National Transitional Council confirms capture of ruler’s son and rebel convoy enters Green Square, the capital’s symbolic heart Hundreds of rebel fighters pushed into the centre of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, late on Sunday as their battle to overthrow the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi moved closer to ending in victory. Rebels waved opposition flags and fired guns into the air in jubilation after reaching Tripoli’s central Green Square, the symbolic heart of the city, in the early hours of Monday morning. Delighted residents were seen pouring into the streets to celebrate and greet the rebel fighters as they advanced through the suburbs towards the centre. The prosecutor of the international criminal court said one of Gaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Islam, who has been indicted along with his father on crimes against humanity charges had been detained. The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abd el-Jalil said that his fighters who had detained Saif al-Islam had been given instructions to “treat him well”. There were also reports that Gaddafi’s eldest son, Mohammed, and the presidential guard had surrendered but Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound was still under the control of the regime. As crowds gathered in Tripoli and the rebel-held city of Misrata, Gaddafi staged a dramatic late-night appeal for help. Speaking on state television via audiolink, for the second time on Sunday, the dictator sounded more measured than in previous, emotionally charged speeches. He said to the Libyan people: “There are criminals, they are coming to destroy Tripoli. They are coming to steal our oil. “Now it [Tripoli] is in ruins. They are coming, they are destroying it. Come out of your houses and fight these betrayers. Hurry up, hurry up, families and tribes, go to Tripoli. Call the tribes to go to Tripoli.” Libyan information ministry spokesman Moussa Ibrahim also insisted that Gaddafi forces would stand and fight. He said: “We are still very strong. We have thousands and thousands of fighters who have nowhere to go but to fight. “Nato has intensified its attacks on and around Tripoli, giving immediate and direct support for the rebels’ forces to advance into a peaceful capital of this great nation and the death toll is beyond imagination.” In an attempt to try to avoid a heavy battle in the city centre, Abd el-Jalil said the rebel fighters would halt their offensive if Gaddafi announced his departure, adding that they would give Gaddafi and his sons safe passage out of the country. Nato said on Sunday the situation was “very fluid”. “We can see that the regime is crumbling, and the sooner Gaddafi realises he cannot win this war against his own people, the better,” Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said. “He’s the one who’s responsible for starting the conflict and he should spare his people further bloodshed,” she added. Britain called on Gaddafi to stand down to save his people from further suffering. Downing Street said it was clear that the “end is near” for the Libyan leader. “It is clear from the scenes we are witnessing in Tripoli that the end is near for Gaddafi,” No 10 said. “He has committed appalling crimes against the people of Libya and he must go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people.” Earlier Muammar Gaddafi called for supporters from across Libya to help him defend the capital, with rebel forces then already in control of parts and massing
Continue reading …David Axelrod Dodges Michael Moore’s Question About Liberal Disappointment
August 21, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media David Axelrod appeared on ABC’s This Week to answer some questions about President Obama’s upcoming speech after Labor Day and he also fielded questions by the Congressional Black Caucus and Michael Moore about how disappointed the liberal base has been as the administration has moved constantly to the right since he took over the Oval Office. This strategy took shape when Rahm Emmanuel began to push his DLC politics around and made it clear he didn’t mind attacking the base whenever we disagreed with their tactics . The anger on the left shows that Mr. Obama is caught in an internal battle over both the course of his administration and the Democratic Party. Many in the party, particularly in the wake of the loss [..] of a Massachusetts Senate seat, contend that the White House should chart a centrist approach focusing on the economy. They point to polls showing Mr. Obama’s approval rating among independent voters has dropped by nearly 20 percentage points since early last year. — Activists and former campaign staff members watched with dismay as Mr. Emanuel and his team pursued a traditional Washington style of Capitol Hill negotiations and deal making. Activists on the left had hoped the administration would use Mr. Obama’s grass-roots campaign network, Organizing for America, and its email list with 13 million names to pressure lawmakers into adopting a more left-leaning agenda, such as pushing for universal health-care coverage. The WSJ article said the election of Scott Brown was a turning point for the administration, but that seems a shallow response to one special election with a candidate like Martha Coakley, who ran a terrible campaign against the tea party-backed Brown. You may remember that Michael Moore wrote a sarcastic letter to the President and said that he’d welcome the chance to be his new Chief of Staff. Jake Tapper read a question to Axelrod from Moore, asking if the administration is aware of or considering the consequences of this callous assumptions of those who elected him. ABC Transcript: TAPPER: Lastly, David, I know that you’re well aware that you have a big task ahead of you when it comes to motivating Obama supporters from 2008 and potentially future Obama supporters, rallying the base. Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore had this question that he wanted me to ask you. Quote, “Are you aware of how profoundly disappointed so many of the president’s supporters are? Do you realize that each time the president moves to the right, he picks up no votes and loses many? Or do you cynically believe that because these people have nowhere else to go, they’ll end up voting for Obama?” How do you respond to liberals like Michael Moore, who want to vote for the president, but are just profoundly disappointed? How do you convince them to turn out in November 2012? AXELROD: Well, first of all, no one is cynically moving one way or the other. The president is not moving left or right; he’s interested in moving the country forward. And we’ve got a very, very sharp debate here. And the question is, are we going to take steps in the short run to help stimulate this economy, to help create jobs, to help create growth? And are we going to take the steps in the long run that will protect the investments that can grow our economy and, most importantly, Jake, can create good middle-class jobs in the future on which people can raise their families? That’s what education is about. That’s what research and development to create new technologies and advance manufacturing is about. That’s what the infrastructure — that’s what roads and bridges and repairs that put people to work now, but also create the opportunity to move — to move our goods across this country. And all of these things are part and parcel of a strategy that is completely opposed by the other side, who want to go back to the same trickle-down, deregulation. You know, the same mantra we heard in the last decade that led up to this problem we’re hearing again. I think that this is such a profound choice that the president’s supporters and independent voters and people across this country will rally, because the future will be determined by this debate and the path we take. The fact that Axelrod is still playing at the bipartisan game is really sad. Rahm’s strategy to attract independents did not work, nor did the same strategy work in the debt ceiling negotiations under Daley after he was gone. And it was no secret that the administration did decide to swing right when it adopted deficit reduction as a huge priority. Yes, the two parties clearly do have different positions on our social safety nets. Axelrod can try to explain it to death as most liberal elitists do instead of taking strong stands that can rally Americans behind them. Just look at all the polling. Telling middle class Americans we have to tighten our belts and supporting austerity measures during a terrible economy was a political decision, but more importantly, is nothing more than a conservative philosophy. We know that President Obama is reading Rick Perlstein’s book; I hope Axelrod and his boss will read his Time piece before the Labor Day speech: How Democrats Win: Defending the Social Safety Net Here’s what LBJ knew that McGovern didn’t: There are few or no historical instances in which saying clearly what you are for and what you are against makes Americans less divided. But there is plenty of evidence that attacking the wealthy has not made them more divided. After all, the man who said of his own day’s plutocrats, “I welcome their hatred,” also assembled the most enduring political coalition in U.S. history. The Republicans will call it class warfare. Let them. Done right, economic populism cools the political climate. Just knowing that the people in power are willing to lie down on the tracks for them can make the middle much less frantic. Which makes America a better place. And which, incidentally, makes Democrats win (h/t Heather of Video Cafe for the video)
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Strauss-Kahn’s accuser summoned to meeting with prosecutors, in sign that at least some of the charges will be dropped Prosecutors are expected to drop sexual assault and other charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing on Tuesday. Lawyers representing Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, say she has been summoned to a meeting with prosecutors in New York on Monday, which they believe to be a sign that at least some of the charges, including the most serious, will be abandoned. Diallo alleged that Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her after she went to clean his hotel suite. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF, has said the sexual encounter with Diallo was consensual and accused her of trying to extort money. Diallo’s lawyers believe that the Manhattan district attorney’s office will ask the court to drop the charges because her credibility as a witness was damaged when it was revealed she lied on an application for asylum in the US about being raped by soldiers in her native Guinea. “My interpretation of that letter is that they’re going to announce that they’re dismissing the case entirely, or some of the charges,” Diallo’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, told the New York Times . “If they were not going to dismiss the charges there would be no need to meet with her. They would just go to court the next day to say ‘we’re going to proceed with the case’.” Thompson criticised the decision. “The tone of the letter is consistent with the unfair way the Manhattan district attorney’s office has treated Ms Diallo throughout this process. It’s as if she is the defendant and Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the victim.” Another of Diallo’s lawyers, Douglas Wigdor, told the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that the decision to abandon the prosecution was “incomprehensible”. It is not clear whether all of the charges will be dropped. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers in New York have rejected any possibility of a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to a relatively minor offence, such as simple assault, and receive a non-custodial sentence. If the charges are dismissed Strauss-Kahn will be free to return to France, three months after he was removed from an Air France flight in New York. He is still facing a civil suit filed by Diallo a fortnight ago seeking damages for a “violent and sadistic” attack. Strauss-Kahn is also under investigation in France after a writer, Tristane Banon, alleged that he tried to rape her in 2002. The case against Strauss-Kahn began to collapse when it was disclosed in June that Diallo had lied on her asylum application and to investigators about other aspects of her background and personal life. Her credibility was also damaged by the revelation that shortly after the alleged rape she called a friend being held at an immigration detention centre in Arizona and spoke of claiming money from Strauss-Kahn. Some public figures and women’s groups have urged the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, not to drop the prosecution after Diallo gave up her right to anonymity and went public with details of the alleged attack after her credibility came into question. Dominique Strauss-Kahn United States France IMF Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Strauss-Kahn’s accuser summoned to meeting with prosecutors, in sign that at least some of the charges will be dropped Prosecutors are expected to drop sexual assault and other charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing on Tuesday. Lawyers representing Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, say she has been summoned to a meeting with prosecutors in New York on Monday, which they believe to be a sign that at least some of the charges, including the most serious, will be abandoned. Diallo alleged that Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her after she went to clean his hotel suite. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF, has said the sexual encounter with Diallo was consensual and accused her of trying to extort money. Diallo’s lawyers believe that the Manhattan district attorney’s office will ask the court to drop the charges because her credibility as a witness was damaged when it was revealed she lied on an application for asylum in the US about being raped by soldiers in her native Guinea. “My interpretation of that letter is that they’re going to announce that they’re dismissing the case entirely, or some of the charges,” Diallo’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, told the New York Times . “If they were not going to dismiss the charges there would be no need to meet with her. They would just go to court the next day to say ‘we’re going to proceed with the case’.” Thompson criticised the decision. “The tone of the letter is consistent with the unfair way the Manhattan district attorney’s office has treated Ms Diallo throughout this process. It’s as if she is the defendant and Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the victim.” Another of Diallo’s lawyers, Douglas Wigdor, told the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that the decision to abandon the prosecution was “incomprehensible”. It is not clear whether all of the charges will be dropped. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers in New York have rejected any possibility of a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to a relatively minor offence, such as simple assault, and receive a non-custodial sentence. If the charges are dismissed Strauss-Kahn will be free to return to France, three months after he was removed from an Air France flight in New York. He is still facing a civil suit filed by Diallo a fortnight ago seeking damages for a “violent and sadistic” attack. Strauss-Kahn is also under investigation in France after a writer, Tristane Banon, alleged that he tried to rape her in 2002. The case against Strauss-Kahn began to collapse when it was disclosed in June that Diallo had lied on her asylum application and to investigators about other aspects of her background and personal life. Her credibility was also damaged by the revelation that shortly after the alleged rape she called a friend being held at an immigration detention centre in Arizona and spoke of claiming money from Strauss-Kahn. Some public figures and women’s groups have urged the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, not to drop the prosecution after Diallo gave up her right to anonymity and went public with details of the alleged attack after her credibility came into question. Dominique Strauss-Kahn United States France IMF Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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A number of charities set up by Prince Charles have called on the government to change policies on politically sensitive topics Prince Charles’s charities have lobbied government ministers and senior officials to change policies on politically sensitive topics including VAT rates and regional development spending, according to letters and emails obtained by the Guardian. In a series of interventions that will re-ignite debate about the Prince of Wales’s alleged “meddling” in politics, charities set up by the prince in line with his social and environmental goals have called on the government to change policies. Business in the Community , a charity of which Charles has been president for 25 years, urged the business secretary, Vince Cable, to rethink a decision to scrap the Northwest Regional Development Agency, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. In another case, the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment urged the local government minister, Grant Shapps, to incorporate greater community engagement in planning and promoted its own planning work around the country as something for him to consider in the national planning policy framework . Three months later the Department for Communities and Local Government awarded a £800,000 grant to the foundation to advise local groups on new developments. The communities department denied there was any connection between the lobbying and the grant to the Prince’s Foundation. The correspondence released by the government to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act comprises 17 emails and letters between five of the prince’s charities and ministers and officials in four government departments. It has prompted fresh concern that the initiatives could be used as a way of extending the prince’s political influence in a way that could cause constitutional problems. Prof Adam Tomkins , a leading expert in constitutional law at Glasgow University, said that because the charities were set up by Prince Charles and appear to