Ex-tourism minister Zohair Garanah is already serving a five-year term for allowing investors to illegally acquire state land An Egyptian court has sentenced one of Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet ministers to three years in prison after convicting him of corruption. The businessman and former tourism minister Zohair Garanah is already serving a five-year jail term for allowing investors to illegally acquire state land. His first sentence was passed by a Cairo court on 10 May. Under Egyptian law, he will serve the longer of the two sentences. On Thursday, the steel magnate Ahmed Ezz was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of corruption. Ezz was a powerful insider in Mubarak’s now-dissolved ruling party and a close aide to Mubarak’s younger son and one-time heir apparent, Gamal. The former trade minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who is at large, was also sentenced to 15 years on Thursday. The trial of Mubarak, Gamal and the former president’s older son, Alaa, is ongoing. Mubarak is charged with complicity in the killing of more than 800 protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled his 29-year regime in February. Mubarak and his two sons have also been charged with corruption in the same trial. Mubarak’s security chief, Habib el-Adly, became the first of some two dozen detained regime leaders to be convicted when he was sentenced on 5 May to 12 years for money laundering and other corruption charges. Egypt Middle East Africa guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Prayers are said in churches across Wales, while flowers and tributes are left outside the colliery where the men died Prayers have been said in churches across Wales for the families of the four men who were killed in the Gleision mining tragedy . At St John the Evangelist church in Cilybebyll, the closest village to the colliery where the four men died, about 100 people attended a service. The Rev Martyn Perry told parishioners: “Our thoughts are with families around the area in communities surrounding ours who are in the process of preparing funerals for their loved ones.” Perry said it was easy to trust in God when “things are going well”. In his sermon he continued: “There are other times, like this for example, when we can’t see the purpose, we can’t see a pattern and things are difficult and distressing. We wonder about our ability to trust God.” But Perry said better times were ahead, quoting the last verse of the hymn Be Still My Soul, which promises that “love’s pure joy” will be “restored”. The congregation sang hymns including Abide with Me and The Lord’s My Shepherd. Outside the Norman and Victorian church Perry said he believed that the community would rally around the families of the men who had been lost and the church offered comfort in troubled times like these. Down the lane from St John’s the police cordon that blocked off the route to the mine has been replaced by a line of floral tributes to the men who died: Phillip Hill, Charles Breslin, David Powell and Garry Jenkins. One of the most poignant was a message from Hill’s daughter Kyla. She left a bouquet of flowers with a card on which she had written: “Hi dad, I love and miss you forever. Love you all the money in the world and America.” Hill’s widow, Donna, left a note: “Thank you for being part of our lives. “Our girls will be safe with me. Miss you always.” One to Jenkins said: “Sleep tight – we will always love you.” An anonymous wellwisher left flowers with the note: “The day’s work is done, your tools are on the bar, no more sweat and no more pain.” An appeal fund to help the families of the men who died raised £20,000 on its first day, Saturday, and its website attracted 30,000 hits. The Neath MP Peter Hain said that the Prince of Wales had agreed to be patron of the fund. The tragedy unfolded after the alarm was raised early on Thursday when the shaft flooded, trapping the men. Three of the seven who were working in the small drift mine – including Powell’s son, Daniel – managed to get out but four were trapped 90 metres underground. Hopes that the men might have found an air pocket and survived were dashed as the four bodies were found one by one. All died close together in an area near where they had been blasting. Fire and rescue and ambulance workers said they had never seen or worked in such conditions before. Jenkins, 39, was the first to be discovered by emergency workers who had battled around the clock to try to save the men, followed by Powell, 50, known to friends as “Dai Bull”, Hill, 45, and Breslin, 62. Hill was from Neath and the other three were from the Swansea valley. The Wales Office and the Health and Safety Executive have launched an investigation into the incident, with specialist mine inspectors already on site. “A full report into the causes of the accident will be published in due course to ensure that any lessons can be applied. At this stage it is too early to state possible causes,” they said. One of the key questions for investigators is what the men knew about the area they were working in. It is not clear yet if they knew that gallons of water were lying behind the area they were in. While more modern mines are carefully mapped, the records about historic workings like those around Gleision are not always kept. Wales Mining Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Chinese villagers accuse police of suppressing solar panel factory protest
September 18, 2011 No Comment
