Authorities urged to do more to get people out of harm’s way as new violent storm forecasted The authorities in the Missouri town devastated by the worst tornado in modern history tested their warning sirens on Tuesday amid calls for better alarm systems to get people out of reach of violent storms. At least 117 people were killed when the town of Joplin took a direct hit from a tornado. Hundreds of others remain missing in the town, which saw 30% of its buildings flattened. Seventeen survivors have been found in the rubble of the town, officials said, but recovery operations were affected by violent weather. Two emergency workers were struck by lightning on Monday. With forecasts of a new violent storm system heading for Oklahoma and south-western Missouri, the head of the national weather service said the authorities needed to do more to get people out of harm’s way. “We need to ask ourselves, what can we do to protect Americans?” Jack Hayes, the federal agency’s director, said. “I have to say, it’s not enough. We have to do more.” The national weather service is considering introducing smartphone warnings and other systems to increase its warning capability. Storm sirens sounded more than 20 minutes before the tornado hit Joplin just before 6pm on Sunday – more than the 13- or 14-minute average warning time, said Greg Carbin, the meteorologist who heads the weather service’s storm prediction centre. That should have been ample time to get to cover. But forecasters are growing concerned that people – especially those living in tornado-prone areas of the south and central United States – are becoming blase about warnings, or that the warnings are not getting through in time. Increasing the warning lead time might even make the problem of complacency worse because it would also affect accuracy of forecasts, said Carbin. “That is something we grapple with all the time,” said Carbin. “If we want to push the envelope with respect to predictions are we also going to overwarn or cry wolf too often? I would argue that there may be some signs we are already doing that.” However, Missouri’s governor, Jay Nixon, suggested some people in Joplin could not hear the tornado sirens over strong winds and heavy rain. “When the pressure caused those alarms to go off, there was so much rain, so much hail many of the folks couldn’t even hear it,” he said. There were similar complaints after last month’s deadly tornadoes in Alabama and other southern states when thunderstorms blew down powerlines and weather service systems, leaving mobile phones as the only means of communication, Bob Henson of the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research said. “People tend to confirm a warning themselves before acting. Did the sirens go off? What is the TV meteorologist saying? What are my family and friends Does it look like a tornado is approaching?doing?” he said. Fast-changing conditions also lead people to underestimate the danger or assume they have more time to get to safety. And, Henson wrote in a recent blog, there may be no readily safe haven anyway. “As with other tornado outbreaks across the southern US, it’s likely that a disproportionate number of deaths occurred in mobile homes, which are not designed to withstand major tornadoes or other severe wind and water hazards.” Missouri United States Natural disasters and extreme weather Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …For many in the media Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction to Barack Obama insistence that his country return to the 1967 borders was out of bounds. ABC's Christiane Amanpour declared she was “stunned” by his “public lecture” of the President and NBC's Andrea Mitchell hissed, “it was really rude,” and charged he treated Obama ” like a school boy.” Mitchell didn't reserve her criticism to Netanyahu as she even went after Republicans who dared to take his side, accusing them of “piling on the president.” The following is a collection of some of the media's most outrageous outbursts over the Israeli prime minister's response to Obama, over the last couple of days: First up, on the May 22 edition of Meet the Press, Mitchell was offended “in the fashion” Netanyahu “lectured” the President, “treating him like a school boy.” DAVID GREGORY: At the same time, what's happening today, we want to take you live here in Washington, D.C., to the scene of AIPAC. This is the pro-Israel lobby, very powerful in the United States. The President will be speaking here, Andrea Mitchell, and this is on the heels of a rupture with Israel. The President said this week that any peace plan, a Palestinian state would have to go back to the borders of prior to the 1967 war. This was significant. ANDREA MITCHELL: He did have language that said there would be land swaps to protect Israel's security, but it was taken as a red flag by Netanyahu. And what happened then was that even if this was implicit in things that previous presidents had said, Netanyahu seized on it. Even before he got on the plane, he criticized the President, and in such a fashion! He lectured him in the Oval Office. And if you look at that picture that you have up there right now, it was a stone-faced Barack Obama and Netanyahu basically treating him like a school boy. People even who work for Netanyahu, some Israeli officials, told him later that he went too far. That it was, it was really rude and that there would be blowback to this. Also on Sunday, on ABC's This Week, Amanpour joined Jake Tapper in being flabbergasted by what they saw as Netanyahu exacerbating an already “frosty relationship” with Obama. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So you talked about no relationship. I mean, they have a frosty relationship at best, right, Jake? JAKE TAPPER: There's no love lost, I think it's fair to say. And I also think it's fair to say that when Bibi in the Oval Office did something I've never seen happen… AMANPOUR: I was going to ask you… TAPPER: …which is, which is this little history lesson on the Jewish people and suffering, that did not endear him further to the White House. AMANPOUR: Were you, were you stunned by that? I mean, it did look like a public lecture. AARON MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, I mean, it was – it was pretty unprecedented. I mean, [Menachem] Begin used to lecture Carter, but it was done privately. Begin was too polite to do it publicly. Netanyahu saw an opportunity. He was clearly upset. I mean, he feels that he was set up. So this was payback. And it was payback at a time when the prime minister feels pretty self-confident that the peace process is going nowhere. And he has a number of cards to play. I'm not sure, however, for an American audience, you want to be in position of lecturing your only reliable ally. AMANPOUR: Even Jeffrey Goldberg, who is one of the most reliable friends of Israel in print and in all sorts of way, said that he was offended to see — to see the Israeli prime minister basically lecturing the President of the United States and that Netanyahu had, quote, “gone out of his way” to alienate this president. Over on CBS's Face the Nation Bob Schieffer took exception to Newt Gingrich calling Obama's demand for Israel to return to pre-1967 borders “dangerous.” BOB SCHIEFFER: And we're back with the Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Mister Gingrich, the President made a big speech on the Middle East last week. What did you think of it? NEWT GINGRICH: I think it is a disaster. I think it is extraordinarily dangerous. I think that it–defining the 1967 border would be an act of suicide for Israel. They are totally non-defensible. Ithink for the United States, you know– we don't have moral equivalence here. You have Hamaswhich is a terrorist organization whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel. You have a democracy. Now the idea that somehow we're supposed to be neutral between Hamas and Israel is fundamentally flawed. And I do not believe that we should have any pressure on Israelas long as Hamas's policy is the destruction of Israel. And as long as missiles are being fired into Israel and terrorists are preparing to try to kill Israelis. And I think it is– a President who can't control his own border probably shouldn't lecture Israel about their border. SCHIEFFER: I have to ask you though you're using words like dangerous. I mean, the President was calling for peace. How- why – why can you characterize that as dangerous? GINGRICH: Because how do you have peace with a Hamas organization whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel and driving every Israeli out of the country? I mean, read what Hamas says. This idea, that somehow– these people are firing missiles virtually every day intoIsrael. These people are constantly preparing for terrorism. They're recruiting children to be suicide bombers. How – how can you – the President talks about peace when he ought to be insisting that we cut off all aid to Hamas and isolate Hamas as long as it is a terrorist organization trying to destroy an entire people. I mean, I
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British aircraft join heaviest bombardment of Tripoli so far and commanders prepare to deploy Apache helicopters Ministers have agreed to step up the scale and intensity of military action against Libya while privately admitting there is now a danger the conflict could drag on for months, well-placed Whitehall officials have told the Guardian. As British aircraft joined the heaviest bombardment so far of the Libyan capital Tripoli and HMS Ocean prepared to head for the country’s coastal waters with Apache attack helicopters on board, officials said the coalition was attempting to apply psychological pressure on the Gaddafi regime as well as depriving it of equipment. Government sources made clear the Apaches were being sent to Libya, and the intention was to use them, despite Nick Harvey, the armed forces minister, insisting in the Commons that no final decision had yet been taken. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, told a London news conference on Monday night that the opposition had organised a legitimate and credible interim council that was committed to democracy. The US has invited the council to set up an office in Washington. “Their military forces are improving and when Gaddafi inevitably leaves, a new Libya stands ready to move forward,” she said. However, British officials made plain that while they hoped the Gaddafi regime would collapse soon, they did not hold out much expectation it would do so. RAF Tornados, armed with 230kg (500lb) guided bombs, on Tuesday attacked a military vehicle depot within Gaddafi’s large Bab al-Aziziyah complex in the centre of Tripoli, the Ministry of Defence said. As the result of the shockwaves, plaster was reported to have fallen from the ceilings in a hotel where foreign reporters were staying, about 1.2 miles (2km) away. A Nato official said the facility had been used to attack civilians. “It is