RASOOL DAWAR Associated Press= PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani intelligence officials say 20 Islamist militants are now known to have been killed in an American missile attack close to the Afghan border. The officials said 16 of the dead were Afghan militants belonging to the Haqqani network, an insurgent faction fighting the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The attack took place early Tuesday on a house in the North Waziristan tribal region. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — An American drone…
Continue reading …Just as with the last Republican takeover of the House in 1995, it was easy to predict the media elite were going to dig deep into the mud and throw every smear they had at the new conservative powers in town. Congress finally passed, and the president signed, a deeply deficient kick-the-can compromise into law in order to raise the debt ceiling. Tea Party conservatives correctly denounced the deal as woefully inadequate. When Standard & Poor’s downgraded the creditworthiness of the United States government, Sen. John Kerry shamelessly labeled it a “Tea Party downgrade,” and no one in the press questioned him.
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Bill O’Reilly is smoking some strong stuff today. His whole Talking Points Memo segment was full of magic. Black, ugly magic. Here are the highlights of his seven minute economic acid trip with some reality checkpoints along the way: Standard & Poor’s downgrade basically says there is no confidence in the federal government’s management of the economy. While that’s true, they were a little more specific than that. This morning’s pre-dawn (west coast time) conference call with them had a few more details. I was listening. Evidently BillO wasn’t. Key (and major) point: S&P does not believe Bush Tax Cuts will expire . Clearly that is not the fault of the “federal government.” It is the fault of the Republicans. The Democratic Party will not admit that its big spending agenda has driven the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Again, see point number one. This is not a spending problem. It’s a revenue problem. Period. Only far-left zealots are going to buy that the tea party is the cause of the economic chaos. Wow. That’s some strong stuff there. Let’s first correct the record. The tea party IS the Republican Party. There is no difference. They are one and the same. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on to point number two. Polls and people. As our own Jon Perr clearly demonstrates , it is entirely the Republican Party aka the tea party’s doing. Entirely. But just in case there is still doubt, let’s have a look at Michele Bachmann, presidential candidate and chairwoman of the Congressional “tea party” caucus, saying that she would not, under any circumstances raise the debt ceiling and would welcome a default, a talking point echoed by every Fox talker on the planet, including Neil Cavuto . Of course, now that we have not defaulted but Republican intransigence has caused a credit downgrade, it’s all President Obama’s fault. But you know, numbers don’t lie. And unless Republicans have suddenly morphed into a bunch of far-left zealots, BillO is just wrong, because a majority of Republicans also believe revenues must be part of deficit reduction, and without those revenues, there’s chaos. So there you go. There’s TeaPublicans and left-wing zealots with nothing in between. We don’t have any money for massive government spending projects. I once again refer readers to the first bullet point. There isn’t money because there isn’t revenues. Raising revenues fixes that. Americans are largely furious, because we have no control over our own economic futures due to Washington failing us. I will speak for me and those around me on this one. I am largely furious, because Republicans do not care if I live, die, have a roof over my head, have a job, or if my children get an education. So yeah. I’m pretty furious but it has nothing to do with “Washington failing us.” It has everything to do with a group of oligarchs deciding they do not care to share their wealth and their chosen handmaidens carrying out those wishes. Talking Points did not believe that U.S. credit would be downgraded and two big institutions have held the AAA rating. And this matters, why? Who gives a rip what BillO thinks? Well, other than Fox viewers, of course. What does that blowhard’s opinion have to do with anything? What I find most disturbing about Bill O’Reilly’s magical acid trip is not that he lies. He always lies. No, what’s most disturbing is that he is simply summarizing Fox News’ meme o’ the day , which is that Republicans are not the problem. Washington is. As if there is some weird gradient of separation between the whackjobs who say things on their network and the ones in Congress casting votes.
