenge is to convince people we can create a reasonable society where economic development is for everyone not just about a privileged few.” France Europe Nicolas Sarkozy Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …French Socialists project ‘caring and sharing’ in bid to beat Nicolas Sarkozy
August 28, 2011 No CommentCandidates seeks to buck Europe-wide trend away from left and reassure voters of party’s economic nous ahead of 2012 election They are riding high in the polls, sensing a chance to win their first presidential vote since 1988 and buck a trend across Europe in which the left is in retreat. But France’s Socialists are gearing up for a bruising battle against Nicolas Sarkozy in next spring’s presidential election, worried that voters do not trust them to handle the financial crisis. With the 2012 presidential race wide open, the Socialists’ first hurdle is to find a candidate both charismatic and ruthless enough to defeat the genius of Sarkozy on the campaign trail and in the televised debates. François Hollande, the wise-cracking, self-styled “ordinary guy” of French politics, is the early frontrunner, deploying humour and economic nous in equal measure at this weekend’s conference in La Rochelle. A former Socialist party leader and MP in rural central France, Hollande, 57, has gone on a crash diet and smartened up his suits after splitting from his partner, the former presidential runner Ségolène Royal. Famous for his jokes – which charmed audiences at the party conference – Hollande is seen as the most presidential candidate and the most trusted on economic matters. He has an economics background and has positioned himself on the centre-left. “If we don’t dominate money, money will dominate us,” Hollande said in his conference speech, arguing that his priorities were tax reform, helping France’s desolate and largely unemployed youth, and kick-starting growth through careful state investment. Against him is Martine Aubry, 60, the mayor of Lille and the first woman to lead the Socialist party. An architect of the 35-hour week, she is seen as a defender of leftwing values and a “caring” society. One T-shirt slogan among supporters read: “Yes we care”. She told the party conference that austerity alone would not work and French economic woes must be resolved by tackling root issues of “education, employment and sustainable development”. She is seen as austere, less charismatic and less hungry for power. She jumped into the race late to replace the favourite Dominique Strauss-Kahn, viewed as dead politically after the alleged attempted rape of a New York hotel-maid. Royal is still in the race, in third position. The left may be in decline across Europe and are likely to lose in Spain this autumn, but all recent polls show that the Socialists would win if the election were to take place now. And yet party activists are extremely cautious. After the euro zone debt crisis raised investor doubts about France’s prized triple-A credit rating and unemployment last week soared to the highest level since Sarkozy’s election, the economy is at the heart of the presidential race. Sarkozy’s latest initiative for a temporary tax on the mega-wealthy was an attempt to steal the left’s clothes and ditch his “president of the rich” label. But it was attacked by the Socialists as a smokescreen to mask an unfair tax system which affords the rich tax breaks and loopholes while everyday people face new taxes on items such as fizzy drinks, cigarettes and visits to theme parks. The Socialists are aiming to convince France that a caring, sharing left can maintain a strong welfare state while kick-starting growth, cutting debt and creating jobs. For the first time, the Socialists are holding an open primary race allowing not just party members but the whole electorate to choose the candidate. The 9 October vote is open to anyone on the electoral register if they sign a declaration that they adhere to the values of the left and pay one euro. Many party members said the Socialist lead in the polls was down to the left-leaning spirit of French society – with the republican ideals of the strong state, social welfare protection and a general anti-capitalist feeling. Often opinion polls favour the left long before an election, but then voters swing right on concrete policy issues at the ballot box. “The French have their hearts on their left and wallets on their right,” said one Socialist activist from the south. “The individualism of Sarkozyism is winning out and our challenge is to convince people we can create a reasonable society where economic development is for everyone not just about a privileged few.” France Europe Nicolas Sarkozy Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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Fears that Rupert Murdoch could reopen bid prompts ‘public interest test’ motion by shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis Labour is trying to secure cross-party support for an emergency change in the law to prevent News Corporation from renewing its bid to take full ownership of BSkyB. In a move designed to capitalise on the embarrassment the phone-hacking scandal has heaped on the government, Labour said there was still a possibility that Rupert Murdoch could reopen his bid and the law should be changed to allow ministers to block it. Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, will introduce a negative motion when parliament returns next week, which – if approved by all parties – could go ahead without a vote. He has written to the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the Lib Dem culture spokesman, Don Foster, with his proposals. The aim would be to introduce a new public interest test applicable to media barons to rule people out based on their conduct. Under Labour’s proposed amendments to Section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002, ministers would be given the necessary powers to ask regulators to apply a wide-ranging public interest test. Ministers would be also be able to intervene at any stage in the process if new information came to light. Lewis said: “These measures are necessary to ensure that while we wait for the outcome of the Leveson inquiry, no changes in media ownership can occur which are not in the public interest. “It is essential we learn lessons from the BSkyB fiasco so that media integrity is the top priority when considering future ownership and merger changes. “Ultimately, there is a strong case for removing politicians from media ownership and merger decisions. But, in the meantime, we must act to address the legal ambiguities which allowed Jeremy Hunt to disregard growing public concern and damaged public trust in the credibility of the decision making process.” In his letter to Hunt, Lewis argued that ministers should be removed from the approval process in the long term, but that while the existing legislation was in place emergency moves were urgently needed to close the loophole that could allow Murdoch to simply bid again for control of BSkyB. The negative motion will be laid in both houses of parliament when they return on 5 September. News Corporation Rupert Murdoch BSkyB Phone hacking Media business Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Television industry Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Fears that Rupert Murdoch could reopen bid prompts ‘public interest test’ motion by shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis Labour is trying to secure cross-party support for an emergency change in the law to prevent News Corporation from renewing its bid to take full ownership of BSkyB. In a move designed to capitalise on the embarrassment the phone-hacking scandal has heaped on the government, Labour said there was still a possibility that Rupert Murdoch could reopen his bid and the law should be changed to allow ministers to block it. Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, will introduce a negative motion when parliament returns next week, which – if approved by all parties – could go ahead without a vote. He has written to the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the Lib Dem culture spokesman, Don Foster, with his proposals. The aim would be to introduce a new public interest test applicable to media barons to rule people out based on their conduct. Under Labour’s proposed amendments to Section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002, ministers would be given the necessary powers to ask regulators to apply a wide-ranging public interest test. Ministers would be also be able to intervene at any stage in the process if new information came to light. Lewis said: “These measures are necessary to ensure that while we wait for the outcome of the Leveson inquiry, no changes in media ownership can occur which are not in the public interest. “It is essential we learn lessons from the BSkyB fiasco so that media integrity is the top priority when considering future ownership and merger changes. “Ultimately, there is a strong case for removing politicians from media ownership and merger decisions. But, in the meantime, we must act to address the legal ambiguities which allowed Jeremy Hunt to disregard growing public concern and damaged public trust in the credibility of the decision making process.” In his letter to Hunt, Lewis argued that ministers should be removed from the approval process in the long term, but that while the existing legislation was in place emergency moves were urgently needed to close the loophole that could allow Murdoch to simply bid again for control of BSkyB. The negative motion will be laid in both houses of parliament when they return on 5 September. News Corporation Rupert Murdoch BSkyB Phone hacking Media business Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Television industry Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Stephen Hayes: Every Time His Job Record is Attacked, It’s a Win for Rick Perry
August 28, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media While discussing whether or not we can say that 2012 Republican primary now has two front runners, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, Fox News Sunday panel member Juan Williams went through the litany of reasons that Perry might do well in the GOP primary race, but is going to have some trouble in the general election because he’s going to be painted “as an extremist and fringe.” When Williams pointed out that Perry’s record on job creation in Texas isn’t all that it’s being built up to be, naturally the rest of him pounced on him and here’s how The Weekly Standard columnist and Cheney “biographer” Stephen Hayes responded: HAYES: Every time his job record is attacked, it’s a win for Rick Perry, because you can’t attack jobs that don’t exist. So that’s… it’s reinforcing the sense that people have that Texas has actually created jobs. If Stephen Hayes thinks Perry can’t be attacked for his so called “Texas Miracle”, I’ve got a few posts for him to read. Here’s Rachel Maddow from this past June — Rachel Maddow Debunks Praise for Rick Perry’s ‘Texas Miracle’ . And Paul Krugman from earlier this month — The Texas Unmiracle . And here’s more from Jon Perr on the not just Rick Perry, but where the Republicans’ policies are taking the United States — Republicans Push National Race to the Bottom .
