Another Day, Another Front-Page Expose of a Tea Party Group From the NY Times
March 31, 2011 No CommentThursday’s front-page story by New York Times investigative reporter Mike McIntire, “ Odd Alliance: Business Lobby And Tea Party .” accused a Tea Party group, the Institute for Liberty, of pushing the agenda of Asia Pulp & Paper, an Indonesian corporation fighting U.S. tariffs. Whatever the merits of this particular complaint, this sort of prominently placed, hostile investigation of a conservative-friendly group is a specialty of McIntire’s. In a front-page article from September 2010 he went after the group Americans for Job Security, one of a flurry of McIntire exposes on the eve of the 2010 Congressional election cycle on groups with Tea Party ties. His colleague Michael Luo went further, writing stories about “anonymous donors” trying to help Republicans “buy an election” and hinting the I RS and the Federal Election Commission should take a look at some of the Republican-friendly groups. By contrast, similar stories on Democratic groups were sporadic and belated. McIntire’s latest story was accompanied by a fanciful flow chart showing the alleged close links between the Institute for Liberty, Frontiers of Freedom, and various other free-market lobbying firms and activist groups, headlined, “A Hidden Lobby For Indonesian Paper?” In Times land, there are no coincidences and everything is connected, at least when it comes to conservative activism. The Tea Party does not have a presence in Indonesia, where the term evokes cups of orange pekoe and sweet cakes rather than angry citizens in “Don’t Tread on Me” T-shirts. But a Tea Party group in the United States, the Institute for Liberty, has vigorously defended the freedom of a giant Indonesian paper company to sell its wares to Americans without paying tariffs. The institute set up Web sites, published reports and organized a petition drive attacking American businesses, unions and environmentalists critical of the company, Asia Pulp & Paper. Last fall, the institute’s president, Andrew Langer, had himself videotaped on Long Wharf in Boston holding a copy of the Declaration of Independence as he compared Washington’s proposed tariff on paper from Indonesia and China to Britain’s colonial trade policies in 1776. Tariff-free Asian paper may seem an unlikely cause for a nonprofit Tea Party group. But it is in keeping with a succession of pro-business campaigns — promoting commercial space flight, palm oil imports and genetically modified alfalfa — that have occupied the Institute for Liberty’s recent agenda. McIntire at least suggested the Tea Party itself is an ideologically principled movement, while possibly overstating things: The Tea Party movement is as deeply skeptical of big business as it is of big government. Yet an examination of the Institute for Liberty shows how Washington’s influence industry has adapted itself to the Tea Party era. In a quietly arranged marriage of seemingly disparate interests, the institute and kindred groups are increasingly the bearers of corporate messages wrapped in populist Tea Party themes. In a few instances, their corporate partners are known — as with the billionaire Koch brothers’ support of Americans for Prosperity, one of the most visible advocacy groups. More often, though, their nonprofit tax status means they do not have to reveal who pays the bills. Donor secrecy is not limited to right-wing groups, of course. McIntire later engaged in unfriendly labeling of free-market groups: [Langer] said he had sometimes chosen issues suggested by colleagues from an earlier job, at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market group heavily financed by business interests . The two institutes are involved in a campaign advocating a realignment of NASA’s budget that would benefit commercial spaceflight entrepreneurs. The Institute of Liberty’s contribution was a Web page called “No Space Pork!”