Riot police disperse a protest against the factory, which is accused of dumping toxic waste in Haining Residents of a village in east China have accused riot police of heavy-handed tactics after a three-day protest against a solar panel factory accused of dumping toxic waste was brought to an end. “We are being silenced,” said a protester who would only give his surname as Cao, at an industrial park on the outskirts of Haining in Zhejiang province as police in riot gear sealed off the site. “Some people were beaten up during the protests. Why can we not just tell the truth about this pollution? Now people talking to reporters are also being detained. What justice is there?” The protests began on Thursday, when as many as 500 people stormed a compound owned by the New York-listed Jinko Solar Holding Co, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. Protesters overturned vehicles before being dispersed, but they continued to camp outside the factory until the riot police with helmets, vests, batons and shields arrived late on Sunday. Toxic waste from the factory, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, has killed large numbers of fish in a nearby river, and authorities had already ordered the company to suspend operations, the news agency said. Protesters put up banners with the slogan: “Return our lives to us, stay away from Jinko,” according to photographs published on the website of the National Business Daily newspaper on Sunday. An elderly woman who did not want to give her name complained bitterly about the local government’s tactics. “The factory has been polluting us all this while and now that we make some noise, the government shuts us up. They are all in this together. Now we just have to die here silently. You can see all these riot police here. We are just helpless villagers.” Xinhua quoted an environmental official as saying that Jinko had failed to bring the problem under control and the factory’s waste disposal facilities had been failing pollution tests since April. Pollution has emerged as one of the biggest problems facing China’s ruling Communist party, which has struggled to contain growing public anger against industries improperly dumping toxic waste. Thousands of protesters forced the closure of a deadly paraxylene plant after marching on the city square in Dalian, north-eastern China, in August. China Solar power Protest Human rights Renewable energy Energy guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Chinese villagers accuse police of suppressing solar panel factory protest
September 18, 2011 No CommentRiot police disperse a protest against the factory, which is accused of dumping toxic waste in Haining Residents of a village in east China have accused riot police of heavy-handed tactics after a three-day protest against a solar panel factory accused of dumping toxic waste was brought to an end. “We are being silenced,” said a protester who would only give his surname as Cao, at an industrial park on the outskirts of Haining in Zhejiang province as police in riot gear sealed off the site. “Some people were beaten up during the protests. Why can we not just tell the truth about this pollution? Now people talking to reporters are also being detained. What justice is there?” The protests began on Thursday, when as many as 500 people stormed a compound owned by the New York-listed Jinko Solar Holding Co, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. Protesters overturned vehicles before being dispersed, but they continued to camp outside the factory until the riot police with helmets, vests, batons and shields arrived late on Sunday. Toxic waste from the factory, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, has killed large numbers of fish in a nearby river, and authorities had already ordered the company to suspend operations, the news agency said. Protesters put up banners with the slogan: “Return our lives to us, stay away from Jinko,” according to photographs published on the website of the National Business Daily newspaper on Sunday. An elderly woman who did not want to give her name complained bitterly about the local government’s tactics. “The factory has been polluting us all this while and now that we make some noise, the government shuts us up. They are all in this together. Now we just have to die here silently. You can see all these riot police here. We are just helpless villagers.” Xinhua quoted an environmental official as saying that Jinko had failed to bring the problem under control and the factory’s waste disposal facilities had been failing pollution tests since April. Pollution has emerged as one of the biggest problems facing China’s ruling Communist party, which has struggled to contain growing public anger against industries improperly dumping toxic waste. Thousands of protesters forced the closure of a deadly paraxylene plant after marching on the city square in Dalian, north-eastern China, in August. China Solar power Protest Human rights Renewable energy Energy guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
