Anderson Cooper Leads Show Scrutinizing Bachmann on Gay Rights While Voters Are Overwhelmingly Concerned About Economy
August 16, 2011 No Comment
CNN's own poll recently showed that voters 60-to-one believe the economy is the most pressing issue facing the United States, as opposed to policies toward gays and lesbians. CNN's Anderson Cooper apparently thought the views of Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann toward gays and lesbians important enough to merit the lead segment on his Monday show. “We begin tonight 'Keeping Them Honest' with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her sudden silence on a topic she was once anything-but-silent about,” Cooper began his show. His critical segment accused the Minnesota congresswoman of “judging” gays and lesbians and highlighted her sudden silence on gay rights, an issue she had been quite outspoken over. [Video below the break.] A CNN poll from the other week found that voters by a 60-to-one margin believe the economy is the most pressing issue facing the country, as opposed to policies toward gays and lesbians. However, Cooper thought Bachmann's opinions important enough to merit prime-time scrutiny, although his biggest criticism was that the congresswoman is dodging the questions about her views. CNN's scrutiny of Republican candidates' views on gay marriage far outweighs its questioning of Democratic presidential candidates. While Cooper is putting Bachmann in the spotlight, he has failed to do the same with President Obama – whose views on gay marriage are decidedly vague and who has frustrated his progressive base with his wishy-washy stance. Also, a Nexis search shows that Anderson Cooper 360 never substantially covered the gay rights positions of Democratic candidates in 2007 when they aired their views on the gay channel Logo. The show devoted not more than an anchor brief to the interviews. During the Monday segment, the CNN anchor took Bachmann's remarks of the gay lifestyle as “bondage” into question, not realizing the congresswoman was speaking in spiritual terms, not literally. “Claiming that millions of gays and lesbian Americans are living in personal bondage or personal despair, personal enslavement, claiming that the very use of the word gay is satanic, sounds like personal judgment, certainly not a fact,” Cooper asserted. “So apparently Miss Bachmann believes it's both a lifestyle choice and also a sexual identity disorder,” the CNN anchor mused, seemingly taking every opportunity to discredit the congresswoman. “You should know that The American Psychiatric Association does not consider it any kind of disorder or mental illness. Now, Ms. Bachmann is of course, entitled to her opinion and it's an opinion many people this country share,” Cooper added. “But what's interesting is that she is no longer willing it seems to share that opinion of hers publicly.” A transcript of the segment, which aired on August 15 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, is as follows: ANDERSON COOPER, host, Anderson Cooper 360: Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight “Keeping Them Honest” with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her sudden silence on a topic she was once anything-but-silent about. Bachmann obviously won the Iowa straw poll on Saturday. But she also seems to be running from her own past statements about sexual orientation and civil rights, refusing to answer questions about her statements. And yesterday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” also insisting she isn't judging gays and lesbians. Watch. (Video Clip) MICHELE BACHMANN, GOP presidential candidate: Well I am running for the Presidency of the United States. I'm not running to be anyone's judge. I do stand very – DAVID GREGORY, host, NBC's Meet the Press: But you have judged them. BACHMANN: I don't judge them. I don't judge them. I am running for Presidency of the United State [sic]. I am not anyone's judge. And I'm not standing as anyone's judge. GREGORY: Congresswoman, you have – do you think anyone hears that and thinks you haven't made a judgment about gays and lesbians? BACHMANN: That's all I can tell you is I'm not judging. GREGORY: So your words should stand for themselves. BACHMANN: I'm running for the Presidency of the United States. (End Video Clip) COOPER: So she says she's not judging anyone, which as you'll see in a moment is simply not true. But mainly, she is just not answering questions about her views on sexual orientation which is a bit strange, because the congresswoman has never been shy on the issue before. As a state senator, she sponsored an amendment to Minnesota's constitution banning same-sex marriage. She spoke out sharply against homosexuality. She even spoke out about against using the adjective “gay” in connection with same-sex orientation. That's how outspoken she was. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: It's part of Satan, I think, to say it's gay. It's anything but gay. If you're involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. (End Video Clip) COOPER: Claiming that millions of gays and lesbian Americans are living in personal bondage or personal despair, personal enslavement, claiming that the very use of the word gay is satanic, sounds like personal judgment, certainly not a fact. She also refers to the gay and lesbian lifestyle, by which one can only assume she means it's a choice. You know in the very same speech, practically the very same breath, Miss Bachmann went on to describe same-sex attraction as a disorder, a mental illness. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with a very real issue of sexual disfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders. (End Video Clip) COOPER: So apparently Miss Bachmann believes it's both a lifestyle choice and also a sexual identity disorder. You should know that The American Psychiatric Association does not consider it any kind of disorder or mental illness. Now, Ms. Bachmann is of course, entitled to her opinion and it's an opinion many people this country share. But what's interesting is that she is no longer willing it seems to share that opinion of hers publicly. For weeks now she has been deflecting questions about her past statements by calling the question itself irrelevant or frivolous. This is the response she has given when asked about it. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: I am running for the Presidency of the United States. I am not running to be anyone's judge. And I am more than happy to stand for questions on running for Presidency of the United States. You know, all of these kinds of questions really aren't about what people are concerned about right now. I am running to be the President of the United States. I am not running to be any person's judge. Well, I'm running for the Presidency of the United States. And I'm here today to talk about job creation. (End Video Clip) COOPER: She is running for President, which is very possibly the reason why she is not answering this question about her past statements. When asked about those statements by New Hampshire's concord monitor, Congresswoman Bachmann said, quote, “I'm not involved in light, frivolous matters, I'm not involved in fringe or side issues. I'm involved in serious issues”. Yet those light frivolous matters were once serious enough for Ms. Bachmann to advocate changing her state's constitution. By the way, we invited Ms. Bachmann on tonight as we do on many nights, yet again our request for interview was declined and accepted calls went un- answered.