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Bill O’Reilly is smoking some strong stuff today. His whole Talking Points Memo segment was full of magic. Black, ugly magic. Here are the highlights of his seven minute economic acid trip with some reality checkpoints along the way: Standard & Poor’s downgrade basically says there is no confidence in the federal government’s management of the economy. While that’s true, they were a little more specific than that. This morning’s pre-dawn (west coast time) conference call with them had a few more details. I was listening. Evidently BillO wasn’t. Key (and major) point: S&P does not believe Bush Tax Cuts will expire . Clearly that is not the fault of the “federal government.” It is the fault of the Republicans. The Democratic Party will not admit that its big spending agenda has driven the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Again, see point number one. This is not a spending problem. It’s a revenue problem. Period. Only far-left zealots are going to buy that the tea party is the cause of the economic chaos. Wow. That’s some strong stuff there. Let’s first correct the record. The tea party IS the Republican Party. There is no difference. They are one and the same. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on to point number two. Polls and people. As our own Jon Perr clearly demonstrates , it is entirely the Republican Party aka the tea party’s doing. Entirely. But just in case there is still doubt, let’s have a look at Michele Bachmann, presidential candidate and chairwoman of the Congressional “tea party” caucus, saying that she would not, under any circumstances raise the debt ceiling and would welcome a default, a talking point echoed by every Fox talker on the planet, including Neil Cavuto . Of course, now that we have not defaulted but Republican intransigence has caused a credit downgrade, it’s all President Obama’s fault. But you know, numbers don’t lie. And unless Republicans have suddenly morphed into a bunch of far-left zealots, BillO is just wrong, because a majority of Republicans also believe revenues must be part of deficit reduction, and without those revenues, there’s chaos. So there you go. There’s TeaPublicans and left-wing zealots with nothing in between. We don’t have any money for massive government spending projects. I once again refer readers to the first bullet point. There isn’t money because there isn’t revenues. Raising revenues fixes that. Americans are largely furious, because we have no control over our own economic futures due to Washington failing us. I will speak for me and those around me on this one. I am largely furious, because Republicans do not care if I live, die, have a roof over my head, have a job, or if my children get an education. So yeah. I’m pretty furious but it has nothing to do with “Washington failing us.” It has everything to do with a group of oligarchs deciding they do not care to share their wealth and their chosen handmaidens carrying out those wishes. Talking Points did not believe that U.S. credit would be downgraded and two big institutions have held the AAA rating. And this matters, why? Who gives a rip what BillO thinks? Well, other than Fox viewers, of course. What does that blowhard’s opinion have to do with anything? What I find most disturbing about Bill O’Reilly’s magical acid trip is not that he lies. He always lies. No, what’s most disturbing is that he is simply summarizing Fox News’ meme o’ the day , which is that Republicans are not the problem. Washington is. As if there is some weird gradient of separation between the whackjobs who say things on their network and the ones in Congress casting votes.
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Continue reading …• Violence in Manchester , West Bromwich and Wolverhampton • IPCC: no evidence that Mark Duggan shot at police • 16,000 police being deployed in London to maintain order • First fatality as man shot in Croydon, south London, dies • Send us your footage of the riots • Live map: every verified incident, updated through the night • Read our latest summary of events • Read our latest news story 12.08am: Smithdown Road in Liverpool was closed by police tonight after 200 rioters starting hurling missiles at officers at about 11.30pm. A Merseyside Police spokeswoman said: “About 200 youths are causing disorder and damage. We’re asking people to avoid the area.” She was unable to confirm reports that firebombs were being thrown. 12.04am: A team of Guardian reporters have pulled together an updated report on the serious looting an disorder in central Manchester and Salford , where gangs waged running battles with police and ransacked shops. Here’s a snatch of a full story that will be online very soon: The most serious disorder came in Manchester. Groups of young people consistently evaded police attempts to stop them from the late afternoon onwards, breaking into a series of upmarket shops and setting a branch of the Miss Selfridge clothing chain ablaze. As evening fell, up to 200 youths raided an off-licence and other shops in the main shopping precinct of Salford, a couple of miles to the west. Assistant Chief Constable Gary Shewan of Greater Manchester police said his officers were battling to regain control on the streets and that Manchester and Salford had been badly damaged. “These are pure and simple criminals running wild tonight,” said Shewan. “They have nothing to protest against. There has been no spark. This has been senseless on a scale I have never witnessed before in my career.” He said police would arrest people as early as today. Shewan said Manchester and Salford had been shamed by the criminals committing “wanton acts of violence and criminality”. Earlier in the day Greater Manchester police sent 100 officers – four public order units – to assist in London. While Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, who organised the reinforcements, said such assistance had been planned to ensure other forces could cope with violence in their own areas, it was clear that the city could have used the extra officers. 