France continues attacks on Gbagbo military forces as UN says it is investigating reports of killings in west Two charred corpses lay in a pile of ash on the road, their blackened skulls and rib cages reflecting off the window of a luxury car showroom. Nearby, young men in T-shirts taunted a French military patrol at a makeshift roadblock, jabbing their fingers and shouting: “Gbagbo! Gbagbo!” Abidjan remained on a knife edge on Sunday, with no end in sight to Ivory Coast’s civil war. There is growing evidence of atrocities being committed on both sides, with the UN’s 9,000 peacekeepers unable to make a significant intervention. What had seemed to be a morally simple contest between democrat and dictator is turning altogether murkier. The reputation of Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of last November’s election, has taken a battering in recent days. A Human Rights Watch report – detailed on Saturday in the Guardian – said forces loyal to Ouattara killed hundreds of civilians, raped his rival’s supporters and burned villages in the country’s west. Survivors described how the soldiers “summarily executed and raped perceived Gbagbo supporters in their homes, as they worked in the fields, as they fled, or as they tried to hide in the bush”. Such claims have the potential to embarrass the UN, EU and African Union, all of whom have endorsed Ouattara as the legitimate president,and most of all France, which launched air strikes against Gbagbo’s military a week ago – attacks which continued last night – and appears more deeply mired in the conflict by the day. But as yet there are no signs of remorse. Ouattara had long tried to distance himself from the northern-based rebels who fought a brief civil war almost a decade ago that split the country in two. Those fighters were accused of many atrocities at the time. But he appeared to change tack as the rebels, which he renamed the “Republican Forces”, began their lightning assault against Gbagbo. Ouattara has promised that any human rights violations will be investigated and the culprits punished, irrespective of their allegiance. Apollinaire Yapi, a spokesman for Ouattara’s military commander Guillaume Soro, said “There are accusations of abuses here and there. Mr Ouattara has said they have to be condemned, whoever did them. “It has been reported in the west that there was a massacre. There will be an investigation into who did what, be it a group close to Ouattara’s forces or Gbagbo’s forces. Before this investigation, no conclusions can be drawn.” Yapi defended the conduct of Ouattara’s troops. “Our forces are not engaged in any abuses. It might be individuals who did this or that. It is of great concern to Mr Ouattara. He doesn’t want his term of office to be spoiled by these abuses. Whoever is responsible will be punished.” Human Rights Watch has been leading calls for Ouattara to take a firm stand on the issue. Its Ivory Coast researcher, Matt Wells, said he should still be given the benefit of the doubt. “For us, the question of his legitimacy depends on whether he fulfils his promise to open a credible investigation into atrocities on both sides,” he said. “It has to include prosecution of those who have committed atrocities and commanders who have overseen them. Since he has been saying the right things, he deserves the first chance to show that there will be a credible investigation. If not, then international justice mechanisms take over.” Hamadoun Toure, a spokesman for the UN mission in Ivory Coast, said: “We are still investigating the level of the atrocities committed during the four last months. A comprehensive report will be published at the end of the exercise.” Gbagbo’s forces have been implicated in abuses since the post-election crisis began, Wells added, whereas Ouattara’s are more directly linked to the military campaign in the west. “You wouldn’t necessarily equate the two but the abuses by Ouattara’s troops are racking up. It’s an impossible exercise to work out the numbers on each side.” Wells did not blame the UN for failing to intervene. “It’s a very difficult situation for the UN. They are targets themselves. They have been quite pro-active in investigating these cases – they sent a team to the west straight away. There’s very little to criticise harshly on the UN side. Hopefully their newest peacekeepers will be deployed to the most vulnerable areas.” The US has also praised Ouattara’s stance so far. “We salute President Ouattara’s affirmation of the need for credible investigations of abuses perpetrated by any party, and welcome his commitment to govern for all Ivorians,” said Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the state separtment. The UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, raised the issue of civilian deaths with Ouattara and a senior aide to Gbagbo when he was in Ivory Coast last week. Ouattara subsequently appeared on national television and urged his supporters, as well as all other Ivorians, to refrain from committing crimes or acts of vengeance, and said that those who had done so would be punished. But Antony Goldman, a west Africa analyst at London-based PM Consulting, said the situation might now be beyond the control of both protagonists. “The main regret has to be from all those who allowed this crisis to become a catastrophe. There