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Researchers estimate that persuading inactive people to take up light, daily exercise could have a similar effect on a population’s mortality rates as a smoking cessation programme Exercising for just 15 minutes a day can increase your life expectancy by three years compared with doing little or no exercise, according to a major study of more than 400,000 people. The benefits of physical activity are well-documented, and the UK government recommends that adults get at least two and half hours of exercise per week. In the latest study, scientists wanted to examine whether smaller amounts of exercise could also confer health benefits. The researchers collected data on how much exercise was undertaken over the course of eight years by more than 400,000 people in Taiwan. By categorising the participants into bands of overall activity ranging from “inactive” to “very high”, they could directly compare health outcomes based on exercise levels. Those who exercised for an average of 92 minutes per week had a 14% overall reduced risk of mortality and a 10% reduced risk of cancer compared with people in the “inactive” group. Every additional 15 minutes of exercise above and beyond the minimum amount further reduced mortality risks by 4% and risks of death from cancers by 1%. “These benefits were applicable to all age groups and both sexes, and to those with cardiovascular disease risks,” wrote the researchers in the Lancet . “Individuals who were inactive had a 17% increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the low-volume group.” Dr Chi-Pang Wen of the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan and Dr Jackson Pui Man Wai of the National Taiwan Sport University, who led the study, said that if inactive individuals in Taiwan were to engage in low-volume daily exercise, “one in six all-cause deaths could be postponed – mortality reductions of similar magnitude have been estimated for a successful tobacco control programme in the general population.” They added: “If the minimum amount of exercise we suggest is adhered to, mortality from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer could be reduced. This low volume of physical activity could play a central part in the global war against non-communicable diseases, reducing medical costs and health disparities.” Professor Neville Owen, head of the behavioural epidemiology laboratory at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne said the findings were “intriguing” but that physical activity for leisure was a rare commodity in many adult populations. In Australia, the USA and Canada, he said, leisure-time physical activity drops off rapidly from early middle age and is simply not on the agenda for a large proportion of the population. “In these chronically inactive populations, much of the problems that we are seeing can be attributed to people being stuck for long periods of time in front of screens for work and entertainment, and stuck in automobiles to get to and from work,” said Owen. “Thus, there is very little functional physical activity in people’s lives, and many adults will sit for 10 or 12 hours a day. The real action is in promoting physically active transport and a range of initiatives that will help people to reduce the vast amounts of time that they spend sitting.” Medical research Health Health & wellbeing Alok Jha guardian.co.uk
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Five sailors thrown from vessel after keel snapped formed circle in rough seas before being rescued The crew of one of the world’s fastest single hull racing yachts linked arms to survive a freak accident during the Fastnet race which left them stranded in surging waves in the Celtic Sea for several hours. Five sailors from the Rambler 100, which was leading the 2011 race off the south coast of Ireland, were thrown from their vessel when its keel snapped off in rough seas and it “turned turtle just like a dinghy capsizing”, according to Mick Harvey, the boat’s project manager. One of the five who was swept away close to the turning point at Fastnet rock was the boat’s owner George David, the 69-year old former chairman of United Technologies Corporation. His girlfriend, Wendy Touton, was part of the same group who went missing, but were later picked up. With some difficulty, the remaining 16 crewmembers managed to clamber onto the upturned hull of the stricken vessel where they awaited rescue for two and a half hours in foggy conditions before dark on Monday evening. “Soon after rounding the Fastnet Rock, the wind went south-west right on the nose,” Harvey said. “We were beating into big seas, launching the Rambler off the top of full size waves. “I was down below with navigator, Peter Isler, when we heard the sickening sound of the keel breaking off. “It was instantaneous – there was no time to react. The boat turned turtle, like a dinghy capsizing. Peter issued a Mayday and we got out as quickly as we could. It was a scary moment, one that I will never forget. I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am that all of the crew are safe.” The boat was a bespoke “super maxi” racing yacht worth between £3m and £4m and had been “going very fast, pushing for the record and crashing through the waves,” Eddie Warden Owen, the chief executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club , which runs the Fastnet race, said. Earl Williams was at the helm of the yacht and told RTE radio how he heard a “big bang” just after rounding Fastnet rock. “I looked up thinking it was something in the masts,” he said. “But the boat was just capsizing. I realised it was the keel as the boat was going over. It started to turn upside down quite quickly and we didn’t have a lot of time. We had people asleep aboard and people down below changing watches. Several of the crew from inside the boat were very lucky to get out in time.” After the keel broke, the five were swept out of sight and linked arms and formed a circle to survive. They were wearing their full red sailing suits and bright yellow inflatable life-vests and were carrying global positioning system