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Heather Ilott went to appeal court after mother bequeathed £460,000 to animal charities – leaving her with nothing A woman has succeeded in overturning her mother’s will leaving everything to animal charities, after the appeal court ruled it was unreasonable to have made no provision for her. Representatives of the charities warned the ruling could open the floodgates to challenges from aggrieved relatives over bequests. Melita Jackson died in 2004, aged 70, leaving nothing to her daughter, Heather Ilott, and an estate worth £486,000 to the Blue Cross, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the RSPCA. The court heard that when she made the will in 2002, she also left a letter explaining that they had been estranged since her daughter eloped at the age of 17, and the rift had never been healed in her lifetime. Ilott, who has five children, lives in what was described in court as “modest circumstances”, largely on benefits in a housing association home in Great Munden, near Ware in Hertfordshire. She first challenged her mother’s will in the district court, asking for “reasonable provision”, and was awarded £50,000 from the estate. She then asked the high court to increase the sum, but a cross appeal by the charities succeeded, leaving her with nothing. Now three appeal judges, headed by Sir Nicholas Wall, president of the family division, have overturned that verdict, and ruled that the original district court conclusion was correct. They directed that her appeal over the amount of money coming to her should be heard by the high court – but also warned both sides to consider whether further costly legal action was in anybody’s interests. Lady Justice Arden said it was clear that the law intended that an adult child should be able to make a claim, “even if it was possible for him or her to subsist without making a claim on the estate”. Lawyers for the animal charities argued that Ilott and her husband had made “lifestyle choices” that left them short of money, and that since she had lived completely independently of her mother for 26 years, she could not now expect maintenance. Solicitor James Aspden, representing the three charities, called the ruling hugely disappointing. “The court of appeal has reinterpreted 30 years of law and left in its place a lack of clear guidance, which creates further uncertainty about a person’s right to leave money to people or organisations of their choice,” he said. Kim Hamilton, chief executive of the Blue Cross, said it relied on legacies to care for thousands of animals in need. “We are therefore deeply concerned about the impact of this judgment on our future income as it opens the floodgates to legal challenges from any aggrieved relative who, for whatever reason, has been left out of someone’s will.” Family law Animal welfare Charities Animals Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
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Data from Europe’s gravity-mapping satellite Goce is being used to investigate the geological processes that cause earthquakes A European spacecraft that skims the upper reaches of the atmosphere has mapped Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision. The map shows how the pull of gravity varies minutely over the surface of the Earth, from deep ocean trenches to majestic mountain ranges. The measurements have allowed scientists to create a computer model called a geoid that reveals what Earth would look like if its shape were altered to make gravity equal at every point on the surface. Researchers unveiled the latest data from the European Space Agency ‘s Gravity and Ocean Circulation Explorer, or Goce , at a workshop in Munich on Thursday . The map shows areas of strongest gravity in yellow and weakest in blue. Data from the five-metre-long spacecraft will be crucial for understanding sea level changes, shifts in ice flows and how ocean currents – which are driven by gravity – respond as the planet warms over the next few decades. The spacecraft circles the Earth at an altitude of 150 miles (250km) and uses an ion rocket to prevent it losing height as it flies through wisps of atmosphere. Described by project manager Andrea Allasio as “the Ferrari of space probes”, Goce maps Earth’s gravitational field by recording its exact position with GPS and detecting variations in the pull of gravity accurate to one part in ten million million. Earth’s gravity is subtly influenced by all manner of changes in the structure and topography of the Earth. The planet is not a perfect sphere, instead bulging around the equator, making gravity weaker there than at the poles. Gas fields, mineral deposits, aquifers and rock formations also affect the pull of gravity. Information from Goce is already being analysed to get a deeper understanding of the geological processes that cause earthquakes. The recent quake that brought devastation to Japan was triggered by the sudden movement of tectonic plates beneath the ocean. These dramatic movements in rock leave signatures in gravity data that could provide fresh insights into how they occur. The satellite was launched in March 2009 and has now collected more than a year’s worth of gravity data. The probe has enough fuel to fly until the end of 2012, a doubling of its intended mission life. “At its early conception, Goce was more like science fiction. Goce has now clearly demonstrated that it is a state-of-the-art mission,” said Volker Liebig, director of Esa’s Earth Observation Programmes. Geology Satellites European Space Agency Space Space technology Climate change Climate change Natural disasters and extreme weather Ian Sample guardian.co.uk
