Click here to view this media It’s not very often that I get to know the person that Blue America PAC is endorsing for Congress years before they actually decide to run, but that’s the case here as I now welcome Norman Solomon to the Blue America and Progressive communities and wholeheartedly put my support behind his campaign. I’m really pleased that he’s coming here to help launch his fight to represent the true left when it comes to matters like the vast war machine and the many unnecessary nuclear energy power plants that our country’s elites has embraced. We meet in 2007 for coffee after he released his book entitled Made Love Got War, which is an autobiographical look at his life’s work and that’s when I found out that he’s a very serious and principled man who has a history of standing up to the military industrial complex along with the nuclear power juggernaut and who stands strong with all working class Americans. (Please donate to his campaign here. ) Unfortunately we are witnessing in real time the agonies that Japan is facing after suffering an 9.0 earthquake followed by a massive tsunami followed by severe aftershocks and power losses which has wreaked havoc to their Fukushima nuclear plant to the point where it’s now at least on par with the great disaster in Chernobyl. There’s an outcry from Japan now because many people feel that the government has been hiding the facts from them, while media elites in our country try to tell Americans that nuclear power is so nice and cozy and safe and we shouldn’t worry. Even as we speak, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Seeks 20-Year Extension in California. No shock there, right? He’s also been outspoken against needless and endless wars, supports a woman’s right to choose and equal rights’s for the LGBT community so what’s not to like?. Norman has all the qualities that make up a great progressive candidate from Marin/Sonoma county. The right kind of Progressive candidate. The candidate that will buck the party system and fight for real progressive values and will be an outspoken leader on these issues. He’s not just a cookie cutter politician that bows down to the party leadership. He’s independent minded in a good way, but will not compromise his values. Here’s some of his accomplishments from his About Norman Solomon page on his website: *Co-Chair of the Commission on a Green New Deal for North Bay *Organized and went on three missions to Baghdad prior to the invasion of Iraq seeking alternatives to war. *Health-care Not Warfare National Co-Chair (with Congressman John Conyers and Donna Smith of the California Nurses Association *Recipient of numerous awards including the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, and the Annual Ruben Salazar Journalism Award *From 1997 to 2010, as founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, oversaw policy research and liaison with thousands of experts on global warming, foreign policy, labor rights, “welfare reform,” economic equity, lax enforcement of federal regulations, civil liberties and a wide range of other topics related to federal, state and local government policies nationwide *One of the lone voices on national television against invading Iraq before the start of the Iraq war in early 2003, appearing on CNN and other major TV networks more than a dozen times to argue for diplomacy instead of a U.S. attack *Co-chair of the state Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus foreign policy committee *Organized and went on fact-finding trip to Afghanistan in 2009 *The New York Times Magazine has called him “a leading progressive activist.” The Los Angeles Times has called him “a formidable thinker and activist.” That’s a tremendous record of achievements so please join us in welcoming to C&L and Blue America PAC, Norman Solomon. Please don’t forget donate to his campaign at our Blue America act blue page here . He’ll need your help to win this race.
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Pathologist tells inquest he found no physical evidence shove caused death but stress could aggravate heart condition The stress caused by Ian Tomlinson being shoved to the ground by a police officer during the G20 protests could have triggered a heart attack, pathologist Freddy Patel has told an inquest. Patel, who concluded in a postmortem that the newspaper seller died of a heart attack, said it was “well recognised” that a stressful trauma could aggravate a heart condition. But he had found no physical evidence that this had caused the death, which he attributed to natural causes. Tomlinson, 47, collapsed and died near the Bank of England on 1
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Abidjan residents begin to return to normal life days after capture of rogue leader, amid reports of continued violence in Yopougon The long queue zigzagging outside a reopened bakery on Wednesday hinted at a city rediscovering itself. It was one of several signs that Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, could be returning to something like normality two days after the capture of its rogue president, Laurent Gbagbo. Just down the street, formerly the scene of fierce combat, hundreds of people milled around fruit and vegetable stalls. A minibus pulled up and women stepped out carrying crates of eggs. At nearby restaurants, people smiled and waved at passing French military patrols. Some petrol stations reopened, communal taxis were operating and water and electricity, cut off by 10 days of fighting, were restored to most neighbourhoods, residents said. The UN Children’s Fund, Unicef, was able to deliver supplies such as medicine, soap and blankets to the city for the first time in weeks. But people were forced to step over the detritus of battle and several burnt bodies could still be seen in grasslands – one, a young man, clutching a bunch of fruit. “Life is gradually returning to normal, shops have reopened as well as pharmacies,” Mariam Kone, in the southern district of Koumassi, told Reuters. “At night, though, there is still shooting by those who have weapons. They are not happy at all that Gbagbo’s gone.” There were reports of continued violence in Yopougon, a pro-Gbagbo stronghold. “There’s a lot of submachine gunfire and we don’t know who is doing the shooting,” Stella