The demagoguery of Paul Ryan by so-called media members continues. On Friday, the New York Times' resident Nobel laureate Paul Krugman called the Wisconsin Congressman a liar and a sore loser: Yes, Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is a sore loser…To be sure, Mr. Ryan had reason to be upset after Tuesday’s special election in New York’s 26th Congressional District. If anyone is lying here, it’s Mr. Ryan himself, who has claimed that his plan would give seniors the same kind of coverage that members of Congress receive — an assertion that is completely false. And, by the way, the claim that the plan would keep Medicare as we know it intact for Americans currently 55 or older is highly dubious. True, that’s what the plan promises, but if you think about the political dynamics that would emerge once Americans born a year or two too late realize how much better a deal slightly older Americans are getting, you realize that this is a promise unlikely to be fulfilled. So, although the “plan promises” to only impact people below the age of 55, it's “highly dubious?” Well, here's what's not “highly dubious” and what shameless shills like Krugman are intentionally hiding from the American people: the Medicare Trustees exactly two weeks ago gave the program in its current form thirteen years until it goes bankrupt. What that means is there are currently two Medicare plans on the table. The first is the one being offered by the President, his Party, and shills like Krugman throughout the media: Medicare stays in its present form without any alterations whatsoever and in roughly thirteen years goes bankrupt forcing every senior citizen except for those that qualify for Medicaid to pay 100 percent of their health insurance and/or medical expenses. This would be true for today's seniors as well as folks currently under the age of 55. The second is Ryan's plan whereby everyone 55 and over continues to receive Medicare benefits in exactly the same way as seniors have since the program began with the exception of an additional prescription drug benefit added in the previous decade. Folks under 55 when beginning to receive benefits in the future would have to contribute some money of their own depending on their level of income. Regardless of your current age, which plan do you prefer? If laid out in this logical fashion, there's likely no one in this country including Paul Krugman that would opt for plan number one, for he was born in 1953. This means that under the plan he currently supports, Medicare is gone when he turns 71. If Krugman along with his colleagues and the Party they dishonestly support were forced to publicly make a choice between these two distinct options, they would all have to agree the Ryan plan is better – unless, of course, they're all good with losing their own Medicare benefits thirteen years from now. I therefore officially and quite publicly ask the distinguished Mr. Krugman: Do you want to keep the current plan whereby you have to pay 100 percent of your health insurance and/or medical bills in thirteen years, or the Ryan plan where your care is completely covered and those under 55 have to contribute a bit more than they currently do? I don't expect the distinguished Mr. Krugman or any of the other dishonest media members to answer this question, but isn't it at least incumbent upon them to properly lay out to the citizenry exactly what the choices are today so that the public can make an informed decision? I would normally end with my characteristic “Or would that be too much like journalism?” But given what's at stake, that's far too wimpy. So let's try this: Wouldn't that be the moral and ethical thing to do, or is it really more honest and humane to convince the public – seniors and youngens alike – they're actually better off completely losing all Medicare benefits in the next decade?