11.57pm: Fallen Hero – Man who dared to take on yobs fights for life is the headline in tomorrow’s Daily Mirror, which has a powerful front page . It is accompanied by a photograph of a middle aged man who the newspaper says was badly beaten by a gang that left him for dead in Ealing, west London. (Twitpic via Nick Sutton ) 11.52pm: Billy Kenber of The Times tweets: Huge convoy of police vans going through #enfield incl at least 2 armoured vans 11.37pm: An update on our report earlier about fires and disturbances at a young offenders’ institution near Bristol . Prison officers dealt with an “incident of disobedience” at YOI Ashfield according to a statement from Serco, which runs the unit at Pucklechurch, near Bristol. Staff dealt with “small-scale” incident involving several inmates, according to the firm. Avon Fire and Rescue Service were called out at 7.49pm but were stood down as they were not required to attend the scene. “Some minor damage has been caused, but the situation has been contained and the centre is secure,” a Serco spokesman said. 11.25pm: Here is an updated overview from Guardian reporters about the situation tonight: A police station in Nottingham was firebombed late on Tuesday by a group of up to 40 men, police said, while there was looting in Manchester and there were tense scenes in Salford. Canning Circus police station in Nottingham was attacked by the group but no injuries were reported, Nottinghamshire police said just after 10pm. The force said a number of men were detained nearby. There was also trouble in Birmingham and other parts of the West Midlands, but relative calm in London as Scotland Yard attempted to put the capital in lockdown with 16,000 police on the streets, in contrast to 6,000 on Monday. Scotland Yard ordered its officers to use every available force including the possible deployment of plastic bullets to tackle widespread rioting and looting as the capital was flooded with the biggest police presence in British history. Sporadic looting was taking place across Manchester city centre; there were also disturbances in Salford and tense scenes there around Shopping City, where a large group of youths had gathered. In the centre of Manchester, rioters set fire to a Miss Selfridge shop on Market Street. Then around 100 youths looted Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre after two raiders smashed open the glass entrance with a large stone slab. Once the glass was shattered, youths rushed in and carried out clothing and shoes. A recently–opened fashion boutique in King Street owned by former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was been hit by looters. A Diesel clothing shop and a Bang & Olufsen store were also broken into, with a chorus of cheers going up among the crowd as the front window of the latter was smashed. Several of the looters shouted out directions for the others to follow, suggesting a degree of co-ordination. 11.15pm: This has yet to be fully confirmed but it appears to be a video showing men running through the streets of Enfield chanting “England, England” . There has been a lot of concerns that vigilantes were on the streets of Enfield earlier in the evening, although Paul Lewis had some important comments to make earlier about rumours . _ 11.06pm: It was clear the GMP could have done with the extra public order officers who have been despatched to London . Shewan added: “These are pure and simple criminals running wild tonight.” “They have nothing to protest against there has been no spark. This has been senseless on a scale I have never witnessed before in my career.” 11.00pm: Acts of violence in Manchester and Salford have “ripped the heart out of two great cities”, a press conference has been told by Garry Shewan, Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police (GMP). He appealed to members of the public to “think very carefully about who they support” when it comes to the police effort to bring to justice those who were involved in looting and other acts of criminality. “My officers are still out there now facing violence and aggression and are battling to regain control of Manchester and Salford,” said Shewan, who added that his officers had been attacked on the streets this evening. “We have extensive CCTV of all the activity that has gone on tonight. We have made it absolutely clear that as early as tomorrow morning we will be coming to make arrests.” He couldn’t give out a figure for the number of arrests that have been made, saying that it remains “a very fast moving situation” Intelligence had told the force that disorder could be expected “just about everywhere” he said, adding that resources had to be brought in from many other forces. 10.53pm: A fashion boutique in King St, Manchester , was among properties attacked earlier by looters. The Press Association reports that it was not part of the police cordon and passers-by could openly walk through an obliterated entrance. One car containing four men pulled up as they sized up whether to enter. Further down King Street the Bang and Olufsen store was virtually empty. 10.49pm: In London, there are reports from a number of places about groups of residents taking to the streets to protect their neighbourhoods. Paul Lewis has already reported from Enfield in north London ( here and then here ), while Matt Taylor witnessed locals in the south-east London suburb of Eltham taking to their streets. Sky News, meanwhile, has been in Southall, west London, where members of the Sikh community have been gathering outside a mosque, pledging to keep the streets safe in that area. On the one hand, this could all be seen as a positive development with communities coming together, but as Paul Lewis reported, it all depends on the motives of those involved. Things could easily turn ugly. 10.42pm: Police in Leicester tweet: 10.32pm update – #Leicester Two men , aged 50 and 17, and a 16-yr-old youth have been arrested in city this evening, currently in custody 10.39pm: Canning Circus Police Station in Nottingham was the station that was firebombed just after 10 pm. The force said a number of men were detained nearby. 