Gogo, a resident, told Reuters. Amnesty International reported that on Tuesday armed men, some wearing military uniforms, carried out house-to-house searches in real or perceived pro-Gbagbo neighbourhoods. One witness told the rights group how a policeman from Gbagbo’s ethnic group was taken from his house and shot dead at point-blank range. Footage has emerged showing forces loyal to Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara, walking through the front gate of Gbagbo’s presidential residence carrying firearms. Many are dressed in camouflage and wearing helmets, and some are crouched in shooting position. After orders from a commander, fighters enter the property by shooting at the lock and forcing their way inside. The footage, shot by a pro-Ouattara fighter and obtained by Associated Press, shows fighters putting a camouflage flak jacket on Gbagbo. He and his wife are then escorted to a car with a tank sitting nearby. On a visit to the residence on Wednesday, the Guardian observed burned-out armoured vehicles, wrecked cars and discarded uniforms. The front entrance was battered. A sign for Gbagbo’s elite republican guard lay lopsided. French soldiers fired teargas to deter would-be looters. In one part of the compound, a building that contained a prison cell was littered with grenades, newspapers and upturned beds, while outside a guitar rested on a fridge beside two neatly packed leather suitcases. A pristine picture of Gbagbo was on the wall. Outside, curiously, amid discarded sofas and mattresses, was a blackboard on which was chalked: “Beyonce, I love you.” Philippe Mangou, Gbagbo’s ex-army chief of staff, called on all soldiers to report to their base to serve under Ouattara’s army, the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast. Ouattara said Gbagbo had been moved out of the Golf hotel, where he was taken after his capture on Monday. He said Gbagbo would be kept in a villa and his rights as a former head of state would be respected. “Gbagbo is in a residence under surveillance somewhere in Ivory Coast,” Ouattara said. “There will be charges [against Gbagbo] on a national level and an international level. Reconciliation cannot happen without justice.” He said he had phoned South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, for advice about setting up a credible and independent truth and reconciliation committee. Ouattara repeated his call against violence, and said all minors being held should be released immediately. “We need to secure the country, notably Abidjan,” he said. “It is important for the country to emerge from this crisis on top.” Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo Alassane Ouattara David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …This week marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. But there's another “civil war” of sorts on the horizon, this one between the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which has thus far steadfastly refused to accept cuts to entitlement programs in the name of fiscal solvency, and the party's more moderate members (which include, amazingly, President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi) who recognize that such cuts are all-but-inevitable. But true to form, most of the media, fond of labeling GOP infighting a civil war, has yet to brand Democrats' budget feud with that label. This despite the increasing uneasiness of liberal legislators and organizations who are worried the president has already caved to conservatives on the budget battle. In fact, some groups have gone beyond simply complaining about the apparent embrace of the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan by the president (and key congressional Democrats, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Chris Van Hollen). The Progressive Chance Campaign Committee (PCCC) sent an email to its members on Tuesday encouraging them to withhold financial contributions to Obama's reelection campaign if his eventual plan includes any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid,
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European Commission plans minimum tax on fuel for member states – but UK prices would not be affected Diesel prices are set to rise across Europe if new proposals from the European Commission for a minimum tax on fuel go ahead. Under the proposals, a new tax based on the carbon content of fuels would apply across member states, at a minimum of €20 per tonne of carbon dioxide. This is likely to affect diesel more than petrol, because at present most countries tax diesel more lightly, which makes it on average 10% cheaper at the pump even though it is 10% more expensive to produce. “It is about ensuring that the way we tax things is providing the right incentives, and at least not providing the wrong incentives,” said Connie Hedegaard, European commissioner for climate change. “It will encourage energy efficiency.” The minimum price for diesel would increase by €2.3 cents per litre per year from 2013 until 2023 under the plans. However the price rise would not occur in those member states whose fuel taxes are higher than the proposed minimum. In the UK, for instance, the Treasury said that fuel prices would not rise if the plans took effect, because the UK’s fuel tax rates exceed the minimum rates. Despite this, the government is fighting the commission on the issue, on the principle that member states should be free to set their own carbon taxes. A HM Treasury spokesman said: “Member states should have the flexibility to decide on the measures that will best help them meet their greenhouse gas emissions targets.” Hedegaard acknowledged that the proposals – which must be approved by member states and the EU’s parliament – would face stiff opposition. “No one believes this is going to be a walk-over to get through,” she said. “But there are very strong arguments for doing this.” The proposals would also require a minimum tax rate for heating fuels based on their energy content. This is controversial because poorer households spend a large proportion of their income on heating. But the commission said it would allow member states to set their own exemptions on home heating, to avoid damaging social effects. The Treasury was unable to tell the Guardian on Wednesday whether the proposals would have an effect on UK gas prices. Travel and transport Oil Energy Fossil fuels Oil Commodities European commission European Union Europe Tax and spending Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