Continue reading …
Serbian court rules former Bosnian Serb general is healthy enough to stand trial in The Hague, despite defence’s protests Efforts to put Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect on trial in the Hague have crossed their first hurdle with a Belgrade court ruling that Ratko Mladic is fit to be extradited. A spokeswoman said the court determined Mladic was well enough to stand trial despite claims from his defence team that the 69-year old is in poor health. The ruling clears the way for Mladic to be transfered to the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where he faces 15 charges including genocide and murder. Mladic’s defence team has three days to launch an appeal, which is likely to focus on his health. The former general’s son has said Mladic is too ill for extradition after suffering two strokes while on the run. “We are almost certain he cannot be extradited in such condition,” Darko Mladic told reporters after visiting his father in the Belgrade prison where he is being held. “He is in very bad shape. His right arm is half paralysed. His right side is partly numb.” Darko Mladic said the family had requested a transfer to a military hospital. The family called on Russia to send an independent medical team to examine him and guarantee the impartiality of any medical assessment. Mladic, who earned a fearsome reputation as the “butcher of Bosnia”, was brought before the court on Friday after his arrest in a north Serbian village 16 years after commanding the worst atrocity on the continent since the Nazi era. Darko Mladic refused to discuss any events during the 16-year period his father was in hiding, but said the former Serbian military commander denied the charges against him. “His stand is that he’s not guilty of what he’s being accused of,” he said. Russia strongly opposed the 1999 Nato airstrikes against Serbia over Kosovo. It has called for Mladic to recieve a fair trial and said the case should not be used by the Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague to justify prolonging its work. “There are doubts that the trial of Mladic in the UN war crimes tribunal will be 100% objective and just,” said Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the international affairs committee in Russia’s parliament. War crimes prosecutors are hoping Mladic will appear before the examining judge again on Friday to complete the first stage of the extradition process. This stage will be followed by a three-day gap, after which Mladic will have three days to decide whether to appeal. The Serbian ministry of justice will then determine the extradition request. Authorities in The Hague expect Mladic to be there next week and have said he will receive a full medical examination. Mladic is wanted for the mass murder of almost 8,000 men and boys in Srebrenica. His surprise arrest turned a page in the history of the Balkans, offering Serbia closure on decades as a virtual international pariah and giving the country a chance to take its place as a pivotal regional democracy eventually anchored in the European Union. The 69-year-old retired general, who commanded the Bosnian Serb military during the 1992-95 war, was taken to Belgrade after being arrested at a cousin’s home in Lazarevo, north-east of Belgrade. When Mladic appeared in court on Thursday night he looked frail and walked slowly. He wore a baseball cap and could be heard on state TV saying “good day” to those present. Mladic’s lawyer said the judge cut short the questioning because the suspect’s “poor physical state” left him unable to communicate. “He is aware he is under arrest, he knows where he is, and he said he does not recognise The Hague tribunal,” Milos Saljic said. The deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said Mladic was taking a lot of medicine but “responds very rationally to everything that is going on”. More details have emerged of the capture of Mladic, who had been living under the alias Milorad Komadic. According to officials in Belgrade and accounts to the Serbian media he wore no disguise and put up no resistance when detained by the Serbian security services and Serbian war crimes unit. “I am the person you are looking for,” he reportedly said when arrested in part of a cottage once occupied by the now dead parents of his cousin Branko Mladic. He is said to have been dressed in multiple layers of clothing, including pullovers, although it is summer in Serbia. He had his own identity card, although it formally expired in 1999. There were two guns at the property. Asked why Mladic did not resist arrest, his lawyer is reported to have said the officers were “just children”, in other words very young. Reports about his life there differ. One version holds that he spent a lot of time indoors, while one 20-year-old has claimed to a newpaper that he had worked for a time in the nearby industrial town of Zrenjanin. After his arrest Mladic indicated that he had been following media reports of the war crimes prosecutors’ long pursuit of him. On Thursday night residents took to the streets to show their support for Mladic, singing Serbian nationalist songs. “To us Mladic is a hero, a military hero,” said one, who would only give his name as Paul. “He protected us from Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, even Slovenia. He saved our families.” The image of a frail and sickly rural retiree was a far cry from the strutting, imperious commander of the 1990s who was a monstrous figure to the Muslims of Bosnia. His name is synonymous with the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995 when Mladic’s forces overran the Bosnian Muslim “safe haven” hill town, then methodically rounded up the males and murdered almost 8,000. • Additional reporting by Kevin Burden in Lazarevo Ratko Mladic War crimes Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina United Nations International criminal court Peter Beaumont Ian Traynor James Meikle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Labour leader and partner Justine Thornton keep media at bay for low-key union attended by immediate friends and family Obviously something is happening at Langar Hall – there is a small huddle of hacks and cameras on the pavement at the entrance. Ah, the Labour leader and his partner are finally tying the knot. Ed Miliband