10.29pm: A police station in Nottingham was firebombed by a group of 30 to 40 men tonight, Nottinghamshire Police said. No injuries were reported. 10.24pm: Groups of men have taken to the streets in south London “to protect their communities”, reports the Guardian’s Matt Taylor. Around 200 people are still out in the centre of Eltham in south east London, following rumours that the are was going to be the latest place to be hit by disturbances. The group, predominantly men, had been congregating in pubs since the rumours began to circulate in mid afternoon. “This is a white working class area and we are here to protect our community,” said one man. “We are here to help the police. My mum is terrified after what she saw on the television in the last three days and we decided that it’s not going to happen here.” Several police vans are in the area and sporadically patrolling. There has been sign of looting and no shops are boarded up in the main street. 10.19pm: Police in the West Midlands made a total of 36 arrests tonight as fresh disturbances saw looting and vehicles set alight Birmingham , West Bromwich and Wolverhampton . But West Midlands Police said the disorder was not as severe as Monday’s looting in Birmingham city centre, which led to 142 arrests and saw 13 people taken to hospital, according to the Press Association. 10.07pm: David Cameron and senior ministers will hold a second emergency meeting in Whitehall tomorrow morning with the leadership of Scotland Yard to consider the impact of the beefed-up police operation in London overnight. Nick Watt, the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, reports : Amid the first signs of strains within the coalition over the response to the riots, government sources said the prime minister has called for an early assessment of the decision to increase police numbers in the capital from 6,000 to 16,000. Michael Gove, the education secretary, told Channel 4 News the police response had not been robust enough on Monday night. The second Cobra meeting in less than 24 hours will be held as the prime minister prepares to report back to MPs on Thursday in an emergency session of parliament. Cameron, who flew back to Britain from his Tuscan holiday on a special RAF flight in the early hours of Tuesday, said that rioters and looters would feel the full force of the law. Speaking in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of Cobra, the prime minister said: “These are sickening scenes – scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing, scenes of people attacking police officers and even attacking fire crews as they’re trying to put out fires. This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated. 10.02pm: Paul Lewis sent in this update from Enfield : I think it is important to dampen down some of the speculation circulating about our reports and tweets on vigilantes in Enfield. It is always a tough balance to get the tone right, and it is important to stress, again, there is no evidence of racial disturbance here. My colleague Mustafa Khalili and I reported what we saw and it was an incident that left us both shaken. We described it as a minor skirmish. That’s what it is was. It seemed pertinent to mention what some of the men were saying, as it seemed different to anything we’ve seen in the last four days, but some seem to be taking that out of context. There were no racist chants. 9.59pm: An update on the positions of Guardian reporters. Jeevan Vasagar is on his way to Manchester city to bolster our coverage there while Paul Lewis is heading to Birmingham. 9.56pm: A stand-off with police has been continuing at a shopping precinct in Salford , according to the Press Association, which also has more on the unrest in Manchester city centre: A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said up to 200 youths were involved at about 7pm. According to reports, the confrontations were continuing as officers battled to corral them. Isolated looting continued in Manchester city centre. Many small groups of male youths could be seen wandering around the centre. Two individuals jumped into a doorway as a police tactical aid unit drove past. Despite riot police positioned across the city, gangs of youths on mountain bikes, their faces masked, prowled the streets. On occasions they could be seen talking to drivers of cars on mobile phones, exchanging information, while they drove around the streets in what appeared to be co-ordinated manoeuvres. A jewellers was also reportedly attacked before plain-clothed police nearby ran in to arrest two looters from the shop. 9.30pm: As night falls, welcome to our live coverage of the fourth evening of tension in London and around the country. You can read our earlier coverage here. Here’s a summary of events so far tonight. • There have been outbreaks of violence in Manchester city centre, Salford, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich. Around 100 youths looted Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre in Manchester, and were repelled by police. Greater Manchester Police have advised people not to travel to the centre of Manchester. West Midlands police say they have arrested 43 people today. • The Independent Police Complaints Commission has announced there is no evidence that Mark Duggan, whose death in a police shoot-out led to the London riots, fired on police before he was killed. However, a loaded handgun was recovered from the scene. This is all consistent with the account of the officers on the scene, who never claimed to have fired on Duggan first. The officer who fired the shot is believed to have acted because he feared for his life. • Shops and businesses around London have been closing early, fearing violence