devices. Hyperthermia was the greatest risk to their lives, Owen said. The lifeboat from Baltimore picked up the 16 who had scrambled onto the keel of Rambler 100, before a dive boat from another racing outfit, Team Phaedo, which was already in the area to take pictures of its yacht, joined the search for the missing five sailors and located them after picking up a signal from their tracking devices. “We pulled aboard our dive vessel owner George David and his four crew members who had all been strapped together – cold but healthy, happy, safe and well,” said an entry on the Team Phaedo Facebook page . Touton was airlifted by helicopterto Kerry hospital for treatment for hypothermia and was said by Harvey to be “doing fine”. The four others were taken to Baltimore where they were reunited with the rest of the crew. Jerome Kirby described seeing the hull of the boat drifting away from him several hundred yards away. “They didn’t know we were in the water so nobody was looking for us,” he said. “It was mad. We had people below. Luckily everybody had life vests on. If we didn’t have life preservers on, it would have been a disaster. If they hadn’t found us the other five could still be drifting out there.” “We were picked up with really capable people,” said David after the rescue. “It is just amazing. We want to thank everybody … Boats do tip over. We don’t like it and its not a common event but it does happen from time to time.The keel fin has fractured. It has just snapped off. This is a piece of solid stainless steel. It is designed not to do what it did.” Ireland Sailing Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …New President of Current TV Says Network Will ‘Provide a Fair Amount of Time for Liberal Viewpoints’
August 16, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media CNN’s Howard Kurtz talked to one of their former executives, David Bohrman about his move to Current TV to help Keith Olbermann and Al Gore turn the channel into a 24/7 news analysis, discussion television network. Bohrman explained their desire to give viewers a real alternative to Fox News and not what we’ve seen from CNN or MSNBC where it’s fake balance for the sake of balance and some longer discussions than these five or ten minute debate boxes we’re so used to seeing on all the networks. I think it sounds pretty refreshing and am curious to see where they go with this and who else they hire next. Transcript via CNN . KURTZ: David Bohrman has been a fixture at CNN for more than a decade as Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. He’s the guy who helped develop the Magic Wall and other technological gismos, and most famously during the 2008 campaign, the hologram. KURTZ: But soon after resigning from CNN, Bohrman was tapped this week as president of Current TV, the network whose biggest star by far is now Keith Olbermann. What does this mean for the channel co-founded by Al Gore? David Bohrman joins me now here in the studio. Welcome. You know this studio well. BOHRMAN: I do. KURTZ: It’s no secret that Current TV has had trouble getting traction in the ratings, at least until Olbermann was hired, although he’s not putting up huge numbers either. How are you going to change that? BOHRMAN: Well, Current had their fifth anniversary, and they went through two or three identity crises over what they were as a network. It began as a user-generated content network, and in the last couple of years it’s sort of been like a Nat Geo “Frontline” documentary network. Al Gore and Joel Hyatt got the brilliant idea to go and try to hire Keith. They did, and discovered lightning. I mean, the program did great, is being talked about. And all of a sudden, they realized that that was going to be the destiny of what the network is. And they’re going to — KURTZ: How do you build on that, is the question that you’re hired to answer. BOHRMAN: Right. And so they hired me to completely transform the network from a bunch of taped documentaries that have been cycling through the day, to a live news analysis, discussion television network that’s going hopefully 24 hours a day, talking about the events of the day and finding other people with something to say like Keith. KURTZ: But with Olbermann not only as the host of “Countdown,” but the chief news officer of Current, is this going to be an all- liberal network? BOHRMAN: I think it will provide a fair amount of time for liberal viewpoints to be made. It’s not going to be exclusively liberal viewpoints, and we’re going to try not to hide behind the word “progressive,” that I think so many liberals do, and then the people on the right, the conservative world, scoff at. I think there’s a lot of time on radio and television and on the Web that actually is conservative points of view. There’s not a lot of time for the left. And I think — KURTZ: So, this is interesting. You see this as a balance to conservatives, particularly on talk radio, whereas conservatives often talk about the media as being so much tilted to the left, that they need an outlet like Fox News. BOHRMAN: Well, in an odd way, I think what Roger Ailes started to do 15 years ago when he built Fox News, he wanted to barge into a media environment he saw as liberal. And remember, he talked about, “We report, you decide.” Well, I think they’ve — Fox is now the mainstream. Fox tells a lot of people what to think. And I think that we want on one level to be a counterpart to that — a counterpoint to that — KURTZ: A counterpoint, yes. BOHRMAN: — and be able to provide time for intelligent, long sometimes, discussion of really important issues. The debt, for instance, in the last couple of weeks, it was dysfunctional in Washington and it was dysfunctional on cable news. KURTZ: Let me ask you about the elephant in the room. A lot of people have asked me, well, does your taking this job suggest that you were a closet liberal during your years here at CNN? BOHRMAN: Well, you know, it’s — I do feel like I crossed a line and have been somewhat — and outed myself. All right? Overtly, I need to say that. I will tell you that — KURTZ: But just to be clear, you outed yourself as somebody whose views lean to the