and his bride, Justine Thornton, certainly didn’t make it easy for Fleet Street to stake out Friday’s wedding. Langar is a very small village south-east of Nottingham where locals admit, not a lot happens. It’s a long drive for the wedding party and they have put up screens to keep long lenses at bay. The Milibands have stressed how much this is a private, family event so no celebs have been driving past, political or otherwise. Well, only brother David Miliband – he’s still family despite everything – who arrived with wife, Louise, and their kids an hour before the bash. Gordon Brown and David Cameron have sent their best wishes. About 50 guests are inside and the sun has been shining – until a few minutes ago. Ed Miliband’s press officer has been down to tell the press pack – we also got coffee – a few details. The bride’s dress is by Alice Temperley – she also makes stuff for Coleen Rooney, another reporter tells me. In the morning the groom took time out from preparing to walk up the aisle to send a message on Twitter to followers who had wished him well for the day. “Thanks for all the good wishes,” wrote Miliband. “Really looking forward to the day. Feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying Justine.” As the first leader of a major political party to live with his family out of wedlock, Miliband had faced criticism about his unmarried status but insisted he would not be forced into it. “We’ll get married because we want to get married and love each other very much, no other reason,” he told one interviewer. But a wedding’s also an excuse for a rather nice meal: Friday’s was due to consist of asparagus, followed by lamb and pavlova. And bride and groom were both due to make speeches. Then they will take five days off – without the kids – for a honeymoon in Europe. No, they’re not telling us where, but they may pop down the lane for pics if it doesn’t rain. Ed Miliband Labour Weddings Michael White guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
French finance minister is trying to garner support from emerging countries, some of which have strongly criticised the unwritten convention of appointing a European as head of the IMF French finance minister Christine Lagarde is taking to the road, visiting India first as she kicks off her campaign for the top job at the International Monetary Fund. Lagarde, the frontrunner to become the next managing director of the IMF, has support across Europe and from the US but faces opposition from developing economies angry that the top job in global finance should once again go to a European. French defence minister Gerard Longuet, who is on a two-day visit to India, said on Friday that Lagarde will visit New Delhi. She is trying to garner support from emerging countries, some of which have strongly criticised the unwritten convention of appointing a European as head of the IMF, which makes emergency loans to countries in crisis. Since its foundation in 1947, the IMF has always been run by a European, while the World Bank is usually headed by an American. Trying to overcome opposition from emerging economies, Lagarde admitted that there had been complaints about the lack of senior management from their countries. “If that was the case, which it very well might be … I would certainly apply the principles that in my previous roles I applied to gender,” she told the Financial Times , referring to her long-standing practice of choosing a woman over a man in appointments if they are equally qualified. “I would want to remedy the situation,” she added. “We need appropriate representation of high-level staff based on merit from various nationalities and academic backgrounds.” India, along with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, decried Europe’s “obsolete” grip on the IMF top job earlier this week . They argued in a joint letter that the choice of IMF head should be based on competence, not nationality. However, they have not come up with a common candidate to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who stepped down after being charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York. Mexico’s central bank chief, Agustín Carstens, has emerged as Lagarde’s main rival for the IMF job. He has said he intends to carry “the flag of emerging markets”. Former South African finance minister Trevor Manuel has been mooted as a candidate, although he is currently involved in a racism row, and Russia has promised to back Kazakhstan’s central bank chief, Grigori Marchenko. Christine Lagarde IMF Economics Global economy India Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Gainor Column: Soros-Funded Lefty Media Reach More Than 300 Million Every Month
May 27, 2011 No CommentThird of Four Parts Books, newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, websites and cutting edge videos. The pieces of the George Soros media empire are as diverse as the nations of the world and just as widespread. From nakedly partisan left-wing media like Think Progress, the blog for the Center for American Progress, and a TV show on MSNBC, to the supposedly impartial National Public Radio, Soros has impact on the flow of information worldwide. It gives him incredible influence. Every month, reporters, writers and bloggers at the many outlets he funds easily reach more than 330 million people around the globe. The U.S. Census estimates the population of the entire United States to be just less than 310 million. That's roughly the entire population of the United States with the population of Australia thrown in for good measure – every single month. This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media. Just counting 13 prominent operations of the 180 media organizations he has funded equals 332 million people each month. Included in that total are big players like NPR, which received $1.8 million from Soros, as well as the little known Project Syndicate and Public News Service, both of which also claim to reach millions of readers. And that's really just the beginning. That tally takes into account only a few of the bigger Soros-funded media operations. Many numbers simply aren't available. 