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Detectives question intended target of gang hit as five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran remains in critical condition Police hope the intended target of a gang hit could lead them to the teenage gunman whose botched assassination attempt led him to fire into a shop, critically wounding a five-year-old girl. Thusha Kamaleswaran was critical but stable in hospital after a bullet struck her in the chest as she visited relatives who ran the Stockwell Food and Wine shop in Lambeth, south London. Even in a borough that has suffered a high degree of teenage gang related violence, the gunning down of an innocent child has caused great shock. A reward of £50,000 has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those behind the shooting. It happened after three youths on bicycles chased two others, who fled into the shop. Shots were then fired, injuring the girl and a 35-year-old man, Roshan Selvakumar, who was shot in the face. He is recovering in hospital. One of the two youths believed to be the intended target of the teenagers on bicycles has now contacted police. A police source said: “He’s probably realised he’ll be safer with us.” Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton, leading the inquiry, said: “One of the youths who first ran into the shop has come forward and is assisting us with our inquiries. We are still trying to trace the other individual and appeal to him to come forward.” The youths behind the shooting are believed to have continued cycling around the area for up to 45 minutes after gunning down the innocent pair. Thusha was visiting relatives at the shop along with her mother, sister, three, and brother, 12, who were unhurt. Detectives are studying CCTV from neighbouring shops and streets to build up a picture of what happened before, during and after the shooting. In a statement, police said: “One of these youths had been chased from Broomgrove Road, across Stockwell Road, and into the shop by three other males, described as black youths, on bicycles. Once the youths on bikes were outside the shop, one of them fired shots into the shop front.” The shootings are being investigated by the Metropolitan police’s Trident unit, which specialises in tackling gun crime, particularly in London’s African-Caribbean communities. Claudia Webbe, chair of Trident independent advisory group, said: “Although incidents like this are isolated, they have a huge impact locally. This is a societal problem; once the bullet has been fired, it affects us all. The whole community is united in bringing these violent and cowardly criminals to justice.” Gail Brannan, headteacher of Fairlop primary school in Ilford, which the injured child attended, said: “Thusha is a cheerful girl who loves school and involves herself happily in everything. Our thoughts are with her and her family and we hope that she makes a full recovery soon.” Gun crime Crime London Gangs Communities Young people Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
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Chancellor under pressure from cabinet to abandon plans to impose a £2bn levy on the region’s oil and gas companies George Osborne, the chancellor, is under pressure from within his cabinet to back down on his unexpected plans to impose a £2bn windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas companies. Fellow ministers are frustrated that they were given no long-term warning by the Treasury of the plan in advance of the budget and that the oil companies were given no chance to be consulted. It is also being argued that the sudden change in the tax regime ran counter to a series of pledges Osborne gave to the North Sea oil industry in opposition. He told the Aberdeen Press and Journal in 2009 that one of his earliest budget commitments would be to set up a parliament-long stable tax regime for the oil industry. The Treasury minister Justine Greening went to a bruising meeting with oil companies attended by other government ministers in which she was told that the industry has lost trust in government promises to maintain a stable tax regime in the North Sea. One witness said she was “grilled alive”. At a meeting described as cold and pointed, attended by the Scottish secretary, Michael Moore, and the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, she was told she had put 40,000 jobs at risk. Greening was told by oil companies including Total and Shell that Statoil was suspending a $10bn (£6.2bn) project at the Bressay and Mariner oil fields – two of the most valuable deposits left in the North Sea – to review whether the investment is still worthwhile. The oil companies said they were responsible for a quarter of private sector capital investment in the UK, and were quite prepared to pull the plug on a large part of this investment unless the tax regime were changed. They pointed out that as reserves are slowly depleted, companies need better incentives to pump the remaining, harder-to-reach resources. There were also claims that senior cabinet ministers with a direct involvement in the industry were not informed more than 48 hours before the budget of the plan to make the tax raid on the profits of the oil industry. Late representations were made in an attempt to introduce some flexibility based on the price of oil, and ministers opposed to the rise are urging the Treasury to raise the price at which the higher tax kicks in. Supporters of the chancellor claim the principles were discussed between the Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, Osborne and David Cameron. Last Wednesday’s budget increased by 12 percentage points the tax levied on North Sea companies, on top of corporation tax, in order to raise £2bn a year to pay for a 1p reduction in the duty on petrol and diesel and scrap a further 5p increase due under plans agreed by the last government. The oil and gas industry’s tax bill for the next financial year is expected to be £13.4bn, compared with £8.8bn this year. In a sign of the problems developing over the issue, Alexander who represents a Scottish constituency, denied the tax raid had been his idea. “We don’t expect this tax change to have a significant effect on production and investment and therefore on jobs in the coming years,” he said. The Scottish National party has already described the oil grab as Alexander’s political epitaph, but what will worry him more