reflect his sometimes deeply controversial political agendas, their interventions undermined royalty’s traditional non-involvement in politics. A former ministerial adviser who handled lobbying from the prince and his charities on housing and complementary medicine said he felt that interventions by the prince and his charities have previously been granted priority in Whitehall. “There was a frisson of excitement when a letter came in from Charles and there was easy, open-door access for his office and charities in a way I felt other organisations would struggle to match,” said Paul Richards, special adviser to Hazel Blears and Patricia Hewitt, former secretaries of state for communities and health. “My sense was that the charities were given a star status and that means they get priority and I would be astonished if that was any different under the current government.” Charles is president of 20 charities which are widely seen as an extension of his own social and environmental goals. Eighteen of them were founded by him. They are overseen from Clarence House, the prince’s headquarters. “They are independent charities governed by their trustees and they communicate with government on issues relevant to their work, just like many charities do all the time,” said a Clarence House spokesman. “The prince founded most of his charities and so, of course, takes a close interest in what they do. It is up to the charities themselves to decide on their communications with government.” Charles has repeatedly come under fire for his attempts to influence public policy. It emerged in June that he has held meetings with 10 government ministers, including talks at Clarence House with the chancellor, George Osborne, the education secretary, Michael Gove, the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, and the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman. Their discussions remain secret because of exemptions in freedom of information laws concerning communication between members of the royal family and public bodies. The same exemptions do not apply to the charities. The latest documents show how in March this year, Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust , which promotes the restoration of old buildings, followed up what she describes as “a fruitful and productive” meeting with Shapps with a letter urging him to pressure the Treasury to cut VAT on restoring historic buildings offering public access. Kerslake told the minister the scheme would cost the taxpayer between £13m and £48m a year but argued it would deliver a net gain by the fourth year and appended a detailed proposal. “I hope this report will prove of interest to you and will highlight that there is evidence to present to the Treasury,” she wrote. Charles is involved in projects that could benefit from such a tax change. In 2007 he took out a £20m loan from the Prince’s Charities Foundation to help finance the purchase of the grade I-listed stately home, Dumfries House, and he has since opened it to the public following an extensive refurbishment. VAT is also paid on the upkeep of Buckingham Palace which is partly open to the public. Shapps replied that a change in VAT was not possible under European agreements, but offered his officials to personally brief Kerslake on another heritage regeneration funding scheme and added a note in his own hand: “Great to meet you the other week. Stay in touch.” A spokesman for the Prince’s Regeneration Trust said: “The issues around VAT on the repair and adaptation of historic buildings was and continues to be one of public debate,” he said. “Ros Kerslake and the Prince’s Regeneration Trust were just one voice of many in a debate on this issue, which affects the whole of the heritage sector. Highlighting this to the minister is in our interests, and the interests of the entire UK heritage industry.” Business in the Community, a charity that was not originally set up by the prince, although he is its president, pressed Cable to rethink a decision to scrap the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which funded the charity’s linking of businesses with disadvantaged secondary schools. The agency had also funded another royal charity, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, with close to £500,000. Business in the Community’s chief executive, Stephen Howard, sent the letter 13 days after the formation of the coalition government and told Cable: “I have already had the pleasure to attend No 10 to meet the prime minister and to start a discussion on ‘big society’.” There is no suggestion that Howard’s communications with government were improper. James Gray, spokesman at Republic , which campaigns for a directly elected head of state, said: “Other charities who struggle on a day to day basis to get ministers to listen to them will look at this and ask why these supposedly independent charities are getting such unrivalled access.” A spokeswoman for the communities department said officials who assessed the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment bid for the £800,000 grant had no knowledge of the charity’s earlier letter to Shapps: “The department assessed all bids on their merit and each one was treated fairly and impartially.” Network of influence The heir to the throne has become famous for sending handwritten “black spider memos” to politicians expressing his views on the issues of the day – and he is not embarrassed about them. “What some people call meddling I call mobilising,” he said in a speech at Clarence House in February. His network of 20 charities has arguably allowed him to spread that influence further still. Each charity reflects his interests in areas including health, education, housing, heritage and the environment. The prince’s website describes it as “the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom, raising over £100m annually”, although that includes government grants. The most famous charity is the Prince’s Trust, but he has also founded charities which focus on climate change, architecture and teaching. “We need to explore whether this is a deliberately constructed network of organisations to do more political work that the heir to the throne could, were the spirit of the constitution adhered to,” said Adam Tomkins, professor of constitutional law at Glasgow University. “The overall pattern raises a question about whether the constitutional propriety of the political independence and neutrality of the monarchy are being jeopardised by a long-standing pattern not just of work on good causes but on campaigning on political issues, which are sometimes party-political.” The prince’s approach contrasts with that of the Queen. She is patron of 619 charities but Buckingham Palace said the Queen has never established any charities of her own. Prince Charles Monarchy Charities Voluntary sector Tax and spending Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