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Press Complaints Commission not up to the job, says chairman of Commons culture, media and sport select committee The chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, John Whittingdale, has called for a public inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World. Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s The Media Show , Whittingdale said there should be “some kind of commission or inquiry” into why a series of investigations by Scotland Yard failed to link any News International employees to phone hacking other than the News of the World’s former royal editor, Clive Goodman. Rupert Murdoch’s news group last week issued a public apology to eight victims of phone hacking, including the actor Sienna Miller and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, and admitted for the first time that the practice was rife at the paper. News International has also written to nine other alleged victims of News of the World phone hacking saying it was prepared to pay compensation if they obtained evidence from Scotland Yard to support their claims. “There are some very big questions. What I find [most] worrying is the apparent unwillingness of the police, who had the evidence and chose to do nothing with it. That’s something that needs to be looked into,” Whittingdale said on Wednesday. “It also raises some quite serious questions for the security of government. It seems pretty extraordinary that newspapers are able to listen in to the private conversations of Downing Street, royal staff and others. “I’m wanting to know through the Home Office why those responsible for safeguarding security weren’t able to do anything about it.” Whittingdale said the culture select committee was also “concerned” about previous assurances given to it by News International executives and Scotland Yard that an investigation had been carried out and that there was no new information. “It wasn’t just News International who told us that, it was also the police,” he added. “In light of what’s now apparent that’s a most extraordinary statement.” The Conservative MP said there was “no reason” why a fresh inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World could not be done by the newspaper industry itself, but added that the sector’s self-regulatory body, the Press Complaints Commission, was not up to the job. “I think the newspaper industry should be very worried,” Whittingdale added. “The PCC has not got a particularly strong reputation as a result of this. I don’t think they’ve covered themselves in glory.” Any fresh inquiry should be carried out by “someone who is independent, experienced and powerful who is not in thrall to the press”, he added. “It’s a case for the industry recognising that if it is to retain its credibility it needs a stronger, more independent PCC which has real sanctions. If the [newspaper industry] shrug their shoulders, I think cries for [a tougher system of regulation] will grow. “Newspapers would be very foolish to believe [the phone-hacking scandal] doesn’t have implications for the whole way the press operates in this country.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Fourth Time’s the Charm? Networks Take Yet Another Crack at Portraying Obama as Deficit Hawk
April 13, 2011 No Comment
Reporters are eagerly anticipating President Obama’s budget speech this afternoon, with NBC’s Chuck Todd assuring viewers of Wednesday’s Today show that now, finally, “the President’s going to add his voice to this, debate, essentially, over what to do about the ever-growing deficit and debt.” But over and over again over the past two years, the media have painted Obama as a leader committed to “slashing” the deficit, only to have the absurdity of such spin later revealed by the administration’s actual policies. Let’s start the trip down memory lane with coverage of President Obama’s first budget speech in February 2009 , which reporters claimed would include steps to aggressively reduce the deficit. ABC’s David Muir began the February 21, 2009 World News by pitching how the President was “ slashing the deficit by at least 50 percent by raising taxes on the wealthy, people making $250,000 and above, and cutting war spending by bringing troops home from Iraq.” The next night, ABC’s Yunji de Nies kept up the salesmanship: “President Obama hopes to get control by slashing the federal deficit in half over the next four years . He’ll do it by cutting spending in at least two keys areas: winding down the war in Iraq, which now costs the taxpayers an estimated $400 million a day, and federal health care spending by overhauling Medicare and Medicaid.” The next evening, February 23 — in spite of the massive stimulus plan just signed and ambitious campaign promises yet to fulfill — all three network newscasts touted how the President pledged at his “fiscal responsibility” summit to cut government spending and reduce the deficit by more than half: NBC’s Brian Williams heralded “the President’s plan to bring down the federal deficit during a time of record government spending.” CBS’s Chip Reid explained that “most of the savings would come from winding down the war in Iraq; ending the Bush tax cuts for people making over $250,000 a year; and cutting spending.” According to ABC’s Jake Tapper, “ deficit hawks applauded the President’s focus today , saying ignoring the problem could cause an even more severe crisis….The President said to the group he has no interest in making government bigger for the sake of making it bigger.” A year and more than a trillion dollars in new debt later, the media once again cast Obama as a deficit fighter. At the top of the January 26, 2010 CBS Early Show , co-host Maggie Rodriguez highlighted: “President Obama calls for a big spending freeze and focuses on plans to help the struggling middle class, but does he have the political support he needs?” Moments later, co-host Harry Smith similarly insisted that the President would “announce plans to cut the growing federal deficit and help the struggling middle class.”