left? BOHRMAN: Yes. Yes. And that’s what this network is going to be. But I will tell you, in the hundreds if not thousands of hours of programming that I produced here at CNN and at NBC and at ABC, with Wolf Blitzer and John King and all of the others, I don’t think any of us ever knew our politics. Wolf and I did everything in the ’08 election. I have no idea how Wolf felt. I don’t think he had any idea of my politics. I produced at NBC News the funeral for Richard Nixon. I produced here at CNN the funeral for Ronald Reagan. They were the most moving, respectful programs that you could find anywhere. KURTZ: So you’re saying you set aside your views to do your job. BOHRMAN: I completely set aside my views to do my job, and I think I did that really successfully. I also think that the left needs to recapture patriotism and not let the right own the flag and own patriotism. You know, I still — you still get a lump in your throat when you walk in the White House or in the Oval Office and are with the president of the United States, regardless whoever that person is. KURTZ: We’re running short on time. Isn’t there already a liberal commentary network, at least at night, MSNBC, where Olbermann worked? And do you see Current as taking viewers from MSNBC and perhaps from CNN, as well? BOHRMAN: Well, I see us taking viewers from them both. I think MSNBC trots it out a little bit at night. I think most of the day, 20 hours a day, it’s the NBC News network. And the one trap even at night that I think we see at MSNBC, and I think we see here even at CNN, as well, there’s almost this false equivalency where everything is a minute on this opinion and then a minute a counter-opinion. And by default, it’s a lot like an old program we had here, “CROSSFIRE.” There’s too much yelling and shouting for the appearance of balance. KURTZ: But do you think — BOHRMAN: So I hope that we can have 10-or-15-minute discussions, and maybe there’s a conservative thinker, but we probe and we have a long conversation. KURTZ: As opposed to the “CROSSFIRE” style. BOHRMAN: Yes. KURTZ: Well, we’ll be watching. David Bohrman, thanks very much for coming back to CNN. BOHRMAN: Thank you.
Continue reading …New President of Current TV Says Network Will ‘Provide a Fair Amount of Time for Liberal Viewpoints’
August 16, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media CNN’s Howard Kurtz talked to one of their former executives, David Bohrman about his move to Current TV to help Keith Olbermann and Al Gore turn the channel into a 24/7 news analysis, discussion television network. Bohrman explained their desire to give viewers a real alternative to Fox News and not what we’ve seen from CNN or MSNBC where it’s fake balance for the sake of balance and some longer discussions than these five or ten minute debate boxes we’re so used to seeing on all the networks. I think it sounds pretty refreshing and am curious to see where they go with this and who else they hire next. Transcript via CNN . KURTZ: David Bohrman has been a fixture at CNN for more than a decade as Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. He’s the guy who helped develop the Magic Wall and other technological gismos, and most famously during the 2008 campaign, the hologram. KURTZ: But soon after resigning from CNN, Bohrman was tapped this week as president of Current TV, the network whose biggest star by far is now Keith Olbermann. What does this mean for the channel co-founded by Al Gore? David Bohrman joins me now here in the studio. Welcome. You know this studio well. BOHRMAN: I do. KURTZ: It’s no secret that Current TV has had trouble getting traction in the ratings, at least until Olbermann was hired, although he’s not putting up huge numbers either. How are you going to change that? BOHRMAN: Well, Current had their fifth anniversary, and they went through two or three identity crises over what they were as a network. It began as a user-generated content network, and in the last couple of years it’s sort of been like a Nat Geo “Frontline” documentary network. Al Gore and Joel Hyatt got the brilliant idea to go and try to hire Keith. They did, and discovered lightning. I mean, the program did great, is being talked about. And all of a sudden, they realized that that was going to be the destiny of what the network is. And they’re going to — KURTZ: How do you build on that, is the question that you’re hired to answer. BOHRMAN: Right. And so they hired me to completely transform the network from a bunch of taped documentaries that have been cycling through the day, to a live news analysis, discussion television network that’s going hopefully 24 hours a day, talking about the events of the day and finding other people with something to say like Keith. KURTZ: But with Olbermann not only as the host of “Countdown,” but the chief news officer of Current, is this going to be an all- liberal network? BOHRMAN: I think it will provide a fair amount of time for liberal viewpoints to be made. It’s not going to be exclusively liberal viewpoints, and we’re going to try not to hide behind the word “progressive,” that I think so many liberals do, and then the people on the right, the conservative world, scoff at. I think there’s a lot of time on radio and television and on the Web that actually is conservative points of view. There’s not a lot of time for the left. And I think — KURTZ: So, this is interesting. You see this as a balance to conservatives, particularly on talk radio, whereas conservatives often talk about the media as being so much tilted to the left, that they need an outlet like Fox News. BOHRMAN: Well, in an odd way, I think what Roger Ailes started to do 15 years ago when he built Fox News, he wanted to barge into a media environment he saw as liberal. And remember, he talked about, “We report, you decide.” Well, I think they’ve — Fox is now the mainstream. Fox tells a lot of people what to think. And I think that we want on one level to be a counterpart to that — a counterpoint to that — KURTZ: A counterpoint, yes. BOHRMAN: — and be able to provide time for intelligent, long sometimes, discussion of really important issues. The debt, for instance, in the last couple of weeks, it was dysfunctional in Washington and it was dysfunctional on cable news. KURTZ: Let me ask you about the elephant in the room. A lot of people have asked me, well, does your taking this job suggest that you were a closet liberal during your years here at CNN? BOHRMAN: Well, you know, it’s — I do feel like I crossed a line and have been somewhat — and outed myself. All right? Overtly, I need to say that. I will tell you that — KURTZ: But just to be clear, you outed yourself as somebody whose views lean to the left? BOHRMAN: Yes. Yes. And that’s what this network is going to be. But I will tell you, in the hundreds if not thousands of hours of programming that I produced here at CNN and at NBC and at ABC, with Wolf Blitzer and John King and all of the others, I don’t think any of us ever knew our politics. Wolf and I did everything in the ’08 election. I have no idea how Wolf felt. I don’t think he had any idea of my politics. I produced at NBC News the funeral for Richard Nixon. I produced here at CNN the funeral for Ronald Reagan. They were the most moving, respectful programs that you could find anywhere. KURTZ: So you’re saying you set aside your views to do your job. BOHRMAN: I completely set aside my views to do my job, and I think I did that really successfully. I also think that the left needs to recapture patriotism and not let the right own the flag and own patriotism. You know, I still — you still get a lump in your throat when you walk in the White House or in the Oval Office and are with the president of the United States, regardless whoever that person is. KURTZ: We’re running short on time. Isn’t there already a liberal commentary network, at least at night, MSNBC, where Olbermann worked? And do you see Current as taking viewers from MSNBC and perhaps from CNN, as well? BOHRMAN: Well, I see us taking viewers from them both. I think MSNBC trots it out a little bit at night. I think most of the day, 20 hours a day, it’s the NBC News network. And the one trap even at night that I think we see at MSNBC, and I think we see here even at CNN, as well, there’s almost this false equivalency where everything is a minute on this opinion and then a minute a counter-opinion. And by default, it’s a lot like an old program we had here, “CROSSFIRE.” There’s too much yelling and shouting for the appearance of balance. KURTZ: But do you think — BOHRMAN: So I hope that we can have 10-or-15-minute discussions, and maybe there’s a conservative thinker, but we probe and we have a long conversation. KURTZ: As opposed to the “CROSSFIRE” style. BOHRMAN: Yes. KURTZ: Well, we’ll be watching. David Bohrman, thanks very much for coming back to CNN. BOHRMAN: Thank you.
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Stolen food sold in Mogadishu markets amounts to no more than 1% of total assistance, says World Food Programme spokesman The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has rejected as implausible a report of widespread food aid theft in Somalia, where more than 3.2 million people are relying on a massive international relief operation. Associated Press claimed that vast piles of food bearing stamps from the WFP, the US government aid arm USAid, the Japanese government and the Kuwaiti government are for sale in Mogadishu markets. AP said it found eight sites where thousands of sacks of food aid were being sold in bulk. Other food aid was also for sale in numerous smaller stores, it was reported. Among the items allegedly being sold were Kuwaiti dates and biscuits, corn, grain, and Plumpy’nut, a fortified peanut butter designed for starving children. However, according to WFP, the key player in the relief effort for Somalia, early estimates based on the evidence provided by AP suggest the diverson of food aid amounts to about 1% of food assistance the organisation is bringing through Mogadishu. WFP is shipping 5,000 tons a month of food aid into Mogadishu. “From our perspective, the scale of theft alleged is implausible,” said Greg Barrow, a WFP spokesman in Rome. “The scale of theft suggested would require a logistical operation comparable in size to what we are doing in Mogadishu.” For the past two weeks, planeloads of aid from the UN, Iran, Turkey, Kuwait and other countries have been arriving in the Somali capital almost daily. Supplies by ship are also on the way. Five areas of Somalia are officially in a state of famine, and the rest of southern Somalia could follow within the next four to six weeks, according to the UN. Nearly half of Somalia’s population need emergency food aid amid the worst drought in the Horn of Africa for 60 years, which has come on top of a long-running civil war. The Islamist insurgents, al-Shabaab, announced their withdrawal from Mogadishu earlier this month, but the move is not expected to end insecurity in the Somali capital. Some 2.8 million people are in the south, where al-Shabaab is at its strongest. The group’s hardline elements oppose the presence of most western aid agencies in areas under their control. Somalia is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for relief groups. Aside from al-Shabaab, they also have to contend with an ineffective transitional government riven by clan rivalries. A Human Rights Watch report on Monday accused all sides involved in the conflict of contributing to Somalia’s humanitarian catastrophe by committing serious violations of the laws of war. WFP rarely allows its staff outside the African Union’s heavily fortified main base at the airport and relies on a network of Somali aid agencies to distribute its food. The organisation said it had uncovered possible theft of food aid through its monitoring systems and had launched investigations. It noted that it had put in place strengthened and rigorous monitoring and controls for its relief operations, but – given the lack of access to some areas because of security concerns and restrictions – humanitarian supply lines remained highly vulnerable to looting, attacks and diversion by armed groups. WFP condemned any diversion of “even the smallest amount of food from starving and vulnerable Somalis “. A Somali government