'Democracy Now!' – “a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez' – is known for its left-wing take on global news. Its vitriol ranges from attacks on Blackwater founder Erik Prince and supporters of Andrew Breitbart (whom it calls 'Electronic Brownshirts' ), to claims the U.S. is opposed to Arab democracy . Just that one Soros-funded operation is heard 'on over 900 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the United States.” But it posts no formal audience numbers. Phone calls to 'Democracy Now!' were not returned. Laughably, Soros denies he has a media empire, despite spending easily mo re than $48 million on that empire and having top journalists from more than 30 major news organizations serving on the boards of groups he funds. “Another trick is to accuse your opponent of the behavior of which you are guilty, like Fox News accusing me of being the puppet master of a media empire,” wrote Soros in the introduction to his new self-promotional book “The Philanthropy of George Soros .” That book, appropriately, was written by former New York Times reporter Chuck Sudetic who now works for Soros' Open Society Foundations. It is the second such Soros promotional book written by a Times staffer. But Soros wildly understates his own impact. On April 8, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi headlined a Boston conference on “media reform”' She was joined by four other congressmen, a senator, two FCC commissioners, a Nobel laureate and numerous liberal journalists. The event was sponsored by a group called Free Press, which has received $1.4 million from Soros. Free Press has two major agenda items – undermining Internet freedom by pushing so-called “net neutrality,” and advocating for government-funded media to the tune of $35 billion a year. Many of those attending or speaking were affiliated with Soros-funded operations. Free Press is just one of the better funded Soros groups. They also include the Center for American Progress ($7.3 million) , which operates the heavily staffed Think Progress blog. That blog “now has 30 writers and researchers,” according to Politico. Other well-funded operations include the investigative reporting operations at the Center for Public Integrity ($3.7 million) and Center for Investigative Reporting ($1.1 million), as well as Media Matters ($1.1 million) and the Sundance Institute ($1 million). That's not all. “Soros' foundations gave 34 grants from 1997 to 2010 to local NPR member stations and specific programs that have totaled nearly $3.4-million,” said the foundations' [spokesperson Maria] Archuleta. Recipients included WNYC and Minnesota Public Radio,' wrote outgoing NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard. In fact, Soros funds nearly every major left-wing media source in the United States. Forty-five of those are financed through his support of the Media Consortium . That organization “is a network of the country's leading, progressive, independent media outlets.” The list is predictable – everything from Alternet to the Young Turks. A report by the Media Consortium detailed how progressives had created an “echo chamber” of outlets “in which a message pushes the larger public or the mainstream media to acknowledge, respond, and give airtime to progressive ideas because it is repeated many times.” According to the report called “The Big Thaw,” “if done well, the message within the echo chamber can become the accepted meme, impact political dynamics, shift public opinion and change public policy.” That mindset plays out in much of what the consortium's members do. Alternet describes itself as an ” award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources.” It hates Tea Parties and complains about “hatemongering” as the “ugly side of Evangelical Christianity.” The site gets 1.5 million unique visitors to its unique view of the world. Brave New Films, also funded by the Media Consortium, is run by the same people who run Brave New Foundation. Robert Greenwald and Jim Miller produce and distribute videos attacking businesses and conservatives. The site brags about a 2008 election video “that exposes John McCain's double talk , for instance, and receive 9 million views around the world.” Their latest effort is yet another attack on Koch Industries, attempting to halt a much-needed pipeline from the Canada to the U.S. Then there's the Young Turks and MSNBC host Cenk Uygur. In 2010, he was welcomed to the network with a press release detailing his web impact. “One of YouTube's Top 100 Partners, the irreverent talk show averages over 18 million views per month and has over 320 million views overall on its YouTube Channel .” The list goes on and on. Project Syndicate calls itself “the world's pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries.'”It has wide reach. “As of May 2011, Project Syndicate membership included 462 leading newspapers in 150 countries.” Its monthly circulation is 72,815,528. Naturally, “support comes from the Open Society Institute,” the primary Soros foundation. Project Syndicate's columnist line-up, spread to 462 newspapers, is impressively left-leaning or globalist: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, former President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as lefty economists Jeffrey Sachs and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz. Those two are on the board of the Soros-funded Institute for New Economic Thinking, which was founded with $50 million from Soros. Public News Service describes itself as “a member-supported news service that advocates journalism in the public interest.” It is a 'network of state-based news services' in 33 states. It claims it reaches “a combined national weekly audience of 24 million.” PNS is proud of its 2010 success . “Last year the Public News Service produced over 4,000 stories featuring public interest content that were redistributed several hundred thousand times on 6,114 radio stations, 928 print outlets, 133 TV stations and 100s of websites. Nationally, an average of 60 outlets used each story.” The Soros “echo chamber” is even larger. Many of his organizations have a media component – from New Orleans, where he funds The Lens, to nations that were once part of the former Soviet Union. But he doesn't have a media empire. Dan Gainor is the Boone Pickens Fellow and the Media Research Center's Vice President for Business and Culture . His column appears each week on The Fox Forum. He can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter as dangainor.
