Letter to cabinet colleague accuses No camp of ‘scares and smears’ against supporters of electoral reform Cabinet ministers have become embroiled in an extraordinary row over electoral reform amid claims that the campaign against the alternative vote is “poisoning” British politics and hiding the sources of its funding. In a dramatic break from cabinet etiquette, Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, who backs AV, has written to Tory chairman Baroness Warsi demanding that she “comes clean” over funding and stops the “scares and smears” against supporters of change. He also accuses the campaign of being a front for the Tory party. “Are the No camp campaigning in dark glasses because they don’t want to show that the bulk of their funds, in cash and in kind, are donations from the Conservative party?” Huhne asks his fellow cabinet member. “How many Conservative employees have been seconded to the No campaign? Will you declare the full value of their services properly as donations?” The No campaign has not revealed its donors, which it is allowed to do until six months after the 5
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UN workers warn killings in surge of anger prompted by Qur’an burning could end Afghan mission Syed Jamal had a front-row seat for Friday’s sacking of the UN compound in Mazar-e-Sharif. The small building containing offices for the provincial mission are separated from the bread shop owned by the 17-year-old’s family by just an open drain and a few dozen yards of rutted, unpaved road. The day after the attack, a group of 20 bored policemen were lounging around in the front of the gutted building, biding their time by reading UN leaflets that had become strewn in front of the building, and standing guard in front of a pair of burned-out trucks. But the dramatic events of Friday – events that shocked the world, imperilled the entire UN mission and raised serious doubts about how Afghanistan will handle the handover of power from its foreign backers – were of marginal interest to Jamal and the boys messing around on the corner. And there were mixed feelings about the rights and wrongs of an incident that cost the lives of seven UN staff – four Gurkha security guards and three European UN diplomats – making it the worst crisis to hit the international organisation in Afghanistan. Yes, they thought what happened on their doorstep was wrong – particularly the beheading of two UN staff, who they accepted were only in Mazar to “serve Afghanistan”. But, they said, “the foreigners” needed to understand the level of anger at the desecration of the Qur’an by a Christian extremist on the other side of the world. “Why do they not respect us?” asked Jamal. “We do not burn their Christian books, so they need to understand that the Qur’an is our most holy book.” It was a question repeated in other parts of Afghanistan as anger over the Qur’an-burning fuelled a second day of violence, sparking riots in the southern city of Kandahar in which nine protesters died and more than 80 were injured. Demonstrations in cities such as Kabul and Herat against Florida pastor Terry Jones’s stunt were reported to have stayed peaceful, in stark comparison to Friday’s drama in Mazar. It was in the city’s exquisite Blue Mosque, where Jones’s Qur’an-burning was the subject of a Friday-prayers sermon, that the afternoon’s bloody sequence of events began to unfold. Upon leaving the mosque, worshippers found another set of religious leaders in a Toyota Corolla kitted out with loudspeakers urging people to join them at the burning of Jones in effigy. But then the crowd turned and started walking the one-mile journey towards the UN compound. Atiullah Ansari, head of the Blue Mosque, said there had been no plan to do that and claimed that radical madrasa students from outside the city were to blame. These “agents of the Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami [a Taliban-allied insurgent group]” were solely responsible for the violence, he argued. That view was also being pushed by provincial government officials keen to blame a small minority for inciting the violence, although few analysts accepted it. Unusually, one of the Taliban’s spokesmen, Zabiullah Mujahid – a man not usually given to missing an opportunity to claim credit for mayhem – sent a text message to the Observer denying involvement. If the glimmer of popular sympathy for violence in Mazar is disturbing, so too is the fact that such a terrible attack on western civilians should have happened there at all. Mazar is a highly secure city of ordered streets, where cars are regulated by traffic lights which, almost uniquely in Afghanistan, not only work but are obeyed. When Liam Fox, the defence secretary, toured Afghanistan, he made a point of adding Mazar to the usual British itinerary of Kabul and