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Click here to view this media I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to give props to Christie, who did a great job convincing people to take this storm seriously. There was serious damage and substantial flooding in New Jersey, and thanks to his blunt statements, he managed to persuade most of the people in harm’s way to evacuate. Reports of damage are still coming in from all over the state, which is why I was surprised by phone calls this morning from friends saying, “No big deal.” Really? One of my friends, who lives at the beach, had a tornado touch down near her house. It took out a couple of houses, the roof of an apartment building, and threw high-velocity debris all over the area. None of that has appeared on the news. (Oh, and her local beach was completely washed away.) Here’s Gov. Christie, interviewed by Jake Tapper for This Week With Christiane Amanour: TAPPER: As we’ve been telling you, New Jersey is getting hit hard by the storm right now. New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, is monitoring the situation from the Regional Operations Intelligence Center in Ewing, New Jersey. He joins us right now. Governor Christie, thanks for coming onto the show. CHRISTIE: Thanks for having me, Jake. TAPPER: So, Governor, the hurricane made landfall in New Jersey shortly before 6:00 this morning. Your state’s just beginning to weather the storm. What are the early reports telling you? CHRISTIE: Early reports are very difficult, Jake. We have over half-a-million people that are now without power. We have 15,000 people in 45 shelters across the state; 250 roads are closed; and we are going to look at a record flooding situation here, both at the shore and inland. And so my message to the people of New Jersey is, the eye of the storm is still over the state. We are far from out of the woods on the storm itself. And I urge people to stay inside their homes. The one report we have this morning of a woman who’s missing is someone who went out into their car, drove, got into the water, got out of her car, and was swept away in the water and is still missing. So, please, stay in your homes until the storm has completely left New Jersey. Then we’ll be able to get through this together in the aftermath, but I need people to stay at home. TAPPER: What is your biggest concern right now? What kept you last night? CHRISTIE: Flooding, Jake, because we had the wettest August on record in parts of New Jersey before this storm. Already, we’ve had six to eight inches of rain dumped on south Jersey, and the rain is continuing throughout the state. And so what I’m really worried about is flooding at this point and having to evacuate even more people than the 15,000 we’ve already had to evacuate and shelter. So in the short term, in the next couple of days, my big concern is the inland flooding and the shore flooding and how we’re going to deal with folks who maybe have to be evacuated from their homes and need to be sheltered. TAPPER: Is there anything that the state of New Jersey needs from the federal government that you’re not getting? CHRISTIE: Not at this point, Jake. We have FEMA representatives here at the — at the Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, been working with us. I’m going to be calling Secretary Napolitano in an hour or two to make a further request of additional needs. But so far, FEMA has been very responsive. I spoke to Secretary Napolitano in the last 24 hours. She’s offered to do whatever she needs to do to help us out here in New Jersey. She knows how hard we’re going to be hit. So right now, the cooperation between New Jersey and FEMA has been great, and I’m going to be calling Secretary Napolitano shortly to ask for some more help. TAPPER: I know you were very concerned about the — at the time, it was 600 seniors in these Atlantic City high rises who were not leaving. What can you tell us about efforts to protect them? CHRISTIE: Well, our last-ditch efforts that I referenced