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A number of charities set up by Prince Charles have called on the government to change policies on politically sensitive topics Prince Charles’s charities have lobbied government ministers and senior officials to change policies on politically sensitive topics including VAT rates and regional development spending, according to letters and emails obtained by the Guardian. In a series of interventions that will re-ignite debate about the Prince of Wales’s alleged “meddling” in politics, charities set up by the prince in line with his social and environmental goals have called on the government to change policies. Business in the Community , a charity of which Charles has been president for 25 years, urged the business secretary, Vince Cable, to rethink a decision to scrap the Northwest Regional Development Agency, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. In another case, the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment urged the local government minister, Grant Shapps, to incorporate greater community engagement in planning and promoted its own planning work around the country as something for him to consider in the national planning policy framework . Three months later the Department for Communities and Local Government awarded a £800,000 grant to the foundation to advise local groups on new developments. The communities department denied there was any connection between the lobbying and the grant to the Prince’s Foundation. The correspondence released by the government to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act comprises 17 emails and letters between five of the prince’s charities and ministers and officials in four government departments. It has prompted fresh concern that the initiatives could be used as a way of extending the prince’s political influence in a way that could cause constitutional problems. Prof Adam Tomkins , a leading expert in constitutional law at Glasgow University, said that because the charities were set up by Prince Charles and appear to reflect his sometimes deeply controversial political agendas, their interventions undermined royalty’s traditional non-involvement in politics. A former ministerial adviser who handled lobbying from the prince and his charities on housing and complementary medicine said he felt that interventions by the prince and his charities have previously been granted priority in Whitehall. “There was a frisson of excitement when a letter came in from Charles and there was easy, open-door access for his office and charities in a way I felt other organisations would struggle to match,” said Paul Richards, special adviser to Hazel Blears and Patricia Hewitt, former secretaries of state for communities and health. “My sense was that the charities were given a star status and that means they get priority and I would be astonished if that was any different under the current government.” Charles is president of 20 charities which are widely seen as an extension of his own social and environmental goals. Eighteen of them were founded by him. They are overseen from Clarence House, the prince’s headquarters. “They are independent charities governed by their trustees and they communicate with government on issues relevant to their work, just like many charities do all the time,” said a Clarence House spokesman. “The prince founded most of his charities and so, of course, takes a close interest in what they do. It is up to the charities themselves to decide on their communications with government.” Charles has repeatedly come under fire for his attempts to influence public policy. It emerged in June that he has held meetings with 10 government ministers, including talks at Clarence House with the chancellor, George Osborne, the education secretary, Michael Gove, the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, and the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman. Their discussions remain secret because of exemptions in freedom of information laws concerning communication between members of the royal family and public bodies. The same exemptions do not apply to the charities. The latest documents show how in March this year, Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust , which promotes the restoration of old buildings, followed up what she describes as “a fruitful and productive” meeting with Shapps with a letter urging him to pressure the Treasury to cut VAT on restoring historic buildings offering public access. Kerslake told the minister the scheme would cost the taxpayer between £13m and £48m a year but argued it would deliver a net gain by the fourth year and appended a detailed proposal. “I hope this report will prove of interest to you and will highlight that there is evidence to present to the Treasury,” she wrote. Charles is involved in projects that could benefit from such a tax change. In 2007 he took out a £20m loan from the Prince’s Charities Foundation to help finance the purchase of the grade I-listed stately home, Dumfries House, and he has since opened it to the public following an extensive refurbishment. VAT is also paid on the upkeep of Buckingham Palace which is partly open to the public. Shapps replied that a change in VAT was not possible under European agreements, but offered his officials to personally brief Kerslake on another heritage regeneration funding scheme and added a note in his own hand: “Great to meet you the