definitely, in terms of one target, the largest and most concentrated attack we have done to date,” a Nato official in Brussels told Reuters. “This complex is where members of the Gaddafi regime, not only military but hit squads, were based in the early days of the violent suppression of the popular uprising, and it has been active ever since.” A Libyan government spokesman said three people had been killed and 150 wounded, and that the casualties were local residents. In London, Harvey told MPs that while “no decision” had yet been taken to use Apaches, the advantage of using the helicopters was that they could “strike moving targets with greater precision”. He dismissed the widely-held view that the use of Apaches in close-quarter attacks would be a significant escalation in military operations. “The targets would remain the same” and it was “simply a tactical shift”, Harvey told MPs. Asked about the estimated £1bn cost of the conflict to the UK if it continued into the autumn, he said the chancellor had made clear the cost would be met by the Treasury. The minister was summoned to the Commons to answer an urgent question tabled by the shadow defence secretary, Jim Murphy, following reports that military commanders had decided to deploy the Apaches following a green light from the National Security Council chaired by David Cameron. HMS Ocean, with four Apaches on board, is expected off the Libyan coast within a week. The helicopters, armed with Hellfire missiles and 30mm cannon, will be used to mount a 16-mile buffer zone around the port city of Misrata, defence officials said. After the Commons exchanges, Murphy said: “Parliament has not written the government a blank cheque on Libya and ministers should never keep the British public in the dark over major military decisions. The deployment of attack helicopters would represent a significant moment and an escalation of the conflict.” Libya Military Middle East Africa Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Leading medical economist says health service’s spending power set to fall by 0.9% in real terms David Cameron’s pledge to increase the NHS budget in real terms has been challenged by a leading health economist who claims the service’s spending power is set to fall. The NHS budget in England will be 0.9% lower by 2014-15 than it was in the financial year that ended last month, Professor John Appleby writes in the British Medical Journal. Although ministers are giving the service more cash in each of the remaining four years of this parliament, inflation will mean its purchasing power is eroded so much that it will drop, he says. Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund health thinktank, contradicts Cameron and health secretary Andrew Lansley’s repeated promises to deliver year-on-year rises in real terms. They claim the NHS will receive an extra £11.5bn over the next four years thanks to protecting the health budget, increasing it from £103.8bn in 2010-11 to £114.4bn by 2014-15. Appleby does not dispute the cash increases but insists that “by 2014-15 the amount of money the NHS has to spend in real terms, its purchasing power, will have gone down by 0.9%.” He based his predictions on Treasury estimates of inflation in the economy as a whole, and the likelihood of NHS staff pressing for pay increases once the current three-year freeze ends in 2013. The Department of Health rejected Appleby’s claim. “In England, the NHS budget is due to rise by £11.5bn over the next four years. This financial year, starting April 2011, the NHS in England is getting £2.6bn extra cash, or 3% extra. The spending review announced real terms increases every year in the NHS in England”, said a spokesman. But John Healey, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Labour raised the shortfall in health spending at the time of the budget. But this is now hard proof by independent experts that David Cameron is breaking his promise to give a real rise in funding to the NHS, and it will add to the pressure he’s already putting on the health service through his huge top-down reorganisation.” Meanwhile, the leaders of consortiums of GPs in England are strongly opposed to having a local hospital consultant on their board, a snapshot survey for the health website Pulse found. That could prove problematic as the Commons health select committee and the British Medical Association both back the idea, while Cameron has appeared sympathatic to the idea. Consortium chairs believe it would produce a conflict of interest to give places to consultants whose hospitals have contracts with the GPs. The NHS Confederation, which represents 95% of the NHS’s employers in England, wants major changes to the health and social care bill as part of the government’s “listening” exercise. While it welcomes key elements of it and the need for some reform generally, it says the case for a big overhaul “has yet to be clearly made” and that it does not address the NHS’s serious financial challenges. NHS Health David Cameron Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Leading medical economist says health service’s spending power set to fall by 0.9% in real terms David Cameron’s pledge to increase the NHS budget in real terms has been challenged by a leading health economist who claims the service’s spending power is set to fall. The NHS budget in England will be 0.9% lower by 2014-15 than it was in the financial year that ended last month, Professor John Appleby writes in the British Medical Journal. Although ministers are giving the service more cash in each of the remaining four years of this parliament, inflation will mean its purchasing power is eroded so much that it will drop, he says. Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund health thinktank, contradicts Cameron and health secretary Andrew Lansley’s repeated promises to deliver year-on-year rises in real terms. They claim the NHS will receive an extra £11.5bn over the next four years thanks to protecting the health budget, increasing it from £103.8bn in 2010-11 to £114.4bn by 2014-15. Appleby does not dispute the cash increases but insists that “by 2014-15 the amount of money the NHS has to spend in real terms, its purchasing power, will have gone down by 0.9%.” He based his predictions on Treasury estimates of inflation in the economy as a whole, and the likelihood of NHS staff pressing for pay increases once the current three-year freeze ends in 2013. The Department of Health rejected Appleby’s claim. “In England, the NHS budget is due to rise by £11.5bn over the next four years. This financial year, starting April 2011, the NHS in England is getting £2.6bn extra cash, or 3% extra. The spending review announced real terms increases every year in the NHS in England”, said a spokesman. But John Healey, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Labour raised the shortfall in health spending at the time of the budget. But this is now hard proof by independent experts that David Cameron is breaking his promise to give a real rise in funding to the NHS, and it will add to the pressure he’s already putting on the health service through his huge top-down reorganisation.” Meanwhile, the leaders of consortiums of GPs in England are strongly opposed to having a local hospital consultant on their board, a snapshot survey for the health website Pulse found. That could prove problematic as the Commons health select committee and the British Medical Association both back the idea, while Cameron has appeared sympathatic to the idea. Consortium chairs believe it would produce a conflict of interest to give places to consultants whose hospitals have contracts with the GPs. The NHS Confederation, which represents 95% of the NHS’s employers in England, wants major changes to the health and social care bill as part of the government’s “listening” exercise. While it welcomes key elements of it and the need for some reform generally, it says the case for a big overhaul “has yet to be clearly made” and that it does not address the NHS’s serious financial challenges. NHS Health David Cameron Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Ed Schultz talked to former Republican Governor of Minnesota Arne Carlson about the record Tim Pawlenty actually had as the state’s governor compared to the rhetoric we’re hearing from him on the campaign trail now. You can read more in the Carlson’s op ed here — The Presidency: A Bit Short is Pawlenty : One thing is certain about Monday’s Presidential announcement by former Governor Tim Pawlenty: he will not bring up the fact that he presided over one of the larger tax increases in Minnesota’s history. Yes, that is quite correct. During his two terms as Governor, property taxes rose a stunning $2.5 billion – more than the previous 16 years combined (see note below). To further amplify this enormous growth consider this fact: in the 8 years prior to Governor Pawlenty, property taxes rose some $716 million. Compare this to the $2.5 billion increase during the Pawlenty years. That is an approximate 250 percent increase. But this data also illustrates the close relationship between state and local spending in Minnesota. All too often, state budget cuts simply translate into increased local costs. This is particularly true when considering school financing and local government aids. Further evidence of this can be seen in the fact that from 2003 to today, Minnesota has been rolling from deficit to deficit and in spite of warnings from Moody’s concerning the folly of short-term fixes, Governor Pawlenty continued to achieve budget balance by employing the following: ➢ Borrowing over $1 billion from the tobacco settlement – money designated for health care. ➢ Taking over $2 billion from the federal stimulus funds. ➢ Borrowing over $1.4 billion from K-12 education funding. ➢ Borrowing over $400 million from the Healthcare Access Fund for low-income families. ➢ Accelerating tax payments. ➢ Delaying bill payments. ➢ Engaging in accounting shifts. In the process, Moody’s lowered Minnesota’s bond rating. Go read the rest and Think Progress’ The Wonk Room has much more on Pawlenty here — FACT CHECK: Pawlenty’s ‘Truth’ Campaign Is Already Littered With Lies : This morning, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) formally announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in Des Moines, Iowa, promising Americans “ a different approach ” to his campaign and potential presidency. “I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is, Washington’s broken,” Pawlenty declared. “It’s time for new leadership. It’s time for a new approach. And, it’s time for America’s president – and anyone who wants to be president – to look you in the eye and tell you the truth.” From there, Pawlenty preceded to list various “truths” about the state of the nation, many of which appear — on closer examination — to be either completely untrue or grossly exaggerated: They’ve got a long post there I don’t want to just copy and paste, so go read the rest as well.