Helmand. “It was a totally unthreatening environment,” he said at the time. “It’s a city the size of Bristol and it felt just like any safe city in Central Asia.” Indeed, there are few signs of the concrete bastions and blast walls that encrust important buildings in other Afghan cities. The newly opened US consulate, which has taken over an old hotel, does not even have razor wire along its not particularly high walls. And the UN compound looks, with hindsight, absurdly under-protected. Little stood in the way of Friday’s crowds except a metal car barrier and a couple of Gurkhas who, on being overwhelmed by the crowds, were beaten with the butts of their own assault rifles, eyewitnesses said. The image of a furious mob cutting down the white men who had come into their midst conjured up parallels with the west’s previous forays into the country, not least the first Anglo-Afghan War, which was preceded by a crowd overwhelming a British position and killing the famous diplomat Alexander Burnes in 1841. That incident had in part been due to the dissolute behaviour of foreigners that had been gradually enraging the locals in the conservative Islamic country for some time. Many believe the same is happening again. “There is a lot of anger after years in which western military operations have caused an accumulation of civilian casualty cases,” wrote Thomas Ruttig , director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. “Afghans are tired of the repeated initial denials, then admission that something may have gone wrong and then apologies. Paying compensation might be nice gestures but cannot bring anyone back to life.” Politicians, including the president Hamid Karzai, tap into public anger in order – claim his many critics – to mask his own shortcomings. The day before the Mazar riots, the Afghan president fuelled the controversy by condemning the Qur’an burning and calling for Jones to be arrested. In days gone by, the UN liked to think it stood above the many conflicts in Afghanistan, working as a vital independent arbiter. Today, however, the international organisation is regarded as too weak to be truly useful by the Americans and partisan by both the government and much of the insurgent movement. The Karzai government’s displeasure with the UN was illustrated earlier this month when Ban Ki-moon, the organisation’s secretary general, received an extraordinary letter from the Afghan foreign minister demanding radical changes to its mandate in the country. The government demanded that the UN close down many of its offices, limiting its presence to just “six recognised zones throughout the country.” The tragedy is that the UN had just started preparing for potentially greater risks to its staff in future, as the country starts a multi-year process of “transition” from Nato to Afghan security control. By the end of 2014, the entire country is meant to be in the hands of the Afghan National Army and its police force, with certain cities and provinces due to be transfer this year – including Mazar. But in a sign that they are not fully confident in Afghanistan’s security services, UN officers have been looking at ways to improve the safety of their staff in areas that are soon to be handed over. Even in Bamiyan, by far the most benign and anti-Taliban area in the country, which is also slated to be transferred away from Nato control this year, the UN has drawn up plans to move from the compound that has served it well for years to the other side of the town and a more secure area. It is the sort of development that is likely to further erode already rock-bottom morale among many UN staff who, over the last two years, have seen their freedom to operate drastically curtailed in the name of security. Today they live and work in increasingly fortress-like facilities and only see everyday Afghanistan through the thick glass of their armoured vehicles. Now things could get even worse, with many UN staffers predicting that – as with the aftermath of an attack on a Kabul guesthouse in 2009 that left five dead – many people might be sent out of the country altogether to work remotely for Afghanistan from Dubai. Writing on her personal blog in response to Friday’s attack, one aid worker called Una Moore said that the episode did not represent the beginning of the end of the international presence in Afghanistan; “this is the end,” she wrote. “Unless we, the internationals, want our guards to fire on unarmed protesters from now on, the day has come for us to leave Afghanistan.” Afghanistan United Nations Jon Boone guardian.co.uk