Continue reading …
• Bin Hammam says Blatter knew of ‘payments allegedly made’ • Blatter hits back at Fifa presidential election rival Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Fifa presidential challenger accused of giving cash bribes to voters, has accused his opponent Sepp Blatter of effectively approving the alleged payments and called for him to be investigated as well. As Fifa’s warring family turned on itself and the governing body’s crisis deepened, the Qatari claimed the dossier of allegations against him also alleged that his co-accused Jack Warner had told Blatter about the payments and took no action. Fifa’s code of ethics places a duty of disclosure on any official to “report any evidence of violations of conduct to the Fifa secretary general”, for transfer to the ethics committee. Bin Hammam formally wrote to Fifa’s secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, on Thursday to request that the investigation be widened to include Blatter. If Bin Hammam is to be condemned he will seek to take Blatter down with him and, in a high stakes strategy, appears to accept that payments were made but claims that Blatter knew about them and said nothing. Amid febrile claim and counter-claim, further details emerged of the allegations contained in the dossier compiled by the US attorney John Collins at the behest of Fifa’s US executive committee member, Chuck Blazer, the Concacaf secretary general. The file, which contains signed affidavits from officials approached at a specially convened meeting of the Caribbean Football Union and offered payments of up to $40,000 from Bin Hammam, is believed to allege the “football development” cash was proffered in private briefings with the 25 attendees. Some of those who rejected the cash approached Blazer following the specially convened conference on 10 and 11 May, arranged after Bin Hammam said he was earlier unable to attend the confederation’s Congress in Miami for visa reasons. Concacaf, controlled by its controversial and much-criticised president, Jack Warner, has consistently played a pivotal role in presidential elections due to exercising its bloc of 35 votes of the 208 on offer. Bin Hammam arrived in Zurich on Thursday ahead of next week’s Fifa Congress and, as if to illustrate the air of unreality surrounding the crisis, will today take part in a meeting of the finance committee as planned. On Sunday, he will face the Fifa ethics committee alongside Warner and two CFU officials who are alleged to have been involved in distributing the cash. In a statement, Bin Hammam said the bribery claims were “without substance” and added: “The accusations also contain statements according to which Mr Blatter, the incumbent Fifa president, was informed of, but did not oppose, payments allegedly made to members of the Caribbean Football Union.” In a rambling article on the InsideWorldFootball website, Blatter insisted that he took “absolutely no joy” in the latest allegations and was “shocked, saddened and deeply unhappy at about the charges levelled against a man whose friendship I enjoyed for many years”. Blatter has insisted he had no knowledge of the dossier or the allegations, which were delivered to Valcke by Collins following his investigation, until he arrived in Zurich on Wednesday morning following a trip to Japan. He used the article to hit back at claims he orchestrated the affair or its timing: “To now assume that the present ordeal of my opponent were to fill me with some sort of perverse satisfaction or that this entire matter was somehow masterminded by me is ludicrous and completely reprehensible.” He again insisted he could be trusted to clean up the organisation, which sits on reserves of $1.28bn: “Fifa does not need a revolution. What Fifa needs is iron clad laws that are implemented forcefully … “When a Swiss farmer’s neighbour has a cow while he has none, the less fortunate farmer will work twice as hard so that one day he can buy a cow as well,” he said. “When another farmer, elsewhere, on an island, say, has no cow but his neighbour does, that farmer will kill the neighbour’s cow out of sheer malice. I’d rather be a Swiss farmer, like it or not.”The Football Association confirmed that it would pass its own report, compiled by James Dingemans QC in the wake of bribery allegations against four executive committee members made by former chairman Lord Triesman, to Fifaon Friday. The new claims against Bin Hammam and Warner, which took to nine the number of executive committee members facing bribery allegations, have plunged the organisation deeper into crisis and thrown plans for next week’s presidential vote and Congress into chaos. It is expected that if Bin Hammam is suspended, Fifa would seek to press on with the vote. Football officials in the US and in Australia are considering whether to lobby for the reopening of the 2022 bid process if Bin Hammam is suspended. The Qatari was not an official member of the bid team but played a pivotal role in delivering victory. Mohamed bin Hammam Sepp Blatter Football