spokesman, Abdirahman Omar Osman, said the government does not believe food aid is being stolen on a large scale, but promised that, if such reports come to light, the government “will do everything in our power” to bring action in a military court. AP said its investigation found evidence that WFP is relying on a contractor, Abdulqadir Mohamed Nur, also known as Enow, who was blamed for diverting large amounts of food aid in a 2010 UN report. Barrow denied this was the case, however. “We are not relying on him, we are not using him,” he said. The UN says more than 12 million people across the Horn are in need of food aid, including more than three million in Somalia. Famine Somalia Africa Mark Tran guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …For those who are following along with the Verizon strike and want to do what you can do to get involved, there are a bunch of ways for you to get directly involved or show your solidarity. Forty-five thousand Verizon workers are on strike because the massively profitable company, which pays no taxes, is demanding major cuts in employee compensation and refuses to negotiate fairly with workers. The Communications Workers of America filed a unfair labor practice grievance again Verizon on Friday. One creative way to get involved is the “What Verizon’s Name Means” contest sponsored by the CWA . The union is asking creative supporters to come up with a translation that reveals what Verizon’s name really means. If you are in the area, you can use this tool to find a picket line anywhere from Virginia to New York . If you are joining the strike, you can print leaflets before you go . You can also send a letter to Verizon asking them to negotiate fairly. Daily Kos also has a petition in support of the striking workers. Organizations interested in supporting the strike should contact CWA directly. Other ways to keep up with the latest on the strike is to sign up for text messages from CWA , support the strike on Facebook , and by changing your Facebook and Twitter status to show your solidarity .
Continue reading …Zimbabwe’s ruling party shrouded in suspicion after ex-military chief dies
August 16, 2011 No Comment
Fire death of Solomon Mujuru, husband of Robert Mugabe’s deputy, exposes Zanu-PF infighting to succeed president One of the most powerful men in Zimbabwe has been killed in a fire at his home, triggering rumours of a conspiracy in the battle to succeed the president, Robert Mugabe. Former military chief Solomon Mujuru, 62, was “burnt beyond recognition” in the blaze at his farm about 35 miles south-west of Harare in the early hours of Tuesday morning, police said. Under his nom de guerre, Rex Nhongo, Mujuru was a leader of the guerrilla war that swept Mugabe to power and became Zimbabwe’s first black military commander after independence. The general was married to Joice Mujuru, vice-president of Zimbabwe and leader of a moderate faction in Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party. Analysts said his death will shake Zimbabwe’s political kaleidoscope and rock Zanu-PF, where Joice Mujuru and other rivals are jostling for position as 87-year-old Mugabe’s heir apparent . This in turn could destabilise the party’s power-sharing agreement with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In a country with a history of politically suspicious deaths, there was speculation over the cause of the fire at the 3,500-acre farm that had been seized from a white farmer in 2001, although there was no immediate evidence that it was anything other than an accident. Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Zanu-PF, said: “What we know is he died in a fire accident at his home this morning. The police are looking into the cause and they will inform us. Personally, I rule out all speculation but of course you can never be certain.” Mugabe’s relations with Mujuru had cooled in recent years, but Gumbo added: “Obviously the president must be troubled by the death of someone he worked with for a long time. They were very close.” State radio said Mujuru’s wife visited the farm where its reporter saw the main building razed to the ground. Family members and friends said an electrical fault may have ignited the blaze. Police said a worker at the house told them Mujuru went to bed and neighbours were woken later as fire swept through the house, state radio reported. Mujuru had evidently tried to escape but was overwhelmed by flames and smoke. General Constantine Chiwenga, the current military chief, also visited the farm and told state radio: “The way he has gone is difficult to comprehend. He was such a fine fighter.” Mujuru had been the most senior member of the military to sit on Zanu-PF’s politburo. His wife is seen as leading a reformist faction open to working with the prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and the MDC. She is opposed by Emmerson Mnangagwa , the hardline defence minister dubbed “the Crocodile” who is also vying to take over, should the ailing Mugabe retire or die. It was claimed the circumstances of Mujuru’s death could fuel Zanu-PF infighting. Eddie Cross, policy co-ordinator general of the MDC, said: “It’s a huge shock. The suspicion of a power play is everywhere. Everybody’s talking about it. If that was involved, it’s a huge event and could spark violence between factions of Zanu-PF. “We’ve been saying for a long time that if there’s a civil war in Zimbabwe, it won’t be between Zanu-PF and the MDC, it will be between factions of Zanu-PF.” Cross added: “I think Robert Mugabe will take it badly. He will read into it rivalries in his own party. Our information is that Mugabe is now looking for a quiet retirement, so this is the last thing he needs.” John Makumbe, professor of political science at Zimbabwe University, said: “There is so much fighting in Zanu-PF now that, if it’s foul play, it’s anybody’s guess who might have done this. “I think we are going to see a severely fractured party because there is going to be finger pointing and allegations from one side against another. The two factions, Mujuru and Mnangagwa, have been fighting for crumbs from the rich man’s table. Mugabe will not