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Wubbzy World Autism Awareness Day PSA.mp4 Download Free Latest version minecraft hoverboat download THE ULTIMATE LEVEL OF AUTISM (by silent violin) Autism Day in the shadow of Wakefield – The Chart – CNN.com Blogs Four years after the first United-Nation-declared World Autism Awareness Day, the cause of the developmental disorder is still unknown and there is no cure. Presidential Proclamation–World Autism Awareness Day | Il Giornale … Release Time: For Immediate Release A PROCLAMATION With autism . Presidential Proclamation–World Autism Awareness Day With autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affecting nearly one percent of children in the United States, autism is an urgent public health issue with a profound impact on millions of Americans. World Autism Awareness Day is an opportunity … My New Notebook: World Autism Awareness Day As most of my readers know, autism is a subject close to our hearts. I’ve lived with autism for 17 years now and worked with autism for 10 years, as a volunteer for the National Autistic Society, helping to support other families in our … Taiwan Worries as Autism Spread Its Clutches | TopNews United States At present, one out of every 150 children is suffering from some form of autism and the number continues to rise. The sad part is there is no blood test, no scan, not a single test that can detect autism . The reliance is completely on … AutismAdvisor says: Children With Autism In School – Should Children With Autism or Aspergers Syndrome Be Suspended http://t.co/3PZORNP via @AddThis
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Terrorism and International Law NASA Soldering Training. Road to Goldstone. normblog: Goldstone on Goldstone Richard Goldstone , who chaired the UN Human Rights Council’s fact-finding mission after the Gaza war in 2009, has a column in the Washington Post, ‘Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes’. A couple of excerpts: As I … Judge Richard Goldstone on his report: Nevermind | Sassy Wire Judge Richard Goldstone said that if Israel had cooperated with his UN-sanctioned fact-finding mission into Operation Cast Lead and if he had known what he knows now, “the Goldstone Report would have been a different document,” … Goldstone : Claims of Israel's Gaza war crimes should be … Charges mounted against Israel in the Goldstone Report, including those of alleged war crimes and intentionally targeting civilia… Goldstone : Claims of Israel's Gaza war crimes should be … Goldstone : Claims of Israel’s Gaza war crimes should be reconsideredHa’aretzWriting in a Washington Post column, former head of the Gaza war fact-finding commission slams anti-Israel UN bias, says Jerusalem went to ‘significant’ lengths … ' Goldstone report would have been different with new info … COM STAFF Richard Goldstone writes that Israeli investigations refute allegations against it; slams Hamas war crimes, calls UNHRC “skewed against Israel”; “Israel has right, obligation to defend itself, its citizens. … scfc1905 says: Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes – The Washington Post http://t.co/SJPUT9k via @washingtonpost
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I’m the editor of Progressive Congress News Transit & Urban Development feed. This is the first in a weekly series of topical posts on cities and the roads & rails that connect them. Trains are a highly-developed, widely-used, and very popular form of transportation — a strange choice of culture war for the right. Yet hatred of trains, especially ones that run on time, is a pronounced theme of Mrs. Rand’s Bible of selfish economic wisdom. After decades of gestation in Hollywood development hell, Atlas Shrugged Part I will soon star star Vice President Joe Biden as Dagny Taggart, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood as Hank Rearden, and Florida Governor Rick Scott as Wesley Mouch. There are some problems with high speed rail (HSR); the big one is that these trains are fast and run on time . That makes HSR competitive with air travel. A train going 110 or even 150 miles per hour makes intercity trips faster than a bus or car, but without having to go through TSA screening. (In fact, if you hate the TSA you should be taking a train as often as possible .) In order to reach these speeds, HSR uses independent tracks . This is a major argument of detractors, for whom the independent rails that let trains run fast and on time are the problem. The word they always use is “Amtrak,” which is Exhibit A for why independent rails are needed : Where intercity passenger trains compete with freight – in most of the country these days, excluding the (Northeast Corridor) – “Amtrak can only run a handful of trains per day because they’re leasing space on a freight railroad that doesn’t keep the schedules,” said Petra Todorovich, an expert on high-speed rail with the nonprofit America 2050. “When [freight trains] fill up their cargo from the yard, then they leave the yard. So Amtrak is trying to run passenger trains on a schedule on tracks that