Wall divides Alexandra Park in two to prevent Catholics and Protestants clashing On the morning of 1 September 1994, with the IRA ceasefire just 24 hours old, workers started laying the foundations for a so-called peace wall that would divide one of Belfast’s public parks into Catholic and Protestant zones. The 3m-high fence in Alexandra Park between the mainly Catholic Antrim Road and the loyalist Shore Road became a symbol of growing sectarian divisions despite the end of the IRA and later the loyalist paramilitaries’ armed campaigns. There are now dozens of these walls keeping apart Protestants and Catholics, and many them have been up longer than the Berlin Wall. But now, for the first time since any of the barriers throughout the city were built over the past four decades, a breach will made be in one. As part of a three-month trial a gate in the fence will open between 9am and 3pm on weekdays. Welcoming the first opening of any of the walls that were built to curb sectarian street fighting and intimidation, local justice minister David Ford said it was an “important day for Northern Ireland”. Ford said: “On this occasion, the people of the Alexandra Park area have shown great courage to take the first step and open up an interface barrier that has been a symbol of division and segregation for so long. “Building a new shared future for Northern Ireland includes dealing with sensitive and difficult issues like the removal of interface barriers. “Traditionally it is a debate that polarises opinion but we must find some way of removing these structures over time and with agreement from the community if we are serious about building a shared future,” he said. A second barrier on the Limestone Road, running parallel to the park, will also be opened during the day as long as traffic-calming measures are installed, which residents have asked for. The process for installing the road safety features and opening the barrier is expected to take two to three months. The barrier will then be opened on weekdays. The peace walls have become a must-see stop on tours for foreign holidaymakers coming to Belfast. Tour buses regularly park at some of the most infamous walls including the largest at Cupar Street separating part of the republican Falls and loyalist Shankill Road. This barrier is the closest to resemble the western side of the old wall in West Berlin with visitors painting their names and carving messages denouncing the barriers and calling for peace between the two communities. The peace walls originated as make-shift barbed wire barricades which the British Army constructed in 1969 along the stretch between the Shankill and the Falls at the outbreak of the Troubles. On 10 September 1969 Army chief Lt General Sir Ian Freeland made a prediction: “The peace line will be a very, very temporary affair,” he told the world’s media gathered in Belfast. “We will not have a Berlin Wall or anything like that in this city,” he added. The Berlin Wall was taken down 22 years ago. There are still around 48 walls cutting through areas of Belfast. Northern Ireland Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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Local residents and climate activists head to Southport to protest against plans by Cuadrilla Resources to drill for shale gas in Lancashire The first of an expected 150 climate activists and local residents began to converge on a field near Southport on Friday to protest against the environmental impacts of the UK’s first shale gas well. “Camp Frack” , named after “fracking”, the process of pumping vast quantities of water underground and fracturing rocks with chemicals to release shale gas, is setting up outside the Lancashire village of Banks. It is close to a drilling rig that Cuadrilla Resources is using to drill up to 3.5km deep. The company, which is backed by the former BP chief Lord Browne and money from Australia, has a licence to explore 437 square miles of Lancashire, but suspended operations this summer after two earthquakes struck Blackpool . It has so far sunk two exploratory wells and says a further three may be needed. Britain has around 150bn cubic metres of recoverable shale resources, according to the British Geological Survey , which could meet the nation’s gas requirements for 18 months. Cuadrilla is expected to disclose its first estimate for the amount of shale gas found inside its Lancashire licence area next week. According to the chief executive, Mark Miller, the signs are “encouraging”. “Acre for acre, I think the gas in place here is very comparable to – and in some cases exceeds – some of the good [resources] in the US,” he said last month . But local people and green activists have argued that the “fracking” process is inherently risky. In the US, where shale gas is being hailed by industry as a potential substitute for oil, fears have been raised about the effect of the chemicals used, explosions, links with seismic activity and allegations of illness. A Cornell University study also concluded that greenhouse gas emissions from shale gas are higher than those for coal. Environmentalists are calling for a delay in fracking until a major review of the practice has been published by the US Environmental Protection Agency . But the UK government says it is confident its own safety regulations are strict enough. Sonny Khan from Cumbrian charity South Lakeland Action on Climate Change said: “Our concern is that fracking is being pushed upon us and that our real concerns over safety and greenhouse gas emissions are being brushed aside in the rush for profits. Companies present shale gas