politics Fifa Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Heathrow to have busiest Whitsun bank holiday for 10 years with New York, Dubai and Dublin top three destinations More than 2 million people are expected to pass through UK airports this weekend as travellers start the half-term getaway. Heathrow will have its busiest Whitsun bank holiday for at least 10 years with New York, Dubai and Dublin the top three destinations for its expected 800,000 passengers. The Grimsvötn volcano in Iceland remained active on Thursday but was spewing out steam and smoke rather than the ash particles that grounded 900 flights in northern Europe at the start of the week, threatening a repeat of last year’s volcano crisis, when 100,000 flights were cancelled. Eurocontrol, the continent’s air traffic control body, said it expected a trouble-free weekend. “Any significant ash concentrations are far out over the sea, at very low altitudes and well away from the air routes or airports,” said Eurocontrol’s head of network operations, Brian Flynn. “The expectation for the next couple of days is that there will be no disturbances to air traffic whatsoever.” However, the UK’s unusual bank holiday luck this year seems certain to run out over the weekend, with cool and showery weather forecast until well into next week. In place of the sunlit Easter period, when temperatures topped 28C (82F), and the warmth over the royal wedding and May Day, much of the country will be lucky to manage more than 16C (61F). Barry Gromett at the Meteorological Office settled on a theme of “clouds and cloudiness” with only isolated periods of sunshine, mainly in the south-east. He said: “It looks like being a mixed bag, with plenty of outbreaks of rain.” Downpours will not match those on Thursday which delayed the start of the England and Sri Lanka Test cricket match at Cardiff until 3.30pm. There were also heavy falls in London and the Midlands, much to the relief of gardeners and water companies after a prolonged dry period. The AA says 15m cars will hit the roads with traffic building from Friday afternoon. It warned of particularly busy roads between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, with less congestion on Sunday and bank holiday Monday. According to Trafficmaster, the top five traffic hotspots will be: the A303 through Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset; the M5 from Bristol to Exeter; the M3, M27 and A31 between Winchester and the Dorset coast; the M6 north of Birmingham to Lancashire; and the westbound M25 between junctions 21 and 12. The AA warned that motorists could be caught out by high fuel prices because a £40 purchase at the pump will cover less distance than it did last year. Edmund King, AA president, said: “There are too many drivers out there running on fumes and the AA has experienced an 18% increase in call-outs call to drivers running on empty.” The Icelandic ash plume will bring an unexpected benefit to rail passengers travelling between London and Glasgow after Network Rail lifted engineering works on the west coast main line amid fears that Grimsvötn would erupt over the weekend. The works will not be reinstated. “We are just doing our bit,” said a Network Rail spokesman. More than 5 million rail passengers are expected to travel on the network this weekend. The major engineering works are at Liverpool Street station in London, where there will be no trains to Shenfield on Sunday and Monday. South London between London Bridge and Victoria and Tulse Hill will also be affected. Air transport Dan Milmo Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Glass and rocks hurled at anti-racism meeting in east London Far-right activists have attacked trade union meetings and anti-racist groups in the past month in what campaigners and politicians say is an escalating campaign of intimidation and violence. In the latest incident, a 20-strong group hurled concrete pillars, glass and rocks at a meeting on multiculturalism organised by Labour councillors in Barking, east London. “It was terrifying,” said Beverley, 48, an NHS worker who was hit by a rock, leaving her hand so badly damaged that she needed surgery and was on a drip in hospital for three days. “These people seem to think they can bully and intimidate people into staying away.” The attack last Thursday followed incidents in Liverpool, Brighton and east London involving people who claim to be supporters of the English Defence League (EDL), a far-right street movement . A spokesman for the group said the EDL was unaware of any of the incidents, adding that it did not condone violence. The attacks follow disastrous election performances by the British National party, leading analysts to warn that some of its supporters may be turning their backs on electoral politics to focus on more violent street confrontations. “The threat is that as far-right activists decide the electoral path is no longer possible … we will see more aggressive street-based groups linking up and a rise in racially and politically motivated