are owned by a railroad that doesn’t keep a schedule .” That’s why rail service in much of the country has been infrequent and unreliable and has been in a poor position to compete with private automobiles or air travel . Amtrak continues to run those lines as a public service, in many cases mandated by Congress – but they’re not profitable or efficient. (Emphasis mine) God forbid trains be profitable or efficient, because people will enjoy the legroom on trains…and the lack of bag fees…and the absence of seat belts. Yet, brace yourself on a platform when Acela goes by; feel the rush. That’s safe, fast, comfortable travel on a reliable schedule, with fuel costs low enough to give the system a price edge on air travel — or driving the Interstates . The costs are not unreasonable, and HSR would actually be less dependent on federal money than highways or airlines . Add the FAA’s $ 16 billion budget in 2010 to the cost of making America’s airline industry profitable again after 9/11, plus the current subsidy levels that airlines enjoy …and that thoroughly price-deregulated and competitive industry is almost as expensive for the American taxpayer as our highways. In today’s dollars, the US interstate system cost about $425 billion to build; even the price at the time — some $114 billion — is more than twice the projected total cost of HSR networks serving 80% of Americans. Yet Amtrak, which took just $1.5 billion in federal funding last year , is “socialism” — see how that works? HSR is actually an example of democratic capitalism . Amtrak stands to get HSR funding, for example, but may also face competition for that funding . The California High Speed Rail Authority has received over 1,100 applications of interest from businesses large and small, local and global . Eight major rail companies were interested in the Florida line before Rick Scott canceled it, leaving Florida’s contractor community feeling ” burned ” because transit creates more jobs than new roads (.PDF). A recent travel survey found that 79% of Americans would like to have the option of a high speed train for their travel plans. Americans are excited; support is bipartisan , and enthusiasm for alternative choices of transportation crosses all ideological boundaries . David Frum likes it . George Will used to like it until Obama did . So why would Rick Scott cancel the Tampa-Orlando project contrary to popular opinion , his Senate Republican caucus , studies that showed it would be profitable , and an astounding industry guarantee that the state wouldn’t lose one thin dime (.PDF)? Well, it’s not just because it’s Obama’s railroad, though that certainly plays a role. Critics called the Florida project a “showcase;” in fact, of all the HSR routes in the nation, the Tampa-Orlando line was simply the most ready to break ground. And it isn’t that Scott doesn’t like railroads, either. He has yet to make a final decision on the Sun Rail commuter project for Orlando, for instance, but his budget proposal includes the state funding . Scott Walker similarly has no problem applying for federal funds to upgrade existing Amtrak lines. Sadly, the answer to this question takes us to an all too-familiar destination. In turning down federal funds, Rick Scott relied on a dubious report from the Reason Foundation claiming the line would lose money. If that name rings a bell, it’s because David Koch is a Trustee of the Reason Foundation . Matt Welch, editor in chief of Reason magazine, is listed as an officer. Together, foundation and magazine promote the work of — get this! Ayn Rand . You can’t make this stuff up. Libertarian institutions hate railroads because the Koch fortune, and through it the various foundations and think tanks and magazines and PACs connected to the Koch fortune, make a lot more money from new roads than new passenger rails. Not only does your new highway have a covering of oil-based asphalt, but building new lanes on that highway instead of a high speed train in the median guarantees you will have no choice in intercity travel. Their “libertarian” opposition to trains is about naked self-interest; they do their goddess proud. In a world past peak oil, supply of oil and oil products will no longer meet demand . When gasoline costs $5 a gallon, it will add some 1.5 billion rides to America’s public transit systems . Rick Scott has yet to explain how a rapidly-aging Florida population will get from Orlando to Tampa; are all those retirees going to drive? Will the highway be widened to thirty lanes? That would be fine with the Reason Foundation, though probably not Floridians. Tea party Republicans all over America seem fixated on not meeting demographic or infrastructure challenges . They want to do away with New Hampshire’s Rail Transit Authority , an entirely volunteer organization that costs taxpayers