was an absence of any intervention after the election to resolve this, particularly from the African Union. “The absence of leadership in the first three months of this year in Ivory Coast has created all the conditions for this kind of violence. It’s gone beyond Gbagbo and Ouattara. The violence is so polarising and there’s no sense on either side of any middle ground.” A recurrent aspect of the violence has been the use of mercenaries from Liberia, believed to have been recruited by both sides in the conflict. The two presidential rivals are now in a standoff from their respective headquarters in Abidjan: Gbagbo in his bunker at the presidential residence defended by around 1,000 men, Ouattara in the Golf Hotel under UN protection. The hotel came under attack late on Saturday and one peacekeeper was injured. UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure said rockets and mortars landed in the hotel grounds shortly after UN forces were attacked nearby. One peacekeeper was evacuated to hospital with serious injuries. Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara Laurent Gbagbo United Nations European Union France United States African Union David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Norman Lamb, a government whip, says Lib Dem MPs and peers will not support reform bill unless their demands are met David Cameron has been warned that he will have to endorse sweeping changes to the government’s planned NHS reforms when a senior adviser to Nick Clegg threatened to resign unless a series of demands are met. Norman Lamb, a government whip who is the Liberal Democrat leader’s senior parliamentary adviser, warned that his party’s MPs and peers would be unable to support the health and social care bill if their concerns are ignored. Lamb’s warning came as the British Medical Association claimed the tight NHS settlement, which will raise its budget in line with inflation, is leading to an “accelerating withdrawal of services”. Growing numbers of patients are being denied treatment for conditions such as infertility. Lib Dem sources stressed that Lamb, who briefed Clegg ahead of his intervention on the BBC’s Politics Show, was not speaking on behalf of the deputy prime minister, who is not pressing any demands during a two-month “listening exercise” on the NHS reforms launched last week. But the Guardian understands that Lamb’s four demands will need to be met if Lib Dem MPs and peers are to vote in favour of the bill when it is revived in June after the “listening exercise”. Lamb, the former Lib Dem health spokesman, demanded changes to the bill that would abolish primary care trusts and hand 60% of the NHS budget to GP-led consortiums by 2013. They include: • Abandoning the 2013 deadline and adopting an “evolution, not revolution” approach. • Following the school reforms and allowing GPs to opt into consortiums. • Keeping “clusters” of PCTs to observe the “performance management” of GPs. Lamb told the BBC that he accepted reform of the NHS was vital and agreed with handing greater powers to GPs. But he warned that rushed reforms would pose a “financial risk” to the NHS. “My real concern is the financial risk of doing it too quickly, because then you lose services, patient care suffers,” he said. “The financial risk is that at the moment the plan is to transfer responsibility to GP consortiums, new organisations. There’s no evidence about how these organisations will work but they’re supposed to be up and running by April 2013.” Lamb indicated that unless his demands were met the bill would be blocked by Lib Dems. “Let’s stick to the principle, which is really good, but let’s not destroy it by getting the process wrong,” he said. “This package is not going to work unless we can get people on board and that includes addressing the concerns that I’ve raised.” He made it clear that he would resign if he is not happy: “I’ve said that if it’s impossible for me to carry on in my position I will step down. I don’t want to cause embarrassment but I feel very strongly about this issue.” Andrew Lansley, the health secretary who fell out with Lamb before the election during a row over the imposition of a so-called “death tax”, vetoed his appointment as a minister. Lansley will struggle to meet Lamb’s demands because he is likely to feel that allowing GPs to opt into the reforms, in the way that schools can choose to become academies, would risk creating a two-tier health service. Lansley will embark on the latest stage of his listening exercise when he hears from nurses at the Royal College of Nursing annual congress. Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the RCN, expressed support for Lamb’s criticisms: “Norman Lamb is a man that knows his way round the health service. He has got a huge amount of credibility. The government would do well to be cognisant of what Norman Lamb is saying.” Health policy Health NHS Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats Liberal-Conservative coalition Nicholas Watt Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