violence,” said Nick Lowles from Searchlight. Anti-racist campaigners said the attack in Barking appeared to be well organised and targeted. The group “appeared out of nowhere” as people were gathering in the foyer and had lookouts stationed outside as the assault continued. “All of a sudden about 20 men and one woman came running across the car park screaming E-E-EDL,” said Beverley, who did not want to give her second name in case of reprisals. “We rushed to lock the glass door … but they didn’t break stride, they just ran at it and smashed into it. They were head-butting it, kicking it, throwing things at it.” The reinforced glass came away in chunks, which were hurled at the unionists and anti-racist campaigners trapped in the foyer. Beverley said: “They were crazed on the other side of this glass wall … They started ripping pieces of glass off and frisbeeing them at us through the holes and then they started hurling rocks at us.” George Barratt, a Labour councillor for Barking’s Mayesbrook ward, who was due to speak at the meeting on multiculturalism and racism, said: “It is extremely disturbing. We don’t want these thugs here and we won’t tolerate them attacking our meetings.” In the run-up to the local elections Hope not Hate campaigners, who were on their way to deliver anti BNP leaflets in Essex, were confronted by around 40 or 50 far-right activists who refused to let them off the train at Grays in east London. This month a radical bookshop in Liverpool was targeted by around 15 men claiming to be EDL supporters and last month in Brighton a meeting on multiculturalism was attacked by a group of 30 or 40. Weyman Bennett, from Unite Against Fascism, said: “These attacks are escalating in their frequency and in the level of violence. They are now targeting trade unionists and elected councillors as well as anti-racists – it is classic fascist tactics and cannot be ignored.” English Defence League The far right Race issues BNP Local elections 2011 Local politics London Trade unions Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Migration from eastern Europe on the rise again, with return to UK ‘driven by disappointment at home’ The conventional narrative of the last three years suggested that as soon as the clouds of financial doom descended over the UK, Poles were on the first flight home. Many believed the do widzenia (Polish for “see you later”) was a permanent goodbye. The Polish delis would quietly shut down, Boddingtons would return to the shelves where the cans of Lech once stood, and it would yet again be difficult to get a reliable plumber. But things have not quite panned out that way. The UK economy may still be in the doldrums, but according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration to the UK from Poland is on the up again, and Poles are now the biggest group of foreign nationals in the UK. Some 545,000 Polish passport holders now live in the UK, compared with 75,000 in 2003, the year before Poland joined the EU. The ONS reports that net migration from Poland and other east European countries increased to 43,000 in the 12
Continue reading …
Iris Robinson has been cleared of wrongdoing over the awarding of a council business deal to her former teenage lover, Kirk McCambley The wife of the Northern Ireland first minister, Peter Robinson, has been cleared of wrongdoing over the awarding of a council business deal to her former teenage lover. The review followed revelations that Iris Robinson had arranged £50,000 in secret loans for 19-year-old Kirk McCambley so he could open a cafe on the banks of the River Lagan in Belfast. The cafe was leased from Castlereagh borough council where she was a Democratic Unionist Party representative. Robinson’s political career ended after the scandal broke last year. She left the council, gave up her seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly and stood down as MP for Strangford. But on Thursday evening councillors given a private briefing on the review said it cleared the council and its representatives, including Robinson, of wrongdoing. The DUP leader on the council, Jimmy Spratt, said: “This report brings this chapter in the history of Castlereagh Borough Council to a close.” He added: “There is no evidence of wrongdoing by officers of the council or either past or current councillors.” The disgraced former “First Lady” of Ulster politics left public life last year and moved to London for several months where she received counselling. She returned to the public sphere last week when she accompanied her husband, the leader of the DUP, at the dinner hosted for the Queen in Dublin by Irish president Mary McAleese. Spratt said: “Over the last 14 months, Iris, Peter and their family have been in our thoughts and prayers and we were delighted that Iris felt able to attend the banquet to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s visit to the Irish Republic last week. “We send her continued best wishes for a full recovery.” Ireland Iris Robinson David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …