Transport officials say extra hour off will leave staff refreshed but rejects calls to allow controllers to nap during breaks US air traffic controllers will get longer breaks between shifts to prevent fatigue, but transport officials have rejected another proposed remedy – on-the-job napping. The transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said on Monday that while the government would not pay air traffic controllers to take naps while on duty, federal officials were open to other options to ensure aviation safety. He told CBS television’s The Early Show that officials “take very seriously” their obligation to solve the problem of sleepy controllers, adding: “Controllers have to make sure that they get the right rest and they come to work rested.” LaHood announced previously that the Ferderal Aviation Administration (FAA) would add an hour to the minimum time controllers must be off between shifts. He said under the plan staff should feel more refreshed when they arrive at work. Officials will visit control towers this week to discuss the problems of sleeping on the job. Five instances of sleeping controllers have been reported since late March. The latest incident occurred just before 8am on Saturday at a busy regional radar facility that handles high-altitude traffic for much of Florida, the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea. Several other countries, including Germany and Japan, permit controllers to sleep during breaks and provide quiet rooms with beds for that purpose. Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation of Alexandria, Virginia, said: “Given the body of scientific evidence, that decision clearly demonstrates that politics remain more important than public safety. People are concerned about a political backlash if they allow controllers to have rest periods in their work shifts the same way firefighters and trauma physicians do.” It has been an open secret in the US FAA since at least the early 1990s that controllers sometimes sleep on the job. The toughest are the midnight shifts, between 10pm and 6am. Scientists said it would be surprising if controllers did not doze sometimes because they were trying to stay awake at a time when the body naturally craves sleep. Studies show that 30% to 50% of night-shift workers report falling asleep on the job, according to Dr Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. Six of eight present and former controllers interviewed by Associated Press admitted they briefly fell asleep while working alone at night at least once in their careers. Most of them did not want to be identified for fear of jeopardising their jobs or their colleagues’. Much more common is taking a nap on purpose, they said. During midnight shifts controllers take it in turns to sleep while the other covers both positions. The unsanctioned arrangements sometimes allow staff to sleep for up to four hours during an eight-hour shift, they said. The FAA does not allow controllers to sleep at work, even during breaks. Controllers who are caught can be suspended or fired. But at many air traffic facilities the sleeping swaps are tolerated as long as they do not affect safety, the controllers said. “It has always been a problem,” said former controller Rick Perl, who retired last year. Air transport United States guardian.co.uk
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As part of the political panel on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, PBS host Tavis Smiley decried the recent budget deal in Congress to fund the government through the rest of 2011: “I believe that budgets are moral documents….And I'm not so sure that this is not anything more than an immoral document where the poor are concerned.” Smiley went on to lament how the budget negotiations “effectively locked out the American people, namely, the poor.” He further ranted: “I don't understand why it is in this town that every debate about money always begins and ends with how we can further reward the rich and more punish the poor. I don't get that.” Following former Michigan Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm describing the possibility of compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the 2012 budget, Smiley went after President Obama for not fighting harder against spending cuts: “…a week ago, the President comes out and congratulates Republicans on the biggest budget cuts ever in the history of this country, then the next week, you're slamming them about their deficit reduction priorities. So I'm not even sure I understand what side of his mouth the President's really speaking out of, respectfully.” Near the end of the program, Smiley shared some concluding thoughts with the rest of the panel: “The only thing I want to add to this conversation, because I would not – I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say this…. this conversation is not disconnected from these wars that we are engaged in. I have to say that. Dr. King said all the time that war is the enemy of the poor. If we're going to get this country back on the right track and get these poor and the underemployed and the unemployed lifted up, we have to understand that war is the enemy of the poor. And I just got to say that.” Here is a transcript of the April 17 exchange: 11:00AM ET (…) JENNIFER GRANHOLM [FMR. GOVERNOR, D-MI]: But here's the great thing, is that this week, the President gave the parameters on the Democratic side, and Congressman Ryan gave the parameters on the Republican side. So, now we know what the arena is, and they agree that the deficit reduction should be about $4 trillion. They agree that everybody should put entitlements on the table. They disagree on how to get there. And they agree on what they're going to do about business taxes, or at least in concept, that we should have a more competitive business tax that doesn't have all these loopholes. I think that is a huge arena for compromise, and I think the President really spoke to a lot of Democrats- DAVID GREGORY: But does that assume, Tavis, that that's really the arena that we're operating in, or is this the land of fantasy, in terms of what's actually going to get passed? TAVIS SMILEY: I think it's the latter, and I'm not even sure what the arena is. I note, with respect to the Governor, that a week ago, the President comes out and congratulates Republicans on the biggest budget cuts ever in the history of this country, then the next week, you're slamming them about their deficit reduction priorities. So I'm not even sure I understand what side of his mouth the President's really speaking out of, respectfully. What I know is this, I believe that budgets are moral documents. Budgets are moral documents. You can say what you say, but you are what you are. And when you put your budget on the table, that's when we learn who you really are. And I'm not so sure that this is not anything more than an immoral document where the poor are concerned. Yes to your point, David, we avoided a shutdown of government, but we effectively locked out the American people, namely, the poor. And I don't understand why it is in this town that every debate about money always begins and ends with how we can further reward the rich and more punish the poor. I don't get that. (…) SMILEY: The only thing I want to add to this conversation, because I would not – I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say this. Because these things seem so disconnected when we're talking about budget policy in this country, but this conversation is not disconnected from these wars that we are engaged in. I have to say that. Dr. King said all the time that war is the enemy of the poor. If we're going to get this country back on the right track and get these poor and the underemployed and the unemployed lifted up, we have to understand that war is the enemy of the poor. And I just got to say that. — Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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Most believe government has mishandled nuclear crisis and recovery from earthquake and tsunami, according to Nikkei poll Japanese voters have delivered a damning verdict on the prime minister’s handling of the nuclear crisis, with a majority calling for a new leader to take the helm as the country attempts to recover from last month’s earthquake and tsunami. Naoto Kan, who has been in office for less than a year, can expect little respite even after the operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), said it hoped to effectively end the crisis within the next six to nine months. The government has yet to say when tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area will be allowed to return home, while the rebuilding effort along Japan’s north-east coast has barely begun more than five weeks after the disaster. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, has said Tepco’s target of achieving “cold shutdown” of damaged reactors by early next year would only be met if “everything goes smoothly”. Tepco stood by its time frame, despite the release of data showing that radiation levels in two reactor buildings were still too high for workers to enter. The new readings were released after US-made robots entered reactor buildings numbers one and three, the first time machines have been employed since the plant was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. “We expected high radioactivity inside the reactor buildings, which was confirmed by data collected by the robot,” Edano said. “Even I had expected high radioactivity in those areas. I’m sure Tepco and other experts factored in those figures when they compiled the roadmap.” Takeshi Makigami, a Tepco official, said: “The robots can only do so much. Eventually, people will have to enter the buildings.” More than 27,000 people died or are still missing after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, while 136,000 people are living in shelters. Damages from the natural disasters alone could reach a record $300bn (£184bn). In a poll taken by the Nikkei business newspaper, almost 70% of respondents said Kan should be replaced, while a similar proportion said his government had mishandled the nuclear crisis. The political truce declared in the early days of the crisis has ended. Calls have grown for Kan’s resignation; Masashi Waki, an MP from the opposition Liberal Democratic party (LDP), accused him of dithering from the outset. “The prime minister is working hard and must be experiencing difficulties,” Waki, told the upper house budget committee. “But many people have questions about his leadership.” He then addressed Kan directly: “You should be bowing your head in apology. You clearly have nothing to offer as a leader.” Kan apologised for the turmoil the nuclear accident had created, but said he would strive to bring a quick end to the Fukushima emergency and begin the post-tsunami reconstruction effort. “Japan has experienced many crises in the past,” he said, “But I believe this is the biggest in the 65 years since the second world war. I want to make every effort on both issues.” According to the Nikkei poll, voters would prefer Kan’s Democratic party of Japan (DPJ) administration to co-operate with the LDP to address the myriad economic and social issues confronting Japan. The LDP has turned down offers from Kan to form a grand coalition, however, and called for Kan’s resignation. But colleagues say he is unlikely to step down. “It is impossible to change prime ministers at a time like this,” said Hajime Ishii, a DPJ upper house MP. “Other countries would view that as abnormal. At a time when we must work on rebuilding after the earthquake, it is not possible to have a DPJ leadership vote or a general election.” Japan disaster Natural disasters and extreme weather Nuclear power Japan Energy Nikkei Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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European court of human rights has repeatedly challenged France for locking up suspects without charge and denying access to lawyers France was forced to rush in urgent reforms to its treatment of people in police custody this weekend, a move that follows years of international condemnation that it was trampling the most basic human rights. France’s claim to be “the country of human rights” has been repeatedly challenged by the European court of human rights (ECHR), which warned suspects were being locked up without charge and with no access to lawyers. The court said France had an unjust police custody system overseen by state prosecutors who were not independent but in thrall to the government. France was also told it was breaking international law by not telling suspects they had a right to remain silent. Under pressure from the ECHR, the French parliament voted in January for a reform allowing suspects to have a lawyer present during questioning and to be granted the right to remain silent. The change was due to come into force in June, but France’s constitutional council ruled this weekend it must be changed immediately, sparking panic as lawyers descended on police stations and police officers warned of absolute chaos. The French system of holding a suspect for up to 96 hours without charge, denying them lawyers or any chance to organise a defence or prepare for questioning was found to contravene the French constitution itself. The only access to a lawyer was for a 30-minute visit to check the suspect was well, but not for discussing defence. The notoriously tough system, which allowed suspects as young as 13 to be held, became a plank of president Nicolas Sarkozy’s tough-on-crime approach and target-based police culture. Even Sarkozy’s prime minister, Francois Fillon, admitted it was shocking that 800,000 people a year were held in police custody, two thirds more than in 2002. There was a scandal last year over the abuse by police of their powers when four 14-year-olds were detained in police custody over a fight outside a school. One was taken from her home in her nightclothes and locked in a cell for 10 hours. Amnesty International has highlighted cases of deaths in police custody and warned against police brutality. The government wants to reduce the number of people in custody to 500,000 a year. One lawyer called to one of the first cases after the reform was put into action said it was a revolutionary moment, as important “as the storming of the Bastille”. Police complained of a new burden to their workload and one police union criticised the move to allow lawyers to attend the questioning of suspects, accusing some of them of thinking they were appearing in American TV series. France Europe European court of human rights Human rights Nicolas Sarkozy Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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enlarge An obscure speech given by Harry Truman on September 11, 1951 at the dedication of the GAO office building is buried deep in the FBI FOIA archives. In it, Truman discusses the budget of 1951-1952, and offers some practical advice to the Paul Ryans of his day and ours. Now, I would like to say a word to comfort and console those who fear that we are spending our way into national bankruptcy. This alarming thought has some currency in certain circles, and it is used to frighten voters — particularly as visions of elections dance through the heads of gentlemen who are politically inclined. I want to say to those gentlemen who are spreading this story, “Don’t be afraid.” This is something that has been worrying you for a number of years now. It’s something you’ve been saying over and over again. It wasn’t true when you began to say it, and it’s has not been true as you have repeated it over and over since then, and now it’s further from the truth than ever. He goes on to talk about why the 40% tax rates are strengthening the economy: The country is stronger economically than it has ever been before. Its people are more prosperous. After paying their taxes, the people have an average per capita income that will buy 40 percent more than it did in 1939, in spite of increases in prices. Corporations are making more money than they ever did and, even after paying taxes at the new high rates, their profits are running at an even higher rate than in any year except the record-breaking 1950. And finally, he discusses the wisdom of the “paygo” approach to spending: One of the benefits of using the pay-as-we-go approach is that it results in a tighter check on expenditures. It is so unpleasant to increase taxes that before doing it we try to hold down on expenditures wherever we can. That is the way it ought to be. All I ask is that we do not cut our expenditures to the point where we lose more than we gain. We must not be penny wise and pound foolish. I don’t want to lose a horse through being too stingy to buy a strong enough rope to tie him with. Take heed, Paul Ryan. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Low tax rates and income inequality, combined with speculators and irresponsible Wall Street bankers brought on the Great Depression. Here’s a speech from Truman, just at the beginning of what would be one of the most prosperous periods in American history warning you. Buy the rope, boys.