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Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, blocked attempt by former PM to hold judicial inquiry into phone-hacking allegations Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, blocked an attempt by Gordon Brown before the general election to hold a judicial inquiry into allegations that the News of the World had hacked into the phones of cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures. As News International prepares to pay compensation to victims of the illegal practice, the Guardian understands that Britain’s most senior civil servant took steps to prevent an inquiry on the grounds that it would be too sensitive before last year’s general election. The then prime minister, who warned Peter Mandelson in 2009 that his phone had been hacked on behalf of the News of the World, wanted a judicial inquiry after new evidence of the illegal practice emerged that summer. The Guardian revealed in July 2009 that Rupert Murdoch’s News Group newspapers had paid more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal illegal phone hacking by private investigators on behalf of News of the World. The revelations were of acute political sensitivity because Andy Coulson, editor of the News of the World between 2003 and 2007, was by then David Cameron’s communications director. Coulson was asked to appear before the Commons culture select committee after the publication of the Guardian disclosures. O’Donnell told Brown, who lost the support of the News of the World and its sister paper, the Sun, in the autumn of 2009, that it would be inappropriate to hold a judicial inquiry so soon before the election. Coulson was by then one of the most senior members of Cameron’s inner circle and was appointed as the Downing Street director of communications after the general election. He has consistently denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, and resigned from No 10 in January saying coverage of phone hacking had made his job impossible. The disclosure that O’Donnell blocked an inquiry came as Boris Johnson called for a “truth and reconciliation” commission to establish the full facts about phone hacking. In an interview on Sky News, the mayor of London said: “Plainly the police need to get on with it. But I would like to see the entire newspaper industry, what we used to call Fleet Street and indeed the media generally, have a general truth and reconciliation commission about all this. I think all the editors and all the proprietors should come forward, put their hands up, say whether they know of any of their reporters or employees who may or may not have been engaged in these practices which have now been exposed at the News of the World. I think that would be a very healthy development.” Johnson spoke out after News International issued a public apology on Friday to eight victims of phone hacking. These included the actor Sienna Miller, the former Labour culture secretary Tessa Jowell, the football agent Sky Andrew and the publicist Nicola Phillips. Charlotte Harris of Mishcon de Reya, which represents Andrew, said she was advising her client not to accept compensation until he sees all the documentation in the possession of News International. Harris told Radio 4′s The World This Weekend: “Sky Andrew has been finally offered an apology and we are thinking about what to do. There isn’t actually a particular figure they have offered us for anything. The position Sky is taking is not disimilar to that of Sienna Miller and Nicola Phillips. It is: isn’t this a bit early, we are just about to have disclosure of the documents, we need to have a look and see what has happened and get to the bottom of it and then we’ll see where it goes from there.” Asked if she would advise her clients not to settle without disclosure of notes and emails, Harris said: “Yes. What we have at the moment is an apology and an admission, having been working on this for a very long time. We haven’t even got near the truth yet. We have got orders that mean we are now going to be able to have a chance at getting to the bottom of it, so we need to find out. How are we meant to know what to accept if we don’t know the full extent of what has happened?” Harris added that thousands of phones could have been monitored. “If you consider that if you hack into one person’s phone, you have access to everyone who has left a message for them. And then, if you go into the person who has left a message, you get all of theirs. You have got to be running into several thousand, just from that methodology. To put a figure on it, it is certainly not a handful – maybe 4,000, 6,000, 7,000 – a huge amount of people.”The Guardian understands Gordon Brown was so concerned that News of the World was targeting Labour figures that he warned Peter Mandelson his phone had been hacked. Mandelson approached the information commissioner, but he did not confirm that his phone had been hacked. Critics of Murdoch have urged the government not to decide on his bid to take control of BSkyB until the allegations have been fully investigated. But advisers to the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, say he is prevented by law from taking the scandal into account when he considers whether it is appropriate for News Corporation to be allowed to buy all of BSkyB. The £8bn merger, which the minister has already said he is minded to approve, is being examined on its impact on “media plurality”. However, Hunt’s lawyers say that phone hacking cannot be considered in an inquiry as regards plurality. They say it could only form part of a “suitability of persons” test into whether Murdoch and the bosses of News Corporation were appropriate individuals to own BSkyB. That test was designed to prevent pornographers, for example, becoming media owners – but it cannot now be invoked in the case of the Murdoch merger. The Enterprise Act that covers the UK’s merger rules only allows one referral on one set of grounds, which means £8bn deal could only ever have been referred for political approval on either media plurality or suitability of persons grounds, but not both. A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “We never comment about any advice from a cabinet secretary to a prime minister on any issue.” Nicholas Watt Patrick Wintour Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk
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You know what the administration reminds me of ? Those crazy, dysfunctional households that are in utter chaos before Jo, the Super Nanny, arrives. “We have to let the kids stay up all night because if we don’t, then they’ll scream and no one will get any sleep.” Reinforcement of negative behaviors to avoid short-term disruption because YOU DON’T HAVE CONTROL OF YOUR CHILDREN. So every time they scream, you give them what they want because you don’t know how to say no. Any lessons there, I wonder? Of course not. Senior Advisor to the President David Plouffe conceded this morning that some of the cuts the White House agreed to in order to avoid a government shutdown were draconian. In an interview on “This Week” with anchor Christiane Amanpour, he called the cuts both “draconian” and “historic.” “The Senate majority called what the Speaker was asking for, just in February,” Amanpour said, “he called it ‘draconian.’” She pointed it the cuts were now being called historic. “I mean, which is it? Is it draconian yesterday and historic today?” Amanpour pressed. “Well,” Plouffe replied, “some of the cuts were draconian. Because it’s not just the number, it’s what composes the number.” “So in this budget deal,” he said, “the President, Senator Reid, you know we protected medical research, community health centers, kids in Head Start. We were not going to sign off on a deal that cut those things,” Plouffe said. “The President was comfortable with the composition of this deal that, again, there were some tough cuts in there… but in these fiscal times, everyone is going to have to make tough decisions. So it was a historic deal for the American people.” Plouffe insisted the budget that the White House, the Senate and House agreed to preserved the country’s ability to invest in and “win the future.” No, no, no, David. Let’s be clear. The only really tough decision people have is now convincing themselves to vote for a president who rode in on a wave of high hopes, and floats out as the mere lesser (barely) of two evils. Because this budget crap is campaign kabuki, and you insult our intelligence by pretending otherwise. This morning the New York Times praises Pete Peterson as the prescient man who saw the budget debate coming, never quite drawing the obvious conclusion: He dedicated $1 billion to manufacturing the budget “crisis.” We’re surrounded by brazen liars and craven fools.
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Delegation led by South African president Jacob Zuma may also meet rebel leadership in Benghazi as fighting continues Leaders of five African countries arrived in Tripoli on Sunday to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to broker a ceasefire and a political resolution to the deadlocked two-month-old conflict. The African Union delegation, led by the South African president, Jacob Zuma, may then fly on to Benghazi, the heartland of the rebels, to press for a diplomatic settlement. The initiative came as Nato air strikes once again pulled the rebels back from the brink of a significant defeat by stalling a government assault on the strategic town of Ajdabiya, the gateway to the revolutionaries’ de facto capital, Benghazi. Air strikes destroyed a total of 25 tanks around Ajdabiya and the besieged western city of Misrata. Nato gave permission for the African leaders’ planes to enter Libyan airspace. The aircraft were the first to land at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport since the international coalition imposed a no-fly zone over the country more than two weeks ago. Several hundred Libyan civilians and military personnel gathered to greet the delegation with an eclectic mix of tribal singing and dancing, bagpipes, brass band and the ubiquitous loyalist chant of ” Allah, Muammar, Libya wa bas [that's all we need]“. Zuma, who arrived aboard a South African air force plane, made no comment before leaving in an armoured convoy. Earlier, a statement from the African Union delegation said its objective was to bring military operations in Libya to an end and to mediate between the regime and the opposition on a political resolution. “We hope that mediation will lead to a constructive dialogue for a political settlement of the crisis based on the aspirations of the Libyan people,” said the Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. The other members of the team are the presidents of Congo-Brazzaville and Mali and the Ugandan foriegn minister. The African Union initiative follows a proposal last week by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a three-point plan covering a ceasefire, political negotiations and a humanitarian corridor. However, opposition forces insist they will not consider any political deal that involves Gaddafi or members of his family retaining power. Proposals put forward by the regime so far have included Gaddafi or one of his sons overseeing political change in Libya. It is far from clear how this gap could be bridged. Nato said its forces destroyed 11 tanks around Ajdabiya and 14 tanks on the outskirts of Misrata, the sole rebel-dominated town in the west of the country, host to fierce fighting for about six weeks. “The situation in Ajdabiya and Misrata in particular is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the [Gaddafi] regime,” said Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian commander of Nato’s Libya operations. A Red Cross ship docked in Misrata at the weekend, bringing medical supplies to civilians in the besieged port city, about 100 miles from Tripoli. The Libyan government has refused to take journalists based in the capital into Misrata, citing safety reasons, but civilians and doctors by phone have described coming under attack from shelling and sniper fire. Many of the victims are reported to be children. Last week, Nato said Misrata was its “number one priority”. The air strikes on Ajdabiya, 90 miles from Benghazi, helped reverse days of setbacks for the rebels which saw Gaddafi’s forces fight their way in to the heart of the town on Saturday. Shelling around the southern entrance to Ajdabiya could be heard on Sunday morning but it died away in the afternoon following the air strikes. Among the vehicles hit were six carrying government soldiers. Their charred bodies were scattered around the still burning vehicles a few hours later. “Nato has to do this to help us every single day. That is the only way we are going to win this war,” a 25-year-old rebel, Tarek Obeidy, told Reuters while standing over the bodies. The rebels said government forces shot down a Russian-made helicopter sent into the fight by the rebels two days earlier. Nato forced a MiG jet fighting for the rebels to land because of the UN-imposed no-fly zone. Many areas were deserted after civilians fled the prospect of Gaddafi’s troops taking it for a second time in as many weeks. Thousands of rounds of discarded bullet casings marked the site of some of the most intense fighting over the weekend. The sudden change in the rebels’ fortunes once again demonstrated how reliant they are on Nato air strikes to hold off government assaults. Nato faced humiliation if Gaddafi’s army forced its way through Ajdabiya once again and threatened Benghazi, the city the western allies launched the first air strikes to defend. Rebel defences around Benghazi are little in evidence, other than a line of artillery about 15 miles from the city. Libyan officials said that the regime was preparing a new constitution, although failed to give details or say whether Gaddafi would retain power. One official, Ibrahim Moukhzam, said: “Constitutions are not designed to fit around individuals. They are designed to serve the nation and any citizen can find a place for them in this constitution. “Muammar Gaddafi as a Libyan individual can find his place in the constitution. The vast majority of people want him to stay. He is a symbol. He has many jobs and tasks.” Asked if it would be a presidential republic or another political system, Moukhzam said it would be a “Libyan version”. Gaddafi made his first public appearance in several days at the weekend, visiting a school in Tripoli where he was greeted by chanting and ululating supporters. Meanwhile, three western journalists are believed to be in the custody of the regime after being detained by government forces near Brega, in the east of the country, last week. A photographer for the Associated Press, who was missing after becoming separated from colleagues near Ajdabiya on Saturday, has been found. Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest African Union Jacob Zuma Nato Muammar Gaddafi Harriet Sherwood Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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Dead authors are still making a fortune, while John Grisham and Dan Brown lead the US rankings Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, has beaten Agatha Christie to the title of most successful – and highest earning – British crime writer of all time. The first crime writers rich list, prepared for the crime drama digital TV channel Alibi , is based on recorded sales, box office returns, licence fees and company accounts. It reveals that many dead writers, including Fleming and Christie, live on as flourishing brands. It puts Fleming in first place at more than £100m, with more than 100m copies of the Bond books sold worldwide. Christie comes a close second at £100m exactly, including ticket sales from The Mousetrap, the longest running stage play in the world, a fixture in London’s West End since 1952. But both were beaten hands down by the American writers John Grisham, at $600m (£366m), and Dan Brown, at $400m. The richest living British crime author, third behind Fleming and Christie, is Jeffrey Archer, who will launch a five-volume saga, The Clifton Chronicles, this year. He is valued at £70m, but the ranking takes into account his art collection and property, not just sales and royalties. Jack Higgins, a Jersey resident since the success of The Eagle Has Landed in 1975, is in third place at £50m plus, followed by Ken Follett, who is married to the former Labour minister Barbara Follett. Both just beat Dick Francis, the former jockey who was said to be the Queen Mother’s favourite novelist. Francis died last year, but his son Felix promises further books will be published. Labour peer Ruth Rendell, creator of Inspector Wexford, an unusually genial figure for a detective, is estimated at £30m plus and is ranked seventh, followed by Ian Rankin, creator of the more typically glum Rebus, at £25m. Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse, just missed the top 10, with a fortune estimated at £20m. The channel is launching a competition for aspiring new crimewriters, who can win a holiday in Sweden, home of the most miserable of all the gloomy detectives, Wallander. The top 10 UK crime authors Ian Fleming £100m+ Agatha Christie £100m Jeffrey Archer £70m Jack Higgins £50m+ Ken Follett £50m Dick Francis, just under £50m Ruth Rendell £30m+ Lee Child £30m Ian Rankin £25m Alexander McCall Smith £20m Top 10 US crime writers John Grisham $600m Dan Brown $400m Patricia Cornwell $300m+ Robert Ludlum $300m Michael Crichton $300m Michael Connelly $250m Thomas Harris $150m Elmore Leonard $100m Ed McBain $75m James Ellroy $50m Crime fiction Fiction Agatha Christie Dan Brown Ian Rankin Jeffrey Archer John Grisham Ian Fleming Ken Follett Ruth Rendell Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
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Aintree to review safety after two horses died following race in sweltering heat and over firmer ground than usual The Grand National has been compared to “Spanish bullfighting” and its organisers accused of “ritualised animal cruelty” after Saturday’s race in sweltering heat and firmer than usual ground left two horses dead and the winning animal too exhausted to be ridden into the winner’s enclosure. The annual controversy over the dangers of the meeting intensified further after a jockey riding in the Maghull Novices’ Chase – a race that did not feature the National fences – was put in a medically-induced coma after sustaining head injuries when his horse fell at the first fence earlier on Saturday. The National, run over ground officially described as “good, good-to-soft in places”, was won by Ballabriggs in nine minutes and one second, making it the second fastest ever. The speed at which the horses travelled increased the likelihood of injuries. Only 19 of the 40 horses that started the race finished it. Ten fell; five were pulled up; four unseated their riders; and two were brought down by other fallers. The two horses that died fell during the first circuit of the four-and-a-half-mile race. Ornais tumbled at the fourth fence, breaking its neck, while Dooneys Gate fell at the sixth, Becher’s Brook, breaking its back. Their falls led to both fences being bypassed in the second circuit, the first time such action has been taken in the history of the Grand National. The race also appeared to have taken a heavy toll on Ballabriggs, which was given oxygen and doused with water to cool it down. Its rider, Jason Maguire, had to dismount and enter the winner’s enclosure on foot. Three of the first four horses to finish were too exhausted to enter the winners’ enclosure and went directly to their stables. The protest group Animal Aid, which pointed out that 20 horses have died on the Grand National course since 2000, called for the event to be banned, saying it “should have no future in a civilised country”. Its director, Andrew Tyler, said: “When horses are killed at the Grand National meeting, their deaths are not accidents but entirely predictable. The public has been conned into believing that the Grand National is a great sporting spectacle when, in reality, it is straightforward animal abuse that is on a par with Spanish bullfighting.” The League Against Cruel Sports described the race as “ritualised animal cruelty” and accused its sponsor, brewers John Smith’s, of putting “their profits into sponsoring the cruelty”. Tony Moore, chairman of Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe (Faace), said the deaths were “not only sad … [but] inevitable”, adding: “We are going to continue campaigning and raising awareness of this tragedy and perhaps we can make it change, make people think about what they are putting the horses through.” The BBC also came in for criticism for its coverage of the animals’ deaths after its commentator, Mick Fitzgerald, referred to the dead horses as “obstacles”. “[It] deserves special condemnation for all but concealing news of the deaths,” said Tyler. “In fact, one of its commentary team described the dead horses as they lay on the course as ‘obstacles’, which was particularly disgusting and callous.” The corporation defended its coverage, saying it had been aware of the fatalities and had tried to cover them with “as much sensitivity as possible”. A spokeswoman added: “Clare [Balding] was also most sensitive in her reporting of the incidents and even touched on it in her closing links to the programme.” The race’s organisers said they were “desperately sad” over what