other week. Stay in touch.” A spokesman for the Prince’s Regeneration Trust said: “The issues around VAT on the repair and adaptation of historic buildings was and continues to be one of public debate,” he said. “Ros Kerslake and the Prince’s Regeneration Trust were just one voice of many in a debate on this issue, which affects the whole of the heritage sector. Highlighting this to the minister is in our interests, and the interests of the entire UK heritage industry.” Business in the Community, a charity that was not originally set up by the prince, although he is its president, pressed Cable to rethink a decision to scrap the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which funded the charity’s linking of businesses with disadvantaged secondary schools. The agency had also funded another royal charity, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, with close to £500,000. Business in the Community’s chief executive, Stephen Howard, sent the letter 13 days after the formation of the coalition government and told Cable: “I have already had the pleasure to attend No 10 to meet the prime minister and to start a discussion on ‘big society’.” There is no suggestion that Howard’s communications with government were improper. James Gray, spokesman at Republic , which campaigns for a directly elected head of state, said: “Other charities who struggle on a day to day basis to get ministers to listen to them will look at this and ask why these supposedly independent charities are getting such unrivalled access.” A spokeswoman for the communities department said officials who assessed the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment bid for the £800,000 grant had no knowledge of the charity’s earlier letter to Shapps: “The department assessed all bids on their merit and each one was treated fairly and impartially.” Network of influence The heir to the throne has become famous for sending handwritten “black spider memos” to politicians expressing his views on the issues of the day – and he is not embarrassed about them. “What some people call meddling I call mobilising,” he said in a speech at Clarence House in February. His network of 20 charities has arguably allowed him to spread that influence further still. Each charity reflects his interests in areas including health, education, housing, heritage and the environment. The prince’s website describes it as “the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom, raising over £100m annually”, although that includes government grants. The most famous charity is the Prince’s Trust, but he has also founded charities which focus on climate change, architecture and teaching. “We need to explore whether this is a deliberately constructed network of organisations to do more political work that the heir to the throne could, were the spirit of the constitution adhered to,” said Adam Tomkins, professor of constitutional law at Glasgow University. “The overall pattern raises a question about whether the constitutional propriety of the political independence and neutrality of the monarchy are being jeopardised by a long-standing pattern not just of work on good causes but on campaigning on political issues, which are sometimes party-political.” The prince’s approach contrasts with that of the Queen. She is patron of 619 charities but Buckingham Palace said the Queen has never established any charities of her own. Prince Charles Monarchy Charities Voluntary sector Tax and spending Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
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Three-year inquiry says remains of 2,156 people found along Indian side of disputed border More than 2,000 corpses, believed to be victims of Kashmir’s long-running insurgency, have been found buried in dozens of unmarked graves in the divided region, an Indian government human rights commission report has said. The graves were found in dozens of villages on the Indian side of the line of control, the de facto border that has split the former kingdom between India and Pakistan for nearly 40 years. “At 38 places visited in north Kashmir, there were 2,156 unidentified dead bodies buried in unmarked graves,” the inquiry found. Though campaigners and community leaders in Kashmir have long said such graves exist – and often provided extensive documentary evidence to back up their claims – the report is the first official statement confirming their existence. Released over the weekend, its publication is the result of a three-year inquiry by an 11-member team led by a senior police official. Up to 70,000 people died in the 22-year insurgency in Kashmir, which pitted armed separatist groups, many backed by Pakistan, against New Delhi’s rule. The worst of the violence occurred during the mid-1990s when a vicious struggle pitted thousands of militants against Indian security forces supplemented by locally-hired irregulars. Human rights abuses were routine with militants intimidating local communities and killing so-called spies while Indian authorities resorted to abductions, torture and extra-judicial executions on a wide scale. The graves appear to date from this period. Kashmir is India’s only Muslim-majority state and the struggle rapidly took on a religious dimension. The victims in the mass graves had been buried by local communities. Police originally described the bodies to villagers as “unidentified militants”. This claim is disputed by the report, local media said , which also calls for a forensic investigation involving DNA identification of remains. Investigators spoke to former police officials, village heads, clerics, gravediggers and cemetery caretakers, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Though violence has declined dramatically in recent years, in part due to a peace process between India and Pakistan, clashes still occur. On Saturday, Indian soldiers shot dead 12 separatist militants trying to cross from Pakistan into the disputed region. An Indian officer was also killed in the incident. One frequent accusation is that Indian security forces in Kashmir have killed innocent civilians in staged gun battles and passed them off as separatist militants to earn