is the lack of support from key cabinet allies and normally loyal Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs, such as Malcolm Bruce. Bruce accused Alexander of being “economically illiterate for coming up with a “populist move” that could kill off investment in the North Sea. George Osborne Tax and spending Oil and gas companies Energy industry Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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Laurent Gbagbo faces bloody overthrow as he loses general and rebels advance on main city of Abidjan Ivory Coast’s president, Laurent Gbagbo, is facing a bloody deposition after his top general deserted and rebel forces advanced into Abidjan, his seat of power. Heavy weapons and machine-gun fire were heard in the centre of Ivory Coast’s main city. And French troops were deployed as the four-month political crisis appeared to near its endgame. Ivorian sources in South Africa said they heard rumours that Gbagbo could be about to step down, possibly turning to South Africa for a diplomatic channel to end his 10-year rule. Officials in Pretoria denied there had been any approach. The speculation was begun by the abrupt departure of Phillippe Mangou, Gbagbo’s army chief of staff, to take refuge with his wife and five children at the South African ambassador’s residence in Abidjan. “We’ve seen a regime collapse,” said one western diplomat, who could hear gunfire and explosions from his residence. “The army is no longer an effective body. It has defected and deserted, and has no leadership now the general has gone into hiding. It lacks any command and control.” He added: “There’s very little to keep Gbagbo in power and he must know it. I just hope he’s not one of those men who fight to the death, because it will be a bloodbath.” Rebels fighting to install Alassane Ouattara as president have swept hundreds of miles over three days. On Wednesday they took the official capital, Yamoussoukro, doing a victory lap in vehicles as people cheered and clapped, and the seaport, San Pedro. But aid workers estimated that the casualties ran into thousands. Ouattara is the internationally recognised winner of last November’s election. He said the rebels will “re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people”. There were reports of Gbagbo’s troops downing weapons and uniforms, and in some cases going to join Ouattara at the UN-protected Golf hotel. Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, told French radio that a government of national unity was still possible if Gbagbo stepped aside in the “coming hours”, but otherwise it would be “winner takes it all”. Officially there was defiance from Gbagbo, a Sorbonne-educated professor who in 2004 defended his inability to control rioting mobs by asking: “When the French were looking for Louis XVI to cut his head off, would it have been fair to ask him if he controlled the streets?” Members of his guard deployed near the presidential palace in the Plateau area. Analysts believe a core of 2,500 troops might be willing to fight to the end. A Gbagbo adviser, Toussaint Alain, suggested the president was prepared to make a last stand. “He will not resign in the wake of this attack,” he told the Associated Press. “He is not going to abdicate. He is not going to lay down his arms. “He will stay in power to lead the resistance to this attack against Ivory Coast organised by France, the United States and the United Nations.” Abidjan was a war zone yesterday. The streets were deserted. Foreign nationals had been advised to stock up with five days of food and water. Salvatore Sagues, of Amnesty International, warned: “Abidjan is on the brink of a human rights catastrophe and total chaos. Cote d’Ivoire is facing a major humanitarian crisis. The international community must take immediate steps to protect civilians.” Jacques Seurt, of the International Organisation for Migration in Ivory Coast, said: “You can’t go out in Abidjan. We can hear shooting outside, close to a big military camp and the state TV station. It’s not safe in this part of the city. “We are a little bit nervous. There is no way to get out to reach a safe haven. It’s too dangerous, too exposed. I think the Forces Nouvelles [pro-Ouattara rebels] are coming into Abidjan. After the capture of the town, I’m afraid there will be a lot of looting.” Reuters reported that soldiers from the 1,000-strong French Licorne force in Ivory Coast had been deployed in the south of the city. A western military source said others were sent to rescue some French nationals attacked in the Deux Plateaux neighbourhood by youth supporters of Gbagbo. Rebels in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said. The rebels also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports Gbagbo, according to witnesses. Advancing on foot, the rebels set up roadblocks on one of Yopougon’s main thoroughfares and battled with police, a resident told the AP. Across town in the predominantly pro-Ouattara Adjame district, several residents reported firing by pro-Gbagbo militiamen. A close aide to Ouattara said of the rebels: “They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions.” Overnight, the rebels also took Gbagbo’s home town, the village of Mama, where the former president had a villa, the aide told the Associated Press. “The rebels slept in Gbagbo’s bed,” he added. At least 462 people have died and up to one million have fled their homes. The true figure is likely to be much higher. Pierre Kraehenbuehl, of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told a press conference in Geneva: “Casualty numbers, killed and injured, is running into the thousands. That is our indication. “The country is now in the throes of a full-fledged internal armed conflict.” The rebels have controlled northern Ivory Coast since the 2002-03 civil war effectively split the country in two. Ivory Coast France United States United Nations David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Is Trump just trying to make the rest of the Republican field look sane and intelligent?