later. The Metropolitan police will deploy 16,000 officers in London tonight, and revealed that plastic bullets may be used if required. The deployment is significant, is up from 6,000 the night before. In Enfield, north London, there have been scuffles involving groups of vigilantes. • More than 560 people have been arrested in London and more than 100 charged. Several dozen more have been arrested in other cities . Three people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was hit by a car in Brent, north London. The Met said 111 officers had been injured after experiencing “unprecedented” levels of violence. • A clean-up operation has been under way in London, with many residents opposed to the violence taking part. UK riots London Birmingham Police Crime Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Violence in Manchester , West Bromwich and Wolverhampton • IPCC: no evidence that Mark Duggan shot at police • 16,000 police being deployed in London to maintain order • First fatality as man shot in Croydon, south London, dies • Send us your footage of the riots • Live map: every verified incident, updated through the night • Read our latest summary of events • Read our latest news story 12.08am: Smithdown Road in Liverpool was closed by police tonight after 200 rioters starting hurling missiles at officers at about 11.30pm. A Merseyside Police spokeswoman said: “About 200 youths are causing disorder and damage. We’re asking people to avoid the area.” She was unable to confirm reports that firebombs were being thrown. 12.04am: A team of Guardian reporters have pulled together an updated report on the serious looting an disorder in central Manchester and Salford , where gangs waged running battles with police and ransacked shops. Here’s a snatch of a full story that will be online very soon: The most serious disorder came in Manchester. Groups of young people consistently evaded police attempts to stop them from the late afternoon onwards, breaking into a series of upmarket shops and setting a branch of the Miss Selfridge clothing chain ablaze. As evening fell, up to 200 youths raided an off-licence and other shops in the main shopping precinct of Salford, a couple of miles to the west. Assistant Chief Constable Gary Shewan of Greater Manchester police said his officers were battling to regain control on the streets and that Manchester and Salford had been badly damaged. “These are pure and simple criminals running wild tonight,” said Shewan. “They have nothing to protest against. There has been no spark. This has been senseless on a scale I have never witnessed before in my career.” He said police would arrest people as early as today. Shewan said Manchester and Salford had been shamed by the criminals committing “wanton acts of violence and criminality”. Earlier in the day Greater Manchester police sent 100 officers – four public order units – to assist in London. While Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, who organised the reinforcements, said such assistance had been planned to ensure other forces could cope with violence in their own areas, it was clear that the city could have used the extra officers. 11.57pm: Fallen Hero – Man who dared to take on yobs fights for life is the headline in tomorrow’s Daily Mirror, which has a powerful front page . It is accompanied by a photograph of a middle aged man who the newspaper says was badly beaten by a gang that left him for dead in Ealing, west London. (Twitpic via Nick Sutton ) 11.52pm: Billy Kenber of The Times tweets: Huge convoy of police vans going through #enfield incl at least 2 armoured vans 11.37pm: An update on our report earlier about fires and disturbances at a young offenders’ institution near Bristol . Prison officers dealt with an “incident of disobedience” at YOI Ashfield according to a statement from Serco, which runs the unit at Pucklechurch, near Bristol. Staff dealt with “small-scale” incident involving several inmates, according to the firm. Avon Fire and Rescue Service were called out at 7.49pm but were stood down as they were not required to attend the scene. “Some minor damage has been caused, but the situation has been contained and the centre is secure,” a Serco spokesman said. 11.25pm: Here is an updated overview from Guardian reporters about the situation tonight: A police station in Nottingham was firebombed late on Tuesday by a group of up to 40 men, police said, while there was looting in Manchester and there were tense scenes in Salford. Canning Circus police station in Nottingham was attacked by the group but no injuries were reported, Nottinghamshire police said just after 10pm. The force said a number of men were detained nearby. There was also trouble in Birmingham and other parts of the West Midlands, but relative calm in London as Scotland Yard attempted to put the capital in lockdown with 16,000 police on the streets, in contrast to 6,000 on Monday. Scotland Yard ordered its officers to use every available force including the possible deployment of plastic bullets to tackle widespread rioting and looting as the capital was flooded with the biggest police presence in British history. Sporadic looting was taking place across Manchester city centre; there were also disturbances in Salford and tense scenes there around Shopping City, where a large group of youths had gathered. In the centre of Manchester, rioters set fire to a Miss Selfridge shop on Market Street. Then around 100 youths looted Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre after two raiders smashed open the glass entrance with a large stone slab. Once the glass was shattered, youths rushed in and carried out clothing and shoes. A recently–opened fashion boutique in King Street owned by former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was been hit by looters. A Diesel clothing shop and a Bang & Olufsen store were also broken into, with a chorus of cheers going up among the crowd as the front window of the latter was smashed. Several of the looters shouted out directions for the others to follow, suggesting a degree of co-ordination. 