rewards and promotions. One such alleged incident last year provoked rioting throughout most of the summer. This summer, however, has proved relatively quiet with tourists returning to the region. Indian authorities have consistently denied systematic human rights violations in Kashmir and say they probe all such reports and punish the guilty. A US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks and published by the Guardian last December revealed a briefing to the US embassy in Delhi by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross which described continuing torture and arbitrary detention by security forces . The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, which estimates around 10,000 people have gone missing in the past 20 years, says many may have ended up in these unmarked graves. “We appeal to international human rights groups and Indian authorities to identify the people buried,” said Parveena Ahanger, founder and chair of the group. International human rights groups have also repeatedly asked the Indian authorities to investigate the unmarked graves. Kashmir India Pakistan Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Ben Stein Tells Rick Perry to ‘Get Some Moderation in His Speech’ and Economics Lessons
August 21, 2011 No Comment
Economist Ben Stein had some harsh words for Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on “CBS Sunday Morning.” Responding to comments the Texas governor made earlier in the week concerning Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Stein said, “I hope he'll get some moderation in his speech, and some lessons in economics, and soon” (video follows with transcript and commentary): BEN STEIN: I was going to leave you alone for this month and just spend it on my boat up at Lake Pendoreille in North Idaho, a mountain lake where ospreys soar and where I feel at peace. But Governor Rick Perry of Texas – possibly the nation's next President – has shocked me out of my mountain reverie. A few days ago, Governor Perry said in campaigning in Iowa that it would be something akin to “treason” for the head of the Federal Reserve Board, Professor Ben Bernanke, to “print” more money between now and Election Day. That, said Gov. Perry, would only reduce the purchasing power of Americans. Now, I like Gov. Perry. I agree with him on almost every social issue. But may I respectfully offer him a lesson in economics? This economy is stuck in a cruelly slow recovery from a recession that started on Bush 43's watch. Mr. Obama, a likeable man, is trying to get the economy moving again. Mr. Bernanke, who has made many mistakes at the Fed, is also trying desperate measures to get the economy moving again. One of the measures the Fed is using is to increase the money supply or what Gov. Perry would call “printing money.” Typically this is a helpful move, although it hasn’t been lately. It's not a radical move. It's not anywhere near a “treasonous” move. It is not at all clear that in an economy as weak as ours that creating more money would cause inflation. The idea is to make money cheaper so businesses will borrow and then invest. Frankly, once again, it has not worked so far. But it is an orthodox, classic move. It is a move by a man, Chairman Ben Bernanke, who wants to help his country recover. To call Chairman Bernanke – a patriot doing his best for his country – “treasonous” is a serious mistake. Gov. Perry is new to national politics. But he's in a way a star, and I can see him someday in the Oval Office. I hope he'll get some moderation in his speech, and some lessons in economics, and soon. I've been a fan of Stein's for years, but I think he's offbase here. When he said, “It is not at all clear that in an economy as weak as ours that creating more money would cause inflation,” that's certainly not what dollar and commodity traders have been saying. With gold at all-time highs, and the dollar trading at multi-year lows against most other currencies, professional investors are indeed betting on a serious inflationary spiral. Does that mean they're right? Certainly not. But there are many on Wall Street who believe the monetary policies of the Fed are without question causing a decline in the value of the dollar and a rise in most commodities prices that will indeed lead to inflation. Perry is by no means alone in this view; if he needs some lessons in economics, so do all the people around the world buying gold and shorting the dollar. As for “moderation in his speech,” we now live in a nation where leading Democrats and members of the media refer to huge portions of the population as terrorists, thugs, and hostage-takers. If that is acceptable, a presidential candidate accusing the Fed chairman of treasonous acts should be as well. When folks in the media take a stand against the constant invective aimed at conservatives and especially members of the Tea Party, then they can tell politicians to tone done their rhetoric. Until that happens, all's fair in love, war, and politics.
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Rebels approach Tripoli and trigger uprising in suburbs as Gaddafi calls on ‘all patriots’ to help defend capital He has ruled Libya for 42 tumultuous years. But Muammar Gaddafi’s defiant regime was on Sunday entering its final hours, as an insurrection engulfed the capital Tripoli and rebels entered its outer suburbs. In another day of dramatic advances, opposition fighters pushed forward from the western town of Zawiya along the coastal highway to Tripoli. They are now a short car ride away from the capital. From the frontline in the village of Maya, the chimneys of Tripoli’s power station could be seen shimmering in the distance. The regime’s last moments are being played out in an attractive green landscape of orange groves, olive trees and seaside restaurants. Gaddafi’s troops are still fighting, directing mortars and sniper fire at the rebels, sometimes with deadly accuracy and on Sunday night the embattled dictator called for “all the patriots of Libya” to help defend the capital. But the fall of Tripoli is now very close. “They are becoming weak. They are very frightened,” Ahmad Gaid said of the government troops, who