yesterday afternoon got another 100 or so to leave and to evacuate. So now we’re dealing with about 500 seniors who refuse to evacuate. And as soon as it’s safe to travel there, I know county OEM, Office of Emergency Management, Atlantic County is already checking on these folks to make sure they’re OK. They lost power in a number of the buildings as early as 10 o’clock last night. So the county officials in Atlantic County are going to check on those folks. And as soon as we have some reports, we’ll be able to share them with the public. TAPPER: Why do people not leave their homes at times like this? CHRISTIE: You know, I think it’s a combination of things. You know, Jake, New Jerseyans are especially tough, kind of cynical, hard-edged folks, and they think the “cry wolf” syndrome, you know, it’s all over TV, but it’s never as bad as they’re telling you it will be, that’s one of the reasons . Another reason is that people are very scared, they want to protect their property. And thirdly, especially with the elderly, you know, we had one 92-year-old woman say to us yesterday, “I’m 92 years old. If I die, this is where I want to die.” And so I think it’s a combination of all those things that make people not heed the warnings. But the good news is that we evaluated over a million people from the Jersey shore in 24 hours without incident. And if those people had stayed at the Jersey shore, I think we’d be talking about significant loss of life. And now, hopefully, we’re not going to be talking about that. TAPPER: All right. Governor Chris Christie, thanks for joining us. Stay safe. CHRISTIE: Jake, thank you very much for having me.
Continue reading …Will Rips Irene Hype: Journalism ‘Shouldn’t Contribute to the Manufacture of Synthetic Hysteria’
August 28, 2011 No Comment
With Irene downgraded to a tropical storm, it is clear that this weather event has become another example of America's media hyping every potential crisis into a full-blown calamity before the fact. Observing such was George Will on ABC's “This Week” Sunday who told his fellow panelists, “Whatever else you want to say about journalism, it shouldn’t subtract from the nation’s understanding and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to the manufacture of synthetic hysteria that is so much a part of modern life” (video follows with transcript and commentary): JAKE TAPPER, HOST: George, you think we’re making too big a deal of all this. GEORGE WILL: I have a home on South Carolina’s Atlantic Coast. I know that the Atlantic Ocean generates hurricanes, and they can be dangerous and unpredictable. That said, this too must be said: Florence Nightingale said, “Whatever else you can say about hospitals, they shouldn’t make their patients sicker.” And whatever else you want to say about journalism, it shouldn’t subtract from the nation’s understanding and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to the manufacture of synthetic hysteria that is so much a part of modern life. And I think we may have done so with regard to this tropical storm as it now seems to be. When you think about the unnecessary panic and fear ginned up by the media over what indeed turned into a tropical storm before it hit Manhattan, one has to wonder how much time and money was wasted in preparing for the hyped worst case scenario that fortunately never transpired. Reminds you of 2009's predicted swine flu pandemic. But maybe far more importantly, this event shows us how our current computer models can't accurately predict either the size, strength, or precise location of a hurricane within hours of it making landfall. Yet we're supposed to radically change our entire economy over what computer models are forecasting regarding the impact carbon dioxide theoretically will have on the climate decades out. We've just witnessed how media hype and hysteria concerning weather misleads the nation on events happening in days if not hours. Shouldn't we be extraordinarily dubious about any calamity these same folks predict well into the future?