March 31, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media It’s obvious that Donald Trump’s recent bout of Birtherism is primarily about garnering Trump some free pub — but considering how readily they’re airing it at Fox News, it’s starting to look like a combination of Swift Boat/Clinton-scandals type of Republican tactics, where just having the smears “out there” helps keep their targets’ negatives high. It’s also obvious, after Trump’s appearance last night on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show, that he really isn’t a serious candidate. Instead, Trump is being a stalking horse who can make the rest of the Republican field look sane and serious by comparison. Consider this exchange : O’REILLY: Now, when you were on “The View” and they didn’t walk out, which they should have because they walked out on me and they should have stayed. You were way, way worse than I was on “The View.” You were hammering the birth certificate. Now, we very early on did an investigation about Barack Obama’s birth certificate. What “The Factor” found out was there were two announcements the week he was born in both Honolulu newspapers saying that he was born, OK. That is impossible — that is impossible to make happen if he had not been born in the hospital. So therefore, I just put it to bed. I said he was born in Honolulu. The two newspapers documented it. His mother was a hippy. His father was a guy from Kenya who split. There couldn’t have been a sophisticated — what is he, Baby Jesus? — there was a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle this baby back into the country? So I just dismissed it. But you made a big deal of it. TRUMP: Bill, I grew up with Wall Street geniuses. What they do in terms of fraud and how they change documents and I will tell you something. If you notice those dates were three days later. Here is what I ask people. Who puts announcements? Here are two poor people, a man and a woman with no money, they have a baby. There’s announcements in the newspaper? O’REILLY: The grandparents did it. TRUMP: Excuse me. The grandparents. Nelson Rockefeller doesn’t put announcements. O’REILLY: Sure, there are birth announcements all the time. TRUMP: I have never seen one. O’REILLY: Really? They are common. TRUMP: I’ve never seen one. O’REILLY: But why is this important to you? TRUMP: Because if you are going to be president of the United States you have to be born in this country. And there is a doubt as to whether or not he was born… O’REILLY: Oh come on. Do you really feel this about him? TRUMP: You know, I started off by saying — and I always do and I did on the “The View.” I’m a very smart guy. I went to the best college. I had good marks. I was a very smart guy, good student and all that stuff. Because what they do to the birthers, which is a term I hate because a lot of these birthers are just really quality people that just want the truth. What they do to the birthers is unbelievable to a point where people are afraid to talk about this subject. They are afraid to confront you or anybody about this subject. O’REILLY: Do you think it’s an important subject? TRUMP: Listen, I have a birth certificate. I have my birth certificate. And in fact, they said the one I gave yesterday wasn’t good enough. So I actually got the one from the Health Department, which is the perfect one. Because they were saying the one I gave yesterday wasn’t good enough, so I got the other. People have birth certificates. He doesn’t have a birth certificate. He may have one but there’s something on that, maybe religion, maybe it says he is a Muslim. I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want that. Or he may not have one. But I will tell you this. If he wasn’t born in this country, it’s one of the great scams of all time. O’REILLY: Absolutely. But I don’t think that’s the case. TRUMP: You don’t, but I’m starting to think. O’REILLY: I don’t think you believe that either. I think it’s provocative, you get a lot of attention raising the question. But I don’t think you believe it either. TRUMP: Two weeks ago I felt like probably he was born in the country. Today it’s possibly. I’m telling you it’s changed. I have seen too many things. The business with the newspaper birth announcement really reveals just how deliberately obtuse Trump is being. As we noted already : This isn’t an advertisement — rather, this is a standard newspaper birth announcement. You see, in the old days, before large corporations took over newspapers and forced them to gradually eviscerate their newsgathering functions, newspapers sent out their cops-and-courts reporters about once a week to collect all the previous week’s birth listings from local hospitals. (This practice has long since fallen by numerous newsroom-budget-cutting waysides.) In other words, the Advertiser announcement was collected by the paper itself and stands as independent corroboration that Obama was born in a Honolulu hospital. The fact that Trump doesn’t know of anyone who has their birth listed in the paper by anything other than an ad indicates how out of touch this rich man really is. O’Reilly knows this and pointed it out to Trump. Did this have any effect on the man whatsoever? None! He just kept rambling and ranting. The fact that Trump is so adamant about embracing something so thoroughly proven to be false tells you plenty about the American Right — because he has so many other right-wingers (see, e.g., Sean Hannity ) playing along as though he were making Birtherism credible. These people don’t really believe in it, but they see all kinds of tactical advantages in having someone out there flinging this poo on Obama’s wall. Why not the helmet-hair guy who’s not really running?