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Click here to view this media Ed Schultz talked to former Republican Governor of Minnesota Arne Carlson about the record Tim Pawlenty actually had as the state’s governor compared to the rhetoric we’re hearing from him on the campaign trail now. You can read more in the Carlson’s op ed here — The Presidency: A Bit Short is Pawlenty : One thing is certain about Monday’s Presidential announcement by former Governor Tim Pawlenty: he will not bring up the fact that he presided over one of the larger tax increases in Minnesota’s history. Yes, that is quite correct. During his two terms as Governor, property taxes rose a stunning $2.5 billion – more than the previous 16 years combined (see note below). To further amplify this enormous growth consider this fact: in the 8 years prior to Governor Pawlenty, property taxes rose some $716 million. Compare this to the $2.5 billion increase during the Pawlenty years. That is an approximate 250 percent increase. But this data also illustrates the close relationship between state and local spending in Minnesota. All too often, state budget cuts simply translate into increased local costs. This is particularly true when considering school financing and local government aids. Further evidence of this can be seen in the fact that from 2003 to today, Minnesota has been rolling from deficit to deficit and in spite of warnings from Moody’s concerning the folly of short-term fixes, Governor Pawlenty continued to achieve budget balance by employing the following: ➢ Borrowing over $1 billion from the tobacco settlement – money designated for health care. ➢ Taking over $2 billion from the federal stimulus funds. ➢ Borrowing over $1.4 billion from K-12 education funding. ➢ Borrowing over $400 million from the Healthcare Access Fund for low-income families. ➢ Accelerating tax payments. ➢ Delaying bill payments. ➢ Engaging in accounting shifts. In the process, Moody’s lowered Minnesota’s bond rating. Go read the rest and Think Progress’ The Wonk Room has much more on Pawlenty here — FACT CHECK: Pawlenty’s ‘Truth’ Campaign Is Already Littered With Lies : This morning, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) formally announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in Des Moines, Iowa, promising Americans “ a different approach ” to his campaign and potential presidency. “I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is, Washington’s broken,” Pawlenty declared. “It’s time for new leadership. It’s time for a new approach. And, it’s time for America’s president – and anyone who wants to be president – to look you in the eye and tell you the truth.” From there, Pawlenty preceded to list various “truths” about the state of the nation, many of which appear — on closer examination — to be either completely untrue or grossly exaggerated: They’ve got a long post there I don’t want to just copy and paste, so go read the rest as well.
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Six photographers’ cars parked near home of Manchester United footballer have been vandalised by group of masked assailants Six cars belonging to photographers that were parked near the home of Ryan Giggs have been vandalised by a group of masked assailants. Police were called to the Manchester United midfielder’s house in Salford on Tuesday after vandals jumped out of a Ford Transit van and attacked the vehicles. No photographers are thought to have been injured in the attack. Their cars are believed to have been targeted because of the media attention surrounding Giggs. Greater Manchester police issued a statement saying they were called to Giggs’ house shortly after 3.20pm “following reports a number of cars had been damaged”. “Officers… discovered at least six cars had been vandalised after offenders arrived in a Ford Transit van and attacked the vehicles.” The former Wales captain was named in the House of Commons on Monday as the footballer alleged to have had an extra-marital affair with the model Imogen Thomas. Greater Manchester police said inquiries into the incident are ongoing. More details soon… Privacy & the media Superinjunctions Injunctions Ryan Giggs Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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Up to 6 million females aborted over past decade, often when child was family’s second and they already had a daughter Families in India are increasingly aborting their second child if they know it to be a girl and they already have a daughter, a study shows. Scientists estimate that up to 6 million girls have been aborted in India over the past decade by couples who do not want a large family and are determined to have a son. The practice is more widespread among wealthier and better educated Indian families, who are better able to afford the prenatal tests and medical intervention they want. While it has been known that there has been a tendency to abort girls in India since the first census in 1871, the latest evidence suggests that the practice is common throughout the country. The research, published in the Lancet , suggests that the Indian government’s attempt to tackle the issue by outlawing ultrasound scans that identify the sex of a foetus has not worked. The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act was passed in 1996 to stop medical staff telling parents the sex of a foetus. “It is unlikely that this act has been effective nationally because few health providers have been charged or convicted,” write the authors, Prof Prabhat Jha from the University of Toronto and colleagues from India, including the former registrar-general of India, Dr Jayant Banthia. “We are not surprised by this lack of prosecution given that most primary care is with unregulated private providers.” This year’s Indian census revealed that there are about 7.1 million fewer girls than boys under the age of six. The gap has grown substantially since the 2001 census, which found 6 million fewer girls, and the 1991 census, 4.2 million fewer. The researchers used census data to estimate the absolute numbers of abortions for reasons of sex selection. They used information on more than 250,000 births in national surveys to work out the difference in the girl-boy ratio in second births in families where the first child was a girl. They found that the ratio in second births where the first child was a daughter fell from 906 girls per 1,000 boys in 1990 to 836 in 2005 – a drop of 0.52% a year. But there was no decline in the ratio among couples whose first child was a son. The authors estimate that between 3 million and 6 million girls were aborted from 2000 to 2010. Over the 30 years from 1980 to 2010, there could have been as many as 12 million abortions of girls. In a commentary, two leading experts point out that the desire to have a son appears to influence the behaviour of expatriate Indians too. Higher ratios of sons to daughters in second births, when the first child was a girl, have been found among Indians living in the US. India Abortion Women Sarah Boseley guardian.co.uk
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