had happened and promised a thorough review of Saturday’s events. “When a horse gets hurt, everyone is deeply upset,” said Julian Thick, managing director of Aintree racecourse. “Safety is the first priority for the organisers of the Grand National meeting and we will redouble our efforts to make sure that everyone involved in the event – the horses, the jockeys, the spectators – is able to participate in safety and comfort.” The RSPCA confirmed that it would be taking a close look at the race footage to see if anything could have been done to prevent the deaths. “The death of a horse at any race meeting is never justifiable and it is crucial that, wherever possible, steps are taken to reduce the likelihood of such tragedies occurring,” said a spokeswoman. “The Grand National is the most testing of races and due to the number of runners, the distance of the race and the number and variety of obstacles there is a higher risk to horses.” Meanwhile, the jockey who suffered bleeding on the right side of his brain when his horse fell in the Maghull Novices’ Chase on Saturday remained in a stable condition. Peter Toole, 22, was taken to Fazakerley hospital, near Aintree, but was later transferred to the neighbouring Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Trainer Charlie Mann, to whom Toole is attached, said: “He’s in an induced coma and he won’t be brought out until Monday at the earliest. He has bleeding on the right-hand side of his brain. “He also dislocated a shoulder, which has been put back in place. He’s on a ventilator, and it’s not great – but we won’t know any more until Monday.”His weighing-room colleague David Crosse added: “I’ve spoken to Peter’s dad, who said he remains stable, but with no improvement. He’s going to be sedated for 24 hours.” Grand National Horse racing Grand National 2011 Animal welfare Animals BBC Sam Jones guardian.co.uk
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Asif Ali Zardari criticises members of US Congress and US media in Guardian interview The war in Afghanistan is destabilising Pakistan and seriously undermining efforts to restore its democratic institutions and economic prosperity after a decade of military dictatorship, Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, has told the Guardian. Speaking during an exclusive interview in the imposing presidential residence in Islamabad, Zardari also pointed to widespread concern in Pakistan at the slow pace of efforts to end the Afghan conflict, and said some US politicians showed limited understanding of the impact of American policies. “Just as the Mexican drug war on US borders makes a difference to Texas and American society, we are talking about a war on our border which is obviously having a huge effect. Only today a suicide bomber has attacked a police compound in Baluchistan. I think it [the Afghan war] has an effect on the entire region, and specially our country,” Zardari said. Asked about harsh criticism of Pakistan’s co-operation in the “war on terror” published in a White House report last week, Zardari said Pakistan always listened to Washington’s views. But he suggested some members of Congress and the US media did not know what they were talking about when it came to Pakistan. “The United States has been an ally of Pakistan for the last 60 years. We respect and appreciate their political system. So every time a new parliament comes in, new boys come in, new representatives come in, it takes them time to understand the international situation. Not Obama, but the Congress, interest groups and the media get affected by ‘deadline-itis’ [over ending the Afghan war],” Zardari said. “I think it is maybe 12 years since America has become engaged in Afghanistan and obviously everybody’s patience is on edge, especially the American public, which is looking for answers. There are no short-term answers and it is very difficult to make the American taxpayer understand.” With less than three months left before Barack Obama has promised to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, the White House recriminations reflected the growing pressures on all three governments to agree a workable, long-term strategy. The report complained bitterly that after years of US funding of the Pakistani military, “there remains no clear path towards defeating the insurgency” inside Pakistan. It criticised as ineffectual Pakistani army operations in some areas of the western tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, which are believed to be used as safe havens by Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida elements. A congressional panel also weighed in this week, urging the Obama administration to abandon Pakistan in favour of India. “Pakistan is about to go broke or collapse,” said Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat. Zardari suggested that if that assertion were true, the interventionist policies of the US and other foreign governments in south Asia would be a significant contributory factor. Pakistan had been in a state of “security alert” for several decades, he said. “Our emphasis has been on security rather than our commerce and we need commerce for our survival. “We have all the gas in the world waiting to go through to markets in India and the Red Sea but it cannot be brought in until Afghanistan is settled. So