A lawyer for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were accused of spying in Iran, says bail papers cannot be signed until Tuesday A bail-for-freedom deal for two Americans jailed as spies in Iran has hit a snag because a judge whose signature is needed on the bail papers is on holiday. The prisoners’ lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said he could not complete the paperwork on the $1m (£630,000) bail deal because a second judge who must sign the documents is on holiday until Tuesday. One judge signed the papers on Saturday. “I have no choice but to wait until Tuesday,” Shafiei told the Associated Press. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been jailed for more than two years in a case that has deepened the mistrust between Iran and the United States. They were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. She was released last September with mediation by the Gulf nation of Oman after $500,000 was paid. The men were convicted of spying for the United States and illegally entering Iran and were each sentenced last month to eight years in prison. They denied the charges and appealed against the verdicts, opening the way for the possible deal to free them in exchange for $500,000 bail each. They say they were hiking in Iraq’s scenic north and may have mistakenly crossed an unmarked border with Iran. Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Saturday that the courts were willing to commute the Americans’ sentences in the “near future” as a gesture of Islamic mercy, but did not say when the pair could be released. Iran United States Middle East guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A lawyer for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were accused of spying in Iran, says bail papers cannot be signed until Tuesday A bail-for-freedom deal for two Americans jailed as spies in Iran has hit a snag because a judge whose signature is needed on the bail papers is on holiday. The prisoners’ lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said he could not complete the paperwork on the $1m (£630,000) bail deal because a second judge who must sign the documents is on holiday until Tuesday. One judge signed the papers on Saturday. “I have no choice but to wait until Tuesday,” Shafiei told the Associated Press. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been jailed for more than two years in a case that has deepened the mistrust between Iran and the United States. They were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. She was released last September with mediation by the Gulf nation of Oman after $500,000 was paid. The men were convicted of spying for the United States and illegally entering Iran and were each sentenced last month to eight years in prison. They denied the charges and appealed against the verdicts, opening the way for the possible deal to free them in exchange for $500,000 bail each. They say they were hiking in Iraq’s scenic north and may have mistakenly crossed an unmarked border with Iran. Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Saturday that the courts were willing to commute the Americans’ sentences in the “near future” as a gesture of Islamic mercy, but did not say when the pair could be released. Iran United States Middle East guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Joy Behar’s Inner Rosie: Conservative Pols Who ‘Use’ Christianity Have ‘Same Syndrome’ as 9/11 Terrorists
September 18, 2011 No Comment
On Saturday night, HLN replayed Joy Behar’s Tuesday interview with Broadway and TV star Kristin Chenoweth, when Joy celebrated how the actress is “standing tall in the face of criticism from her fellow Christians for her public support of gay rights.” But Joy went further than that. She channeled her inner Rosie O’Donnell and suggested politicians who “use Christianity to make their point” are using the “same syndrome” as “these terrorists who used Islam to kill 3,000 people on 9/11.” This impaired doozy came at the end of a discussion about how Chenoweth feels she is the better, more compassionate Christian for embracing homosexuality (and after all, how is she going to be a Broadway star without doing that?) Oh, and since the 9/11 thing wasn't enough, Joy also suggested a “slew” of kids committed suicide in Michelle Bachman's district because of the “anti-gay” attitudes there (thank you, New York Times). BEHAR: What about these politicians who use Christianity to make their point? That bothers me. CHENOWETH: You know, there is a reason. BEHAR: Any religion. Any religion. CHENOWETH: I agree. BEHAR: It doesn't have to be just Christianity. I mean, you can talk about these terrorists who used Islam to kill 3,000 people on 9/11, it's the same syndrome. CHENOWETH: I just feel like there is a reason they should be separate. I heard my whole life, separation of church and state. BEHAR: Right. There's a lot of mixing of that right now going on I think. CHENOWETH: It's a little frightening to me. It's somehow not a little frightening to try and preach what the Bible teaches and be compared to a mass murderer who flew a plane into a skyscraper. Then Behar turned to a story gay activists are pushing. On Tuesday, The New York Times began a story “This sprawling suburban school system, much of it within Michele Bachmann’s Congressional district, is caught in the eye of one of the country’s hottest culture wars — how homosexuality should be discussed in the schools…the school district has suffered eight student suicides in the last two years, leading state officials to declare a 'suicide contagion.'” BEHAR: That just happened, I was reading about a whole slew of kids who just committed suicide in Minnesota. CHENOWETH: Are you serious? BEHAR: Yes. I'm not saying that she had anything to do with it. It happens to be in Michele Bachmann's district. CHENOWETH: Are you kidding? BEHAR: And they're very anti-gay in that community there. CHENOWETH: Haven't we learned, though, anything, Joy? BEHAR: I don't know. The Christian groups over there, the conservative Christian groups say it's not OK to be gay. So if you're not OK to be gay, there was something wrong. I mean, I was bullied, but for