11.15pm: This has yet to be fully confirmed but it appears to be a video showing men running through the streets of Enfield chanting “England, England” . There has been a lot of concerns that vigilantes were on the streets of Enfield earlier in the evening, although Paul Lewis had some important comments to make earlier about rumours . _ 11.06pm: It was clear the GMP could have done with the extra public order officers who have been despatched to London . Shewan added: “These are pure and simple criminals running wild tonight.” “They have nothing to protest against there has been no spark. This has been senseless on a scale I have never witnessed before in my career.” 11.00pm: Acts of violence in Manchester and Salford have “ripped the heart out of two great cities”, a press conference has been told by Garry Shewan, Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police (GMP). He appealed to members of the public to “think very carefully about who they support” when it comes to the police effort to bring to justice those who were involved in looting and other acts of criminality. “My officers are still out there now facing violence and aggression and are battling to regain control of Manchester and Salford,” said Shewan, who added that his officers had been attacked on the streets this evening. “We have extensive CCTV of all the activity that has gone on tonight. We have made it absolutely clear that as early as tomorrow morning we will be coming to make arrests.” He couldn’t give out a figure for the number of arrests that have been made, saying that it remains “a very fast moving situation” Intelligence had told the force that disorder could be expected “just about everywhere” he said, adding that resources had to be brought in from many other forces. 10.53pm: A fashion boutique in King St, Manchester , was among properties attacked earlier by looters. The Press Association reports that it was not part of the police cordon and passers-by could openly walk through an obliterated entrance. One car containing four men pulled up as they sized up whether to enter. Further down King Street the Bang and Olufsen store was virtually empty. 10.49pm: In London, there are reports from a number of places about groups of residents taking to the streets to protect their neighbourhoods. Paul Lewis has already reported from Enfield in north London ( here and then here ), while Matt Taylor witnessed locals in the south-east London suburb of Eltham taking to their streets. Sky News, meanwhile, has been in Southall, west London, where members of the Sikh community have been gathering outside a mosque, pledging to keep the streets safe in that area. On the one hand, this could all be seen as a positive development with communities coming together, but as Paul Lewis reported, it all depends on the motives of those involved. Things could easily turn ugly. 10.42pm: Police in Leicester tweet: 10.32pm update – #Leicester Two men , aged 50 and 17, and a 16-yr-old youth have been arrested in city this evening, currently in custody 10.39pm: Canning Circus Police Station in Nottingham was the station that was firebombed just after 10 pm. The force said a number of men were detained nearby. 10.29pm: A police station in Nottingham was firebombed by a group of 30 to 40 men tonight, Nottinghamshire Police said. No injuries were reported. 10.24pm: Groups of men have taken to the streets in south London “to protect their communities”, reports the Guardian’s Matt Taylor. Around 200 people are still out in the centre of Eltham in south east London, following rumours that the are was going to be the latest place to be hit by disturbances. The group, predominantly men, had been congregating in pubs since the rumours began to circulate in mid afternoon. “This is a white working class area and we are here to protect our community,” said one man. “We are here to help the police. My mum is terrified after what she saw on the television in the last three days and we decided that it’s not going to happen here.” Several police vans are in the area and sporadically patrolling. There has been sign of looting and no shops are boarded up in the main street. 10.19pm: Police in the West Midlands made a total of 36 arrests tonight as fresh disturbances saw looting and vehicles set alight Birmingham , West Bromwich and Wolverhampton . But West Midlands Police said the disorder was not as severe as Monday’s looting in Birmingham city centre, which led to 142 arrests and saw 13 people taken to hospital, according to the Press Association. 10.07pm: David Cameron and senior ministers will hold a second emergency meeting in Whitehall tomorrow morning with the leadership of Scotland Yard to consider the impact of the beefed-up police operation in London overnight. Nick Watt, the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, reports : Amid the first signs of strains within the coalition over the response to the riots, government sources said the prime minister has called for an early assessment of the decision to increase police numbers in the capital from 6,000 to 16,000. Michael Gove, the education secretary, told Channel 4 News the police response had not been robust enough on Monday night. The second Cobra meeting in less than 24 hours will be held as the prime minister prepares to report back to MPs on Thursday in an emergency session of parliament. Cameron, who flew back to Britain from his Tuscan holiday on a special RAF flight in the early hours of Tuesday, said that rioters and looters would feel the full force of the law. Speaking in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of Cobra, the prime minister said: “These are sickening scenes – scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing, scenes of people attacking police officers and even attacking fire crews as they’re trying to put out fires. This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated. 10.02pm: Paul Lewis sent in this update from Enfield : I think it is important to dampen down some of the speculation circulating about our reports and tweets on vigilantes in Enfield. It is always a tough balance to get the tone right, and it is important to stress, again, there is no evidence of racial disturbance here. My colleague Mustafa Khalili and I reported what we saw and it was an incident that left us both shaken. We described it as a minor skirmish. That’s what it is was. It seemed pertinent to mention what some of the men were saying, as it seemed different to anything we’ve seen in the last four days, but some seem to be taking that out of context. There were no racist chants. 