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Extreme ironing enthusiast takes advantage of motorway closure after scrapyard fire to iron his shirt in the middle lane Extreme ironing was born in the UK, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that one opportunistic enthusiast used the closure of the M1 motorway to indulge his passion for the sport. Described as “the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt”, extreme ironing fittingly has its roots in Leicester, served by the M1 . Phil Shaw, who has written the definitive book on the sport , is oft credited with inventing it in 1997, and since then instances have sprung up across the globe. Last year the travel website Gadling.com compiled the 10 best ironing stunts from around the world, featuring two separate instances of ironing on canoes and a particularly daring attempt to press a shirt while skydiving . The dressing gown-clad individual who jogged onto the M1 to iron what appeared to be a single white shirt in reality had enough time to rattle through the rest of his wardrobe, with all southbound lanes between junctions one and four remaining closed until further notice because of fire damage. The seven-mile section has been shut since Friday after a blaze at a scrapyard underneath an elevated section in the Mill Hill area of north London. The full width of the motorway will not reopen until the middle or end of next week. The good news for extreme ironers is sadly unlikely to offset the misery suffered by motorists and holidaymakers. Road transport Extreme sports Transport Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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Extreme ironing enthusiast takes advantage of motorway closure after scrapyard fire to iron his shirt in the middle lane Extreme ironing was born in the UK, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that one opportunistic enthusiast used the closure of the M1 motorway to indulge his passion for the sport. Described as “the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt”, extreme ironing fittingly has its roots in Leicester, served by the M1 . Phil Shaw, who has written the definitive book on the sport , is oft credited with inventing it in 1997, and since then instances have sprung up across the globe. Last year the travel website Gadling.com compiled the 10 best ironing stunts from around the world, featuring two separate instances of ironing on canoes and a particularly daring attempt to press a shirt while skydiving . The dressing gown-clad individual who jogged onto the M1 to iron what appeared to be a single white shirt in reality had enough time to rattle through the rest of his wardrobe, with all southbound lanes between junctions one and four remaining closed until further notice because of fire damage. The seven-mile section has been shut since Friday after a blaze at a scrapyard underneath an elevated section in the Mill Hill area of north London. The full width of the motorway will not reopen until the middle or end of next week. The good news for extreme ironers is sadly unlikely to offset the misery suffered by motorists and holidaymakers. Road transport Extreme sports Transport Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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Nigeria’s Muslim north erupts in anger as Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan takes commanding lead in presidential election Angry opposition supporters in Nigeria’s Muslim north set fire to homes bearing ruling party banners and heavy gunfire rang out in several towns as officials released presidential election results on Monday showing the Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan had gained an insurmountable lead. Results were still pending in four states from Saturday’s election but tallies released live on national television indicated Jonathan had a commanding lead of more than 11m votes with about 6m left to be announced. The Muslim north had largely voted for former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. Witnesses said youths in the northern city of Kano were setting fire to homes that bore the banners of Jonathan’s People’s Democratic party. Associated Press saw hundreds of youths carrying wooden planks in the street, shouting “Only Buhari” in the Hausa language. In Kaduna, home to the oil-rich nation’s vice president Namadi Sambo, angry young men burned tyres in the streets and threw stones at police and soldiers trying to restore order, according to witnesses. Shehu Sani, a civil rights leader, said: “I’m holed up in my room. There’s gunshots everywhere. They are firing and killing people on the street.” Kaduna state police spokesman Aminu Lawal described the fighting as an uprising. Federal emergency management agency spokesman Yushua Shuaib declined to release casualty figures, fearing the details would further stoke sectarian violence. “Such a thing can encourage a reprisal attack,” he said. Election officials said they would finish releasing election results throughout Monday regardless of the violence. Over the weekend, opposition supporters rioted in the north-eastern state of Gombe. Protesters burned down the house of the local chairman of the ruling party, two hotels and at least two buses. The rioters accused Gombe’s ruling party government of rigging the results to ensure Jonathan got at least 25% of the vote. Police chief Suleiman Lawal said on Sunday there had been a “complete breakdown of law and order”. Nigeria’s elections have long been marred by violence and rigging. On Saturday, a hotel blast in Kaduna wounded eight people and a police officer was shot dead at a Maiduguri polling station. Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim north. A dozen states across Nigeria’s north have Islamic Sharia law in place, although the area remains under the control of secular state governments. Thousands have been killed in Muslim-Christian violence in the last decade, but the roots of the sectarian conflict are often embedded in struggles for political and economic dominance. The country’s Muslim north regards Jonathan as the Christian from the south who took over after the death of the country’s elected Muslim leader. The People’s Democratic party has dominated Nigerian politics since it became a democracy 12 years ago. Many of the north’s elite wanted the ruling party to honour an unwritten power-sharing agreement calling for a Muslim candidate to run for president, yet Jonathan prevailed in the party’s primary election. Nigeria Islam guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Nigeria’s Muslim north erupts in anger as Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan takes commanding lead in presidential election Angry opposition supporters in Nigeria’s Muslim north set fire to homes bearing ruling party banners and heavy gunfire rang out in several towns as officials released presidential election results on Monday showing the Christian incumbent Goodluck Jonathan had gained an insurmountable lead. Results were still pending in four states from Saturday’s election but tallies released live on national television indicated Jonathan had a commanding lead of more than 11m votes with about 6m left to be announced. The Muslim north had largely voted for former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. Witnesses said youths in the northern city of Kano were setting fire to homes that bore the banners of Jonathan’s People’s Democratic party. Associated Press saw hundreds of youths carrying wooden planks in the street, shouting “Only Buhari” in the Hausa language. In Kaduna, home to the oil-rich nation’s vice president Namadi Sambo, angry young men burned tyres in the streets and threw stones at police and soldiers trying to restore order, according to witnesses. Shehu Sani, a civil rights leader, said: “I’m holed up in my room. There’s gunshots everywhere. They are firing and killing people on the street.” Kaduna state police spokesman Aminu Lawal described the fighting as an uprising. Federal emergency management agency spokesman Yushua Shuaib declined to release casualty figures, fearing the details would further stoke sectarian violence. “Such a thing can encourage a reprisal attack,” he said. Election officials said they would finish releasing election results throughout Monday regardless of the violence. Over the weekend, opposition supporters rioted in the north-eastern state of Gombe. Protesters burned down the house of the local chairman of the ruling party, two hotels and at least two buses. The rioters accused Gombe’s ruling party government of rigging the results to ensure Jonathan got at least 25% of the vote. Police chief Suleiman Lawal said on Sunday there had been a “complete breakdown of law and order”. Nigeria’s elections have long been marred by violence and rigging. On Saturday, a hotel blast in Kaduna wounded eight people and a police officer was shot dead at a Maiduguri polling station. Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim north. A dozen states across Nigeria’s north have Islamic Sharia law in place, although the area remains under the control of secular state governments. Thousands have been killed in Muslim-Christian violence in the last decade, but the roots of the sectarian conflict are often embedded in struggles for political and economic dominance. The country’s Muslim north regards Jonathan as the Christian from the south who took over after the death of the country’s elected Muslim leader. The People’s Democratic party has dominated Nigerian politics since it became a democracy 12 years ago. Many of the north’s elite wanted the ruling party to honour an unwritten power-sharing agreement calling for a Muslim candidate to run for president, yet Jonathan prevailed in the party’s primary election. Nigeria Islam guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Sounds like Spitzer’s on a campaign to push hard for the prosecution of Goldman Sachs. This, from last week: Eliot Spitzer challenges investment banker Goldman Sachs: “Sue me. I don’t care. You lied to the public, you should be prosecuted” during an interview with Sen. Carl Levin , chairman of the Senate subcommittee charged with investigating the causes of the financial crisis . Here’s a transcript of what Spitzer said: SPITZER: Senator, I’m going to take a leap. I’m going to say it out loud. Very directly. Goldman Sachs, you lied to the public. You lied to your clients. You’ve got a problem. You come on the show. Sue me. I don’t care. You lied to the public, you should be prosecuted. I’m going to say it right now. And I hope they are. Listen to Spitzer challenge Holder in his appearance on Anderson Cooper, then go read this William Greider article on “How Wall Street Crooks Get Out of Jail Free”. Then read this Politico piece on how conservative members of Congress are more upset that Holder is refusing to devote DoJ resources to prosecuting something much more important: online pornography.
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