as a safe low-carbon fuel but the evidence is that there are very serious risks associated with fracking which have yet to be addressed.” Lesley Graham, from the group Ribble Estuary Against Fracking, who lives four miles from Banks, said: “I am very concerned. There are daily reports from the US saying this is dangerous, but this rig has just appeared here without any real consultation. What checks have been done? There are so many unanswered questions.” But Cuadrilla, which mines for coal in Hungary and has more than 2m sq km of exploratory licences across Europe, said it was liaising with police over Camp Frack because it was concerned about potential damage to its equipment. “We take local concerns seriously. We have had dozens of people visit the site so far, we are very transparent. We are listening to people but we do not believe there is any risk of water contamination but we are taking samples,” said a spokesman. The camp’s organisers say it will consider a national campaign against shale gas, but that Southport will focus on “raising local awareness about the problems with shale gas and an action day of peaceful protest mainly focused on the nearby active drilling rig.” The Southport Liberal Democrat councillor Sue McGuire said: “As far as I’m concerned fracking will impact on everyone within the Ribble Estuary and that includes Southport and Preston. I don’t think we can simply believe everything that Cuadrilla’s PR company print so I’m going to Camp Frack to find out as much as I can about the hydraulic fracturing process.” Shale gas Gas Activism Protest John Vidal guardian.co.uk
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World leaders will meet to agree a deal on curbing health problems caused by bad diet, alcohol and smoking World leaders at a meeting of the United Nations on Monday will agree a deal to try to curb the spread of preventable “lifestyle” diseases, amid concern that progress is already being hampered by powerful lobbyists from the food, alcohol and tobacco industries. Cancers, heart disease, diabetes and lung conditions already cost rich countries dear in terms of the health bills and productive life span of their citizens. But the scourge of what the World Health Organisation calls the “non-communicable diseases” (NCDs) is rapidly spreading across all parts of the globe, fuelled by obesity as a result of bad diet and sedentary lifestyles, together with alcohol and smoking. These diseases were responsible for around 36m of the 57m global deaths in 2008, including about 9m before the age of 60 – and many are preventable. While countries such as the UK have imposed smoking bans, taxed cigarettes and alcohol heavily and restricted junk food advertising to children, most developing countries have yet to address these issues – and the food and tobacco industries are accused of adopting marketing and production strategies there that would be unacceptable in Europe or in north America. The scale and disastrous potential of these diseases has led the UN to call only its second high-level summit on a health issue on Monday – the first was over Aids in 2001. Months of negotiation have led to a draft declaration that will be signed at the summit. But while experts commend its tough depiction of the problem and its calls for all governments to take action, there is widespread concern that an absence of targets – the World Health Organisation (WHO) proposed cutting preventable deaths by 25% by 2025 – will reduce its impact. “If you are in public health, this is a great step forward. I’m thrilled there is a high-level meeting,” said Robert Beaglehole, emeritus professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, who was formerly director at the department of chronic diseases at the WHO. But while the first part of the declaration said all the right things about the seriousness of the problem and the economic damage it will cause low- and middle-income countries, “the action statements are disappointingly weak”, he said. “If you don’t have a serious goal, how do you assess progress?” Without goals, he added, “accountability becomes a problem”. Ann Keeling, chair of the NCD Alliance, a global federation of disease-fighting organisations, has similar feelings. “It’s incredible that we have got this far – that we have got to the UN at all. We’re happy with the language [of the declaration]. What we’re not happy with is that, having recognised the problem and talked about the need for more resources, it doesn’t agree any time-bound commitments, or very few. Some were on the table at various stages and disappeared and a couple of important things are kicked into 2012.” Among the targets that failed to make it was a limit on salt consumption. Although much of the developed world has maximum daily recommended levels, a proposal by Norway to ask member states to bring down daily salt intake to 5g per person was blocked by the EU, Australia, Japan, the US and Canada. Experts such as Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at St George’s in London and chairman of the campaigning group World Action on Salt and Health, think government negotiators were swayed by their own trade interests. “The EU is very much in the hands of the food industry, in our view,” he said. It is not just the salt producers who have vested interests, but also manufacturers of food products that are high in salt such as bread.” While the declaration is strongly-worded on tobacco control, there are again no targets set. Critics say that while the US is tough on tobacco at home, its officials still feel obliged to support its tobacco exports – the US is