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Arrest of man in Wales follows swoop near London 2012 site on dog handler understood to work for G4S security A second person has been arrested in connection with police inquiries into an Olympic Stadium security guard who was caught with small quantities of explosives, it has emerged. A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing an explosive substance at his home in Wales on Wednesday, Scotland Yard confirmed. The man was arrested a day after a 40-year-old female dog handler was arrested near the Olympic site after being found in possession of an explosive substance and a class A drug. Both are believed to be employees of Olympic security firm G4S, but police emphasised that the arrests were not being treated as terror-related. In a statement released on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan police said the incident “did not represent a threat to the safety and security of the Olympic site”. The woman, arrested in a nearby car park on the day organisers were inside the stadium with International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspectors to celebrate its completion, has been bailed until mid-April. Another car was subsequently stopped and searched by police on the M11, and further searches carried out at addresses in London and Kent, but no substances were found. The man arrested in Wales on Wednesday was being questioned at an east London police station. G4S has been guarding the Olympic Park during its construction phase since 2008. Earlier this month it was selected to provide 10,000 security guards during the Games themselves. The arrests are also embarrassing for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in the week that IOC inspectors are in the capital to check on progress. Next week, the entire Olympic family descends on the city for the SportAccord conference. An Olympic Delivery Authority spokesman said: “There are robust measures to ensure the safety and security of the Olympic Park. We are working with the police in their investigation. At no point has the safety and security of the Olympic Park been put at risk.” G4S said in a statement: “Our canine services team is licensed to hold small samples of explosives for training purposes and have to undertake rigorous training and follow strict operational processes. It added: “Our ODA canine services teams are highly effective because the dogs are able to train regularly using ‘live’ aids. All dog handlers are fully vetted and operate to the highest industry standards. G4S take breaches of operational processes very seriously and are assisting the police with their inquiries.” Olympic Games 2012 London Crime Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
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Country closing gap with China by adding 181 million citizens in past decade – which is equivalent to population of Brazil The first results from India’s latest census – the second biggest in the world – were released on Thursday, revealing that the country has added 181 million new citizens in the last decade, making it home to 17% of the world’s population. China remains the most populous country on the planet, with 1.34 billion, but India is closing the gap with 1.21 billion. The additional Indians found by the census are roughly equivalent to the population of Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. One Indian state alone – Uttar Pradesh – now has a population of 199,500,000 people, just under that of Britain, France and Germany combined. However C Chandramouli, the census commissioner, told reporters in Delhi that the new count showed population growth in India had slowed. The 17.6% increase was down from 21.5% recorded in 2001. Though Indian economists and politicians talk frequently of the “demographic dividend” from the hundreds of millions of young people in their country, there is fear that overpopulation is placing a huge strain on poor social services and infrastructure. The first modern census in India was conducted under British rule in 1872. Since then, Indian census officials have gone forth more or less every decade and counted how their countrymen have multiplied. The most recent exercise involved 2.3 million “enumerators” travelling to more than 630,000 villages and more than 5,000 cities, logging how many people live in any one place, establishing identities and ages, and noting details such as whether a household has air conditioning, a car, a computer, phones and internet access, as well as basics such as water and power. The controversial question of caste, the ancient hierarchy rooted in the Hindu religion which permeates all parts of Indian society, has been left to a separate census. Care was taken to include the homeless, with enumerators, who are often schoolteachers, scouring streets and railway stations to arrive at an accurate count. The Indian media made much of the inclusion of even Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national who is the only surviving member of the group of terrorists who launched the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and who is on death row. Though there is good news – a rise in literacy of nine points to 74% for Indians aged seven and older – there is also bad news. The figures indicate a continuing preference for male children over females in a country where female infanticide is still common and the