a different reason. I was nerdy, I realize now — I didn't even know it at the time. But you don`t really feel that bad about yourself as somebody saying it's not OK to be something that you know you are. CHENOWETH: That you are. And that's what kills me. You know, it doesn't matter, like you said, whatever faith you are, we have these rules of how you have to be. And if you're born a certain way, it's the truth. Then they discussed other TV shows in the works: BEHAR: But what about Chaz Bono now? He`s on “Dancing With the Stars,” and I understand he`s getting all this hate mail and all these people are furious — and this guy, Keith Ablow, who is a shrink was on Fox, I was reading this, and he was saying that the children who are watching see — watch a transgender dance, that they are going to think that they can be transgenders. That is quite a leap. CHENOWETH: OK. First of all, why are we still having the conversation? That would be — can you imagine feeling like you`re born in the wrong body? BEHAR: It can be — I know that`s got to be very difficult. CHENOWETH: That has to be very hard in and of itself. Why do we have to persecute and talk badly about, why can`t we just say, OK, this is a person, a man now that has changed into what he feels like he was supposed to be. I can`t imagine how hard that is on his family, on him alone. Why do then we all have to judge it? “And he shouldn`t be on “Dancing With the Stars,” and that is going to affect my niece or my nephew or my neighbor.” No, it`s not. Kids are way more accepting than adults. BEHAR: Let`s just see if he can dip a girl. CHENOWETH: You know what, if he doesn`t drop anybody on its head, then he`s a hero. BEHAR: There you go. But you know, before I go, I don`t have too much time, you have this new sitcom, “Good Christian Belles.” Tell me about that. [It was originally to be titled "Good Christian Bitches." ] CHENOWETH: It`s about a group of five women who grew up in the Bible Belt in Dallas, Texas. And it does deal with spirituality and it deals with how they deal with each other, their Christianity, their demons, all the things that go on as human. It shows the human side of Christianity and it does it with a lot of humor. And I am very proud of it. BEHAR: And it sounds like it`s edgy. CHENOWETH: It`s very edgy. BEHAR: Love that. CHENOWETH: I love it. Finally, this is the what-would-Jesus-do portion of the interview, which came earlier, in which we're told being gay is like being short: CHENOWETH: I just want to say, that if Jesus were alive, what would he be doing? Well, he would probably be accepting and loving people how they're made. And I always say this and it`s really the truth. If being 4'11 was a sin, what would I do? Well, I could wear heels and I could add a wig. BEHAR: You mean being short. CHENOWETH: Yes. I`m 4'11. What would I do if that was a sin? I couldn't do anything about it because that's the way God made me. And I do — make no mistake, I am a Christian and I believe in God, and I don't believe he makes mistakes. So I don`t believe that being gay is not a sin, and in fact it's how you`re made. BEHAR: Well, isn't the rap that they're not committing a sin as long as they don`t do anything about it? CHENOWETH: It's like not doing anything about being short. What would I do, hide? BEHAR: Yeah. So you're gay but you're not supposed to have any kind of sexual behavior in your life, and yet you can't even masturbate. What are you supposed to do? Put a gun to your head? What are the alternatives? CHENOWETH: The thing is that I am a very spiritual person. But I also am — you know, I`m a sexual being. That's the way God put us together. I'm not promiscuous. I think that's a different topic, if that's what they`re talking about, that is a different topic.
Continue reading …Joy Behar’s Inner Rosie: Conservative Pols Who ‘Use’ Christianity Have ‘Same Syndrome’ as 9/11 Terrorists
September 18, 2011 No CommentOn Saturday night, HLN replayed Joy Behar’s Tuesday interview with Broadway and TV star Kristin Chenoweth, when Joy celebrated how the actress is “standing tall in the face of criticism from her fellow Christians for her public support of gay rights.” But Joy went further than that. She channeled her inner Rosie O’Donnell and suggested politicians who “use Christianity to make their point” are using the “same syndrome” as “these terrorists who used Islam to kill 3,000 people on 9/11.” This impaired doozy came at the end of a discussion about how Chenoweth feels she is the better, more compassionate Christian for embracing homosexuality (and after all, how is she going to be a Broadway star without doing that?) Oh, and since the 9/11 thing wasn't enough, Joy also suggested a “slew” of kids committed suicide in Michelle Bachman's district because of the “anti-gay” attitudes there (thank you, New York Times). BEHAR: What about these politicians who use Christianity to make their point? That bothers me. CHENOWETH: You know, there is a reason. BEHAR: Any religion. Any religion. CHENOWETH: I agree. BEHAR: It doesn't have to be just Christianity. I mean, you can talk about these terrorists who used Islam to kill 3,000 people on 9/11, it's the same syndrome. CHENOWETH: I just feel like there is a reason they should be separate. I heard my whole life, separation of church and state. BEHAR: Right. There's a lot of mixing of that right now going on I think. CHENOWETH: It's a little frightening to me. It's somehow not a little frightening to try and preach what the Bible teaches and be compared to a mass murderer who flew a plane into a skyscraper. Then Behar turned