the biggest exporter of tobacco in the world. Concerns at behind-the-scenes lobbying have led to a vocal movement to address conflicts of interest at the summit and within any global strategy against NCDs. More than 100 organisations, led by those who have fought the marketing of the baby milk corporations in the developing world but including those working on food, alcohol, tobacco and essential medicines issues, called on the UN to recognise the difference between such campaigners and groups representing industry, and develop a code of conduct for engaging with those who had a commercial interest in the outcome. They have had little success – the final declaration calls for all stakeholders “including the private sector and civil society” to engage “in collaborative partnerships to promote health and to reduce NCD risk factors” including through the promotion of healthy diet and lifestyles. Keeling, of the NCD Alliance – some of whose member organisations are themselves criticised for accepting industry funding – says the controversy is unfortunate. “We absolutely agree the private sector has to have a regulated or possibly no role in policy development,” she said, but industry had to be part of the solution. While voluntary agreements to reduce salt, fat and sugar with food companies may have only a limited impact without regulation, she points to companies working in remote rural areas in poor countries that offer health benefits for their workers. Chevron, for instance, has “a large and important workplace programme on cardiovascular disease” in places in Africa where there is no state-run healthcare to speak of. Nobody is seeking to minimise the seriousness of the problem. Among an avalanche of reports released before the summit is one from the World Bank, warning that these preventable diseases “increasingly threaten the health and economic security of many lower- and middle-income countries”. Most cannot “treat their way out”, it says. It cites the Ukraine, where a quarter of 18- to 65-year-olds have a chronic disease and with growing numbers of young people affected, the country could “lose the next generation”. Health United Nations Alcohol Smoking Obesity World Health Organisation Sarah Boseley guardian.co.uk
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Forget learning how to open a champagne bottle with a saber, because this smartphone brain scanner probably has it beat for coolest party trick ever. After you pull out that 14-channel EEG headset you have lying around, all you need to do is attach the probes to your date’s dome piece to measure his or her neural activity on your Nokia N900 . The app then goes to work, taking binary data and reconstructing it on screen in 3D. The result? A new way to elimi-date Match.com candidates based on the real-time image of his or her melon. We can’t promise it’ll get you a second date, but we can give you a glimpse of the app in action after the break. [Thanks, arek] Continue reading Brain scanner app lets you show off your smarts on-the-go Brain scanner app lets you show off your smarts on-the-go originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The above Tyrone Lebon-directed visuals for Mount Kimbie’s “Carbonated” represent the last we’ll be hearing/seeing from the London-based duo’s acclaimed 2010 album, Crooks & Lovers . And it’s only appropriate that Lebon is at the helm of the video as he put together all of their press shots, album art, and previous visuals. His handheld camera approach suits Mount Kimbie’s music perfectly because… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : prefixmag Discovery Date : 14/09/2011 18:54 Number of articles : 4
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Muammar Gaddafi’s home town and Bani Walid close to being captured, say rebel commanders Libyan rebel fighters are involved in heavy fighting in a final battle to capture Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, one of the last three significant strongholds still held by the old regime. Rebels are also advancing in strength on Bani Walid, a key tribal centre south of Tripoli, where the dictator’s fugitive son Saif al-Islam is said to have been sighted in recent days. Reports from the rebel frontline described civilians leaving the town and explosions and heavy gunfire inside it. Claims on Thursday night that Sirte had fallen to forces loyal to the National Transitional Council gave way to a standoff followed by renewed clashes on Friday morning. An al-Jazeera correspondent described heavy fighting and intense sniper fire around the industrial zone to the south-west of the town. Sirte, on the coast between Tripoli and Benghazi, was hit repeatedly by Nato missiles and bombs from the start of the conflict in March, but has remained in the hands of Gaddafi forces since. If it does fall, the rebels will control Libya’s entire Mediterannean coastline. Yousif bin Yousif, a rebel commander from Misrata, told al-Jazeera that the entrances to the city were in their hands as elements of the 32nd Brigade – the elite unit commanded by Gaddafi’s son Khamis – were holed up in villas on the coast. The rebels said they were expecting a last stand in the centre of town. The Misrata rebel council said the Sirte attack was being mounted by 900 “technicals”, flatbed pickup trucks mounted with machine guns or rocket launchers. Attempts were made to persuade Gaddafi forces – many from his Gadadfa tribe – to surrender but they responded by firing Grad rockets. Bani Walid is the centre of the powerful Warfallah tribe. Its capture will leave only Sebha in the south, on the edge of the Sahara, in the hands of the old regime. Amid mounting excitement about the latest military advances consolidating the February revolution, Libyans have been marking the 80th anniversary of the 1931 execution of Omar al-Mukhtar, hero of the resistance against Italian colonialists. Residents of Benghazi are planning a big rally to commemorate him. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, has meanwhile arrived in Tripoli as part an Arab Spring tour that took him to Egypt and Tunisia earlier this week, and which he has been using to promote Turkey’s ambitious regional role and to drum up business. Turkish media reported complaints that the long-planned trip had been deliberately upstaged by Nicholas Sarkozy and David Cameron on Thursday. Libya Middle East Africa Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Ian Black guardian.co.uk