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UK’s biggest art charity increases its grant to galleries by more than 50% and launches a new free admissions scheme The UK’s biggest art charity, the Art Fund , intends to increase the amount it makes available for galleries to buy works of art by more than 50% by 2014 – warning that at a time of government spending cuts, museum collections risk being “fatally undermined”. The charity also launched a new National Art Pass, which will give members of the charity free entry to over 200 museums and half-price admittance to temporary shows. The pass has been dubbed “the aesthete’s Oyster” by Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum – a museum’s equivalent of the card that regulars use on the London transport network. Annually, the Art Fund will hand out £7m, rather than the £4.5m it grants currently. According to the Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar: “In the past six months, as I have been talking to museum directors … about how we can help them, I’ve been struck by growing worries that as belts tighten, and national and local funding diminishes severely, that acquisitions of major works of art may not be possible and all past progress in creating world-class collections may be fatally undermined.” Museums and galleries, he said, could not continue as lively and vital institutions reflecting the society around them without renewing their collections. “We can’t just stop collecting,” he said. “It would be like a theatre not saying it wasn’t going to mount any more new productions or a library saying they weren’t going to buy any new books.” The Art Fund, formally the National Art Collections Fund, is the UK’s largest art charity. Founded in 1903, it exists to help museums and galleries buy works of art that would otherwise be lost from public view. It is largely funded by the £35 annual fee paid by its 80,000 members and has mounted many successful fundraising campaigns to save artworks for the nation, including, last year, the fundraising effort to buy the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasures and Pieter Bruegel the Younger’s The Procession to Calvary . The uplift in available cash will partly come from a fundraising effort among the existing membership of the Art Fund, and partly from a recruitment drive motored by the introduction of the new National Art Pass. For £35 per year, members will be able to use the National Art Pass to get free access to 208 museums and galleries nationwide. The card will also allow half-price entry to charging exhibitions at national museums, including the Joan Miró exhibition that opens at Tate Modern on 14 April and the current Heracles to Alexander the Great exhibition at the Ashmolean, Oxford. Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, said that the difficulty museums and galleries had in renewing their collections was a long-term problem. “I am always struck when I visit Manchester, Leeds or Nottingham that until the 1960s regional museums were able to make acquisitions on a par with the national collections. Until the 1960s they were equal to Tate; but from then things began to slide when funding began to fall away.” He welcomed the Art Fund’s uplift in funding, saying: “It will I am sure make a big difference. I hope it will renew the culture of collecting across the country.” The National Art Pass, he said, was “simple, clear, I’m sure it’s going to be very effective – and it’s cheap.” Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, also welcomed the Art Fund’s announcement, saying: “Some people wondered whether philanthropy would continue in tough times. This demonstrates that it can.” Speaking about the importance of acquisitions, he said, “We have long-term plans to help people build endowments [in order to be able to buy works of art] but we recognise this won’t happen overnight. This will make a really big difference in the next four years.” He said that the Art Fund’s move showed that “philanthropy was not just about rich individuals; there is also a way in which we can harness a lot of small donations. And with the National Art Pass people will really feel that they are getting something back.” Arts funding Museums Art Arts policy Philanthropy Charities Charlotte Higgins guardian.co.uk
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Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff join Amanda Holden on judging panel – while show’s creator is just a phone call away ITV had its first glimpse of a future without Simon Cowell at the launch of the new series of Britain’s Got Talent, which will return on Saturday without the man who created it. Cowell, who is busy making a US version of his other ITV1 hit, The X Factor, will not appear on Britain’s Got Talent until its final week. Such are his US commitments that doubts remain whether he will appear on ITV1′s The X Factor at all , and it was a reflection of the broadcaster’s sensitivity, perhaps, that at the Britain’s Got Talent press launch on Wednesday there was a blanket ban on any question not relating to that show. But fans can rest assured that with or without Cowell the fifth series of the reality talent show has a familiar feel, with singers who can’t sing, dancers who can’t dance, and ordinary-looking folk who turn out to have extraordinary talent. Cowell’s fellow judge Piers Morgan does not feature in the new show – he is busy in the US as well making his CNN chatshow – so there are two new judges, comedian Michael McIntyre and former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff, joining Amanda Holden. The three revealed that Cowell had