Afghanistan is a growth issue for us. I think most of the time, the quantification of the effect of the war is not calculated [by the US]. “Prices are going up, obviously we are a high fuel-importing country, and fuel prices are going up. Because of the war situation, the industry in one of our provinces has practically closed down … When one whole sector is not working, there is an effect on the other sectors.” According to senior intelligence officials, the “war on terror” has cost the Pakistani economy approximately $68bn (£42bn) since 2001. More than 33,300 Pakistani civilians and military personnel have been killed or seriously injured. Last year’s record-breaking floods added to the strain on the economy. Zardari said the security situation was also undercutting efforts to strengthen democratic institutions bypassed or overturned during the military rule of his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf. “Democracy is evolving. It’s a new democracy. It takes time to bring institutions back. Destroying institutions during a decade of dictatorial regime is easy … So there is a political impact as well as an economic impact.” Pakistani officials say relations with the US reached a “low ebb” following the recent row over Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis ; a CIA drone attack in Pakistan’s tribal areas last month that accidentally killed dozens of civilian elders meeting in a jirga (council), and Pakistan’s suspicions that it is being excluded from discussions about an Afghan peace deal. Zardari, who is expected to visit Washington next month, said he would ask Obama to share drone technology with Pakistan so future attacks could be planned and directed under a “Pakistani flag”. Although this request had been turned down in the past, he said he was hopeful the Americans would be more receptive this time, given the huge anger and rising anti-American feeling that the drone attacks were causing. Zardari and other senior government officials said all parties felt a sense of growing urgency about forging an inclusive peace settlement in Afghanistan, but the process must be “Afghan-led”. Pakistan was ready to play its part, consistent with its national interest, they said. Salman Bashir, Pakistan’s foreign secretary, said: “Everybody is gradually coming round to our point of view that this requires greater diplomatic pressure. There is no military solution in Afghanistan.” Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari Afghanistan United States Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Cantor admits Social Security and Medicare ‘aren’t going to be there’ when he retires
April 10, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media It may just be wishful thinking. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) admitted Sunday that he didn’t expect Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare to be around when he retires. “What we [House Republicans] have said is this: We’ll protect today’s seniors and those nearing retirement, but for the rest of us, all of us, who are 54 and younger, I know the programs are not going to be there for me when I retire,” Cantor told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “They can’t,” he added. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveiled last week the Republican plan to cut $6 trillion from federal spending over ten years, including deep cuts to entitlements. Medicaid alone would be cut by $760 billion. “The Medicaid reductions are off the baseline,” Cantor explained. “So what we’re saying is allow states to have the flexibility to deal with their populations, their indigent populations and the health care needs the way they know how to deal with them.” “But you are giving them less money to do it,” Wallace noted. “In terms of the baseline, that is correct,” Cantor admitted. “We believe that if you put in place the mechanisms that allow for personal choice as far as Medicare is concerned, as well as the programs in Medicaid, that we can actually get to a better resolve and do what most Americans are learning how to do, which is to do more with less.” A recent NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll found that 76 percent of Americans consider it unacceptable to cut Medicare, while 67 oppose cutting Medicaid, despite their deficit concerns. Cantor also told NPR last week that it simply wasn’t possible for America’s most beloved entitlement programs to survive. “We’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that these programs cannot exist if we want America to be what we want America to be,” he said. “Eric Cantor’s statement underscores that, now, [Republicans] are willing to turn on seniors by taking away the very bedrock of their financial and health security,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s (D-IL) said during at Thursday conference call. “With all due respect, what the Congresswoman is saying is simply untrue — Eric has made clear for months that he is committed to ensuring the long-term viability of these programs by addressing their solvency issues now,” Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring told Raw Story .
Continue reading …Welcome to a new NB feature, in which we'll highlight politically and rhetorically extreme posts of
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