government has been forced to ban doctors from revealing the sex of unborn children. This is particularly marked in the north, even in more prosperous states such as Haryana. Some experts attribute this to the availability of new, cheap ultrasound scans which allow parents to easily determine the gender of child, others to families deciding to have fewer children and wanting to ensure a son. The breakdown showed 914 girls being born or surviving for every 1,000 boys under the age of six, compared with 927 for every 1,000 in the last census. “This is a matter of grave concern,” said Chandramouli. Efforts to stop female infanticide and foeticide have largely failed. “Whatever measures that have been put in over the last 40 years has not had any impact on child sex ratio and therefore that requires a complete review,” G.K. Pillai, India’s Home Secretary, told reporters. The overall gender ratio showed a marginal improvement, with 940 women counted for every 1,000 men, compared with 933 in the last census. The southern state of Kerala, which has long enjoyed high literacy rates for men and women, had the healthiest sex ratio in the country, the census has found. One of the most difficult facts to establish has been age of Indians, officials involved with the count told the Guardian. Few among the poor know their date of birth, which nonetheless has to be established so that they can all be issued with the biometric identity card which is a key part of new government programmes to broaden and improve access to India’s vast but inefficient welfare schemes. To help find ages, the enumerators were given a “local event calendar” listing significant dates which respondents would remember. The calendar in use around Delhi – every region has its own – starts in 1905 and includes India’s independence in 1947, the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Mother Teresa’s death in 1997. There is also the Indian victory over the West Indies to win the 1983 cricket World Cup. India Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
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enlarge Oh goody : President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, within the last two or three weeks, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with the matter. Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment. News that Obama had given the authorization surfaced as the President and other U.S. and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Gaddafi’s opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces. Here’s how I predict this will play out: We spend a crap-load of money maintaining air strikes and funneling all kinds of weapons to the Libyan rebels. They eventually topple Gaddafi. A great day for freedom! John McCain will send out a Twee t telling us he’s having dinner with the very interesting rebels at their ranch. The good news: If we give them more arms, they’ll embrace freedom! It then turns out that the Libyan rebels we armed have ties to terrorist organizations. Libya becomes a safe haven where al-Qaeda can plan attacks on the United States. We get hit with another terrorist attack and then go re-invade Libya. No one in the media will bother to point out that we put these guys in power in the first place. Instead, the Republican or Democrat who’s heading the State Department at the time will tell us that “nobody could have predicted” Libya would become a safe haven for terrorism. And finally, we’ll make the war deficit-neutral by laying off a bunch of teachers. This sort of thing seems to happen quite frequently. So frequently, in fact, that even some of the dim bulbs in Congress are starting to take notice : Members of Congress have expressed anxiety about U.S. government activates in Libya. Some have recalled that weapons provided by the U.S. and Saudis to mujahedeen fighting Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s later ended up in the hands of anti-American militants. There are fears that the same thing could happen in Libya unless the U.S. is sure who it is dealing with. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, said on Wednesday he opposed supplying arms to the Libyan rebels fighting Gaddafi “at this time.” “We need to understand more about the opposition before I would support passing out guns and advanced weapons to them,” Rogers said in a statement. If the past is any guide, Rogers will soon forget all about this and give Obama and the CIA a blank check to do whatever they want. We aren’t a very smart country. It’s amazing we’ve survived as long as we have. UPDATE : Oh this just gets better and better : The new leader of Libya’s opposition military spent the past two decades in suburban Virginia but felt compelled — even in his late-60s — to return to the battlefield in his homeland, according to people who know him. Khalifa Hifter was once a top military officer for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but after a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s, Hifter switched to the anti-Gadhafi opposition. In the early 1990s, he moved to suburban Virginia, where he established a life but maintained ties to anti-Gadhafi groups. The good news is that “Hifter” sounds an awful lot like “Hitler.” It shouldn’t be too hard to make him out to be the greatest most evilest ever threat to world peace when we re-invade Libya ten years from now.
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