find it easy to handle. It will make him age a little faster again.” Mugabe has acknowledged deep divisions in his party and has said he cannot leave office until he has resolved them and unified the party ahead of elections, which could take place next year. The latest turn of events is likely to strengthen Mnangagwa’s hand, according to the Zimbabwean media entrepreneur Trevor Ncube . “It certainly weakens Mrs Mujuru’s chances of succeeding Robert Mugabe,” he said. “All their supporters will have to regroup and consolidate. It strengthens Emmerson Mnangagwa’s chances in a big way. I suspect there may be celebrations in that camp.” Others felt it was too soon to judge. Piers Pigou, project director for Southern Africa at the International Crisis Group, said: “This throws up a lot of dust that will cloud vision for a bit. We’ll have to see how the dust settles.” Accusations of foul play are never far from Zimbabwe’s political discourse. Questions were raised over the death of Brigadier-General Armstrong Paul Gunda, who had been linked with a coup plot against Mugabe, when his car collided with a train in 2007. Tsvangirai’s wife Susan was killed in a car crash in 2009, though the prime minister himself said it was an accident. Mugabe is scheduled to attend a summit of regional presidents this week in Angola, at which the Zimbabwe political crisis is high on the agenda. Regional leaders have recently taken a firmer stance against violence and other obstacles to democratic reforms blamed on Mugabe and his party leaders. Zimbabwe Africa Robert Mugabe David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Suspect remains under guard in St Helier hospital as pathologist confirms female victim died of stab wounds The man suspected of stabbing to death six people, including his wife and two young children, remained under police guard in hospital in Jersey as the first postmortem was completed. The 30-year-old, named as Damian Rzeszowski, who is believed to have been distressed over the breakdown of his marriage, has been formally arrested after undergoing surgery for knife wounds, understood to be self-inflicted. He is under armed guard in the General Hospital in St Helier, where he is heavily sedated and said to be in a stable condition, A postmortem by a Home Office pathologist on one of the female victims confirmed cause of death as multiple stab wounds. All the victims were of Polish origin. His wife, named as Izabela Rzeszowska, 30, is believed to be among his victims, along with their daughter, Kinga, five, and son Kasper, 18 months, and her father Marek Garstki, 55, who lived with the couple. Her friend, named as Marta de la Haye, who is believed to have worked in a care home, and her five-year-old daughter Julia, were also said to be among the victims and were visiting the family for the afternoon. At the flat of her husband, Craig de la Haye, a relative, said there was no comment. The bodies of two victims, who were pronounced dead at the scene, were being removed from the couple’s flat in Victoria Crescent, St Helier, today. Witnesses said that the row that led to the frenzied stabbings may have started at a family barbecue on Sunday afternoon. A large covered the back garden. One neighbour who called police, told the Jersey Evening Post that he heard trouble outside his window and looked out to see a man brandishing a knife. “I just heard screaming and looked out of the window and he came out of nowhere. He had an 18-inch knife and he just went for her while she was shouting for help. “She was backing off, and he started slashing with the knife,” said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous. “The woman was covered in blood but she never ran away. It was just mayhem and like watching a film in slow motion.” Friends said the couple, who are thought to have just returned from a trip to Poland, had been having relationship problems. There were unconfirmed reports Rzeszowski had taken an overdose and had attempted suicide four weeks ago, Former workmates of Rzeszowski said he has lived in Jersey for at least 10 years, and worked as a block layer on building sites. A former work colleague told the Post: “He worked very hard to support his family and was a very reliable guy. I would often see him in the supermarket with his kids. This has come as a huge shock to everyone.” He was described as a man who “did everything for his family”. Jersey police said the remaining postmortems would be carried out in the next few days. Forensic examination of the scene, at a flat in a secluded road in central St Helier, is ongoing. Family liaison officers, supported by Polish-speaking officers and staff, were supporting the two families. Police and paramedics who witnessed the terrible aftermath of the stabbings, were being offered psychological support. “It is an extremely complex investigation, involving two young families and, inevitably, impacting on a whole community, and our inquiry continues to establish exactly what happened on that fateful afternoon last weekend,” said Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull, who is leading the murder investigation. Crime Jersey Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk
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Campaigners and politicians have criticised the oil company for being slow to release information on the spill A relief valve close to the faulty pipeline at Shell’s Gannet Alpha oil platform in the North Sea appears to be the source of a secondary leak that is adding to the worst oil spill in UK waters in a decade . Green campaigners and members of the Scottish parliament have rounded on the oil company for being slow to release full information on the leak, which was first detected last Wednesday but only disclosed to the public on Friday evening. Shell said on Tuesday that while the leaking well was “under control”, and the main spill had been shut off successfully, a small quantity of oil was still finding its way to the sea by another pathway. After lengthy searching, the valve was pinpointed as the likely source. Work will continue to dam the small quantities of oil – at up to five barrels a