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Scotland yard film shows officers knocked down by high-speed car in Waltham Forest, north London A second man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two police officers were hit by a car while chasing looters during the recent riots in England. The 28-year-old was taken to a London police station where he is being kept in custody. Scotland Yard released CCTV footage of the incident, which showed the officers being hit by a green Citroën, which was driven at them at speed in Waltham Forest, north-east London, as they dealt with reports of a group looting a clothing store at about 1am on 8 August. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the car was driven at the policemen, both of whom are both based at Paddington Green police station, in Royston Avenue as they attended the incident at the Aristocrats shop in Chingford Mount Road. The footage shows the car appearing at high speed and knocking two officers to the ground. One suffered knee and leg injuries, and the other received shoulder injuries. They were both taken to hospital and are now recovering at home. The spokesman said one officer was hit so hard that some of his body armour came off and could be seen lying in the middle of the road after the collision. A 31-year-old man has already been arrested and bailed in connection with the incident. UK riots London Police guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Media Magazine Worries ‘Queen’ Bachmann Is Too ‘Well-Coached’ for Wimpy Media
August 28, 2011 No CommentBroadcasting & Cable magazine published a cover story in its August 22 issue [not available online] complaining that the stakes are too high in the 2012 campaign to just led (Republican) candidates get away with their own talking points. The headline was “Just Say Something! Candidates have been dodging questions for decades, but with astronomical stakes this election cycle, it's more prevalent than ever .” Right underneath this headline was a picture of Rep. Michele Bachmann wih the headline in capital red letters ” The Queen of the Page .” It continued: “As in the ones Rep. Michele Bachmann's talking points are written on, as she may be the most well-coached candidate to come along in years — and certainly in this election cycle — according to national news anchors.” Is that an insult to Obama? Or does it simply mean he doesn't need to have his talking points questioned?
Continue reading …Israeli activists squat empty Jerusalem buildings to protest over costly housing
August 28, 2011 No Comment
Social justice campaigners unveil ‘People’s House’ in abandoned state-owned building and call for ‘national squatting movement’ Social justice activists have embarked on a series of lightning squats of unoccupied buildings as part of a six-week protest against rising rents and house prices in Israel. The protesters, who aim to “inspire a national squatting movement”, unveiled Jerusalem’s first “People’s House” on Saturday night, occupying an abandoned state-owned building close to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s official residence, where several thousand demonstrators called for social justice and better living standards. The four storey building in the city centre has been empty for 15 years, say demonstrators. It is owned by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which was established by Zionists more than a century ago to buy up land in Palestine. Plans to turn it into a hotel more than a decade ago never came to fruition. A coalition of activists broke in through a back window on Friday, cleared away rubble and set about transforming the interior in anticipation of Saturday night’s launch. About 200 Israelis came to celebrate the building’s occupation on Saturday night, according to the organisers. The flicker of hundreds of candles lit up poems inspired by the social justice protests which were daubed in white paint on the walls. Esther Witt, one of the activists behind the initiative, said the political statement was designed to put pressure on the government to deal with state-owned buildings that stand empty and encourage the thousands of foreign owners of “ghost apartments” in Israel to rent them out. “We’re trying to make a point – this building could easily house four families but it has stood empty for 15 years,” said Witt, a special needs teaching assistant and mother of two young children. “We want those people who own apartments in Israel but only come to the country for two weeks a year to feel that if they leave their apartment empty, it’ll be squatted, and so it’s in everyone’s interest if they rent them out instead.” The takeover of the building followed two similar “guerrilla occupations” in Tel Aviv. Last Monday, dozens of housing protesters occupied a building owned by the Tel Aviv Municipality before being evicted by police the next morning. And on Friday afternoon, protesters broke into and briefly occupied another mainly empty municipal building in the city, hanging protest signs on its exterior and leaving before police arrived. Discontent with spiralling rents, high house prices, the exorbitant costs of education and raising children, as well as a range of other social issues, has seen a national social justice movement blossom since the first “tent city” protest in Tel Aviv on 14 July. Mass rallies have been held in cities and towns across Israel since then, with an estimated 300,000 people taking to the streets on 6 August in the largest demonstrations over social issues seen in the country. Unimpressed by the government’s establishment of a committee of experts to consider the demands, activists are calling for a “million-man” march in 50 cities next Saturday. However, demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and a handful of other towns and cities on Saturday night saw a markedly lower turnout than in previous protests, with about 20,000 Israelis taking part, according to local media reports. Protests planned for last weekend were cancelled after terrorist attacks hit the south of the country, and an anticipated Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN threatens to eclipse the sizable media coverage and publicity that the demonstrators have garnered so far. Israel Binyamin Netanyahu Protest guardian.co.uk
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