9.59pm: An update on the positions of Guardian reporters. Jeevan Vasagar is on his way to Manchester city to bolster our coverage there while Paul Lewis is heading to Birmingham. 9.56pm: A stand-off with police has been continuing at a shopping precinct in Salford , according to the Press Association, which also has more on the unrest in Manchester city centre: A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said up to 200 youths were involved at about 7pm. According to reports, the confrontations were continuing as officers battled to corral them. Isolated looting continued in Manchester city centre. Many small groups of male youths could be seen wandering around the centre. Two individuals jumped into a doorway as a police tactical aid unit drove past. Despite riot police positioned across the city, gangs of youths on mountain bikes, their faces masked, prowled the streets. On occasions they could be seen talking to drivers of cars on mobile phones, exchanging information, while they drove around the streets in what appeared to be co-ordinated manoeuvres. A jewellers was also reportedly attacked before plain-clothed police nearby ran in to arrest two looters from the shop. 9.30pm: As night falls, welcome to our live coverage of the fourth evening of tension in London and around the country. You can read our earlier coverage here. Here’s a summary of events so far tonight. • There have been outbreaks of violence in Manchester city centre, Salford, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich. Around 100 youths looted Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre in Manchester, and were repelled by police. Greater Manchester Police have advised people not to travel to the centre of Manchester. West Midlands police say they have arrested 43 people today. • The Independent Police Complaints Commission has announced there is no evidence that Mark Duggan, whose death in a police shoot-out led to the London riots, fired on police before he was killed. However, a loaded handgun was recovered from the scene. This is all consistent with the account of the officers on the scene, who never claimed to have fired on Duggan first. The officer who fired the shot is believed to have acted because he feared for his life. • Shops and businesses around London have been closing early, fearing violence later. The Metropolitan police will deploy 16,000 officers in London tonight, and revealed that plastic bullets may be used if required. The deployment is significant, is up from 6,000 the night before. In Enfield, north London, there have been scuffles involving groups of vigilantes. • More than 560 people have been arrested in London and more than 100 charged. Several dozen more have been arrested in other cities . Three people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was hit by a car in Brent, north London. The Met said 111 officers had been injured after experiencing “unprecedented” levels of violence. • A clean-up operation has been under way in London, with many residents opposed to the violence taking part. UK riots London Birmingham Police Crime Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Deadbeat dad, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) Tuesday rejected the notion that tea party Republicans’ brinkmanship and refusal to raise taxes contributed to S&P’s decision downgrade U.S. credit. Both Obama adviser, David Axelrod and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had referred to S&P action as ” the tea party downgrade ” Sunday. “If it wasn’t so pathetic, I mean, it’s almost comical,” Walsh told CNN’s Kyra Phillips. “We were told months ago that a downgrade was likely, because this economy is falling off a cliff, and we have a debt crisis. That’s all on the door of the president. His policies are responsible for this. And for him here at the last minute, him and his minions, to trot out this thing called the tea party downgrade, is comical, and it won’t work, because most Americans see right through it.” When he asked to explain why congressional approval was at an all-time low, Walsh again attacked the president. “This president never ceases to not provide leadership. Why is he focused on name calling now?” the congressman wondered. “But this downgrade has happened because of how the debt deal turned out,” Phillips noted. “It is a reaction to what happened among lawmakers during the debt deal. So, are you saying that the trillions of dollars that have been lost now in the stock market, you know, has been worth all that back and forth and that bickering? I mean, is partisan politics helping this country move forward at all?” “Kyra, folks in the market are a lot smarter than you and I are,” Walsh insisted. “It had nothing to do with an August 2 deadline. It had to do with our debt crisis. We’ve known about this for ages. And I got to tell you something, thank God for all these troublesome House Republicans who came to this town. Can you imagine what life would be like if we hadn’t? We would have raised the debt ceiling without thinking about it last February or March. We’d be spending money every single day. We would have been downgraded months ago.” “These House Republicans have forced this town to finally get serious about spending. That’s a good thing.”