day, a trickle compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have gushed out in the first days of the leak, but Shell could not say how soon it would be completed. The company has also been so far unable to explain how the leak occurred in the first place. Green campaigners accused the company of complacency and secrecy, as information on the progress of the leak continued to be slowly released. Per Fischer, communications officer at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It beggars belief that we are still being drip-fed information and that Shell’s initially ‘insignificant’ leak is still causing problems.” Tony King, head of policy at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, added: “It seems clear that there has been a substantial oil spill in the North Sea, putting sea birds, whales and dolphins, fish and other wildlife at risk. Shell needs to come clean on exactly how much oil has entered the sea. This is an extremely serious matter and wildlife organisations need information in order to plan what, if anything, can be done to safeguard Scotland’s marine wildlife. Once the immediate threat to the environment has been removed, Shell must be open about exactly how this spill came about and what measures it is taking to make sure that it never happens again.” Shell rebuffed these criticisms, saying it had responded “promptly” and “properly”. The company said it had followed correct procedures in alerting the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) first about the leak last week, and agreeing a course of action to stop it. Most of the oil has now been dispersed by the waves, leaving only a small area where a sheen can be seen on the sea surface. Government advisers also played down the risk to bird life, as the oil is unlikely to reach shore from the rig – 112 miles east of Aberdeen – and said the risk to fish was also small as most of the oil should be cleared by natural processes. Officials said that while the leak was the biggest in UK waters for a decade, it was less serious when viewed in context of other major spills such as BP’s blowout in the Gulf of Mexico last year, which was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day . Sarah Boyack, Labour’s environment spokesperson in the Scottish parliament, said people needed more assurances from the government agencies involved: “I want to know from Marine Scotland what contingency plans they put in place to deal with major oil spillages. I also want information on the lessons they learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in relation to wildlife protection, protection of public health and protection of the fishing industry.” Glen Cayley, the technical director of Shell UK, said that since the original leak had been shut off last Thursday, the company had been “working to find the source of the much smaller flow of hydrocarbons. It had proved difficult to find because we are dealing with a complex subsea infrastructure and the position of the small leak is in an awkward place surrounded by marine growth. So, it has taken our [remotely operated vehicle] inspections some time to establish exactly where the source is. Once we’ve confirmed this we will then develop a series of mitigation options to stop this leak. There is no new leak.” Green campaigners said the incident raised questions over the safety of oil companies’ plans to drill in deep water in the Arctic , as the North Sea is generally supposed to be the safest in the world in terms of spills. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “As Shell finalises plans to move into the fragile Arctic, where oil spills are almost impossible to clean up, the company has important questions to answer. Meanwhile the government should halt its rush to hand out new licences for deep water drilling to the west of Shetland.” Greenpeace is taking legal action to stop the granting of more than 20 new licences for oil companies to drill in the deep water to the west of Shetland, arguing that the government cannot be certain that a spill in the area would not devastate specially protected wildlife havens. Campaigners also pointed to wider lessons for oil companies in other parts of the world, including places where oil spills have been covered up such as Nigeria. As the Guardian recently revealed , Shell has been forced to admit liability for spills in the region that have dwarfed last year’s Gulf of Mexico disaster. Fischer said: “It is ironic that the information [Shell has] made available is actually vastly better than what was offered to the people of Nigeria, where Shell for a long time denied any responsibility for endless oil spills. For decades, oil companies have acted with impunity when it comes to the environment. At a time when we could be using the skills learnt through oil exploitation to advance our renewable energy resources, we should be placing much higher standards of operation on companies like Shell.” Shell said: “The high winds and waves over the weekend have led to a substantial reduction in the size of the oil sheen as can be seen from the current levels on the water,” said Cayley. “This is a significant spill in the context of annual amounts of oil spilled in the North Sea. We care about the environment and we regret that the spill happened. We have taken it very seriously and responded promptly to it.” Decc said: “Shell has informed us that the oil leak at its pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform east of Aberdeen is under control and has now been greatly reduced. They are working to completely halt any further leakage. Although small in comparison to the Macondo incident [at one of BP's platforms in the Gulf of Mexico last year], in the context of the UK’s continental shelf the spill is substantial – but it is not anticipated that oil will reach the shore and it is expected that it will be dispersed naturally.” Oil spills Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry Oil Energy Fossil fuels Royal Dutch Shell Marine life Wildlife Oceans Scotland Fiona Harvey Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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