nothing, in a bid to block HSR in that state. In Ohio, which has turned its nose at HSR funding, the newly-appointed DOT chief — a former asphalt industry lobbyist — is systematically canceling streetcar and rail projects. Alabama , North Carolina , and Wisconsin have all turned down federal funding for HSR projects. But it may not matter. Building a rail system was always going to be a patchwork affair: Texas seems fine with HSR ; St. Louis-to-Chicago is a go ; Washington State is in ; California may actually shift to a transit-first policy for coastal areas , making rails higher priority than roads. Nevada wants to create 34,000 HSR jobs connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The northeast is very interested in HSR , though there are some upstate Republicans in New York who don’t get it . And in Florida, cities along the canceled line are bidding for the lost $2.4 billion as a consortium . When regional lines are built, the pressure on states to link their metro areas to HSR will only grow. For instance, Chicago and Minneapolis would love to meet in Madison; Scott Walker is standing in the way of their HSR love. So it’s time for progressives, liberals, and Democrats to get behind HSR. With rising oil prices , our national security and trade deficit are reason enough to invest in 21st Century transportation. The middle-class green jobs are even better. But a nationwide “going Galt” to declare our national transportation independence from the Kochs? That would be priceless. And precisely on time. Cross-posted at Daily Kos .
Continue reading …WaPo Story on 40th Anniversary of Congressional Black Caucus Omits Incidents of Discrimination Against White Would-be Members
April 2, 2011 No CommentIn her April 1 Washington Post story, staffer Krissah Thompson explored how the “mission” and “challenges” of the Congressional Black Caucus have “evolved” from its initial aim “to eradicate racism.” Yet nowhere in Thompson's 23-paragraph article is any mention of how the CBC has denied entry to prospective members on the basis of skin color, such as liberal Democrats Steve Cohen (Tenn.) and Pete Stark (Calif.). Here's how Politico's Josephine Hearn reported on the controversy surrounding the former in January 2007: As a white liberal running in a majority African American district, Tennessee Democrat Stephen I. Cohen made a novel pledge on the campaign trail last year: If elected, he would seek to become the first white member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Continue reading …Good news, tea lovers: You know all that water you’re supposed to drink every single day? Well, you can substitute tea for at least some of it, a new clinical trial shows. Despite the fact that tea is caffeinated, the study shows that four to six mugs of it per…
Continue reading …A Seattle man who politely robbed a gas station with a pellet gun earlier this year didn’t get a reduced sentence. Gregory Paul Hess—who could be heard asking the station owner “Could you do me a favor? Could you empty that till for me, please?” on surveillance video—was…
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Sri Lanka 274-6; India 277-4 India win by six wickets Relive the game with our over-by-over report The India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team-mate Gautam Gambhir pulled off an impressive run chase to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the World Cup final in Mumbai. The fourth-wicket pair ensured India did not panic in front of a capacity home crowd after the early loss of big guns Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in pursuit of 274 for six. The favourites prevailed with 10 balls to spare in today’s showpiece between sub-Continental neighbours, both seeking their second World Cup, despite a wonderful 103 not out from Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene. The expectations of many were that this contest might be a tale of two champion players, at watershed moments in their record-breaking careers. But there was no major impact for Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan on his last appearance for his country, or a 100th international hundred for India’s Tendulkar in his home town. Instead, with 97 for Gambhir and Jayawardene’s third World Cup century, three other world-class performers took centre stage in a contest just shaded by India. It was Dhoni (91 not out) who completed the job, after promoting himself to No5 and producing his first half-century of the campaign in a telling stand of 106 with Gambhir and then an unbroken 54 with Yuvraj Singh. He did it with crowd-delighting gusto too, smashing a six high over long-on off Nuwan Kulasekera for the winning runs. Cricket World Cup 2011 India cricket team Sri Lanka cricket team Cricket guardian.co.uk
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