on Sunday retreated to and then further beyond the “27 bridge” – 27 kilometres from the centre of Tripoli. Gaid, a 25-year-old fighter, had taken temporary shelter together with a medical staff in a roadside house. Up ahead was an enemy sniper. Bullets whined past. A rebel pickup truck responded with 12.5 anti-aircraft artillery: an unmistakable, thunderous boom-boom-boom-boom. The fighters had sent in their one tank, which promptly broke down. “There was something wrong with its chamber,” Mohamad, a 25-year-old Libyan-American volunteer, said calmly. Rebel vehicles streamed to and from the battle. Some fighters were in a hypnotic daze. One staggered in and recounted how his vehicle veered off the road after its tyre was shot at. A bullet hit one of his comrades in the face. “What happened to him?” he inquired. “He died,” Mohamad replied. Mohamad said he was hoping to rescue his US-educated father and brother, both rounded up by the regime and now in jail in Tripoli. The rebels may lack heavy weaponry, but they have one supreme advantage: allied airpower. On the road from Zawiya to Maya an air strike had flattened a Turkish restaurant used by Gaddafi’s troops as a command point. The building was a skeletal ruin, the restaurant’s sandbagged entrance blown out. Nearby, opposition militiamen were combing through a dense forest of cypresses. Behind them was the town of Zawiya, definitively seized by the rebels on Saturday following a week-long battle, and now a ruined mess. Two plastic mannequins lay surreally in one street; most of the buildings in the central square have been destroyed. The city was peaceful on Sunday. The drama of Libya’s six-month revolution has now shifted to further along the coast; the final act awaits. The anti-Gaddafi fighters are pushing towards the capital from three directions – west, south, and east. On the southern road to Tripoli volunteers from the Tripoli brigade were on Monday massing near the government-held town of Aziziya, 40 kilometres south of Tripoli. They were camped out at a primary school awaiting orders. Up ahead, Nato jets were pounding the sites from where Gaddafi’s troops had been imprudently launching Grad missiles. “We will win this war,” Mohamad, a 24-year-old law student, declared. Why? “Because we believe in God. God and then Nato,” he replied. His faith wasn’t misplaced: every few minutes there was a loud percussive, earth-shaking rumble, as Nato jets pulverised the way ahead. After each strike the fighters resting up in the shade broke into chants of “Allu Akhbar”. “Morale is very high. The rebels are controlling most of Tripoli,” he added. On Saturday evening a Libyan opposition TV channel claimed that Gaddafi and two of his sons had fled the country. It offered no proof, and the regime flatly denied that the Libyan leader had fled. But the claim triggered a pre-planned and well-coordinated uprising in several parts of the capital, as well as celebrations in rebel-held Benghazi, Misrata, and Zintan, the opposition stronghold in Libya’s western mountains. According to Issam Mohmed Shebani, there is now fierce fighting raging inside the capital between Gaddafi’s soldiers and locals. The eastern suburbs of Tajura, Fashlum, and Souk al-Jouma had risen up against Gaddafi, he said. The pro-government west of the city was “pretty quiet”. Fighting was also taking place in the central Mansura district. Shebani, the son of a prominent Libyan exile, said at least 133 civilians had been killed so far, citing opposition sources. Other fighters preparing to launch the final assault on Tripoli said Gaddafi’s desperate soldiers were now firing mortars into residential areas. Nabil Nassar said he had spoken to his family bunkered down in Tripoli. “There is non-stop fighting since dawn. Most families have got some weapons. They are also managing to get ammunition. But government troops are firing on them from the top of the mobile network tower,” he said. Nassar added that he lived in Britain and had an MA in diplomatic relations. He left London two months ago to join the anti-Gaddafi war, he said, having tired of political tactics. “I got bored of taking part in protests,” he said. According to his relatives, opposition areas inside Tripoli had set up committees to protect residential areas, and were also manning their own checkpoints. Behind the frontline, there was mood of triumph and certainty that victory and the overthrow of Libya’s hated dictator was close. Families driving past checkpoints hooted and waved V-signs; rebels responded by cracking off celebratory shots. On a roadside skip someone had hung a stuffed effigy of Gaddafi. They had used a lot of white wool to improvise the leader’s unruly hairdo. A petrol station had reopened, prompting long queues; a stall had set up business selling seasonal coriander and fennel. And what of Gaddafi himself? The fighters made clear on Sunday what would happen to him when – and if – they got hold of him. “We will kill him very slowly,” one said. Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi Africa Luke Harding guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Republican pollster Frank Luntz said Sunday that there was “no room” in the Republican presidential race for Sarah Palin, but there was space for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). “Karl Rove has said that he thinks Sarah Palin is going to run,” ABC’s Jake Tapper told Luntz. “Do you think Sarah Palin is going to run?” “I don’t think she can,” Luntz replied. “Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin operate in the exact same space. They have similar personalities. They attract similar voters. There’s no space for her right now. There’s a space for Chris Christie, if he decided to do it, or for Paul Ryan. But I don’t see it for Sarah Palin.” “Chris Christie has the advantage he’s basically a blue-collar Republican. He says what he means, he’s in your face and Republicans love that. They see what he’s doing in New Jersey and they want to see that happen in Washington. And Paul Ryan’s case, they regard him as one of the smartest candidates, the intellectual capacity, and he’s got a plan.”
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