watched early footage of the new series and telephoned them each individually to give them his seal of approval. “Simon phones every day,” joked McIntyre. Hasselhoff said the new lineup of judges was “not better or worse, just different”. Also a judge on the US version, which airs on NBC as America’s Got Talent, Hasselhoff said the UK shows were more fun to make. “Each city and each town sort of had their own spirit. At a drop of the hat the audience just wants to sing. They are so into it and so positive, it’s actually more fun than it is in the States,” he added. Holden said: “He loves it, he does love it. He phoned us all and said he loves it. We were all drunk when we got the call. I was on my way back from dinner. I don’t really know what he said but he sounded pleased.” McIntyre added: “I was in Venice for my wife’s birthday [when he rang]. I have worked out I had drunk 917 Bellinis. “It adds to the show that he has such a presence. It’s his show – for me he makes the best shows on TV – I felt him there all the time. “It was a huge moment when he said he watched it and he absolutely loved it. I’m thrilled for that, and I’m thrilled that he’s coming back. I think it will be really good fun.” Britain’s Got Talent, which propelled west Lothian-born Susan Boyle to global superstardom , although she came second in the 2009 series to dance act Diversity, is one of ITV’s biggest shows, along with The X Factor, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and Coronation Street. Last year’s final, won by acrobatic troupe Spellbound, averaged 12.4 million viewers, according to overnight figures . It was well down on the 17.3 million who saw Boyle pipped to the post in 2009, but was nonetheless one of ITV’s highest-rating shows of the year. The broadcaster will hope it does similarly good business this time around. Elaine Bedell, ITV’s director of entertainment and comedy, said: “Britain’s amateur talent has come out in force this year. “We all feel this has been one of the best audition tours for Britain’s Got Talent that we’ve had, with slightly fewer dance groups, more singing and dance groups and of course some fantastic performing dogs.” She described McIntyre and Hasselhoff as “the most unlikely showbusiness double act”. “Simon as you know is with us for the live shows but did not do the audition tour,” she added. “If nothing else, Britain’s Got Talent has taught David something about the geography of the British Isles. He does now know where Glasgow is – and it’s not in Ireland.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Britain’s Got Talent Simon Cowell ITV ITV1 Michael McIntyre Television industry Television Entertainment John Plunkett guardian.co.uk
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MPs have recommended criminalising clients of sex workers, saying 80% of prostitutes are victims of slavery and trafficking France is to consider making it illegal to pay for sex, in a rethink of prostitution laws. A cross-party commission of French MPs have recommended criminalising all clients of sex workers, meaning anyone who buys sex from any kind of prostitute would face prison and a fine. If a law is introduced, France would join only a handful of European countries where clients of sex workers face prison. In 1999 Sweden became the first, followed by Norway and Iceland. The Socialist Danielle Bousquet and Guy Geoffroy of Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP said clients must understand that any visit to a prostitute encouraged slavery and trafficking – which 80% of the estimated 20,000 sex-workers in France were victims of. Roselyne Bachelot, the social affairs minister, favours criminalising clients. She told the commission inquiry: “There is no such thing as freely chosen and consenting prostitution. The sale of sexual acts means women’s bodies are made available for men, independently of the wishes of those women.” Proposals for a law could be drawn up this month but it would not be debated in parliament before 2012. In France prostitution is not illegal, but activities around it are. Brothels, once the subject of artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, were outlawed in 1946. Pimping is illegal, as is paying for sex from a minor. In 2003 a controversial law against soliciting was introduced by Sarkozy, then interior minister, making it illegal to stand in a public place known for prostitution dressed in revealing clothes. Sex-workers’ groups in France have long campaigned for legal status and rights. The French actor, Philippe Caubère, famous for playing Molière, is open about regularly paying sex-workers €200 for sex. He said the government was playing politics in the runup to next year’s presidential election. “First it was immigrants, now it’s prostitutes. This is plain populism and shows a disdain for individual liberties,” he said. He told Le Parisien the government was not doing enough under existing laws to help exploited and trafficked women. “As for the other women, leave them alone. They take care of men who mostly live in sexual misery and terrible solitude. They are remarkable women.” Mouvement du Nid, a French group campaigning to end prostitution, published a study in 2004 which found 41% of male clients of sex workers said they were married and 57% were fathers. The French justice minister, Michel Mercier, supports criminalising clients, but the interior minister, Claude Guéant, said it would be difficult to make buying sex a crime when prostitution itself was not illegal. France Europe Prostitution Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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