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Deadbeat dad, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) Tuesday rejected the notion that tea party Republicans’ brinkmanship and refusal to raise taxes contributed to S&P’s decision downgrade U.S. credit. Both Obama adviser, David Axelrod and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had referred to S&P action as ” the tea party downgrade ” Sunday. “If it wasn’t so pathetic, I mean, it’s almost comical,” Walsh told CNN’s Kyra Phillips. “We were told months ago that a downgrade was likely, because this economy is falling off a cliff, and we have a debt crisis. That’s all on the door of the president. His policies are responsible for this. And for him here at the last minute, him and his minions, to trot out this thing called the tea party downgrade, is comical, and it won’t work, because most Americans see right through it.” When he asked to explain why congressional approval was at an all-time low, Walsh again attacked the president. “This president never ceases to not provide leadership. Why is he focused on name calling now?” the congressman wondered. “But this downgrade has happened because of how the debt deal turned out,” Phillips noted. “It is a reaction to what happened among lawmakers during the debt deal. So, are you saying that the trillions of dollars that have been lost now in the stock market, you know, has been worth all that back and forth and that bickering? I mean, is partisan politics helping this country move forward at all?” “Kyra, folks in the market are a lot smarter than you and I are,” Walsh insisted. “It had nothing to do with an August 2 deadline. It had to do with our debt crisis. We’ve known about this for ages. And I got to tell you something, thank God for all these troublesome House Republicans who came to this town. Can you imagine what life would be like if we hadn’t? We would have raised the debt ceiling without thinking about it last February or March. We’d be spending money every single day. We would have been downgraded months ago.” “These House Republicans have forced this town to finally get serious about spending. That’s a good thing.”
Continue reading …Sentences follow Warren Jeffs’s conviction for polygamist marriages with girls as young as 12 Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Mormon church that practises polygamy, is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was given the maximum sentence for taking girls as young as 12 to be his brides. Jeffs, 55, who represented himself during most of his trial though he refused to attend the final stages, claimed that his prosecution was a violation of his religious rights and warned it would lead to “sickness and death” being brought on the locality. But a Texas jury took just 40 minutes to hand him the toughest sentence open to them – life in prison for aggravated sexual assault and 20 years in prison for sexual assault of a child. The sentences followed Jeffs’s conviction last week on two counts relating to polygamist marriages with girls aged 12 and 15. The sentencing of Jeffs brings to an end the most high-profile prosecution yet of a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The church, which has been based in Eldorado in west Texas since 2004, claims to be the genuine Mormon church adhering to the traditional practice of polygamy, or plural marriage as it calls it. The official Mormon church broke with the practice of polygamy in 1890 under pressure from the federal US government which made renouncing the practice a condition of granting statehood to Utah. The polygamist Mormons, under Jeffs’s leadership, refused to renounce plural marriages and now have about 10,000 followers. The jury heard that Jeffs personally had about 78 wives, including 12 who he married at 16 and 12 who he married at 15 or younger. Jurors were played audio tapes which the prosecution alleged recorded Jeffs giving sexual instructions to several underage wives. One tape was said to have captured the sounds of Jeffs having sex inside the temple at the church’s Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado. The court was also presented with DNA evidence that showed Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl. The jury heard that Jeffs was an overweening presence within his church. When fathers resisted handing over their daughters, Jeffs would expel them – he ejected 60 church members and broke up 300 families. As the carrot to the stick, he encouraged fathers to give away their teenage daughters by offering them their own young brides. Jeffs dismissed several teams of defence lawyers and in the end represented himself in his own unorthodox style. Last Friday he gave a speech in which he accused the court of mocking his religion and read from a piece of paper which he said carried Jesus’s own words: “I will wrest your power. I shall judge you. I shall let all peoples know your unjust ways. I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to be humbled by sickness and death,” he read. In the course of his defence, Jeffs said polygamy was a “pure, natural way of life” and one of “God’s laws”. He pointed out that it was a central element of Mormonism in the early days of the church, which was founded by Joseph Smith in New York state in the 1820s. Smith himself is thought to have had at least 30 wives. Texas United States Mormonism Religion Christianity Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
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