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Chancellor urges European colleagues to show they ‘recognise gravity of situation’ before talks in Poland The chancellor, George Osborne, has warned that “time is short” for finding a solution to the eurozone crisis and called on European leaders to send a “clear signal” that they are dealing with it. Osborne was speaking at the Daily Telegraph’s Festival of Business event in Manchester on Friday before getting on a plane to join other European finance ministers in the Polish city of Wroclaw amid growing concern over the crisis. In an indication of the seriousness of the situation, the US treasury secretary, Tim Geithnerin, will also be attending the talks. Osborne called for a “much better international response”, saying: “I will be looking for my European colleagues to send a clear signal that they truly recognise the gravity of the situation and that they are dealing with it.” The chancellor said Britain should not engage in “schadenfreude” over the problems of its European neighbours in the eurozone, saying the fact that Britain’s two biggest export markets “have all but stopped growing” was hitting global confidence and having an impact on UK shores. “A successful euro is massively in our interest,” he said as he warned that a “lack of belief in the ability of political systems in the eurozone and in North America to respond” was worsening the crisis. “Time is short and the eurozone must now implement, as quickly as possible, their 21 July agreement, resolve the uncertainty with respect to Greece, specify how they intend to fulfil the commitment made at last week’s G7 meeting to take all necessary actions to ensure the resilience of banking systems and financial markets. Crucially, my European colleagues need to accept the remorseless logic of monetary union that leads from a single currency to greater fiscal integration.” He said excessive debt across the world was the “root cause” of worsening economic situations, adding: “What started as a debt crisis in the banking sector in 2008 has now turned into a wider crisis of sovereign, banking and private sector debt. And Britain cannot blame the rest of the world for these debts, for we were one of the biggest contributors to them.” He said his “decisive action” to introduce an emergency budget last summer “on our own terms” had put the UK “ahead of the curve” in the challenging economic times. Osborne also used his speech to court business leaders to help the government face down “the forces of stagnation” resisting reforms he said were necessary to allow businesses to generate growth. Telling the audience they were the “real engine of growth”, he said the government was working “flat out to help your businesses not only survive but thrive”. But he claimed that while the government was doing all it could to help the sector succeed, including reducing business taxes and “burdensome red tape”, special interest groups were trying to prevent ministers from pushing through changes designed to aid recovery. Citing the controversy over proposals to shake up planning legislation, Osborne said the presumption in favour of “sustainable development”, which could help businesses and create jobs, had “even been opposed by the Telegraph”. He said he wanted the business community to give “loud and clear support” for proposals to reduce more than 1,000 pages of planning regulations to 50 to make it easier for them to develop their businesses. On the growing lobby opposing some of the planning reforms, which includes some of his Conservative colleagues, he said: “Don’t underestimate our determination to win this argument.” ; George Osborne Economic policy European debt crisis European banks Economics Euro European Union Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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A factory fire has billowed toxic smoke across Australia’s national capital Canberra. The plume has created local disruption and closed many schools, but there are no reports of casualties. (Sept. 16)
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Taylor Lautner and co-star Lily Collins talk about performing their own stunts in new action film ‘Abduction,’ while Sigourney Weaver praises Lautner’s acting chops at the Los Angeles premiere. (Sept. 16)
Continue reading …This was going to be a relatively quick post about the good news, as announced by the Castle Coalition in a Tuesday press release after being teased a few days earlier by ” Little Pink House ” author Jeff Benedict, that a Lifetime Channel movie is going to be made about the Kelo vs. New London eminent domain drama. Then along came “culture blogger” Alyssa Rosenberg over at the hard-left ThinkProgress .
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