to a story gay activists are pushing. On Tuesday, The New York Times began a story “This sprawling suburban school system, much of it within Michele Bachmann’s Congressional district, is caught in the eye of one of the country’s hottest culture wars — how homosexuality should be discussed in the schools…the school district has suffered eight student suicides in the last two years, leading state officials to declare a 'suicide contagion.'” BEHAR: That just happened, I was reading about a whole slew of kids who just committed suicide in Minnesota. CHENOWETH: Are you serious? BEHAR: Yes. I'm not saying that she had anything to do with it. It happens to be in Michele Bachmann's district. CHENOWETH: Are you kidding? BEHAR: And they're very anti-gay in that community there. CHENOWETH: Haven't we learned, though, anything, Joy? BEHAR: I don't know. The Christian groups over there, the conservative Christian groups say it's not OK to be gay. So if you're not OK to be gay, there was something wrong. I mean, I was bullied, but for a different reason. I was nerdy, I realize now — I didn't even know it at the time. But you don`t really feel that bad about yourself as somebody saying it's not OK to be something that you know you are. CHENOWETH: That you are. And that's what kills me. You know, it doesn't matter, like you said, whatever faith you are, we have these rules of how you have to be. And if you're born a certain way, it's the truth. Then they discussed other TV shows in the works: BEHAR: But what about Chaz Bono now? He`s on “Dancing With the Stars,” and I understand he`s getting all this hate mail and all these people are furious — and this guy, Keith Ablow, who is a shrink was on Fox, I was reading this, and he was saying that the children who are watching see — watch a transgender dance, that they are going to think that they can be transgenders. That is quite a leap. CHENOWETH: OK. First of all, why are we still having the conversation? That would be — can you imagine feeling like you`re born in the wrong body? BEHAR: It can be — I know that`s got to be very difficult. CHENOWETH: That has to be very hard in and of itself. Why do we have to persecute and talk badly about, why can`t we just say, OK, this is a person, a man now that has changed into what he feels like he was supposed to be. I can`t imagine how hard that is on his family, on him alone. Why do then we all have to judge it? “And he shouldn`t be on “Dancing With the Stars,” and that is going to affect my niece or my nephew or my neighbor.” No, it`s not. Kids are way more accepting than adults. BEHAR: Let`s just see if he can dip a girl. CHENOWETH: You know what, if he doesn`t drop anybody on its head, then he`s a hero. BEHAR: There you go. But you know, before I go, I don`t have too much time, you have this new sitcom, “Good Christian Belles.” Tell me about that. [It was originally to be titled "Good Christian Bitches." ] CHENOWETH: It`s about a group of five women who grew up in the Bible Belt in Dallas, Texas. And it does deal with spirituality and it deals with how they deal with each other, their Christianity, their demons, all the things that go on as human. It shows the human side of Christianity and it does it with a lot of humor. And I am very proud of it. BEHAR: And it sounds like it`s edgy. CHENOWETH: It`s very edgy. BEHAR: Love that. CHENOWETH: I love it. Finally, this is the what-would-Jesus-do portion of the interview, which came earlier, in which we're told being gay is like being short: CHENOWETH: I just want to say, that if Jesus were alive, what would he be doing? Well, he would probably be accepting and loving people how they're made. And I always say this and it`s really the truth. If being 4'11 was a sin, what would I do? Well, I could wear heels and I could add a wig. BEHAR: You mean being short. CHENOWETH: Yes. I`m 4'11. What would I do if that was a sin? I couldn't do anything about it because that's the way God made me. And I do — make no mistake, I am a Christian and I believe in God, and I don't believe he makes mistakes. So I don`t believe that being gay is not a sin, and in fact it's how you`re made. BEHAR: Well, isn't the rap that they're not committing a sin as long as they don`t do anything about it? CHENOWETH: It's like not doing anything about being short. What would I do, hide? BEHAR: Yeah. So you're gay but you're not supposed to have any kind of sexual behavior in your life, and yet you can't even masturbate. What are you supposed to do? Put a gun to your head? What are the alternatives? CHENOWETH: The thing is that I am a very spiritual person. But I also am — you know, I`m a sexual being. That's the way God put us together. I'm not promiscuous. I think that's a different topic, if that's what they`re talking about, that is a different topic.
Continue reading …
Live Video!Watch Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz online free live stream Live Video!Watch Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz online free live stream Live Video!Watch Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz online free live stream webcommunicatie says: RT @/promotemyvideo2011Watch Mayweather vs Ortiz live stream online free HD video sopcast link – ERE Media (blog): The GuardianWatch …
Continue reading …
We Are Defiance – It’s Not a Problem Unless You Make It One (Vocal Cover) Sonik Foundry LIVE at ZombieFest 2011 – Defiance Let’s Play Sonic Advance 2 – Episode 4 – Sonic – Hot Crater Zone Act 2 Hansen_Katie says: Volleyball loses to Defiance , sweeps Fisk in Centre Classic http://t.co/FYAN0ShJ
Continue reading …